When Jack Smith, superintendent of Calvert County Public Schools, graduated from high school in 1975, he wasn’t thinking about his credit rating or a home mortgage.”No one ever offered me a credit card when I was in college,” Smith said. “In fact, I would have been declined had I applied.”But after spending more than a year discussing the issue with high school students, parents and other    .. more …

By Erika Riggs, Zillow W151S10182 Thode Dr, Muskego WI For sale: $260,000There’s quite a few barns dotting Wisconsin’s landscape – some are in use, some are abandoned, and at least one outside of Milwaukee has been converted into a gorgeous home.When owner Ron Ricco purchased his Muskego home several years ago, the 14-acre property came with two barns – an enormous 125-year old barn and a second    .. more …

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire -02/03/12)- Expectations for Mortgage Insurers remain poor in 2012 as significant weakness remains in the jobs and housing markets. In late January, SP lowered its outlook on three mortgage insurers — MGIC Investment Corporation , Genworth Financial and Radian Group — explaining that its outlook on both the parent and mortgage insurance segment remains negative. Five    .. more …

President Barack Obama announced apackage of proposals to jolt the housing market, his latesteffort to reignite the economy after four years of foreclosuresand falling home prices. “This housing crisis struck right at the heart of what itmeans to be middle class in America: our homes,” Obama said inthe text of remarks he’s delivering in the Washington suburb of Falls Church , Virginia . “We need    .. more …

The administration has rolled out housing programs before with the hope of helping millions of struggling homeowners. But those initiatives have fallen short. “I’ll be honest, the programs we’ve put forward didn’t work at the scale we’d hoped,” Obama said. “Not as many people have taken advantage of it as we wanted.” The housing issue, while national in scope, resonates particularly in election    .. more …

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Friday sued three major U.S. banks, accusing them of fraud for using an electronic mortgage database that resulted in deceptive and illegal practices, including false documents in foreclosure proceedings.Schneiderman, co-chair of a new mortgage crisis unit under President Barack Obama, filed a lawsuit against Bank of America    .. more …

RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW – News ) today reported results for the fourth quarter of 2011. The company reported net income(1)of $107 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $161 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Net operating income(2) for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $86 million, or    .. more …

The averagerateon the 30-year fixedmortgagefell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapestratesin history, the housing market remains depressed.Mortgagebuyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that therateon the 30-year loan dropped to 3.87 percent this week. That is below the previous record of 3.88 hit two weeks ago.The average on the 15-year    .. more …

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire -02/03/12)- Expectations for Mortgage Insurers remain poor in 2012 as significant weakness remains in the jobs and housing markets. In late January, SP lowered its outlook on three mortgage insurers — MGIC Investment Corporation, Genworth Financial and Radian Group — explaining that its outlook on both the parent and mortgage insurance segment remains negative. Five    .. more …

Citigroup wants complete control over the quality of new mortgage loans it adds to its portfolio, something it aims to achieve by ensuring that all mortgages are henceforth originated directly by the bank, and not through brokers. [ 1 ]The global banking giant has clearly taken this decision to ease growing investor concerns about the quality of mortgage portfolios held by the country’s biggest    .. more …