With almost 2 million homes facing foreclosure in the US, and an ever mounting inventory of homes not even on the market yet, banks have found a way to get rid of them. They’re not waiting for buyers, they’re waiting for bulldozers. Figuring it is cheaper to demolish a home than to try to maintain it, B of A has already demolished homes in Detroit and Cleveland, and donated the land back to local government authorities. But they’re not alone. Wells Fargo & Chase are also following the pattern of writing off the donations. Maybe this is a good thing. I mean no one wants a dilapidated home dragging down property values in their neighborhood, and we certainly need to reduce some of that shadow inventory.

More than 450,000 former Countrywide borrowers who were overcharged when they fell behind on their payments will be getting what they deserve according to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. Between 2005-2008, when borrowers began to default, Countrywide instead of hiring local contractors to maintain the landscaping on these properties, hired an exclusive company and overinflated the cost of the services. He says “Countrywide’s behavior harmed American consumers on a massive scale and we are proud to be getting every single dollar back to hundreds of thousands of struggling consumers who got kicked out of their houses”. All $240 to each homeowner (well $161 after the 33% attorney fee).

Interest rates dropped this week to the lowest they have been in 15 years, and if you have a loan between 417k-729k, the month of August might be your last opportunity to see if you can lower your rate. Because soon, your loan will not longer be a conforming loan, but a jumbo one, and those rates are quite higher than what you might be able to get now. So shoot me an email or give me a call and let’s have a 5 minute conversation to see if I can help you save money before it’s too late. Thanks for watching, I’ll see you next time.