Are large numbers of homeowners who have negotiated short sales with lenders at risk because of a startling omission in the American credit system? Do their credit reports and scores indicate that they were foreclosed upon, rather than having negotiated a mutually agreeable resolution with their lender? [more]

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Homebuyers are still largely ignorant about mortgages, according to a new survey by real estate website Zillow cited by CNNMoney.

In a survey of over 1,000 current and prospective homeowners, respondents answered basic questions about terms, lender selection and financing wrong nearly one-third of the time. Roughly 31 percent of buyers don’t think it’s possible to get a mortgage for less than a 5 percent down payment; 34 percent don’t understand what an “annual percentage rate” is, and a quarter believe that one can only arrange financing with a lender that pre-approves one’s mortgage.  [more]

Some sellers of New York City apartments are lining up mortgage lenders for potential buyers well before an offer is made, the New York Times reported.

Sellers are securing financing for an eventual sale even before they put their condos or co-ops on the market, and later add language to the sales contract that requires buyers to, at the minimum, obtain preapproval from the seller’s preferred lender. [more]

The number of mortgage applications for the week ending April 12, 2013, increased another 4.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5 percent compared with the previous week. [more]

The number of mortgage applications for the week ending March 27, 2013  increased 7.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 8 percent compared with the previous week. [more]

The number of mortgage applications for the week ending March 20, 2013  decreased 7.1 percent percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 7 percent compared with the previous week. [more]

The number of mortgage applications for the week ending March 13, 2013  decreased 4.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4 percent compared with the previous week. [more]

The number of mortgage applications for the week ending March 6, 2013  increased 14.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 15 percent compared with the previous week. [more]

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Close to a third of mortgage shoppers are willing to pay a premium for superior customer service, a new survey examined by the New York Times shows.

The survey—conducted by the Carlisle & Gallagher Consulting Group – was weighted towards the upper end of the market, and showed that although price was still the overwhelmingly most important factor in the mortgage-selection process, a certain segment of consumers would pay more for a less stressful application process.  [more]

The number of mortgage applications for the week ending February 27, 2013 decreased 3.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today. … [more]