URBALO

Even if this is not something common, one day, your mortgage company might have to fill for bankruptcy. Of course, the question that will go through your head at that time is: What do I do? Am I screwed? Who owns my house?

Here is a simple advice:

1.Keep making your payments

Regardless of what kind of trouble the mortgage company may be in, you still need to send in your payments on time, says Greg McBride of Bankrate.com.Remember, your payments are considered an asset to the company. If a lender declares bankruptcy, those assets will just be sold to another lender.

In most cases, government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae (Charts), Freddie Mac (Charts, Fortune 500) or Ginnie Mae will handle the transfer. But rest assured, there will be someone who wants to get your monthly check.

2: Know Your Rights

The terms of your loan should always stay the same, no matter who holds your loan. It’s important that you thoroughly review the details of your mortgage agreement. The interest rate and the type of loan you get should not change. If your lender does sell your mortgage, you should receive a letter from the company within 15 days that outlines the new mailing address and payment deadline.

You should also be given a toll-free telephone number that you can call if you have any questions. You must get a grace period of 60 days to get your payments to the right place on time. If you have any complaints or issues, write a letter to your lender. The company is required to respond within two months of getting your letter. Read Full Article ->

The stock market is going crazy. Hedge funds are going under. But for the average American looking for a home loan, the crisis in the subprime mortgage market may actually be good news.
Rates on 30-year fixed loans dipped last week, to 6.41 percent, according to the Mortgage Banker’s Association.

In addition, tightened lending standards stemming from the subprime crisis likely mean fewer buyers, pushing down home prices.
The one catch is this: You’ve got to be a buyer with good credit, a low debt to income ratio, a healthy down payment, verifiable income, and looking to finance less than $417,000 (the cutoff for so-called jumbo loans). Read Full Article ->

Home sales could see an increase in the coming months, as the latest reading on the state of the battered U.S. real estate market from an industry trade group showed surprising strength.

The National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales index jumped 5 percent to 102.4 in June, the group announced Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast the index would slip 0.6 percent after a revised 3.7 percent drop in the May report.

It was the biggest increase in the index in three years. But that is up from a May reading that matches the second lowest on record. Only September 2001, the month of the terrorist attack, had a weaker pending home sales reading than May. Read Full Article ->

The Chicago Real Estate market is always looking for great and powerful investors and who could really fit this description better than Carlos Slim, recently named the Richest Man in The World. Reading his biography and learned how he was able to build his empire, I think Mr. Slim would be the perfect real estate investor for Chicago. I think Chicago could really use his vision and money in building new things and make this city the greatest city in America.

Especially now, when Chicago is running for the Olympics in 2016, the real estate market could really use some help and the city should already be building their main infrastructure for the Olympics. The decline in the Chicago Real Estate Market could be stopped by the right investor with the right attitude. If Donald Trump was able to get his tower in the Windy City, why wouldn’t Mr. Slim get his “Slim Tower” or the “Carlos Plazza” ?

He has been known to be moving from the telecommunication market into the real estate by developing a shopping mall, schools and parks, so this makes Chicago a great candidate. We, as chicagoans, always love the shopping part, think of Michigan Ave, we also love parks, think the new Millenium Park and not the last, we love our schools, we’re always looking for properties in districts with the best schools.

Mr. Carlos Slim, remember: you can’t go wrong in Chicago and you can’t definitely not pass on the Chicago Pizza.