A big part of my job is helping our clients project the most likely scenarios for the housing market.  Now that we know who will be President, my job just got easier because we have 4 years of experience with Obama and a divided Congress, so we know what we are getting.  However, there is never a dull moment.  Here is what keeps me up at night: Mortgage Rates Dictated by Leadership : Geithner and Bernanke have worked closely together to implement very accommodative housing policies.  Geithner has already announced he is leaving and Bernanke is rumored not to want another term beginning January 2014.  Who will the replacement(s) be?   Who will slow down the housing market when it heats up again - something I believe Bernanke is trying to engineer ASAP? Mortgage Rates Dictated by China : While Bernanke has a lot of power, the bond markets are more powerful.  International bond buyers, particularly in China, can wreak a lo...

Congress has given itself two more months to come up with long-term solutions for the debt-burdened federal program that provides insurance for homes and businesses in areas subject to flooding. A voice vote in the House Wednesday extended the life of the National Flood Insurance Program for 60 days, assuring that people in flood-risk areas will continue to have access to the flood insurance they need to close on mortgages or obtain refinancing. The program is slated to expire Thursday. The last full-scale reauthorization of the NFIP, a wing of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, occurred in 2004. Since 2008 the insurance provider has stayed alive through a series of 16 short-term extensions while lawmakers debate how to restore its fiscal soundness. To read Jim Abrahms full artice, CLICK HERE Title Junction is hoping that come July 31st, that Congress will extended it for a SOLID 5 more years!

The Home Ownership Resource Center is in a new, high-profile location in Fort Myers as it braces for a major reworking of the programs designed to save people from foreclosure. Formerly in four locations scattered around Lee County, the private, nonprofit agency moved two weeks ago into space it leases in the Fifth Third Bank building on Colonial Boulevard just west of Metro Parkway. Executive director Eddie Felton said the consolidation will let him operate more efficiently as the state prepares to roll out revised federal programs that will let more people qualify for help with foreclosure issues. Under the old setup, “My operations budget was killing me,” Felton said. “I feel really blessed” to have the new location. If the U.S. Treasury Department approves the state’s proposed revisions for the federal programs administered by the state, the changes will go into effect mid-June, said Cecka Rose Green, communications director for Florida Housing. Felton said the one he’s m...

Federal Land Titling System Again?...Pass it on! Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) revived her misguided proposal from last year and is once again trying to create a political path for a federal land titling system. If passed, the Transparency and Security in Mortgage Registration Act of 2011 (H.R. 2425) would require HUD to study the creation of a federal land titling system. The bill also effectively kills the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) by banning the GSEs from using the system which will result in title agents not being able to identify the holder of a note through MERS. ALTA believes the recording of documents associated with the local transfer of property should not be governed the federal government. Property rights need to continue to be protected through local county recorders working with the land title industry. Please contact your member of Congress to ask them not to support H.R. 2425. CLICK HERE TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE! Title Junction thanks y...