tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80349853658828548112009-12-25T16:30:53.312-06:00Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-47474851335284903662009-02-19T14:46:00.003-06:002009-02-20T08:23:11.658-06:00

Tired of watching big banks and Wall Street get big bailouts? Where's your bailout? Protect yourself, your family and your assets. Bankruptcy gives you a fresh start. Eliminate debt. Save your home from foreclosure. Keep your assets.Wisconsin Bankruptcy Attorney Robert W. Flessas provides a free phone consultation to eastern Wisconsin residents in need of bankruptcy services. Start your

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-39854158380531306682008-10-17T06:01:00.000-05:002008-10-17T06:01:00.429-05:00

Will the Internet replace public foreclosure auctions?Public auctions of foreclosed properties began in the 19th century as a practical way to ensure there was no chicanery between lenders and public officials.Next month, Duval County, Fla., will become the first county in the country to hold an Internet foreclosure auction, forgoing the traditional courthouse sale in the hope of attracting

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-65609711519644177592008-10-16T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-16T06:00:00.836-05:00

Bank of America on Monday said it is launching a "home retention program" on Dec. 1 to modify troubled mortgages for nearly 400,000 customers of Countrywide Financial Corp.Bank of America acquired Countrywide on July 1.The program, which can reduce up to $8.4 billion in interest payments and principal, was developed in partnership with state Attorneys General to help borrowers that financed their

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-10590352388688310942008-10-15T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-15T06:00:01.443-05:00

Employers slashed more than 9,000 mortgage jobs in the third quarter, according to employment data tracked by MortgageDaily.com.From July 1 to Sept. 30, MortgageDaily.com tracked 10,131 U.S. mortgage layoffs and 996 mortgage hirings. Layoffs exceeded hirings by 9,135.The findings were based on an analysis of 38 companies that either added or eliminated employees in the latest quarter. The report

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-47969684137053088332008-10-14T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-14T06:00:01.337-05:00

On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 — and President Bush quickly signed the bill into law.In a letter to members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, NAR President Dick Gaylord thanks everyone who voiced support for the revised bill. A failure to act, he said, "Would have pushed consumers into more dire

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-67016208595992533552008-10-13T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-13T06:00:00.887-05:00

As credit and borrowing standards tighten, seller financing is becoming more common.For those selling small business, the ability to offer it is particularly important."Sellers really have to be prepared to take back more of the financing or to take a second position behind the banks to make them come together ... because of the financial situation of the world today," says Wally Kocemba of the

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-46459429403248047652008-10-11T06:00:00.001-05:002008-10-11T06:00:01.609-05:00

Staying warm doesn't have to cost a fortune. Here are some ideas from the U.S. Department of Energy for conserving heat and saving money.By Kelly Quigley | October 2008When the leaves start falling, you know that the heating bills are about to start rising. But keeping your home warm and cozy on chilly autumn nights doesn't have to break the bank.The U.S. Department of Energy offers these simple

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-23384887292123321692008-10-10T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-10T06:00:00.722-05:00

Households that use fuel oil can expect to spend an average of $2,388 – or $449 more than last year – for the October-April heating season.Users of natural gas will pay less than half that, $1,010 on average, still $155 more than last year, the Department of Energy estimated.The number of Americans whose gas or electricity has been shut off because of nonpayment of bills is up 17 percent compared

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-37418517484671424462008-10-09T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-09T06:00:00.725-05:00

Prices are holding up nicely in the ZIP codes of the rich and famous.Forbes magazine examined the top 100 most expensive ZIP codes in the United States and concluded that most saw strong price appreciation in the last 12 months.Here are the top-10 most expensive ZIP Codes and the median home sales prices: 1. Fisher Island, Fla., Miami-Dade County, 33109. Median sales price: $3.85 million 2.

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-42609169191874471502008-10-08T06:00:00.001-05:002008-10-08T06:00:01.100-05:00

Wall Street took a nose-dive Monday, with the Dow Jones industrials plunging more than 800 points at one point during the day before finishing down 370. The sell-off on Monday sent the Dow below 10,000 for the first time in four years.The U.S. government, facing increasing pressure to do something about the unstable financial markets, is reportedly weighing a plan to buy massive amounts of

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-58434811776649430472008-10-12T06:00:00.001-05:002008-10-07T17:53:36.256-05:00

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank said those who try to lay blame for the current mortgage crisis on the push for affordable housing via the Community Reinvestment Act are racist.Frank told attendees at a mortgage foreclosure symposium in Boston that loans under the act are issued by regulated institutions, while most of the foreclosures were triggered by high-cost loans made by unregulated

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-41829054310645769872008-10-07T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-07T06:00:02.491-05:00

Even if the government buys hundreds of billions of dollars worth of mortgage-backed securities, it is unlikely that it will be able to protect many Americans from losing their homes, analysts say.Financial experts say that 90 percent or more of subprime mortgages are held in trusts that have been sold to institutional investors around the world. Unless every investor agrees, the terms of a

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-85362569478515740062008-10-06T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-06T06:00:01.277-05:00

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.09 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending September 25, 2008, up from last week when it averaged 5.78 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.42 percent.The 15-year FRM this week averaged 5.77

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-50577248738915395922008-10-05T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-05T06:00:01.268-05:00

Existing-home sales were down in August following a healthy gain in July as tight mortgage credit curtailed activity, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Sales rose in the Midwest and South, but fell in the Northeast and West.Nationally, existing-home sales — including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — declined 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-46963732256700941462008-10-04T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-04T06:00:01.662-05:00

Wall Street's woes are going to have an impact on communities all over the country.Not only because the $700 billion bailout will most likely result in higher taxes for most Americans, but because people who work in industries related to the financial sector will be vulnerable as companies make cutbacks.The financial, insurance, and real estate sectors employ approximately 9.8 million people in

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-68002470607494344992008-10-03T06:00:00.001-05:002008-10-03T06:00:01.019-05:00

When the leaves start falling, you know that the heating bills are about to start rising. But keeping your home warm and cozy on chilly autumn nights doesn't have to break the bank.The U.S. Department of Energy offers these simple tips and relatively inexpensive home improvements that will help ensure cold gusts stay out and your furnace doesn't have to work harder than it should.1. Plug air

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-59920881882832364062008-10-02T06:00:00.000-05:002008-10-02T06:00:01.693-05:00

While the $700 billion financial bailout will shore up the banks’ ability to lend, “The key to recovery is finding stability for the housing market,” says Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.The pace of foreclosures shows no sign of abating, Wachter says, predicting that foreclosures will increase in the coming months and drive

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-23901897315061369372008-10-01T06:00:00.002-05:002008-10-01T06:00:00.533-05:00

The defeat of the bailout bill likely isn’t good news for the housing market.In the wake of Monday’s legislative defeat of the housing bailout, housing economist Thomas Lawler asked, "How many people are going to sit down and say: 'You know honey, it's a good time to buy a house?' The government really needs to get its act together."Home prices have fallen about 20 percent since their peak in

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-5621683192359847362008-09-30T11:44:00.000-05:002008-09-30T11:46:21.708-05:00

Lawmakers are expected to continue negotiations after the U.S. House of Representatives' surprise defeat yesterday of a $700 billion rescue plan, which sent shockwaves through Wall Street."What happened today was not a failure of a bill, it was a failure of will," said Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn. "Our hope is that cooler heads will prevail, people will think about what they did

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-82975166980061598072008-09-24T06:03:00.000-05:002008-09-24T06:03:04.387-05:00

New York City has been nearly immune to the housing slowdown. And thanks to foreign buyers, that may continue.In Manhattan, where the median home costs exceed $1 million, prices were actually up 14 percent in the second quarter of 2008 compared with 2007. And prices in desirable suburbs have held steady.Now home sellers, real estate practitioners, and mortgage lenders are listening uneasily to

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-71569853133368245452008-09-23T06:03:00.000-05:002008-09-23T06:03:01.056-05:00

Activity is slowing in commercial real estate sectors in response to tightening credit and slow economic growth, according to the latest Commercial Real Estate Outlook of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says problems on Wall Street are affecting commercial real estate. “Although capital remains available for residential loans, the credit crunch is

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-24104072271997935062008-09-21T06:03:00.000-05:002008-09-21T06:03:02.199-05:00

Lehman Brothers bankruptcy is putting pressure on financial institutions to divest their holdings of commercial property debt, driving down prices in an already troubled market.Lehman's failure is the biggest indicator yet that the financial crisis that started in the housing market now is affecting shopping centers, office buildings, hotels, and other commercial real estate.Approximately $4.3

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-75733045841924837322008-09-20T06:03:00.000-05:002008-09-20T06:03:00.238-05:00

New housing construction fell to the lowest level in 17 years in August, according to a U.S. Commerce Department report released Wednesday.Commerce said housing construction dropped 6.2 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 895,000 units, the slowest pace since January 1991, another housing correction.The decline is larger than the 1.6 percent drop that analysts expected and

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-50332392307304151642008-09-19T06:03:00.001-05:002008-09-19T06:08:31.577-05:00

The housing market is a year away from improvement, says Steven Preston, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.Preston predicts that it will be “the middle of next year or well into next year” before “we begin to see more consistency in buyers coming back into the marketplace.”The recovery from the housing crisis in 2009 is likely to be regional in nature, the HUD

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8034985365882854811.post-14984540894177875302008-09-19T06:03:00.000-05:002008-09-19T06:06:06.992-05:00

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 3, 2008) — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 29, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 453.1, an increase of 7.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 421.6 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5.8

Robert Flessashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09966390427148095073noreply@blogger.com