“If you’re underwater and facing financial distress, what might Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s new short sale reform policies mean for you? Potentially a lot — even if you are current on your mortgage payments and never imagined that a short sale and principal reduction could be in the cards. Here’s what’s involved. Starting Nov. 1, owners whose loans have been purchased or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie may qualify for a short sale if they fit key hardship criteria including: unemployment; divorce; long-term disability; a change of employment that is more than 50 miles from the current home; a business failure; death of the primary or secondary wage earner; or a natural or man-made disaster.”

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“After selling their San Ramon home, Erick and Nichole Ormsby recently moved into a bigger house in a better school district in Danville. Such “move-up buyers” have long been the lifeblood of a vibrant real estate market, accounting for significant chunks of supply as they sell their homes, and demand as they buy larger ones. But post-housing crash, they remain a rarity. “

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“Fiscal cliff fears are here. With nearly $500 billion in simultaneous tax hikes and spending cuts set to take effect in January, economists have been forewarning the devastating consequences the so-called “fiscal cliff” could cause if Congress fails to come to a budget agreement before the end of the year. The latest report hails from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), warning that inaction could plunge the U.S. into a “significant” recession in the first half of 2013.”

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“The pool of real estate sales across America that involved distressed property rose four points in the second quarter to 23 percent from one year earlier, even as sales of bank-owned and pre-foreclosure homes sank dramatically. The dichotomy, which real estate experts say has been amplified in the hard-hit Inland region, where 47 percent of home sales involved distressed property, was reflected in Thursday’s foreclosure data release by RealtyTrac.”

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“Imagine a world of negative interest rates. Instead of paying you interest on deposits, your bank would charge you for storing cash in its vault. Instead of waiting until the last minute to pay your bills, you would pay them as quickly as possible in order to reduce the cash in your checking account. People would keep cash at home instead of in the bank. For the sake of convenience, they would clamor for denominations bigger than the $100 bill.”

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