Hathaway Duke

Graphic Courtesy MSNBCLast Week:Mortgage rates ticked up midweek (on mostly technical factors) ahead of Friday’s first quarter GDP figures, which showed a less than expected 1.3% growth rate (versus an expected 1.8%.) Normally, a GDP number like this would send rates lower, but this news was offset by an up-tick in the Employment Cost Index - showing some wage based inflation. Inflation = bad news for bonds = lower rates unlikely.This Week:As we write this entry, mortgage rates are improving slightly after the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditure core deflator (another measure of inflation) which showed an increase in prices paid by consumers YOY of 2.1%, short of the 2.2% consensus figure. While this is a mortgage rate friendly report, keep one eye on Friday, which is when the April jobs report - a key measure of economic strength - is released. A weak jobs report may send rates lower, a strong report could send mortgage rates up. See Full Economic Calendar After the Jump:…

Jason Keigley – an Indiana resident accused of swindling more than $1 million through fraudulent investment and mortgage schemes, primarily in Hendricks County, Indiana, was criminally charged on April 26, 2007, by the Indiana Secretary of State and …

Ellen V. Milam, 38, Everett, Washington, is a loan officer accused of stealing funds from her customers’ mortgage loan proceeds.  Milam was sentenced on Friday, April 27, 2007, to six months in jail and another six months of home monitoring….

Jason Keigley – an Indiana resident accused of swindling more than $1 million through fraudulent investment and mortgage schemes, primarily in Hendricks County, Indiana, was criminally charged on April 26, 2007, by the Indiana Secretary of State and …

The following nine individuals were arrested in connection with an alleged mortgage fraud conspiracy that operated primarily from a base in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York: Mohammed Zubair Hossain; Togor [last name unknown]; Mohitul Islam; Moham…

Patricia Omondi, 38, and her husband Boureima Sanfo, 47, Woodbridge, Virginia, were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of interstate transportation of property obtained by fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice in connection with a…

Feduniak et al., v. California Coastal Commission (2007) 148 Cal. App. 4th 1346. By Michael R. Leake The Sixth District Court of Appeals of California overturned a trial court decision and rejected the claim of a Monterey County coastal property homeowner that the…

Sheila Hines, Atlanta, Georgia, must cease and desist operations as a morgage broker.  On April 13, 2007, the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance’s Cease and Desist Order against Hines became final. The Order was issued for misrepresenting…

Independent Title Agency LLC, Lakeland, Florida, is facing a civil suit alleging Erica and Michael Daniels used escrow funds to purchase personal property, such as real estate and vehicles, The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida, reported.  Old Republic …

The March existing home sales report hit the wires today, and Mike Larsen over at Interest Rate Roundup (another blog you should be reading) provides the best commentary we’ve seen today on it’s ugly data. In brief:No amount of lipstick can make this pig of a home sales report look pretty. Sales dropped sharply. Prices fell again. And inventories are closing in on the 14-year high set in late 2006. No doubt, crummy weather had an impact on the figures. But sales were poor in all regions…That tells me a lot more is at work here – namely, that affordability is still poor, that speculators have left the building, and that tighter mortgage standards are starting to knock marginal buyers out of the market.We’ll add the obligatory This is just a snaphsot, one report does not define the market, local areas don’t always correspond to national/regional figures, etc. etc. but no matter how you spin it, this lets more air out of the balloon the real estate bottomed last August crowd is clinging too. We’ll unpack the local figs when we get our hands on them.March Existing Home Sales - Ugh [interestrateroundup.blogspot]…