According to Ilyce Glink, real estate expert at the Equifax Personal Finance Blog, the requirements were issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or OCC. Her article, “Foreclosure Guidelines: OCC Takes Action,” spells out several steps that must be taken by well-known mortgage lenders, including Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

For example, OCC is mandating that the banks improve their communication – both formal and informal – to make sure borrowers understand what’s gong on and that they receive the information they need when they need it.

Furthermore, lenders may no longer “dual-track.” That is, if a borrower goes into a loan modification program, the lender cannot continue to pursue foreclosure.

How will we know the banks are doing what they’re supposed to be doing? They must hire independent auditing firms to review their foreclosures from the problem timeframe – January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010.

If you were among those who lost a home in an unfair foreclosure process, you’ll want to look at Glink’s article at the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.  OCC has set up a restitution process and you can appeal. Check out the full information now and pass it along to those who have recently been affected by foreclosure.

Ilyce Glink, real estate expert and author of the post, says that HUD homes are sold only online in an auction process. Bids are accepted during an “offer period,” then all are opened at once and treated as if they arrived at the same time. HUD takes the highest acceptable bid. If there are no acceptable bids, then HUD will accept bids at any time. If  no acceptable bids come in, they’ll start lowering the price.

Earnest money is handled differently with these auctions. You can cancel before the contract is signed without losing your earnest money.

To help you navigate this process, you’re gong to need a real estate agent registered with HUD. This isn’t just because you’ll get the experienced assistance you need, but is also because that’s what HUD requires. Glink suggests that you search the HUD website to find agents in your area who have placed successful bids. Then interview the top two or three just as you would if you were hiring an agent for another transaction. For starters, you’ll want to make sure the agent is willing to take you on a tour of the home so you’ll know exactly what types of repairs are needed and can develop a solid offer.

Glink’s article on the Equifax Personal Finance blog also contains the appropriate HUD links, tips on financing (including some special FHA financing you may be able to get) and a more complete explanation of how the HUD bid process works. Take a look. This may be the most affordable way to buy your new Jacksonville home!

If you’re looking to buy in the near future, you should check your credit report (if you haven’t done so recently). Make sure the information it contains is accurate. If you’re planning to cosign the loan with your spouse, you’ll both need to review your reports.

If you determine that in increase in your credit score is needed, you may be tempted to use the cash you’re saving for your home to pay off and close some credit accounts. Is this the best thing to do?

The Equifax Personal Finance Blog recently ran an article entitled, “Credit Score Changes: How Does Closing an Account Affect My Credit Score?”  In the article, the Equifax experts admit there’s no simple answer to the question. The impact of closing an account will depend on factors such as the types of accounts you have and how long they’ve been open. The experts say you want to maintain a healthy mix of credit accounts, and they also say you want to hang on to the accounts you’ve held the longest.

Before spending your cash, the best course of action is probably to choose your lender and sit down to talk. If you aren’t ready for that step, the Equifax Personal Finance Blog offers a link to a FICO Score Simulator. It will suggest a “best action” or evaluate the action you’re thinking of taking.

For more explanation of credit reporting, visit the Equifax Personal Finance Blog’s Credit section. The experts regularly post informative articles and answer reader questions. After a few visits, you may determine that applying for a home loan is just as easy as falling in love with your new Jacksonville home.

Immediately following the forum, families with children are invited to participate in fun, educational activities designed to help them learn about their health and environment. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about asthma triggers, auto emissions, climate change, energy use, lead-based paint hazards, recycling and sun safety, among other topics.

WHO:

Gwendolyn-Keyes Flemming, EPA Region 4, Regional Administrator
Ebenezer Gujjarlapudi, Director
Environment and Compliance Department, City of Jacksonville
Jon Heymann, Chief Executive Officer, Communities in Schools
Councilman John Gaffney, City of Jacksonville
Councilman Warren Jones, City of Jacksonville
Wynetta Wright, Chairwoman, Eastside Environmental Council
Jackie Lattimore, President, Destined For A Change, Inc.

WHAT:

Reclaiming a Healthy Environment forum and environmental education activities for kids

WHEN:           Saturday, October 23, 2010, 11 a.m.

WHERE:         Jacksonville’s Children Commission

1095 A. Phillip Randolph Blvd.
Jacksonville, Florida 32206

The Jacksonville Environmental Justice Showcase Community Pilot is a collaborative effort joining residents, community-based and non-profit organizations, and federal, state and local agencies to address public health and environmental concerns in Health Zone 1 (zip codes 32202, 32204, 32206, 32208, 32209, and 32254).

More information about the Jacksonville Environmental Justice Showcase pilot is available online at:

www.epa.gov/compliance/ej/grants/ej-showcase.html

Come Dressed for the Rodeo!

The purchase of a ticket enters you to win this year’s Grand Prize Giveaway, a Ski Vacation for two to Big Sky Resort, Montana. This is an all encompassing trip including  resort stay, skiing, travel and spending cash. The prize is valued at $3,500.

If you have any questions, please contact Jamie Atkins at 725-4355 or e-mail: jatkins@nefba.com

The Charity Gala benefits Builders Care, a a not for profit community based construction organization whose mission is to provide home improvements; particularly to aid our senior and disabled citizens to function safer in their own homes. Builders Care renovates homes making them more accessible including bath and kitchen modifications, wheelchair ramps, fall protection, ease of traffic flow for wheelchairs. For more information on this worthwhile cause, visit Builders Care.

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The first thing Equifax credit expert Diane Moogalian wants you to understand is that each person has his or her own separate credit file. In two recent posts, “What Does Divorce Do To My Credit?”  and “How to Establish Credit with a Joint Account,”  she explains that consumers don’t have one credit file for the accounts held independently and another for those accounts held with a spouse. Anytime you co-sign a loan or open a joint credit account, information related to the debt will appear on your file – even if you aren’t the one with primary responsibility for paying it. In many cases, even if you’re an authorized user of a credit card and not recognized as the responsible party, the information could still appear in your file.

If your spouse is making late payments or failing to pay completely on a joint account, it’s going to hurt you, even if a judge gave him or her the debt as part of the divorce settlement. Moogalian recommends calling each creditor of jointly held accounts individually to work with them on separating the debt (if possible) and reestablishing the account in your name only. She says that simply closing the accounts and reopening them in your name could negatively effect your credit score.

Another option is to submit a consumer statement to be attached to your credit report. You can describe the circumstances of the problem (i.e. – my ex is under court order to pay this!), but not all creditors will read it or consider it when making a lending decision.

For more explanations of the benefits and pitfalls of joint credit, read Moogalian’s posts on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.  As you start your new financial life sans spouse, you’ll also find useful tips in the areas of insurance, retirement, taxes and real estate. The blog’s expert information will help you navigate the thousands of decisions that accompany a new start.

If  you owe more on your home than the home’s current value, the new HAMP program offers hope. It divides your mortgage into two parts – one for the amount of the current property value, and one for the difference. The second one is interest-free, and it’s forgiven over three years.

The Equifax Personal Finance Blog http://www.equifax.com/blog/  recently published an article about the new program. Written by Ilyce Glink, the article is entitled “Want a Principal Reduction Loan Modification? The New Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Rules You’ll Have to Live By.”

To qualify, homeowners must owe more than 115 percent of the current value of their home, they must be in default on their mortgages (or are about to be), and their house payment must be more than 31 percent of their income. Loans acquired through FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not eligible for the HAMP program because those lenders will be announcing programs of their own later in the year. Some private banks are also introducing their own programs for people who don’t qualify for government-sponsored assistance.

If you think the program might help you, check out the details at the Equifax Personal Finance blog today and get started. One of the benefits of the new program: you should get your answer in 30 days. People used to have to wait months and go through a modification trial period. And if you don’t qualify for this program because you’ve lost your job, you’ll find information on the blog for a separate HAMP program designed just for you.

Snopes.com says that “prudent” real estate agents advise their home sellers to accompany the burial with a combination of making home repairs, staging their home, and pricing it correctly for the market.

It’s not surprising that burying St. Joseph in the yard did not make the list of home selling tips that recently appeared in the Equifax Personal Finance Blog. Instead, real estate expert Ilyce Glink talks about a different modern-day phenomenon: reality TV.

Rather than helping to sell homes, TV shows that follow homeowners as they prepare homes for market or follow buyers as they make their selections could be making the process harder on the rest of us. According to Glink, buyers who’ve watched hours of programming showcasing homes staged for television have extremely high expectations for the homes they visit. So her first tip: “make your house look good enough to be on TV.”

The article, “Selling a House: 4 Tips to Get More Buyers through Your Door,” continues with several practical and proven ideas for selling your home. Glink starts by acknowledging the difficulty of selling in today’s climate, when the number of people looking for a home has fallen by as much as 40 percent since the passing of the tax credit deadline.

Her tips give recommendations for getting your house online, researching your competition and pricing. The pricing section discusses the effect of changing appraisal rules and why those rules could mean you need to price your house lower.

For Glink’s complete, sensible advice on this and other real estate topics, visit the Equifax Personal Finance Blog. And if you have had success using a statue of St. Joseph to sell a home, we’d like to hear about it right here!

The article, “Unemployed? The New HAMP Loan Modification Program Might Help You Keep Your House,”  by real estate expert Ilyce Glink gives the details. Glink is a regular contributor to the Equifax Personal Finance Blog,  which posts educational articles in the areas of credit, insurance, retirement, taxes and real estate.

The Unemployed Program, part of the larger Making Home Affordable loan modification program, is set to start August 1, 2010. As expected, there are stipulations. The borrower must be the one who is unemployed and receiving unemployment benefits. The mortgage must be a first-lien loan on the borrower’s principal residence originated on or before January 1, 2009. And you must make the request before you are three monthly payments behind.

There are more requirements than we can list here, and they’re not all set in stone yet. Glink promises to keep readers informed of any changes to the current rules before the program starts. The Equifax Personal Finance Blog also links to the directive that sets up the program, and it offers a place to ask Glink questions about the HAMP program or other real estate issues.