Feds sue Bank of America for 'Hustle' loan fraud

Federal prosecutors slapped Bank of America with a $1 billion-plus civil mortgage fraud lawsuit Wednesday, accusing the bank of engineering a scheme that defrauded federally-backed mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the national financial crisis.

Feds sue Bank of America for 'Hustle' loan fraud

Home Affordability Offering Up 40-Year Deals

Home affordability is at 1971 levels, due to falling home prices and record low mortgage rates, pushing home ownership in reach to more families, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Home owners are bringing in nearly double the median income they need to cover the cost of an average home, HousingPredictor reports.

"With interest rates at historically low levels and markets across the country beginning to improve, home ownership is within reach of more households,” Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement.

Home sales have been ticking up, according to recent reports by the National Association of REALTORS®, the National Association of Home Builders, as well as the Obama administration’s December Housing Scorecard.

However, some consumers are finding more stringent lending standards for getting a mortgage a roadblock to home ownership, and some housing experts have blamed tighter underwriting standards in recent years for continuing to hold back the housing market.

Home Affordability Offering Up 40-Year Deals

Las Vegas is uniquely at a perfect time to invest!

Las Vegas; it's the go-to place for real estate investors who want to clean up on rental properties.  Here is a article from CNN Money explaining why now is a great time.

From http://money.cnn.com:


Average home price (2011): $130,100
Projected home price (2014): $120,000
Gross rent (2011): $922
Projected gross rent (2014): $966


Las Vegas has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation -- and many of those former homeowners now rent!

"Much of the large workforce in the casino industry consists of renters; the home ownership rate is a low 55%," said Winzer.

While the rental market in Sin City remains robust, rents have been squeezed, falling about 10% since 2007.  Part of the problem is unemployment, which reached 12.4% in May, one of the highest rates of any U.S. metro area.


Winzer expects the rate to fall gradually and that should mean rents will start climbing again. All told, he forecasts Las Vegas residential investment properties will yield returns that are 4.7% above the national average.


There you have it!  There are more renters in the market and the prices of homes are low.  Investors in Las Vegas who rent out the properties they buy now will have a 4.7% HIGHER return than the 5.3% national average.