Title insurance firms reach settlements

Title insurance firms reach settlements: "ORLANDO, Fla. -- Dec. 12, 2005 -- Lawyers Title Insurance Corp., American Pioneer Title Insurance Corp. (now known as Ticor Title Insurance Company of Florida) and Fidelity National Title Insurance Corp. are the latest title insurance companies to settle class action lawsuits with borrowers who allege they were overcharged for title insurance when they refinanced their homes.

Florida law requires title insurers to charge a discounted premium, known as the reissue rate, when a property is refinanced. In settling the lawsuits, the three insurers agreed to pay settlements ranging from $824,536 to $1.4 million, and agreed to institute wide-ranging changes to their business practices."

Investors retreat from housing market

Investors retreat from housing market: "NEW YORK -- Dec. 7, 2005 -- While residential property investment continues to thrive in certain parts of the country, investor activity appears to be waning in what had been some of the hottest markets for housing speculation, including Las Vegas, Miami and many California destinations.

A slowdown in the pace of home appreciation has made it more difficult for investors to turn a fast profit, prompting some to reconsider their strategies. The signs -- investors owning up to 30 percent of properties for sale in the Phoenix area, increasing cancellation rates for new condominium units in the District of Columbia and Florida, and a nearly 50-percent drop in the number of investors purchasing property in San Diego, for example -- are just beginning to emerge, but experts say the trend is certain to accentuate any downturn in home sales.

Without the increased contributions of investors to the housing market over the past two years, according to Fannie Mae chief economist David Berson, home sales probably would have been more than 7 percent lower. He expects that the pullback in investor activity will be largely responsible for an anticipated 10.4-percent decline in home sales over the coming two years."

2006 Fannie, Freddie, FHA loan limits announced

2006 Fannie, Freddie, FHA loan limits announced: "WASHINGTON -- Dec. 6, 2005 -- Secondary mortgage market companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have increased conforming loan limits on single-family properties from $359,650 to $417,000, effective Jan. 1, 2006, their largest increase at 16 percent in 20 years. Loan limits will also increase on other properties:

* $533,850 for mortgages on two-family properties (up from $460,400)
* $645,300 for mortgages on three-family properties (up from $556,500)
* $801,950 for mortgages on four-family properties (up from $691,600)

Under the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charters, loan limits in states and territories designated high-cost areas -- Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands -- are 50 percent higher than the amounts above."