Government

The nation added 120,000 jobs in March, far below expectations of the fourth straight month of 200,000-plus payroll gains. Payroll gains for January and February were revised, adding 13,000 to the February numbers but subtracting 9,000 from January.

The general policy of the Federal Reserve is that banks should make every effort to dispose of foreclosed properties and get them off their books as quickly as feasibly possible. However, holding onto these properties and renting them out to tenants may be the way to go ""in light of the extraordinary market conditions that currently prevail,"" the Fed said Thursday. Provided their REO rentals constitute community development under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), lenders will receive favorable CRA consideration for this course of action.

While having access to credit to finance a home remains a challenge, Capital Economics reported that signs show banks might be a bit more willing to lend. However, these ""signs"" aren't necessarily surfacing from data on the volume of mortgage lending, which continues to fall. The research firm said the value of mortgage lending has recently started to rise, and explained that this is happening specifically with commercial banks, which have started to lend more per borrower.

Starting next Monday on April 9, FHA upfront mortgage insurance premiums will rise from 1 percent to 1.75 percent of the base loan amount, and the annual mortgage insurance premium will rise by 0.10 percent for loans under $625,500 and by 0.35 percent for loans above that amount. Even if one hasn't applied for a loan just yet, Dan Green, loan officer with Waterstone Mortgage in Cincinnati and author of themortgagereports.com, said by getting an FHA loan registered by April 9, one can avoid paying those premiums.

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell 6,000to 357,000 for the week ended March 31, the Labor Department reported Thursday but the previous week’s report were revised upward to show a jump for the week ended March 24 to 363,000 instead of the originally reported 357,000.

With studies showing that blacks and Hispanics were disproportionately affected by the housing market crises, the Insight Center for Community and Economic Development's Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Initiative hosted a webinar on how the $25 billion settlement will affect communities of color. One of the most important things in this deal is that the five largest servicers have agreed to reduce principal loan balances, said Janis Bowdler, moderator for the webinar and director of the Wealth Building Policy Project for the National Council of La Raza.

HARP may have expanded its eligibility requirements to reach more borrowers, but according to a mortgage industry advisory firm, that doesn't mean marketing the program should be so broad-based. Mass marketing to borrowers without screening-out those that cannot qualify for the program will dramatically increase marketing costs, reduce productivity both at the point-of-sale and in the back office, and frustrate homeowners, according to a release from STRATMOR Group and Financial Literacy Solutions.

A lawsuit was filed against GFI Mortgage Bankers alleging it charged African American and Hispanic borrowers higher interest rates and fees on mortgage loans because of their race rather than their creditworthiness, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. At a time when so many American homeowners - of all races - are struggling to make their mortgage payments, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York says it is unacceptable that GFI's practices resulted in higher fees and rates for minority customers.

Morgan Stanley may have sold its servicing sector off, but it's still going to be under a watchful eye for previous practices. The Federal Reserve issued a consent order against Morgan Stanley Tuesday to address servicing and foreclosure issues from the company’s former subsidiary Saxon Mortgage Services. The consent order requires Morgan Stanley to hire an independent consultant to review foreclosure proceedings initiated by Saxon that occurred between 2009 and 2010. According to the Fed, Saxon was ranked the 34th largest residential servicer.

Homeowners who have had mortgage debt forgiven after a foreclosure, modification, or short sale may be able to exclude the canceled debt from their taxable income if they meet specific criteria. According to Gil Charney, principal analyst at The Tax Institute at H&R Block, the specific criteria to have forgiven debt excluded are the debt must have been incurred to buy, build or substantially improve the residence, called ""acquisition debt, and the property must be the taxpayer's primary residence.