When people lose their homes, the dark times in their lives can eventually be overcome.  By hard work, attention to bills, and saving when possible, a good credit score can be rebuilt.  However, what people are only now realizing is a bad credit score doesn’t just prevent you from buying a home.  Now low scores can prevent affordable purchases, dictate that you’ll live somewhere bad, and even stop you from getting a job.

Let’s say you need a car to get back and forth to work.  A low score doesn’t necessarily mean you CAN’T buy one, it means that you’ll pay out the nose on your higher interest rate.

A low credit score and foreclosure will also be found if you’re renting an apartment or house.  Savvy landlords check your payment history because they don’t want to become another statistic on your list of nonpayments.

What’s even worse - in my opinion - is that now employers check those scores, too.  MSNBC.com reports that bad credit can become a barrier to finding a job,

There are no hard numbers on how often poor credit reports thwart someone’s effort to find a new job. Many applicants will never know; employers aren’t required to explain why a candidate was turned down for a job.

But a recent survey by the Society of Human Resource Management found that many employers use credit checks to screen job candidates. Of the roughly 350 employers who responded, 60 percent said they checked credit histories for some or all job applicants. That’s up from 43 percent in 2004 and just 25 percent in 1998.

A friend of mine just lost out on a job because of her credit score.  She has worked for me in the past so I know from personal experience that she is smart, dedicated, and relentless in getting the job done.  I’m sorry she won’t have the chance to prove this to the other would-be employer.

Last night, President Barack Obama delivered the first State of the Union Address of his presidency. The centerpiece of the speech was the emphasis on job creation. Acknowledging that the economy still needs help, the President laid out plans designed to help encourage more jobs. In addition to highlighting some of the projects in the pipeline, he also pointed out that he plans to offer tax breaks to companies that hire more workers. Employment is a big deal, since it affects many other aspects of the economy.

Employment wasn’t the only focus of the State of the Union last night; President Obama also accepted responsibility for some of the mistakes he made his first year. He also reminded us that fixing two wars and a financial catastrophe is not something that can be done in only one year.

Other plans Obama offered included thoughts on developing alternative energy technology, education reform, health care reform and financial reform. It’s an ambitious list, but the President is in it for the long haul — however long the American people let him stay in for.

The housing market continues to struggle as home prices fall and mortgage applications drop. The Market Composite Index, which measures the volume of mortgage applications each week, dropped this past week. One of the biggest reasons is the fact that the refinancing portion of the index dropped.

Apparently, even though mortgage rates are low, people are reluctant to refinance their homes. This is causing mortgage applications to drop. Perhaps some are waiting to see if mortgage interest rates will drop back below 5%, since mortgage rates rose last week. Another issue is that home values have not been rising, and do get the 80% loan to value ration that many mortgage lenders are asking for is difficult.

Those with mortgages serviced by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, though, can take advantage of a refinance program from the government that allows a 125% LTV.

Ever since the financial crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been wards of the federal government, under direct control. This happened when the companies appeared to be on the verge of collapse, and ready to take down a large portion of the mortgage market. With the two GSEs accounting for about 70% of loan originations due to FHA loans, a collapse would have been devastating. Fannie and Freddie are the biggest mortgage lenders in the country, between originations and servicing.

But Barney Frank doesn’t want Fannie Me and Freddie Mac to go back to the way they were before. National Mortgage News Online reports on his opposition:

Chairman Frank said he plans to hold hearings on restructuring the U.S. housing finance system and he has no desire to see Fannie and Freddie return to the former “hybrid” status as a private companies with a public mission.

It is unclear about what might happen going forward, but if Fannie and Freddie are no longer GSEs, they would end up either being completely private, or they would be turned into government home financing programs.

Goldman Sachs has managed pull in profits as revenues jump. So far, the earnings season for financial companies has been somewhat mixed, with some companies reporting profits (like JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley), while others, like Citi, post losses.

But with Goldman in the profit category, it seems as though things are probably looking better overall for the big banks that seemed on the verge of collapse toward the end of 2008. MarketWatch reports on the Goldman Sachs response to their profits:

“Despite significant economic headwinds, we are seeing signs of growth and remain focused on supporting that growth by helping companies raise capital and manage their risks, by providing liquidity to markets and investing for our clients,” Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said in a press release.

Some of the biggest helps to Goldman include underwriting fees it earned, as well as the fact that there were pay cuts. Compensation and benefits were cut in response to public outrage, and Goldman appears to have reaped some benefits.

The last of the housing market data is being tallied from 2009, and it looks like things have ended on something of a weak note. Housing starts dropped 4% in December. Multi-family housing starts gained, but that small victory was completely overwhelmed by the fact that single-family housing starts were down so much.

In my mind, it appears that the news illustrates continued stress on families. Demand for multi-family units indicates that there are plenty of families in financial trouble, and even suffering through foreclosure, looking for less expensive housing. Single-family housing starts are above the bottom seen in 2009, but they are far from showing strength. Improvement in this area is likely to be slow, depending on a change in the employment situation.

Until families can afford single housing units gain, housing starts are likely to continue to struggle.

Even as we hear about a recovering economy, the fact of the matter is that there are some places that have higher rates of foreclosure than others. Here is a chart on foreclosure distribution from 2005 to 2009 found at The Mortgage Reports.

You can see the large spike after the financial crisis toward the end of 2008. And it does appear that foreclosures are declining right now. As long as we see something of an improvement in terms of employment and the overall economy, there should be continued declines in the rate of foreclosure.

When we are ready to buy a car, open a credit card, or jump into the big world of making a home purchase, one of the first things that happens is a lender checks our credit score.  Have you paid your bills on time?  Do you have any major dings on your credit like a judgement or unpaid child support?  Is there a foreclosure in your 10-year history or a short-sale in the last five or seven years?

Like regular consumers, builders also have a credit history.   Their credit history is just as important as ours as people again start thinking about buying new construction homes.  Why?  Consider what it would be like to have a contract on a house and then you wait for construction to be completed so you can close prior to the June 30th deadline to get the $8000 first-time home buyer or the $6500 existing homeowner tax credit.  Suddenly, everything stops because the builder’s assets have been frozen because of a credit problem.

There are ways to ensure that you won’t be caught in someone else’s misfortune, according to Ken Kruse, president of Payne Family Homes.  He offers tips on how to be sure your builder is financially sound as you consider a new construction home,

Check third-party resources, such as the Better Business Bureau, which may have a rating on the builder, and Dun & Bradstreet, which may have information on a builder’s credit history. And there’s no harm in asking if the builder has a forward-looking view by investing in more land and more floor plans.

Ask lots of questions of your real estate agent, the workers at the houses (but don’t interfere with their work), and even the other people who live in the neighborhood.  As the economy improves, the sound of hammering, saws, and drilling should return … make sure they don’t suddenly stop on YOUR house by being sure your builder is financially stable in advance.

Labor market issues continue to plague the economy, slowing recovery and prompting a host of issues. One of the concerns is that the continued high unemployment rate could lead to an increase in foreclosures down the road. This is because as people continue to lose their jobs (or fail to find jobs), they are less able to make their housing payments. And this could result in foreclosure.

Real Estate Pro Articles makes a very interesting point about the rather vicious cycle we’re seeing with regard to unemployment and the economy:

A greater amount of consumer and business confidence is an essential factor in any economic recovery; financial recovery hinges on it. We need more than just incentive programs to prop up businesses and consumer spending; we need an increase in confidence in the economy across the board. Only when the public’s confidence is raised will consumers feel comfortable in investing their money in real estate as well as the rest of the economy; unfortunately, the economy will need to look like it is faring better before more consumers show a higher level of confidence in it.

Until the economy improves, employers will be reluctant to hire. However, the economy can’t improve until employers hire more people, boosting their ability to spend and make mortgage payments. It’s rather circular. But it’s the way things are right now. So it will be interesting to see how things proceed from here.

After taking a bit of a break for the holidays, it appears that mortgage applications are on the rise again. As one might expect, refinancing is in the lead again. But home purchase applications have risen as well, reports MarketWatch:

Refinancing applications jumped 21.8% in the week ended Jan. 8 compared with the week before, which was shortened for the New Year’s holiday. Applications for mortgages to purchase homes rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8% on a week-to-week basis.

With the home buyer tax credit extended and expanded, it is no surprise that people are starting to consider buying homes again. Of course, some of these mortgage applications will be rejected, without good credit scores, but the increase in applications is heartening for the housing market.

And, of course, it makes sense that refinancing applications are on the rise. With mortgage rates still hovering near historical lows, it is natural that home owners want to take advantage. When you refinance to a lower interest rate, it is possible to save thousands of dollars on your home loan.