For all the latest news on Facebook’s first day of trading, see MarketWatch’s special report on the company’s initial public offering.

Read more real-estate news in this week’s pages, including why lenders are asking borrowers for a mountain of paperwork when they apply for a loan, the latest on record-low mortgage rates and a Realty QA about a landlord who refuses to address a renter’s noisy neighbors.

To read more about the “Facebook effect” on San Francisco real estate, check out The Basis Point blog.

—Amy Hoak, Real Estate writer

Mortgage borrowers face litany of questions

As a home buyer or a candidate for refinancing, you’d expect to submit recent pay stubs and bank-account statements when applying for a mortgage loan. But a copy of your college transcripts? Or a decade-old divorce decree?Read more: Mortgage borrowers face litany of questions.

Landlord refuses to address noisy neighbor

In a recent column, you mentioned dispossessed homeowners sliding “all the way to the bottom of the ladder” to an apartment. Describes me perfectly!Read more: Landlord refuses to address noisy neighbor.

Another record low for fixed-rate mortgages

Fixed-rate mortgage rates hit yet another set of record lows this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 3.79% in Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates.Read more: Another record low for fixed-rate mortgages.

Foreclosure activity drops in April

The number of foreclosure filings in April fell to the lowest monthly total since July 2007, according to RealtyTrac’s most recent report, released Thursday.Read more: Foreclosure activity drops in April.

Skip the dorm, buy your kid a condo

Low real-estate prices—and sweet tax breaks—may make buying a condo preferable to student housing.Read more: Skip the dorm, buy your kid a condo.

Is now the time to buy your first house?

Article source: http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-18/finance/31758589_1_fixed-rate-mortgages-mortgage-rates-mortgage-delinquencies