Feeds
The stalled pace of the government's effort to head off home foreclosures has left families looking for other ways to save their homes. There are people out there who can help. But you have to pick very carefully.
Asians, many of them living in foreclosure-ravaged California, suffered the sharpest drop in homeownership last year, eclipsing declines felt by whites, blacks and Hispanics, according to new Census data.
Our story last week on the failure of the government's mortgage relief efforts drew a flood of mail from homeowners facing default and foreclosure. The Answer Desk, by John W. Schoen.
Nearly two years after the federal government moved to slow home foreclosures, a third major effort is turning into another painful disappointment. By John W Schoen.
More than two years year after the housing market tanked and the foreclosure rate began rising, the ongoing wave of distressed home sales is weighing on house prices and crimping a long-awaited economic recovery.
With the economy showing early signs of stabilizing, it's time to start wondering: What is the 'new normal' economy going to look like?
Teresa Bondora and her family abandoned their two-story brick home in Atlanta rather than fall behind on their mortgage and $30,000 worth of home renovation debt.
The government is struggling to hold back a wave of foreclosure "rescue” scams arising from the growing number of homeowners facing the loss of their homes. It may be fighting a losing battle.
Last week’s long-awaited foreclosure relief effort from the Obama administration touched a nerve among homeowners who didn’t get in over their heads in the borrowing frenzy. Or who are also struggling to make their payments but don’t want or expect government help.
The Obama administration's sweeping plan to stop foreclosures is expected to help millions of Americans save their homes from the sheriff’s auction. But as the broad outlines of the plan sift through the lending system, it’s already clear that millions more won’t be helped.
President Obama’s plan to trim the rising pile of home foreclosures contains a comprehensive list of new ideas and old ones — an acknowledgment that there is no single solution to the housing crisis at the heart of the recession.
Since the mortgage mess began unfolding two years ago, homeowners losing their homes have been asking: Can nothing be done to stop this? Now, with the government spending or committing trillions of dollars to rescue the financial system, hundreds of readers are asking: Where's my bailout?
The White House said Friday a much-anticipated plan to help struggling homeowners will be announced by President Obama in a speech Wednesday in Arizona. In the interim, banking giants Citibank and J.P Morgan said they would halt new foreclosures on owner-occupied home loans through March 6.
The White House is considering a proposal to head off potentially millions more home foreclosures by using federal funds to buy up at-risk loans and then refinance them with more affordable terms.
The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday it will try to make it easier for homeowners in financial straits to refinance or sell their homes.
Last year, when Courtney Scott went looking for a house in the Atlanta area, she signed up for a home buying class with a local community group. That’s where Scott, a retired nurse living on a disability payment, learned about a state-sponsored homeownership program for low-income households.
Al Ray is so strapped for cash, the only time he eats out is on Wednesday or Sunday, when the local McDonald's sells hamburgers for 49 cents.
Help is on the way for some debt-plagued homeowners. It just may not be fast enough or broad enough to keep many from losing their residences.
Police twice caught a man in his flood-damaged home before the property had been cleared by city inspectors. But Rick Blazek vowed to return — even if he had to sneak behind bushes.
As Congress moves ahead with efforts to fix the mortgage mess — and head off another million or more foreclosures — a lot of readers are wondering: Why should homeowners who got in over their heads get help from the government?
The Village at Green River in Corona, Calif., began marketing 19 newly-built townhouses in July 2007, just as the national real estate market began flagging. The average price of the homes, which vary in size from 1,400 to 1,640 square feet, was $505,000 at the time. Three price drops later, the homes finally began selling in March — at an average price of $309,000, says listing agent Dominic Kurtyan.
A pick-up in sales of existing home earlier this week had some homeowners wondering if the steep housing slump may be coming to an end. But the latest data on new homes sales reported Wednesday indiciate that such optimism is premature and that this spring will likely be another washout for the residential real estate market.
The government’s flagship program to give struggling homeowners relief from overwhelming mortgage payments has left hundreds if not thousands of callers frustrated by long wait times, lack of follow-up and relatively minor loan modifications that have failed to help.
Launched by the White House in October to head off a rising tide of home foreclosures, the Hope Now Alliance said this week that it has helped over a million troubled borrowers trying to keep their homes. But critics of the program say it’s not clear how many of those homes will be saved over the long run.
Top 7 insane homeowners association rules2 . Thou shalt not use "inconsistent" shingles — even after a plane destroys thy house.
BBC News - Climate of fear among Dubai's property investorsA week after concerns about debt problems at one of Dubai's biggest firms sent ripples around the financial world, Malcolm Borthwick, editor of the BBC's Middle East Business Report asks British ex-pats and Emiratis about the lasting impact of this turbulent period.
Not One More Tax Dollar For the BanksThe big talk in Washington these days is "helping homeowners." Unfortunately, what passes for help to homeowners in the capitol might look more like handing out money to banks anywhere else.
Democrats want homeowners and workers to get money from TARPCongressional Democrats want struggling workers and homeowners to receive money from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. That conflicts with the Obama administration's idea of dedicating some of the money toward reducing the deficit.
Insurers dropping Chinese drywall policiesJames and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes.
Banks offering cash to clear out foreclosed properties | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | Local & RegionalDespite federal loan modification programs to help struggling homeowners, many lenders are refusing to play ball and are proceeding with foreclosures. But some of those same lenders are quietly paying people to move out and find another place to live.
NYC owners: Arena land-taking is unconstitutionalALBANY, N.Y. (AP)—Homeowners and businesses resisting the forced sales of their properties for a massive development in Brooklyn told New York's top court Wednesday that it's unconstitutional for a state agency to use eminent domain to get them out.
Obama loan relief plan hits goal earlyWASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration's mortgage relief program has hit its goal of helping 500,000 borrowers, almost a month ahead of schedule.
Police: Lying Locksmith Using Local Homeowner Addresses Homeowners in cities around the country are livid.... after opening up the new Yellow Pages and finding their address inside.
JFD Launches Investigation Into Faulty Fire Hydrants -The Jackson Fire Department has launched an internal investigation to determine why two fire hydrants didn't work when firefighters tried to use them to extinguish a Jackson house fire.
Homebuyers Gain More Knowledge Via InternetSavvy homebuyers are hitting the Internet first before they make calls to real estate agents. With all the information available on the Web, doing neighborhood research, price comparisons and photo tours have become the norm for 84 percent of people who are house hunting.
Want to mess up a crocodile? Grab a magnet What do you get when you combine a crocodile with a magnet? Answer: bad navigation. For homeowners in the Miami-Dade area, it's a beautiful thing.
Is the housing market recovering?Homeowners got some welcome news from a closely watched home-price index. Will the good news last?
Okay, I got around to checking out our homeowners insurance. We have had no claims since we purchased this home in 2006. Yet when I reviewed the documents from closing and the subsequent years I find that we have/are experiencing a 30% increase in our homeowners insurance.
SC Court Halts Home ForeclosuresSouth Carolina's highest court on Tuesday temporarily stopped thousands of pending foreclosure sales in the state to give homeowners more time to take advantage of a new federal program to help them refinance mortgages.
I'm referring to two articles on the Internet. The first article is at this address:
THROW THE BUMS OUT - ALL OF THEM. Senate Millionaires Kill Mortgage Assistance for CitizensThe United States Senate took a swipe at the spirit of May Day in a spectacular show of callous indifference when it voted down a bill to provide limited assistance to citizens at risk for losing their homes. The final vote was 45 in favor, 51 opposed to Senator Richard Durbin' …
TIME Magazine Prize-Winning Photos: The Housing CrisisTIME Magazine Prize-Winning Photos: The Housing Crisis
Top 5 Riskiest Places to Buy Real EstateRegardless of what happens nationally, then, the risks associated with buying a home in these markets will increase for a long time to come. Top 5 Riskiest Places for U.S. Homeowners... See more irresistible headlines
Government Crack Down on Mortgage Modification Scams: DO NOT PAY UPFRONT FEESTop federal and state officials on Monday announced a broad crackdown on mortgage modification scams, accusing "criminal actors" of preying on desperate borrowers caught up in the nation's housing crisis.
Reid says bill may help upside down homeownersSen. Harry Reid says he is trying to help troubled homeowners left out of the Obama administration's housing rescue plan.
7 Things You're Wasting Money OnThese days, keeping your budget in line isn't measured by the amount you spend, but by how much you save.
Film Causing Nightmares For Conn. Homeowners More than 20 years after it was reported to be haunted, a central Connecticut home is again seeing unwanted visitors.
NAACP: Bank Giants Steered Blacks To Bad LoansThe NAACP is accusing Wells Fargo and HSBC of forcing blacks into subprime mortgages while whites with identical qualifications got lower rates.
Log In | Register
