News

2020

January

27

• CFPB limits its own powers against abusive conduct in new policy. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is putting limits on the ways that it will use its power to pursue banks and other financial companies for abusive practices against consumers. Under a new policy statement

• Multifamily housing: An innovative avenue for first-time buyers. Long considered the domain of established real estate investors, multifamily properties increasingly are becoming a popular path to homeownership for some first-time home buyers. Many are millennials priced out of booming property markets in expensive

• Does personal finance still work in our changing economy?. With a financial system so drastically shifting, what can we do about money?

• Tercera edad: Conozca los programas que le ayudan con el alquiler en California. Más de tres cuartas partes de las personas mayores de bajos ingresos de California, tienen problemas al pagar la renta.

22

• Trump Admin is clearing the way for housing discrimination. Key to the Fair Housing Act's protections are “disparate impact,” which makes clear that policies or practices that discriminate against people of color or other protected groups are illegal even without proof

16

• Trump's Opportunity Zone tax break is being investigated. A federal tax break meant to help poor communities that became a windfall for wealthy investors is being investigated by the Treasury Department, the agency’s deputy inspector general said.  The Opportunity

15

• When renting a home beats buying one. There are a lot of reasons someone may choose to rent rather than buy a home. But everyone’s circumstances are different and what works for one person may not work for you. The

13

• The gig economy is coming for your job. Uber Works, along with and the NEW GIG Act treat apps as a legal turnstile. Spin through, and the limited certainty and benefits that come with being an employee disappear. There is no intrinsic limit

• There’s a brawl coming over government regulation. President Trump and his allies have vowed to dismantle much of the government’s regulatory superstructure, arguing that the costs are burdening U.S. business and slowing economic growth. Not so, respond Trump&rsquo

09

• The assault on consumer protection. The past year was not a great one for consumers or the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the agency mandated to regulate predatory lenders and abusive debt collectors. The Trump administration and its allies among special

• California to unveil plan for consumer financial watchdog agency. After years of the Trump administration steadily rolling back federal consumer financial protections, California has decided enough is enough.  Details at this point are scant. But it appears what California is trying to do

• Trump administration rolling back Obama fair housing rule. Two years after it first began chipping away at a controversial fair housing rule issued by the Obama administration in 2015, the Trump administration announced that it is issuing a wholly new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

08

• HUD releases proposal to weaken enforcement of fair housing laws. HUD on Tuesday published its proposed rule to roll back fair housing enforcement. The public now has 60 days to comment on the proposal, which advocates say is an erosion of Obama-era rules.

06

• Buying a home in 2020? Here’s what you need to know. Buying a home remains, according to survey data, the American Dream. If that’s true for you, follow these recommendations if you’re preparing to buy a home (particularly a first home) in 2020.

05

• Usted puede comprar ‘barato’ en L.A. pero no será dueño de su casa. En abril, una unidad de dos dormitorios en un complejo de cuatro pisos en Silver Lake de los años 20 se vendió por unos $530,000 dólares. La casa de estilo españ

04

• NJ pays hospitals to build affordable housing. The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) made a groundbreaking announcement in 2018: it would begin partnering with hospitals around the state to encourage them to provide affordable housing in their communities. The first

03

• Stop abbreviating 2020. It leaves you open to fraud. The new year is giving scammers an easy way to forge documents, but you can protect yourself with an easy New Year's resolution: Stop abbreviating the year. Why? This year's abbreviation is easily

02

• Options for getting rid of private mortgage insurance. Unfortunately, you can’t just get rid of mortgage insurance unless you take certain steps to do so. The first option is to simply refinance the loan. Your lender can give you a list

01

• Consumer Action INSIDER - January 2020. The January 2020 issue of the Consumer Action INSIDER describes our updated Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) guide, Get Credit for Your Hard Work, which details how low-income workers are eligible for up to $6,557 with the EITC; advises readers of what to do if they're receiving loads of spam emails; describes the various coalition efforts we've recently joined (including one calling on Amtrak to end forced arbitration for passengers); updates readers on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and more.

2019

December

29

• ¿Cómo te afectarán las nuevas leyes de California?. California llega a 2020 con cientos de nuevas leyes estatales que abordan una serie de temas, incluyendo límites mensuales en la compra de armas, más protecciones contra los préstamos de