News

2010

February

07
04
  • State Farm cancels thousands in Florida. The largest homeowners insurer in Florida is canceling the policies of 125,000 of its most vulnerable customers beginning Aug. 1, halfway through the 2010 hurricane season. The company, State Farm Florida, began sending out cancellation notices this week
03
  • Lost your house - but still have to pay?. As terrible as it is to lose your house to foreclosure, at least it's a relief to put your biggest financial headache behind you, right? Wrong. Former homeowners may still be on the hook if
  • No help in sight, more homeowners walk away. In 2006, Benjamin Koellmann bought a condominium in Miami Beach. By his calculation, it will be about the year 2025 before he can sell his modest home for what he paid. Or maybe 2040. “People like me are
01
  • Do you use more energy than your neighbors?. More than 1 million U.S. households now receive reports on how their energy consumption compares with their neighbors as utilities encourage conservation, some with smiley faces for those doing well. The reports — deployed by 25 utilities,

January

31
  • Tax breaks 101. This may be the tax season where even die-hard do-it-yourselfers break down and hire a preparer or at the very least invest in some tax software. Taxes are more complicated than usual with all the
30
28
  • Ameriquest settles predatory lending lawsuits. Agreeing to settle 29 class-action lawsuits alleging predatory lending, the Ameriquest group of subprime lenders has pledged $22 million to repay aggrieved borrowers and their lawyers -- a fraction of its payments in previous suits before it
  • California mortgage defaults drop. The Obama administration's $75-billion program to help troubled borrowers hold on to their homes appears to be keeping more California families out of foreclosure, data released Wednesday showed, but the relief may be temporary. The
26
  • Mortgage 'relief' leads to foreclosure notice. For nine months, Deb Franklin said, she did exactly what JP Morgan Chase and President Barack Obama told her to do. She made her mortgage payments on time, delivered via Western Union, after they were
24
  • A new take on mortgage refinancing. Searching for home mortgage rates online often means submitting information to a Web site, then withstanding a flurry of calls and e-mail messages from brokers and lenders trying to sell a loan. Refinance.com, which
23
  • Guidance on tax credit for repeat home buyers. If you've been holding back on getting involved with the new $6,500 federal tax credit for repeat home purchases, there's no more excuse for inaction. You now have all the official IRS guidance you'll need to
21
  • Obama to propose limits on bank risks. President Obama on Thursday will publicly propose giving bank regulators the power to limit the size of the nation’s largest banks and the scope of their risk-taking activities, an administration official said late Wednesday.
17
  • Loophole in HUD's new 'good faith estimate' rules. eporting from Washington - The federal government's efforts to eliminate settlement cost surprises for home mortgage applicants may have opened the door to a new - and potentially costly - set of consumer problems. Starting
14
  • Bankers torn on their role in financial crisis. A year after the financial system nearly went over the brink, the congressional commission investigating the roots of the crisis confronted four of the world's most powerful bankers on Wednesday and challenged them to take
  • Obama plans tax on big banks to cover bailout. President Obama plans to propose today a new tax on about 50 of the nation's largest financial institutions to recoup about $100 billion in expected losses on infusions of federal bailout money. The expected proposal comes a
12
  • Home-appraisal rules drive down values. Home buyers who take out federally insured home loans will soon find their mortgage brokers can't select appraisers, part of an effort to ensure appraisers aren't pressured to inflate home values. Starting Feb. 15, mortgage brokers
11
  • Scams target hardest hit by recession. Debbie Hodges was scanning the Internet when an ad that offered help seeking federal grants caught her eye. She applied for information, hoping to seek aid for the school where she works and the fire
10
  • How to hire a tax preparer. Do you pay someone to prepare your annual tax return? If so, you've got plenty of company. As the U.S. tax code has become increasingly complex, roughly 80% of the nation's taxpayers have turned to
  • Bizarre year for the estate tax. Death and taxes, the adage goes, are the only certainties in life. But when it comes to the combination of the two, the estate tax, there is only uncertainty for 2010. Most tax advisers thought that
 

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