News

2009

November

08

• HUD combats discrimination. In recent years, state and local governments have enacted laws to combat discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered people seeking mortgages and housing. Now the federal government is poised to do the same with

07

• Putting 'good faith' back in closing. Remember the bad old days of 11th-hour mortgage settlement cost shocks and mystery junk fees? Remember when the "good-faith estimates" your lender gave you upfront said closing costs would be about $2,000, but somehow they ballooned

06

• Fannie Mae to allow borrowers to lease back homes. Mortgage giant Fannie Mae said Thursday that it would throw a lifeline to some people losing their homes to foreclosure by allowing them to lease those properties back for up to a year at market

• House votes for jobless benefits, home buyers' credit. Congress gave final approval Thursday for an additional $24 billion to help the jobless and support the housing market as climbing unemployment poses a growing liability for elected officials. The bill, passed overwhelmingly by the House

05

• Latest defective product from China: Drywall. The problem is enormous. It’s estimated that as many as 100,000 homes across the country, built between 2004 and 2008, could have defective and potentially dangerous Chinese drywall. The bad wallboard has excessively high levels of sulfur.

02

• Home equity loan market remains very tight. Traditional 30-year mortgages these days are unusually affordable by historical standards, but if you're looking for a home equity line of credit, don't expect any deals. The market for such credit lines, which practically shut

01

• Fraud watch for homeowners. Mortgage fraud continues to expand, in both the number of incidents and the methods that criminals use to strip equity from homeowners and lenders. Now a new online service offers free help to keep homeowners

October

31

• Home appraisal system could be dustbin bound. Could the controversial appraisal system imposed nationwide by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in May -- and now tied to lowball property valuations, busted home sale transactions and higher fees to consumers --

29

• Senators agree to extend $8,000 housing tax credit. Senators agreed Wednesday to extend a popular tax credit for first-time home buyers and to offer a smaller credit to some repeat buyers. The tax credit provides up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers but is

• Credit-rating bill clears committee. A House panel on Wednesday voted to tighten controls on credit-rating firms in response to complaints that the firms misjudged the risks of many of the mortgage-related securities that sank financial markets last year. The

27

• Millions of homes to get smart meters. Some 18 million smart meters are set to make their way into American homes as part of the economic stimulus plan focusing on energy efficiency, Energy Department officials said Tuesday. The meters, which are designed to

• Target: mortgage modification scams. A national housing nonprofit has launched an education campaign in Southern California to combat scams targeting homeowners in peril of foreclosure. Loan modification fraud is on the rise, costing troubled homeowners thousands of dollars up

25

• Money talks to have before marriage. Divorce tends to be emotionally gut-wrenching for the people who go through it (not to mention those around them). But most couples don’t realize that divorce can also be among the most ruinous financial

24

• Old credit disputes can scuttle loan. Could a little-known and potentially controversial practice by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac kill or stall your next loan application? Absolutely. Picture this scenario: You've got outstanding credit scores close to 800 and solid

20

• Home buyers, small firms to get a boost. The Obama administration rolled out an initiative Monday to help moderate and low-income home buyers, launching what sources familiar with the planning said will be a series of proposals aimed at healing two badly wounded

17

• Beware fast credit fixes. With Americans' credit scores plunging amid record numbers of mortgage and credit card delinquencies, companies that promise to eliminate negative information in credit bureaus' files are proliferating, federal regulators say. The pitches from these firms

16

• Easy steps can cut winter heating bills. Natural gas and heating oil prices rose again Thursday, continuing a recent upward tick. Even so, the cost of heating your house, apartment or condo should dip this winter, according to recent projections by the

15

• Foreclosures: 'Worst three months of all time'. Despite concerted government-led and lender-supported efforts to prevent foreclosures, the number of filings hit a record high in the third quarter, according to a report issued Thursday. "They were the worst three months of all

12

• A scramble to modify loans. Plano, Tex. - Bank of America employees are reminded every day of how far they still have to go. Just outside the elevators of their vast third-floor command center, attached to the wall, is a

11

• Fannie and Freddie sell foreclosed homes. Home buyers are not accustomed to getting much help with their mortgage financing; generally, they’re happy just to get a loan closed. At least one group of borrowers, though, could get a break. Fannie