News

2009

September

13
  • Seven new rules for first-time homebuyers. Too many people bought too much house for too many years. Yes, the financial system almost collapsed because mortgage bankers and brokers told lies about loan terms and loosened standards in dangerous ways, and investment
12
  • Delinquency and credit scores. When you do a short sale of a house, or modify the mortgage, is there much of an effect on your credit score? What if you walk away from the mortgage altogether? A scoring company
10
  • Mortgage modifications still too slow. About 12% of eligible borrowers have begun trial modifications of their mortgages since the start of a $75 billion federal program to rework home loans into more affordable monthly payments, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday. Since the
07
  • Mortgage market bound by U.S. role. In the go-go years of the U.S. housing boom, virtually anybody could get a few hundred thousand dollars to buy a home, and private lenders flooded the market, aggressively pursuing borrowers no matter their
06
  • Homebuyer credit crunch time. Time is quickly running out if you want to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit. The federal credit is available this year through Nov. 30, and you must close on the house by that date
  • In case a disaster strikes. The wildfires in California are a reminder that disaster can strike at any time, and it pays to be prepared. Howard Mills, chief adviser of Deloitte & Touche's Insurance Industry Group and a former New York
05
  • We all want a deal: That's what's scary. When a 20-something friend of mine recently told me she was looking for an apartment to rent in Los Angeles, I had only one bit of advice for her: Don't accept any advertised rent --
  • Home rescue or rip-off?. How's this for a business plan to make money during the housing bust? You buy or rent lists of recent default filings from across the country -- thousands of people who have been notified by
03
  • Stay on top of new mortgage rules. Over the next two years, consumers may feel like an overscheduled soccer mom when trying to keep track of the effective dates of new rules and regulations written to give them greater protections. There are

August

30
  • A long cry for mortgage help. If you want to take advantage of a new federal program to modify your mortgage so you can afford to stay in your house, be prepared to wait. And wait. The $75 billion Home Affordable Modification
29
  • Going where Congress hasn't gone. You might assume that in August, with the Senate and House on their summer break, nothing much happens on Capitol Hill. You know the old saw: Your money is safe when Congress is out of
23
  • Dropping arbitration, but not class action ban. Consumer advocates have long maintained that one of the more unfair practices in the business world is a provision in many service contracts preventing customers from joining class-action lawsuits and having to submit instead to
  • Calls to tax junk food gain ground. "Sin taxes" on cigarettes have turned out to be the most effective weapon in the campaign to reduce smoking. Why not try it on Flamin' Hot Cheetos, vanilla Coke and Twinkies?
  • ¿Comprar un foreclosure? ¿Por qué no?. Los precios prohibitivos en el sector de bienes raíces empujan a los compradores primerizos a abrirse camino por nuevas vías para convertir en realidad su sueño americano. En este momento, una de
22
  • Homebuyer credit in limbo. It's one of the biggest unknowns bugging would-be buyers of houses and condos this summer: Will Congress let this year's $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers expire as scheduled 14 weeks from now? Or will the credit
  • Coalition has financial sector in its sights. At a crowded Capitol Hill news conference recently, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) had just promised a "national debate" this fall on the Obama administration's proposed financial reforms when a pending House vote demanded his presence.
21
  • Troubled mortgages hit record high. The proportion of homeowners delinquent on their mortgage or in foreclosure rose to its highest levels in at least four decades, according to industry data released Thursday, despite extensive government efforts to help borrowers and
19
  • Appraisal shift gives lenders power, and critics. Mike Kennedy, a real estate appraiser in Monroe, N.Y., was examining a suburban house a few years ago when he discovered five feet of water in the basement. The mortgage broker arranging the owner’
18
  • California coalition sets August legislative priorities. Nine consumer rights organizations, including Consumer Action, have sent a letter the California Legislature outlining pro-consumer legislative priorities during the final month of the 2009 session. The consumer coalition list highlights the high stakes pro-consumer and
14
  • Personal bankruptcies surge. Personal bankruptcy filings reached 1.25 million in the year ending June 30, up 34 percent from the year before, as Americans continued to grapple with debt, unemployment and devalued homes, according to figures released Thursday by the Administrative
 

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