News

2009

June

22

• 'Vanilla' home loans could help borrowers. If President Barack Obama gets his way, consumers who take out mortgages would automatically get a "plain vanilla" loan - such as a traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage - unless they opted for a riskier variety.

• Home tax credit may rise. Lawmakers and businesses are calling for expansion of a tax credit for first-time home buyers that has helped spark home sales in an otherwise dismal real estate market. With the tax credit scheduled to expire

• Busca la hipoteca más saludable. La comparación de precios de hipotecas o préstamos de vivienda te ayudará a conseguir términos de financiamiento más favorables. Una hipoteca —ya sea para la compra de una vivienda, un refinanciamiento,

21

• Crack-down on rescue scams. Scams that claim to help consumers avoid foreclosure have been on the rise lately as some individuals try to take advantage of financially distressed homeowners. Now state and federal authorities are intensifying efforts to combat

• The credit score shell game. As banks tighten their lending standards, one number is playing an increasingly critical role in determining the financial fortunes of consumers: the credit score. This Story Lenders use them to decide whether to extend credit

20

• Mortgages tougher for transferred workers. Real estate may be showing signs of a turnaround in many local markets, but the nation's largest mortgage players are continuing to ratchet up their underwriting rules, making home purchases more difficult for some buyers.

19

• Las cinco C's de un préstamo. ¿Has solicitado recientemente un préstamo de banco o piensas hacerlo pronto? Si es así, estás compitiendo por crédito en un ambiente de extrema escasez, por lo que es un buen ejercicio ponerse

18

• Financial reform still in early innings. The Obama administration’s broad plan to overhaul financial regulations offers dozens of new ideas about how to keep the markets safe, maintain a sound banking system and protect consumers and investors. But the 88-page

• Obama defends financial overhaul. President Obama introduced his plan to reform financial regulations yesterday as a key to reviving the economy, setting up an intense battle over the particulars that is likely to rage on Capitol Hill for the

• Obama crea agencia para proteger al consumidor. El presidente Barack Obama propondrá la creación de una nueva agencia reguladora que vigile a los prestamistas y proteja el crédito, ahorro y demás operaciones bancarias de los consumidores, algo que podrí

16

• Sellers of mortgage loans to share in losses. The Obama administration said yesterday that it will seek to overhaul the business of selling investments made from mortgage loans, a marketplace that provided the funding for the housing boom and the tinder for a

14

• Sell the time share. Dear Liz: My husband signed up for a time share when we were on vacation, just months before we bought our first home. Now one year later, with a baby on the way, this time

13

• Lawmakers move to extend homebuyers' credit. If first-time buyers are getting thousands of dollars in tax credits from the federal government to stimulate the economy, why shouldn't all home buyers get equal treatment? And what about refinancers? Couldn't they make good

12

• Establece, administra y protege tu crédito. Muchas transacciones en Estados Unidos dependen del crédito. Cuando pides un préstamo, intentas alquilar una vivienda, solicitas una tarjeta de crédito o servicios públicos, el banco, prestamista o entidades crediticias revisan

10

• Cuidado con los préstamos fáciles. Un período de bajas tasas de interés, como el que vive el actual mercado inmobiliario, suele ser el mejor momento para solicitar un préstamo. Aunque el sentido común indica que nunca

09

• The trouble with Democrats. The governing party faced an awkward dilemma. People were hurting and furious at the government's generous bailouts for banks. But how could the Democrats do something for the folks without upsetting their friends and patrons

• Homes used to buoy finances are sinking. In better economic times, Santa Clarita mortgage broker Fred Arnold relied on a home equity line of credit if his cash flow was uneven and he needed to cover payroll. But when home sales crumbled

07

• Enough teeth to fight the loan sharks. Pity the neighborhood loan shark. The credit card companies have stolen his customers by taking a softer approach to charging outrageous interest rates. During the subprime lending boom, mortgage banks shouldered into shark territory, too.

• Insight from inside the mortgage crisis. It hadn't even hit the bookstores before this month's Color of Money Book Club selection, "Busted," set off a flurry of Internet conversations. Sanctimonious critics have slammed this book in the blogosphere, where people can

06

• When a layoff becomes a lifestyle. When Matthew Thomas of Alexandria was laid off in September from a downtown Washington advocacy group, he wasn't too worried. The 49-year-old office worker had severance and never had trouble finding work. He sent a