News

2009

May

07

• Senate to overhaul troubled foreclosure prevention program. The Senate approved a housing bill late Wednesday aimed at addressing the country's growing foreclosure problem, including revamping a troubled government foreclosure prevention program. The bill passed 91-5 after an amendment to allow bankruptcy judges

• How we tested the big banks. This afternoon, Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve will announce the results of an unprecedented review of the capital position of the nation’

• Big banks receiving federal aid backed subprime loans. Many of the banks receiving billions of dollars in federal aid owned or bankrolled subprime lenders that directly contributed to the unraveling of the global economy, according to a new report. While many portrayed themselves

05

• Where home prices crashed early, signs of rebound. Is this what a bottom looks like? This city was among the first in the nation to fall victim to the real estate collapse. Now it seems to be in the earliest stages of a

• Banks get stress test results. Regulators plan to brief the nation's largest banks today on the final results of federal tests to determine whether the companies have sufficient reserves to weather the recession, with a public announcement scheduled for Thursday

• ¿Te conviene refinanciar?. Los bancos están inundados con aplicaciones para refinanciar hipotecas. Para muchos, no es la primera vez que buscan desesperadamente ayuda financiera. Parte del 85% de las solicitudes enviadas en enero fueron para refinanciar una hipoteca

04

• Seniors at home in co-housing. Annie Russell lives alone but not in solitude. While she was laid up for almost nine months by an injured knee, neighbors checked in on her regularly. They brought her ice packs, fetched water and

• As foreclosures surge .... he Obama administration sat by last week as 12 Senate Democrats joined 39 Senate Republicans to block a vote on an amendment that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify troubled mortgages. Senator Obama campaigned on the

02

• Advance housing credit might sell homes. For the housing market, it's the equivalent of financial alchemy, and it's hot: Turning the $8,000 federal home-purchase tax credit, which normally can't be spent until you get your refund, into cash today, available for your

01

• Senate won't let judges fix mortgages in bankruptcy. The Senate handed a victory to the banking industry on Thursday, defeating a Democratic proposal that would have given homeowners in financial trouble greater flexibility to renegotiate the terms of their mortgages. The House of

• Ayuda para el sector hipotecario. El gobierno de Estados Unidos anunció la ampliación de su plan para enfrentar la crisis de vivienda ofreciendo incentivos a los prestamistas hipotecarios para bajar los pagos que se hacen en segundas hipotecas. Aumenta

April

30

• First-time home buyers find deals. Kelly Butler just got a bargain. Sure, her new three-bedroom home came with fake barn wood nailed to the bathroom walls, carpet that had to be ripped up, broken closet doors and a need for

• Un plan perfecto para salir de deudas. Salir de deudas es el sueño de muchos y el logro de unos pocos. No por falta de ganas, ¡ojo!, sino de un plan de acción coherente y concreto. Si el dinero que

29

• Foreclosure prevention expanded to 2nd mortgages. The Obama administration unveiled an expansion of its $75 billion foreclosure prevention plan yesterday, providing new subsidies to mortgage lenders and investors. Under the expanded plan, some homeowners could see their payments fall significantly and the

• La crisis de vivienda. El gobierno anunció ayer la ampliación de su plan para enfrentar la crisis de vivienda, ofreciendo incentivos a los prestamistas hipotecarios para bajar los pagos que hacen los prestatarios en segundas hipotecas. Durante el

26

• Our lending law is worth saving. Everyone knows that lawmaking in Congress can be a crazy and confusing process. That's part of the genius of the American system: It takes a lot of hard work and compromise to get a majority

• FICO website aims to help borrowers. Homeowners who are having trouble making their monthly mortgage payments may be able to get some help by modifying the terms of their mortgages.

• 'Cram down' bill may help save homes. If you're considering filing for personal bankruptcy because you're having trouble making the mortgage payments on your primary residence, keep an eye on the so-called "cramdown" bill. The measure, which is part of President Obama's

25

• Mortgage safety net offers job-loss protection. Is there a rainy day in your personal job forecast? That wouldn't be surprising - with unemployment rates in double digits in several states, 8.2 percent nationwide and widely expected to hit 10 percent or higher by

24

• Primeros compradores de viviendas: opciones para reclamar un crédito. Quienes recientemente compraron una vivienda sin haber sido propietarios durante los últimos tres años o están considerando comprar en los próximos meses, tienen varias maneras de obtener este crédito ahora, aú