News

2009

March

08

• Regulatory reform sought after securities fraud. In both multi-billion dollar cases, there were common warning signs. Bernard L. Madoff and R. Allen Stanford promised customers safe, consistent returns that were higher than competitors offered. The men divulged little about how they

• Some FHA mortgages go bad from get-go. The last time the housing market was this bad, Congress set up the Federal Housing Administration to insure Depression-era mortgages that lenders wouldn't otherwise make. This decade's housing boom rendered the agency irrelevant. Americans raced

07

• Restrict wealthy homeowner tax perks?. The cluster of special federal tax benefits and subsidies for homeowners has long seemed politically untouchable. Those include deductions for mortgage interest, local property taxes and capital gains exclusions on up to $500,000 in sale profits.

04

• Más personas demoran el pago de sus hipotecas. La cantidad de personas que demoran en pagar sus hipotecas aumentó en un 53 por ciento en el cuarto trimestre del 2008 en comparación con el mismo período del 2007, según información de TransUnion.

• ¿Comprar o alquilar? Qué hacer en tiempos de crisis. Hace sólo seis meses, en momentos que el precio de la vivienda bajaban significativamente, la decisión de comprar o alquilar era clara para muchos: seguir alquilando. Pero en esta época, con el comienzo

03

• Citigroup to cut mortgage payments for jobless. Citigroup Inc. said Tuesday that it will lower mortgage payments for some homeowners to an average of $500 a month for three months as part of a new program to help the unemployed. The struggling bank

• U.S. likely to keep the reins on Fannie and Freddie. Despite assurances that the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be temporary, the giant mortgage companies will most likely never fully return to private hands, lawmakers and company executives are beginning to quietly

02

• Siete días para cuidar tu dinero. La Semana de Protección al Consumidor dura poco, pero te convierte en un consumidor más precavido durante todo el año. De acuerdo a lo que informa la Comisión Federal de Comercio,

February

28

• Taking on a tenant to ease the burden. Alan Rickert didn't set out to be a landlord. When he bought a one-bedroom condominium in Shirlington in 2005, he was sure rising prices would guarantee that he could sell in a pinch. But as prices

26

• Offer to reassess home raises red flag. If you're a homeowner, you may have received an official-looking letter recently informing you that your property needs to be reassessed for tax purposes. The cost of the reassessment is $179, but you'll have to pay

• Mortgage relief via the courts. Congress is poised to give bankruptcy judges more power to modify primary home mortgages in an attempt to halt the foreclosure crisis, a move Democrats and housing advocates have been pushing for two years in

24

• Renegociar un préstamo puede salir caro. Ferdinand Bristol, dueño de una pequeña empresa de reparación de casas, perdió la mayor parte de su negocio durante la crisis inmobiliaria, y ahora teme perder su casa en Dewey Street en

• AmEx pays customers to close accounts. American Express Co. is paying some cardholders $300 each to close accounts so the lender can reduce the risk of defaults as the recession deepens. People who got the offer to "simplify" their finances must pay

• Economic state of the union. Fourteen months into a downturn that appears to be deepening, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress tonight to speak about the health of the U.S. economy. A look at some of

23

• Why pay my neighbor’s mortgage?. Last week’s long-awaited foreclosure relief effort from the Obama administration touched a nerve among homeowners who didn’t get in over their heads in the borrowing frenzy. Or who are also struggling to make

• Money spread around to buy foreclosures. Tucked into the economic stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama this week was $2 billion to expand a nascent and controversial program to help cities and states buy and fix up foreclosed homes. Last month,

21

• Extent of bankruptcy reform hinges on details. When President Obama touted reform of the bankruptcy code while unveiling his foreclosure prevention program earlier this week, it wasn't much of a surprise. He had advocated allowing judges to modify troubled loans several times

20

• Mortgage rescue eligibility still being finalized. A day after President Obama unveiled his $75 billion foreclosure prevention program, administration officials yesterday said they were still determining which homeowners should qualify. The administration is developing a standard for lenders to use in evaluating

• Cómo te puede ayudar el estímulo. A menos de un mes de llegar a la presidencia, Barack Obama promulgó el martes el plan de estímulo económico, dotado con cerca de $790 mil millones. De ese monto, aproximadamente un tercio son

• Nuevo plan contra los 'foreclosures'. El presidente de Estados Unidos, Barack Obama, anunció en Phoenix (Arizona) su plan contra las ejecuciones hipotecarias (foreclosures), que estará dotado con al menos $75 mil millones de dólares. Ayuda para millones de familias Obama