News

2008

February

03

• Reverse mortagage need a warning. Areverse mortgage can be a financial lifeline, but consumer advocates are worried that some people are taking them out with too many strings attached. Some lenders inappropriately push older homeowners to the products or sell

02

• Fusión de Microsoft y Yahoo. Una eventual fusión de Microsoft y Yahoo podría modificar el paisaje de la internet para millones de internautas, pero aunque los cambios son potencialmente grandes, probablemente no lo sean en el corto plazo. ¿

• Lender's 'risky' ZIP code lists called redlining. Critics call it the new redlining: Many of the country's largest mortgage lenders are imposing loan restrictions in entire counties or Zip codes that they rank as risky or "declining." On Jan. 25, Countrywide Bank sent

01

• FBI Director: Mortgage fraud is substantial. FBI Director Robert Mueller said Thursday that the agency is committed to investigating and prosecuting companies involved in mortgage fraud and other violations in connection with home loans made to risky borrowers. Mueller said probes

• Destinan 72 millones a programas de vivienda. En un nuevo esfuerzo por aliviar la crisis de vivienda que afronta California, el gobernador Arnold Schwarzenegger anunció una partida de 72 millones de dólares para apoyar programas de adquisición y pago de propiedades.

• Contribuyente, exige reembolso del EITC. El Servicio de Impuestos Internos (IRS) ha hecho un llamamiento a determinados contribuyentes y los hispanos en particular para que reclamen el Crédito por Ingreso del Trabajo, que cada año pierden millones de

• Los pensionados reciben ayuda. Un programa gubernamental, conocido como "hipoteca revertida", ayuda a miles de pensionados a los que se les hace cada día más difícil hacer frente al pago mensual de su vivienda, ante la

January

31

• Foreclosure facing homeowners don't seek help. With a record number of new foreclosures hitting neighborhoods across the country, a surprising 58% of delinquent homeowners don't know their lenders may offer ways to help them keep their homes, and 56% don't know that free

• IRS warns about tax rebate scam. Tax rebate checks courtesy of a proposed economic stimulus package have yet to be approved by Congress, but some scams are using the anticipation of extra cash to lure people into disclosing personal and financial

30

• Immigrants hit hard by US slowdown, subprime crisis. As an economic slowdown and the subprime mortgage crisis deepen across the United States, Hispanic immigrants are increasingly in danger of losing their jobs and their homes. Both legal and illegal immigrants joined Americans in

• FBI continues mortgage fraud probe. The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday said it is investigating 14 companies for possible fraud or insider trading violations in connection with loans made to risky borrowers, and investments spun off of those loans. Agency

• Housing hits trifecta of bad news. A series of reports out Tuesday sketched a bleak picture of the nation's residential real estate, with nearly 1.3 million homeowners in some state of foreclosure last year, 13 metro areas posting record price drops and a

• Posible fraude por préstamos de riesgo. El FBI dijo el martes que está investigando a 14 empresas por posible fraude contable, abuso de información privilegiada y otras violaciones en conexión con préstamos inmobiliarios otorgados a prestatarios de riesgo. Funcionarios

• Buscan ampliar ley de vigilancia interna. El Senado votó ayer en contra de prorrogar la ley de vigilancia interna más allá del 1 de febrero, aumentando la presión política para que sea aprobada una nueva versión de la

• Precios de viviendas van en picada. Brutal y extensa como un desastre natural, la racha de embargos de viviendas en el país aumentó 79% el año pasado en relación con 2006, se informó ayer. En Californa, la subida fue de 238%,

• Cámara Baja aprueba plan económico. La Cámara Baja del Congreso aprobó ayer por abrumadora mayoría un plan de estímulo económico de 146,000 millones de dólares, pero su avance en el Senado parece complicarse por la presentació

29

• Foreclosures up 75% in 2007. The number of foreclosures soared in 2007, with 405,000 households losing their home, according to a report released Tuesday. Total foreclosure filings soared 97% in December alone compared with December of 2006, according to RealtyTrac, an online seller of

28

• Appraisers lawsuit puts lenders on notice. Real estate appraisers have complained for years about demands from loan officers that they fudge and inflate numbers to allow mortgage deals to close. Now a California appraiser has sued the country's largest thrift institution,

26

• Hispanic homeownership could fall during crisis. Hispanic homeownership topped 50 percent in recent years but is in danger of declining during this housing crisis, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson said during a visit to San Antonio on Friday.

25

• Los pobres hacemos mucho con poco. A Joel Toscano, la ayuda que pueda llegarle por el estímulo económico, aprobado ayer en el Congreso, no le servirá para mantener su casa en Cabazon, donde todavía vive con su esposa