Headline News Archive

2010

September

19

• Shorter term mortgages don't make sense for everyone. Should you shorten the term of your mortgage? Today's low rates have millions of homeowners rushing to refinance. However, a large number of mortgage owners

18

• Reasons not to refinance a mortgage. LEW ALTFEST knows how clients will react when he tells them they shouldn’t refinance their mortgages. “Their faces move from smiley to glum,” because

• Some suggestions for the new consumer chief. So she got the job. What should she do with it? The appointment of Elizabeth Warren to oversee the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection

16

• U.S. home seizures reach new record. U.S. home seizures reached a record for the third time in five months in August as lenders completed the foreclosure process for thousands of

• Warren to head launch of financial protection bureau. President Obama, sidestepping a possibly heated confirmation battle, will appoint Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren as a special advisor to the Treasury Department to launch

• Banks slow to buy back bad loans. A federal regulator is criticizing banks for failing to take back bad mortgages sold to giant mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Edward DeMarco,

• New safety rule for window blinds criticized. A new industry rule on window blind cords does not address all strangulation risks to children and ignores input from consumer advocates, safety groups say.

14

• Warren maybe 'interim director' of consumer bureau. Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren set the political blogosphere abuzz once again Monday, this time with speculation that the White House might appoint her as

12

• Resale fees only developers could love. Rebecca and Trent Dupaix of Eagle Mountain, Utah, spent a year searching for their dream home. The couple, who have five children, considered 15 to 20 houses

06

• Some say, let the housing market crash. The unexpectedly deep plunge in home sales this summer is likely to force the Obama administration to choose between future homeowners and current ones, a

05

• Home buyers and sellers are out of sync. Jack Donnelly put off selling his Capitol Hill rowhouse for three years until he thought he saw glimmers of life in the housing market this

04

• How debt can destroy a budding relationship. Nobody likes unpleasant surprises, but when Allison Brooke Eastman’s fiancé found out four months ago just how high her student loan debt was, he

• National lending program is worth a look. If you fit the profile - typically buyers with little cash on hand or small-scale investors looking for a deal on a foreclosed house -

02

• Communities get first shot at foreclosed homes. Major mortgage lenders will now give state and local governments the right to buy foreclosed properties before they go on the market, giving them "a

August

31

• Time to refinance? Rates hit record lows. For anyone under the age of 57, mortgage rates are at the lowest point ever in their lifetime. This fact isn't lost on a growing number

• Thinking of raiding your 401(k)? Don't. It's no secret that millions of Americans haven't saved enough to finance a comfortable retirement. Now comes even more worrisome news: Thousands of workers are

• Survey: Mortgage closing costs 37% higher. A new federal rule this year requiring mortgage lenders to give borrowers reliable estimates of closing costs appears to be working — whether it's also costing

30

• Banks help more homeowners than Obama. Remember how everyone complained that banks weren't doing enough to help troubled borrowers? Well ... Banks have realized that foreclosing on home after home after home

26

• Quest for the perfect credit score. A major league pitcher dreams of throwing a perfect game. High schoolers eyeing the Ivy League study furiously in hopes of earning 2400 on the SAT.

• Equity in your home doesn't translate to net worth. I have my own spin to put on the news that sales of existing homes plunged 27 percent in July: Stop thinking of your home as

21

• US mortgage relief effort falling short. The Obama administration’s mortgage relief program, originally intended to shield three million households from foreclosure, now looks as if it will permanently help as

• Consumers clamoring for a leader in Warren. So it turns out that the Elizabeth Warren rap video that went “viral” this week is actually a made-in-Hollywood production. You know the video, don’

• Ban on private transfer fees could cost homeowners. A federal agency is moving to prohibit controversial "private transfer fees" on all mortgages funded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But its proposed ban

18

• U.S. role at heart of housing debate. Top Obama administration officials opened a conference on the future of housing by making clear Tuesday they are considering a limited range of options that

17

• Fed adopts rules meant to protect homebuyers. The Federal Reserve on Monday moved to end a controversial lending practice that had helped propel the housing boom to unsustainable heights and then accelerated