Headline News Archive

2009

September

13

• Seven new rules for first-time homebuyers. Too many people bought too much house for too many years. Yes, the financial system almost collapsed because mortgage bankers and brokers told lies about

12

• Delinquency and credit scores. When you do a short sale of a house, or modify the mortgage, is there much of an effect on your credit score? What if

10

• Mortgage modifications still too slow. About 12% of eligible borrowers have begun trial modifications of their mortgages since the start of a $75 billion federal program to rework home loans into more

07

• Mortgage market bound by U.S. role. In the go-go years of the U.S. housing boom, virtually anybody could get a few hundred thousand dollars to buy a home, and private

06

• Homebuyer credit crunch time. Time is quickly running out if you want to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit. The federal credit is available this year through Nov. 30,

• In case a disaster strikes. The wildfires in California are a reminder that disaster can strike at any time, and it pays to be prepared. Howard Mills, chief adviser of

05

• We all want a deal: That's what's scary. When a 20-something friend of mine recently told me she was looking for an apartment to rent in Los Angeles, I had only one bit

• Home rescue or rip-off?. How's this for a business plan to make money during the housing bust? You buy or rent lists of recent default filings from across the

03

• Stay on top of new mortgage rules. Over the next two years, consumers may feel like an overscheduled soccer mom when trying to keep track of the effective dates of new rules

August

30

• A long cry for mortgage help. If you want to take advantage of a new federal program to modify your mortgage so you can afford to stay in your house, be

29

• Going where Congress hasn't gone. You might assume that in August, with the Senate and House on their summer break, nothing much happens on Capitol Hill. You know the old

23

• Dropping arbitration, but not class action ban. Consumer advocates have long maintained that one of the more unfair practices in the business world is a provision in many service contracts preventing customers

• Calls to tax junk food gain ground. "Sin taxes" on cigarettes have turned out to be the most effective weapon in the campaign to reduce smoking. Why not try it on Flamin'

• ¿Comprar un foreclosure? ¿Por qué no?. Los precios prohibitivos en el sector de bienes raíces empujan a los compradores primerizos a abrirse camino por nuevas vías para convertir en

22

• Homebuyer credit in limbo. It's one of the biggest unknowns bugging would-be buyers of houses and condos this summer: Will Congress let this year's $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers

• Coalition has financial sector in its sights. At a crowded Capitol Hill news conference recently, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) had just promised a "national debate" this fall on the Obama administration's proposed

21

• Troubled mortgages hit record high. The proportion of homeowners delinquent on their mortgage or in foreclosure rose to its highest levels in at least four decades, according to industry data

19

• Appraisal shift gives lenders power, and critics. Mike Kennedy, a real estate appraiser in Monroe, N.Y., was examining a suburban house a few years ago when he discovered five feet of

14

• Personal bankruptcies surge. Personal bankruptcy filings reached 1.25 million in the year ending June 30, up 34 percent from the year before, as Americans continued to grapple with debt, unemployment and

13

• California cracks down on foreclosure consultants. State officials are turning up the heat on businesses that target struggling homeowners, ordering nearly 400 mortgage foreclosure consultants to post $100,000 bonds and register with the

11

• 5 dumb reasons you can't get a loan modification. What's holding up servicers from modifying mortgages? The fax machine. Most loan servicers require that troubled borrowers fax in their applications and supporting documents. Sounds

10

• Sacerdote lucha por salvar viviendas. Se reune con políticos y habla con banqueros en un intento de evitar embargos a sus feligreses. La misión de un sacerdote es

09

• The appraisal game has changed. Tim McCarthy remembers what usually happened in the old days - just a few years ago - when a property appraisal would land on a

• ¿Puntos o no puntos?. Son incontables las veces que mis radioyentes o lectores me preguntan sobre lo que yo a veces pienso que es "el dilema del huevo y

08

• Don't cheat on homebuyer's credit. The IRS has an urgent message for would-be home purchasers: Make the most of the $8,000 first-time-buyer tax credit before it disappears Dec. 1 - if you