Headline News Archive

2009

August

06

• Abusive mortgage servicers profit from government help. Billions of dollars the government is spending to help financially pressed homeowners avert foreclosure are passing through — and enriching — companies accused of preying on the

• U.S. considers remaking mortgage giants. The Obama administration is considering an overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would strip the mortgage finance giants of hundreds of billions of

04

• Several loan servicers have not modified a single loan. Only 15% of homeowners eligible for the Obama administration's $50 billion loan modification program have been offered help so far. In its first monthly progress report on

02

• A mortgage watchdog group is born. FEW businesses have trust issues as daunting as those now faced by mortgage lenders; now a new nonprofit group is working to change public perception

01

• Will a new agency protect your finances?. Health-care reform has drawn most of the attention on Capitol Hill lately, but for home buyers and sellers and mortgage applicants, the legislative ballgame will

July

30

• Help for FHA mortgage holders. Loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will be eligible for payment reductions similar to the Obama administration's loan modification program, the government will

• Lucrative fees may deter efforts to alter home loans. This week, the Obama administration summoned mortgage company executives to Washington to demand they move faster to lower payments for homeowners sliding toward foreclosure. Treasury

29

• El alza en los precios de la vivienda ofrece esperanza en EE.UU.. El mercado inmobiliario se estaría estabilizando, pero el desempleo y el bajo consumo no dejan celebrar. Los precios de las viviendas en las principales

28

• Foreclosures often in lenders' best interest. Government initiatives to stem the country's mounting foreclosures are hampered because banks and other lenders in many cases have more financial incentive to let borrowers

27

• Ventas de vivienda nueva en EEUU tienen su mayor alza en 9 años. La venta de casas y apartamentos nuevos en Estados Unidos subió el mes pasado en su proporción más grande en más de

• Empresas e inversionistas buscan que casas inteligentes no sean sólo para Supersónicos. Los hogares inteligentes son una idea tan vieja como Los Supersónicos. Pero algunas grandes compañías están apostando que la realidad pronto alcanzará

26

• Tu nueva casa... viene con dinero. Dos semanas atrás, comentamos en un breve artículo sobre el crédito fiscal de $8,000 —otorgado por la Ley Estadounidense de Recuperación y

25

• Government push for housing energy conservation. You're probably familiar with some of the federal government's incentives for home energy efficiency - heftier tax credits for solar panels, solar water heaters, geothermal

23

• Vote on consumer agency delayed. House Democrats vowed Wednesday to redouble their efforts to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency and to battle banking lobbyists and other critics who

• Homeowners struggle and vultures circle. State and federal law enforcement officials are teaming up across the country to stop despondent homeowners from needlessly shelling out thousands of dollars to save

21

• Customer deposits factor into credit approval. As banks look for ways to manage their risk amid surging loan losses, they're increasingly making credit card decisions based on whether you have a

20

• Firm agrees to end arbitrating credit card debt. The Minnesota attorney general, Lori Swanson, said Sunday that her office had reached a legal settlement that would require a Minnesota company to get out

• Subprime brokers resurface as dubious loan fixers. LOS ANGELES — From the ninth floor of a downtown office building on Wilshire Boulevard, Jack Soussana delivered staggering numbers of mortgages to homeowners during the

• Lo que Dios ha unido, la recesión hace difícil de separar. En Estados Unidos, algunas parejas que se divorcian se han visto obligadas a seguir viviendo juntas por razones financieras. Rhonda Brewster y su marido han

19

• Subprime brokers back as dubious loan fixers. From the ninth floor of a downtown office building on Wilshire Boulevard, Jack Soussana delivered staggering numbers of mortgages to homeowners during the real estate

• Converting your IRA to a Roth. You’ll be hearing a lot in the next six months about Roth Individual Retirement Accounts — but not as much as you should about a

18

• New closing protections for buyers. If you're applying for a loan to purchase a primary or secondary home, or planning to refinance, you should be aware of a little-publicized new

17

• Crecen los juicios hipotecarios. La cantidad de familias estadounidenses a punto de perder sus viviendas subió a cerca de 15% en la primera mitad del año, luego de que

16

• Foreclosure scams targeted. For Rene Ruelas, the calls came faster than weeds sprouting in the yard of an empty house. Foreclosure was looming for the Buena Park home

• Foreclosures rise despite Obama plan's efforts. Foreclosures are continuing to set records despite the Obama administration's $75 billion plan to help borrowers at risk of losing their homes. There were 1.9 million foreclosure