Headline News Archive

2008

December

31

• Consumer Action wished you a Happy New Year!. Happy New Year! The Consumer Action staff has the day off today. News posting will resume tomorrow and will include notable stories published on Jan. 1.

28

• Tips for finding a credit counselor. Debt. Banks have it, big time, as a result of bad investments, but they're getting a helping hand from the federal government. If you have

• Don't risk your home to pay for college. Dear Liz: We owe $127,000 on a home that's currently worth more than $300,000. We have a daughter entering college in fall 2010. Her first year will be

• Advocates hope watchdog agencies get more bite. You'll be safer in 2009. At least that's the expectation of consumer watchdogs who believe the changing of the guard at the White House in a

27

• Read the fine print on mortgage rates. With mortgage rates at historic lows - 4.75 percent from several lenders in mid-December - a new legal settlement from the Federal Trade Commission offers a

26

• Firms charge thousands to modify mortgages. A growing industry has emerged to take advantage of the unprecedented wave of foreclosures, charging distressed homeowners for help negotiating better loan terms -- a

25

• Consumer Action wishes you Happy Holidays!. The Consumer Action staff has the day off. News posting will resume Dec. 26.

24

• Forecasters economic predictions for 2009. It may come as a surprise, given all the bad news of late, but the U.S. economy is expected to emerge from the recession

• Recession propels skid in housing sales, prices. The housing market weakened dramatically in November, with prices taking their deepest dive in at least 40 years as buyers refused to wade back in during

23

• Lenders cite gains on loan relief. A government-backed alliance of mortgage lenders yesterday said it kept 2.2 million homeowners out of foreclosure this year, even as a separate report showed that many

21

• More lenders allow 'early workout' loan alterations. Here's some good news for homeowners facing tough financial times: You no longer have to miss two to three months of payments before your mortgage

18

• Homeowners face foreclosure limbo. She may live in an epicenter of the U.S. housing crisis, but Vickie Lewis is far from any stereotype conjured up in coverage of

16

• The Crash: what went wrong?. When the housing market began to tank in 2005, Wall Street ran through the yellow light of caution and created even riskier investments -- and Washington

• Credit card terms squeeze consumers. Aggressive rate increases on credit cards are threatening to push struggling consumers into financial ruin, accelerating home foreclosures and the nation's descent into recession. The

• Pushing mortgage relief. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that the Bush administration must do more to help struggling borrowers stay in their homes before Congress

15

• Fannie Mae to provide relief to renters. Fannie Mae has agreed to let renters stay in their homes even if the owners of the properties have been foreclosed on, according to an

• More seeking break on property tax. CLEVELAND — A growing number of homeowners are trying to make falling property values work for them by asking the government for a tax break. Some

14

• Unload your home through a short sale. eporting from Washington -- More than a few financially strapped owners have tried to unload their homes through what's known as a short sale, only

• Consumer movement at a crossroads. Since 1989, all new cars sold in the United States have had an air bag on the driver's side. It's estimated they save almost 3,000 lives a

• Lost money? Counting more than pennies. If you have been checking coat pockets or under sofa cushions for spare change, you know that every cent counts these days. Yet a big

13

• Deals in falling-rate mortgage limbo. Could a 4.5 percent mortgage be your personal piece of the bailout pie? Apparently large numbers of consumers thought precisely that during the week after the

• How much house can you afford?. The past two years have demonstrated in dramatic fashion what can happen to people who overreach to buy the home they want. The lesson: Qualifying

11

• New wave of defaults likely as risky loans reset. Some time after Sharren McGarry went to work as a mortgage consultant at Wachovia’s Stuart, Fla., branch in July 2007, she and her colleagues were

• Plan to help troubled homeowners makes headway. Bankruptcy judges would be able to reduce payments and principal for homeowners with troubled mortgages under a proposal that appeared to be gaining momentum Wednesday.

09

• Mortgage modifications show limited success. A new government report released yesterday underscored the limited success of industry efforts to reduce foreclosures by modifying mortgage loans, offering fuel for both sides