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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: homeownership

homeownership stories: 19 news summaries

 Foreclosures on Pricey 
 Properties Pick Up 

Well-to-do buyers weren't immune to wacky loans, and they're coming due

Oct 12, 09 9:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - The country's most expensive homes are now making up a larger segment of foreclosures in the most recent spike of mortgage defaults. An analysis of recent data shows that 30% of June foreclosures involved homes valued in the top third based on location; that’s up from just 16% at... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • foreclosure • credit crisis • homeownership • mortgage defaults • home mortgage • exotic loans • expensive

FORECLOSURE FRONTLINES

 Don't Hate Me: 
 I'm Just Here 
 to Clean Up 

Clearing the detritus of owners' dreams from bank-owned homes

Sep 30, 09 12:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cindy Reid doesn’t want you to think she and her boss—and boyfriend—are the “bad guys.” But it is difficult when her man is the one “you never want to see pull up to your house. He has eyes that go flat when you offer ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
trash • foreclosure • recession • bank • homeownership • cleaning • vacant homes • repossessions • repo men

In Recession, Homeowners Nail Contractors

As many vie for projects, consumer gains the upper hand

Jul 28, 09 2:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hiring a contractor to remodel a kitchen or resurface a floor once meant a lot of hassle and some serious cash. But the recession has changed all that: Contractors these days are ready and willing to work on the cheap, Time reports. Projects are smaller, and spending on remodeling is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
contractors • recession • homeownership • economy • building

Nukes? Climate Change? Love 'Em to Death

Newsweek scribe lists
a few issues pundits
may misunderstand

Apr 5, 09 6:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Few so-called experts predicted the subprime meltdown or the September 11 attacks, Jacob Weisberg writes in Newsweek—so what else might the pundits be wrong about?
  • Nukes are bad: An influential political scientist “argues that possessing nukes induces restraint and caution, causing irresponsible regimes to behave more responsibly.
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • climate change • nuclear proliferation • September 11 • homeownership • subprime crisis

Exurbs, Once Meccas for Homeowners, Now for Rent

Economy trumps plans for thriving communities

Mar 31, 09 12:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Not long ago, the exurbs were were among the fastest-growing parts of the country, drawing people seeking to own affordable homes on sizable pieces of property. But after waves of foreclosures and soaring unemployment, more and more people are turning to renting. Renting keeps landlords afloat, but it also drives... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • rentals • homeownership • exurbs • McMansion

ANALYSIS

 How Bush 
 Fueled the 
 Mortgage 
 Mess 

His philosophy at center of housing crisis

Dec 21, 08 6:52 AM CST
(Newser) - A range of factors led to the housing crisis that dragged the economy into the toilet—but President Bush’s philosophy likely played a key role in the collapse, reports the New York Times. Dozens of interviews point to both Bush’s drive to expand homeownership and his steadfast belief... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • philosophy • mortgage • market • homeownership • housing crisis • mortgage delinquency • George W. Bush

Cities Fight Urban Blight
With Free College Tuition

'Promise Communities' are tried across the country

Oct 22, 08 7:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cities on the decline across the country are testing a new strategy to stem urban decline: Families who buy homes in town get their kids college tuition paid in full. These "promise communities"—about 80 in all—seek to attract new residents and keep upwardly-mobile city dwellers from... More »

MORE ABOUT:
real estate • scholarship • homeownership • urban revitalization • college tuition

OPINION

Mortgage Crisis? Blame George Bailey

It's A Wonderful Life hero helped poor buy unaffordable homes

Oct 12, 08 1:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - The housing bubble that triggered the current economic crisis began with a post-Depression attitude toward owning a home presented in the classic Christmas flick It’s a Wonderful Life, writes Ross Douthat in the Washington Post. Hero banker George Bailey’s chief goal was to loan the poor enough money... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FDR • homeownership • public housing • housing bubble • suburban sprawl • suburbs • Great Depression • McMansion • financial crisis

Opinion

What's So Great About Home Ownership?

US policy is stacked against renters—
for no good reason

Jun 23, 08 8:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - “Owning a home lies at the heart of the American Dream,” George W. Bush once said, and US policy certainly seems to agree with him. Mortgage interest is tax deductible, and government-sponsored enterprises such as Fannie Mae provide cheap financing for home buyers. Why is that, asks Paul... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mortgage • rent • house • homeownership

Rise in Renters Wiping Out Gains in Homeownership

Effects of subprime crisis evident as percentage of owners drops

Jun 21, 08 7:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Americans are shifting from being homeowners to renters in rising numbers, the New York Times reports, all but wiping out gains made during the boom. The percentage of homes headed by homeowners dropped from 69.1% to 67.8% this year, which sounds modest, but is, in fact, the biggest... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • subprime mortgages • mortgage • home sales • property • rent • homeownership

New Wave of Foreclosures Expected in '09

ARM holders will see payments soar as their mortgages reset

Jun 7, 08 10:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - America’s subprime victims may have grudgingly accepted their fate, but there’s a new class of borrowers primed to suffer, BusinessWeek reports. Homeowners who took out ARMs, or adjustable rate mortgages, will soon face skyrocketing payments as their loans reset. About a million people have the mortgages, but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • foreclosure • home sales • debt • US economy • homeownership • lending practices • subprime crisis • adjustable-rate mortgages

ANALYSIS

 'Evangelist' Renter: Time to Buy 

NYT analyst says buying begins to make sense again

May 28, 08 8:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - As property prices head back down, a self-proclaimed "evangelist" of renting is trading in the lease for a mortgage. David Leonhardt of the New York Times has been advising people for years not to buy a home and get their money tied up in a housing bubble, but he... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • property • rent • homeownership • housing bubble • property values

OPINION

Maybe You Shouldn't
Own a Home

Wake up, America: Not everyone can afford the white picket fence

Apr 20, 08 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Should all Americans own their dream home? Not really, writes Joshua Riner in the New Republic—only those who can afford one. But Washington made homebuying easy, sparked the subprime crisis, and is now making things worse by buying up risky mortgages. Officials "need to replace the dream... More »

MORE ABOUT:
homes • mortgage • equity • home equity • homeownership • subprime crisis

 DIY Home Care—Not So Hard 

Homeowners only need a few simple tools and a little know-how

Apr 8, 08 4:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Homeowners can save big bucks on maintenance and keep their houses shipshape by mastering 10 simple skills, Allen Norwood observes for McClatchy Newspapers:
  1. Swap out your door locks: Remove a few bolts and screws and easily replace an existing lock for a new one.
  2. Become familiar with your
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
home improvement • list • repair • homeownership • home renovation • utility tools • maintenance

 House Could Be Dead Giveaway 

69-year-old seller will make home's buyer beneficiary of $500K insurance policy

Apr 6, 08 11:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - If Bob Fanning dies in the next decade, the buyer of his Wisconsin home—listed at $498,900—will get a half-million dollar payday. That’s because the 69-year-old plans to make the new owner the beneficiary of a 10-year life-insurance policy, a carrot he hopes will sweeten the deal... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Wisconsin • homeownership • real estate values • housing crisis • subprime crisis • life insurance

OPINION

Homeownership Is No Cure-All

Time to think about the costs, not just the perks, of owning a home

Mar 3, 08 1:00 PM CST
(Newser) - One casualty of the housing bust may be the American belief that homeownership is the universal key to a strong economy and healthy society, writes James Surowiecki in the New Yorker. The idea that homeownership leads to greater investment in the community may be true, but owning a home in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
homeownership • housing crisis

Best Places for Home Bargains

Plenty of opportunity exists for money-minded buyers, Forbes says

Feb 13, 08 2:13 PM CST
(Newser) - Certain housing markets are better than others for bargain-hunters, Forbes reports, and they're generally the ones with a glut of homes, strong job growth, and a low rate of foreclosures. Forbes rattles off its top 10:
  1. Salt Lake City: highest job growth in the country, and low foreclosure
  2. Raleigh,
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
list • foreclosure • housing • credit crisis • home prices • homeownership • cities • homeowners

OPINION

Black Families Need Their
40 Acres

The ticket to black success is property ownership, says Gates

Nov 18, 07 3:22 PM CST
(Newser) - With a poll last week showing that African Americans no longer think of themselves as a "single race," Henry Louis Gates Jr explores causes of  the widening gap between middle class and poor blacks. His study of 20 highly successful African Americans, from Oprah to Whoopi to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
African Americans • Oprah Winfrey • Whoopi Goldberg • poverty • homeownership • slavery • values • Frederick Douglass • homeowners

Sunny Days Here for Green Homeowners

Thanks to subsidies and surplus, going green is paying off

Sep 8, 07 2:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sunny days are here to stay for solar homes with roof-top panels, Forbes reports. Such green abodes can cover electricity costs in warm months and store enough to sell solar power to the grid for profit. Installation is expensive but viable thanks to government subsidies, especially in California, New Jersey... More »

MORE ABOUT:
energy • environmentalism • alternative energy • solar energy • homeownership • clean energy • solar power • Tennessee Valley Authority • homeowners

19 Stories


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