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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: homeowners

homeowners stories: 43 news summaries

1 - 20 of 43 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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 Dems: Use TARP Funds to 
 Aid Jobless, Homeowners 

White House wants to use balance to cut deficit

Nov 18, 09 7:44 AM CST
(Newser) - Democrats in Congress want to direct some of the remaining billions in the Wall Street bailout funds to struggling workers and homeowners—a plan that puts them at odds with the White House, which aims to put the TARP balance toward deficit reduction. The change in Congress comes as unemployment... More »

MORE ABOUT:
deficit • congressional Democrats • homeowners • Wall Street bailout • President Obama • TARP

analysis

 Banks Yanking 
 Homeowners' 
 Last Hope: 
 Short Sales 

Healthier lenders no longer anxious to cut deals

Oct 3, 09 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - As banks get healthier, they're getting stingier with one of the few remaining lifelines for underwater homeowners—short sales. To keep home sales moving in leaner times—and to get bad loans off their ledgers—lenders would forgive the difference between the outstanding mortgage balance and the purchase price. Such... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mortgage • credit crisis • homeowners • housing crisis • banking industry • short sales

 BofA Severs Ties With ACORN 

ACORN Housing advocated for homeowners facing foreclosure

Sep 28, 09 9:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bank of America has cut off ties with ACORN’s housing assistance arm following revelations that employees of the community organizing group gave ill-advised assistance to videographers posing as a pimp and prostitute. ACORN Housing has worked with BofA—among other banks—since the '90s to help homeowners in danger... More »

MORE ABOUT:
prostitution • Bank of America • foreclosure • mortgage • homeowners • Acorn • Scott Harshbarger • Michael Shea • Acorn Housing

investigation

Mortgage Scammers Prey
on Strapped Homeowners

So-called rescue firms promise to negotiate lower rates, then take money and run

Sep 24, 09 7:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mortgage brokers who made a mint during the housing boom setting up homeowners in toxic loans are now profiting from a different sort of shady deal. So-called foreclosure rescue firms are proliferating across the US, taking money upfront and promising to negotiate with homeowners’ banks for better interest rates. Instead,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
foreclosure • mortgage • scam • mortgage debt • homeowners • housing crisis • interest rates • Federal Trade Commission

(Newser) - From New York and Los Angeles to devastated Rust Belt towns, falling home prices are leaving local governments in a pinch, the New York Times reports. Desperate for extra cash, homeowners are petitioning assessors in droves to lower their property taxes and match property values. “It’s worthy... More »

MORE ABOUT:
homeowners • tax revenue • home values • property values • refund • property tax • local government • assessor

Congress Weighs Wider Home Tax Credit

$8K for first-time buyers may jump to $15K, apply to all sales

Jun 22, 09 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - With the tax credit for first-time homebuyers set to expire in November, congressional efforts to increase it and broaden its reach are ramping up, reports USA Today. Chris Dodd, who leads the Senate Banking Committee, supports a proposal to raise the credit to $15,000 and extend it to all... More »

MORE ABOUT:
real estate • mortgage • home sales • Chris Dodd • real estate values • homeowners • tax credit

'F@$%! I Wish I'd Refinanced My House'

With mortgage rates rising, homeowners regret not acting sooner

May 31, 09 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Many homeowners are kicking themselves for not refinancing sooner now that mortgage rates are climbing, ABC News reports. “I was going to save $325 a month, and that covers all kind of things, from gas to groceries,” lamented one. “$325 is a lot of money.” And... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • Federal Reserve • economist • mortgage rates • homeowners • refinanced mortgages

New Foreclosure Legislation May Not Be Enough

Congressional aid to homeowners may need overhaul, not 'patches'

May 22, 09 12:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Congress’ Hope for Homeowners plan was aimed at fighting the foreclosure epidemic, and it’s been a success for exactly one person. Now, lawmakers have put “patches” on the legislation—but some worry the fixes aren’t going to do the job, ProPublica reports. Instead, it needs “some... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Congress • housing market • foreclosure • mortgage • homeowners • mortgage lender • Hope for Homeowners

(Newser) - 13,575 people have fled their homes as a wildfire that has consumed 1,300 acres rages in Santa Barbara, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reports. Another 13,000 are on alert, Bloomberg adds. Officials are unsure how many homes have been destroyed, but it’s in the “dozens.... More »

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California • firefighters • evacuation • wildfires • natural disaster • Santa Barbara • homeowners

(Newser) - As internal bank moratoriums on foreclosure imposed last year expire, many more Americans are losing their homes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Foreclosure proceedings were up 6% in February over January, and up 30% from March 2008. Just as the Obama administration's rescue plan kicks in, delinquents who don’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
real estate • foreclosure • debt • recession • moratorium • homeowners • mortgage lender

 Toxic Drywall May Be 
 Sickening Homeowners 

Chinese-imported materials used in more than 500,000 homes

Apr 11, 09 4:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Something’s rotten in the state of American homes: Chinese-imported drywall, which emits a sulfurous odor and could sicken homeowners, AP reports. More than 500 million pounds of the material was imported during America’s housing boom, when domestic supply was scarce and expensive, and it could line over 100,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health • toxic chemicals • home builders • homeowners • Chinese imports • Chinese drywall

(Newser) - As affluent Americans downsize their household staffs, the once distinct lines between nannies and housekeepers are getting a little fuzzy, the Los Angeles Times reports. More and more, nannies are being asked to scrub the toilets along with watching the kids, and housekeepers are being asked to vacuum with a... More »

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children • recession • multitask • nanny • cleaning • homeowners • housekeeper • economic downturn

 House Homeowner Bill 
 Lets Judges Reset Mortgages 

Measure would allow bankruptcy judges to ease mortgage terms

Mar 6, 09 3:07 AM CST
(Newser) - The House has passed a homeowner rescue bill over the strenuous objections of the financial industry that would allow bankruptcy judges to change the terms of mortgages, the Washington Post reports. Judges could cut the principal on mortgages, extend terms and reduce interest rates under terms of the "cramdown"... More »

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Congress • bankruptcy • foreclosure • mortgage • House of Representatives • homeowners • cramdown

 1 in 5 Homeowners Underwater 


Mar 4, 09 10:17 AM CST
(Newser) - More than 20% of Americans with home mortgages owe more to their lenders than their homes are worth, a 2% rise since September, the Washington Post reports. The hardest-hit state was Nevada, where 55% of homeowners with mortgages have negative equity. These 8.3 million homeowners nationwide are much... More »

MORE ABOUT:
foreclosure • mortgage • homeowners • negative equity • payments • economic downturn

(Newser) - Details are emerging on the Obama administration's plan to help homeowners: One idea is to give strapped borrowers a lower interest rate, then have the federal government chip in to defray the lenders' loss, the Washington Post reports. The Treasury Department is expected to outline its overall plan in the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
foreclosure • mortgage • homeowners • housing crisis • Obama administration • President Obama

Freddie Mac to Let People Stay in Foreclosed Houses

Rental program aims
to stop evictions

Jan 30, 09 2:44 AM CST
(Newser) - Freddie Mac has forged a first-of-its-kind plan to allow homeowners and tenants to remain in foreclosed homes, USA Today reports. Residents will be charged a market rental rate on leases renewable monthly after their homes have been acquired by the lender. Freddie Mac expects the program to save thousands of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
foreclosure • mortgage • rent • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • eviction • homeowners

Denied Rate Hike, State Farm to Axe Fla. Home Insurance

Company holds 1.2M policies in state hit hard, and often, by nature

Jan 27, 09 1:34 PM CST
(Newser) - Citing a “weakened financial position,” State Farm’s Florida operation is planning to completely exit the home insurance business there within 2 years, the Miami Herald reports. Such a move would need regulatory approval, and require a 180-day heads-up to affected homeowners. The move comes after the insurer,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • insurance • regulation • homeowners • property insurance • State Farm • home insurance • rate increase

 Foreclosures Soar 81% 

States where property prices spiked during boom now seeing highest foreclosure rates

Jan 15, 09 6:05 AM CST
(Newser) - Foreclosures rocketed 81% in the US during 2008, affecting one of every 54 households in the nation, reports Reuters. A total of 3.2 million foreclosures were filed, according to research firm Realtytrac. The hardest-hit states were Nevada, Florida, Arizona, and California, the same states where property prices surged the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
real estate • foreclosure • mortgage • property • mortgage loans • homeowners

Scamsters Cash In on Foreclosure Crisis

Phony rescuers collect big upfront fees from desperate homeowners

Jan 15, 09 3:44 AM CST
(Newser) - A new breed of crook is getting rich preying on homeowners desperate to fend off foreclosure, the New York Times reports. Scamsters set themselves up as "foreclosure rescue companies,” collect big upfront fees for the promise to modify loans, then do little or nothing to help. Some people... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fraud • foreclosure • mortgage • debt • housing • scam • mortgage loans • loan • homeowners • recession depression

OPINION

Hillary: Bailout Must Help Homeowners

Wants federal company to buy bad mortgages, address root causes

Sep 25, 08 7:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - As Congress debates the terms of the $700 billion bailout, Hillary Clinton warns in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that "this is not just a financial crisis; it's an economic crisis." For the New York senator, any federal action has to tackle the underlying causes of the turmoil—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hillary Clinton • foreclosure • credit market • mortgage debt • homeowners • negative equity • bailout • financial crisis • Home Owners' Loan Corporation

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