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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: homeowners

homeowners stories: 43 news summaries

21 - 40 of 43 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>

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 7 Reasons to Get Hitched

Marriage has physical, emotional and financial benefits

Aug 3, 08 6:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - If you're considering getting married—or divorced—it may be time to mull over Maclean's reasons why matrimony is healthy:
  • Married people have less chance of dying from car accidents, cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, heart attacks, and homicide.
  • Men who divorce or separate are six times more
... More »

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marriage • sex • family • income • relationship • homeowners • single women

 'Super Termite' Found in Fla.

Fast-eating bug known to cause panic among homeowners

Aug 2, 08 3:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - One of the world's most feared termites has been caught gnawing on a Florida Gulfport home. Exterminators say they have saved the house, but admit that the "super termites"—or Formosan subterraneans—included winged swarmers, which indicates that that colony has existed for more than 5 years. "... More »

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Florida • University of Florida • insects • homeowners • pests • exterminators • pesticide • termite

GLOSSIES

 Rich Turn to Pimping Basements 

Media rooms, arcade games, full gyms making downstairs space not so musty

Jul 29, 08 9:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Basements are no longer the lowly underbelly of the high-end home. With the rise of home-theater technology, and widespread community opposition to mansion expansion, wealthy homeowners are increasingly turning basements into underground playgrounds, Portfolio reports, featuring everything from faux-'50s diners to recording studios to saunas. “Whether you have a... More »

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wealth • home renovation • homeowners • luxury homes • basement

 Stealing Home: Five Signs
 It's Time to Lowball 

Forget the market and climb inside the seller's head

Jun 20, 08 1:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - It's not always the economy, stupid. Even in a weak market, buyers should consider a homeowner's situation before hurling a lowball bid, writes Daniel McGinn in Newsweek. One real estate broker offers five sure signs that a seller is ready to deal:
  1. Nobody's home. Sellers who have moved
... More »

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real estate • housing market • business • list • home sales • homeowners

House OKs Mortgage Rescue Plan, Despite Veto Threat

Plan would allow homeowners to get more stable government loans

May 8, 08 5:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The House today shrugged off a veto threat from President Bush and passed a wide-ranging rescue plan for US homeowners, Reuters reports. The centerpiece of the legislation would allow people to trade in risky, fast-rising mortgages for more stable government loans. The $300 billion measure would help an estimated 500,... More »

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mortgage • House of Representatives • credit crisis • Barney Frank • homeowners

 Ditch the Lawn, Grow a Garden! 

Artist/architect wages war on 'antisocial' front yards

Apr 20, 08 5:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - A renegade architect/artist has declared war on an unlikely enemy: the suburban front lawn. To improve what he sees as an “actively antisocial space” which consumes resources and serves no definite purpose, Fritz Haeg is looking to transform lawns into food gardens, reports Men's Vogue. His first four repurposed... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environmentalism • vegetables • fruits and vegetables • homeowners • eco friendliness • Fritz Haeg • suburban lawn

 More Fed Help
 on the Way for
 Homeowners 

More FHA-insured mortgages to be available for strapped consumers

Apr 9, 08 3:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure are about to get a boost from the Federal Housing Administration. The FHA commissioner is expected to announce plans to expand an aid program that will allow borrowers saddled with negative equity to write down part of their mortgages and refinance their homes with cheaper... More »

MORE ABOUT:
subprime mortgages • foreclosure • Federal Housing Administration • credit crisis • homeowners • subprime crisis • Brian Montgomery

Couple Seeks $25K Over Google's 'Street View'

Privacy-seeking couple claims 'mental suffering' after home appears online

Apr 4, 08 6:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Google gave in to the Defense Department, but can it fight a couple in Pittsburgh? Aaron and Christine Boring are seeking more than $25,000 for invasion of privacy by Google's “Street View” feature, the Smoking Gun reports. The couple says that a “major component of their purchase... More »

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Google • Internet • Street View • Department of Defense • Google Maps • search engine • Pittsburgh • homeowners • invasion of privacy

Bernanke: Homeowners Need More Help

Fed chief calls for writing down problem mortgages' principal

Mar 4, 08 9:29 AM CST
(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says homeowners need more help, and that help might include writing down the principal on some problem loans, reports the Wall Street Journal.  "Efforts by both government and private-sector entities to reduce unnecessary foreclosures are helping, but more can, and should, be done," ... More »

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Ben Bernanke • foreclosure • mortgage • home loans • homeowners • refinanced mortgages • negative equity • upside-down mortgages

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

10 Lies Homeowners Tell Buyers

Few are above making a fib or two part of the sales pitch

Feb 8, 08 6:41 PM CST
(Newser) - When a homeowner is desperate to sell and a buyer is ready to fork over the cash, the truth about a house is often swept under the rug, MSNBC reports. Watch out for frequent fibs when talking about:
  1. Personality of neighbors and the neighborhood.
  2. Status of home repairs
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
home improvement • housing market • list • homes • infestation • homeowners • existing home sales • water damage

Given Rent Prices, Homes Still Too High

Expect another 15% drop if historical relationship holds

Jan 3, 08 10:21 AM CST
(Newser) - If rent prices are any indication, home prices aren’t done falling, according to one former and two current Federal Reserve economists. Annual rents have historically held steady at about 5% of home prices, but since 1996 home prices have left rents in the dust, the Wall Street Journal ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • Federal Reserve • rent • Congressional Budget Office • home prices • homeowners • housing crisis

Some Critics of Rate Freeze May Be Angry Investors

FDIC chief speculates that investors are blasting the plan to boost their income

Dec 8, 07 1:34 PM CST
(Newser) - Critics of the government’s new rescue plan for strapped homeowners may be investors who would cash in on a foreclosure-ridden market, one of the plan’s chief architects charges. Sheila Blair, head of the FDIC, speculated that naysayers may have a conflict of interest, the Wall Street Journal reports.... More »

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investors • subprime mortgages • foreclosure • mortgage • interest rate • FDIC • homeowners

Subprime Nightmare to Get Worse

With rates about to reset higher, expect more foreclosures

Nov 24, 07 2:28 PM CST
(Newser) - The subprime mortgage crisis is only just beginning, new data suggests. Hundreds of billions of dollars in subprime adjustable-rate mortgages are due to reset to higher rates in the year ahead, reports the Wall Street Journal. Analysts say this means the steep rise in defaults and foreclosures this year may... More »

MORE ABOUT:
subprime mortgages • foreclosure • mortgage • US economy • housing industry • 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 »

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

Homeowners Lure Free Labor
With Libations

Remodeling parties
are a risky new rage

Sep 30, 07 5:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Word of advice: Cocktails and power tools don't mix. Renovation parties are sweeping the nation, as homeowners look for ways around rising construction costs. But handing out martinis and sledgehammers doesn’t always produce the best results, the Wall Street Journal counsels, recounting horror stories of crooked tiles, drywall hung... More »

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homes • home renovation • homeowners

Home Foreclosures Hit Record

August numbers double, with no end in sight

Sep 18, 07 12:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Another 108,716 American homeowners received foreclosure notices in August, a record total more than double last year’s figure. And this is only the beginning, say analysts, who expect even more subprime borrowers to default over the next 2 years. That will further depress housing prices, which are expected... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • subprime mortgages • foreclosure • home loans • homeowners • borrowers • housing crisis

Subprime Crisis Sparks a Spate of Legal Battles

Investors, homeowners, banks head to court, but obstacles lie ahead

Sep 11, 07 11:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - The troubles plaguing Countrywide and Bear Stearns’ hedge funds will move from the boardroom to the courtroom. Homeowners and banks are suing mortgage lenders, shareholders are suing funds, the SEC is investigating executives, and Congress may conduct hearings into credit agencies' practices. The current mess ensnares “an incredible range... More »

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Wall Street • investors • subprime mortgages • Bear Stearns • lawsuit • hedge fund • Countrywide • Enron • Worldcom • 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

Bush Promises Mortgage Relief

Fed agencies to offer aid to help Americans during credit squeeze

Aug 31, 07 2:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - The government will roll up its sleeves and aid homeowners battered by the subprime mortgage crunch, but it will forsake “speculators” trying to exploit the crisis, President Bush said today. The FHA will step in and help delinquent borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing at lower rates, but experts predict... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • subprime mortgages • foreclosure • home sales • global economy • US economy • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • Federal Housing Administration • private lenders • home resales • homeowners • borrowers • George W. Bush

21 - 40 of 43 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>


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