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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: rent

rent stories: 16 news summaries

Housing Market Woes Hit Home for Geithner

Treasury secretary
can't sell, stuck renting
out his NY home

Jun 3, 09 9:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Housing market troubles are getting personal for Tim Geithner, the AP reports. The Treasury secretary bought his five-bedroom suburban New York Tudor for $1.6 million in 2004; after moving to Washington, he tried to sell it for $1.635 million. The price later dropped to $1.575 million, but... More »

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housing market • mortgage • home sales • rent • housing sales • Treasury secretary • financial crisis • Timothy Geithner

Starbucks
Looks to Cut Back on Rent

Coffee chain presses landlords for 20%-25% reductions

May 29, 09 2:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Starbucks is asking some of its landlords for a venti favor: lower lease rates by as much as 25%, Bloomberg reports. With the real-estate market in decline, a rep says, “We’re taking advantage of the opportunity,” adding that most landlords foresee a “mutually beneficial situation.”... More »

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real estate • Starbucks • restaurant • rent • lease

(Newser) - New York City has quietly begun to enforce a 1997 state law requiring homeless shelter residents who have jobs to contribute to the cost of their temporary housing, the New York Times reports. The move, which follows a 2007 audit that forced the city to return funding to the... More »

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New York City • rent • New York state • Mayor Bloomberg • homeless shelter • working homeless • state law

Gap Narrows Between Mortgage Payments, Rents

Housing slump prompts shift

Feb 25, 09 8:22 AM CST
(Newser) - During the housing boom, mortgage payments held steady, consistently topping rent levels; now, with the market cratering, they’re returning to historical levels, the Wall Street Journal reports. After-tax mortgage payments averaged about 26% more than rent over the past 18 years; during the boom that figure surged to 66%.... More »

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housing market • mortgage • rent • home prices • housing crisis • financial crisis

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 »

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foreclosure • mortgage • rent • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • eviction • homeowners

 Bummer Economy? 
 Move Home! 

More adult children are moving in with parents

Jan 13, 09 2:08 PM CST
(Newser) - A bleak job market and skyrocketing rents have college grads—even working adults—boomeranging back to their childhood homes, something that's fast losing its social stigma, the Boston Globe reports. About half of adults ages 18 and 24 live with their parents. More »

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children • parents • rent • unemployment • job market • economy • college graduates • financial crisis

Rainbow Room Grill to Close 

In throes of recession, rent dispute, the Big Apple landmark will shutter its dining hall

Jan 4, 09 4:54 PM CST
(Newser) - New York’s vaunted Rainbow Room will shut down its dining hall next week amid the recession and a rent conflict, the New York Daily News reports. With the Rainbow Grill’s closure, the tourist hotspot at 30 Rockefeller Plaza will—temporarily or otherwise—be 40 employees lighter and limited... More »

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New York City • New York • restaurant • rent • recession • Rockefeller Center • Rainbow Room • financial crisis • restaurant industry • recession depression

Rent-to-Own Leases Help
Fill Up Condos

In slow market, some developers offer test drives to renters

Sep 2, 08 9:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - The credit crisis landed the housing market on shaky ground, but condo developers are attracting cash-strapped buyers by offering them rent-to-own leases, the Boston Globe reports. The deal allows would-be homeowners to rebuild their credit and test out conditions, while developers make money on properties that otherwise would be... More »

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housing market • rent • real estate development • credit market

 Raging Rangel
 Denies Rent Deal 

Lawmaker defends taking up 4 rent-controlled units in city short of housing

Jul 12, 08 5:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - A testy Charles Rangel yesterday brushed off accusations that he had enjoyed special treatment in occupying four rent-controlled apartments, reports the New York Times. The veteran Democratic congressman denied he had a "sweetheart" deal with his landlord and slammed the Times article that started the controversy. The 78-year-old chairman... More »

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New York City • congressman • housing • rent • Charles Rangel • Harlem • political scandal

Rangel Enjoys Sweet Deal
on 4 Harlem Apartments

Dem faces questions over big savings on rent

Jul 11, 08 2:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - A powerful Democratic lawmaker is getting a sweet deal on four Harlem apartments, the New York Times reports. Charles Rangel has four rent-stabilized apartments, whose rents are controlled by city law. Three of the apartments are combined into one luxury unit, and the fourth is used as an office—despite... More »

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New York City • congressman • housing • rent • Charles Rangel • Harlem • political scandal

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 »

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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 »

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housing market • subprime mortgages • mortgage • home sales • property • rent • homeownership

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 »

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housing market • property • rent • homeownership • housing bubble • property values

French Get Dirty to Pay the Rent 

Sex-for-accomodation on the rise in crashing housing market

Mar 13, 08 1:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - France is in the throes of its worst housing crisis since World War II, which has led to some sordid dealings in some cities. With many young people unable to pay sky-high rents, landlords are offering apartments “for services”—usually sexual ones, the BBC reports. As homelessness and... More »

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France • sex • rent • Paris • housing crisis • Ministry of the Housing Crisis

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 »

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

Office Rents Soar in US

Companies are bearing the brunt of a price surge for commercial leases

Jul 5, 07 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The price of office space has surged nationwide due to a dwindling store of vacant commercial property and picky landlords increasingly keen on attracting well-heeled tenants. Across the country, leases spiked an average of 3.1% in the second quarter, following an increase of 2.8% in the first. More »

MORE ABOUT:
real estate • Manhattan • rentals • property • commercials • rent • office buildings • US economy • office

16 Stories


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