homeowners

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29% of Homeowners Are Mortgage-Free
 29% of Homeowners 
 Are Mortgage-Free 
new report

29% of Homeowners Are Mortgage-Free

Including 34.5% of those homeowners ages 20 to 24

(Newser) - In a country ravaged by the housing crisis, a hefty chunk of homeowners—some 29.3%—have escaped the mortgage burden entirely, a new report by Zillow finds. A great deal of the 20.6 million Americans who own their homes outright are retirees: 77.6% of people 85 and...

Did Banks Get Off Easy in $8.5B Mortgage Settlement?

Homeowner: 'What's $1K going to do for me?'

(Newser) - Sure, plenty of people—3.8 million, in fact—will benefit from yesterday's $8.5 billion mortgage settlement with banks. But some consumer advocates say the banks themselves have made out the best on the deal, the AP reports. They argue that the institutions are getting away with a...

Homebuyers, Beware of Buying a Former Meth Lab

Toxic residue and patchwork regulations a 'nationwide issue,' says DEA

(Newser) - Those in the market for a home may want to add this question to their checklist: Was this by any chance ever used as a meth lab? The idea may sound far-fetched, but Fox News has a few examples of horror stories in which unsuspecting families move into homes, get...

New Neighborly Trend: Shared Backyards

More homeowners are merging outdoor space

(Newser) - Good fences typically make good neighbors, says the old platitude, but a number of homeowners are scrapping their dividing fences in order to build shared backyards and gardens with the folks next door, reports the Wall Street Journal . The communal spaces offer more room to entertain guests and plant an...

Homeownership Falls to 15-Year Low

It's at 65.4%, down from a high of 69.2%, but analysts aren't worried—yet

(Newser) - The US homeownership rate fell to 65.4% in the first quarter to hit a 15-year-low, as foreclosures and a strong rental market kept Americans away from homeownership, according to figures released by the Census Bureau today. That's down from 66% last quarter, and from 69.2% at the...

Scammer of Homeowners Gets Life in Prison

Three-strikes law takes down white-collar criminal who preyed on elderly

(Newser) - California's three-strikes law has produced an unusual result in Orange County: A non-violent, white-collar criminal has been sentenced to 25 years to life, reports the Los Angeles Times . But Timothy Barnett may not be getting much sympathy, given that he was convicted of swindling the elderly out of their...

Banks Ink $26B Deal to Help 2M Homeowners

49 states sign on to deal with nation's top 5 banks

(Newser) - America's five biggest banks have hammered out a $26 billion settlement for their role in causing the mortgage meltdown, reports the Wall Street Journal . The deal—the biggest of its kind since 1998's $206 billion settlement with the tobacco industry—was hammered out during almost a year of...

Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners
Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners
INVESTIGATION

Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners

Has financial stake in limiting refinancing for struggling people

(Newser) - Freddie Mac was designed to help homeowners—but in 2010 and 2011 it wagered billions against them. The company invested in security packages that meant more cash for Freddie when homeowners couldn't refinance their mortgages. But Freddie itself regulates refinancing—and in fact has been increasingly denying refinances to...

US May Let Millions Refinance at 4%

Proposal could save homeowners $85B annually

(Newser) - Help could be on the way for struggling homeowners with government-backed mortgages: The Obama administration is considering a proposal that would allow such homeowners to refinance their mortgages at today's interest rates, which hover around a low 4%. Many homeowners can’t currently refinance because they owe more than...

Makeshift Levees Protect Homes From Flooding

Mississippi residents take matters into their own hands

(Newser) - Some homeowners are putting up a fight against the mighty Mississippi and its tributaries, notes Popular Science . The AP and Getty have remarkable images of homes near Vicksburg shielded by makeshift levees. It's "a testament to the human instinct to protect hearth and home," notes Clay Dillow....

Fla. Homeowners Want Ban on Kids Playing Outside

Supporters tired of parents turning their kids loose

(Newser) - Ahh, childhood: that magical time when you can be slapped with a $100 fine for playing tag on the street outside your house. At least, that’s what will happen if a certain group of Edgewater, Fla., homeowners get their way. The Persimmon Place homeowners association will vote later this...

It's Amazing These Homeowners Keep Paying Their Mortgage

May make more sense to stop and live rent-free for a while

(Newser) - As the foreclosure mess gets worse almost literally by the day , Brett Arends poses a question to all those underwater homeowners still making mortgage payments: Are you nuts? He's actually far more diplomatic than that, but to him "the big question" in all this isn't why so many "...

Foreclosure System in Chaos—Which Might Be Good

It could eventually help housing prices stabilize

(Newser) - The nation's foreclosure system is coming to a virtual standstill in the wake of news that two big home lenders may have done shoddy work processing them. The New York Times weighs in on the mess and finds a silver lining: This could actually help the housing market in the...

We Need More Flexible Home Mortgages
 We Need 
 More Flexible 
 Home Mortgages 
opinion

We Need More Flexible Home Mortgages

Today's loans 'designed for yesterday's borrowers'

(Newser) - In an op-ed headlined "The 30-Year Prison," Katherine Stone lays out what she sees as a big problem contributing to the housing crisis: "Today's mortgages are designed for yesterday's borrowers." Long gone are the days when people had the same stable job for life, and it's...

Homeowner Bailout May Be on the Way
Homeowner Bailout
May Be on the Way
hot rumor dept

Homeowner Bailout May Be on the Way

Insiders think Fannie and Freddie will forgive mortgage debt

(Newser) - Another enormous bailout may be in the works, this time for underwater homeowners, writes Reuters blogger James Pethokoukis. Rumor has it that the Obama administration will sidestep Congress and order lenders Fannie and Freddie to forgive some of the mortgage debt of Americans who owe more than their homes are...

Straighten Out Your Finances in 2010
 Straighten Out 
 Your Finances 
 in 2010 
resolutions

Straighten Out Your Finances in 2010

Some simple moves can net $1K or more

(Newser) - On the eve of the first serious workday of the New Year, take a hard look at your finances and see where you can cut back in 2010. A relatively small investment in time can result in some serious savings, Kathy Kristof writes for the Los Angeles Times :
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Modified Mortgages May Do More Harm Than Good

Critics say they hurt homeowners by merely delaying foreclosure

(Newser) - The Obama program to rescue homeowners by modifying their mortgages comes under fire in the New York Times, where real estate experts say it has actually hurt rather than helped delinquent borrowers and impeded the country's economic recovery. Critics say that by raising false hopes in those who can't afford...

Dems: Use TARP Funds to Aid Jobless, Homeowners

White House wants to use balance to cut deficit

(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...

Banks Yanking Homeowners' Last Hope: Short Sales

Healthier lenders no longer anxious to cut deals

(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...

BofA Severs Ties With ACORN
 BofA Severs Ties With ACORN 

BofA Severs Ties With ACORN

ACORN Housing advocated for homeowners facing foreclosure

(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...

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