Around 80% of homeowners in areas devastated by flooding from Hurricane Harvey don’t have insurance policies that will cover much of the damage done to their properties. Federal disaster loans offer victims one pathway toward recovery, but obtaining that financing could be a difficult, drawn-out endeavor. [More]
homeowners
Judge Throws Out Lawsuit Alleging Zillow’s Zestimates Harm Homeowners
By 8.25.17
Zillow’s controversial “Zestimate” lives to see another day: A federal judge dismissed a three-month-old lawsuit that sought to end the real estate listing site’s practice of estimating a home’s value, claiming it wasn’t just inaccurate, it actually hurt homeowners and homebuilders. [More]
Farmers To Pay $390K For Charging Renters More Than Homeowners On Car Insurance
By 7.20.17
Last year, a Consumer Federation of America report found that home renters pay up to 47% more for car insurance than their peers who own their homes. Now, one state is doing something about this: Minnesota has fined insurance giant Farmers $390,000 for charging higher rates to renters. [More]
Some States Denied “Hardest Hit” Funds To Homeowners Who Needed It Most
By 1.11.17
The money from a multibillion-dollar federal program to help unemployed and underemployed workers in certain states hold onto their homes failed to reach some of the people who needed the most help, especially in two states hit particularly hard by the recession. [More]
After Surviving A Tornado, House Gets Accidentally Destroyed By Wrecking Crew
By 3.24.16
Mother Nature may pose a danger to mankind at times, but we humans can do a pretty good job of messing things up all on our own. For example, a homeowner in Texas was relieved when her house was spared from a tornado… and then incredibly upset to find that a wrecking crew had demolished the house accidentally. [More]
Wells Fargo To Pay $81.6M To Homeowners In Bankruptcy For Failure To Provide Payment Notices
By 11.5.15
Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $81.6 million in relief to homeowners after the bank repeatedly failed to provide them with proper legal notices during bankruptcy proceedings.
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Homeowner Goes Away For 8 Months, Returns To Find Town Has Demolished His House
By 11.3.15
When you leave home for an extended period, you probably lock the doors up tight, maybe turn on an alarm, and expect that the house will still be standing upon your return. Which is why one Long Island homeowner was shocked, to say the least, when he returned after eight months away to find his home had disappeared entirely. [More]
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Family Suing Previous Homeowner, Real Estate Agent After Realizing “Dream Home” Was Infested With Snakes
By 6.4.15
It’s the stuff of nightmares: Fearing that the walls of your home are crawling with snakes, only to find out that no, this isn’t a bad dream, there are actually reptiles infesting the house you live in. That was the reality for one Maryland family who’s now suing their home’s previous owner and the real estate agent behind the sale, claiming both parties knew the house was chock-full of snakes before they sold it. [More]
Consumers Can’t Void Second Mortgage In Bankruptcy, SCOTUS Rules
By 6.1.15
Consumers taking out a second mortgage will now have to consider the fact that if they encounter financial difficulties and file for bankruptcy, they won’t be able to strip off the additional loan obligation. [More]
Woman Wants To Back Out Of Buying House Saddled With $400K Debt, Blaming Winning Bid On Diet Pills
By 3.11.15
Feeling like maybe you shouldn’t have splurged on that shirt when you’ve already got a bunch like it already in your closet is one thing, but deciding you’d rather not own a home you purchased is an entirely other category of buyer’s remorse. A Florida woman is blaming her winning bid on a home that comes with a $400,000 debt on it on diet pills, saying they caused her to become confused. [More]
Woman Convicted Of Stalking Couple Who Outbid Her On House Says Losing Dream Home Was “Devastating”
By 2.12.15
In a twist on the old haunted house tale, a couple in San Diego found themselves haunted by the ghost of a woman in their present, who was convicted of stalking them after they won a bidding war over a house. Though the woman says she didn’t intend do to any harm, the loss of her dream home was “devastating.” [More]
N.C. Homeowners Wonder How Banks Could Disappear Charlotte’s NASCAR Debt While Taking Their Houses
By 1.7.15
The magical disappearance of debt sounds like a wonderful thing, doesn’t it? Unless of course, someone else is getting their debt canceled while you’re still stuck in the mud. When homeowners in foreclosure in Charlotte, N.C. heard that the city wouldn’t have to pay back millions of debt it owed Bank of America and Wells Fargo for a underperforming NASCAR Hall of Fame, they couldn’t help but ask why they’re still facing the loss of their homes. [More]
Ohio Woman Sues Chase For Alleged Mortgage Law Violation
By 7.23.14
When you don’t follow the rules, you’re likely to get into a bit of trouble. In this case, JPMorgan Chase found itself party to a lawsuit alleging the company violated a law aimed to protect homeowners. [More]
Woman Doesn’t Join HOA, So It Seizes And Sells Her House
By 11.15.13
If I’ve learned anything from this site over the years, it’s that homeowners’ associations are evil and to be avoided. Sometimes you don’t have a choice, though: the home of your dreams or basic neighborhood amenities require it. And sometimes, as one Kentucky woman discovered, not joining the HOA means you can lose your house. [More]
Woman Who Lost Her $280K Home Over $6.30 In Unpaid Interest Could Get It Back
By 8.20.13
File this one under “H” in the How Can This Possibly Have Happened files: For about the same price you’d pay for a value meal at a fast food joint, a Pennsylvania widow lost her house. This, because she failed to pay $6.30 in interest on that $280,000 home. She’s getting another chance to argue that she should keep her home, however. [More]
Many Victims Of Shady Foreclosure Practices Will Only Get $300-$500 Under Government Plan
By 4.11.13
There’s no doubt that millions of homeowners were the victims of shady foreclosure practices at the country’s biggest banks when the recession hit. So many of those people were likely hoping for a positive resolution to their woes when the government said it was going to figure out how to compensate homeowners with its Independent Foreclosure Review, an investigation into banks’ mistakes in servicing mortgages. But after waiting years for an answer, about three million eligible borrowers will only be seeing checks for between $300 and $500. [More]
46 States Will Share $120 Million As Result Of Robo-Signing Settlement
By 1.31.13
Another day, another business hit over the head with a multi-million settlement over faulty foreclosure practices. We’ve already seen big retail banks and heavy-hitting investment banks pay the price for robo-signing foreclosures and engaging in other suspect loan servicing activities and now Florida-based business Lender Processing Services will be paying $120 million to 46 states to settle similar allegations. [More]
Homeowners Impacted By Hurricane Sandy Could Get Some Mortgage Relief Soon
By 11.2.12
While one major problem facing many homeowners is dealing with insurance claims in the aftermath of Superstorm/Hurricane Sandy, there’s another long-term issue causing trouble for people whose homes have been damaged by the natural disaster — simply paying the mortgage. Relief is in sight for some borrowers as government agencies and other major lenders begin implementing programs to offer breaks on mortgage payments, among other forms of assistance. [More]
