The NYT says using a house to fund a comfortable retirement, pay for the education of your children, and send you on a cruise every winter was a purely 20th century phenomenon. And, like that century, the party is now over. [More]
housing
Couple Says Real Estate Agent Used Their Home For Sex
By 8.23.10
Earlier this month, a couple in Minnesota filed a lawsuit against a local Coldwell Banker franchise and a real estate agent the company employed, alleging that the agent used the home for sexcapades while they were out of town, ruining their furniture, bedding and carpet. Neighbors say he showed up one day with an unidentified man and said they were going to be preparing the home for an open house, but no open house was held. Or at least not one the neighbors could see; maybe he uses that phrase in a different way. [More]
Bank Of America Is Having A Hard Time Accepting This Whole Death Thing
By 8.18.10
Dave can’t get Bank of America to accept that his parents are gone, even after sending over the death certificates. He keeps telling the bank to take the house, because nobody in his family wants it and the mortgage is underwater. Bank of America keeps threatening his parents with letters about how behind they are on payments. Oh sure, everything about this story is funny on the surface, but not when Bank of America tries to extract money from a closed account you once shared with your dad, forcing it to re-open and siphon funds from your real accounts. [More]
You Have Nine Years To Build A House In Tampa
By 7.29.10
Want to build the home of your dreams and can’t find enough land for it? Try moving to Tampa. The area has 27,923 building lots, enough to keep homebuilders busy for nine years. That’s assuming anyone actually wants to build something, of course. [More]
1.6 Million Homes Hit With Foreclosure Notices In First Half Of 2010
By 7.15.10
If you received a foreclosure notice this year, you’re not alone. According to tracking firm RealtyTrac, 1.6 million properties received a foreclosure filing — defined as default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — during the first half of 2010. The good news: that number is down 5% from the previous six months. The bad? It’s up 8% from the first half of last year. And RealtyTrac doesn’t see any relief coming, as a “massive number of distressed properties and underwater loans continues to sit just below the surface.” [More]
Half-A-Dozen Companies Knew About Tainted Drywall, But Stayed Mum And Kept Selling It
By 6.23.10
Newly released court documents indicate that over a half-dozen companies knew about the rotten egg smells exuding from Chinese drywall since 2006, but they stayed quiet and kept selling the junk. [More]
I Like Smelling Farts, Chinese Drywall Distributor Tells Court
By 6.1.10
Do you like farts? Documents and depositions unearthed by ProPublica and the Sarasota Harold-Tribune show exchanges between homebuilder WCI Communities and drywall distributor Banner that reveal the sulfur-emitting drywall problem was known as far back as 2006, and yet customers and authorities were not notified. In one deposition, a Banner executive refuses to admit that sulfur-stinking drywall might bother others, seeing as he himself, on certain occasions, enjoys the sweet aroma of another man’s butt gas: [More]
10% Of Homeowners Just Missed A Mortgage Payment
By 5.20.10
The Mortgage Bankers Association says that if you just missed a morgage payment, you’re not alone — 10% of homeowners just did the same thing. [More]
Want A Job? Head To North Dakota, Just Bring A Sleeping Bag
By 4.22.10
North Dakota is bucking the downsizing trend by overflowing with jobs — many of them in the oil industry — the New York Times reports. Problem is, the state doesn’t have adequate housing to keep up with would-be carpetbaggers. [More]
When Should I Make Extra Mortgage Payments?
By 3.23.10
We get a surprising amount of letters from people who regularly make extra mortgage payments. (Extra payments sometimes confuse the bank and causes headaches.) It seems like it would always a good idea to pay off debt if you can afford it, but with current mortgage rates as low as they are.. does it still make sense? [More]
Maybe Homeowners Wouldn't Strategically Default If Lenders Cooperated
By 2.4.10
There’s an interesting detail at the end of this New York Times article on borrowers who strategically default–that is, they choose to walk away from the home when its value is significantly less than the mortgage balance. It turns out that the homeowner mentioned at the start of the article applied last fall for a loan modification with Bank of America after his income level had dropped, and this was BofA’s response: “The lender came back a few weeks ago with a plan that added more restrictive terms while keeping the payments about the same. ‘That may have been the last straw,’ Mr. Koellmann said.” [More]
Twitter Defamation Lawsuit Dismissed
By 1.21.10
The burgeoning Twitter libel defense industry was dealt a blow recently when the infamous Twitter defamation lawsuit was dismissed. Apparently, it is quite difficult to craft a Tweet that fits the legal requirements for defamation in this country. [More]
Rental Vacancies Are Up Along With Foreclosures. Wait, What?
By 1.11.10
So apparently apartment vacancies were up to 8% in the last quarter, which is weird because one would assume that people getting tossed from their foreclosed houses would be renting. Marketplace has some thoughts on the problem. [More]
About 1 In 4 Borrowers Is Underwater
By 12.1.09
The Wall Street Journal says the number of borrowers currently underwater on their mortgage (meaning they owe more than the property is worth) has swelled to 23%. Ouch. [More]
When To Buy A Home And How To Avoid Screwing It Up
By 11.2.09
Are you hitting that stage in life where you’re thinking of becoming a homeowner? Morningstar has published two home buying articles that together offer some good, concise advice to the prospective buyer, especially if you’re a first-timer.
Rent Someone's Home On Your Next Vacation
By 10.30.09
The next time you travel to another city, it might be cheaper, or at least more interesting, to rent directly from a local homeowner. Cool Tools says Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO.com) is a great way to find rental opportunities when you travel.
First Results Of Gov Study Of Chinese Drywall Inconclusive, But More Tests To Come
By 10.30.09
Yesterday the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced some findings from its study of the problematic Chinese drywall, which 1,900 Florida homeowners have complained stinks and makes people sick. The commission told the Associated Press that “no connections have been made yet,” but that they’re doing more tests—which means there’s still no definitive answer on who should be held financially responsible if the homes have to be gutted and repaired, which the Wall Street Journal says could cost as much as $25 billion dollars.
