Mobile homes have a less-than-stellar reputation, deservedly or not. I know my own mom always warned me against them by saying they were just tornado bait, which was enough to make me leery of even stepping foot inside a friend’s mobile home growing up. But if you’re not irrationally afraid of tornadoes, a mobile home might be a great housing option if you’re on a tight budget or looking to save money, writes Michigan Telephone.
housing
Homeowners With Good Credit Are More Likely To Strategically Default
By 9.25.09
Here’s an interesting discovery about mortgage defaults from the LA Times:
Buying Your First Home? Here Are 7 Good Tips
By 9.18.09
Ron Lieber at the New York Times has put together seven sensible tips that can help you find a first time home that you can both afford and enjoy living in.
Beware Scammers Installing City-Mandated "Whole House Water Systems"
By 8.25.09
A city in Florida has just warned its residents of a weird scam: someone’s been hanging pink notices on doors around town that say, “Due to the water quality in this area, we will be installing whole-house water treatment systems.” You’re supposed to fill out the back of the notice and leave it out for further contact. Remember, don’t let anyone remodel your home on behalf of the city. It probably goes without saying, but still.
Crazy Landlord Fights Heat Wave With Air Conditioning Ban
By 8.2.09
An Oregon landlord refuses to let his tenants install air conditioners because he thinks they “look tacky.” Tenants of the Arbor Creek complex in Aloha who choose to sacrifice aesthetics for comfort have ten days to correct their mistake before facing eviction. One tenant’s kid already landed in the hospital thanks to heat stroke.
New Home Sales Increase! Still Down 21%!
By 7.27.09
The world is currently overjoyed at the news that new home sales have increased by 11% this month, which is apparently much more than expected, but are still 21% below the levels of a year ago.
Want Free Housing? Become A Traveling Caretaker
By 7.22.09
Cool Tools describes the Caretaker Gazette as “house-sitting classifieds.” The tipster writes, “I’ve used [it] to live rent-free for the past three years […] living as a caretaker in California and Idaho. In exchange for my accommodations, my duties have included keeping trespassers off the property, taking messages, mowing the lawn, cleaning the pool and generally watching over the home when the owners are away.” An online subscription costs $30 a year, and includes a PDF issue every two months, plus listings online and a weekly email update.
Radioactive Chinese Drywall Is Stinking Up U.S. Homes
By 7.4.09
The government thinks radioactive industrial waste from China is responsible for a recent sulfur stench that has plagued hundreds of Florida homes. Demand for Chinese drywall spiked during the housing boom, but federal regulators believe the drywall contained phosphogypsum, a banned waste byproduct that features prominently in Chinese construction. When used in drywall, the probable carcinogen can corrode “air conditioners, mirrors, electrical outlets and even jewelry.”
WSJ Asks, "Is Your Home A Good Investment?"
By 5.26.09
Brett Arends at The Wall Street Journal has compared Case-Shiller house price data to annual inflation rates, and speculates that owning a home may not be a very good investment. “You can often do better on long-term inflation protected government bonds,” he writes.
Here's A Cheap Way To Install Solar Panels On Your House
By 5.26.09
Cool Tools has an interesting suggestion for home owners who want to incorporate solar technology, but can’t afford the steep investment costs: let the solar panel company finance it for you. The trade-off is you won’t save as much money as you would if you paid for them outright, but you will save some money, and the company that’s paying for the panels has a financial incentive to keep them working properly over the course of the agreement.
EPA Releases Report On Stinky Chinese Drywall
By 5.20.09
Homeowners in Florida have been complaining that Chinese-made drywall has been stinking up their homes and corroding their wiring — and now that EPA has released a report that finds that indeed, there is something rotten smelling in the drywall. Sulfur.
Beware Of The "Model Home" Ploy From Window Salesmen
By 4.30.09
Thomas says his wife was approached by a belligerent salesman the other day regarding the windows on their home. He tried to get her to agree to an instant estimate and promised a huge discount for being a “model home” for the window upgrades, but when she refused to make an instant decision, Thomas says he “snatched the card out of her hand” and “yelled at her.”
Home Prices Down More Than 30% From 2006 Peak
By 4.28.09
There’s good news in the housing market… sort of. For the first time in 25 months, housing price declines failed to set a new record. Whether or not this means that we’re reaching the bottom — no one can really say.
Acting CFO Of Freddie Mac Found Dead This Morning
By 4.22.09
David Kellermann, a former Freddie Mac senior vice president who had been serving as the acting chief financial officer of the mortgage buying company since its takeover by the federal government last September, was found “hanging in the basement of his Reston home, dead from an apparent suicide” early this morning. Police were called to his home by someone inside the house at about 5 am today and found Kellermann’s body.
Tenants Sue After Landlord Charges Bogus Fines Reaching $8,000
By 4.4.09
440 residents of an East Harlem apartment have sued international real estate conglomerate Dawnay Day for neglecting building repairs, charging for appliances that were never purchased, and issuing fines reaching $8,000 for improperly using those imaginary appliances. New York’s State’s housing laws apparently don’t protect tenants from bogus fines, so the group instead relied on consumer laws to file their suit.
Report: Loan Modifications To Date Haven't Been That Effective
By 4.4.09
Fewer than half of loan modifications made at the end of last year actually reduced borrowers’ payments by more than 10 percent… [while] nearly one in four loan modifications in the fourth quarter actually resulted in increased monthly payments.
Homeowners Association Will Foreclose On Your House If You Don't Pay $267.58
By 3.16.09
Be careful what you sign when you buy that new home — because you might be agreeing to allow the home owners association foreclose on and auction off your house if you don’t pay your dues.
