So, Congress finally passed the bailout bill. You know about the Treasury’s newfound $700 billion, and you’ve heard about the snipped golden parachutes, but what does the 451-page week-old shotgun savior of a bill actually mean for you?
housing
Escape The Rat Race With A Tiny House
By 9.12.08
It’s not just supermarkets that are shrinking—you can also build yourself a 90-square-foot house to shack up in with your hunched-over spouse and children. You’ll save money! You’ll save the environment! Relatives will never expect to be given free room and board when they come to visit!
Nobody Panic: Government Seizes Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae
By 9.6.08
Oh dear, all that talk about Freddie and Fannie being “adequately capitalized” was utter bullshit and the government has now announced plans to place the failed government sponsored enterprises into conservatorship. That means the fate of the housing market and the global economy rest squarely on the shoulders of U.S. taxpayers.
Expect Fewer Deals At Home Depot, Lowe's
By 8.25.08
Home Depot and Lowe’s are starting to realize that the surging housing market — which had fueled their own sales for the last few years — is really and truly over and it may not be coming back for a good long while. What does this mean for their customers? An emphasis on lower prices every day — and fewer promotions.
Don't Fall For Mortgage Infomercials Masquerading As "News Networks"
By 8.12.08
Reader Brian says he saw the above pictured infomercial on CNBC this Sunday, and is wondering how they get away with such a “blatant attempt to take advantage of those same mortgage consumers who where hoodwinked in the first place.”
Homeowners In Denial: Everyone's House Is Worth Less Except Yours
By 8.7.08
According to a new survey from Zillow.com, Americans are totally out of touch with reality when it comes to their homes. 62% of homeowners surveyed said they thought their homes had appreciated in value over the past year. In fact, only 19% of homes in the US increased in value, and 77% actually decreased in value. (5% stayed the same.)
Halt Foreclosure Proceedings By Challenging Your Bank's Claim To Your House
By 7.27.08
Banks don’t always own the homes they’re trying to repossess, a crucial oversight that residents facing foreclosure can exploit to stay in their homes—though not without effort. Mamie Ruth Palmer successfully sued the Bank of New York after the bank tried to foreclose her home without possessing the note securing the property. After six years in court, the bank agreed to slash her outstanding mortgage in half and waive $12,000 in foreclosure fees so she could keep her home.
U.S. Foreclosures Double: 1 in Every 171 Households Affected
By 7.25.08
Hmm, wasn’t this housing bubble crap supposed to be slowing down? Guess not. The foreclosure numbers for last quarter are twice as bad as last year according to the new numbers from RealtyTrac (a firm that tracks foreclosure filings.) 1 in every 171 households nationwide was foreclosed on, received a default notice or was warned of a pending auction in the second quarter of 2008. Bloomberg says this is an increase of 14% from last quarter and an increase of 121% from this time last year.
By 7.24.08
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Bad News: Sales of existing homes slide to a 10-year low, despite a drop in prices and a glut of available homes. [Reuters]
House Stuck On The Market? Try Cleaning The Windows
By 7.20.08
No amount of interior decorating wizardry will help sell your house if the windows are dirty. “When you’re marketing a house, clean windows are like clean teeth: they’re the first thing people see on the outside and the first thing they see through on the inside,” according to broker Phyllis Jane Young. So how do you make your windows sparkle? You need two things: sudsy water and a squeegee. That’s it!
Moving With Movearoo's Help? Hope You Like AT&T, Verizon, And Qwest
By 7.17.08
Movearoo.com is a new website that appears to offer free assistance with your move, helping you set up things like phone service, gas, and electricity at your new address. The site calls itself “Your Total Moving Resource.” It’s a helpful site, sure, but you should be aware that it’s funded by AT&T, Verizon, and Qwest, and exists primarily to promote their services. In other words, you won’t find a comprehensive list of competing phone service providers through Movearoo, only those offered by the three sponsor companies. A consumer advocate points out the drawback of making Movearoo your sole relocation resource:
U.S. Treasury Attempts To Save Freddie, Fannie, Avert Apocalypse
By 7.14.08
This Sunday the Bush administration asked Congress to approve a “rescue package” that would give officials the ability to inject “billions of federal dollars” into Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The Federal Reserve also announced that it would make its short-term lending programs available to Freddie and Fannie, said the NYT.
Bush Administration Considering A Takeover Of Freddie And Fanny
By 7.11.08
Freddie and Fanny lost about half of their value overnight as investors became more certain that the government was going to have to bail out the two GSEs (Government Sponsored Enterprises.) The New York Times says that senior members of the Bush administration are considering a takeover of Freddie and Fannie that would leave their shares “worth little or nothing,” and where taxpayers would pay “any losses on mortgages they own or guarantee.”
See How Soaring Gas Prices Have Impacted Your Community With This Transportation Cost Heat Map
By 7.9.08
The Center for Neighborhood Technology has an fun (but painfully slow) interactive map that will allow you to see how soaring transportation costs are impacting different metro areas across the US.
By 5.27.08
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Sales of newly constructed single family homes are down 42% from last year, the largest single year-to-year drop in nearly 27 years. [Reuters]
By 5.9.08
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Dr. Housing Bubble tells the tumultuous story of one two bedroom 1 bath 825 square foot home in Santa Ana, California. The little house sold for $88,000 in 1988 and had skyrocketed in “value” all the way up to $505,000 when it was sold in 2006. The 90 year old house is current on the market for $177,495. [Dr. Housing Bubble]
How The Candidates Would Address The Foreclosure Crisis
By 4.28.08
Mark Ireland, former Minnesota Assistant Attorney General, took a look at what the three remaining presidential candidates are saying about the foreclosure crisis and translated their campaign-speak into good ol’ American English.
