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Bush will announce later today a plan for helping low-income homeowners curtail foreclosure. [NYT]
real estate
Lighter Side Of The Housing Bubble
By 8.28.07
There’s not much amusing in the subprime meltdown and housing bubble burst, which is why we were gladdened to see a site called Burbed. Basically, they make fun of San Francisco Bay Area housing listings.
Getting Foreclosed? We Want To Hear About It
By 8.20.07
Have you or someone you know experienced or are experiencing foreclosure? The Consumerist is interested in interviewing people who are losing their house. Please send an email, subject line “foreclosure” with your contact information and the best time to reach you at tips@consumerist.com.
Brokers Lured Naive Homebuyers Into Mortgages They Couldn't Afford
By 8.20.07
The core of the subprime meltdown are homeowners not paying their mortgages. A contributing factor to the default rate are people who signed up for loans with low teaser rates that ratcheted up afterwards, and now it’s time to give the devil his due. Why would people do such a foolish thing?
Whoops, Where'd My Mortgage Go?
By 8.15.07
NPR interviewed a would-be Brooklynite named Claudia who is trying to buy an apartment for herself and her teenaged sons. Everything seemed settled, when all of a sudden the lender that was going to be offering Claudio her HELOC loan decided they didn’t really want to anymore.
Countrywide, America's Largest Mortgage Lender, May Have To File For Bankruptcy
By 8.15.07
“If enough financial pressure is placed on Countrywide or if the market loses confidence in its ability to function properly then the model can break, leading to an effective insolvency,” Bruce wrote. “If liquidations occur in a weak market, then it is possible for Countrywide to go bankrupt.”
Foreclosure Filed On 1 In 29 Households In Detroit In 2007
By 8.15.07
The foreclosure numbers for the first half of 2007 are in and Stockton, California leads the pack with 1 out of every 27 homes foreclosed on in 2007. Second is Detroit, with 1 in 29 and coming in third, Las Vegas with 1 in 31.
Mortgage Payments Shouldn't Exceed 28% Of Your Income
By 8.14.07
Those with option-ARM mortgages ratcheting up to a higher APR in October, take note: A well-polished piece of advice for home owners is that mortgage payments, including principal, interest, insurance, and taxes, should not be more than 28 percent of your gross monthly income, according to the August issue of the USAA member magazine. Individual situations may vary, but the basic idea is not get more house than you can afford. Around 28% gives you enough to take care of day-to-day living expenses and food and gas and going to see Transformers and whatnot.
Subprime Meltdown Spreads To "Jumbo" Mortgages
By 8.13.07
The New York Times has an interesting article that explains the affect the subprime lending meltdown is having on so-called “jumbo” loans.
Use Online Real Estate Broker, Get Back 2/3 Of The Sales Commission
By 8.12.07
A contributor to Kevin Kelly’s “Cool Tools” site writes that they saved $15,000 on a recent home purchase in California by using Redfin, an online real estate broker that lets you do most of the grunt work of finding a new house, then steps in to help with the paperwork at the end for a greatly reduced fee. We’ve discussed Redfin before, but thought it was interesting to read a user’s personal experience with it.
Is Renting Really Better Than Buying a Home?
By 8.1.07
Personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly breaks down the costs, savings, and investment gains associated with both renting and buying similar homes in the same market and finds that renting is a much better financial move. How much better?
Heat Map Of Rental Prices Based On Craiglist Listings
By 7.23.07
In a project born out of “boredom” and an experience with a landlord that was facing foreclosure due to gambling on an ARM, grad student Ethan Garner created CraigStatsSF, a site that visualizes craiglist San Francisco rental listings. He writes:
As I started looking for places, I noticed everything that used to be for rent was now for sale due to the same foreclosure effect that happened to my landlord.
Lowe's Makes "Katrina Cottages" Available Nationwide
By 7.19.07
The small cottages designed to replace FEMA trailers after Hurricane Katrina are popular, so popular that Lowe’s has decided to offer them in their stores.
Elderly Couple Could Lose Home Over $1.63 Tax Bill
By 7.17.07
In 1996 a property tax bill for $1.63 was mailed to Kermit and Dolores Atwood. The bill never reached its destination, according to the Times-Picayune. Now, 11 years later, the Atwoods are in danger of losing their home.
By 7.12.07
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13 question free online calculator to help determine how much house you can really afford. [Bankrate]
Why So Sad? Consumer Confidence Is Down
By 6.27.07
The Conference Board, based in New York, said that the consumer confidence index fell almost five points, to 103.9, from a revised 108.5 in May, reaching the lowest level since August 2006, when the reading was 100.2. Analysts had expected a reading of 106.
4 Things To Try Before Foreclosure
By 6.18.07
Usually one has somewhat of an advance notice that they’re going to miss a mortgage payment, so before that happens and the bank comes to take your house away, Kiplinger’s advises calling up your lender and discussing one of these four options:
