Help The Middle ClassNews and Information For The Heart Of America
The Fastest Growing Cities In Amercia (Business Week)
Tired of reading about how rotten the real estate market is? Here’s some good news that shows that even during the worst of the recession plenty of American cities, towns, and suburbs continue to grow.
One such place is Atascocita, Tex. A mostly residential community 20 miles from Houston, it gained more than 1,800 households in [...]
Obama Foreclosure Plan Falling Far Short On Goals (Washington Post)
The Obama administration disclosed on Friday that it has made little progress in helping struggling homeowners attain long-term relief under its signature foreclosure-prevention effort, reaching only 18 percent of the target announced just six weeks ago.
On Nov. 30, the administration kicked off a “Mortgage Modification Conversion Drive” to help distressed borrowers in the trial phase [...]
2010 Will Be A Record Year For Foreclosures As Unemployment Rises (Yahoo! News)
A record 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure last year, and that number is expected to rise this year as more unemployed and cash-strapped homeowners fall behind on their mortgages.
The number of households that received a foreclosure-related notice rose 21 percent from 2008, RealtyTrac Inc. reported Thursday. One in 45 homes were sent a [...]
Friendly Home Upgrades On The ‘Cheap’ (Shine)
Giving the kitchen or bath a lift doesn’t have to shrink your wallet. Try one or two of these easy ideas to upgrade the hardest-working spaces in the house.
For the Kitchen:
1. Small Change
Instead of everything but the kitchen sink, how about just the kitchen sink? Replacing a dated faucet does wonders for overall style.
2. Surface [...]
10 Savvy Homebuying Tips for 2010 (Bankrate.com)
The housing market, and with it, the mortgage landscape, have changed dramatically over the past two years.
Rules for scoring a low-interest mortgage have become stricter, and homebuyers must be savvy and well prepared to land any home loan. Below are 10 tips to make your homebuying and refinancing odyssey more successful in 2010.
FOR CONTINUATION OF [...]
Foreclosures Lowering The Value Of Your Home (USA Today / AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It wasn’t the first time that Katherine Scheri ruined a real estate agent’s day with a low property appraisal.
Scheri, a real estate appraiser, had sized up a three-bedroom, two-bath house in Santa Ana, Calif., for $30,000 less than what the buyers offered to pay. A typical deal-killer for a seller.
The agent [...]
Confessions of an Underwater Homeowner (Wall Street Journal)
One in four borrowers is underwater on a mortgage in the U.S.
Count me among them.
My family’s modest, suburban New Jersey house is now worth about $30,000 less than our current balance. We never dreamed of walking away, but the idea of “strategically defaulting,” is something we had to at least consider. Many others have, too, [...]
10 Things You Need To Know To Get A Mortgage In 2010 (Yahoo!)
More than three years into a painful housing crash, the real estate market has sent recent–albeit tentative–signs of stabilization. Home sales have increased, inventory levels are down, and price declines have become less precipitous. Along with more affordable home prices and a tax perk from Uncle Sam, attractive mortgage rates–which remained below 5 percent as [...]
Obama’s Foreclosure Relief Program: Only 4% In Cue To Get A Loan – Over 700,000 Running Out Of Time (Washington Post)
The government’s foreclosure relief program is sputtering, according to government data released Thursday showing that the pace of help being offered to struggling homeowners slowed last month and many borrowers are at risk of losing the aid they have already received.
The program, known as Making Home Affordable, faces a frustrating set of challenges. Only about [...]
NEW AMERICAN DREAM: Default, Then Rent (Wall Street Journal)
Schoolteacher Shana Richey misses the playroom she decorated with Glamour Girl decals for her daughters. Fireman Jay Fernandez misses the custom putting green he installed in his backyard.
But ever since they quit paying their mortgages and walked away from their homes, they’ve discovered that giving up on the American dream has its benefits.
Both now live [...]
