To fix the economy, first fix the housing market.
Is this a great country or what? At the start of last year, a friend of mine, the proprietor of a small business that has suffered badly in the recession, entered a trial mortgage-modification program. A few months later the bank told him that his application for a government-assisted refinancing rate had been turned down -- his house was too far underwater. He had bought it during the boom for $220,000, putting down $30,000, and then spent another $45,000 doing it up. Now it's worth about $100,000. Once his monthly payments were set to go back up (his mortgage rate is 6.5%), my friend stopped paying them and waited for the foreclosure and eviction notices to arrive. A year and a half later he is still inhabiting his own home and watching the mail.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/A2lRv70iHtk" height="1" width="1"/
September 30, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Big mortgages: Harder to get and more expensive
Starting Oct. 1, the beleaguered housing market will confront the latest hurdle to its recovery: The size of mortgages that the federal government can back will be drastically reduced in high-priced regions.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/K2jS7VTwCdk" height="1" width="1"/
September 30, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
‘I can’t flip this house’
Buy a home on the cheap and flip it for big profits? That dream is all but dead.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/SdOYj2ShhG0" height="1" width="1"/
September 29, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Home prices climb for fourth straight month
Home prices in July climbed for the fourth month in a row, but are still down from a year ago.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/-0H5f86DoU8" height="1" width="1"/
September 27, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Affordable mansions for sale
Ever dream of having your own reception hall or a dining room that could seat 20 people? These mansions offer lots of living space for less than what it costs to buy a one-bedroom condo in New York.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/RDpRUo8qhoE" height="1" width="1"/
September 23, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Existing home sales jump in August
Home buyers are starting to creep back into the housing market, lured by rock-bottom prices.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/3JV_99UqIqs" height="1" width="1"/
September 21, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Dodge the draft and cut home heating costs
You don't have to invest thousands in high-tech insulation or a super-efficient furnace to cut home heating costs. Just sealing drafts could lower your bills 3% to 18%, according to Danny Parker, a research scientist who works with the Department of Energy.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/yheu1xSZmqk" height="1" width="1"/
September 20, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Deadly tornadoes sends storm shelter sales soaring
The tornado season of 2011 will go down as one of the most destructive and dangerous in U.S. history.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/1uymsCSIJCs" height="1" width="1"/
September 20, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
The newest threat to home prices
The rancorous debate about how to address our escalating national debt has dominated the conversation in Washington lately. What isn't getting much attention inside the Beltway -- but should -- is a looming event that could have major consequences not only for your home's value but also for the overall economic recovery. Barring last-minute action by Congress, upscale housing is about to take another punch to the solar plexus -- just as it's struggling to stabilize.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/q1Ku_MI_g1w" height="1" width="1"/
September 19, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Mortgage rates at record low: 30-year nears 4%
Mortgage rates hit yet another record low this week amid ongoing economic concerns both at home and in Europe.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/ArQ2GhR3A6M" height="1" width="1"/
September 15, 2011 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
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