foreclosures

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Cure for Dead Lawns at Foreclosures: Green Paint

Recession has left entire neighborhoods in need of quick spray

(Newser) - California’s Riverside County is looking a little greener these days—just don't look too closely. The area has been so racked by foreclosures and unsold homes that parts of it look like a ghost town, complete with very dead grass. That’s where Insta-Green comes in. The start-up has...

Md. Man Who Killed Family Was $460K in Debt

Father detailed mortgage, credit card woes in notes

(Newser) - The Maryland man who murdered his family before shooting and killing himself complained of his financial troubles in notes left at the scene, the Washington Post reports. Christopher Wood’s family was at least $460,000 in debt from two mortgages and credit card charges. The family owned a Florida...

Foreclosures Rose 24% in First Quarter

Rate expected to rise through the summer

(Newser) - The number of American households threatened with losing their homes grew 24% in the first 3 months of this year and is poised to rise further as major lenders restart foreclosures after a temporary moratorium, figures out today show. Though the Obama administration has invested $75 billion to help up...

As Bank Moratoriums End, Foreclosures Surge

(Newser) - As internal bank moratoriums on foreclosure imposed last year expire, many more Americans are losing their homes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Foreclosure proceedings were up 6% in February over January, and up 30% from March 2008. Just as the Obama administration's rescue plan kicks in, delinquents who don’t...

Foreclosures Draw Eager Buyers, but Banks Drag Feet

Red tape and bureaucracy hinder efforts to buy repo'd properties

(Newser) - Bargain hunters are turning to foreclosed homes for deals, but many are finding that buying repossessed properties from banks is a bureaucratic nightmare, the Washington Post reports. Though the housing market cannot stabilize until the unprecedented volume of foreclosures is sold off, banks are sluggish to act and fraught with...

Squatters Find Refuge in Foreclosed Homes

Activists move homeless families into bank-owned properties

(Newser) - Advocacy groups around the country frustrated by the lack of affordable housing and the surplus of empty properties are moving homeless families into foreclosed houses, reports the New York Times reports. Groups like Miami's Take Back the Land screen "tenants" for mental illness and drug problems and require them...

Crashed Market Opens Doors for New Homeowners

Foreclosed homes affordable to middle-class families

(Newser) - Since the real estate market collapsed, buying a home has become possible for middle-class families for whom it was previously out of reach, the New York Times reports. Taina Goldman, a Miami nurse, recently paid $187,000 for a house worth $370,000 three years ago. And she’s not...

Foreclosed Boston Landmark Auctioned Off for Half Price

(Newser) - New England’s tallest building has a new owner today, the Boston Herald reports—and the John Hancock Tower proved a steal, going at foreclosure auction for about half what it sold for in 2006. A pair of firms bid $660.6 million for the 60-story building in Boston’s...

Fannie Mae's Task: Sell 65K Homes in Buyer's Market

Unloading homes quickly while maintaining value, Fannie walks tightrope

(Newser) - It’s no secret that for US homeowners, it’s not a seller’s market. But imagine having 65,000 properties to sell. That’s the task ahead of Fannie Mae, NPR reports, as its volume of repossessed homes grows by the day. The guarantor of a third of all...

Playgrounds of Rich and Famous Hit the Skids

What would Jay Gatsby say?

(Newser) - Even crème de la crème communities are curdling in the current crisis, reports the Telegraph. Take the Hamptons, where nearly as many homes were being foreclosed last week as the number of places sold. Residents in the super-affluent towns on Long Island's east end are struggling to meet...

Foreclosure Crisis Stings Renters, Too

(Newser) - You probably don’t want to live in the Chandler, Ariz., housing complex known as Alante on the Islands, MSNBC reports. The development was once owned by a California company, but entered receivership when the overextended firm went under. Now maintenance is spotty, the pool has turned green, residents don’...

Scammers Set Sights on Desperate Homeowners

Calif. AG: Be 'deeply skeptical' of offers to help refinance

(Newser) - A record 5.4 million homeowners across the country are behind on their mortgages, and scam artists are looking to cash in, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Ads offering help lowering mortgage payments are everywhere. But these "loan negotiators" usually provide services that homeowners can handle on their own,...

Boom-Time Loans Cripple Churches
Boom-Time Loans
Cripple Churches
Mar 14, 2009 6:23 PM CDT

Boom-Time Loans Cripple Churches

(Newser) - Even houses of worship are facing foreclosures and unpaid bills these days, the AP reports. With credit markets dried up, churches and synagogues—normally rock-solid in recessions—are abandoning half-built properties and scrambling to find a home. "We now have children who don't have classrooms to get into, adults...

Foreclosures Undercut Builders
 Foreclosures Undercut Builders 
Mar 11, 2009 11:00 AM CDT

Foreclosures Undercut Builders

(Newser) - Foreclosures and other vacant homes make this a tough time to be a builder, the Wall Street Journal reports. Consider Pulte Homes, which is selling a new, four-bedroom home in Las Vegas for $214,990—while a short sale nearby offers a similar Pulte-built home for $149,999. “We...

'Hidden Homeless' Turn to Motels

Recession forces middle-income families into uncomfortable new quarters

(Newser) - As the economy leaves people without the income they need to afford a mortgage or monthly rent, more and more families find themselves checking into motels for indefinite stays. While they may be a step above homeless shelters, motels bring with them a unique set of problems as long-term stopgaps,...

Protesters Rip Manhattan Foreclosure Auction

They demand moratorium on evictions

(Newser) - New Yorkers protested an auction yesterday of hundreds of foreclosed homes, claiming the forced evictions plaguing the nation in this economic downturn are illegal, and demanding a moratorium. "Banks get bailout out, people get thrown out," read signs held aloft by demonstrators." Their rage was not directed...

Most Foreclosures Come From a Few Counties
Most Foreclosures Come From a Few Counties
ANALYSIS
Mar 6, 2009 12:05 PM CST

Most Foreclosures Come From a Few Counties

Crisis affects former boom areas the most

(Newser) - The majority of US home foreclosures last year happened in just 35 counties, USA Today reports. Though the effects of the mortgage crisis have been felt nationwide, foreclosures have been from the start clustered in formerly booming areas in Florida, California, Nevada, Arizona, and around Washington DC. The 35 most-affected...

House Homeowner Bill Lets Judges Reset Mortgages

Measure would allow bankruptcy judges to ease mortgage terms

(Newser) - The House has passed a homeowner rescue bill over the strenuous objections of the financial industry that would allow bankruptcy judges to change the terms of mortgages, the Washington Post reports. Judges could cut the principal on mortgages, extend terms and reduce interest rates under terms of the "cramdown"...

Obama Housing Rescue Plan Leaves Many Out in Cold

Criteria keep many who need help from refinancing under the plan

(Newser) - A large swath of Americans will see no help under the Obama administration’s housing rescue plan, the New York Times reports. While designed to prevent 3 million to 4 million foreclosures through loan modifications, the plan doesn't cover those whose loans aren’t backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie...

White House Starts Mortgage Rescue Plan

(Newser) - The White House today kicked off its $75 billion plan to curb mortgage foreclosures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The federal dollars will both push lenders to lower monthly payments and help homeowners keep paying. “Today, we are providing servicers with the details they need to begin helping eligible...

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