If this story is true, this is an ugly development. (It’s a guy with a video camera, so who knows.) Banks are allegedly paying to destroy new and unfinished homes that they own rather than pay mounting fines imposed by local government for allowing the homes to stay vacant and poorly maintained.
The only people winning [...]
Well, this is one way to get rid of unsold homes
May 13th, 2009 · No Comments
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Big jump in foreclosures: Who’s immune?
March 13th, 2009 · No Comments
Probably not too many people. Though California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida are still the poster children for the housing carnage, Idaho, Illinois, and Oregon are up-and-comers. Foreclosures for February 2009 are up 30% from February 2008 levels. Seven hundred thousand properties owned by banks haven’t been put on the market yet.
What may make the foreclosure [...]
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My workplace is turning into an MLS
February 10th, 2009 · 2 Comments
Maybe yours is too.
Over the past few years I’ve seen people occasionally posting a place for rent or sale. Usually not too often. For the past couple of weeks, I’m greeted each day with four advertisements for property. Three of them are looking for renters.
It might be just that lots of people have vacancies now, [...]
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Upside down? Prepare now to keep your mortgage current
January 22nd, 2009 · No Comments
Plonkee Money is going upside-down a little bit on her mortgage, and is getting a little worried. She can afford the payments, but she’s concerned that if she were to be laid off she might lose everything.
This is a valid concern, and she’s wise to consider how to allocate her resources to protect herself against [...]
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Steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure, Part 3
January 7th, 2009 · No Comments
Here’s the last installment of Liz Pulliam Weston’s tips for dealing with the possibility of foreclosure:
Offer a deed in lieu of foreclosure. This is an option if the shortfall between your house’s value and what’s owed on it isn’t too much. The lender can say, “Yeah, I’ll take the deed back, and you won’t owe [...]
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Steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure, Part 2
November 23rd, 2008 · No Comments
Liz Pulliam Weston wrote recently on steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure. There are smart ways to go about it, and not-so-smart ways. Here are three more of her suggestions with some of my comments:
Be realistic. A house is just a house. It may have a lot of sentimental value but when all is [...]
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Steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure, Part 1
November 5th, 2008 · No Comments
Liz Pulliam Weston wrote recently on steps to take if you’re facing foreclosure. There are smart ways to go about it, and not-so-smart ways. Here are her first three suggestions with some of my comments:
Make a budget. If there are places that can be cut in your budget that will make the difference between losing [...]
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Recognizing the signs of a family facing foreclosure
October 3rd, 2008 · No Comments
Free Money Finance recently had an acquaintance of his go into foreclosure, and the signs of trouble were clear in retrospect.
People don’t advertise that they’re facing foreclosure, at least not outwardly. Even if money is getting really tight, people can compartmentalize the worry when they’re interacting with others. One family I know had a fairly [...]
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Will your lender work with you?
September 13th, 2008 · 1 Comment
This article from the Chicago Tribune made a point about lenders that’s an unfortunate reality:
The more equity you have in your home, the less eager your lender may be to work with you. It’s an ironic fallout of the foreclosure crisis that those who have been the most diligent about making payments and have lived [...]
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Modern-day ghost towns
August 22nd, 2008 · No Comments
Some new developments in California are mostly, or just about entirely, vacant.
The housing industry had been stepping on the accelerator for a few years at the beginning of the decade. As big as it is, it gained momentum over those years. But now that it’s been barreling along so fast for so long, it will [...]
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