08/23/2010
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Five 'new normals' that really will stick
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It's not easy to change Americans' financial habits permanently, and 'new normals' don't always last. Fortune found five that just might stick, at least for a while.
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www.cnn.com
08/21/2010
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The laws on securing truck loads
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For the owner, licensee and driver of any truck, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer, it is their duty to securely fasten the load to the vehicle.
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www.trashoutpro.com
08/19/2010
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Brazen Seattle squatter occupies Magnolia dream home
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It has sweeping views of Puget Sound, spans 5,000 square feet of space and rests on a quiet street on top of a hill.
However, police sources say this million-dollar dream home is occupied by a man who's living there illegally.
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www.katu.com
08/19/2010
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Not easy to claim abandoned home next door
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Interestingly, people who have moved into abandoned homes and started paying property taxes on them in recent years have had some success keeping them -- or at least getting those tax payments reimbursed when the houses are reclaimed by their true owners. But it's a process fraught with uncertainty.
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www.bankrate.com
08/18/2010
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HOMEOWNERS' REBELLION:
COULD 62 MILLION HOMES BE FORECLOSURE-PROOF?
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Over 62 million mortgages are now held in the name of MERS, an electronic recording system devised by and for the convenience of the mortgage industry. A California bankruptcy court, following landmark cases in other jurisdictions, recently held that this electronic shortcut makes it impossible for banks to establish their ownership of property titles—and therefore to foreclose on mortgaged properties. The logical result could be 62 million homes that are foreclosure-proof.
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www.webofdebt.com
08/17/2010
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Small Businesses Are Having An Easier Time Getting Loans, Fed Survey Finds
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The weak economy and continued high unemployment has kept housing markets cool. As a result, the median price of a single-family home crept up just 1.5% to $176,900 in the second quarter, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.
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www.cnn.com
08/11/2010
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Home prices slowly creeping up (Comprehensive CHART city-by-city)
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The weak economy and continued high unemployment has kept housing markets cool. As a result, the median price of a single-family home crept up just 1.5% to $176,900 in the second quarter, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.
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www.cnn.com
08/03/2010
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Owners of blighted property shamed online
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Reading Mayor Tom McMahon announced a new online "Wall of Shame" featuring blighted properties that he said would be torn down unless owners fix them up. The property owners' names are posted along with pictures and addresses.
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www.msnbc.com
Read More:
map and list of properties is online
07/30/2010
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Aunt Aggie's Farm: State Tells Niece To Back Off 100-Year-Old Woman Facing Foreclosure
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Albinger allegedly took out a $100,000 mortgage on the farm in 2000 and "then began to sign over parcels of land to a trust and also to a company called Phoenix Horizon LLC, which according to state records was formed by Albinger's niece, Bridget Gruzdis,"
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www.huffingtonpost.com
(Related) Read More:
SAVE AGNES' FARM!,
100-Year-Old Woman Raised 40 Foster Kids On Her Monee Farm ,
Aunt Aggie's whistleblower,
She's 100 years old and facing foreclosure,
100-year-old Monee woman fighting to stay on farm gets glimmer of hope.
07/30/2010
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Americans Buy IPads While Broke in New Abnormal Economy
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When the bank foreclosed, he says he felt a sense of relief. He also had more cash. He and his fiance took the kids to Disneyland. Ronzio, 31, gave himself a treat as well. "I bought myself an iPad,"
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www.bloomberg.com
07/30/2010
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America's oldest family farm for sale
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Since 1635, the Tuttle farm has been passed from father to son and after years of thought, Will Tuttle has put what's known as the country's longest family-run farm on the market.
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www.cnn.com
07/28/2010
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The Most Ridiculous Real Estate Agents Of All Time (PHOTOS)
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We don't know why real estate agents insist on putting their names and faces all over their signs. Isn't the property or home the REAL reason you're calling anyway?
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www.huffingtonpost.com
07/28/2010
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Homeowner wins right to park truck in own driveway. Florida Man Spends $200K for Right to Park in His Own Driveway
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n a news release from his law firm, Anderson said the association will have incurred more than $300,000 in legal fees and costs after paying the Vizzis. He said the Vizzis regret the fact that the homeowners will end up paying the bill, but had no other choice aside from giving in to the association's demands.
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www.myfoxtampabay.com
07/26/2010
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Advice for the reluctant landlord
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Prices in many places are unlikely to rise for a year or more. Until they do, these simple steps will help you maximize what you make while minimizing hassles.
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www.cnn.com
Read More:
EZ Landlord Forms
07/23/2010
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Renters: Know Your Health Rights
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According to Every Tenant's Legal Guide, every state except Arkansas requires rental housing be kept in "livable condition" - meaning it must have safe electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation systems, an intact structure, and clean and safe hallways and stairs.
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www.huffingtonpost.com
Read More:
National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership,
Every Tenant's Legal Guide,
Section 8,
Federal Standards
07/19/2010
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Secrets of extreme savers - You can put away a lot more than the average American without living a deprived life.
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Before they make any purchase, even big-ticket items like cars, they save up the cash. In 1996 they paid cash for their first home, a $105,000 townhouse in Macon, Ga. Five years later they bought their current three-bedroom home in the Kansas City suburbs for $200,000 -- in cash.
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www.cnn.com
06/18/2010
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Lenders Mine Facebook, Twitter For Info On Borrowers
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Andy Beal, the owner of Trackur, told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette that many companies--among them, credit lenders and debt collectors--are now using social media monitoring services to "match online profiles with real world identities."
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www.huffingtonpost.com
06/16/2010
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'SAVE MY HOUSE' Contest: Saddest Foreclosure Victim Wins A Free Lawyer
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So far, the shortfall has been masked by a weak economy that has put a damper on homebuying. Once the job market rebounds, however, people will look to have their own homes again. This pent-up demand could get unleashed on unprepared markets, causing shortages and rising local prices.
-
www.huffingtonpost.com
Read More:
"Save My House" contest
06/03/2010
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Think housing is recovering? Think again.
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And delinquencies already account for more than 10% of all mortgages. These defaults aren't just on subprime ARMS anymore either, with prime fixed-rate loans now representing 37% of all delinquent loans. Moody's forecasts about 1.9 million homes will be taken from their owners this year, with a little over a million more going back to the banks in 2011. These can be added to the 6.3 million vacant homes currently sitting idle across America.
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www.cnn.com
06/03/2010
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Should you rent or buy? - Use Trulia's Rent vs. Buy calculator
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If you guessed buy, you'd be wrong. According to the new Trulia Rent vs. Buy index, it makes more fiscal sense to rent in this farm city due to the huge gap between rental and purchase prices.
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www.cnn.com
06/03/2010
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The Top 10 Cities Where It's Cheaper To Rent Than Buy A Home (PHOTOS)
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"It is not a surprise to see cities like New York and San Francisco on the 'Rent' cities but I was surprised to see areas like Omaha, Oklahoma City and Kansas City on our rental list, "said Pete Flint, co-founder and CEO of Trulia. "We're not suggesting that it's unwise to buy in these areas though -- just that it's significantly more expensive than renting."
-
www.huffingtonpost.com
Should you rent or buy?
05/20/2010
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What to watch for when buying a vacant home
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Here's a list of 10 things to watch for in foreclosed or vacant homes from Ross Kollenberg, mitigation and construction manager for On-Site Specialty Cleaning & Restoration in Troy, Mich:
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www.miamiherald.com
04/08/2010
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House Republican Book Club: Michael Lewis Claims GOP Lawmakers Shockingly Uninformed About Financial Crisis
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Lewis that they were going to leave early to attend the Bernanke hearing but they stayed because "they said, 'We never learn anything from him [Bernanke], he never explains anything to us'," according to Lewis.
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www.huffingtonpost.com
04/08/2010
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The Recession Creates a New Business Paradigm: Entrepreneurial Independence and Individualism
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Instead of rejoining the ranks of the W-2 workforce, these spirited individuals are choosing to take control of their own destiny and become their own boss. They are starting out as independent consultants, taking on freelance jobs, and identifying unique business opportunities
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www.huffingtonpost.com
03/23/2010
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Vast Majority Of Americans Say Banks Still Need to 'Make Amends' For Crisis: ABC News
-
Seventy-seven percent in this poll for "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" say these institutions have not done enough to make amends for their part in the economy's meltdown.
-
www.abcnews.com
To download a PDF file with full poll results:
CLICK HERE
03/23/2010
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Two New Studies Show States Are Better At Protecting Consumers Than The Feds
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One of the more contentious issues in the debate over financial regulatory reform has to do with whether tough state consumer protection laws should continue to be preempted by federal regulations and laws, some of which may be less stringent.
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www.huffingtonpost.com
03/10/2010
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LifeLock settles with FTC for $12 million
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Federal regulators said Tuesday that LifeLock has agreed to pay $12 million to settle charges the company made deceptive claims about its ability to protect customers from identity theft.
-
www.cnn.com
03/09/2010
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Robert Mustard Jr., Dallas Shooter, Yelled 'You've Taken All My Money' Before Trying To Kill His Financial Adviser
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When police arrived, Mustard was still on the premises, authorities said. Police shot at -- but missed -- the gunman, a disbarred lawyer, who then barricaded himself in an office and shot himself in the head.
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www.huffingtonpost.com
03/08/2010
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Can't make your mortgage? Get an emergency loan
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The Smiths are among the 3,250 homeowners that the housing agency's mortgage assistance program saved from foreclosure last year. Created in 1983, the initiative provides loans of up to $60,000 for as long as 36 months to Pennsylvania residents suffering financial hardship, such as job loss, divorce or medical problems.
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www.cnn.com
02/25/2010
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Wall Street used Stockton as housing punch line
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On Wall Street it was spring 2005 "when we began to hear the first jokes about the housing market," writes Lawrence McDonald, vice president at Lehman Brothers before its historic September 2008 collapse.
McDonald, author of a riveting new inside history of Lehman, "A Colossal Failure of Common Sense," says, "One name in particular kept popping up on the joke menu: Stockton."
-
www.miamiherald.com
02/19/2010
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My Mortgage Company is stealing my money--and my home! A new definition of "Home Robbery"
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This should be on the front page:
Read why it is any legislation designed to put foreclosures on the fast-track would be bad for homeowners... Be sure to watch the video embedded in blog, and then scroll down to find another investigative report in the comment field.
You owe it to yourself to watch these videos -especially if you have a mortgage and believe that by simply making your payments on time, your home is safe from foreclosure--think again!
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www.givemebackmycredit.com
01/23/2010
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How a swashbuckling breed of mathematicians and computer scientists nearly destroyed Wall Street
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The Minds Behind the Meltdown. In his new book, "The Quants," Wall Street Journal reporter Scott Patterson suggests how this new breed of mathematicians and computer scientists took over much of the financial system and the damage they inflicted in the 2007 meltdown.
-
www.wsj.com
01/23/2010
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7 Things About The Economy Everyone Should Be Worried About
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A common theme underlying them all is that while our leaders -- and the voices of conventional wisdom -- treat our current recession as cyclical in nature, and are essentially mostly just waiting around for growth to pick up again, there is plenty of reason to believe that this crisis was instead an expression of structural problems. And if that is so, and we don't take the proper action, then the wait could be a long one.
-
www.huffingtonpost.com
01/17/2010
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Joseph Stiglitz: Economic Crisis Exposed The 'Moral Bankruptcy' Of Our Society
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IT IS SAID THAT A NEAR-DEATH experience forces one to reevaluate priorities and values. The global economy has just escaped a near-death experience. The crisis exposed the flaws in the prevailing economic model, but it also exposed flaws in our society.
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www.motherjones.com
01/06/2010
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The Pros and Cons of Social Lending
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The loans can be used for funding many of life's necessities such as a baby on the way, buying a car, purchasing a home, paying off student loans or to cover medical bills. The site has become increasingly popular since 2007, mostly due to both the lending options it offers borrowers with various credit backgrounds and the investing opportunities it offers lenders.
-
www.mint.com
12/13/2009
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Catch-22: Credit checks on jobless keep jobless unemployed
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Employment experts say companies of all kinds are increasingly reviewing the credit histories of job candidates before making a decision about whom to hire.
-
www.sun-sentinel.com
12/05/2009
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Rent a mansion for less. Exhibitionists welcome.
-
That is the idea behind the recently launched Web site
-
LiveInHomeStagers.com
started by Valerie Szymaniak of Boca Raton.
-
www.heraldtribune.com
Inside Edition Story on Using People as Props to Sell Vacant Homes
11/26/2009
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Federal Bankruptcy Filings Are Up By 34.5%
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New numbers from the
-
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
show about 1.4 million bankruptcy cases were filed this fiscal year. That's up 34.5 percent compared with the more than 1 million cases filed last fiscal year. The bankruptcy figures cover a period from Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30.
-
www.liveinhomestagers.com
11/22/2009
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Neighbors work together to take care of vacant homes
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In Indian Village, residents place baby monitors in vacant homes to stop break-ins and in other neighborhoods, some residents pool funds to buy foreclosed homes and keep them from deteriorating, said Emily Billings, an agent with Dwellings Unlimited in Southfield, Mich.
-
www.miamiherald.com
11/18/2009
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Home Prices Will Rise 4% In 2010, Say Realtors
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The housing market's rebound has been aided by an aggressive federal intervention to lower mortgage rates and bring more buyers into the market.
-
www.huffingtonpost.com
11/18/2009
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Biden On The Bailout: 'Socialism For The Rich And Capitalism For The Poor' (VIDEO)
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I was in Arizona the other day and said I would get more support in the Congress saying 'Let's pass a law restoring rattlesnakes in the desert' [than helping Wall Street again],
-
www.huffingtonpost.com
10/30/2009 - Mobile Home Ad's Painfully Honest Pitch: "These Ain't Mansions" - Once again, Rhett and Link have taken downtrodden business owners and given them an incredible viral ad that shows their true colors. - www.huffingtonpost.com
10/29/2009 - What happens if you don't pay the mortgage? - About one-third of South Florida mortgages are underwater, meaning the homeowners owe more than the home is worth at today's depressed prices, according to First American CoreLogic. Some homeowners are certainly wondering why they're sending in the payment on, say, a $300,000 mortgage, when the house today would sell for only $210,000. - www.miamiherald.com
10/28/2009 - Imagine no foreclosures (it's easy if you try) - How about this. Let's have a federal bill that states that any bank that took a bailout loan and hasn't paid it back yet isn't permitted to foreclose on anybody's primary residence. - www.stanleybing.com
10/25/2009 - New owner worries about short sales - Now we are concerned that when the property moves from the builder to the association all these short sale units that are not sold will be pending unpaid liabilities for the community. - www.miamiherald.com
10/25/2009 - Illegal Foreclosures & Evictions, Appalling Lender / Lawyer Abuses, Impediments to Justice - because too often judges are biased against the financially unfortunate, they tend to rule in favor of the rich and powerful; or, a person can run out of money to pay his / her lawyer prior to resolution of the matter. - www.newsblaze.com
10/25/2009 - Fla. Appeals Court Takes Judge to Task for 'Benevolence'
- "Benevolence and compassion" have no place when it comes to setting foreclosure sales, a Florida state appellate court ruled in a stern order. - www.law.com
10/25/2009 - Make the right moves after foreclosure
- Quick action and persistence can set the stage for recovery after losing your home in a foreclosure. - www.miamiherald.com
10/25/2009 - Thousands starting over after foreclosure
- You can put your life back together after you lose your house -- whether or not you ever buy again. - www.miamiherald.com
10/16/2009 - Was The Recession Caused By Intelligent People?
- "IF you really want to know why the financial system nearly collapsed in the fall of 2008, I can tell you in one simple sentence." - www.nytimes.com
10/15/2009 - Thousands mob Detroit center in hopes of free cash - Scuffles erupted as several thousand Detroit residents jockeyed, pushed and shoved Wednesday to get free money being offered to only 3,500 of the city's recently or soon to be homeless. - www.huffingtonpost.com
10/12/2009 - How The Last 30 Years Have Squeezed The Middle Class - As abundant data make clear, middle class families are being squeezed by stagnant incomes and rising expenses, and have been since the 1970s. - www.dailyfinance.com
10/09/2009 - Mortgages under 5% are back in bloom - THome mortgage rates fell for the sixth straight week, according to two key measures, with one of them pointing to a sub-5% rate for the 30-year fixed loan for the second week in a row. - www.cnn.com
10/09/2009 - For Sale: Buy the Cheapest House in the Valley -- For $25,000 - The 600 square-foot home at 815 E. First Street features one bedroom and one bathroom and is the least expensive single family home in the seven-county area served by the Metrolist multiple listing service that doesn't involve a bank-owned or short sale transaction. - www.news10.net
10/07/2009 - Homes: Sell at a loss, buy at a discount - Jennifer Galdes wants to buy a home in a better neighborhood, but is now the right time? - www.cnn.com
10/07/2009 - How to play the housing 'rebound' - What the housing 'rebound' means for you. Homes are selling again, but the market today is divided by price point. Your best strategy depends on where your home sits on that spectrum. - www.cnn.com
10/04/2009 - Mold turned Orlando man's 'castle' into 'house of horrors' - Ronald Brooke is rebuilding most of his house near the University of Central Florida, after stripping it down to its wood frame and concrete slab. He discovered in 2003 that mold was making him sick. - www.orlandosentinel.com
10/02/2009 - America's Debt Mentality - A former co-worker who was born in France and is now an American citizen told me once that she had a hard time getting used to the concept in the United States that it was OK to buy things for which you didn't have the money. She kept thinking there was a catch. - www.foxbusiness.com
10/02/2009 - Washington Post: "The Economic System No Longer Works For The Majority Of Americans" - Moore's "love story" is really an oversimplified political melodrama based on half-truths, innuendo, fuzzy thinking and imagined conspiracies. - www.washingtonpost.com
09/29/2009 - Middle-Class Family Living In Storage Unit After Losing Jobs - Former factory workers now find themselves lost; what was once a stable and respectable living has disappeared, and picking up the pieces of a dissipated career is turning into anxiety. - www.huffingtonpost.com
09/24/2009 - Landlord Goes Back To Work To Let Unemployed Tenants Stay Rent-Free - Peirce refused to evict them. He didn't throw the families into the street, though he has every right to. - www.huffingtonpost.com
09/23/2009 - Recession squeezes seniors' meals, bills - The bank filed foreclosure papers on her house last month. And Hewitt, 72, struggles every day against worsening health and the strong odds that she will land in a nursing home. - www.desmoinesregister.com
09/23/2009 - Junk Removers Find Heart-Breaking Wreckage In Foreclosed Homes - Junk removal services in North Carolina have the sad job of cleaning out foreclosed homes and going through the former residents' lives - www.huffingtonpost.com
09/18/2009 - Luxury real estate vultures - A Fortress Investment veteran is now at an auction house that hopes to feed off of distressed estates. - www.cnn.com
09/16/2009 - Loving Couple Divorces To Stay Afloat Financially - generally, you should do it only if you can afford to lose the money. And even then you need to proceed with caution. - www.huffingtonpost.com
Read More:
Credit,
Divorce,
Down Not Out,
Economy,
Recession,
Business News
09/15/2009 - My sister wants to borrow money - generally, you should do it only if you can afford to lose the money. And even then you need to proceed with caution. - www.cnn.com
09/13/2009 - Closing The Book On The Bush Legacy - Thursday's annual Census Bureau report on income, poverty and access to health care-the Bureau's principal report card on the well-being of average Americans-closes the books on the economic record of George W. Bush. - www.theatlantic.com
09/12/2009 - Seven New Rules for the First-Time Home Buyer - Here's how they dismantled the old saw - and a list of seven suggestions they offered up in its place. - www.nytimes.com
09/12/2009 - Google Economist Sees Good Signs in Searches - Hal Varian is pretty confident the national economy is recovering, and he's not just basing that on government data. He says he can tell from Americans' search habits. - www.washingtonpost.com
09/10/2009 - Nouriel Roubini's Financial Times Interview: Double-Dip Recession Still A Risk - Economist Nouriel Roubini, the president of RGE Monitor who's often referred to as "Dr. Doom," recently sat down with Martin Wolf of The Financial Times, and said that the world faces a "rising risk" of a double-dip recession.
www.ft.com - VIDEO -
09/10/2009 - Mosquitoes Breeding In Swimming Pools Of Foreclosed Homes - The neglected pools are breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which can carry diseases like West Nile virus.
www.huffingtonpost.com - VIDEO -
09/08/2009 - HISTORY REPEATING - The Next Financial Crisis - We can't avoid it. The Next Crisis Is Coming - And The Fed Is Making It Worse. - www.tnr.com
09/07/2009 - AP: Layoffs Toughest On Younger, Older Workers - Would-be retirees have watched their savings dwindle and health care costs soar, while workers recently out of school and burdened by debt try to advance in careers that no longer have room for them. - www.huffingtonpost.com
09/02/2009 - Condos sic judges on owners for back fees - Desperate condo associations are starting to seek court-appointed receivers - a trend that started in South Florida but has spread to this part of the state. - www.orlandosentinel.com
08/31/2009 - Miami-Dade county real estate tax appeal - If you live in Miami Dade county in Southeast Florida you are probably paying more property taxes than you should - www.trulia.com
08/31/2009 - Property taxes: How to beat 'em - Getting overcharged? Appeal your property tax bill the smart way . You know that your home's value has tanked. So why doesn't the blasted tax man? - www.trashoutpro.com
08/31/2009 - Appeal to the Value Adjustment Board FORM - Petition for Review of Market/Clasified Use Value for Tax Year 2009 - www.miami-dadeclerk.com
08/26/2009 - Rent a Mansion for $1000.00 per Month - There's more to life - and renting - than Craigslist. Here's how to push past the clutter and find the gem of an apartment that's waiting just for you. - www.msn.com
08/26/2009 - 8 sneaky ways to snag a great apartment - There's more to life - and renting - than Craigslist. Here's how to push past the clutter and find the gem of an apartment that's waiting just for you. - www.msn.com
08/26/2009 - Is your suburb the next slum? - Once the symbol of the American dream, many suburban communities could be on their way to becoming tomorrow's slums. - www.msn.com
08/26/2009 - Jail time for dirty pools and dead lawns? - Last year, Indio California passed a law that allowed it to charge banks with a criminal misdemeanor if they allowed a home to fall into disrepair. - www.msn.com
08/24/2009 - Breaking a condominium death spiral - Covenant Mortgage assists the condo association by providing them quick and easy interim capital to offset the delinquent assessments and keep prices from a downward spiral because there is no demand, Flood said of LM Funding. - www.heraldtribune.com
08/23/2009 - The Business Show: debt report and credit tips - Miami Herald reporter Niala Boodhoo provides a local debt report and credit tips. - Miami Herald Studios - www.miamiherald.com
08/21/2009 -
Foreclosure Home Transformation - Neighbor Ernie Lasalle's house. He helped the Martinez couple and other Naples beautify the landscaping. 17 photographs.
www.naplesnews.com - PHOTO GALLERY -
08/21/2009 - Life after foreclosure - After losing their homes, these 4 families thought they'd never recover. They've found it difficult to rent and their credit is wrecked, but life is looking up. - www.cnn.com
08/17/2009 - In debt, do they part? Recession delays divorces - Throughout Central Florida, couples who want to split up are handicapped: by the high cost of attorneys' fees, because they can't sell their homes or can't afford to set up two households. - www.orlandos.com
08/14/2009 - Garage Sales Booming as Recession Grinds On - Nearly every weekend, listings appear online and on handmade signs taped to lampposts and propped up on street corners coast-to-coast, jostling for space with those announcing foreclosure sales and bank repossessions. - www.foxbusiness.com
08/12/2009 - Jim Cramer's Housing Bottom Call Revisited - (See below 06/03/2009 for Cramer's Bottom) - You may recall that in June, Cramer said, "I am frantically trying to buy multiple properties right now." Cramer went so far as to definitively declare a bottom to the housing market. His words: "This is patently obvious." - www.huffingtonpost.com
08/12/2009 - Housing Has Not Bottomed (But Cramer Said!) - For the market to bottom it must stop going down in price. There is no indication that the rate of acceleration is even slowing, and in fact we had this embedded in the Bloomberg report - www.market-ticker.denninger.net
06/03/2009 - Jim Cramer in June 2009: Buy A House Now, Calls Housing Bottom - Cramer went so far as to call a bottom to the housing market. His words: "This is patently obvious.". - www.huffingtonpost.com
08/09/2009 - Go-to Guy on Foreclosure Cleanouts Sees It All - Hazel, 40, is a "property preservationist," which these days makes him a very busy man. With thousands of people defaulting each week on mortgages across central Florida, he's one of growing regiment of people the banks summon to "trash out" - sanitize and seal up - their foreclosure stockpile. - www.abcnews.com
08/09/2009 - Sweeping up after the people who've lost it all - Nick Hazel shovels debris at a foreclosed house in Orlando. "You gotta remember," he says, "I'm also the guy who might help the place mean something to somebody else." - www.heraldtribune.com
08/09/2009 - When real estate falls, so does auction hammer - "We are seeing more people with homes that were on the market for $4 million to $7 million that are not selling, and they are calling us," said Jim Gall, president of Auction Company of America. - www.heraldtribune.com
08/09/2009 - Marketing Madoff's mansions - The U.S. homes that Bernie owned are about to go on the market. Wonder what they'll sell for? - www.cnn.com
08/09/2009 - Hired! Coming out of retirement at 65 - Forget lazy days rocking on a creaky porch swing, these days working is the new retirement. Like many others, Boyd Barger had to put his retirement plans on hold and rejoin the workforce. - www.cnn.com
08/08/2009 - Real Estate Today: Reaching for the bottom - Builder Albert Sanchez, in his own words hawking homes from $120K to $160K for approximatly 2000 square feet
www.heraldtribune.com - VIDEO -
08/08/2009 - Celebration, Florida - The town that Disney built for their retired executives so they could vote on Disney's behalf on all matters beneficial to the park such as sewage, water management, easements, etc... There is not a single house available for sale in Celebration that doesn't go through the Disney apparatus. If you didn't work for Disney, you don't live here.
www.heraldtribune.com - VIDEO -
08/07/2009 - What Matt Taibbi Got Wrong In His Goldman Sachs Story - Goldman Sachs may be bad, but it's far from the worst. Can one firm create a bubble? Can one firm create four bubbles? - www.cnn.com
08/06/2009 - Dollar stores' sales soaring - A sign of the recessionary times: U.S. dollar store sales are soaring. CNN's Maggie Lake reports. - www.cnn.com
08/01/2009 - Q&A with Michael Lewis - (Part 1): - "A Real Chance There's Going to Be an Uprising". - www.huffingtonpost.com
08/04/2009 - Q&A with Michael Lewis - (Part 2): - The Rules of the Game Were Totally Screwed Up. - www.huffingtonpost.com
07/29/2009 - Investing Rules For The End Of Civilization - The number of people worldwide 65 and older is estimated to rise to 1.3 billion by 2040, up from an estimated 506 million as of midyear 2008. - www.foxbusiness.com
07/29/2009 - The Globe Will Soon Be Geezer Central - to prepare for a breakdown of civilization, "your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of food. - www.foxbusiness.com
07/29/2009 - Should You Invest In Toxic Assets? - A Mutual Fund Will Allow Ordinary Investors to Put Their Money Into Mortgage-Backed Securities, But There's Not Yet a Compelling Reason to Invest. - www.wsj.com -
07/27/2009 - What will it take to change Americans' lifestyles? - What is needed today is not just legislation, but serious thinking about how to get Americans to lead healthier lifestyles. - www.politico.com -
07/22/2009 - Small Businesses Left Out Of Bailout
- "Stuff I thought the Obama administration would be good at I think they're limping along at," said Michael Brey, president of Brey Corp., which owns a small chain of toy and hobby shops in Maryland. "He put together an economic dream team, and I thought they were going to hit it out of the park." - www.wsj.com -
07/22/2009 - CIT A 'Wake-Up Call' For Small Businesses
- Small businesses hit hard by the recession may be able to find temporary relief in the "America's Recovery Capital," or ARC, loan program. Launched by the U.S. Small Business Administration in mid-June, the loans can provide an immediate infusion of capital to pay principal and interest payments on existing debt for up to six months. Small businesses can borrow up to $35,000 interest-free under the deferred-payment loan program. - www.wsj.com -
07/21/2009 - Can The Lottery Help Us Save Money?
- Using the Lottery Effect to Make People Save. In 2007, Americans spent $92.3 billion on legalized gambling; that same year, says the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Americans saved only $57.4 billion. - www.wsj.com -
07/15/2009 - Meltdown 101: How To Prepare For Your Loan Modification - a permanent change in a mortgage that results in more affordable payments for the borrower. - www.huffingtonpost.com -
07/12/2009 - Habitat for Humanity Finds Buying Foreclosures is Cheaper than Building - Subdivisions built in the boom are already falling apart on their own or at the hands of vandals, so there should be plenty of sweat required to restore and maintain them. - www.motherjones.com -
07/04/2009 - The Architects of Destruction - They took greed and incompetence to all-new levels... - www.wealthdaily.com -
06/30/2009 - Dumbest Moments in Business 2009 - midyear edition. We're just six months in, but what do you think the dumbest moment of the year is? - money.cnn.com -
06/30/2009 - 21 Dumbest Moments in Business 2008 - We don't know whether to laugh or cry. Our annual list of the year's most laughable moves proves that, even in moments of crisis, stupidity lives on. - money.cnn.com -
05/05/2009 - Mr. Foreclosure - Some call him a shark. Others say he's the best hope for people priced out of their own neighborhoods. - rd.com -
04/23/2009 - Banks Starting to Walk Away on Foreclosures - Banks are quietly declining to take possession of properties at the end of the foreclosure process, most often because the cost of the ordeal - from legal fees to maintenance - exceeds the diminishing value of the real estate. - nytimes.com -
04/23/2009 - Best credit cards - Shopping for a new card with the right rewards for you? Here are some picks that offer great perks to suit your spending habits. - money.cnn.com -
04/20/2009 - www.realtytrac.com New Law Protects Renters From Foreclosure Eviction - renters scored a big victory against foreclosure evictions.
04/20/2009 - www.trashoutpro.com Reforms for American Homeowners and Consumers - President Obama Signs the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act
04/18/2009 - www.hopenow.com Hope Now joins with government to create streamlined mortgage modification - SMP is an important new tool to prevet foreclosures. PDF
04/18/2009 - CNBC.com
2009 Spring Real Estate Guide
- CNBC Special Report
04/15/2009 - money.cnn.com
Pssst - wanna buy a toxic asset? - Federal officials are considering ways to open up to retail investors its programs to clean up bad loans. Some investment managers are intrigued by the idea.
04/09/09 - Foreclosure Grace Period Bill Signed Into Law
04/06/09 - Dispatches From The Displaced: A Short Sale Realtor Sheds Light On The Housing Crisis
04/06/09 - PennyMac, Led by Ex-Countrywide Head, Buys FDIC Loans (Update3)
04/06/09 - Private National Mortgage Acceptance Company, LLC.
04/03/09 - News and Trends Center - Welcome to RealtyTrac's News and Trends Center. Here you will find the latest foreclosure trends and news, along with video, blogging, feature and opinion articles, and contacts for ordering custom foreclosure data.
04/03/09 - Walking Away From Foreclosure Becoming Socially Acceptable
03/28/09 - $10 raffle ticket could buy Fort Lauderdale home worth millions
03/28/09 - WEBSITE - Yours to Win - Above home worth millions
03/23/2009 - Emergency Assistance for the Redevelopment of ABANDONED and FORECLOSED Homes
02/23/09 - Realty Trac VP Discloses 70% Of All Foreclosures Are Not Shown On MLS!
03/04/09 - Stumped home sellers look to make a trade - swap your house
03/04/09 - Making the swap work - VIDEO - MSNBC.com
01/26/08 - Creative New Ways To Buy A Home - Forbes.com
CONGRATULATIONS to the raffle winners! (the winner) Grand Prize Winner:
Karen McHale of Idaho Springs, CO (ticket # 15614
Second Prize Winner: Stephanie Krejci of Port Washington, WI (ticket # 16178
#1 $50.00 ticket wins a million dollar home (the raffle)
#2 $50.00 ticket wins a home (before the raffle)
#3 $50.00 ticket wins a home (before the raffle)
