Home and Garden Blogazine http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org Wed, 21 May 2008 14:09:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.3 en Senate Moves To Assist Homeowners On Two Fronts http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/senate-moves-to-assist-homeowners-on-two-fronts/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/senate-moves-to-assist-homeowners-on-two-fronts/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/senate-moves-to-assist-homeowners-on-two-fronts/

The Senate Banking Committee and one of its subcommittees dealt this week, however superficially, with two issues that should be of interest to a lot of homeowners. Hopefully these won't be problems that they have just teed up and then punted into obscurity. Both are worthy of discussion if not action.

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]]> http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/senate-moves-to-assist-homeowners-on-two-fronts/feed/ Groups Call For Forbearance For Troubled Mortgages http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/groups-call-for-forbearance-for-troubled-mortgages/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/groups-call-for-forbearance-for-troubled-mortgages/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/groups-call-for-forbearance-for-troubled-mortgages/

A coalition of housing activists and civil rights groups has called for a six month moratorium on foreclosures to provide time for financially troubled homeowners with time to solve their problems.

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]]> http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/groups-call-for-forbearance-for-troubled-mortgages/feed/ Housing Recovery May Be Held Back By Oversupply http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/housing-recovery-may-be-held-back-by-oversupply/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/housing-recovery-may-be-held-back-by-oversupply/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/housing-recovery-may-be-held-back-by-oversupply/

Will the economy return the favor?

Spring usually provides the strongest home selling period of the year and with interest rates still relatively low and the job market improving the forecast sees conditions "ripe for a firming in housing demand," but acknowledges that there are still problems.

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]]> http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/housing-recovery-may-be-held-back-by-oversupply/feed/ Mortgage Rates Remain Quiet http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/mortgage-rates-remain-quiet/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/mortgage-rates-remain-quiet/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/mortgage-rates-remain-quiet/

In a statement accompanying the release of Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended April 5, Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist remarked, "Mortgage rates have remained within a narrow band of 0.1 percentage points over every week in March. This relative stability is due to mixed economic data releases as to how strong the economy is and whether future inflation will recede. One bright spot this week came from an unexpected increase in pending home sales for February, which suggests the housing market is still healthy."

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]]> http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/mortgage-rates-remain-quiet/feed/ NAR Chief Economist Upbeat But Points To A Few Possible Problems http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/nar-chief-economist-upbeat-but-points-to-a-few-possible-problems/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/nar-chief-economist-upbeat-but-points-to-a-few-possible-problems/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/nar-chief-economist-upbeat-but-points-to-a-few-possible-problems/

David Lereah, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has weighed in on the bankruptcies, foreclosures, and predicted Armageddon in the subprime mortgage market.

In a column on the NAR website titled "The Subprime Mess" Lereah gives his take on what has happened and what might. Much of it is a recounting of the familiar history leading up to the current tumult, but he does have an interesting take on...

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]]> http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/nar-chief-economist-upbeat-but-points-to-a-few-possible-problems/feed/ HUD Report Cites Record High Rates Of Discrimination Complaints http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/hud-report-cites-record-high-rates-of-discrimination-complaints/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/hud-report-cites-record-high-rates-of-discrimination-complaints/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/hud-report-cites-record-high-rates-of-discrimination-complaints/

April is Fair Housing Month and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) just released its Annual Report on Fair Housing.

The 2006 Annual Report announces that HUD and the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agencies received a record number of housing discrimination complaints during the year...

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]]> http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/hud-report-cites-record-high-rates-of-discrimination-complaints/feed/ Convenants and Restrictions May Restrict Options For Your Castle http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/convenants-and-restrictions-may-restrict-options-for-your-castle/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/convenants-and-restrictions-may-restrict-options-for-your-castle/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/convenants-and-restrictions-may-restrict-options-for-your-castle/

True story. In 2004 a woman bought a small vacant lot, one of the last remaining, in a 1960's development of 400 homes. No one seemed to notice the cinderblock foundation being built on the land but everyone noticed when two flatbeds moved down the street, each carrying half of a manufactured home. What ensued must have been worthy of U-Tube...

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]]> http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/convenants-and-restrictions-may-restrict-options-for-your-castle/feed/ And Still More On The Subprime Fiasco http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/and-still-more-on-the-subprime-fiasco/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/and-still-more-on-the-subprime-fiasco/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/and-still-more-on-the-subprime-fiasco/

As a subplot to the entire mortgage drama, two feuds recently emerged or more accurately re-emerged among some major mortgage players.

...The Nation has weighed in on another aspect of the subprime mess. In its April 9 edition it has run a "comment" entitled "The Loan Shark Lobby" in which it details some interesting financial connections between New Century Financial Corporation which just declared bankruptcy and members of Congress.

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]]> http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/and-still-more-on-the-subprime-fiasco/feed/ Mortgage Rates Hold Steady While Applications Fall http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/mortgage-rates-hold-steady-while-applications-fall/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/mortgage-rates-hold-steady-while-applications-fall/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/mortgage-rates-hold-steady-while-applications-fall/

In its report of the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey for last week, Freddie Mac took some credit for the stability in mortgage rates in spite of the turbulence in the subprime market.

Frank Nothaft cited the mixed signals sent by recent reports about the direction of the housing market for stabilizing rates. "The rise in existing home sales in February to a 6.69 million unit pace, the highest level since..."

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]]> http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/mortgage-rates-hold-steady-while-applications-fall/feed/ Subprime Situation Spurs A Whole Lot Of Talk http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/subprime-situation-spurs-a-whole-lot-of-talk/ http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/subprime-situation-spurs-a-whole-lot-of-talk/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2007 04:29:47 +0000 Admin http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/2007/04/17/real-estate/subprime-situation-spurs-a-whole-lot-of-talk/

The subprime mortgage industry may be going through hard times but the paper industry and those who invest in broadband capacity are probably laughing all the way to the bank.

There must have been billions of words of explanation, excuses, suggestions, demands, and sheer propaganda spoken and written over the last several months and especially the last few weeks about the subprime market and its problems which are variously described by the speakers and writers as a crisis, a minor blip, a pending catastrophe, or a small price to pay for half a decade of skyrocketing home ownership...

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