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Posted
May 19 2008, 04:35 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Just how bad is foreclosure? As the "Silicon Valley Blogger" points out, pretty awful. But it might just be the end to a financial nightmare that's keeping you up at night. If faced with the prospect of foreclosure, the important thing is that you understand the consequences -- and there will be some -- of this huge financial step.
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Posted
May 19 2008, 02:19 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
You don't need to have a crazy interest-only or adjustable-rate mortgage to feel the pain of the housing slump. A reader who posted a question at Free Money Finance wisely put 20% down and got a fixed-rate mortgage in Las Vegas when that housing market was sizzling hot. Now it's not, and he's upside down -- he owes more on the house than it's worth because of dropping values. His problem is that he wants to move.
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Posted
May 03 2008, 05:47 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Former baseball star Jose Canseco is walking away from his 7,300-square-foot mansion in a Los Angeles suburb. But did you know he's only the latest celebrity who has faced foreclosure? In fact, the Los Angeles Times blog L.A. Land has an occasional feature called "Celebrity Foreclosures," and so far has written about such notables as Canseco and Marion Jones. The most recent installment includes suggested headlines about Canseco like "Jose walks" and "Canseco took a walk, but was called out at home."
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Posted
Apr 09 2008, 12:55 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Seb at Pinching Copper apparently said aloud what other people have been thinking when he wrote "There are no victims in the housing bust." He's tired of all the media stories about "innocent" people who suddenly find out that they can no longer afford their homes. "So who do you blame in all this?" Seb wrote. "The bank that approved the loan? The TV show that pumped homeownership? The Realtor who sold the house? In the end, the only person to blame is the one who signed the mortgage document. "The media can portray these people as victims, but the sad truth is that the vast majority of people who are being foreclosed upon could never afford a home to begin worth," Seb said.
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Posted
Mar 06 2008, 08:32 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Here are some stunning facts: The total value of homes owned in the U.S. has increased from $834 billion to $5.1 trillion, in inflation-adjusted dollars, since 1952. In the same time, home equity -- the portion people have paid off -- has increased from $672 billion to more than $2.5 trillion. That sounds like great news. But it also means the average equity people have in their homes dropped from 80% of the home's value in those Howdy Doody days to a record low of 50.4%. This information comes from Michael Rizzo, senior economist at the American Institute for Economic Research. "In short, the value of homes has increased greatly since 1952, but mortgage debt has increased even more," Rizzo writes at the institute's Web site.
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Posted
Feb 19 2008, 02:33 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It's a sign of the times that Web sites have sprouted up telling people how to walk away from homes they can no longer afford or -- in some cases -- are no longer willing to pay for. While some sites trumpet offers to buy homes from stressed-out owners, another one sells a foreclosure kit. California-based YouWalkAway.com says its kit will enable you to stay in your home "for up to eight months or more without having to pay anything to your lender!" It also says: "With our money-back guarantee, you get it all for only $995." The list of services provided is stuff you can do on your own if you're so inclined. And the steps won't eliminate the damage foreclosure does to your credit score. Writes blogger Sam Glover at Caveat Emptor, "Foreclosure ain't pretty, folks, no matter what this Web site would like you to think." All of this raises questions in our mind: In the wake of the mortgage crisis, is foreclosure becoming a more acceptable option? Should it?
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Posted
Feb 04 2008, 10:36 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Randall at Credit Withdrawal equates a soon-to-be-unaffordable adjustable-rate mortgage to the shark in "Jaws," and advises, "It's not going to get any easier by ignoring the problem and hoping it swims away." Randall provides some steps to take to try to keep your roof over your head, as well as sources of information about avoiding foreclosure. If you can't refinance and you have a good relationship with your lender, you can ask to renegotiate the loan or reschedule the payments, Randall says. Some people are eligible for no-interest loans to catch up on missed payments. Study your options, he adds. "With the upswing in mortgage defaults, there's more organizations than ever before that are trying to help the consumer to get through the tough times," he writes. Find a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, and check out Web sites like those provided by HUD and the FHA. For Randall's complete list of online resources, click here.
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Posted
Dec 21 2007, 01:11 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Those facing seemingly insurmountable mortgage difficulties may find inspiration from Boomer at The Wastrel Show. Divorced with two children in 1985, Boomer got the type of mortgage available to women in her situation back in the day -- a subprime adjustable-rate loan. We'll tell you up front that this story has a happy ending. But that took years of smart financial moves and plain-old determination, and her detailed account makes this post shine.
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Posted
Dec 18 2007, 12:38 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
In case you missed the news, the Federal Reserve Board has proposed rules to curb the type of lending abuses that helped create the subprime-mortgage debacle. You can read the mainstream media report or you can enjoy Sellsius' snarky take on "More rules for those who hate rules." For instance, one of the rules would restrict prepayment penalties. Sellsius says: "It does not take much to figure out that steep penalties for paying off a loan early would limit consumers' refinancing options. Hmm ... you don't pay back the bank, they're unhappy; you pay them back early, they're still unhappy. You just can't please some people."
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Posted
Dec 14 2007, 01:29 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Jim at partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity recalls when the list price of a house was the minimum a seller could expect to get in his part of the country. Those days are gone, and he suspects now might be the time for buyers to get the best deals. The future is, of course, unknown, he writes, but "I think we're at the lowest possible point a seller can be and still keep their home on the market." Not so fast, said a number of readers who left comments about his post, beautifully demonstrating the educational give-and-take of blogging.
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