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Posted
Oct 01 2008, 06:32 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The federal government's new $300 billion Hope for Homeowners program opened for business today with the intent of staving off foreclosure for 400,000 homeowners in trouble. But we just have to wonder how effective it will be.
Here's a clue, from an Associated Press report: "Lenders, rather than borrowers, will decide whether to participate in the program, which requires them to take a loss on the initial loan."
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Posted
Sep 22 2008, 01:02 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Are you outraged about the $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street, relieved that the government's offering financial markets a helping hand, or sitting back until the dust clears? You're bound to find some kindred souls in the personal-finance blogosphere. First, we'll deal with the anger.
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Posted
Sep 09 2008, 05:41 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If you closed on a house recently, prepare to kick yourself. One of the outcomes of the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is the lowest mortgage rate in five months.
According to Bankrate.com, the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped half a percentage point -- to about 6% -- on Monday after the takeover was announced. Rates dropped even further Tuesday, settling at 5.79%. (To figure out how long that rate will last, you will need a crystal ball.)
It's part of a mixed bag of results American consumers can expect now that the federal government has assumed responsibility for Freddie's and Fannie's debt. And it's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
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Posted
Aug 29 2008, 11:40 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Congratulations are due to blogger Lynnae, who recently realized her personal version of the American dream: She and her husband have bought their first house. "I'm now the proud owner of my own home, and in more debt than I've ever been in my life! It feels good!" she wrote. How can she be happy about debt, when so many others are ruing their home-purchasing decisions? Lynnae and Jim bucked the trend: They waited for prices to fall and made an offer on a house they can actually afford -- even if they were ever forced to swing it on one income.
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Posted
Aug 13 2008, 06:13 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Financially stressed homeowners hoping to benefit from the federal housing bailout should be glad that Kyle at Rather Be Shopping is not in charge. While people who seek help through the plan will have to show they can afford to make (newly reduced) mortgage payments, Kyle has a different set of questions they'd have to answer before getting help. Among them would be: How much do you spend on vacations? What kind of car do you drive, and what kind of clothes do you buy? In other words, are you responsible with your money?
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Posted
Jul 31 2008, 03:02 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"JLP" at All Financial Matters bought a house he knew he could afford, even though he was told he could qualify for a much larger mortgage. He saved over the years to remodel the modest house into a dream home. Did we also mention that the homeowner bailout passed by Congress and signed by President Bush really ticks him off? He wrote, "As a responsible, taxpaying citizen of the United States of America, I find it offensive that our goverment is bending over backward to keep irresponsible people in houses they can't afford." His post, "Let people (and companies) fail," provoked a rebuttal from one of the homeowners hoping to keep her house with the government's help.
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Posted
Jul 20 2008, 10:47 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Do you want to purchase a Cape Cod with an asphalt front yard and an abundance of broken beer bottles and cigarette butts all about? Please, please buy this house and become the new neighbor of "Brainy Smurf," the blogger at Pants in a Can. You can't be any worse than the people who have the house up for sale. You'd think the very existence of these people would be enough to drive property values down (although, due to other factors, Brainy's property taxes have gone up).
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Posted
Jun 10 2008, 12:35 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Sure, it's sad that TV icon Ed McMahon is facing foreclosure on his $6 million Beverly Hills mansion. But "PT" at Prime Time Money is irritated by the way McMahon has gone public with his housing woes. Ed has said he hopes his story will help others who are about to lose their homes. "In my opinion, a millionaire, who could get any type of mortgage he wanted, has no business being the spokesperson for the foreclosure issues facing the few who really got duped," PT writes. "... I'm convinced he's simply hyping this to get the house sold."
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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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