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Posted
Sep 22 2009, 04:19 PM
by
Teresa Mears
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Conventional wisdom would seem to dictate that someone with an excellent credit score is less likely to walk away from a mortgage than someone with poor credit.
That's not so, syndicated real estate columnist Kenneth Harney writes in a story The Washington Post headlined "Good credit scores, deadbeat choices." In fact, people with excellent credit scores are 50% more likely to "strategically default" on their mortgages -- intentionally walk away -- than are lower scoring borrowers, according to a study by credit bureau Experian and consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
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Posted
Aug 19 2009, 06:14 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Xin Lu at partner blog Wise Bread.
Rising home loan delinquencies and foreclosures have made con artists very busy.
These scammers use public records to find homeowners who are in trouble, and then use a variety of schemes to take their money and property in the name of helping them avoid foreclosure. If you have late payments on your home loan, it's likely you will be targeted.
The following are some warning signs that you are dealing with a possible scammer:
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Posted
Jul 08 2009, 12:13 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
A new study indicates that 26% of homeowners who quit paying the mortgage can afford to pay but no longer want to because they owe more than the house is worth.
The economists who did the study call this a "strategic" default. Time magazine reports:
"They can still afford to pay but they decide not to," says Paola Sapienza, a finance professor at Northwestern University and one of the paper's authors. "It's very easy to do this in the U.S."
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Posted
Jun 18 2009, 12:42 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The people often overlooked in the housing crisis are renters who are forced from their homes by foreclosure. Remember that news story about the sheriff who stopped foreclosure evictions because so many innocent tenants were suddenly made homeless?
Laws vary by city and state, but, generally speaking, a foreclosure nullifies a lease. Your landlord stopped paying the mortgage and, often without notice, you're out on the street.
How many people are we talking about? Lots. A post at Dollars & Sense said, "According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, renters make up an estimated 40% of families facing eviction because of foreclosure."
Finally, there's some help of sorts for renters who face losing their homes.
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Posted
Jun 02 2009, 11:48 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.
As a number of states have taken stronger action against foreclosure rescue and loan modification operations, the Federal Trade Commission has begun drafting tougher federal rules and is seeking input from the public.
Are these services unfair or deceptive? Should they be reined in by proposed rules that would set standards to protect consumers?
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Posted
May 28 2009, 08:13 AM
by
Catherine Holahan
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
 The family dog is the latest casualty of rising foreclosures.
As more families are forced to sell their homes, an increasing number of pets are being left behind in shelters or, worse, empty houses. Though it is difficult to put an exact figure on the number of abandoned pets, shelters across the country say they are seeing double-digit percentage increases in the number of animals left in their care. The Humane Society estimates that more than 3 million animals will be euthanized this year.
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Posted
May 19 2009, 01:33 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Blogger "Stew" at Gather Little by Little finds himself in a housing situation that he aptly describes as a "pickle," and not the sweet bread and butter kind.
Here are the particulars. Please let us know what you think.
- Stew (who blogs with "Gibble" or "glblguy," the creator of Gather Little by Little), his wife and three small children moved to another state 14 months ago for a new job and are renting a place. They put their previous home on the market.
- That house has not sold and the one renter they had lived there only a short time.
- The $1,000 to $1,200 a month to keep up the mortgage, home-equity loan, taxes, insurance and utilities has drained their savings and most of their retirement accounts.
- The mortgage is now 120% of the value of the house.
- Stew got $14,000 from a balance-transfer credit card deal at 0%, which he calls "wiggle room" money. Yikes.
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Posted
Apr 14 2009, 11:51 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Madison at My Dollar Plan launched an ethical debate. She and her husband qualify on paper for a mortgage modification through the Making Homes Affordable program -- but they don't really need it.
Is it OK to take advantage of a program intended to help struggling homeowners when you can easily afford your monthly payment?
That's one of several questions about ethical personal-finance behavior that have surfaced online recently. Age-old dilemmas have been cloaked in modern terms. Here are a few that PF bloggers have addressed:
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Posted
Mar 03 2009, 01:29 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Banks didn't exactly ride to the rescue of homebuyers who used those hinky subprime mortgages to get more house than they could afford.
But now one major bank says it's reaching out to help a new type of struggling homeowner -- folks who, through no fault of their own, were recently laid off and can't pay their bills.
Bailout recipient Citigroup says it can help thousands of those people with its new Homeowner Unemployment Assist program, The Associated Press reports.
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Posted
Feb 04 2009, 07:59 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
As the economy worsens, more and more families are facing the harsh reality of home foreclosure. According to the FDIC, one in every 200 homes will be foreclosed upon. Every three months, 250,000 more families enter foreclosure. And to make matters worse, some "stop foreclosure now" companies with shady business practices are preying on families that feel they have nowhere else to turn.
To address the growing foreclosure crisis, I have put together this Guide to Online Stop Foreclosure Resources. I don't claim any particular expertise or specialty with the foreclosure process, but many hours of research have shown me that there are some really good (and mostly free) online resources that can help anybody who is or may be facing foreclosure. If you know of other helpful resources, please contact me with the information and I'll consider adding it to this resource guide.
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