NewsTrust - Real Estate - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

Obsessive Housing Disorder by Steven Malanga, City Journal Spring 2009

Sat, 09 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

City Journal - By Steven Malanga - May. 09 (Investigative Report) - Almost everything that the Times accused the Bush administration of doing has been pursued many times by earlier administrations, both Democratic and Republican—and often with calamitous results.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Communities Slammed by Surge in Bank-Owned Homes

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Independent - By Mary Kane - Mar. 04 (Special Report) - Banks that received government bailout money are taking heat for spending billions of dollars on bonuses, executive pay, and lavish outings. But there’s another outrage that Washington seems to be missing: The growing number of bank-owned properties in foreclosure scarring neighborhoods across the country.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.3 average (not enough reviews) - See Review » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Quiet Countrywide Bailout Serves as Warning for Congress

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Independent - By Mary Kane - Feb. 09 (Special Report) - As the Obama administration launches a new bank rescue plan and prepares to overhaul the financial regulatory system, lawmakers will look closely at the lending practices of major banks and mortgage firms. But some think they also should probe the government-chartered Federal Home Loan Banks, which served as lenders of last resort as the credit crunch intensified - propping up the very banks that made the kind of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis in the first place.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.4 average (not enough reviews) - See Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Freddie, Fannie Force Borrowers to Waive Legal Rights

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Independent - By Mary Kane - Jan. 16 (Special Report) - When the government announced in November that it would use mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to streamline loan modifications for possibly hundreds of thousands of borrowers, officials billed the idea as a fast-track program to fight foreclosures. What no one mentioned is that homeowners would have to sign away their rights to sue, if they wanted to get those loans modified.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average - 4 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

A case study in housing collapse

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

St. Petersburg Times - By Michael Van Sickler - Nov. 30 (Investigative Report) - Thousands of miles from the trading floors of global stock markets, an abandoned house in one of Tampa's poorest neighborhoods is an improbable place to learn about why the world's financial system is collapsing. But if you want to understand how we got into this mess, the stucco house at 4809 N 17th St. isn't a bad place to start.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.1 average - 11 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

At Frontline of Foreclosure Crisis, Counties Go It Alone

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Independent - By Mark Kane - Nov. 25 (Special Report) - Places hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, like Prince William County, are dealing with hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of abandoned and deteriorating properties like the Irongate townhouse — the damage left behind by the subprime mess.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.2 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Credit Rating Exec: "We Sold Our Souls to the Devil"

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Nick Baumann - Oct. 24 (Special Report) - Internal documents show that while rating firms publicly defended their practices, executives privately wondered when the house of cards would fall.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 9 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Shop Till We Drop — or Save?

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Independent - By Mike Lillis - Oct. 18 (Special Report) - For the first time in 17 years, retail sales have dropped for three months straight. Both for households and individuals, the trend might be good news: Many economists and consumer advocates have, for years, encouraged low- and middle-income people to pay down debts and save for stable futures.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.8 average - 7 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Five Alternative Bailout Plans

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - Sep. 29 (News Analysis) - Many on Capitol Hill--especially Democrats--are buying the general premise of the White House plan but insisting on lipstick-on-a-pig modifications involving CEO compensation, taxpayer protection, and oversight and transparency. But are there other approaches to the problem besides putting the Treasury in charge of a $700 billion fire sale? Yup.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average - 7 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer