Homes Underwater: A Stumbling Block for Recovery

Despite the recent good news that U.S. home prices rose 2.9 percent in the second quarter of 2009, it’s too early to call a turnaround for the battered housing sector. Although this modest increase in the S&P/Case-Shiller national home index is the first uptick since 2006, the number of homes More…

Rules to Regulate Home Appraisals Stymie Industry, Home Buyers

Anyone who’s ever purchased a home knows that the appraisal is a key component. Buyers rely on the appraisal to ensure that they’re not overpaying for their prospective home, while lenders need to make sure they’re not lending more than the home is worth.

But these days, getting an appraisal More…

Renters Hit by Foreclosure Crisis Too

While the plight of homeowners affected by the real estate meltdown has been well-documented, renters too often fall under the radar. Although tenants’ advocacy groups credit recently passed national legislation for including some protections, they charge that the new law only scratches the surface.

The number of renters being forced More…

Underemployment Presents Challenges

While the steady rise of the nation’s unemployment rate has become shorthand for the recession’s impact, many economists say the grim figures — 8.9 percent in April — don’t tell the whole story of Americans’ financial distress. While the plight of the jobless tends to dominate social policy conversations and More…

School of Hock

With a growing number of college grads finding themselves crushed under the weight of their student loan debt, the Obama administration is considering action that could derail the entire student loan industry.  Groups who monitor campaign contributions, though, worry that the strength of the industry could block any shot at More…

Prepaid ‘Cash Cards’ a Pricey Way to Swipe

Americans are more conscious of debt than ever. Feeling burned by bank overdraft fees of $30 or more, or by credit-card interest rates that can top 25 percent, a growing number of consumers are turning to prepaid, reloadable “cash cards.” These cards have confidence-boosting names like “READYdebit” and “More…

Commercial Real Estate Faces Its Own Foreclosure Crisis

As the residential real estate market continues its downward trajectory, the ripple effects of the crisis threaten the $8 trillion commercial real estate market. Offices, stores and industrial buildings are all facing a perfect storm of increasing vacancies and a lack of capital with which to refinance their debt. More…

Is Hope for Homeowners Hopeless?

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Last October, the Bush administration unveiled a plan aimed at helping homeowners facing foreclosure called Hope For Homeowners. Earlier this month, there was consternation and disbelief across the political and economic spectrum when it was revealed that the program More…

You Say Stimulus, I Say Stimulus

It’s almost impossible to turn on the news or open a paper and not hear the term “stimulus.” That one word is quite the multitasker; it can mean anything from tax rebates to public works programs to interest rate cuts, and sometimes refers to a combination of these and other More…

House of Cards

Even as the subprime mortgage fallout continues its ripple effect across the economy, fiscal storm-watchers have an eye on the next gathering cloud: nearly $1 trillion of consumer credit card debt. Defaults are up; in November, the percentage of charge-offs — money card issuers give up on ever collecting — More…