AltWeeklies Wire
Home Sales Down, but Prices Are Up: Blame it on the Credit Crunchnew
After the bottom fell out of the subprime mortgage debacle, lenders started to look at potential borrowers with greater scrutiny. Gone are the days of borrowers with weak credit snagging mortgages with no money down. Yet higher-priced houses are still moving because better-off buyers have an easier time getting loans.
C-Ville Weekly |
Scott Weaver |
04-23-2008 |
Economy
As Natural Resources Dwindle, Vermont's Scrap Yards Find Business Boomingnew
If you bring a ton of No. 1 Steel to a scrap yard today, you'll get a check for $210; last year you might have taken home only $130 for the same weight. The booming market has even spun off its own cottage industry of thieves.
Seven Days |
Kirk Kardashian |
04-21-2008 |
Economy
Development-Mad Orlando Ignores Flailing Economynew
The $1.8 billion plan to build two new downtown venues and renovate a third that almost never gets used is rock-solid. Yes, it's based on rising property values, increasing tourism and people snapping up downtown condos, but it's rock-solid nonetheless. And that's all you need to know.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
04-21-2008 |
Economy
Monterey County Foreclosures on the Risenew
If the pace continues, the number of foreclosures in the county this year will hit close to 4,000; last year the total was 1,568. "This is unprecedented," says Lou Solton, county treasurer and tax collector for 23 years. "There have been other downturns in the real estate market but never this pronounced and not this lengthy."
Monterey County Weekly |
Zachary Stahl |
04-17-2008 |
Economy
Party Like It's 1929
The "structural recession" was declared in 1992. It's here now.
Washington Cracks Down on Foreclosure 'Rescue' Schemesnew
The state's new law establishes a five-day opt-out period if the homeowner smells a scam; it requires that the homeowner be able to afford all the terms and receive 82 percent of the fair market value if the house is sold.
Seattle Weekly |
Jesse Froehling |
04-07-2008 |
Economy
The High Cost of Credit on Campusnew
Giving away gifts is a popular tactic credit card companies use on college campuses, but consumer advocates say many undergraduates end up with late fees, high balances and delinquencies.
Dig Boston |
Arvin Temkar |
04-03-2008 |
Economy
Tags: Economic Issues
Why Go to a Payday Lender Anyway?new
The answer is very often because there aren't better options.
C-Ville Weekly |
Scott Weaver |
03-26-2008 |
Economy
Caught in the Payday Lending Cyclenew
Thomasine Wilson took out one payday loan in 2003. Two years and $2,000 later, she pulled herself out of the cycle of debt that the loan touched off.
C-Ville Weekly |
Scott Weaver and Will Goldsmith |
03-26-2008 |
Economy
Caught Up in a Mortgage Servicing Swindlenew
How two sisters fell victim to a national mortgage scam, and how it could happen again.
New Haven Advocate |
Betsy Yagla |
03-25-2008 |
Economy
Darren Joyner Just Wants a Jobnew
In the last three years the Army vet with accounting experience has sent out more than 450 resumes, and has had only three job interviews.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Kia Gregory |
03-24-2008 |
Economy
Tags: Economic Issues
The False Promise of the State Lotterynew
In 1999, Virginia voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional referendum designating all state lottery proceeds to education, but when you buy a lottery ticket, only a fraction goes towards education.
C-Ville Weekly |
Jayson Whitehead |
03-19-2008 |
Economy
Tags: Economic Issues
Bond Market Collapse Worries Student-Loan Agencynew
The latest crisis on Wall Street has Vermont's largest student lender scrambling to secure $190 million to meet the demand for loans it expects to make this fall.
Seven Days |
Brian Wallstin |
03-14-2008 |
Economy
Stung by a Middlemannew
"They make it sound like all these people [in foreclosure] are in over their heads," Wilma Vaughn says, "but they're in over their heads because these companies put them in over their heads."
Tags: Economic Issues
Anatomy of a Foreclosurenew
Besides the borrower, there are four entities involved in loan-making: lenders, brokers, investors and servicing companies.
