AltWeeklies Wire
What Was the Role of the Real Estate Appraiser in the Housing Bust?new
Predatory lenders get most of the blame for the housing bust, but real estate appraisers -- many pressured by lenders -- were accomplices.
Style Weekly |
Diane York |
06-11-2008 |
Economy
Proposed Foreclosure Moratorium Bill in Michigan Recalls 1930s Legislationnew
You know things are getting bad when legislators start drafting new bills modeled on laws originally enacted as a way to help people survive the Great Depression. But that's the spot we're now finding ourselves in when it comes to the issue of home foreclosures.
Metro Times |
Staff |
06-10-2008 |
Economy
Home Equity Loans Threatened in Mortgage Crisisnew

As property values drop, many banks are freezing their customers' home equity loans.
East Bay Express |
Anna McCarthy |
06-04-2008 |
Housing & Development
Houses in Cleveland are Selling on eBay for as Little at $810new
Turns out that real estate fiends from as far away as Florida and Texas have been buying up the slums of our fair burg, then flipping the houses on eBay
Cleveland Scene |
Staff |
05-30-2008 |
Housing & Development
Foreclosure May Hurt Children the Mostnew
"When foreclosures force children from their homes, their education is disrupted, their peer relationships crumble, and the social networks that support them are fractured," according to a recent study by First Focus. "Indeed, their physical health, as well as their emotional health and well-being, is placed at risk." Tiffany Rodriguez, a North Philly 14-year-old, would have to agree.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Tasneem Paghdiwala |
05-27-2008 |
Housing & Development
Oil Costs Reshaping the Suburbsnew
Current property values in the U.S., where the subprime-mortgage crisis has unleashed a sea of foreclosures, demonstrate how surging oil prices can affect the real-estate market. Cities with more suburban sprawl are suffering more in terms of depressed prices than denser areas that are less dependent on cars.
The Georgia Straight |
Carlito Pablo |
05-19-2008 |
Housing & Development
Helping People Out of the Subprime Crisis, Without Foreclosurenew
Three years ago, Lisa Peterson and her husband got into trouble with their own home payments after a publishing venture failed. They had to turn to family for help. The experience gave them an idea for a new business: help people protect their credit and avoid foreclosure, either by renegotiating their loans or buying and reselling their houses.
Isthmus |
Mary Ellen Bell |
05-12-2008 |
Housing & Development
On the Foreclosure Tour Bus, the Mortgage Crisis is Just Another Money Makernew
The Miami Homes Tour is a new tactic for hawking foreclosed property. Its organizers are part of a burgeoning brood of businesspeople cleaning up after Miami's burst real estate bubble.
Miami New Times |
Janine Zeitlin |
05-05-2008 |
Economy
Foreclosure Rage is On the Risenew
The evicted residents who destroy their own house before they leave are rarely prosecuted. As attorney David Winterton explains, "The people who trashed the house don't have money anyway, so if someone were to sue them and get a judgment, they wouldn't be able to collect."
Las Vegas Weekly |
Jennifer Grafiada |
05-02-2008 |
Housing & Development
Cleaning Up Foreclosed Homes After the Mortgage Crisisnew

Junk haulers expand their business in the wake of evictees leaving behind houses in terrible condition.
Houston Press |
Paul Knight |
04-29-2008 |
Business & Labor
Wisconsin Aims to Crack Down on Scrap Thievesnew
The dramatic growth in evictions because of mortgage foreclosures has been good news for those who break into vacant houses to steal and sell metal, but selling such contraband metal could become much more difficult if Assembly Bill 560 passes before the state Legislature adjourns in spring.
Shepherd Express |
Staff |
01-04-2008 |
Business & Labor
No Sympathy for Homeowners with Exploding ARMsnew
Why should I feel sorry for someone who didn't think things through and jumped too early at the first loan they could get?
New York Press |
John DeSio |
09-13-2007 |
Economy