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RISMEDIA, November 6, 2010—(MCT)—Melinda Thompson can't afford to live in North Jersey. And she can't afford to leave. Her property taxes have risen from about $7,000 to about $12,000 in just seven years. She struggles with her mortgage payments, even after her lender modified the loan.  But she can't sell her raised ranch in Little Ferry, NJ unless she's willing to take a substantial loss. And she thinks her job prospects wouldn't be nearly as strong in other regions.

RISMEDIA, November 6, 2010—It's almost time to start thinking about building fires in the fireplace, bundling up in your warmest sweater, sipping hot cocoa while you watch the snow, and start fretting over that unrented vacation home. While T.S. Eliot may think that April is the

RISMEDIA, November 5, 2010—(MCT)—For almost two years, home foreclosures have swept the nation, spreading misery among once-buoyant families, spattering lenders with red ink and undermining efforts to restart the economy. But a bigger problem may turn out to be the millions of Americans who are still faithfully paying their mortgages, but on houses worth far less than before the bubble burst. It's not that these homeowners will stop making their payments. It's just the opposite—that they will keep doing it.

RISMEDIA, November 4, 2010—(MCT)—Ralph and Gloria Dickerson began a $150,000 expansion of their Englewood, N.J., house in 2004. But the work dwindled to a halt several years ago, and foreclosure proceedings were started on the house last year. The property now sits empty, with exposed insulation wrap outside, peeling paint inside and signs on the lawn announcing: "For sale by owner." When home renovations stall, properties like this turn into white elephants. If they go on the market, their unkempt state scares off many potential buyers. And in the meantime, neighbors fume at the eyesore in their midst.

RISMEDIA, November 2, 2010—(MCT)—When men buy "guy stuff"—cars, lawn mowers, electronics—they're on their home turf. For those purchases, "Men can rely on familiar brand names and test drives to guide their decision-making," says Jackie Hirschhaut, spokesperson for the American Home Furnishings Alliance. But even though men are becoming more involved in decorating their homes, according to research by the American Furniture Manufacturers Association, "For most men, furniture stores are unfamiliar territory," says Hirschhaut.

RISMEDIA, October 28, 2010—RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties released its Q3 2010 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report, which shows that cities in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona once again accounted for all top 10 foreclosure

RISMEDIA, October 28, 2010—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the October edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard (www.hud.gov/scorecard). The latest housing figures show continued signs of stabilization in house prices and high home affordability due in part to record low interest rates. The housing scorecard is a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market.

RISMEDIA, October 27, 2010—A new home may have freshly painted shutters, a picket fence around it, and rainbow-colored flower patches leading to the candy-red door. But if the air quality isn’t good inside, those exterior niceties become insignificant—and—quite simply, you could get sick. “Sick building syndrome” (a term typically reserved for office buildings, but often interchangeably used with the term “sick house syndrome” when referring to private homes) is a combination of physical ailments—symptoms often include headaches, loss of concentration, general malaise and breathing problems. The cause: poor indoor air quality.

RISMEDIA, October 26, 2010—(MCT)—The taxpayer bailouts of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost as much as $363 billion through 2013, according to government projections. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has regulated the former

RISMEDIA, October 23, 2010—(MCT)—If you’ve been toying with the idea of taking out a reverse mortgage, it is important to take into consideration that today’s market is significantly different from what it was just a couple of months ago. Monthly insurance premiums on new loans went up this month, making an expensive product even more so. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development has offset that rise by introducing another reverse mortgage—the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Saver—which slashes the upfront cost. "It's a mixed bag," said David Certner, legislative policy director for AARP, of the reverse mortgage market.

RISMEDIA, October 15, 2010—(MCT)—In a new foreclosure crisis that has gone national, attorneys general in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia have launched a sweeping probe of the country's lenders, even as new figures showed banks repossessed a record number of homes

RISMEDIA, October 15, 2010—(MCT)—Jodie Mekled is looking forward to cheap utility bills this winter. The retail worker from Sterling Heights, Mich., could pay as little as $40 a month for natural gas thanks to energy-efficient home improvements made through Habitat for Humanity.

RISMEDIA, October 14, 2010—Thousands of first-time and move-up buyers who hoped to make a foreclosed property their new home now face uncertainty, anxiety and possibly remorse as they worry that closing on their desired property could be in jeopardy. For many, the dream of homeownership could turn into agony if their home purchase is indefinitely delayed by a moratorium on foreclosures declared by some banks, the National Association of Realtors said. The moratoriums are needed, banks say, to review all of the foreclosures in their portfolios to make sure they're in compliance with the law and that titles are clear.

RISMEDIA, October 14, 2010—The National Association of Realtors' HouseLogic, a free, comprehensive consumer website about all aspects of homeownership recently launched Operation Home Relief, a new Facebook Causes campaign. The campaign aims to increase awareness, rally

RISMEDIA, October 12, 2010—Trulia.com, a leading site for home buyers, sellers and renters, recently released the results from its Rent vs. Buy Index, which tracks whether buying a home or renting is less expensive in America's 50 largest cities, based on current market conditions. "Choosing to buy a home or continuing to rent is a highly personal financial and life decision that many people are grappling with right now," said Pete Flint, CEO and co-founder of Trulia. "In the wake of the foreclosure crisis and ongoing struggles in the industry, we created the Rent vs. Buy Index to provide a bit more context about current marketplace conditions to help prospective buyers make the right decisions for their own personal situations."