The Federal Trade Commission warns that a tropical investment scam is targeting Americans who hope to retire and live abroad. Developers were reportedly selling lots in a remote jungle area in Belize as a luxurious resort community. But the FTC alleges that instead the developers pocketed the investors’ money—up to $100 million--and have built barely anything.The FTC has alleged fraud and filed a lawsuit against the developers and Belize’s
Mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac is helping to lower the utility bills for hundreds of thousands of low- and middle-income renters through water and energy-efficiency improvements of units. The efforts are part of Freddie Mac’s three-year "Duty to Serve" plan, which aims to increase rental and homeownership opportunities in underserved markets across the country.“Workforce families don’t typically live in newly constructed apartment bui
Net-zero homes—those that make as much energy as they put out—may cost more up front to build, but they can save homeowners money on their energy bills. Eventually, that savings adds up and the home can pay for itself, no matter where you live, a new study shows.Net-zero energy homes usually are outfitted with rooftop solar panels, energy-efficient insulation, triple-pane windows, energy-savvy appliances, LED lighting, and smart thermostats.
Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced a nationwide suspension of eviction lockouts on foreclosures for the holiday season. The foreclosure moratorium will last from Dec. 17 to Jan. 2, 2019, and applies to all foreclosed occupied homes owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.“As we have done in past years, we are suspending evictions from Freddie Mac-owned homes to help provide families with a greater measure of certainty du
Starting in 2020, all new homes constructed in California will be required to have between 2 kilowatts and 3 kilowatts of electricity sourced directly from solar panels. State legislators, who have been considering such a measure for some time, officially voted recently to amend state building codes. Other states are watching how the change plays out and may want to follow suit, California officials have said. “These provisions really are histo
Nine out of 10 millennial renters say they want to purchase a home, but few are planning to do so in the near term, according to a new survey by rental website Apartment List. The chief reasons keeping them from homeownership are affordability (72 percent) and lack of savings for a down payment (62 percent), the survey of 6,400 young adult renters shows. Nearly 50 percent of respondents say they have zero savings, while only 11 percent have saved
Home buyers may be finding a window of opportunity to lock in lower rates. Mortgage rates fell this week, after several weeks of moderating, Freddie Mac reports.“Mortgage rates declined this week amid a steep sell-off in U.S. stocks,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “This week’s rate reaction to the volatile stock market is a welcome relief to prospective home buyers who have recently experienced rising rates and rising
End-of-year negotiations among federal lawmakers have resulted in another short-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Program.Homeowners and buyers in areas at risk of flooding can get insurance through Dec. 21, when the program is scheduled to expire.Efforts are underway to secure longer-term authorization, possibly until the end of September, as part of a temporary budget measure known as a continuing resolution. The National Associa
More investors are starting to back away from flipping homes as home price gains slow. The average home flipping returns dropped to a 6.5-year low in the third quarter, and the share of flips was down 12 percent, according to a newly released report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data provider.A total of 45,901 single-family homes and condos were flipped in the third quarter, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2015. Homes flipp
Homeowners are still finding plenty of equity in their homes, but the gains are slowing. Homeowners with a mortgage saw their equity rise by 9.4 percent over the past year, according to CoreLogic’s latest Home Equity Report. The average homeowner gained $12,400 in home equity between the third quarter of 2017 and the third quarter of 2018. That is lower than the more than $16,000 year-over-year gain in equity reported in the second quarter, Cor
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