Democrats push more mortgage aid The Washington Post
House Democrats are seeking to tap the government's massive bailout fund to help homeowners who have lost their jobs and are struggling to make their mortgage payments.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on Monday signed on to a proposal by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) that would channel $3 billion from the federal Troubled Assets Relief Program toward mortgage relief for jobless Americans. The measure would designate another $1 billion for a program that gives grants to state and local governments to purchase foreclosed properties and use them for more productive purposes.
FHA push: Good for condos? Critics say no Chicago Sun-Times
The Federal Housing Administration began enforcing new rules Monday that it said will help more condominium buyers qualify for mortgages.
Critics, however, said some of the rules will make it harder for builders to deliver new condo buildings. They also said the FHA is stepping up scrutiny of condo management associations, which could curb loan approvals.
Quarter of HAMP Mods in Default Again DSNews
More than 25 percent of homeowners who have received assistance under the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) have fallen behind on their new payments – a harrowing statistic that has stirred up more doubt about the effectiveness of the government’s $75 billion foreclosure prevention campaign.
Citing data from a Treasury Department survey of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers, Assistant Treasury Secretary Herbert Allison told a congressional oversight panel that only “73 percent of borrowers are current in their trial plan payments,” according to a written Q&A document obtained by Reuters.
Bernanke: Too soon to say upturn will last
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Monday that it's too soon to know whether the economic recovery will last and again pledged to hold rates at record-low levels for an "extended period."
The Fed chief's speech to the Economic Club of Washington made clear that he thinks the economy will struggle even as it recovers from the recession. He said the economy confronts "formidable headwinds," including a weak job market, cautious consumers and tight credit.
Six figures for NYC's 'smallest apartment' Curbed.com
NEW YORK -- It's not the first time an apartment has been anointed the smallest in Manhattan in some category, but this one might really be it. Two people and two cats live in this 175-square-foot studio on 110th Street, which the New York Post labels the "smallest legal apartment in the city."
Zaarath and Christopher Prokop, both accountants, bought the pad -- roughly the width of a subway car, plus a 3-foot-wide bathroom -- three months ago for $150,000, or about $857 per square foot. (Monthly maintenance: just over $700.) They make it work by filling their home with ... practically nothing at all: a queen-size bed, a flat-screen TV, a leather storage bench, and a shelf/wine rack. They don't cook, so they use their kitchen cabinets for clothes instead of food. They jog to work in running gear and pick up their officewear at various dry cleaners along the way.
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