I have no clue where the stock market will be tomorrow, next week or next year. But this much seems clear on the economic outlook: jobs and housing have a long way to go before they recover–the two are linked closely. My colleague John Wasik at Reuters.com takes a look this week at the housing [...] [...more]
Here are three words that can stir moral outrage: Just walk away. The phrase refers to strategic defaulters–homeowners who are opting not to keep paying mortgages that they can afford. Unlike the millions of hardship foreclosures afflicting residential real estate, strategic defaulters conclude that it no longer makes economic sense to do so when mortgage [...] [...more]
Mortgage debt among older American homeowners rose during the years when the housing bubble was inflating – reversing the long-standing trend of declining debt as retirement approached. At the same time, older homeowners are sinking underwater on those mortgages at above-average rates. Now, growing numbers of older homeowners are deciding to default on their mortgages even [...] [...more]
In phase one of the foreclosure crisis, policy-makers and news media have focused mainly on homeowners who lose their homes because they can’t afford to make mortgage payments. The next big issue is “strategic default”–homeowners who can afford their payments, but walk away from mortgages and accept foreclosure because they’re facing financial stress, and their [...] [...more]
In a recent column on paying off your mortgage to boost cash flow in retirement, I mentioned the option of selling a home and buying something in a less expensive part of the country. Reader Nick Radesca wrote to point out another good idea–sell your home and rent a place to live. This can make [...] [...more]
