homeowners

With the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage down to 4.09%, -- another record low -- it's a great time to refinance. But before you go running off to your lender to catch the best rates since 1951, avoid making these major mistakes that can cost you dearly.

The deadly tornadoes that struck the South and Midwest in April, the devastating quake in Japan and concerns about terrorist reprisals after Osama bin Laden's death should serve as reminders to property owners: plan for the worst-case scenario.

The economy may be looking up, but for many of us, budgets are still tight. But if you're a homeowner wishing for a way to pump up your finances, you may be overlooking your greatest asset -- your home. There are plenty of unconventional ways to make money by renting out a portion of your property.

Regulators want the nation's big banks to reduce what borrowers owe on underwater mortgages, but they're still focused on solutions that rely on banks to voluntarily do the right thing. But we've already seen that won't work, and history shows what will -- giving bankruptcy judges back the right to cram down mortgages.

The mortgage mess settlement proposal is a repudiation of the servicing industries' standard business practices. The agreement also reads as an indictment -- not just of the servicing industry, but also of law enforcement, regulators and Congress.

A partial settlement plan has been constructed by a group of state attorneys general and federal regulators. In theory, it addresses banks' flawed mortgage servicing, modification and foreclosure practices. In reality, it just lets the banks off the hook.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission's report concludes that ineffective regulators and big banks were the primary causes of the financial meltdown. Next stop: Government and class action lawsuits to recoup some of what we all lost, and (please please please) criminal charges against the worst offenders too.

After an exhaustive examination, DailyFinance's legal reporter comes to a clear verdict. Banks have done three things to create the massive glut of foreclosures choking America's legal systems and laying waste to its real estate markets.

American Shingle and Siding, Inc., the Atlanta-based roofing company accused of defrauding hundreds of homeowners around the country, has filed for bankruptcy, owing creditors $10 million-$50 million, according to the Better Business Bureau. The news does not bode well for consumers, many of whom...

American homes are shrinking, as people downsize their costs and lives. After years of growth, the Census Bureau says the average size of a new home fell to 2,135 square feet in 2009 after peaking at more than 2,300 earlier in the decade. As it turns out, people have decided they don't really...