It’s not like there’s no help for people who are behind on their mortgages. In fact, there are dozens of state and federal programs designed to help homeowners with empty pockets.

But try and tell that to Pamela Stewart, who related her story recently in front of 1,500 people at a church on Bridgeport’s East End, the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

Full story is available on ctpost.com

A quaint house located at 124 Grand Avenue in Iselin sold in recent months. The two bedroom, one bath property sold for only $200,000.

One of a series of simpler homes built in the area in the 1950s, this Grand Avenue house features quite a number of amenities including a newer oil furnace, newer windows and newer vinyl siding. The roof is also in very good condition. There is a lovely Florida room in the house as well as a dining area and an eat-in kitchen.

Full story is available on Patch

The Nevada Housing Division has announced a new low mortgage rate for Nevada’s first-time homebuyers. It is offering a 3.50 percent interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan to qualified buyers.

This new rate became effective on Dec. 1, with a guarantee by the Housing Division that this rate will be available through June 30.

Full story is available on Las Vegas Review Journal

American real estate company Foreclosure Deals have released a new infographic which reveals that in America, average house prices have dropped by 46 per cent since 2008, while national rental rates have risen by a hefty 60 per cent.

While New York property remains expensive to purchase (at an average price of $406,000), the median rent has grown from $943 three years ago to $2,400 in 2011.

Full story is available on A Place in the Sun

This is a common question I’m asked when I find defects at houses that I inspect, and the answer is always no. While I may come up with a big list of required repairs for a seller during a Truth-In-Housing evaluation, home inspections are an unregulated industry in Minnesota. Issues that come up during a home inspection may be negotiable, but there are no hard and fast rules about repairs that sellers need to complete as a result of a home inspection. When I find defects during a home inspection, there are four common ways for the buyer to deal with them: pay less for the house, cancel the purchase, have the seller perform repairs, or do nothing.

Full story is available on startribune.com

Cameron Findlay is the chief economist at LendingTree.com, working out of the Charlotte firm’s Irvine office. responsible for risk management, hedge strategy and analytics. He is the firm’s principal representative in Washington, D.C., involved in mortgage industry reform. We asked him for his take on the mortgage market these days …

What’s going on with the current mortgage market?

Full story is available on OCRegister

Could today’s seductive conditions in the housing market — severely marked-down prices, record low interest rates and hundreds of thousands of foreclosures waiting to be resold — be breeding new generations of the very practices that led to the crash?

In an ironic twist, there are signs that the wreckage left over from the housing bust may be reigniting dubious real-estate schemes and fraud.

Full story is available on The Seattle Times

So, you want to become a landlord. Since the housing market went south, some would-be sellers are now putting their homes up for rent.

Some would-be buyers are looking for rental properties and hoping that prices will fall even more.

Full story is available on The Tribune Democrat

If you’re selling or buying a home, it’s extremely important to think ahead when you’re hiring a real estate agent. Find someone with a good track record; one who has the history and references that show they are going to work to get you the best return on your home.

The rate on the most common type of mortgage hit a new low this week, as investors try to figure out what’s in store for the global economy.

Uncertainties over the European debt crisis and growing concerns about the housing market in the United States should keep rates quiet for now.

Full story is available on Las Vegas Review Journal