For the first time in its history, the Macon Housing Authority plans to develop affordable housing outside of Georgia through one of its subsidiary corporations.
Karen MacDonough of Quincy, Mass., was enjoying her tea one morning in the dining room when she sees something odd outside of her window: A group of people gathering on her lawn. A man with a clipboard tells her that her home no longer belongs to her. It didn't matter that she'd been paying her mortgage for 17 years, and was current on it. She was a nurse with a good job and had raised her kids here. But this was a foreclosure sale, and she was going to lose her house.
Karen had fallen victim to what's called a zombie second mortgage. Homeowners think these loans are long dead. But then the loans come back to life because they get bought up, sometimes for pennies on the dollar, by debt collectors who then move to collect and foreclose on people's homes.
On today's episode: An NPR investigation reveals the practice to be widespread. Also, what are zombie mortgages? Is all this legal? And is there any way for homeowners to fight the zombies?
This episode was hosted by Chris Arnold and Robert Smith. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang with help from Bob Little. And it was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Engineering by Robert Rodriguez with an assist from Patrick Murray. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
For four years, Fraisher Poole, a 66-year-old grandmother, has been living on the streets of the town where she grew up and raised her own family. For more than six months, she has been anxiously waiting for news that she can turn the keys and walk into a new home.
Property tax rates could drop in some Georgia school districts under a House plan. It would let districts with low property wealth continue to qualify for state aid even if they decrease property tax rates.
Lower courts have said it's unconstitutional to punish people for sleeping outside if no shelter is available. Cities say these rulings have paralyzed their efforts to manage growing tent encampments.
Home Depot's sales continued to weaken in its fiscal fourth quarter, as the country's largest home improvement retailer deals with Americans who remain concerned about high mortgage rates and inflation. While its quarterly results topped analysts' expectations, it provided a soft sales forecast for fiscal 2024. Shares slipped before the market open on Tuesday.
As Americans struggle to find affordable housing, cities are realizing their own rules have made it too hard and expensive to build the homes they need. Now, some cities are trying to change that.
A new Harvard analysis finds people across income levels got squeezed by rent hikes during the pandemic. The market has lost millions of low-rent places, and new construction is mostly high-end.
