Middle-class, new developments reeling from vacant homes, shady renters

Eighty-five bungalows dot the cul-de-sac that joins West Ontario Avenue and East Ontario Avenue in Atlanta. Twenty-two are vacant, victims of mortgage fraud and foreclosure. Now house fires, prostitution, vandals and burglaries terrorize the residents left in this historic neighborhood called Westview Village.
“It’s created a safety hazard. […]

True, lenders are getting a little testy, but here’s some advice on making it easier to get that home loan you need.
With house prices falling and inventory surging, it might seem that home buyers have it made.
But lending standards have tightened, and even borrowers with good credit, steady employment and cash for a down payment […]

More parents are finding that buying a house or condo for their university-bound offspring makes sense, both as an investment and in giving their kids a leg up after they graduate.
Checklist as your teenager heads off to college: Don’t forget to: a) pay the tuition; b) have the safe-sex talk; c) have the drinking-and-driving talk; […]