Packed with tips, tables, worksheets, a glossary, and more With updated information on new types of loans From adjustable-rate mortgages to balloon loans, this friendly, easy-to-understand guide helps you find your way through the home-financing jungle. Bestselling real estate authors Eric Tyson and Ray Brown cover everything you need to know about the mortgage game – and show you step-by-step how to get the best possible deal. The Dummies Way Explanations in plain English " Get in, get out" information Icons and other navigational aids Tear-out cheat sheet Top ten lists A dash of humor and fun Discover how to: Shop for the best home-purchase mortgage Overcome loan qualification obstacles Negotiate lower loan fees and closing costs Save by refinancing your home Increase retirement income... Less

The fiasco that sank millions of Americans, including one journalist, who thought he knew better.A veteran New York Times economics reporter, Ed Andrews was intimately aware of the dangers posed by easy mortgages from fast-buck lenders. Yet, at the promise of a second chance at love, he succumbed to the temptation of subprime lending and became part of the economic catastrophe he was covering. In surprisingly short order, he amassed a staggering amount of debt and reached the edge of bankruptcy. In Busted, Andrew bluntly recounts his misadventures in mortgages and goes one step further to describe the brokers, lenders, Wall Street players, and Washington policymakers who helped bring that money to his door. The result is a penetrating and often acerbic look at the binge and bust that... Less

Mr. Phillips wakes on a summer's Monday morning in his modest, nearly mortgage-free house, ready to face another ordinary working day. Except this day is far from ordinary, for on the previous Friday, Mr. Phillips was summarily sacked. Unable to deal with this disaster-unable even to tell his own wife-Mr. Phillips rises at his usual hour and prepares himself for the job he no longer has. As he wanders the streets of London, what he sees triggers memories. Gradually a picture develops of a decent man who, only days before, knew exactly who and what he was-husband, home-owner, father, valued employee-and on this day wonders who and what he can become.Using the bits and pieces of one man's past, John Lanchester has drawn a fully dimensional life and, in the process, made in Mr. Phillips an... Less

Bestselling author John R. Talbott, who predicted the housing and mortgage crisis, pictures in Obamanomics-- written well in advance of the historic 2008 elections--a Barack Obama presidency based on justice and cooperation— principles that have not held sway in Washington, DC, for quite some time. Talbott's powerful grasp of finance allows him to connect the issue of financial inequality in America with our need as a people to embrace change.Obama has shown he knows that divisions among races, religions, and political views have prevented Americans from coming together to solve the most important problems of our age. Obamanomics, infused with Obama's speeches, campaign policy statements, and other writings, describes a government acting according to democratic principles to enact... Less

Most people believe they lack the capital required for serious wealth-building, unwittingly tying up money in equity they could be investing elsewhere for greater return. "Untapped Riches" offers 40 wealth-building and wealth- protection strategies, flying in the face of conventional wisdom to argue that there is both good and bad debt - and that the former is essential to generating cash flow and building significant wealth. This valuable, empowering book shows how anyone can get the cash they need, and use it to make a radical difference in their financial health.

No more jobs, no more taxes, no more checkbook, no more bills, no more credit cards, no more credit, no more money, no more mortgages, no more rent, no more savings, no more junk mail, no more junk, no more mail, no more phones, no more faxes, no more busy signals, no more computers, no more cars, no more drivers' licenses, no more traffic lights, no more airports, no more flying, no more tickets, no more packing, no more luggage, no more supermarkets, no more health clubs... While her "current" spends the summer researching public housing in Stockholm, a moderately wealthy, object- oppressed, and terminally hip New York female of a certain age... Less

This is a plain-English explanation of how we got into the current economic disaster that developed out of the economics and politics of the housing boom and bust. The “creative” financing of home mortgages and the even more “creative” marketing of financial securities based on American mortgages to countries around the world, are part of the story of how a financial house of cards was built up—and then suddenly collapsed.The politics behind all this is another story full of strange twists. No punches are pulled when discussing politicians of either party, the financial dangers they created, or the distractions they created later to escape their own responsibility for what happened when the financial house of cards in the financial markets collapsed.What to do, now that we are in the... Less