News
2023
September
18
- When Wall Street buys most of the homes on your block. First-time buyers, who overwhelmingly rely on mortgages, were often outmatched by cash buyers at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when interest rates plummeted below 3 percent and home prices soared. Across the U.S., more
13
03
July
14
- How Philadelphia kept tenants from being evicted. Philadelphia has kept in place one key lockdown-era protection program — at least for the moment. Under this program, if a tenant owes less than $3,000 in back rent, landlords must try mediation in good faith
March
13
- Insurers slashed Hurricane Ian payouts insiders reveal. After years of more frequent and intense storms, national insurance carriers have pulled back from the market and smaller, regional carriers with smaller financial reserves jumped in. In the wake of Hurricane Ian, those companies
01
January
26
- White House unveils Renters Bill of Rights. The Biden administration is releasing a “Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights” that highlights the need for clear and fair leases, the right to organize, and eviction prevention and diversion, among other
2022
November
01
- Sharp spike in Black, Asian and Latino homeownership. Helped by pandemic-era stimulus programs, Black, Latino and Asian households saw the sharpest increase in homeownership in 2021 since the Great Recession, when all their levels of owning had fallen, according to an analysis of new
October
27
- U.S. mortgage rates soar past 7%. Mortgage rates barreled past the 7 percent mark to their highest level since 2002, as the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate increases, meant to combat inflation, continued to seep through the economy and worry markets.
September
01
August
31
- Consumer Action INSIDER - September 2022. The September issue of INSIDER brings you stories about some new grants and initiatives at Consumer Action, as well as standard features, like Hotline Chronicles (a terrible snafu with airline tickets) and CFPB Watch (a rundown of what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been up to). Learn about some upcoming class action settlements, too.
01
July
25
June
22
07
- Massive rent increases hit mobile homes. Surging home prices and rents are cascading down to the country’s mobile home parks, where heightened demand, low supply and an increase in corporate owners is driving up monthly costs for low-income residents
02
May
01
- Consumer Action INSIDER - May 2022. This month's INSIDER features stories about our recent activities, including a webinar exploring the impact of COVID on small businesses and a project using FinTech to improve financial wellness. Hotline Chronicles relates a woman's difficulty in receiving her income tax refund after attempting to have it sent to a prepaid card. And, we announce new settlements in our Class Action Database.
April
24
- Emergency assistance for tenants and homeowners (Spring 2022). This issue of Consumer Action's quarterly newsletter provides an update on the various types of financial assistance available to help qualifying homeowners and renters stay in their homes. It also presents various efforts at preventing inaccurate eviction records from impeding consumers' ability to rent a home.
- Emergency assistance for tenants and homeowners (Spring 2022). This issue of Consumer Action's quarterly newsletter provides an update on the various types of financial assistance available to help qualifying homeowners and renters stay in their homes. It also presents various efforts at preventing inaccurate eviction records from impeding consumers' ability to rent a home.
18
- Find out and fix what big data says about you. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau maintains a list of consumer reporting agencies that’s currently 38 pages long. In addition to the big three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — the list includes 22
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