Earlier this month, President Obama rolled out his mortgage relief plan to help millions of families facing foreclosure to stay in their homes.  Today the Treasury Department has launched a new website to help home owners better navigate the information in the Making Home Affordable plan.

This new site includes the same information featured at financialstability.gov, but in a much more user-friendly design and some cool new tools like a quiz to see if you’re eligible for mortgage modification and a calculator that allows home owners to estimate the reduction to their monthly mortgage payment that they might get under the plan.

The page is intended to provide the same information available by calling the Home owner’s HOPE Hotline (888-995-HOPE), which has been overwhelmed with calls – more than 124,000 homeowners have called since the announcement on March 4th!  Of course the hotline is still available, but MakingHomeAffordable.gov is a great first resource for home owners.

Are you being helped by the Making Home Affordable plan?  Share your story in the comments!

Washington State has joined the list of states affected by recession, with the rest of the northwest following close behind.  As they join this unfortunate club, foreclosure rates are starting to climb.

Why?

This second wave of foreclosures is no longer due to just bad loans - rising unemployment is a major factor.  The New York Times reports “Companies like Boeing, Starbucks and even Microsoft have laid off thousands of employees.  Unemployment is rising faster here than in most other states.”

Plus, a recent study shows that it’s baby boomers who are getting hit particularly hard in the current housing market.  The Center for Economic Policy estimates that 30% of homeowners between 45-54 years old are underwater – a pretty scary statistic. In addition, they found that baby boomers in the 45-to-54 group saw their overall net worth decrease 45 percent over the last five years!  This is bad news for not only the housing market, but for everyone who’s hoping/planning to soon retire.

It’s sad to hear how so many people are slowly losing their homes as the economy worsens - but there are a few rays of light at the end of the tunnel.  For those who may be facing foreclosure, check out the Details of the Mortgage Relief Plan - Making Home Affordable to see if you qualify for mortgage relief.

From St. Patty’s to our logo, “green” means a lot of different things to Trulians, so I didn’t think it’d be right to ignore such a welcome excuse to don our favorite color.  Here’s what green brings to mind for me:

3) Fun on a Tuesday: Who doesn’t like street parties and green beer?  We live in San Francisco for pete (flint)’s sake, the day-drinking capital of the country.  You can too if you code Java or are great at sealing the deal (money’s green too) — I guarantee St. Patty’s wouldn’t be the last day you’d be celebrating during the week ; )

2) Eco-friendly homes: We’re into the crunchy, green homes sprouting up all over the country these days.  We’re talking wind energy, solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, double-paned windows and so much more.  Mmm granola.

• Miami, FL - Check out the first eco-friendly family development in Miami

• Brooklyn, NY - How about a Big Green Apple with this one bedroom in trendy Williamsburg

• Austin, TX - One of the greeniest cities around… and not just in Texas

1) The marker man: In case you hadn’t noticed, we have a peculiar thing for our oblong lime-ish logo and mascot.  While the marker man’s record hasn’t always been clean, we’re pretty proud of what he stands for: Power to home buyers, owners, sellers and agents that want easy tools AND unbiased information.

Besides, who doesn’t like costumed crusaders that push the limits?  Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Earlier this month, President Obama rolled out his mortgage relief plan to help millions of families facing foreclosure to stay in their homes.  Today the Treasury Department has launched a new website to help home owners better navigate the information in the Making Home Affordable plan.

This new site includes the same information featured at financialstability.gov, but in a much more user-friendly design and some cool new tools like a quiz to see if you’re eligible for mortgage modification and a calculator that allows home owners to estimate the reduction to their monthly mortgage payment that they might get under the plan.

The page is intended to provide the same information available by calling the Home owner’s HOPE Hotline (888-995-HOPE), which has been overwhelmed with calls – more than 124,000 homeowners have called since the announcement on March 4th!  Of course the hotline is still available, but MakingHomeAffordable.gov is a great first resource for home owners.

Are you being helped by the Making Home Affordable plan?  Share your story in the comments!

Washington State has joined the list of states affected by recession, with the rest of the northwest following close behind.  As they join this unfortunate club, foreclosure rates are starting to climb.

Why?

This second wave of foreclosures is no longer due to just bad loans - rising unemployment is a major factor.  The New York Times reports “Companies like Boeing, Starbucks and even Microsoft have laid off thousands of employees.  Unemployment is rising faster here than in most other states.”

Plus, a recent study shows that it’s baby boomers who are getting hit particularly hard in the current housing market.  The Center for Economic Policy estimates that 30% of homeowners between 45-54 years old are underwater – a pretty scary statistic. In addition, they found that baby boomers in the 45-to-54 group saw their overall net worth decrease 45 percent over the last five years!  This is bad news for not only the housing market, but for everyone who’s hoping/planning to soon retire.

It’s sad to hear how so many people are slowly losing their homes as the economy worsens - but there are a few rays of light at the end of the tunnel.  For those who may be facing foreclosure, check out the Details of the Mortgage Relief Plan - Making Home Affordable to see if you qualify for mortgage relief.

From St. Patty’s to our logo, “green” means a lot of different things to Trulians, so I didn’t think it’d be right to ignore such a welcome excuse to don our favorite color.  Here’s what green brings to mind for me:

3) Fun on a Tuesday: Who doesn’t like street parties and green beer?  We live in San Francisco for pete (flint)’s sake, the day-drinking capital of the country.  You can too if you code Java or are great at sealing the deal (money’s green too) — I guarantee St. Patty’s wouldn’t be the last day you’d be celebrating during the week ; )

2) Eco-friendly homes: We’re into the crunchy, green homes sprouting up all over the country these days.  We’re talking wind energy, solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, double-paned windows and so much more.  Mmm granola.

• Miami, FL - Check out the first eco-friendly family development in Miami

• Brooklyn, NY - How about a Big Green Apple with this one bedroom in trendy Williamsburg

• Austin, TX - One of the greeniest cities around… and not just in Texas

1) The marker man: In case you hadn’t noticed, we have a peculiar thing for our oblong lime-ish logo and mascot.  While the marker man’s record hasn’t always been clean, we’re pretty proud of what he stands for: Power to home buyers, owners, sellers and agents that want easy tools AND unbiased information.

Besides, who doesn’t like costumed crusaders that push the limits?  Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Earlier this month, President Obama rolled out his mortgage relief plan to help millions of families facing foreclosure to stay in their homes.  Today the Treasury Department has launched a new website to help home owners better navigate the information in the Making Home Affordable plan.

This new site includes the same information featured at financialstability.gov, but in a much more user-friendly design and some cool new tools like a quiz to see if you’re eligible for mortgage modification and a calculator that allows home owners to estimate the reduction to their monthly mortgage payment that they might get under the plan.

The page is intended to provide the same information available by calling the Home owner’s HOPE Hotline (888-995-HOPE), which has been overwhelmed with calls – more than 124,000 homeowners have called since the announcement on March 4th!  Of course the hotline is still available, but MakingHomeAffordable.gov is a great first resource for home owners.

Are you being helped by the Making Home Affordable plan?  Share your story in the comments!

Washington State has joined the list of states affected by recession, with the rest of the northwest following close behind.  As they join this unfortunate club, foreclosure rates are starting to climb.

Why?

This second wave of foreclosures is no longer due to just bad loans - rising unemployment is a major factor.  The New York Times reports “Companies like Boeing, Starbucks and even Microsoft have laid off thousands of employees.  Unemployment is rising faster here than in most other states.”

Plus, a recent study shows that it’s baby boomers who are getting hit particularly hard in the current housing market.  The Center for Economic Policy estimates that 30% of homeowners between 45-54 years old are underwater – a pretty scary statistic. In addition, they found that baby boomers in the 45-to-54 group saw their overall net worth decrease 45 percent over the last five years!  This is bad news for not only the housing market, but for everyone who’s hoping/planning to soon retire.

It’s sad to hear how so many people are slowly losing their homes as the economy worsens - but there are a few rays of light at the end of the tunnel.  For those who may be facing foreclosure, check out the Details of the Mortgage Relief Plan - Making Home Affordable to see if you qualify for mortgage relief.

From St. Patty’s to our logo, “green” means a lot of different things to Trulians, so I didn’t think it’d be right to ignore such a welcome excuse to don our favorite color.  Here’s what green brings to mind for me:

3) Fun on a Tuesday: Who doesn’t like street parties and green beer?  We live in San Francisco for pete (flint)’s sake, the day-drinking capital of the country.  You can too if you code Java or are great at sealing the deal (money’s green too) — I guarantee St. Patty’s wouldn’t be the last day you’d be celebrating during the week ; )

2) Eco-friendly homes: We’re into the crunchy, green homes sprouting up all over the country these days.  We’re talking wind energy, solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, double-paned windows and so much more.  Mmm granola.

• Miami, FL - Check out the first eco-friendly family development in Miami

• Brooklyn, NY - How about a Big Green Apple with this one bedroom in trendy Williamsburg

• Austin, TX - One of the greeniest cities around… and not just in Texas

1) The marker man: In case you hadn’t noticed, we have a peculiar thing for our oblong lime-ish logo and mascot.  While the marker man’s record hasn’t always been clean, we’re pretty proud of what he stands for: Power to home buyers, owners, sellers and agents that want easy tools AND unbiased information.

Besides, who doesn’t like costumed crusaders that push the limits?  Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Earlier this month, President Obama rolled out his mortgage relief plan to help millions of families facing foreclosure to stay in their homes.  Today the Treasury Department has launched a new website to help home owners better navigate the information in the Making Home Affordable plan.

This new site includes the same information featured at financialstability.gov, but in a much more user-friendly design and some cool new tools like a quiz to see if you’re eligible for mortgage modification and a calculator that allows home owners to estimate the reduction to their monthly mortgage payment that they might get under the plan.

The page is intended to provide the same information available by calling the Home owner’s HOPE Hotline (888-995-HOPE), which has been overwhelmed with calls – more than 124,000 homeowners have called since the announcement on March 4th!  Of course the hotline is still available, but MakingHomeAffordable.gov is a great first resource for home owners.

Are you being helped by the Making Home Affordable plan?  Share your story in the comments!