The concept of geopolitics sounds academic and tough to comprehend, but actually it’s not. Put simply, geopolitics is the study of how international relations between countries are influenced by geographical factors. F...

While you may have heard the old adage that you should put your money into your house (income property or otherwise) Jason Hartman advises that you keep your money where it belongs—in the bank. By putting a minimal amo...

Many of us have images of a classic American childhood—playing hockey in the street, dripping watermelon and popsicles, watching baseball. Perhaps they’re based in memory or perhaps television. Chances are, there’s...

It’s the kind of publicity Bank of America doesn’t need right now: a German –born intern at one of the bank’s London branches died after a long stretch of workdays without a break. So BofA, like other scandal-pla...

The ups and downs of a volatile housing market create fertile ground for opportunists trying to make buck –or several – from all sides of a real estate transaction. Though not actually illegal, practices like the “...

Ever since it was created back in 2008 to help homeowners avoid foreclosures, the government’s Home Affordable Mortgage Program, or HAMP, has fallen far short of its goals. Because that’s so, large numbers of prevent...

The rollercoaster ride of quasi-federal mortgage lending superagencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hit the down slope after an unprecedented climb that saw stock prices for both these institutions gaining up to 150 percen...

Even though indications are that the housing market is looking up after the disastrous crash a few years ago, the mortgage lending industry is still digging itself out of some very deep holes. Among the numerous problems...

If Nigerian money transfers and fake refinancing promotions weren’t enough, scammers keep coming up with still more ways to defraud and otherwise take advantage of unwary or struggling homeowners and income propert...

Real estate fraud takes many forms and targets all areas of the housing market, with an impact on investors, homeowners and renters all over the country. Because these schemes can be hard to spot, we’ll wrap up this we...