There have been a number of political spats over the past few years among lawmakers with the intention to help Americans through the housing crisis that’s been blamed for everything from falling housing prices to reduced sales.
We’ve seen the federal government bail out banks and attempt to remedy bogus foreclosure practices. We’ve watched the government put tax credits in place for home buyers and regulate the appraisal process in an attempt to make sure home values aren’t exaggerated. There have also been some attempts to help out home owners who …

If early reports from the Confessing Movement are any indication, those hoping for the United Methodist Church to change its stance on homosexuality will likely be disappointed.
For those who haven’t been following the 2012 United Methodist General Conference, proposals have been made for the worldwide group to change its stances on, specifically, homosexual clergy members and gay marriage. Central to the conflict is the Book of Discipline, the document which provides the rules and regulations to United Methodist churches. In 1972, language was added to the Book of Discipline that …

Every four years, the United Methodist Church holds a conference and decides policy for its worldwide membership.
The 2012 General Conference started on April 24 in Tampa, Fla., and there are available some early reports on the issues surrounding the conference. Perhaps the most controversial issues in this conference (and, indeed, the last one, the one before that, etc.) has to do with the Church’s stance on homosexuality. The United Methodist Church views homosexuality as incompatible with Christian doctrine, meaning gay marriages are not endorsed, gay clergy that are not celibate …

The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on April 9 that it will formally propose rules this summer establishing national mortgage servicing standards.
The CFPB plans to finalize those rules in January. To get an idea of the extent of those rules and what the CFPB hopes to achieve by implementing them, point your favorite Internet browser to tinyurl.com/7dgym6p.
A mortgage servicer, of course, collects payments from a borrower on behalf of the original owner of the loan. If you took out a mortgage at a local bank but make …

Homes sales in the major markets in Arkansas were up in the first quarter compared to the first three months of 2011.
For the purposes of this report, the major markets are located in the 14 counties of central Arkansas, the Fort Smith area, the Jonesboro area and northwest Arkansas. About 70 to 75 percent of the homes sold in Arkansas are in those combined four areas.
Through March, sales closed on 3,675 homes in those areas — up from 3,521 in the first quarter last year. The first quarter sales are …

If your home was tangled up in the foreclosure process in 2010 or 2011, you may be entitled to an independent review which will determine if you are entitled to compensation.
The clock is ticking on that process, however – people wanting a review must request one by the end of July.
In essence, the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve investigated 14 major mortgage servicers accused of engaging in unfair foreclosure practices. The end result …

The numbers are in and homes sales in February were up compared to the same month a year ago in three of the four largest housing markets in Arkansas.
According to the February housing market report released by The City Wire in Fort Smith, the combined number of homes sales in central Arkansas, the Fort Smith area, the Jonesboro area and northwest Arkansas totaled 1,169 in February — up 12.4 percent from 1,040 sales in the same month a year ago. The average sales price in February for those areas was …

It’s a tale we’ve heard far too many times – a home owner gets sick or loses a job, falls behind on his mortgage payments and is looking at the very real prospect of losing a home through foreclosure.
When a home is foreclosed upon, no one involved in the process wins. The home owner loses the house he or she had planned on staying in for years and will have to deal with a bad credit score for a few years. The lender always loses money when a home is …

The estate of Minnie Valentine — a woman who died after allegedly receiving inadequate care at a Little Rock nursing home in 2004 — won a $10 million verdict in a negligence suit filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court against the nursing home, entities involved in running it and the head of the facility.
In a Feb. 23 Arkansas Supreme Court decision, Donald B. Bedell was dismissed from the case on appeal. Bedell was either president or a member of the board of directors for Arkansas Health Care Management, Care Options …

For one day last week, I had the opportunity to be a college student again.  On Tuesday, I went to the campus of John Brown University (JBU) in Siloam Springs to attend chapel.  Why?  Well, last week was leadership week at JBU, and they invited Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales and Big Idea Productions, to come and speak to the students.  If you know me well, you know I’m a big fan of Veggie Tales – have been from the beginning when a tomato named Bob and a …