Homeowners

Tens of thousands of homeowners in Southern California are being forced to buy costly flood insurance because new maps issued by a federal agency say they live in a high-risk flood area. The federal government has informed property owners in more than 150 cities and unincorporated areas in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties about the new requirement. Most live near rivers and creeks, below dams or in low- lying areas that are at greater risk of flooding than previously believed, according to maps developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In a rare victory for proponents of principal reduction, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they will immediately allow their borrowers to participate in the Keep Your Home California program that uses taxpayer funds to shrink the mortgages of troubled borrowers. California officials made a significant change to the program last year, The Times reported previously , dropping a requirement that banks match taxpayer funds when homeowners receive mortgage reductions through the program.

Question: In these tough financial times I think a lot of people (myself included) are considering renting out part of their home, if not already doing so. I haven't been successful in trying to look up what the law says about renting a room or part of your house. I read this is different from renting a duplex or regular rental property. Can you provide any guidance? Answer: Your question is timely because many homeowners facing mortgage or other economic stresses are looking at room rentals as an option to increase their income.

Accusing Wells Fargo & Co. of reneging on a sweeping mortgage-modification deal, a lawyer for troubled homeowners is trying to reopen a case involving risky "pick-a-pay" loans written during the housing bubble. Legal filings last week claimed Wells Fargo failed to provide wide-ranging reductions of loan balances to delinquent borrowers as it had promised two years ago when it settled a combined national class-action suit. A bank spokeswoman strongly disputed the claim, saying it was riddled with errors.

Financially strapped homeowners who are close to foreclosure may want to face the music now rather than continuing to struggle with their monthly payments. There's a high probability of losing the house anyway, even with the government's help. According to a new report, people who take advantage of a key federal program to modify their mortgages in an effort to save their homes are defaulting "at an alarming rate. " The report from the special inspector general for the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program doesn't say why an inordinately high percentage of owners who take part in the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, are unable to maintain their loan modifications.

Distancing himself from Republicans on housing issues, President Obama pitched a $5-billion to $10-billion plan to help a key segment of struggling homeowners — those still making monthly payments, but on underwater mortgages. Obama proposed Wednesday to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages. He argued that those homeowners — and the country — couldn't afford to let the housing market bottom out, as many Republicans, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, have advocated.

When housing prices first went off the cliff, most mortgage lenders refused to cut deals with homeowners, choosing instead to repossess homes on a grand scale. Five years and billions of dollars in losses later, many banks can't cut those deals fast enough, writing off large chunks of mortgage debt and even paying homeowners to move out. In recent months, short sales - in which banks allow homeowners to sell for less than they owe - have surpassed sales of foreclosed homes in California for the first time since the start of the housing crash in 2007, according to real estate research firm DataQuick.

Question: We live in a 12-unit common-interest development with a three-member board and have a management company. An employee of the company attends board meetings but the minutes don't reflect any "outside" person in attendance. We are not informed about board meetings in advance, and no notice of board meetings has been posted or circulated to owners this year. The current board bars owners from its meetings based on their interpretation of our 1987 bylaws. A letter from the president stated: "Nowhere do the bylaws indicate that the regular board meetings are open to all members of the association.

On his road to homeownership, Scott Leibfried has learned one thing: Expect the unexpected. He and his wife had an offer accepted on a home, only to later find that foreclosure proceedings were about to begin on it. That's after they considered another home that was aesthetically pleasing but had major issues that came to light upon closer inspection. In the meantime, they're trying to estimate the money they will need for closing costs and any future expenses, hoping that they won't eat too much into their financial cushion.

SACRAMENTO -- Homeowners who default on refinanced mortgages won't be liable for debts that exceed the market value of their lost properties. Late Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law legislation to close a legal loophole that could make defaulting borrowers responsible for paying back money they took out of previously more valuable homes when they refinanced their loans. The lingering debt, said the author of the bill, Sen. Ellen M. Corbett (D-San Leandro) adds a second punishment to people who already have lost their biggest possession.