Bad Credit Mortgage Visa

When Stacie Lykins and Misti Mohrenne bought their home last summer, they thought they were on their way to the American dream.

But in a short time, the Eustis, Fla., couple hit some bumps in the road. A property reassessment sent their monthly home payments way above their projections, and a cooling real estate market along with a no-money-down loan means they could take a small loss on the house if they sold now.

Meanwhile, they've been piling up credit card debt and have two relatively new vehicles with loans totaling more than their current value.

Like other couples struggling to make ends meet, they're looking at some belt-tightening and other maneuvers to free up cash flow.

Planning for the long-term future, such as retirement or college for Karrah (Lykins' 12-year-old daughter from a previous relationship) is a distant dream.

Not economy, stupid. The world’s changed ()

A week after the event, almost everyone seems to agree that Gordon Browns last Budget was a competent exercise in economic management, but a serious political blunder. This may seem no great disaster to Mr Brown. He would much rather be seen as a good economic manager and a bad politician than the other way round. He feels he has plenty of time to recover from a typical mid-term wobble in the opinion polls.

That, at least, seems to be what Mr Brown tells himself when he lies awake at night worrying about his political future as he surely must do now and then. It is a reassuring story: as long as the economy stays healthy, wages and house prices keep rising, while unemployment, mortgage rates and inflation all remain far below their levels in the 1980s and 1990s, surely the voters top priority will be to keep the prosperity going.

States Being To Feel Housing Slump Where It Hurts - Their Budgets

State tax revenues around the country are growing far more slowly this year and in some cases falling below projections, a result of the housing market slowdown that has curbed voracious spending on real estate, building materials, furniture and other items.

Nowhere is the downturn more apparent than in Florida, where tax revenue is projected to drop this year for the first time since the energy crisis of the 1970s.

But other states, especially those where housing prices soared in recent years, are also seeing their collections slow, especially in the sales and real estate transfer tax categories. While the economy remains generally strong and it is too early to predict whether the housing slump will have long-term effects, some states will have to adjust their wish lists.