Keepin' It Cool: How the Air Conditioner Made Modern America
Before air conditioning, in a bygone and surely less comfortable era, people employed all sorts of strategies for keeping cool in the heat. Houses were designed with airflow in mind -- more windows, higher ceilings. A style once prevalent in the American south, the dogtrot house, was really two smaller cabins -- one for cooking and the other for living -- connected under one roof with an open-air corridor between them. In addition, many homes had porches where families could spend a hot day, and also sleeping porches with beds where they could ride out a hot night. Many home designs took passive solar design principles into account, even if they didn't name them as such.
'Robo-signing' foreclosures haven't gone away
America's leading mortgage lenders vowed in March to end the dubious foreclosure practices that caused a bruising scandal last year.
But a Reuters investigation finds that many are still taking the same shortcuts they promised to shun, from sketchy paperwork to the use of "robo-signers."
Loan Lottery Could Save Homeowners In Foreclosure
Homeowners who are at least 90 days late on their payments and at risk of foreclosure because of unemployment, wage reductions, underemployment or a medical condition could get up to $50,000 to cover a portion of their monthly mortgage payment for up to two years. The money can also be used to pay missed monthly payments or past due charges including principal, interest, taxes and insurance
Residential listings down in Northern Colorado
LOVELAND - New data compiled by Information and Real Estate Services shows that residential listings are down in all three Northern Colorado areas surveyed - Loveland/Berthoud, Greeley/Evans, and Fort Collins - but median sales prices are up 1.5 percent in the Greeley/Evans area.
In Fort Collins, year-over-year listings of single-family detached properties from June 2010 to June 2011 have decreased 8.9 percent from 1,595 to 1,425; in the Loveland/Berthoud area, listings have decreased 11.6 percent from 1,101 to 973; and the Greeley/ Evans area experienced a 20.4 percent decrease from 710 listings to 565.
Brumit is sentenced to 6 years
A well-known Fort Collins real estate agent and sports booster was sentenced to six years in the Department of Corrections on Monday following his conviction for securities fraud in connection with a Ponzi scheme.
Jerry Brumit had pleaded guilty to two counts of investment fraud in May, and was sentenced by Judge Dave Williams on Monday after a lengthy, tearful hearing at which investors recounted the financial toll the losses have taken.
