11-08-2024  8:07 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

In Portland, Political Outsider Keith Wilson Elected Mayor After Homelessness-focused Race

Wilson, a Portland native and CEO of a trucking company, ran on an ambitious pledge to end unsheltered homelessness within a year of taking office.

‘Black Friday’ Screening Honors Black Portlanders, Encourages Sense of Belonging

The second annual event will be held Nov. 8 at the Hollywood Theatre.

Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson Wins Governor’s Race in Washington

Ferguson came to national prominence by repeatedly suing the administration of former President Donald Trump, including bringing the lawsuit that blocked Trump’s initial travel ban on citizens of several majority Muslim nations. 

African American Alliance On Homeownership Turns 25, Honors The Skanner Cofounder Bernie Foster

AAAH's executive director Cheryl Roberts recalls how the efforts of Bernie Foster led to an organization that now offers one-on-one counseling for prospective home buyers, homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention services, estate planning, assistance with down payments and more.

NEWS BRIEFS

Maxine Dexter Elected to Fill Earl Blumenauer's Seat

Blumenauer: “I can think of no person I would rather have take my place” ...

Dan Rayfield Elected Oregon’s Next Attorney General

Rayfield thanks AG Ellen Rosenblum and is honored "to follow her footsteps." ...

Elizabeth Steiner Statement on State Treasurer Victory

Treasurer-elect Steiner makes history as the first woman ever elected Oregon State Treasurer. ...

Merkley Statement on the Passing of Bob Sallinger

“Bob was a trusted voice, advising me on ways to safeguard the state’s natural wonders and wildlife and fighting against climate...

Troutdale Library Now Renovation Complete

Library provides refreshed experience for patrons with new, comfortable seating and carpeting ...

In Portland, Oregon, political outsider Keith Wilson elected mayor after homelessness-focused race

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Voters in Portland, Oregon, have elected political outsider Keith Wilson as their new mayor, following a campaign in which he capitalized on years of growing frustration over homeless encampments, open drug use and quality of life concerns to outperform three City Council...

Freshman Democrat Val Hoyle wins reelection to US House in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle has won reelection in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. The freshman incumbent defeated Republican Monique DeSpain, an Air Force veteran who has never held elected office and pitched herself as an “outsider” candidate. ...

Missouri takes on Howard in non-conference play

Howard Bison (0-1) at Missouri Tigers (0-1) Columbia, Missouri; Friday, 8 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tigers -18.5; over/under is 150.5 BOTTOM LINE: Missouri hosts Howard in non-conference action. Missouri went 6-11 at home last season...

Oklahoma visits Missouri for the first matchup of old Big 12 rivals in the Southeastern Conference

Oklahoma (5-4, 1-4 SEC) at Missouri (6-2, 2-2), Saturday, 7:45 p.m. EST (SEC Network) BetMGM College Football Odds: Missouri by 2 1/2. Series record: Oklahoma leads 67-24-5. What’s at stake? Oklahoma and Missouri, who first played each other...

OPINION

Why Not Voting Could Deprioritize Black Communities

President Biden’s Justice40 initiative ensures that 40% of federal investment benefits flow to disadvantaged communities, addressing deep-seated inequities. ...

The Skanner News 2024 Presidential Endorsement

It will come as no surprise that we strongly endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president. ...

Black Retirees Growing Older and Poorer: 2025 Social Security COLA lowest in 10 years

As Americans live longer, the ability to remain financially independent is an ongoing struggle. Especially for Black and other people of color whose lifetime incomes are often lower than that of other contemporaries, finding money to save for ‘old age’ is...

The Skanner Endorsements: Oregon State and Local Ballot Measures

Ballots are now being mailed out for this very important election. Election Day is November 5. Ballots must be received or mailed with a valid postmark by 8 p.m. Election Day. View The Skanner's ballot measure endorsements. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Majority Black Louisiana elementary school to shut down amid lawsuits over toxic air exposure

RESERVE, La. (AP) — A southeast Louisiana school board voted on Thursday to shut down a predominantly Black elementary school adjacent to a petrochemical facility embroiled in multiple lawsuits linked to its high levels of toxic emissions. Denka Performance Elastomer LLC produces...

AP VoteCast: How Donald Trump built a winning 2024 coalition

WASHINGTON (AP) — Big shifts within small groups and small shifts within big groups helped propel Donald Trump's return to the White House. The Republican candidate won by holding onto his traditional coalition — white voters, voters without a college degree and older voters —...

Judge strikes down Biden administration program shielding immigrant spouses from deportation

A federal judge on Thursday struck down a Biden administration policy that aimed to ease a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens. The program, lauded as one of the biggest presidential actions to help immigrant families in years, allowed...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: A man searches for meaning in Mike Fu's unnerving debut novel, 'Masquerade'

Meadow is coming up on 10 years living in New York, and he’s still adrift. His boyfriend ghosted him, his current residence is actually a housesitting gig, and his bartending job isn’t exactly filling his parents with pride. But this summer, strange things keep happening that will make or break...

Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade will feature Ariana Madix, T-Pain, 'Gabby’s Dollhouse' and pasta

NEW YORK (AP) — A eclectic group of stars — including reality TV's Ariana Madix, Broadway belter Idina Menzel, hip-hop's T-Pain, members of the WNBA champions New York Liberty and country duo Dan + Shay — will feature in this year's Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Music...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 10-16

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 10-16: Nov. 10: Blues singer Bobby Rush is 90. Actor Albert Hall (“Ally McBeal,” ″Beloved”) is 87. Country singer Donna Fargo is 83. Lyricist Tim Rice is 80. Actor Jack Scalia is 74. Director Roland Emmerich (“The Patriot,”...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

The Berlin Wall: A divide that once shaped German women's lives still echoes today

BERLIN (AP) — Like many other young women living in communist East Germany, Solveig Leo thought nothing about...

Russia blasts Ukraine with more aerial attacks as part of an intensified campaign

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles, bombs and drones battered three regions of Ukraine in targeted nighttime...

AP VoteCast: How Donald Trump built a winning 2024 coalition

WASHINGTON (AP) — Big shifts within small groups and small shifts within big groups helped propel Donald Trump's...

Districts in Pakistan close parks and museums because of record-breaking smog

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Authorities in a broad swath of eastern Pakistan closed all parks and museums Friday...

AP Photos: 35 years after the Berlin Wall opened, fragments of East Germany's border remain

BERLIN (AP) — Most of communist East Germany's heavily fortified border was torn down quickly after it was...

Myanmar's conflict-torn Rakhine state could face an imminent acute famine, UN report warns

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Myanmar’s Rakhine state, home to the Rohingya minority and engulfed in conflict between...

Les Christie

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Borrowers who lost homes to foreclosure during the housing bust are starting to buy again.

Since the housing bubble burst, 4.8 million borrowers have lost their homes to foreclosure, and another 2.2 million gave them up in short sales, according to RealtyTrac. While many are still struggling to recover financially, a growing number are starting to bounce back -- and they are looking for a new place to call home.

Susan Edwards and her husband, Dave, lost their Palmdale, Calif., home in 2010 after Susan's severe arthritis made it impossible for her to work her medical device sales job.

The medical bills soon piled up and the couple could no longer afford their $2,300 monthly mortgage payment. In addition, their home's value had plunged 40 percent below the $325,000 mortgage balance.

"We were living under such pressure," she said. "We looked at the numbers and knew we had to default."

After the foreclosure, Susan's credit score had taken a 70-point hit; Dave's score fell even further.

By paying all of the bills on time, they nursed their credit scores back to health. And in December, two years after they lost their old home, the couple was able to buy a new home with a loan backed by the Veteran's Administration. VA-insured loans can be obtained just two years after a foreclosure, according to the Mike Frueh, director of the VA's Loan Guaranty Program.

The new house is a lot like the Edwards' old one, with one big improvement: The mortgage payment is $1,150 a month -- roughly half the amount they used to pay.

"[After bankruptcy], foreclosure is one of the things that hits your credit score the hardest," said Anthony Sprauve, a spokesman for FICO.

Foreclosures and short sales usually knock about 85 to 160 points off a credit score. Scores suffer less if you pay at least the minimum on all your other bills on time and only allow your mortgage payments to go unpaid, said Jon Maddux, the CEO of YouWalkAway.com, which offers advice to defaulting mortgage borrowers.

Once the damage is done, it can take three to seven years for a score to fully recover. But some lenders are willing to work with borrowers earlier than that.

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for example, require defaulters to wait five years -- and have a minimum credit score of 680 and put 10 percent down -- before they can purchase a home again. If they don't meet that criteria the wait is seven years, at which point the foreclosure is expunged from a person's credit report.

If defaulters show that extenuating circumstances caused the foreclosure -- such as a health issue that prevented them from working, a layoff, a divorce or other one-time event -- the wait may be reduced to three years.

The Federal Housing Administration allows banks to issue FHA-insured loans to borrowers three years after a foreclosure or a short sale in which the borrower was in default.

Tony and Ginger Read, who live with their three kids outside of Boise, Idaho, took four years to rebuild their credit after they sold their home in a 2008 short sale. Tony had been laid off and the couple had already sold their camper and other valuables in a fruitless effort to keep their home. Eventually, a broker convinced them to sell.

"It was the hardest thing we ever had to do but we couldn't afford the payments," said Ginger.

Tony now has a job supervising a sand and water pumping crew for the fracking industry and the couple's credit score has regained more than half of what it lost.

In January, they were approved for a 4 percent interest FHA loan on a $280,000 house in Fruitvale, Idaho. They close April 12.

Mike Edgar, the broker who worked with the Reads to sell their home and buy a new one, has worked with several clients to help them repair their credit and, when they're ready, buy new homes.

In 2012, he worked with 15 "boomerang" buyers, about a quarter of his sales. He expects that number to double in 2013.

Tim Duy, a business manager in Verrado, Ariz., and his wife Christina, lost their house in April 2011. They're eager to become homeowners again, but for now they're concentrating on repairing their credit. The foreclosure, which knocked Duy's credit score down 200 points to below 600, has since rebounded to 730.

Meanwhile, the couple window shops. "We're in the penalty box for another year, maybe," said Duy. "I see houses just what we want selling for $185,000. I would jump all over that if I could."

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