LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Fewer U.S. homes entered the foreclosure process or were repossessed by lenders last month, the latest indication that the nation's foreclosure woes are waning.
Nationally, home repossessions fell 20 percent in April from the previous month and were down 32 percent from a year earlier, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
Foreclosure starts, the initial step in the process that can eventually lead to a home being foreclosed upon, dipped 4 percent last month from March and tumble 28 percent from April last year, the firm said.
Even so, homes scheduled for auction in states where the courts play a role in the foreclosure process hit the highest level in more than two years.
Most homes lined up for public auction end up going back to lenders, which opens the door for the properties to be placed on the market as sharply discounted foreclosed homes.
Still, the prospect that a flurry of those homes set for auction last month will end up on the market is good news for the housing market, said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at RealtyTrac.
That's because the rebound in housing over the past year has been fueled in part by rising home values amid a lagging supply of available properties for sale.
"More foreclosed homes for sale should help fan the flames of a housing recovery by providing more inventory for buyers and investors to purchase," Blomquist said. He added that he doesn't anticipate home prices will dip again when those homes hit the market.
Steady job growth and ultra-low mortgage rates are helping the once-battered housing market recover, spurring more people to buy homes.
U.S. home prices rose 10.5 percent in March compared to a year earlier, the biggest gain since March 2006, according to real estate data provider CoreLogic. March marked the 13th month in a row that home prices have increased on an annual basis nationwide.
Rising home values make it easier for borrowers to refinance their mortgages or sell their homes if they lose their jobs or otherwise become unable to make payments, increasing the chance they will avert foreclosure.
All told, 70,133 homes started on the foreclosure path last month.
Some 22 states posted an increase in foreclosure starts from March to April, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas, California and Georgia.
Homes scheduled for auction rose 6 percent in April from the previous month, but declined 20 percent versus April last year, RealtyTrac said.
Fifteen out of the 26 states where the courts sign off on foreclosures posted an annual increase in scheduled home auctions. Among them: Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio and Florida, the firm said.
On the tail end of the foreclosure process, lenders repossessed 34,997 U.S. homes last month, the lowest level since July 2007.
Most of the states saw an annual decline, but some bucked the trend, including Washington, Maryland, Oklahoma and Ohio.
At the current monthly pace, completed foreclosures will hit over a half million this year, Blomquist estimated.
That would be down from 671,000 last year.
At the state level, Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 360 households in some stage of foreclosure, or more than twice the national average.
Rounding out the top 10 states by foreclosure rate were Florida, Ohio, Illinois, South Carolina, Connecticut, Maryland, Georgia, Delaware and Arizona.
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By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Michelle Knight, the longest-held captive in a dungeon-like Cleveland house, is free after 11 years. But she remains hospitalized and is shunning visits from relatives, some of whom thought she was a runaway when she vanished. Knight, 32, was good condition Thursday at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland after her rescue Monday from a house that became her prison for more than a decade. Neither Knight's grandmother nor her mother, who moved to Florida but flew back to Cleveland this week, have seen her. "No, we haven't - on her request. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/angola-march-forex-reserves-rise-32-28-bln-131704144.html
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Is your yard looking a little dull? Is your windowsill a bit empty? DIY garden tags will spruce up your indoor or outdoor garden and remind you what plants you're growing at the same time! The best part? This functional flair can be made with items you already own! Check out these five do-it-yourself plant marker ideas:
Read the whole story at
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Individuals could experience reduced self-esteem for various causes.
A number of them concentrate about the undesirable specifics of their physical appearance causing them to actually feel substandard.
Others come to feel that they?re just unworthy of any compliment as a result of emotionally charged troubles that they could possibly have.
It does not matter why a person might have low self-esteem.
What will make a difference relates to the primary issue which created these thoughts to manifest in the first place.
To help increase self-esteem, a person must first determine the source of the problem. Self-esteem is just like a building. Should you have an inferior foundation, then the building may in time experience structural problems. For those who invest time to establish a strong foundation, then your home should have considerably less chance to have any structural concerns.
When researching techniques to develop one?s self-esteem, a lot of will likely look for self-help products or classes. The options to select from for raising self-esteem in the marketplace are readily available and also the chances of discovering one which deals with a person?s certain difficulties are actually excellent.
The perfect place to start trying to find reference material concerning improving self-esteem is going to be inside the ?self help? section in your nearby public library or book store. You might not obtain most of the answers that you will need, but merely understanding that many other people experience similar complications might be helpful. It?s frequently good to determine that you are not the only individual who may have a variety of issues.
One other source that can assist you are specialized services. Usually, speaking with a competent professional could allow you to identify the real problem which has prompted your low self-esteem. Uncovering the root of your concern will be the initial phase that is necessary for building a person?s amount of self-esteem.
Conditions which develop lower self-esteem may have happened very recent or may well go back quite a few years, quite possibly in the course of your childhood. A frequent main point with poor self-esteem is negative attitudes. As soon as you begin the process of thinking adversely on a habitual basis, your esteem in your self will begin to decrease. Associating your self with people which also have undesirable attitudes may have a major influence on your mental attitude.
If this sounds a bit familiar to you, then you will need to take actions to eliminate yourself from the scenario. By way of example, being in an abusive friendship, either verbal or physical, can totally wipe out a sufferer?s self worth. Working in an environment in which co-workers or bosses experience recurring unfavorable responses will even have an impact on your feelings toward yourself.
If you are bombarded by negative opinions, your attitude could be influenced in a non-productive way. Be realistic, these sorts of environments are certainly not sensible for everyone physically or mentally.
When you have a concern with your self-esteem and you are associated with negative thinking people, you will need to create the selection to remove yourself from all of these circumstances and put oneself in surroundings which are balanced. A beneficial surrounding is one exactly where optimistic thinking flourish.
You are going to realize that the individuals around you are cheerful and if any type of difficulty happens to appear, these obstacles are usually handled with a more confident mind-set. Potential situations are certainly not the end of the universe. Alternatively, they are a chance to uncover a good and helpful strategy. Enhancing self-esteem may not be effortless and it takes time, however, the end outcome is well worthy of the energy and effort.
Developing self-esteem begins with you. You?ll need to make the decision to do something about it and you?ll need to get started right now. Realize that this course of action will probably not be easy and that it can devote some time. There might be numerous instances that you stumble in the course of your building self-esteem process, but that is fine. Realize that you merely stumbled and get yourself back on track.
Be consistent and patient for the duration of this difficult time. You did not decrease your self-esteem in a day and you cannot have it fixed that promptly either. Constantly keep in mind that you are well worth this kind of time and effort and that it is actually necessary to carry out this course of action that you began.
You?re really important and deserve this adventure ? in no way forget this!
?
Article by Jeff Fontier
About the Author : Discover tips on how to think better relating to yourself and how to gain self-esteem . Read daily news about building esteem and personal development.
www.healthylifestyleplus.com
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Category: Healthy Spirit
Source: http://www.healthylifestyleplus.com/spirit/is-your-self-esteem-healthy/
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By Kim Palmer and Daniel Trotta
CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Euphoria over the rescue of three Ohio woman from a decade-long kidnapping ordeal gave way to questions of how their captivity inside a house on a residential street in Cleveland went undetected for so long.
The women, freed when a neighbor was alerted to their presence by screams for help, huddled privately with family under FBI protection on Tuesday as investigators combed through the house, seeking evidence against the accused captors.
Three brothers were arrested as suspects Monday evening just after the women escaped and are expected to be formally charged soon. One of them, Ariel Castro, a former school bus driver and the owner of the house, was thought to have lived there alone.
Mayor Frank Johnson confirmed on Tuesday that child welfare officials had paid a visit to the house in early 2004 because Castro was reported to have left a child on a school bus while he stopped for lunch at a fast-food restaurant. But the ensuing inquiry found no criminal intent, officials said.
Contrary to unconfirmed accounts of several neighbors, the mayor denied that authorities had overlooked or failed to respond to suspicious activity at the modest, two-story home.
The women's imprisonment came to a dramatic end after a neighbor, drawn by the sound of screams, broke through the door to rescue Amanda Berry, whose 2003 disappearance as a teenager was widely publicized in the local media. He helped her place an emergency call to authorities.
"Help me! I'm Amanda Berry. ... I've been kidnapped and I've been missing for 10 years and I'm here. I'm free now," a frantic Berry can be heard saying in a recording of the call released by police.
Berry, now 27, was found with her 6-year-old daughter, conceived and born during her captivity, and two other women - Gina DeJesus, 23, who vanished aged 14 in 2004, and Michelle Knight, 32, who was 20 when she went missing in 2002.
Ariel Castro, 52, fired from his bus job last November after school officials cited him for a "lack of judgment," was arrested almost immediately. Two brothers, Pedro Castro, 54, and Onil Castro, 50, were taken into custody a short time later.
NEIGHBORS REPORT SUSPICIOUS INCIDENTS
Police have not said what role each man is suspected of playing in the case, but Berry named Ariel Castro in her 911 call as the man from whom she was trying to escape.
Questions have mounted about why the women's captivity escaped notice, despite what neighbors said were a number of suspicious or disturbing incidents at the house in the low-income community on Cleveland's West Side.
"We didn't search hard enough. She was right under our nose the whole time," said Angel Arroyo, a church pastor who had handed out flyers of DeJesus in the neighborhood.
Aside from the school bus incident in 2004, city officials said a database search found no records of calls to the house or reports of anything amiss during the years in question.
"We have no indication that any of the neighbors, bystanders, witnesses or anyone else has ever called regarding any information, regarding activity that occurred at that house on Seymour Avenue," Mayor Johnson told reporters on Tuesday.
Israel Lugo, a neighbor, said he called police in November 2011 after his sister saw a girl at the house holding a baby and crying for help. He said police came and banged on the door several times but left when no one answered.
More recently, about eight months ago, Lugo said, his sister saw Ariel Castro park his school bus outside and take a large bag of fast food and several drinks inside.
"My sister said something's wrong ... That's when my mom called the police," he said. Lugo said police came and warned Castro not to park the bus in front of his house.
Another neighbor, Anthony Westry, said a little girl could often be seen peering from the attic window of the Castro house.
"She was always looking out the window," he said. Castro would take her to the park to play very early in the morning, "not around the time you would take kids to play," he said.
Cleveland police, who have said they believe Berry, DeJesus and Knight were confined to the Castro house for their entire time missing, did not immediately respond to repeated requests for comment about reported calls from neighbors.
MEDIA ONSLAUGHT
In the one acknowledged visit to the house by Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services Department officers in January 2004, more than a year after Knight disappeared and eight months after Berry went missing, no one answered the door, the mayor said.
Police said Castro was interviewed extensively during the investigation regarding the child left on the bus, and that no criminal wrongdoing was found. A witness had reported Castro telling the child to "lay down, bitch," but child welfare officials concluded the complaint was unsubstantiated.
After their rescue, the three women were taken to a local hospital, reunited with family and friends and released. Cleveland FBI special agent Vicki Anderson told Reuters that federal agents were "taking care of the victims" to help shield them from a global media onslaught.
DeJesus' aunt Sandra Ruiz emerged from the home of DeJesus' father on Tuesday to appeal to a throng of reporters to respect the family's privacy, saying: "Give us some breathing room."
Born in Puerto Rico, Ariel Castro played bass in Latin music bands in the area. Records show he was divorced more than a decade ago and his ex-wife had since died. He is known to have at least one adult daughter and son.
On a Facebook page believed to be his, Castro said last month that he had just become a grandfather for a fifth time. Court records show he was arrested in 1993 on a domestic violence charge that was subsequently dismissed.
(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg, Greg McCune and Atossa Araxia Abrahamian; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Grant McCool, Bernard Orr, Cynthia Johnston and Pravin Char)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/authorities-tried-earlier-visit-house-where-ohio-women-033825027.html
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The United States Senate overwhelmingly supported a tax on Internet sales today, voting 70-24 in favor of the Marketplace Fairness Act. The outcome was expected after a similar non-biding show of approval passed the Senate with roughly the same number of votes, despite extraordinary opposition from eBay and other major Internet organizations.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/VmSFaViZwVw/
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Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford stand out in first preview for long-awaited sci-fi adaptation.
By Kevin P. Sullivan
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706960/enders-game-trailer.jhtml
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Getty ImagesAs former West Virginia/current Jets quarterback Geno Smith embarks on his NFL career, he?s getting advice from a couple of former West Virginia players who went to the NFL before him.
Former NFL defensive tackle John Thornton and former NFL cornerback Charles Fisher, both of whom played college football in Morgantown, have been advising Smith as he transitions to the NFL.? Thornton, whom we?ve known for several years, confirmed in a telephone interview that he and Fisher are indeed working with Smith.
Currently, that entails organizing the upcoming process of interviewing agents, which will occur on Tuesday and Wednesday.? In addition to Rick Smith of Priority Sports, David Dunn and Joby Branion of Athletes First, and Joel Segal, Eugene Parker also is expected to make a presentation.? The fledgling CAA/Roc Nation joint venture could be part of the process, but we?ve gotten mixed information on that point.? (It?s possible that Roc Nation will be involved, without CAA.)
Thornton also addressed persistent rumors that he and Fisher will be steering Smith to Priority Sports.
?I know people think we?re sending him to Priority, but that?s not the case,? Thornton said.? He explained that the decision of another one of his clients, Chiefs receiver Jon Baldwin, to hire Priority Sports has fueled speculation that Smith will, too.? Thornton pointed out that other players he is advising, including former Marshall receiver Aaron Dobson, a second-round pick of the Patriots, did not hire Priority Sports.
Thornton said he?s in the process of becoming certified by the NFLPA, so that he can become a full-service agent for the players he assists.? And he?s sensitive to the perceptions and the realities of the business.
?I?m trying to protect these kids,? Thornton said.? ?At the end of the day, everybody says they?re trying to help these guys and they?re not.?
With plenty of negative information piling up regarding Geno Smith and no one (including the Jets) working the media to push the other side of it, the sooner Smith hires an agent who can not only stop but also reverse the feeding frenzy, the better.
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