General Growth Shops for Partners

General Growth Shops for Partners General Growth Properties Inc., the second-largest U.S. mall owner and operator by market value, is shopping its portfolio to potential joint-venture partners as it scrounges for capital to pay off $18.7 billion of debt coming due over the next four years. [Chart] Chicago-based General Growth, which owns more than 200 …

Did appraisers juice Florida real-estate market?

Did appraisers juice Florida real-estate market? Almost every street has one: a vacant house that sold a couple of years ago for a jaw-dropping price. It could be another example of appraiser-inflation during the overheated housing market, which saw property values soar tens of thousands of dollars with each sale. Appraisers so commonly pumped up …

Foreclosure crisis hits home for Ann Arbor area residents

Foreclosure crisis hits home for Ann Arbor area residents Any day now, an eviction notice will be posted on the front door of Martha Behnke’s Pittsfield Township home. “It’s very scary,” she said. “I don’t know what to do next. I’m like a top that’s spinning, and when I stop, God only knows where I’ll …

Call this home loan the last resort, not a ticket to a resort

Call this home loan the last resort, not a ticket to a resort Seniors don’t have to look farther than the TV or their own mailboxes to find somebody selling a way to dig out of trouble, or foreclosure, with a reverse mortgage. And the marketing is going to get more intense. Big players like …

Forgiven debt still might haunt you as taxable income

Forgiven debt still might haunt you as taxable income Canceled debt in many cases is considered income — taxable income. And if a creditor forgives thousands of dollars of debt, you can find yourself whacked by a big tax bill. And that is not the only consequence. Forgiven debt can raise your income to the …