foreclosures

Cobbler James Wallace Sears has spent decades fixing the shoes of lawyers, consultants and financial advisers who work in nearby corporate towers. With so many of them still working from home, he's not sure his business will survive.

National

Companies are shedding office space — and it may be killing small businesses

5:00am May 12, 2023

by Arezou Rezvani

With so many people still working from home, companies are cutting back on office space. That spells trouble for small businesses that depend on foot traffic.

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The Betancourts bought their home in 1986. They were on the verge of paying off their mortgage in 2005 when a series of health emergencies shattered their hopes of owning their home outright.

National
Economy

For The Black Middle Class, Housing Crisis And History Collude To Dash Dreams

4:32pm September 02, 2016

by Ari Shapiro

Evelyn and Grattan Betancourt live in a wealthy, majority-black county in the U.S. They did everything they were supposed to: steady jobs, bought a house within their means. Things still went wrong.

The house next door to Maureen and Michael McCabe has been sitting empty for seven years. "It freaks me out," Maureen McCabe says. "I don't know if there's animals running around there, mice and rodents."

National
Economy

Ever Since The Great Recession, Zombie Houses Have Haunted New Jersey

3:19pm August 20, 2015

by Joel Rose

Years after the subprime mortgage crisis, New Jersey has the nation's highest rate of zombie homes — abandoned by their former owners but not yet through foreclosure. Some sit vacant for years.

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