National News Stories Affecting Second Homes

Two VIP Things To Know About Today: Eater Says Hello, HUD’s EHLP says Goodbye

By Candy Evans / July 21, 2011 /

The HUD Emergency Homeowner Loan Program, designed to provide mortgage payment relief to eligible homeowners experiencing a drop in income of at least 15% directly resulting from involuntary unemployment or underemployment due to adverse economic conditions and/or a medical emergency, for folks earning up to $75,000 a year is a really good deal but guess…

Plano is so Boring: No One Gets Killed, and The Residents Live Longer Up There

By Candy Evans / July 19, 2011 /

Here’s something to consider when you are house-hunting: not only is Plano safe, it can add extra years to your life. Recall I told you last year on DallasDirt that Plano was boring because, except for the teenage heroin deaths of a whole generation ago, it’s one of the safest cities in America. Forbes selected Plano…

51% of Americans Pay Zero Income Tax: Get Ready for DC to Target the Home Mortgage Deduction

By Candy Evans / July 13, 2011 /

Texas Senator John Cornyn is aflutter over this factoid: 52% of Americans pay zero income tax, he says? Say what? That’s way higher than I would ever dream! The Joint Committee on Taxation, which scores the cost of tax legislation for Congress, pointed this out in a recent report. The committee’s report further showed: While 22…

How To Turn Your Home Into a Piggy Bank, or at Least, a Star

By Candy Evans / July 12, 2011 /

KXAS played a fun visit to Candyland, the (very unfancy, and messy) offices of Candysdirt.com and Secondshelters.com. We scooted into the great room for a more proper interview. I dusted off notes from my interview with Mark Hodge, a location scout who cut his teeth on casting Walker, Texas Ranger. Thanks to the film incentives…

Glenn Beck Makes It Official: Fam’s Already On Texas Soil, Sources Say He May Ultimately Build

By Candy Evans / July 12, 2011 /

As we told you here absolutely first, former Fox entertainer Glenn Beck has confirmed he’s not only moving to Dallas but in fact, the family is already here. (Wonder how it makes the folks in Westlake feel when Beck says he’s moving to “Dallas”?) Robert Wilonsky at The Dallas Observer also has this fun YouTube video of…