Fulton County residents with dreams of owning a home are invited to attend a “Do You Dream of Owning Your Own Home?” information session on Tuesday, June 26, 2012.  Future homebuyers can learn more about all eligibility requirements of the Home Ownership Program (HOP) and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).  The workshop hosted by the Department of Housing and Human Services Office of Housing and Community Development will be held from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the South Fulton Service Center.  The Service Center is located at 5600 Stonewall Tell Road in College Park, Georgia 30349.

Free Educational Program on Oct. 15   The concept or movement of “Not So Big House” has entered the mainstream, but what is it and who started it? Well, what it is not about is tiny houses for everyone, or a creed of bad design in favor of tiny energy bills.   The No So Big House philosophy, in fact, embraces architectural style across the spectrum, and is a concept dedicated to homes of all … well, most sizes. It can be described as an anti-McMansion sort of trend, but it is much more positive than that.   This is a direction in home design and construction championed by Sarah Susanka, an architect by trade, that emphasizes the concept of home as haven, in scale and proportion to need, a welcoming, comfortable, usable place where space is used according to purpose, rooms flow together with subtle delineations -- well-built, light-filled and energy-efficient.

ATLANTA -- Metro Atlanta's foreclosure rate slowed by the middle of 2011, but remains among the metros with the highest rates.

Atlanta had 44,1560 foreclosure filings from January through June, down about 16 percent from the first half of 2010. This gave Atlanta the 16th highest rate of foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac, which publishes the largest list of foreclosures in the country.

The company defines a foreclosure as default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.