FRONT LINES: Fast Takes

Ward off the wind. Round might seem an odd shape for a house, but homebuyers in hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast areas may now give the shape serious consideration. A round kit house was the only structure in its neighborhood to survive hurricanes Frances and Jeanne without roof or water damage, according to a Sept. 9 Associated Press report. Why? Wind against one side of the house is distributed out the other side, says a spokesperson at Deltec Homes in Asheville, N.C., a manufacturer of round-home kits. The company saw a 600 percent increase in kit inquiries after the hurricanes, he says. The Institute for Business and Home Safety hasn’t studied round models yet. But IBHS engineer Jason Smart says their aerodynamics would give them some wind resistance.

Getting ahead? A quarter of U.S. families—39 million people—are working poor, says “Working Hard, Falling Short,” a report by the Working Poor Families Project. These families work but struggle to meet food, shelter, and child care costs. What’s needed: investment in training, improved benefits by employers, a hard look at how well public funds address the problem, and better awareness of the working poor by the media, says the group. More info, click here.

Tax ID is all that’s needed. Some banks are expanding lending opportunities to undocumented workers by issuing tax ID mortgages, loans that target borrowers who lack conventional identification. Second Federal Savings in Chicago closed about 450 tax ID loans in the first three quarters of this year and is gearing up for more next year, says Joan Batcha, chief lending officer. The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, which says 215,000 immigrants had income to qualify for home financing in 2000 but faced difficulty in providing identification, would like to see Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy mortgages based on tax ID numbers. A spokesperson for Freddie Mac said the company is looking for ways to help immigrants buy homes but wouldn’t say whether it might accept such mortgages in the future.

Cendant to spin off mortgage arm. The parent company of Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, and NRT is spinning off its mortgage company through a distribution of shares to company stockholders, Cendant has announced. The spin-off will be complete early next year, Cendant says. The mortgage company is the country’s sixth largest home loan originator.