The federal government and private lenders team up on a new green home improvement program, but it comes with a few strings attached.

A crackdown on home loans emerges in the wake of the Banking Royal Commission, with borrowers being asked for deposits of up to 30 per cent and banks throwing greater scrutiny on location and living expenses.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed the dismissal of a homeowners' action to void a mortgage and enjoin their property's foreclosure sale. The lenders argued that the homeowners had waited too long to assert their claims under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Truth in Lending Act, RICO and other statutes, because they entered into the mortgage in 2005 and defaulted on it in 2009. The First Circuit agreed that their claims were time-barred, rejecting the homeowners' fraudulent concealment argument and other attempts to escape the time bars.

The U.S. Trustee Program has successfully resolved litigation against Countrywide Home Loans Inc. in its ongoing efforts to protect homeowners in bankruptcy.

The cost to banks of funding mortgages has leapt since Mr Trump's surprise win, and experts expect these rises to be passed on to homeowners.