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Homeowners facing foreclosure will be allowed to rent their homes at market rates for up to a year. The program, called "Deed for Lease" was announced by government-controlled mortgage backer Fannie Mae on Thursday.

Homeowners voluntarily exchange the deed to their house back to the lender for the right to rent their home at market rate. Rental rates will likely be less expensive that mortgage rates for those who purchased at the top of the housing boom. Supporters of Fannie Mae's "Deed for Lease" program say the company's actions will provide much-needed relief to those who do not qualify for a loan work-out.

Last Wednesday, after losing their home to foreclosure, two desperate homeowners got medieval on the loan officers they felt were responsible - now they're facing up to life in prison for it.

The Los Angeles County district attorney reports that the couple, Daniel Weston, 51, and Mary Ann Parmelee, 52, and three others are accused of luring two male victims to a Glendale, Calif., office where they were tied up, held for hours, and beaten.

Chinese drywall is causing more than just sickness, toxic smells and corroding pipes (like the ones in this photo). Now, some unlucky homeowners are getting stuck with canceled insurance policies and looming foreclosure.

According to the Associated Press, thousands of homeowners are turning to their insurance companies for help removing toxic Chinese drywall, but getting canceled policies in return, which puts them at risk for foreclosure.

Want to know the most stressed out city, smartest city, how to throw a football party or who the hell is crazy enough to sue Madonna? Then you may have missed the top stories on RentedSpaces this week.

Here it is: All the rental news you can use, and then some.

Don't get caught trashing a banana peel in San Fran.

The city's already on the forefront of the green movement with its rigorous recycling programs, now it's passed a mandatory composting law that went into effect this week. The first such mandate in the nation, the program is the next step in mayor Gavin Newsom's plan to make San Francisco landfill-independent by the year 2020.

Open that purse and peel back some very big bills... there are two celebrity rentals on the market.

Five hundred benjis - or $50,000 - will buy you and 14 friends Eric Clapton's 10,000 square-foot Antigua estate for a week.

The house, stunningly set on a peninsula, comes with more than just intoxicating proximity to the legendary musician. You'll get a full housekeeping staff for those kind of bills. A maid and butler will come in handy if you throw a party, which you should, because the ocean-facing Standfast Pointe comes with a covered terrace, outdoor dining space, two pools, and views of the islands of Montserratt and Guadeloupe. Check out a slideshow here. Talk about a view!

Next time you hold an open house, hide the jewelry. Baltimore police recently arrested a duo posing as father and son who've been robbing open houses in the Washington, D.C. area, according to ABC 2 News. At the time of arrest, one of them had jewelry from that home in his pocket.

Fifty-one-year-old John Palmer Jr., of Glen Burnie, Md., and 22-year-old Samuel Goldstein, of Dundalk, Md. were charged with stealing $10,000 in cash and jewelry from several homes on the market in Baltimore and Montgomery County, Md. as well as Alexandria and Fairfax County, Va.

The scam went something like this...

In what's already one of the skinniest cities in the world, New York's Mayor Bloomberg is pushing to give poorer neighborhoods access to healthy foods. The City Planning Commission decided Wednesday to offer zoning and tax incentives to full-service grocery stores that devote shelf space to fresh foods like produce, meat and dairy. The objective is to give low-income areas access to healthy foods so residents don't spend grocery money on chips and soda from CVS. Bravo Bloomberg! Everyone should have access to an apple in the big one. Right?

Drug dealers probably don't spend a lot of time discussing the merits of apartment building layout...

"Check it! If the tower faced west we could enjoy sunsets every night as we fire up some rock."

Yet, repositioning and resizing Oakwood Plaza apartment complex is exactly what CIS Investment Strategies, a development firm, wants to do to reduce crime in a Section-8, low-to-moderate income building that is currently "a mess," says Chris Foglio, president of CIS as quoted in The New York Times.

The plan is this:

Apparently not in Brooklyn.

Some ruthless graffiti artist went to town on this ad for "Cougar Town," the new Courtney Cox ABC sit-com premiering tonight, giving old Court a new, shall we say, rugged look.

Her look on the show, in fact, has already been of some controversy. The New York Times pointed out that although her real-estate agent character looks down on the classic tight-clothed, Botoxed-to-hell cougar stereotype, Cox is in fact just that. But aside from that minor quibble, critic Alessandra Stanley dug the show. Bill Laurence, creator of "Scrubs" helped sculpt Cox's character: a divorced, Florida real estate agent whose putting herself back on the market. Supporting characters include a teenage son, bum ex-husband and playboy neighbor. Sounds like a good premise. I'd take that with a side of off-kilter, "Scrubs"-like humor.

See for yourself tonight. "Cougar Town" premieres on ABC at 9:30 p.m. eastern. And in case you were wondering, if you call the number on the sign (877-528-5255), you'll get a "message" from character Jules Cobb.