A New York developer may be the first homebuilder to integrate wellness into its products. But if a major real estate education and research group has its way, healthy living will soon be incorporated in many of the places where we live and work.

The Urban Land Institute is embarking on a two-year effort to educate its members and the development community at large on how they can build healthy communities and workplaces where people can thrive.

"We are looking at city building through the lens of health and wellness as a way to measure sustainability and long-term prosperity," says Lynn Thurber, chairman of the Washington-based nonprofit. "With this effort, wellness is the intent, the designed outcome, not just an additional benefit."

Delos Living is already pioneering the merger of housing and health, marrying science and architecture to place well-being at the heart of design and construction. Its New York City apartments feature, among other things, a water purification system, floors laid upon a layer of cork and rubber to reduce stress, juice bars and soy-based insulation.

And co-founder Morad Fareed thinks more builders should be integrating medicine into their products to help prevent disease, improve occupants' energy levels and lengthen their life spans. "Why stop at building just houses?" asks Fareed.

In the face of withering sales during the economic downturn, many resort communities have placed wellness above golf and other amenities over the last few years as a way to entice more buyers. But otherwise few residential builders and developers -- or commercial office building developers, for that matter -- have seen the need.

But consider these stats from ULI:

-- By 2030, more than one out of every 11 Americans will be at least 100 lbs. overweight.

-- The cost to treat illness currently consumes 19 percent of America's gross domestic product.

-- 13 million school days are missed annually due to asthma-related illness.

At the same time, ULI says the ability to deliver on health directly translates into market value, and therefore, "makes good building sense." Here's proof:

-- Nearly two-thirds of Gen Y-ers think proximity to a park is an important buying consideration. And three out of four feel the same about walkability.

-- Homes located in neighborhoods with good walkability are worth $34,000 more on average than similar places in neighborhoods with average walkability.

-- A dozen bicycles can fit into one parking space.

-- More than half of us want to live in a community that has transit.

"This is not just about building a walking trail or upgrading a fitness center," says Patrick Phillips, CEO of the Washington-based ULI. "Building healthy places is about improving all aspects of the environment in which people live, from the air we breathe to the places where we work."

To educate and encourage the real estate community to rethink what, where and how it builds, ULI has published as a first step a report outlining the "Ten Principles for Building Healthy Places and Intersections." The report examines how urban design and development can contribute to living environments that are conducive to prosperity.

Here are the 10 tenets of creating healthy places:

-- Put People First -- Health should be a priority, not an add-on or afterthought.

-- Build Economic Value -- The various aspects of wellness lead to greater marketability, quicker sales and greater property values.

-- Champion Health -- Community engagement is a powerful link between health and local land use and bringing about change.

-- Share Spaces -- More public spaces are advocated, as are "living streets," which prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over cars.

-- Make Health Easy -- Make health the one safe, easy choice by, among other things, removing barriers that lead people to default to an unhealthy practice.

-- Build Equitable Access -- Make healthy choices accessible to all income and demographic groups. These include neighborhoods with housing options for all ages and holistic transit plans that reduce the reliance on the automobile.

-- Mix It Up -- Integrate a range of uses -- residential, commercial, cultural and institutional.

-- Create Character -- Places that are different, unusual or unique can help promote physical activity and emotional well-being.

-- Healthy Food -- Diet is a major part of health, so access to healthy food should be part of any development proposal. This means assigning food the same prominence as, say, open space or housing mix.

-- Build Active -- Designs should be used to create active communities -- locating adult and children amenities together, for example -- to boost physical activity and reduce the reliance on cars.

If the nation's homebuilders and office developers take even just a few of these principles to heart, the places where we live and work should soon become much more healthy and enjoyable.

The shortage of houses for sale has changed the real estate landscape in numerous ways.

One is that finding just the right place has supplanted obtaining financing and wading through the necessary paperwork as the most difficult aspect of the buying process, according to the latest Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers from the National Association of Realtors.

But a survey from Chicago-based lender Guaranteed Rate finds that many buyers would rather do most anything else than go through the mortgage process again.

To be fair, a little over half the 1,000 people polled this fall found the buying-lending experience rather simple and easy to navigate. But nearly one in four said they'd rather gain 10 pounds, and almost one in eight would rather spend 24 hours with the person they dislike the most.

If you think that's bad, 7 percent would rather have a root canal, and almost that many would choose a night in prison over going through the mortgage process again.

Asked another way -- "Which of the following makes you extremely uneasy or anxious?" -- obtaining financing again scored very low in the Guaranteed Rate study. In fact, more people were more comfortable with public speaking, being in high places, flying in an airplane, being around snakes and being in a confined space than they were going through the mortgage process.

This flies in the face of the latest J.D. Power mortgage origination satisfaction study, which found that more borrowers were pleased with their lenders now than at any time in the last seven years.

Overall customer satisfaction improved for the third consecutive year. But as you might expect, rookie buyers who have never had to navigate the system weren't as tickled as repeat buyers and refinancers. Which prompts this bit of advice from Craig Martin, director of the financial services practice at J.D. Power:

"First-time buyers often have questions and should not be afraid to ask prospective lenders about the specifics of the mortgage process and how they will be kept informed. Much of the stress with borrowing comes from a lack of information and knowledge during the process. Asking when you will be updated and how that information will be provided are two key questions that may help improve the borrowing experience."

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More than three out of every four homebuyers polled in the National Association of Realtors' latest Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers said commuting costs are either "very" or "somewhat" important to their ultimate purchase decisions. After all, the combined cost of housing and transportation consumes close to half of the typical working family's monthly budget.

This makes a new tool from Uncle Sam that much more meaningful.

The Location Affordability Portal (LAP) from the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation allows users to estimate the combined housing and transportation costs for a specific region, neighborhood and even street.

LAP is actually two tools: one, a map-based Location Affordability Index, is a database that predicts annual housing and transport costs for a particular area. The other, My Transportation Cost Calculator, allows users to customize data for their own household and potential residential locations.

LAP includes diverse household profiles -- which vary by income, size and number of commuters -- and shows the affordability landscape for each one across an entire region. It was designed to help renters and homeowners -- plus planners, policymakers, developers and researchers -- get a more complete understanding of the costs of living in a location given the differences between households, neighborhoods and regions, all of which impact affordability. The data covers 94 percent of the U.S. population.

The cost calculator allows users to enter basic information about their own particular income, housing, cars and travel patterns. The customized estimates give a better understanding of transportation costs, how much they differ in other locations, and how much they are impacted by individual choices, so users can make more informed decisions about where to live and work.

"Many consumers make the mistake of thinking they can afford to live in a certain neighborhood or region just because they can afford the rent or mortgage payment," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "Housing affordability encompasses much more than that."

You can find the Location Affordability tool at portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/sustainable_housing_communities/location_affordability.

Now, if the powers that be could just come up with an accurate way to estimate a home's utility costs, the problem of over-extending beyond one's means could be solved.

Despite efforts at all levels of government to stamp out illegal schemes that promise to save the homes of financially strapped owners, the scams "remain at a high level," according to a new federal report.

Not only have the ripoff artists not gone away, their machinations have become more complex, the Government Accountability Office reported late last month. And perhaps worse, they now often involve attorneys, the supposed professionals people tend to trust the most.

It is difficult to get a precise count on the number of victims of these so-called "foreclosure rescue" scams: people who have been separated from their homes or lost a great deal of money. Many people never realize they've been snookered, while others are too embarrassed to report they've been victimized.

But the number of consumer complaints collected by federal agencies indicate that these schemes are on the rise again in 2013, often targeting the most vulnerable homeowners: minorities and seniors.

Any number of federal, state and local governments have programs to stop the charlatans, using tools from prosecution to informative websites. But the main program comes from the Federal Trade Commission, which issued the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services rule in late 2010.

MARS has two primary provisions: a ban on advance fees for foreclosure relief services, and a requirement that consumers be informed that a lender may refuse to modify their loans and that borrowers can reject any terms negotiated on their behalf.

But attorneys are generally exempt from the ban on upfront fees if they meet certain conditions. They must provide relief as part of their law practice. They must be licensed in the state where the house is located. They must place any money received from clients in a trust account. And they must abide by state laws regarding government attorney conduct.

The GAO, which is the investigative arm of Congress, says many of the officials it contacted for its latest report said attorney involvement has become a major concern in recent years. Illinois reported that roughly seven out of 10 complaints involved lawyers or law firms. The number of such cases is on the rise in California, as well.

There are any number of schemes designed to separate people from their money -- and their homes. But the latest have become more complex, and make it difficult for the authorities to prosecute, especially when lawyers are involved. The most recent iterations are:

-- Forensic audits. For a fee, scammers promise to review the borrower's mortgage documents to be sure the lender complied with lending law. If the audit reveals errors, they say, lenders would be forced to modify their loans by lowering their rates or making other concessions.

-- Bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure. The scammer promises to negotiate a loan modification for a fee, but instead files a bankruptcy case in the owner's name without his knowledge. The bankruptcy process temporarily stops all debt collection efforts, including foreclosure proceedings, so the owner believes foreclosure has been averted. And he continues to pay regular fees to the scammer.

-- Mass joinder lawsuits. This is a type of legal action usually put forth by an attorney or law firm. It is legal, but lawyers are usually paid only if the case is successful. Fraudulent schemes require the owner to pay a fee to participate.

The apparent increase in the prevalence of attorney-involved schemes presents new challenges for law enforcement, according to the GAO report.

For one thing, it is difficult to determine whether lawyers are providing legitimate services. For another, an attorney acting for a scammer may be brought in for only a short time, perhaps to file certain documents. And attorneys often cite attorney-client privilege as a way to avoid subpoenas and slow investigations.

Even when no attorney is involved, the authorities are finding it vexing to nab the bad guys. They can start up, shut down, move elsewhere and start up again in what seems like a blink. They operate under different names, making them difficult to track. And the small dollar amounts of individual losses make it less likely agencies will take on their cases.

Still, there have been some notable wins. Under a recent summary judgement, the FTC banned Dinamica Financiera, an outfit targeting Spanish-speaking consumers, from selling mortgage loan modification or foreclosure relief services. The FTC also nailed the Residential Relief Foundation, which charged upfront fees for bogus services and posed as a government assistance program.

But for every scheme that's halted, or every scammer who's nailed, others pop up to take their place. Worse, the market for skullduggery is ripe. According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the number of borrowers who are two or more months past due and facing foreclosure "remains elevated."

To protect yourself from becoming a victim, follow this cardinal rule: Never give anyone any money in advance for services that have yet to be rendered. And check out the person or company, whether an attorney is involved or not.

If you need help, turn to free housing counseling from one of several thousand agencies nationwide that have been approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (www.HUD.gov) or call the HOPE Hotline -- 888-995-HOPE -- a resource run by a nonprofit for a coalition of government agencies, financial institutions and other groups.

There is no need to go it alone, and there is no reason to be ripped off.