March 2010

Black homeowners are roughly 50 percent less likely than whites to receive help under the largest of the administration’s anti-foreclosure programs, according to a new survey of qualified families. The findings have raised questions on Capitol Hill about the fairness [...]

The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is heading back to South Florida after drawing more than 24,000 desperate homeowners to a February mortgage-modification marathon in West Palm Beach.

Musgrove was taking care of herself, as well, when she sold her house and invested the proceeds in an account that would pay the mortgage on a new place, one with no stairs and plenty of room. She put her [...]

The Department of Real Estate is issuing warnings about fraudulent short sales. It notes that in April, the federal government will offer financial incentives to provide short sales through the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, with requirements including a shorter [...]

Signs are pointing to the end of the era of 5 percent mortgages, one that already has lasted longer than most thought it would. It is clear that the combination play used by the government and Federal Reserve to stimulate [...]

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― A new program is in the works to help Broward County homeowners save their homes from foreclosure. Later this summer, a mediation program will go into effect, aimed at bringing struggling homeowners and banks together as [...]

A Brooklyn man admitted in federal court Tuesday that he and a partner made about $1 million by scamming Bergenfield, Paterson and Elizabeth homeowners in a foreclosure scheme. Garth Celestine, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for [...]

A Miami-Dade minister could go to prison for the rest of his life and his wife for more than 10 years for their convictions in a $6 million mortgage scheme fueled by drug money. Garry and Yvonne Souffrant, both 33, [...]

Failure to give proper notice to a homeowner under New York’s foreclosure fraud law is a defense that can be raised at any time, a Brooklyn appeals court has ruled in a decision of first impression at the state appellate [...]

It begins with a flyer on your front doorstep, a roadside sign with a local phone number, an ad on TV. “Stop Foreclosure Now!” “We guarantee to stop your foreclosure.” “We stop foreclosures every day. Our team of professionals can [...]

SACRAMENTO, CA – Tax day may be especially painful for thousands of Californians who may have to pay state income tax on canceled mortgage debt in short sales.  Federal law allows an exemption on the deficiency of a short sale, [...]

Elizabeth Weintraub, a Sacramento, Calif.-area real estate agent who handles many short sales, was amazed at how quickly a recent deal went through. “Bank of America approved it in 24 days,” she said. “That flipped me out.”

LOS ANGELES — Wynn Bloch has always dutifully paid her bills and socked away money for retirement. But in December she defaulted on the mortgage on her Palm Desert, Calif., home, even though she could afford the payments.

Mayor Bloomberg issued a help-wanted call Monday in hopes of recruiting 300 lawyers to provide free assistance to homeowners facing mortgage foreclosures. He said that with “a small commitment” from some of the 90,000 lawyers

The agency will distribute the $88 million awarded to Oregon under an aid program expansion announced Monday by the Obama administration to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

WASHINGTON — The National Association of Realtors spent $5.6 million lobbying the federal government in the 2009 fourth quarter as it pressed for measures to aid the hobbled housing market, according to a recent disclosure form.

New guidelines and incentives announced Friday by the Obama administration are designed to encourage banks and investors to reduce principal for borrowers who are “underwater,” or owe more than what the house is worth.

SANTA ANA – A Superior Court judge has ruled for the first time that State Bar investigators are law enforcement officers and may testify at felony preliminary hearings. But the ruling, at the beginning of the preliminary hearing for the [...]

How widespread are strategic defaults? Laurie Goodman and her team at Amherst Mortgage Insight yesterday released a report that shows they are indeed on the rise and for reasons we might suspect: negative equity and a more borrower-friendly environment.

As head of FHA’s single-family housing programs, Bott is charged with rolling out a key part of the administration’s initiative by putting in place policies that will enable lenders to refinance for some homeowners. A similar FHA program launched by [...]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Short sales are the hottest thing going in the distressed-property market, and the trend is expected to get even hotter in coming weeks, when the government starts handing out cash to encourage lenders to close these [...]

When Bank of America said this week it planned to cut the principal on 45,000 underwater mortgages, some analysts were concerned. “Banks are being encouraged to enact a lot of these programs by DC, and there is a risk of [...]

ANNAPOLIS – Homeowners facing foreclosure would be able to request a mediation session with the holder of their loans under legislation passed Saturday by the House of Delegates. The bill would also impose fees on filing foreclosures and mediation sessions, [...]