April 2010

Decisions by U.S. homeowners to walk away from mortgages they can afford account for an increasing share of defaults, according to Morgan Stanley. About 12 percent of all mortgage defaults in February were “strategic,” up from 4 percent in mid-2007, [...]

A KING 5 investigation finds part of the problem lies with some of the people who are supposed to help you out. They profit if you fail. The story of Washington National Guard Sgt. Tyler Hood may be an example [...]

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department is planning to rate mortgage companies on how they treat customers as part of the Obama administration’s $75 billion foreclosure relief effort. The new report will include measurements of how each company is handling borrowers [...]

The state has received an additional $204,000 federal grant to support foreclosure prevention in Hawaii. In making the announcement Thursday, the Hawaii Finance and Development Corp. says it’s partnering with nonprofit agencies to provide free counseling services for homeowners in [...]

Federal authorities have opened criminal investigations into a number of bank failures in northern Georgia, U.S. attorney Sally Yates told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. “The northern district of Georgia has had more bank failures

Ramon Cendana, 48, of Orlando was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison Wednesday for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme, prosecutors said. Cendana also was ordered to pay more than $240,000 in restitution. He pleaded guilty [...]

April 28 (Bloomberg) — Wall Street banks began taking bets on pools of jumbo-mortgage bonds as trading started today on four new credit-default-swap indexes. The PrimeX indexes, administered by London-based Markit Group Ltd., are similar to the ABX indexes tied [...]

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH — Jeff Shoup and Tommy Hix, the would-be developers of the failed Bahama Island and Crystal Palace condominium resorts here, were indicted this week on fraud and conspiracy charges as part of a federal crackdown on mortgage [...]

The Circuit Court of Cook County has launched a court-based mediation program for foreclosure cases filed in Cook County, in response to the increasingly rising foreclosure rate. Plaintiffs filing residential foreclosures must now notify homeowners in the summons about their [...]

NeighborWorks® America, the HOPE NOW Alliance and the Making Home Affordable program are conducting a series of Foreclosure Prevention Workshops across the country. The borrower outreach events are designed to help bring together homeowners in financial distress for a face-to-face [...]

Missouri’s 9,080 home foreclosures in the first quarter of 2010 represent a 9.5 percent increase from fourth quarter 2009 and a 24.5 percent hike from first quarter 2009, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.

FORT MYERS — A Marco Island businessman facing state charges involving shady mortgage deals pleaded guilty Friday to an unrelated federal mortgage fraud charge. Douglas Lee Carter Sr., 64, who now lives in East Naples, pleaded to filing a false [...]

Chicago renters who lose their apartments to the foreclosure crisis would no longer lose their security deposits, too, thanks to a crackdown advanced Tuesday by a City Council Committee.

Three hard-hit states have proposed using federal funds to pay down loan balances for distressed borrowers and to subsidize mortgage payments for the unemployed.

As a result of the housing collapse, many Americans have seen their homes lose half their value, owe several hundred thousand dollars more than their homes are worth, and are unlikely to dig out of their negative equity hole for [...]

Question: What will change for homeowners and lenders? Answer: What we’re trying to do is to put in place a process which is really kind of the last step before foreclosure can proceed. And it gives the homeowner a chance [...]

SAN FRANCISCO, California, United States—The April 14 arrest of 10 Filipinos and eight other multi-ethnic residents of the Bay Area on suspicion of mortgage fraud is seen as the start of a shake-up that could bring down head honchos perched [...]

A 40-year-old Minneapolis woman was jailed immediately on Monday after receiving a three-year sentence for her role in a $2.8 million Twin Cities mortgage fraud ring. Susan E. Newell was convicted in January on 12 counts of theft by swindle [...]

BONITA SPRINGS — Two affordable housing complexes weren’t affordable any more for the investors who built them. Turtle Creek Apartments in North Naples and Heritage Apartments in Golden Gate have defaulted on loans totaling $14.9 million and $18.5 million, respectively.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Mortgage fraud is still on the rise, according to a report released Monday, despite efforts by law enforcement and policy makers to rein it in. Incidents of mortgage fraud perpetrated by industry professionals increased 7% in [...]

California legislators are currently considering Senate Bill 1275, a measure proponents see as welcome help to deal with the foreclosure crisis, providing homeowners a chance to stay in their homes while they seek a loan modification. At first glance, this [...]