July 2010

In a study released June 28, researchers from credit bureau Experian and the Oliver Wyman consulting firm found that borrowers with “super prime” credit scores accounted for 30% of all mortgages outstanding in mid-2009 and produced just 5% of all [...]

Rather than refinance or rent out the home, so-called strategic defaulters walk away from it. In today’s Economy Project segment, KERA’s Sam Baker talked about this with Todd Mark of Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Dallas. Todd Mark: There’s a [...]

They were evicted, and late fees and charges added over $20,000 to their mortgage. Loraine and Kerry Swope take a break from packing in May, a few days before they were evicted. Their Charlotte home had fallen into foreclosure.

As her savings dwindled, Jiles, 52, has gotten increasingly desperate. So she was understandably excited when she read the letter’s subject line: Payment Reduction Notice Regarding Your Loan. “I thought, ‘Finally, I’m getting somewhere,’” she said. “But then I looked [...]

Experts say it’s best to know your risk when considering a short sale. With more than half of the Central Florida’s homeowners owing more for their homes than the properties are worth, the question for some has become: How do [...]

Maryland residents facing foreclosure can begin taking advantage of a new law requiring mortgage lenders to prove they tried to modify a loan before forcing residents out of their homes.

WASHINGTON – With tougher mortgage underwriting rules a virtual certainty under Congress’ new financial reform legislation, lenders have begun confronting still another vexing issue: Can homebuyers who have high credit scores really be trusted not to pull the plug – [...]

Imagine believing you’re current on your home mortgage, then finding out your house is in foreclosure and about to be sold on the courthouse steps. It’s happening right here in middle Tennessee to people enrolled in a government program that [...]

Attention Pinellas and Pasco County homeowners facing foreclosure. Starting this week, a new court-ordered mediation program is in place to help. Those homeowners who are contacted about participating should not fear it is a scam preying on the desperate. This [...]

Question: I want to buy a house, but it seems like most of the homes are “short sales” and I am told that I am wasting my time trying to buy one of those. Why so many “short sales” and [...]

Dan and Lisa Capetto review their HAMP documents. (Melody Dareing / thepolkfishwrap.com) slideshow A program promoted as helping homeowners stay in their homes has become a nightmare, according to participants and attorneys.

A California company that tracks distressed properties has come out with new foreclosure statistics that show that the number of properties in Southwest Florida sold through short sales is rising, while the number of properties that go all the way [...]

The Greater Cleveland Better Business Bureau says there’s a new twist on home loan modification offers targeting consumers who need help keeping up with their car loan payments. Advertisements for auto loan modification services have surfaced on TV, the Internet, and [...]

Sometimes I really get scared for the circumstances that homeowners are in. People live through the toughest of times, foreclosures, bankruptcy, job loss, accidents. Without minimizing how traumatic losing a home can be, it is a loss that will eventually [...]

A lot of homeowners facing Texas foreclosures have been receiving advice from mortgage service providers and lenders to opt for the process called deeds in lieu. A big number of lenders are also reportedly targeting certain borrowers by offering them [...]

Jeff Davi, the Commissioner of California’s Department of Real Estate, warns struggling homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes about the recent surge in scams by people offering to help them negotiate short sales and loan modifications with [...]

Short sales have been the hot solution for financially stressed homeowners and their lenders for the past year, but here’s another potent foreclosure alternative that’s about to take center stage: Deeds-in-lieu.

WASHINGTON Recent African-American and Latino home borrowers – regardless of income – were much more likely to lose their homes to foreclosure than non-Hispanic whites during the ongoing housing crisis, according to a new study.