Posts with tag Foreclosures

By Les Christie Before Superstorm Sandy, some of the hardest-hit areas in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were experiencing a huge spike in foreclosures. But now that a moratorium on foreclosure activity in these disaster areas has been put in place, the foreclosure problems are about to get worse. In the 34... Continue Reading »

Foreclosures tend to get a bad rap, stereotyped as homes left in ruins by deadbeat owners who skipped out on their mortgages. Rarely do you think of a posh McMansion in foreclosure. Until now. The lifestyles of the rich didn't go untouched by the housing crisis, and there are plenty of gorgeous, sprawling spreads out... Continue Reading »

A majority of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. recently received good news on the mortgage front, as foreclosures dropped in the third quarter. Home seizure activity slumped on an annual basis in 62 percent of the nation's 212 largest population centers during the period, according to the latest data from the... Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON -- U.S. sales of previously occupied homes fell in September after hitting a two-year high in August, in part because there were fewer homes available for sale. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that sales of existing homes in the U.S. dipped 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of... Continue Reading »

By Les Christie NEW YORK -- The wave of foreclosures hitting the nation's housing market has been much less severe than anticipated, with foreclosure filings at their lowest level in five years last month, according to a report out Thursday. Foreclosure filings -- including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank... Continue Reading »

The vacant home next to Deborah Jackson's house (pictured at left) has been an eyesore and magnet of blight for much longer than the Chicago homeowner would care to remember. The roof of the empty townhouse, which is connected to Jackson's, is shredded and caved in, causing water to leak through Jackson's walls. Overgrown... Continue Reading »

Cindi Davis of Mount Holly, N.C., has been fighting breast cancer for four years. Now she has to fight Wells Fargo too. The bank had been threatening to foreclose on Cindi and her husband, Kirk (both pictured above), after her mounting medical bills made it difficult for the couple to keep up with their monthly... Continue Reading »

By Mamta Badkar Foreclosure filings across the country were down 15 percent year-over-year, according to RealtyTrac's latest foreclosure report. But foreclosures were up 1 percent from last month. For the first time since the report was created, Illinois, a judicial state, took over as the state with the highest... Continue Reading »

By Brendon DeSimone These are trying times for many homeowners. Walk away from a mortgage? Something that was unthinkable and morally offensive 10 years ago is now an option many people are choosing. Home foreclosed? Some people who've lost their homes to the bank are stripping the property bare, hoping to sell the... Continue Reading »

Occupy Our Homes, an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement, launched a national ad campaign this week aimed at inspiring beleaguered homeowners to battle foreclosure and eviction. The organization has created a foreclosure-resistance template and support network that it hopes borrowers will use to fight off... Continue Reading »

An oasis in the desert city of Boulder City, Nev., this foreclosed property has the best outdoor feature we've ever seen: its own water park. A lazy river, a 20-foot diving pool and a waterslide are just a few of the awesomely fun things that you can find in the backyard of this home. But if you don't want to get your... Continue Reading »

By Les Christie NEW YORK -- Even though home prices are rebounding in some parts of the country, the overall housing market won't start turning the corner until next spring, according to the latest forecast based on the Fiserv Case-Shiller indices. The forecast, which tracks 384 markets, predicts that nationwide home... Continue Reading »

By Daniel Wagner WASHINGTON -- The elderly and other vulnerable homeowners are losing their homes because they owe as little as a few hundred dollars in back taxes, according to a report from a consumer group. Outdated state laws allow big banks and other investors to reap windfall profits by buying the houses for a... Continue Reading »

We're combining two of our favorite things: Summer vacations and discount houses using RealtyTrac's recent list of the 10 best beach towns for buying foreclosures. RealtyTrac's ranking is based on the size of the discount that homebuyers can get in purchasing a foreclosure -- compared to other residential properties in... Continue Reading »

An unkempt lawn could do more than irritate your neighbors in one Long Island, N.Y., village -- it could land you in jail. The Massapequa Park village board unanimously passed a law imposing fines and even jail time on homeowners who don't keep up their properties, Massapequa Patch reports. Aside from not mowing the... Continue Reading »