Posts with tag foreclosure crisis

By Andrew Miga WASHINGTON -- A new report says homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure must wait too long for their loan modification applications to be reviewed by some of the nation's top mortgage servicers. Such delays can plunge borrowers deeper in debt. Joseph A. Smith, the independent monitor of last year's... Continue Reading »

By Jerry Kronenberg The U.S. foreclosure crisis looks like it's finally winding down -- great news for homeowners, but decidedly less positive for house hunters and real estate investors. "From the perspective of buyers, [some] markets might not be as attractive anymore," says Daren Blomquist of market watcher RealtyTrac.... Continue Reading »

Hundreds of thousands of Americans stand to benefit from the latest mortgage-abuse settlement, but consumer advocates say U.S. banks may be getting the best of the deal. Banks have agreed to pay $8.5 billion to settle charges that they wrongfully foreclosed on millions of homeowners in the wake of the 2008 financial... Continue Reading »

The number of homes in the "shadow inventory," once considered a serious threat to a real estate recovery, continues to drop as the housing market absorbs foreclosures, analytics firm CoreLogic said in a report it released today. The shadow inventory refers to the pent-up supply of homes that are either in foreclosure or... Continue Reading »

Process server Michael Root says that he knows how angry foreclosure notices can make homeowners -- because one property owner almost killed him and members of his family. As it turned out, Root wasn't even bringing a foreclosure notice when, he said, he was attacked in June by a homeowner in Wingdale, N.Y.; it was a... Continue Reading »

Though Occupy Wall Street is fading from the public eye, one of its offshoots continues to garner attention, carrying the torch as perhaps the most potent legacy of a movement that's largely cooled. Ten months ago, Occupy Our Homes officially launched in more than 20 cities, staging sit-ins at properties in danger of... Continue Reading »

After splitting from her husband, Tami Wingfield couldn't afford to keep up with the mortgage on the home that they had shared. The monthly $1,600 bill was too much for her to bear alone, and in 2008, she lost the house to foreclosure. Like many people who lost their homes in the housing collapse, Wingfield decided the... Continue Reading »

The foreclosure crisis, which has caused around 4 million people to lose their homes, has wreaked havoc on many neighborhoods. Foreclosed homes drag down property values when they swell the housing supply and sell at below-market rates. These bank-owned homes also can erode the character of communities by attracting all... Continue Reading »

It didn't take long before the carnage in the hit house-party movie "Project X" spilled onto the real real estate market. Thirteen teenagers are being questioned for their possible involvement in a wild house party that will cost the builder nearly $100,000 in repairs, reports KHOU in Houston, Texas. "It's devastating.... Continue Reading »

By Rich Smith The Bible tells us that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Foreclosing on his pastor probably doesn't make the trick any easier. There's a new development in the housing crisis: Foreclosures are hitting houses of... Continue Reading »

STOCKTON, Calif. -- A red, white and blue sign declaring Stockton an "All-America City" still adorns City Hall, but the building's crumbling facade tells the real story of the community's recent fortunes. Since the sign went up nearly a decade ago, Stockton has twice topped Forbes magazine's list of "America's most... Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is offering some relief to homeowners who have government-backed mortgages. Under a program President Barack Obama unveiled Tuesday, the government would cut the fees it charges to insure those borrowers. The idea is that lower fees would persuade millions to refinance their loans... Continue Reading »

Fannie Mae waded further into the foreclosure pool on Monday as it released new details on its plan to sell its repossessed homes as rental properties. The pilot program, first announced in August as an effort to clear the mortgage giant's backlog of foreclosures, is launching with an initial offering of 2,490 residential... Continue Reading »

With an estimated 3.6 million more foreclosures expected over the next two years, the government-backed mortgage giants have a proposition for you: How'd you like to take a couple (hundred) homes off their hands? In a recently announced program, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates the quasi-government... Continue Reading »

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney NEW YORK -- Even as the $26 billion mortgage settlement helps hundreds of thousands of troubled homeowners, it will bring a wave of new foreclosures. Many lenders held off on reposessing homes during the complex negotiations between 49 state attorneys general, and federal officials. That's... Continue Reading »