Barclays Advocates Short Sales to Lower Loss Severities
By Carrie Bay, DSNews, May 15, 2012

With vacant homes stretching the capacity of banks’ balance sheets and homebuyer demand lackluster at best, short sales are becoming a top loss mitigation choice for private lenders and investors, particularly in especially hard-hit markets.

Will Short Sales Finally Save the Housing Market?
By Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Vice President, May 15, 2012

Short sales, where a distressed property (often in foreclosure) is sold for less than what is owed on the mortgage, have long been viewed as an elegant solution to the nation’s foreclosure problem — at least in theory. A short sale, in theory, provides a win-win-win for the buyer, bank and even the seller. The buyer purchases a house they want at a price they can afford, the bank gets the best price for its distressed asset, and the seller walks away from a mountain of debt, free to get a fresh start.

Banks Outbidding Investors at Auction in Some Recovering Markets
By Octavio Nuiry, Staff Writer, May 14, 2012

Real estate investors are being outbid by lenders at foreclosure auctions in some recovering housing markets.

Foreclosure-aid funds should be used as intended
Editorial, Arizona Daily Star, May 8, 2012

Arizona has been ground zero of the foreclosure crisis for five years.

5 Steps to Buying at Foreclosure Auction
By Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Vice President, May 8, 2012

The foreclosure process allows for three different bargain-buying opportunities: when the property is in the pre-foreclosure period, typically a short sale; at the public foreclosure real estate auction; or when the property is bank owned, also known as REO. Here’s a quick checklist to follow if you are interested in purchasing at the public foreclosure auction (NTS, NFS).

Foreclosed Homes a No-Go This Time Around: Diary of a Rookie Real Estate Investor
By Joel Cone, Staff Writer, May 7, 2012

While short sales have been out of the question due to time restrictions, bank owned homes (REOs) are seeing multiple offers and outright bidding wars ending at above listing price.

Efforts under way to improve short sale process as alternative to foreclosure
By Yvonne Wenger, The Baltimore Sun, May 4, 2012

Housing experts say homeowners can wait as long as nine months to get approval to sell their home as a short sale, and efforts are underway to push lenders to give a prompt answer.

Foreclosure Loan Modifications Helping or Hurting?
By Octavio Nuiry, RealtyTrac Staff Writer, May 4, 2012

Pressure is mounting in Washington to allow loan modifications with principal balance write-downs to bail out struggling homebuyers who borrowed too much money during the housing boom or took out a second mortgage to buy Hummers or take expensive vacations they couldn’t afford. For months, U.S. Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., and John F. Tierney, D-Mass., have accused the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s acting director, Edward DeMarco, of obstructing efforts to forgive debts of underwater borrowers. In a 9-page letter written by Reps. Cummings and Tierney, they accused FHFA of shelving a pilot loan forgiveness program for ideological reasons.

How Much Could Mortgage Write Downs Cost U.S. Tax payers?
By Octavio Nuiry, RealtyTrac Staff Writer, May 4, 2012

With the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already costing tax payers (you and me) over $150 billion, the cost of the next Washington scheme to bail out delinquent borrowers could be even bigger.

Foreclosure call a win for homeowners
The Daily Progress, May 2, 2012

In a victory for the average homeowner, the Virginia Supreme Court recently threw out foreclosure proceedings against a Lovingston-area couple and sent the case back to be reheard.

3 Ways Foreclosures Are Holding Home Prices Hostage
By Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Vice President May 2, 2012

First quarter foreclosure activity hit its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2007, but foreclosures — and the threat of more foreclosed homes for sale — continue to hold home prices hostage. The latest home price report from S&P/Case-Shiller shows that home prices decreased on a monthly basis in February for the sixth straight month. That six-month slide in home prices followed a five-month incline from May 2011 through August 2011 — continuing a roller coaster pattern that started back in April 2009. In the months following April 2009 it may have appeared that home prices finally had hit bottom after a 33-month free-fall that began in late 2006. 

REO Properties Devoured by Investors
By Octavio Nuiry, Staff Writer, May 2, 2012

Investors have been snapping up REO properties.

Neighborhoods crumble as thousands of homes sit in legal limbo, Sun Sentinel finds
By Megan O’Matz and John Maines, Sun Sentinel, April 29, 2012

Banks that made reckless home loans have been tiptoeing away from foreclosures in a tactic designed to cut their losses. The result: Orphaned, dilapidated homes dot the landscape from Kendall to Lake Worth.

Foreclosure Pipeline Slows to Dribble Because of New Hawaii Law
By Beth Thoma Robinson, Hawaii Reporter, April 30, 2012

The inventory of distressed properties in many of our Hawai’i real estate markets has declined dramatically. The foreclosure pipeline closed down to a mere dribble when Act 48 took effect a year ago (May 5, 2011).

Indy area home foreclosures see dramatic spike
By Troy Kehoe, WISHTV, April 29, 2012

New statistics show Central Indiana's housing market may finally be poised for a rebound. But, they also show a familiar problem may be on the rise: foreclosures.

Scott Hall Legal Problems Mounting, Sued for Foreclosure
By TMZ Staff, TMZ, April 29, 2012

Wrestling legend Scott Hall is in trouble once again -- but it's not with the law (for a change) ... it's with his financier, who claims Hall defaulted on a mortgage and now owes him $75,000.

Foreclosure documentation should be political issue, Libertarian Reale says
By James Mosher, The Bulletin, April 30, 2012

Plainfield, Conn. — “Fraudulent” foreclosure documents are being used widely to force people from their homes and the issue needs to be addressed in this fall’s political campaign, says Dan Reale, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Connecticut and candidate for Congress in Connecticut’s 2nd District.