AM Alert: Jerry Brown to sign foreclosure legislation
The Sacramento Bee, July 11, 2012

Gov. Jerry Brown heads to Los Angeles to sign the homeowner-rights mortgage legislation that lawmakers approved last week before going on summer recess.

What Happens At and After a Foreclosure Auction?
By Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Vice President, July 11, 2012

The foreclosure process is governed by state law, and all states require some form of foreclosure auction during the process. All states require a public advertisement or publication of the foreclosure auction prior to the actual auction event. This publication period is typically from one to three months, and the real estate auction itself is conducted in a public place, most often at or near the courthouse in the county where the property is located. Presumably such a publicly advertised and conducted auction prevents lenders from unilaterally repossessing a property securing a delinquent loan.

Hi, I’m Eminent Domain, and I’m Here to Help?
By Octavio Nuiry, Staff Writer, July 10, 2012

Twenty four years ago, President Ronald Reagan said that the 10 most terrifying words in the English language are: “Hi, I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

Eminent domain as a foreclosure fix
Los Angeles Times Editorial, July 9, 2012

Property values have fallen so sharply in San Bernardino County that nearly half of the homeowners with mortgages owe more than their houses are worth. Hoping to aid at least some of those "underwater" borrowers, the county is considering a novel plan to use venture-capital dollars to buy and refinance their mortgages. The plan's authors say that homeowners would end up with less debt and the county and its financial backers would make a profit — all without the taxpayers spending a penny. The losers? Supporters say there would be none. We're not so sure.

How Do Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure?
By Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Vice President, July 9, 2012

Every month I have the pleasure of hosting a Foreclosure Buying 101 Webinar with RealtyTrac website demo for new and prospective RealtyTrac members. The most enlightening portion of the webinar for me is the Q&A at the end. We always get great questions from the attendees that keep me on my toes. And I’m sure that for almost every attendee who asks a question there are hundreds of other folks who have the same question, so I’m going to address some questions from recent webinars in a series of posts. The first question I’ll address was from a webinar on May 3, 2012: What options do homeowners have to avoid foreclosure after they start the foreclosure process?

Fallen ‘Angelo’ of the Real Estate World
By Joel Cone, Staff Writer, July 6, 2012

He was bigger than life…and he was an industry superstar.

States Steal Federal Foreclosure Funds at Their Own Peril
By the Editors, Bloomberg, July 4, 2012

The U.S. housing market is showing tentative signs of life as demand for new homes and housing prices begin to rise in some areas.

Is The LIBOR Mortgage Finished?
By Peter G. Miller, Guest Columnist, July 3, 2012

Barclays Bank PLC — the huge British bank — has agreed to pay more than $450 million in fines for efforts to manipulate the LIBOR rate. Now an enlarged investigation is underway, one which could involve the pricing of U.S. mortgages. The “LIBOR” is the London Interbank Offered Rate, an interest index set by several British lenders based on the estimated cost to borrow from one another. Barclays is one of the banks that set the LIBOR rate, and the bank has now been fined for trying to fudge the numbers.

Celebration Should Be Put On Hold for Now
By Joel Cone, Staff Writer, July 3, 2012

On the surface, things sure are looking up these days when it comes to the nation’s housing sector as a whole. And the press is eating it up, declaring a housing recovery is underway.

Insight: Evidence suggests anti-foreclosure laws may backfire
By Tim Reid, Reuters, June 27, 2012

State and federal laws enacted to protect homeowners from eviction in the wake of the 2008 housing crash may be extending the slump, according to a growing number of economists and industry experts.

The Best Places to Live in 20 Years
By Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Vice President, June 27, 2012

I enjoyed the opportunity to write a guest column for Business Insider’s GREAT DEBATE feature, “Where Will Americans Be Living In 20 Years” in which several folks in the real estate industry offered their opinions on what part of the country would become a real estate hot spot over the next two decades. In an article titled “The Rustbelt Is Poised for A Comeback” I cast my vote for five cities in the Great Lakes region: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Cleveland.

Foreclosures a Big Factor in Stockton’s Pending Bankruptcy
By Joel Cone, Staff Writer, June 27, 2012

A 6-1 vote by the city council of Stockton, Calif., Tuesday has cleared the way for the city to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection as early as today.

Still Depressed, After All These Years
Editorial, The New York Times, June 23, 2012

With Europe suffering under self-destructive austerity and the United States facing its own prospect of punishing budget cuts, it is easy to forget that the housing bust has been the biggest drag on the economy over the past five years. Even with recent housing market improvements, sales and construction are still at very low levels, while prices are still falling in most areas.

Foreclosure Bailout 2.0
By Octavio Nuiry, Staff Writer, June 22, 2012

Isn’t America great? First, the feds bailed out the too-big-to-fail financial institutions on Wall Street. Today, Uncle Sam announced they’re bailing out the too-helpless-to-know-better borrowers on Main Street.

REO Spillover
By Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac Vice President, June 21, 2012

New bank repossessions nationwide in May 2012 were down 18 percent from May 2011, the 19th consecutive month with a year-over-year decrease. But the story was much different in some markets.