Feds to probe 'walkaways' by some mortgage lenders

Feds to probe 'walkaways' by some mortgage lenders
Plain Dealer

Federal investigators will scrutinize the practice of lenders or mortgage companies walking away from homes they have foreclosed on.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office plans to delve into these so-called bank walkaways - something some consider an alarming trend in the foreclosure crisis.

Home-Buyer Credit Is Focus of Inquiry
The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service is examining more than 100,000 suspicious claims for the first-time home-buyer tax break, another sign of potential trouble for the soon-to-expire program.

The measure, adopted in February as part of the economic-stimulus bill, gives first-time buyers an $8,000 tax credit in an effort to boost sales and stimulate the moribund housing market. The program is set to end Nov. 30, but housing-industry leaders are lobbying Congress to extend it

Lynn's Walsh leads charge vs. foreclosures
The Daily Item

LYNN - Home modification is the key to keeping families in their home, said state Rep. Steven Walsh, a major sponsor of state anti-foreclosure legislation.

Walsh is leading a legislative charge to toughen up state foreclosure prevention protections with a plan to help struggling creditors while benefiting banks and other lenders.

Small firms, home buyers to get a boost
The Washington Post

The Obama administration rolled out an initiative Monday to help moderate- and low-income home buyers, launching what sources familiar with the planning said will be a series of proposals aimed at healing two badly wounded areas of the economy: small business and the housing market.

In an effort to encourage homeownership, the Treasury Department announced an initiative to help ailing state and local housing finance agencies provide inexpensive mortgages to underserved borrowers.

Fewer home-building permits signal weakness ahead
Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON -- Applications for home building permits, a gauge of future construction, fell in September by the largest amount in five months -- a discouraging sign for the housing industry.

The decline, in part, reflected uncertainty about whether Congress will extend a tax credit for first-time homebuyers.