Foreclosure Law Goes Into Effect

Where Are All the Foreclosure Lawyers?
October 26, 2009, TIME Magazine

Home foreclosure isn't a legal abstraction for Yolanda Paschal, a recent graduate of the University of Miami School of Law. Her parents are facing foreclosure on the Miami house she grew up in. They're luckier than others, since they have another home to fall back on, but the experience has convinced Paschal how acute the crisis is in Florida, which now has the nation's highest mortgage foreclosure rate, at 17%. "I'm part of this community," says Pascal, 25. "I can't escape how deeply this is affecting not just my neighbors, but me as well."

Foreclosure Law Goes Into Effect
October 26, 2009, Lansing State Journal

The Michigan Legislature recently passed a new foreclosure prevention bill that was signed into law by the governor. This law is designed to give homeowners more time to work out modifications on their mortgages. Under the new Michigan Foreclosure Prevention law, a mortgage company is prohibited from stating a foreclosure by advertisement of a principal residence until a letter is first sent to the homeowners.

Bank Failures Hit 106 For Year; Many More Are Weak
October 26, 2009, The Associated Press

It's a big number that only tells part of the story. The number of banks that have failed so far this year topped 100 on Friday — hitting 106 by the end of the day — the most in nearly two decades. But the trouble in the banking system from bad loans and the recession goes even deeper. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other banks remain open even though they are as weak as many that have been shuttered. Regulators are seizing banks slowly and selectively — partly to avoid inciting panic and partly because buyers for bad banks are hard to find.

Durbin Calls for Bailed-out Banks to Help on Foreclosures
October 26, 2009,  Chicago Tribune

U.S. Sen. *** Durbin and nearly a dozen protesters called Sunday for banks that received billions in bailout money to help consumers who have fallen victim to bad loan practices and are losing their homes to foreclosure. "I would like the bankers who come to Chicago ... to visit 60629," Durbin said, referring to the city's Marquette Park neighborhood near Midway Airport. "Nice neat little brick bungalow homes well kept. Some swimming pools in the backyard. A lot of hardworking families. On every single block ... know what you're going to find? A foreclosed home." Marquette Park is no different from neighborhoods nationwide, he said. Durbin spoke in a downtown hotel conference room before about 500 protesters who traveled to Chicago to target the American Bankers Association's annual meeting.