Lawmaker Unveils Mortgage Modification Bill
Lawmaker Unveils Mortgage Modification Bill
September 29, 2010, Reuters
As many as 30 million U.S. homeowners would be able to refinance their mortgage at record low interest rates regardless of their credit situation under a plan unveiled on Tuesday by a Democratic lawmaker.
Ohio, Colorado AGs Start Reviews of GMAC Foreclosures
September 29, 2010, HousingWire
The Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and Colorado AG John Suthers joined five other states in a review of the GMAC Mortgage, now Ally Financial, foreclosure issue. Cordray sent a letter to Ohio judges this week requesting state courts make a special review of all foreclosure cases involving GMAC Mortgage, and Suthers sent a letter directly to GMAC, requesting an explanation of what went wrong and any new procedures that have been put in place since.
Lost in the System that Took the House
September 29, 2010, Washington Post
Luis Fernandez's foreclosure documents never looked quite right. Critical papers regarding his Orlando home were missing dates, and some signatures appeared to him to be forged. The mortgage had been sold so often - including once in the middle of the foreclosure process - that at times it was hard to tell which company was trying to seize the house. He challenged the foreclosure in court but failed. s more of these practices are coming to light, the entire foreclosure system is facing the threat of grinding to a halt. Connecticut, California and Colorado have frozen all foreclosures by one major lender, and other states are pondering whether to follow suit.
Banks Keep Failing, No End in Sight
September 27, 2010, Wall Street Journal
The largest number of bank failures in nearly 20 years has eliminated jobs, accelerated a drought in lending and left the industry's survivors with more power to squeeze customers. Some 279 banks have collapsed since Sept. 25, 2008, when Washington Mutual Inc. became the biggest bank failure on record. That dwarfed the 1984 demise of Continental Illinois, which had only one-seventh of WaMu's assets. The failures of the past two years shattered the pace of the prior six-year period, when only three dozen banks died.
Putting Shadow Inventory Under the Light
September 29, 2010, Fortune
Plenty of terms have been coined during this financial crisis, but none sounds scarier than "shadow inventory." That's the glut of foreclosures and delinquent mortgages that threatens to keep a housing rebound at bay until it's been cleared.
Can You Afford the Yuppie Dream Home?
September 27, 2010, CNN Money.com
The upper-middle class lifestyle has many trappings, including the house. Here's what 4-bedroom, 2-bath homes in good neighborhoods cost across the country, according to Coldwell Banker's annual index.