Banks Float $5 Billion to End Foreclosure Probe

Banks Float $5 Billion to End Foreclosure Probe
May 11, 2011, Business Week

Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., along with three other U.S. mortgage servicers, proposed paying $5 billion to settle a probe of their foreclosure practices by state and federal officials, two people familiar with the matter said.

Home Prices Drop in Three-Fourths of U.S.
May 10, 2011, Bloomberg

Home prices fell in more than three- fourths of U.S. cities in the first quarter as foreclosures that sell at cut-rate prices devalued real estate. The median price of a single-family home dropped in 118 metropolitan areas out of 153 cities measured, the National Association of Realtors said in a report today. Also, read: Foreclosures Crush Home Prices.

Merscorp Is Sued Over Michigan Foreclosures
May 10, 2011, Bloomberg

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. “illegally prosecuted” non-judicial foreclosures in Michigan and owes more than $100 million to people who lost their homes, lawyers for three homeowners said in a lawsuit.

In Mortgage Crisis, a Lesson from Iowa Farms
May 10, 2011, Washington Post

As Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller continues his leading role in negotiating a massive settlement with the nation’s largest mortgage servicers this week, he is guided in part by an episode that played out in his state a quarter-century ago.

Orange County ‘Housewife’ Sues to Stop Foreclosure
May 10, 2011, Wall Street Journal

 The housing drama continues on the “Real Housewives of Orange County” cable reality show. In the latest chapter, Peggy Tanous – this season’s newcomer – is challenging her home foreclosure in court. In the suit, Tanous says she’s having financial issues and deserves a loan mod – but the lenders aren’t honoring the agreement, the Orange County Register reports.