Efforts under way to improve short sale process as alternative to foreclosure
Efforts under way to improve short sale process as alternative to foreclosure
By Yvonne Wenger, The Baltimore Sun, May 4, 2012
Housing experts say homeowners can wait as long as nine months to get approval to sell their home as a short sale, and efforts are underway to push lenders to give a prompt answer.
Foreclosure Loan Modifications Helping or Hurting?
By Octavio Nuiry, RealtyTrac Staff Writer, May 4, 2012
Pressure is mounting in Washington to allow loan modifications with principal balance write-downs to bail out struggling homebuyers who borrowed too much money during the housing boom or took out a second mortgage to buy Hummers or take expensive vacations they couldn’t afford. For months, U.S. Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., and John F. Tierney, D-Mass., have accused the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s acting director, Edward DeMarco, of obstructing efforts to forgive debts of underwater borrowers. In a 9-page letter written by Reps. Cummings and Tierney, they accused FHFA of shelving a pilot loan forgiveness program for ideological reasons.
How Much Could Mortgage Write Downs Cost U.S. Tax payers?
By Octavio Nuiry, RealtyTrac Staff Writer, May 4, 2012
With the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already costing tax payers (you and me) over $150 billion, the cost of the next Washington scheme to bail out delinquent borrowers could be even bigger.