foreclosures

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Mortgage Scammers Prey on Strapped Homeowners
Mortgage Scammers Prey
on Strapped Homeowners
investigation
Sep 24, 2009 7:50 PM CDT

Mortgage Scammers Prey on Strapped Homeowners

So-called rescue firms promise to negotiate lower rates, then take money and run

(Newser) - Mortgage brokers who made a mint during the housing boom setting up homeowners in toxic loans are now profiting from a different sort of shady deal. So-called foreclosure rescue firms are proliferating across the US, taking money upfront and promising to negotiate with homeowners’ banks for better interest rates. Instead,...

Old Capone Hideout for Sale
 Old Capone Hideout for Sale 
Sep 9, 2009 2:14 PM CDT

Old Capone Hideout for Sale

$2.6M gets you 407 acres and nostalgia in Wisconsin

(Newser) - For a minimum bid of $2.6 million, a remote 407-acre Wisconsin lodge where Al Capone stayed while on the lam can be yours, the Chicago Tribune reports. “Al Capone's hideout retreat,” proclaims an ad run in that paper by a small Wisconsin bank that had the luck...

Hotels Owners Walk Out on Mortgages

(Newser) - Homeowners aren’t the only ones walking away from their underwater mortgages. With the hotel market at its lowest point since the early '90s, many owners, who owe more on their money-losing properties than they’re worth, are simply walking away, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many say they have...

By 2011, 48% of Mortgages Will Be Underwater

(Newser) - Nearly half of US homeowners will owe more than their house is worth by 2011, Deutsche Bank analysts said yesterday, predicting that the number of such “underwater” mortgages would nearly double from today’s 26% to 48%. Their report stated that home prices will fall another 14% between now...

BofA, Wells Fargo Rank Worst for Loan Modifications

Treasury report rates banks' performance

(Newser) - Bank of America began modifying just 4% of its loans eligible under the Making Home Affordable Act, according to a Treasury report on big banks' performance, while Wells Fargo started just 6%. JPMorgan Chase led the pack with 20%, Bloomberg reports, while Citigroup had 15%. “Some of the servicers...

Bad Loan Fees Too Juicy to Give Homeowners a Break

(Newser) - The government's foreclosure prevention program is failing largely because of mortgage companies who can make more money when loans go delinquent, industry insiders tell the New York Times. Companies servicing mortgage loans charge many lucrative fees as loans go bad—recoverable, if necessary, out of the proceeds when the foreclosed...

Despite Obama Push, Banks Often Prefer Foreclosing

(Newser) - There’s a big problem with government efforts to keep delinquents in their homes by modifying mortgages: Banks would usually rather foreclose, economists tell the Washington Post. Lenders are only interested in modification for the small group of borrowers who will keep paying only if they get help. For those...

White House Foreclosure Plan a $50B Bust

(Newser) - The Obama administration's plan to help millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure has so far been a major failure, Politico reports. It's reached just 160,000 of the 3 to 4 million homeowners it was supposed to protect, and another 2 million homes are expected to be foreclosed upon before the...

Frugal Mainers Easily Weather Economic Storm

(Newser) - A long history of sparse employment and hardships of all stripes has built a culture of frugality that leaves Maine perfectly suited to the current recession, the Boston Globe reports. “Everybody now is into shopping thrift shops, but in most of Maine, people never stopped,” a banker says....

A Quarter of Defaulters Are Doing It on Purpose

(Newser) - As many as 26% of mortgage defaults are deliberate moves by homeowners who owe more than their house is worth, finds a new study that asked 1000 people if they knew anyone who had defaulted even though they could still make payments. Researchers caution that the study isn’t precise,...

Get Ready for New Wave of Foreclosures

(Newser) - Another wave of foreclosures is on the way, possibly as early as this summer, threatening to upend a housing market that had begun to stabilize, the LA Times reports. Though loan defaults are up sharply, banks have been delaying foreclosures lately thanks to the Obama administration’s home-stability plan. Now...

Tough Times Threaten New England's Triple-Deckers

Foreclosures, neglect thin the ranks of distinctive homes

(Newser) - The distinctive three-decker homes found throughout urban New England are swiftly becoming an endangered species, the New York Times reports. The homes—mostly built around a century ago to accommodate new immigrants—were snapped up by investors in boom times who rented them out without doing any maintenance. They are...

Baldwin House Going Up for Auction

(Newser) - The house of financially challenged actor Stephen Baldwin is going up for auction later this month, the Lower Hudson Journal News reports. The I'm a Celebrity—Get Me Out of Here! star paid $515,000 for the New York state property 12 years ago, but he and wife Kennya have...

Celebs Headed for Foreclosure

Jacko, Canseco, Ed McMahon fight for roofs over their heads

(Newser) - Even the famous aren't immune to foreclosure, as these celebrities, listed in Forbes, prove:
  • Xzibit: A pimped ride hasn’t been enough to pay the bills on his $536,000 Woodland Hills, Calif., home.
  • Jose Canseco: The ex-ballplayer, who penned a book on big-league steroids, stands to lose his $2.
...

Hurricanes Will Send Foreclosure Debris Flying

(Newser) - It’s a perfect, er, storm: Some of America’s most hurricane-prone areas are littered with foreclosed houses likely send debris flying in a storm, the AP reports. Without caretakers to secure them, the houses will also endure greater damage and lose even more value. "A lot of these...

New Foreclosure Legislation May Not Be Enough

Congressional aid to homeowners may need overhaul, not 'patches'

(Newser) - Congress’ Hope for Homeowners plan was aimed at fighting the foreclosure epidemic, and it’s been a success for exactly one person. Now, lawmakers have put “patches” on the legislation—but some worry the fixes aren’t going to do the job, ProPublica reports. Instead, it needs “some...

Attorneys Learn Loan Law to Help Homeowners

(Newser) - Lawyers nationwide are learning about foreclosure law to help new clients keep their homes, NPR reports. Housing attorneys are even teaching seminars to lawyers, who accept cases pro bono, knowing homeowners can't turn to swamped legal aid offices. Some find it "incredibly rewarding to help someone save their house...

Foreclosure Crisis Wallops Minority Neighborhoods

Lenders accused of 'redlining' black neighborhoods for subprime loans

(Newser) - The national foreclosure crisis is battering minority neighborhoods with disproportionate force, the New York Times reports. Few areas in the New York region have been untouched by the crisis, but 85% of the worst-hit neighborhoods have a majority of black and Latino homeowners. Experts blame the trend on subprime lenders'...

Stocks Plunge as Retail Sales Disappoint
 Stocks Plunge 
 as Retail Sales 
 Disappoint 
MARKET Open
May 13, 2009 8:49 AM CDT

Stocks Plunge as Retail Sales Disappoint

(Newser) - Stocks sunk swiftly at the open after disappointing sales reports from retailers. The Dow tumbled 160 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P fell 1.5% and 2.1% respectively. Retail sales were down a more-than-expected 0.4% in April, from a revised-downward 1.3% drop in March. RealtyTrac also...

In Market Hit Early, Signs of a Recovery
In Market Hit Early, Signs of
a Recovery
ANALYSIS
May 5, 2009 8:53 AM CDT

In Market Hit Early, Signs of a Recovery

Some see bottom, others 'fool's gold' in Sacramento real estate

(Newser) - In Sacramento, one of the first US cities to see the housing market crumble, there are glimmers of recovery, the New York Times reports. Sales have jumped 45% from last year, and investors and first-time buyers are on the prowl. “It’s fragile, and it could easily be fleeting,...

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