Archive for the 'Foreclosure Crisis' Category

Attorney General Fights Foreclosure Injustice

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Last Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal against Countrywide Financial Group for alleged violations of banking laws and consumer rights. If the case prospers, hundreds of Connecticut homeowners will probably get their homes back or receive enough monetary compensation that will allow them to purchase a house again.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal

The said lawsuit, if won, will invalidate the loans which contains provisions that violated certain lending laws. This will allow the original homeowner to get rid of the unreasonable and illegal fees that caused their mortgage payments to skyrocket, which then left them at the mercy of foreclosure. in addition to this, the state will also be asking for as much as $100,000 in fines for each violation of banking law and $5,000 for every violated consumer law.

The Attorney General also promised to return, if possible, the foreclosed properties to the respective homeowners who fell victims to these unscrupulous lenders. If the homes were already sold to another family, compensations should be paid to the original owners.

Countrywide were responsible for about 400 foreclosure filings in the state. Unfortunately, there is no data that points to how many of these homes were really repossessed.

Until this lawsuit is resolved, the state is asking Countrywide to suspend all pending foreclosure activities. Although Countrywide was bought by bank of America last July, only Countrywide is being sued. A representative from Bank of America refused to comment on the lawsuit but made assurances that the company is not engaged in any illegal lending practices.

The lawsuit also said that Countrywide encouraged their clients to take out mortgages even if they could not afford the mortgage payments. In order to get approved for such loans, the lender falsified information and inflated the borrowers’ incomes so that they will be qualified. To make matters worse, some of the mortgage terms were changed during closing without the borrowers’ knowledge.

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Foreclosure Rescue Bill: Will it Trigger Buying?

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

Many real estate experts and analysts are comparing the present housing market condition to the housing crisis experienced during the Great Depression. With the large inventory of bank foreclosure in the market, declining home price index and sluggish home sales, it is easy to conclude that the nation is in the worst crisis experienced in the housing industry.

Foreclosure Rescue Bill: Will it Trigger Buying?

Across the nation, majority of the states are suffering because of the foreclosure crisis. in an effort to stop it from worsening, a new legislation was even signed into a law last week. The said law includes a mortgage relief package that will be available to approximately 500,000 troubled borrowers.

With the new legislation acting as bandage to the bleeding housing market, everyone is speculating if the market will somehow stabilize and convince buyers that it is the right time to buy.

Of course, the success of the new law is still dependent on several factors. One of which is the approval of the lenders to allow their borrowers to shift to the government-backed mortgages. Many experts believe that it will be advantageous to these lenders considering the time and money they will save by avoiding to proceed with the foreclosure.

Also, homeowners will have to meet the requirements that will qualify them for the mortgage relief program. For those distressed borrowers who are at their wit’s end, there is certainly nothing to lose. If they do qualify, they will enjoy a 30-year fixed mortgage term and a much more affordable mortgage payment.

If everything goes according to the government’s plan, many investors and buyers are likely to take the plunge and finally make the decision to buy. With the many bank foreclosure for sale in the market, there are certainly a lot of affordable homes to choose home.

Will the New Housing Rescue Program Help Many Distressed Homeowners?

Friday, August 1st, 2008

When the controversial housing bill became a law last Wednesday, millions of troubled homeowners breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the new housing legislation contains provisions that are supposedly designed to assist homeowners by allowing them to shift to government-backed mortgages.

Housing Rescue Program

But many experts are worried that the new housing law will not be able to help a significant number of troubled borrowers. Aside from the relatively limited budget, homeowners will have to meet certain requirements before enjoying the benefits of the mortgage-relief program.

For starters, the original mortgage holder will have the decision to allow the borrower to apply for the said program. They have to give their approval because they will eventually be suffering some losses and they have to check if that loss will be less than what they will lose if they proceed with the foreclosure.

The mortgage-relief program included in the new legislation is targeting about 400,000 struggling homeowners. Unfortunately, there are approximately 2.8 million households, which are likely to be foreclosed by the end of the year, not counting the millions of homes that entered some stage of foreclosure in the last two years.

The criteria that the homeowners must meet to become eligible for the program include the following:

  • You must be a first-time homebuyer.
  • The mortgage loan was taken out before January 1, 2008.
  • If you are spending 31 percent or more of your monthly income on mortgage payments.

As mentioned earlier, the bank will also have to agree. In most cases, they will need to determine if they can still work out some kind of deal with the borrower in order to allow them to continue making payments. If an agreement is reached, most banks will presumably prefer this rather than approve the request of the borrower to be allowed to enroll in the housing program.

Winning the Battle against Foreclosure

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

For the Massachusetts Alliance against Predatory Lending, the foreclosure crisis has claimed enough victims. It is definitely time to perform an emergency action that will finally address the issue and help millions of distressed homeowners nationwide.

Continue Reading: Winning the Battle against Foreclosure

Pets: Latest Casualties of Foreclosure

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Animal shelters have been experiencing an increase in activity these past months as numerous distressed homeowners in the brink of foreclosure decide to give up their pets. According to the American Humane Association, there is a possibility that about 1 million pets will be given by their homeowners by the end of this year considering that the foreclosure crisis could affect approximately 4 million homes.

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Foreclosure Mess Affecting America’s Youth

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

Considering that the problem in the subprime mortgage industry has started over a year ago, there has been growing concern about the effects of the rising foreclosure rate on America’s youth.

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HOPE NOW Data Reveals Housing Crisis Worsening

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

Established a year ago, HOPE NOW is an alliance comprised of mortgage lenders and private advocacy groups with a primary objective of providing assistance to troubled homeowners in order for them to avoid losing their home to foreclosure.

Continue Reading: HOPE NOW Data Reveals Housing Crisis Worsening

Cities Spending Money to Reduce Foreclosure Eyesore

Monday, June 30th, 2008

In metro Detroit, local residents are getting concerned about the growing number of foreclosure properties in their neighborhoods. Because of their dilapidated conditions, these foreclosed homes are becoming such eyesores, driving down market values of nearby houses.

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Who to Turn to When Facing Foreclosure

Friday, June 20th, 2008

Many troubled homeowners often end up losing their homes to foreclosure because they do not who to go to for assistance. If you are also facing the same mortgage problem, it is best that you read on to find out the people you could rely on to help you get through this desperate time.

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How to Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

If you are like the millions of homeowners who are having problems with their mortgage debts, then looking for a way to stop foreclosure proceedings is the only logical step to take. Your search for the best way to avoid foreclosure might be frustrating. After all, the entire nation is suffering from the current foreclosure [...]

Continue Reading: How to Avoid Foreclosure Rescue Scams