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A potential cure for the appraisal blues
Fannie Mae soon will prohibit lenders who sell its loans from changing appraisers' numbers.Click to continue
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'Gung-ho' Home Repo Agents Change the Locks Even Before Foreclosures are Filed
The home repo business is booming as lenders break records this year for taking back properties from delinquent borrowers. But some homeowners and attorneys complain the banks, and the property...
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Tax Write-Offs: Deficit Casualty?
Could the forthcoming report of a bipartisan presidential deficit-reduction commission -- due Dec. 1 -- lead to fundamental changes in the way home ownership is treated by the federal tax...
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Tax Deal's Lumps of Coal
The $858 billion federal tax bill signed into law by President Obama on Dec. 17 was a mixed bag for American homeowners, with elements of both the Grinch and Santa squeezed into the same bulging...
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Deduction's Deficit Impact Lowered
... According to new estimates compiled by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation — Congress’ top technical resource on all tax law matters — the mortgage interest deduction is not quite as big a...
View ArticleBank of America Claims Progress in Mortgage Settlement
Bank of America said it is making progress in reducing first-mortgage principal for homeowners as part of the National Mortgage Settlement.The bank said nationwide it had completed or approved more...
View ArticleFor Borrowers, Frustrations Still Linger One Year After Mortgage Settlement
A year ago, a $25 billion settlement ordered banks to do a better job helping troubled homeowners, and to end the stories of borrowers trapped in a confusing web of mortgage negotiations leading to...
View ArticleHouse Committee Approves Mortgage Foreclosure Bill
A bill to speed up Florida's residential mortgage foreclosure process is headed to the state House floor. The measure (HB 87) won approval from the House Judiciary Committee on a 12-6 vote Thursday in...
View ArticleObama Pick of Rep. Mel Watt to Regulate Mortgage Finance Sparks Controversy
The Obama administration’s selection Wednesday of a North Carolina congressman to head the government’s mortgage-finance regulator appears certain to spark a confirmation battle and renewed debate over...
View ArticleLate-Payment Rate on Mortgages Tumbled in 1Q
A resurgent housing market, rising home values and steady job gains are helping more U.S. homeowners stay on top of their mortgage payments. The percentage of mortgage holders at least two months...
View ArticleWhen Short Sales Leave Sellers Short
Are large numbers of homeowners who have negotiated short sales with lenders at risk because of a startling omission in the American credit system? Do their credit reports and scores indicate that they...
View ArticleMiami Gardens Sues Big Banks for Predatory Lending
Miami Gardens is suing four major banks for predatory mortgage lending targeted at minorities, which the city believes led to a reduction in property taxes, additional spending on foreclosed homes and...
View ArticleFlorida Developer Gets 27 Years in N.C. Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Florida developer Domenic Rabuffo was sentenced Tuesday to more than 27 years in federal prison for a North Carolina mortgage fraud scheme that bilked four major banks out of more than $50 million in...
View ArticleCouple Settles Lawsuit With Bank Over Mortgage
A Montana couple has settled their lawsuit alleging Bank of America acted negligently and fraudulently when they tried to refinance their mortgage.
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