Blog

by Kim Miller | “The goliath air conditioning system in the Palm Beach County courthouse is chugging full tilt as the temperature nears 90-degrees outside and, up on the fourth floor, the foreclosure court sign-in line grows. It’s been more than five years since Florida was rocked by the housing crisis, three years since theRead more

Robert Trigaux | Times Business Columnist | “Consumer ripoffs, scams and disputes are alive, well and changing as the nation emerges from recession, consumer protection experts said Tuesday. “There is a boundless creativity of scammers to find new ways to fleece consumers,” warns Susan Grant, the Consumer Federation of America’s director of consumer protection. Unlicensed contractingRead more

By Erika Engle | “Total foreclosures in the U.S. in June were down to 55,000 from 68,000, or nearly 20 percent in June of 2012, according to analytics firm CoreLogic. Prior to the 2007 housing market decline, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month between 2000 and 2006, the company said. Hawaii was among the five statesRead more

“HARP Mortgage Lenders, a national network of mortgage professionals who are approved for the Home Affordable Refinance Program , reported that recent Florida foreclosure rates are improving, but some counties are still swimming in waves of foreclosures and HARP 2.0 may just be the solution to their problem. According to RealtyTrac (the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties and real estateRead more

MortgageOrb.com | “After five consecutive months of steady decline, the delinquency rate for U.S. home mortgages spiked nearly 10% in June, month over month, according to Lender Processing Services’ (LPS) “First Look” Mortgage Report. The total U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due but not in foreclosure) reached 6.68%, an increase ofRead more

Fox23.com | “Ally Financial and its related companies are paying about $198 million to settle federal complaints that the companies wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners. The Federal Reserve announced the agreement Friday with Ally Financial, the former lending arm of General Motors known as GMAC Mortgage. Ally’s settlement is similar to accords between federal regulators and 13 otherRead more

Paul Brinkmann | South Florida Business Journal | “An apparent oversight by JPMorgan Chase Bank recently led to the dismissal of a foreclosure on Valerie Kaan’s $8 million waterfront home in Boca Raton. The bank requested dismissal of the 2008 case when Kaan’s attorney, Roy Oppenheim, objected to the sudden appearance of the original note on the loan. The bankRead more

Ben Hallman | Huffington Post | “Like millions of Americans who tried to stave off foreclosure in recent years, Lanette Worles says her bank repeatedly lost vital paperwork she submitted, scuttling her chance at saving her home. Now, as Worles attempts to collect on a legal settlement intended as a remedy to just this type of practice, sheRead more

Christina Mlynski | Housing Wire | While the housing market is on the mend — with progress even in the hardest-hit states — the backlog of homes in foreclosure and real-estate owned properties is still clogging the pipeline, analysts claim. The East Coast is a testament to such findings, where the duration of the foreclosureRead more

Martin Michaels | Mint Press News | Protesters marched for International Workers Day on May Day in Minneapolis, Minn. (Photo/Fibonacci Blue via Flickr) “Last week, housing rights advocates in 15 U.S. cities delivered 10,000 petition signatures to Chase Bank branches demanding justice for Sergio Ceballos, a Minneapolis resident who faces what advocates believe is an unjust foreclosure proceeding.Read more