Archives

Portland, OR - January 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today visited the North Portland home of a family who is struggling to keep their home and unveiled his plan to address the ongoing foreclosure crisis and boost the nation’s troubled housing market. A range of economists have concluded that repairing the housing market is critical to adding jobs and accelerating the slow recovery.

Destin, FL - January 17, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The best and worst housing market forecasts for 2011 have been issued by Housing Predictor, which selects the 25 best and 25 worst markets annually. Markets selected have the highest probability of reaching their forecasts, and are updated over the entire year as housing market conditions change

WASHINGTON, DC - January 12, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- This morning, the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) released a report indicating increases in foreclosures and families experiencing homelessness, including those living doubled up due to economic hardship.

January 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Effective January 1, 2011, the Bridgton District Court will retain all of the foreclosure cases filed in Bridgton that are referred to the Foreclosure Diversion Program for mediation. Bridgton District Court will hold informational sessions and mediations. Previously, Bridgton foreclosure cases on the diversion track were permanently transferred to the Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland.

WASHINGTON, DC - January 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) today launched WaysHome, a free, interactive multi-media tool designed to educate homeowners about their options to avoid foreclosure, empower them to make informed decisions and motivate them to take action and seek help in 2011. As part of Fannie Mae's "Know Your Options" initiative to help struggling homeowners, the WaysHome video uses innovative technology to allow homeowners to put themselves in real-life situations, make informed choices and immediately see the outcomes of those actions

McLean, VA - December 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today instructed its servicers to delay initiating foreclosure for at least nine months for financially troubled service members who are released from active duty through the end of 2011 and have Freddie Mac-owned mortgages. Freddie Mac is one of the nation’s largest investors in conforming, conventional mortgages

Washington, DC - December 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Peter Nickles issued an enforcement statement* recently to clarify that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will not be challenging the validity of completed foreclosure sales based on failures to comply with the recordation obligations imposed by District law.

Washington, D.C. - December 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today NeighborWorks America, the Congressionally appointed administrator of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program, announced that, based on a new report that analyzed the NFMC program through December 2009, the odds of curing a foreclosure, and potentially avoiding losing a home, is 1.7 times larger for a homeowner who works with an NFMC counselor than for a homeowner who doesn’t receive such counseling

Atlanta, GA - December 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Realtors,it’s been a tough year. Don’t let your funny bone go into foreclosure. Why notend the year on a positive note? Have a few laughs and save money at the sametime. Work Like A Dog Books has temporarily created short salepricing on its popular real estate book, AllIn A Day’s Work for Real Estate Agents—Humorous & Heartwarming Stories.The Next Generation Indie Book Awards humor/comedy category finalist featuresmore than 100 funny, crazy, bizarre or touching stories of real-life thingsthat happened to agents in the line of duty. Agents from 44 states have their“war” stories included in the book

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New Year will ring in better times in the U.S. real estate market, according to one out of three people surveyed. The opinion poll found that the majority of respondents, however, aren’t so enthused about real estate when it comes to the calendar advancing to 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Congressional Oversight Panel today released its December oversight report, "A Review of Treasury's Foreclosure Prevention Programs." In the eight months since the Panel's last report on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), Treasury has made minor tweaks to the program, but the changes have not resolved the Panel's core concerns. The Panel now estimates that, if current trends hold, HAMP will prevent only 700,000 foreclosures -- far fewer than the three to four million foreclosures that Treasury initially aimed to stop, and vastly fewer than the eight to 13 million foreclosures expected by 2012

WASHINGTON, DC - December 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- HOPE NOW, the private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and non-profit counselors, released its October 2010 survey data today which estimates the industry completed more than 1.54 million permanent loan modifications for at-risk homeowners from January through October 2010.

Los Angeles, CA - December 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Los Angeles County NeighborWorks® Center for Foreclosure Solutions (CFS) coalition has been helping families facing foreclosure since the beginning of the mortgage crisis. As families head into the holidays, the significance of having a home is more important than other times in the year. As foreclosure activity and joblessness remain historically high, helping families to stay in their home or prepare to purchase a home is critical this holiday season

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Chairman Conyers, Ranking Member Smith, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding issues surrounding mortgage servicing. This testimony will cover two key areas: first, the steps we are taking to ensure that servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program are adhering to program guidelines in light of the recent foreclosure issues, and second, the accomplishments of MHA to date and its impact on mortgage servicing.

Washington, DC - December 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The three co-creators of Foreclosure-Response.org – Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the Urban Institute, and the Center for Housing Policy – have compiled and released new data on seriously delinquent mortgages for all 366 U.S. metro areas. “Seriously delinquent” mortgages are those that are delinquent 90 days or more or are in the foreclosure process. Homeowners experiencing serious delinquency are at substantial risk of losing their homes.

Destin, FL - December 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Housing Predictor, the online real estate research firm is rolling out its annual housing market forecasts for 2011. More than 230 local market forecasts are being issued for the year. All forecasts are annually updated for the New Year and are available to all online visitors for free as part of the company’s efforts to provide real estate forecasts, news and analysis on the housing market in the public interest.

Washington, DC - November 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) recently issued a bulletin* to inform licensed residential mortgage lenders and mortgage borrowers of the enactment of a new emergency law requiring mortgage lenders to go through six months of mediation with a homeowner before proceeding with a foreclosure.

November 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Mills announced progress in her negotiations with GMAC Mortgage LLC and Bank of America regarding their foreclosure practices in Maine. GMAC has agreed that it will temporarily halt sales on homes that have been foreclosed on, pending further talks to resolve the Attorney General’s concerns about the company’s foreclosure procedures

WASHINGTON, DC - November 22, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- At a Middle Class Task Force event today, co-hosted by the Department of Justice’s Access to Justice Initiative, Vice President Biden announced a series of steps designed to help middle class and low-income families secure their legal rights. These actions include strengthening foreclosure mediation programs, helping veterans secure the legal help they need, and making it easier for workers to find a qualified attorney when they believe their rights have been violated.

WASHINGTON, DC - November 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- At a Middle Class Task Force event today, co-hosted by the Department of Justice’s Access to Justice Initiative, Vice President Biden announced a series of steps designed to help middle class and low-income families secure their legal rights. These actions include strengthening foreclosure mediation programs, helping veterans secure the legal help they need, and making it easier for workers to find a qualified attorney when they believe their rights have been violated.