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While taking care of his mother-in-law, who had a serious medical condition, Brian Martinez was laid off from his job after 33 years. Medical complications of his own set in, and while he eventually secured new employment, like millions of others in the United States, his income didn’t rebound and he and his wife found themselves struggling to pay their mortgage.

After eight years of work, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) will effectively foreclose development of renewable energy resources on millions of acres of federally managed lands in Southern California, said a coalition of renewable energy and labor groups in response to the federal government’s release of the plan. The plan abandons the initial promise to balance renewable development with preservation of desert land.

The principals of a mortgage relief operation and their companies are banned from the mortgage loan modification and debt relief business under court orders obtained by the Federal Trade Commission. The orders resolve charges that the scheme falsely promised financially distressed homeowners they would receive legal representation to prevent foreclosure or lower their mortgage payments and interest rates, and illegally charged thousands of dollars in advance

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today announced new procedures to strengthen the process mortgage servicers use to help struggling families avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes. FHA is streamlining its loss mitigation protocols that servicers must use when evaluating and deploying ‘home retention options,’ foreclosure alternatives that allow delinquent borrowers to retain their home.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased 11 basis points to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.66 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the second quarter of 2016. This was the lowest level since the second quarter of 2006. The delinquency rate was 64 basis points lower than one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) National Delinquency Survey.

“Today, by finalizing revised mortgage servicing rules, the CFPB has taken an important step toward improving protections for distressed borrowers,” said John Rao, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “Many homeowners will find it easier to save their homes from foreclosure because of these new rules.”

The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) is closing out Homeownership Month by reopening the HomeSaver Phase I mortgage assistance program. This year, the Agency received two funding allocations totaling $8,047,933 from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund (HHF). This award will be used to aid eligible District of Columbia homeowners that have fallen behind on their mortgage payments due to unemployment or under employment.

NeighborWorks America today announced that nearly $40 million has been awarded to 21 state housing finance agencies (HFAs), 19 HUD-approved housing counseling intermediaries, and 60 community-based NeighborWorks organizations to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties remained unchanged from the previous quarter at a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.77 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of 2016. This was the lowest level since the third quarter of 2006. The delinquency rate was 77 basis points lower than one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) National Delinquency Survey.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today a new loan modification program that will help borrowers stay in their homes. Under the new program, loan modifications will be available to as many as 30,000 qualified underwater borrowers facing financial hardship with loans now held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Eligibility also requires that the mortgages have an unpaid principal balance of not more than $250,000 and delinquency of 90 days or longer as of March 1 of this year. Homes must be owner-occupied

NeighborWorks America today announced that more than 2 million homeowners facing foreclosure have received much-needed counseling thanks to the Congressionally-funded National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse applauded the House’s passage today of the Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act, which extends key foreclosure protection to those who serve. Whitehouse authored the legislation, which was unanimously approved by the Senate in December. The bill now awaits the President’s signature to become law.

The Justice Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with 49 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia’s attorney general, have reached a $470 million agreement with HSBC Bank USA NA and its affiliates (collectively, HSBC) to address mortgage origination, servicing and foreclosure abuses.

Four mortgage modification scammers, Brian Pacios, Chad Caldaronello, Justin Moreira and Derek Nelson will be banned from selling debt relief products and services under settlements resolving Federal Trade Commission charges that they deceived homeowners facing foreclosure

Christy Goldsmith Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced that Michael Lewis Parker, of Pomona, Calif., who worked at a Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. based business that offered bogus loan modifications was sentenced in California yesterday to serve a federal prison term of six years, and to pay restitution of over $6 million.

A Methuen business executive pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to defraud banks and mortgage companies by engaging in sham “short” sales of residential properties in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts

On the eve of Halloween, New Jersey’s U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker wrote federal banking and housing leaders asking for answers and action on the abandoned or “zombie” foreclosure crisis in the state. A recent report found New Jersey has the highest number of “zombie” foreclosures in the country, with almost 4,000 homes vacated before a completed foreclosure. Left without a caretaker and abandoned by the banks, these properties attract crime, trash and debris, bring down the values of neighboring homes, and leave towns and cities to shoulder the burden

A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty today for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia. Trent Gaines admitted that he and others conspired not to bid against one another at public real estate foreclosure auctions from October 2008 to November 2010 in Fulton County, Georgia, and from September 2006 to February 2011 in DeKalb County, Georgia.

A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty today for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Fulton and DeKalb counties, Georgia. Morris Podber admitted that he conspired with others not to bid against one another at public real estate foreclosure auctions on selected properties.

A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty today for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Fulton and DeKalb counties, Georgia.