REALTORS testify before Congress and push to curb predatory lending practices that put Seniors at risk of foreclosure.

Blogging at his laptop computer, Moe Bedard offers free foreclosure help online and coaches 1,000 homeowners racing an obstacle course to save their homes from foreclosure. They have joined Bedard's Internet site, www.LoanSafe.org, a grass-roots forum for homeowners who face the prospect of losing their homes to skyrocketing adjustable mortgages. "I think people can help each other through the foreclosure process. There don't have to be so many foreclosures," Bedard said.

RealtyTrac's "Year-End 2007 Metropolitan Foreclosure Reports" lists foreclosure rates among the nation's 100 largest metro areas during the year.

As Congress considers mortgage reform, America's Watchdog and its National Mortgage Complaint Center are demanding that mortgage bankers and banks be required by Congress to disclose a huge mortgage kickback called a "yield spread premium." The problem: the biggest campaign donations to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate Banking Committees, come from banks, mortgage bankers and home builders acting as mortgage lenders.

The Federal Housing Administratation has sent out the first round of 280,000 letters urging homeowners to consider safer, more affordable FHA-backed mortgages.

Current bankruptcy laws offer more protection to yacht owners than to homeowners. Congress has an opportunity to help more than half a million homeowners avoid foreclosure.

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson and Mayor Richard Daley encourage at-risk homeowners to attend "Borrower Outreach Day" in the Windy City.

According to America's Watchdog's Homeowner Consumer Center, "the 2008 U.S. real estate market could be one of the worst in U.S. history." In order to protect U.S. homeowners, the group has come up with a list of suggestions and resources designed to assist anyone in the U.S. who owns a home.

Citing millions of "cheated U.S. homeowners," America's Watchdog and its National Mortgage Complaint Center demand federal reform that would require all lenders disclose fees known as "yield spread premiums."

Consumer groups decry new IRS rules that would allow tax preparers to share taxpayer information to market refund anticipation loans, refund checks, audit insurance, and other high cost products typically sold to low income taxpayers.