Real Estate Articles

Increasing numbers of real estate professionals are jumping on the "short sale" bandwagon. This approach does not serve consumers well and homeowners are sacrificing their equity to banks and investors.

ACORN Housing Corporation launches non-profit mortgage brokerage with CitiMortgage, Bank of America, First American Title Insurance Company, and Fannie Mae to help low- and moderate-income families find safe, affordable mortgages in Florida.

Foreclosure trend increases with Nevada, California, and Florida posting top rates. Other top ten contenders include Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Georgia, Connecticut, Ohio, and Michigan.

A group of mortgage industry executives and lawyers have formed a new company to offer assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure due to the mortgage industry collapse. Using their knowledge of mortgages and their relationship with lenders they are helping borrowers keep their homes, and work out new loan arrangements to avoid foreclosure, bankruptcy and financial ruin.

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.