Tag Archives: mortgage crisis

The residential foreclosure crisis has claimed nearly 4 million U.S. homes since 2008. At the start of 2013, it looks like the worst is over. The number of homes in the foreclosure process has reached its lowest level since the crisis began.   Dodd-Frank Overhauls Mortgage Laws During the housing bubble, many mortgage lenders operated with extremely lax underwriting standards. Often, banks failed to check documentation, to require minimum credit scores and to determine whether borrowers had enough income to …

Never turn your back on a home foreclosure with the assumption your property title is dead. It could reanimate as a zombie title, dragging hordes of bills and fines along with it. A zombie title is stalking Joseph Keller, who vacated his home five years ago after receiving a foreclosure notice from JPMorgan Chase. Keller moved in with his daughter, assuming that his old home would be auctioned off any day. But weeks later, JPMorgan Chase changed its mind and …

Ten major banks last week agreed to pay out $8.5 billion to settle allegations that they engaged in abusive foreclosure practices in 2009 and 2010. Of the settlement money, $3.3 billion will go to homeowners whose homes actually went into foreclosure. The remaining $5.2 billion will be used for loan modifications and other relief. Some 3.8 million homeowners were eligible for the review, meaning that the $3.3 billion in settlement money comes to less than $1,000 per family, although some …

As part of the law passed as a last minute escape of the so-called fiscal cliff, Congress extended the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act to the great relief of homeowners who’ve suffered foreclosure.   Injury, but Not Insult First passed in 2007, the act allows mortgage holders to avoid paying income tax on the value lost when they are forced to sell their homes at prices below their market value. Normally, the IRS considers that lost value as a break …

The foreclosure crisis isn’t over, but a new trend in real estate sales could be the light at the end of the tunnel for many borrowers and lenders. Short sales, which occur when homeowners sell their homes for less than what they still owe, outpaced foreclosures for the first time ever in January, according to a new report from Lender Processing Services, Inc. Another report by RealtyTrac estimates that short sales rose 33 percent between January 2011 and January 2012. …