foreclosures – News Stories About foreclosures - Page 15

Apr 1, 2008 5:38 PM CDT

Housing Bill Clears Key Senate Hurdle

Package of relief measures garners bipartisan support

(Newser) - The Senate voted 94-1 to move a housing legislation package into formal consideration today, reports the New York Times. Banking committee chair Chris Dodd and ranking Republican Richard Shelby now have until noon tomorrow to work out a compromise acceptable to both parties. “Inaction is not an option,"...

Bush Readies Mortgage Bailout

Mar 29, 2008 6:48 AM CDT

Bush Readies Mortgage Bailout

Aid plan would back new loans for homeowners in 'upside-down' mortgages

(Newser) - Homeowners facing foreclosure could soon be getting a helping hand from the Bush administration, the Washington Post reports. Details are being finalized on a plan that would see portions of loans forgiven for people who now owe the bank more money than their house is worth. The remainder would be...

And to Your Right, You'll See Another Foreclosure...

Mar 28, 2008 7:29 PM CDT

And to Your Right, You'll See Another Foreclosure...

Bus tours take prospectors, and the merely curious, through ruins of mortgage crisi

(Newser) - Looking for cheap real estate? Hop on a foreclosure bus tour, a trend sweeping the nation in the wake of the mortgage crisis, the AP reports. The excursions typically include experts who educate buyers while showing empty homes: some bargain beauties, some fixer-uppers. "We're kind of a seminar on...

Agents Use 'Cash for Keys'
to Stem Owner Vandalism

Mar 28, 2008 10:23 AM CDT

Agents Use 'Cash for Keys' to Stem Owner Vandalism

Foreclosed properties bear marks of parting shots

(Newser) - Banks and mortgage companies are hoping a “cash for keys” policy will stem a growing problem for lenders taking possession of foreclosed homes: dispossessed homeowners trashing their houses on the way out the door. Cheaper and faster than eviction proceedings, the policy is "win-win for both parties,"...

Foreclosure Victims Also Furry

Mar 25, 2008 1:36 PM CDT

Foreclosure Victims Also Furry

As more people lose their homes, so do their pets

(Newser) - As foreclosure rates skyrocket around the country, animal shelters are feeling a heartbreaking byproduct: an influx of pets being surrendered, USA Today reports. Across the country, areas with high foreclosures are seeing increased rates of pet abandonment, and shelters worry that even more could be coming as unemployment rates rise...

Surprise! Existing
Home Sales Jump

Mar 24, 2008 10:45 AM CDT

Surprise! Existing Home Sales Jump

February's 2.9% rise surprises analysts; median price tumbles unprecedented 8.2%

(Newser) - Existing home sales stunned Wall Street today with an unexpected spike, Bloomberg reports. The metric rose 2.9% in February to an annual pace of 5.03 million. Analysts had predicted yet another decline, to a 4.85 million pace. But one economist said this was only a “temporary...

Mortgage Meltdown Hits
Small Builders

Mar 21, 2008 3:00 AM CDT

Mortgage Meltdown Hits Small Builders

Wave of bankruptcies could in turn weaken regional banks

(Newser) - The housing market collapse that's sending homeowners into foreclosure is starting to hit small- and medium-size builders left with developments they're unable to sell, the Wall Street Journal reports. Buyers are canceling contracts and builders are missing mortgage payments on often highly leveraged projects. Small regional banks, in turn, could...

Hotline for At-Risk Loans Not So Helpful

Mar 13, 2008 3:46 PM CDT

Hotline for At-Risk Loans Not So Helpful

Subprime victims find Hope Now Alliance doesn't live up to billing

(Newser) - A hotline aimed at helping distressed mortgage borrowers is frequently overwhelmed by caller volume and rarely able to provide substantive aid, MSNBC reports. The Hope Now Alliance—a group of lenders and community groups heavily promoted by President Bush—is designed to improve lender-borrower communication and modify mortgages, most commonly...

Aretha Sings Foreclosure Blues

Mar 13, 2008 2:05 PM CDT

Aretha Sings Foreclosure Blues

Lawyer's $445 tax mistake puts Franklin's Detroit pad at risk

(Newser) - Aretha Franklin’s mansion is in foreclosure after the Queen of Soul flubbed her taxes, TMZ.com reports. Franklin owes $19,192 in back taxes, but she says she’ll pay before the March 31 deadline. The singer faults her lawyer for a 2005 mistake over $445 in taxes and...

Commercial
Real Estate Will Slow, Not Tank

Mar 10, 2008 9:18 AM CDT

Commercial Real Estate Will Slow, Not Tank

Malls, offices won't be hit nearly as hard as housing, experts say

(Newser) - The commercial real estate market has slowed dramatically, but won’t rival the housing implosion, reports the Wall Street Journal. Prices will likely fall just 20%, compared with 40%-plus for homes in some markets, and commercial property owners—unlike record numbers of homeowners facing foreclosure—have largely been able to...

Asian Stock Markets Dive

Mar 7, 2008 6:07 AM CST

Asian Stock Markets Dive

US credit crisis has investors in Asian markets hedging their bets

(Newser) - Japan’s Nikkei fell 3.3% and Australia’s S&P/ASX2000 dropped 3.2% as woeful US economic news—including rising foreclosures, worsening homeowner debt and impending credit defaults—sent Asian markets reeling, the Associated Press reports. Investors also worried that a key jobs report to be released this morning...

Foreclosures Soar in Q4

Mar 6, 2008 1:55 PM CST

Foreclosures Soar in Q4

Borrowers' poor credit, not rate resets, blamed for latest spike

(Newser) - Home foreclosures and mortgage delinquency in the US saw record highs in the last three months of 2007. Reuters reports that 0.83% of US loans entered foreclosure in the fourth quarter, close to double the 0.54% of the same period in 2006. Mortgage delinquency hit 5.82%, the...

Stocks Recover After Big Losses

MARKETS

Mar 4, 2008 3:49 PM CST

Stocks Recover After Big Losses

Talk of Ambac bailout leads to late rally

(Newser) - News of an impending bailout for bond insurer Ambac helped the markets recover from steep losses and end today's session down only slightly, MarketWatch reports. Down by 200 points at 2:30, the Dow closed only 45.10 down, ending at 12,213.80. The Nasdaq rose 1.68 to...

Bernanke: Homeowners Need More Help

Mar 4, 2008 9:29 AM CST

Bernanke: Homeowners Need More Help

Fed chief calls for writing down problem mortgages' principal

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says homeowners need more help, and that help might include writing down the principal on some problem loans, reports the Wall Street Journal. "Efforts by both government and private-sector entities to reduce unnecessary foreclosures are helping, but more can, and should, be done," the...

Sinking Home Values Lead to 'Walkaways'

Feb 29, 2008 11:47 AM CST

Sinking Home Values Lead to 'Walkaways'

Owners grappling with negative equity can afford to pay but choose not to

(Newser) - Freefalling home values may be creating yet another crisis in the mortgage industry. The new phenomenon: homeowners capable of paying their mortgages who walk away, unwilling to pour money into a property that’s worth less than they originally paid. "It may not be a big thing yet, and...

Senate GOP Stymies Dem Housing Relief

Feb 29, 2008 8:51 AM CST

Senate GOP Stymies Dem Housing Relief

Republicans say plan to aid homeowners would inflame crisis, hurt lenders

(Newser) - Capping a week of gridlock, GOP senators yesterday blocked consideration of a Democratic-backed housing-relief bill. The mortgage industry had fought hard against the proposal, which would allow judges to slash interest rates for low-income homeowners facing bankruptcy, the Washington Post reports. The bill also included billions of dollars for local...

The House of Mirthlessness

Feb 28, 2008 12:19 PM CST

The House of Mirthlessness

Drowning in debt, Edith Wharton's Mass. estate faces foreclosure

(Newser) - Edith Wharton's masterpieces include The House of Mirth, but the story of her own house is much less joyous. Her estate in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, currently a museum called the Mount that chronicles her life and career, is drowning under some $9 million in debt. Now, writes the Berkshire ...

Bush Urges Congress
to Pass Surveillance Bill

UPDATED

Feb 28, 2008 9:29 AM CST

Bush Urges Congress to Pass Surveillance Bill

Threat growing as House holds up bill over immunity for telecoms, prez charges

(Newser) - President Bush urged Congress this morning to pass an update to the terrorist surveillance bill that expired more than a week ago, CNN reports. Bush said the delay poses "a risk of opening a gap in our intelligence gathering." The bill stalled in the House over a provision...

Paulson Raps Mortgage Rescue Plans

Feb 28, 2008 7:06 AM CST

Paulson Raps Mortgage Rescue Plans

Says taxpayers shouldn't finance 'bailouts' for reckless lenders and borrowers

(Newser) - Homeowners burned by the subprime mortgage meltdown shouldn't be looking to the federal government for help, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told the Wall Street Journal yesterday. Facing down mounting congressional pressure for stronger measures to stem an epidemic of foreclosures, Paulson dismissed proposals on the table as "bailouts" for...

Jackson's Neverland Foreclosed

Feb 27, 2008 3:25 AM CST

Jackson's Neverland Foreclosed

2,800-acre ranch is set for sale in March

(Newser) - Creditors have foreclosed on Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, which will be auctioned March 19 if the King of Pop doesn't pony up $24.5 million by that date, Fox News reports. If the sale goes through, Jackson would lose everything in the California house, including furniture and relics of...