Mortgage Scammers Prey on Strapped Homeowners

(NEWSER) - Details are emerging on the Obama administration's plan to help homeowners: One idea is to give strapped borrowers a lower interest rate, then have the federal government chip in to defray the lenders' loss, the Washington Post reports. The Treasury Department is expected to outline its overall plan in the next week or so. Another proposal gaining favor is giving bankruptcy judges the power to change the terms of mortgages. More»

Phony rescuers collect big upfront fees from desperate homeowners

(NEWSER) - A new breed of crook is getting rich preying on homeowners desperate to fend off foreclosure, the New York Times reports. Scamsters set themselves up as "foreclosure rescue companies,” collect big upfront fees for the promise to modify loans, then do little or nothing to help. Some people have lost their only chance to save their homes, as phony rescuers use up critical time as well as money. More»

Many struggling homeowners not covered in deal

(NEWSER) - The $26 billion mortgage settlement announced yesterday will be a boon for some—but the terms of the deal leave many homeowners out in the cold. Recipients of loans owned by the Federal Housing Administration, for instance, won't directly benefit from the settlement; nor will those with mortgages held by private investors, the New York Times reports. Millions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans—about half of America's mortgages—aren't part of the plan, either. More»

49 states sign on to deal with nation's top 5 banks

(NEWSER) - America's five biggest banks have hammered out a $26 billion settlement for their role in causing the mortgage meltdown, reports the Wall Street Journal . The deal—the biggest of its kind since 1998's $206 billion settlement with the tobacco industry—was hammered out during almost a year of negotiations between the banks and all 50 state attorneys general, reports the New York Times . The money will go to some 2 million homeowners affected by the crisis. More»

Workers with no experience or training signed paperwork

(NEWSER) - Work experience as a hair stylist or at Wal-Mart was good enough to get you hired as a "foreclosure expert" at financial institutions rushing through thousands of foreclosures, a Florida court heard yesterday. A lawyer defending thousands of homeowners produced depositions from mortgage company workers who testified that they had been put to work signing foreclosure paperwork without being given formal training. Some of them said they barely knew what a mortgage was. More»