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NEWS ABOUT: mortgage

Why It's Better to Default on a $1M Mortgage

Deadbeats stay in pricey homes up to 6 months longer

(Newser) - If you've fallen behind on your mortgage payments, here's hoping you live in a million-dollar home, because odds are the bank will wait a lot longer to kick you out. Borrowers who default on loans of $1 million or more get to stay in their homes an average... More »

$26B Mortgage Settlement a 'Modest' Help: Experts

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... More »

Calif., NY May Sign On to Robo-Signing Settlement

Obama administration nearing deal for mortgage relief

(Newser) - California and New York are close to signing on to the Obama administration's multibillion dollar mortgage robo-signing settlement, significantly expanding the deal, the New York Times reports. If California signs on, the settlement total will jump from $19 billion to $25 billion. In exchange, the states want measures to... More »

Freddie Mac Bet Billions Against Homeowners

Has financial stake in limiting refinancing for struggling people

(Newser) - Freddie Mac was designed to help homeowners—but in 2010 and 2011 it wagered billions against them. The company invested in security packages that meant more cash for Freddie when homeowners couldn't refinance their mortgages. But Freddie itself regulates refinancing—and in fact has been increasingly denying refinances to... More »

Ex-Banker: Yeah, Collapse Was Our Fault

So why haven't homeowners been bailed out?

(Newser) - If you were trying to get a loan in southern Florida in 2007, bankers like James Theckston were there to help. "If you had some old bag lady walking down the street and she had a decent credit score, she got a loan," Chase's then-regional VP of... More »

US May Let Millions Refinance at 4%

Proposal could save homeowners $85B annually

(Newser) - Help could be on the way for struggling homeowners with government-backed mortgages: The Obama administration is considering a proposal that would allow such homeowners to refinance their mortgages at today's interest rates, which hover around a low 4%. Many homeowners can’t currently refinance because they owe more than... More »

Fed Hits Wells Fargo With Record $85M Fine

Bank accused of mortgage abuses

(Newser) - Wells Fargo has agreed to cough up $85 million to settle allegations that it steered borrowers with good credit towards expensive subprime mortgages and falsified information on borrowers' income on loan documents. The Federal Reserve says the fine, the first levied in relation to the predatory big-bank practices blamed for... More »

Don't Let Bankers 'Off the Hook'

Deals with banks for paltry sums won't fix the crisis: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - The mantra of recent US fiscal policy has been "go easy on the bankers," writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Trouble is, that attitude neither holds them accountable nor does it put us on the road to recovery. Now, federal officials are calling on states to... More »

Almost 40% of Second Mortgages Underwater

And it's proving a drag on the recovery

(Newser) - Homeowners who took out a second mortgage are twice as likely as those who didn’t to be underwater on their mortgages, with a whopping 38% owing more than their homes are worth, according to a CoreLogic report released today. They were also much deeper in the hole, with an... More »

Goldman Preps Counterattack on Senate Report

Subcommittee's numbers are wrong, firm says

(Newser) - Goldman Sachs is ready to take a stand against a Senate subcommittee report that slammed the firm for allegedly misleading clients . Goldman will argue that the report exaggerates the firm’s 2007 bets against the housing market; it may release documents that support its belief that the subcommittee’s investigation... More »

Feds Sue Deutsche Bank Over Reckless Mortgage Lies

$1B suit may be first of many

(Newser) - The federal government is suing Deutsche Bank for $1 billion over shoddy mortgages that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The suit accuses the lender of lying to the government while arranging federal insurance on mortgages that it had recklessly approved for poor credit risks, reports the Los Angeles ... More »

Loophole Gets Couple a House for Just One Payment

Facing foreclosure, they discover a 123-year-old law

(Newser) - Thanks to a loophole in Iowa law, Matt and Jamie Danielson now own their $278,000 home outright—for the cost of just one mortgage payment. The Danielsons fought foreclosure—and won—by citing a 123-year-old law that requires mortgages be signed by both spouses. A home-loan approval Matt Danielson... More »

11.1M Households Underwater

Number jumps to 23.1% at end of 2010, more likely on way

(Newser) - Just when it looked like the housing market might be treading water, more American homes slipped underwater at the end of 2010, reports the AP. Now 23.1% of all mortgages, or 11.1 million, outweigh the value of the house they secure—up from 22.5% in the previous... More »

California to Dole Out $2B in Homeowner Help

...If banks will get on board

(Newser) - California has launched a $2 billion program designed to help struggling homeowners keep their houses. The program will be paid for by federal funds originally intended to help rescue the financial system in 2008, the LA Times reports, and could prevent some 95,000 foreclosures—if the state can get... More »

White House: Let's Kill Fannie, Freddie

Obama administration wants to get out of the mortgage market

(Newser) - The Obama administration will propose dissolving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reducing the federal government’s role in the mortgage market, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The White House is set to release three plans for moving forward without the government-owned mortgage giants, which originated nine out of... More »

Taxpayers Footed Fannie, Freddie's $160M Legal Bill

Americans spend $24.2 million to defend executives

(Newser) - Taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in fraud lawsuits since the government took over the companies in 2008. The closely guarded cost was released last week after Rep. Randy Neugebauer requested the figures last year. Some $132 million of the total went to... More »

In Foreclosure Chaos, Banks Loot Wrong Homes

Homeowners return to find possessions gone

(Newser) - Amid wrongful foreclosures and screwy paperwork, banks have been breaking into homes whose owners still occupy them, a flurry of lawsuits argues. Owners have returned home to find the locks changed and their property—from laptops to old photos to the ashes of a loved one—missing, the New York ... More »

Arizona, Nevada Sue Bank of America

State alleges bank misled homeowners who lost their houses

(AP) - Attorneys general in two states filed civil lawsuits yesterday against Bank of America, alleging that the lender is misleading and deceiving homeowners who have tried to modify mortgages in two of the nation's most foreclosure-damaged states. Bank of America violated Arizona's consumer fraud law by misleading consumers who tried to... More »

For Some Homeowners, Foreclosure Comes by Mistake

Many forced to hire lawyers, file lawsuits to stop the process

(Newser) - The foreclosure mess gets messier: A growing number of people are finding themselves embroiled in a foreclosure fight even though they've never defaulted on their loans—in some cases, they didn't even have loans to default on. An extensive AP story looks at some of the cases, including a man... More »

States Asked for Foreclosure Probe—3 Years Ago

Federal regulators turned down request, put off matter

(Newser) - State regulators suspected that there was something fishy about banks' foreclosure procedures as far back as three years ago, but federal regulators forbid them to take action, the Washington Post reports. The federal comptroller told the states his office was already planning an investigation, and that banks should only respond... More »

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