Nearly a half-decade after the U.S. housing market collapsed like something that collapses really badly, the country’s five biggest mortgage providers — Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi and Ally — are oh-so-close to reaching a settlement with the states that could include overhauls to how they operate when it comes to the whole lending/servicing/foreclosing process. [More]
foreclosures
Auto Lenders Approving Car Buyers Who Can't Pay Their Mortgages
By 1.5.12
Usually, one of the main factors a lender uses to determine whether or not to let an applicant borrow money is the applicant’s history of paying back (or failing to pay back) other loans. But with so many Americans having skipped mortgage payments in recent years, auto lenders are apparently no long slamming the door on potential borrowers just because they weren’t able to keep current on their house payments. [More]
Bank Of America Decides To Let Foreclosed-Upon Family Stay In House Until Wife Dies
By 12.22.11
At the intersection where Foreclosure Ave. crosses Health Care Blvd. lives a California couple who had to choose between mortgage and the health insurance needed to cover the wife’s late-stage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Until recently, it looked like they would be forced to vacate the house they’d bought 15 years ago, but Bank of America has decided to delay the eviction until after the wife’s death. [More]
Renting Doesn't Necessarily Protect You From Inept Mortgage Servicers
By 12.6.11
Whenever I bring up the ongoing mortgage and foreclosure fiasco (and yes, this topic does come up often in my casual conversation; which is probably why I’m single), at least one of my renter friends cavalierly states that he or she is happy to not have to worry about having a bank wrongly foreclose on them, or mistakenly seize their stuff. But as the following story shows, that just isn’t so. [More]
Chase Decides Not To Evict 103-Year-Old Woman After Deputies & Movers Refuse To Help
By 12.1.11
The folks at Chase have really gotten into the holiday spirit. The bank has announced it won’t be forcing a 103-year-old Atlanta-area woman and her 83-year-old daughter from their home. Of course, this change of heart only happened after local news outlets reported that sheriff’s deputies and the moving company hired to remove her stuff refused to do so. [More]
Reporter Investigating Foreclosure Fraud Finds Out He's A Victim Of Foreclosure Fraud
By 11.30.11
As much as we Consumerists hate when our work crosses over into our personal lives and we end up on hold with our cable TV provider for hours or feel the sting of the grocery shrink ray, that’s nothing compared to what happened to a reporter in Las Vegas who, while investigating the rampant foreclosure fraud in his region, discovered he too had fallen victim to the very problem he was reporting on. [More]
Foreclosure Mill That Mocked Homeless For Halloween Is Shutting Down, Blames NY Times
By 11.22.11
Remember that foreclosure mill law firm in NY state that got caught mocking the homeless during Halloween? They subsequently apologized, but that couldn’t keep the firm afloat, and last week it was announced that the company was closing. So whose fault is this? Well, the NY Times’ fault, obviously. [More]
Report: Foreclosure Review Process Puts The Burden On The Borrower
By 11.4.11
As we reported earlier this week, upwards of 4.5 million foreclosed-upon homeowners are now eligible to have their case reviewed by an independent consultant. But as details of this review process trickle out, some are concerned that the scales might be unfairly balanced in favor of the lender. [More]
$1 Error Leads Bank Of America To Threaten Foreclosure On House That Was Already Sold
By 11.3.11
A family in Utah sold their home earlier this year and thought they had rid themselves of their Bank of America mortgage. That is, until they received a foreclosure notice several months later for a house they no longer owned — all over a $1 coding error. [More]
Foreclosure Mill Apologizes For Dressing Up In Halloween Costumes That Mocked Foreclosed Homeowners
By 11.2.11
When pictures of their employees dressed up as homeless foreclosed homeowners for last year’s Halloween were published in the New York Times, the high-volume foreclosure firm brushed the matter aside. They said that it was “another attempt by The New York Times to attack our firm and our work.” But now that it’s blown up in their faces, they’re falling all over themselves to apologize. [More]
Bank Of America Tries To Foreclose On Home Destroyed By 2008 Hurricane
By 11.1.11
Imagine that you’re working overseas when your home is destroyed by a hurricane. Sucks, right? But you keep paying the mortgage on the property because you hope to eventually rebuild. So why is Bank of America foreclosing? [More]
Banks To Offer Foreclosure Reviews To More Than 4 Million People
By 11.1.11
Millions of Americans have lost their homes in the last few years and — as any reader of Consumerist knows — the banks who foreclosed on those properties have also made more than their fair share of errors. Thus, starting today, 14 of the country’s largest mortgage servicers are contacting millions of foreclosed-upon former homeowners to offer them the opportunity to have their cases independently reviewed. [More]
Triple Dip Predicted For Home Prices
By 10.31.11
Home prices are headed for yet a third bottom, their lowest yet, says a new report by financial analytics company Fiserv. [More]
4 Fannie Mae Staffers Placed On Administrative Leave Pending Investigation
By 10.31.11
Four Fannie Mae staffers have been placed on administrative leave while federal investigators probe a series of foreclosed apartments the enterprise sold. [More]
Foreclosure Mill Employees Dressed Up In Costumes Mocking Foreclosed Homeowners
By 10.31.11
What do the employees at a foreclosure mill – a law firm that aggressively pursues massive numbers of foreclosures, even against homeowners in the middle of working out a mortgage mod – dress up for Halloween? Well at one joint, last year they dressed up as homeless former homeowners and as the corpse of a lawyer who filed a class action lawsuit against them, according to photos sent to the New York Times. [More]
Rules Changed To Make Refinancing Your Home Easier
By 10.24.11
With mortgage interest rates continuing to hover near record lows, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced big changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program with the intention of making it easier for homeowners to save money by refinancing their loans at these rock-bottom rates. [More]
Woman's Late Brother Pays $217,000 To Online Scammers Now She's Facing Foreclosure
By 10.24.11
We’ve written these words too many times to count, but they obviously merit repeating once more: “Never co-sign a loan unless you are prepared and willing to pay back the entire thing — plus interest and penalties — if the other person defaults.” It’s a lesson a New Jersey woman has spent the last four years learning, and who now faces foreclosure because her dead brother was taken by scammers. [More]
Atlanta Working With Bank To Sell Foreclosed Homes To Cops & Firefighters
By 10.21.11
One of the biggest problems with the huge number of foreclosures in the years since the housing boom went ka-boom is that banks can be left holding houses for which they can’t find a buyer. This can sometimes lead to entire neighborhoods that look like ghost towns. But the mayor of Atlanta says the city will soon be announcing a deal that will not only get some of those homes sold, but will also bring firefighters and police officers back into the city limits. [More]
