Real Estate News – August 1-2, 2011

Foreclosure Defense & Bankruptcy: Banks May Be In Bigger Hole Than Borrowers (via newsli.com): http://bit.ly/o5yONk

A mortgage lender is being sued by the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to recoup $1.6 million in insurance premiums the Federal  Housing Administration was forced to pay on homes that were foreclosed. The lawsuit was filed against an Illinois based lender, MDR Mortgage Corporation (via HousingPredictor.com): http://bit.ly/qNzFKS

A Palm Beach County homeowner renting to Section 8 tenants will lose the federal housing supplement after a court ruled the money should be used to pay his delinquent HOA fees (via PalmBeachPost.com): http://bit.ly/nSwRF5

Officials in neighboring Mid-western states – Illinois and Indiana – have taken action against companies they say are violating the law and abusing consumers with so-called foreclosure rescue plans (via ConsumerAffairs.com): http://bit.ly/oruJJE

As politicians continue to battle over the national debt ceiling in the nation’s capitol , real estate analysts fear that the wrong deal could send the sluggishly recovering housing market into a tailspin (via realestate.bryanellis.com): http://bit.ly/rfLpZc

In an attempt to get a better understanding of what’s happening in the Twin Cities housing market, Herb Tousley at the University of St. Thomas has created a monthly housing market index that he hopes will offset some of the “issues” he sees with the closely watched Case- Shiller report (via StarTribune.com): http://bit.ly/nhZ8XT

Buyers of certain high-end homes will face higher mortgage rates and heftier down payment requirements starting Oct. 1, when the federal government takes a small step back from the mortgage market.Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration currently buy and guarantee mortgages of up to $729,750. That government support allows borrowers to put down as little as 3.5 percent and enjoy lower interest rates (via loansafe.org): http://bit.ly/prtxw6

The Rev. Mark J. Calhoun reported to a federal prison Monday to begin serving a 16-year prison sentence for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme that involved more than $10 million in fraudulent loans (via clarionledger.com): http://bit.ly/nV7d5n