Real Estate News – June 15, 2011



Recent court rulings are raising some uncertainties when it comes to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (or MERS), which electronically tracks and transfers millions of loans and has been in use by the mortgage industry since the 1990s (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/j9UtN4


A top bank regulator pushed back Wednesday against a group of Senate Democrats who have been seeking to have the regulatory agency work with states and the Justice Department in their investigation into residential mortgage-loan-servicing and foreclosure processes (via MarketWatch.com): http://bit.ly/kJbdFs
 
A property manager who admitted stealing more than one million dollars from homeowner and condo associations was sentenced to 7 years in prison (via newsnet5.com): http://bit.ly/jnwKwu


Bank of America seems to be favoring short sales over foreclosures, at least according to new housing data released this week. The banking giant completed more short sale transactions than foreclosure sales every month for the last year and a half, HousingWire reports. Bank of America completed more than 95,000 short sales in 2010–more than double compared to the year prior (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/kMuNu2


Action star — and occasional reserve deputy sheriff — Steven Seagal is locked in deadly battle of e-mails and lawyers with his Scottsdale, AZ, HOA after, according to the actor, the association decided to decorate the road in front of his home with boulders (via consumerist.com): http://bit.ly/kqvcIH


A woman was accused of threatening her neighborhood’s homeowners association after an ongoing argument over her owning a pot bellied pig took off on Facebook, York County deputies said (via rockhill.wbtv.com): http://bit.ly/jL4KMd


The author of a study claiming the U.S. housing collapse is now worse than during the Great Depression warned Wednesday that the market likely will continue to fall for the rest of the year before going stagnant (via foxnews.com): http://fxn.ws/jaAo6R