Real Estate News – March 5 & 6, 2011

State attorneys general and federal agencies have given major banks a 27-page proposal to settle part of a massive federal and state investigation in shoddy foreclosure practices (via WashingtonPost.com):
http://wapo.st/gcOvox

Allen Iverson, a former National Basketball Association most valuable player and 11-time All- Star, has stopped paying the mortgage on his 6,848-square-foot house in Cherry Hills, Colorado, the Denver Post reported (via Bloomberg.com): http://bloom.bg/geYoNF

MERS, the Mortgage Holder You Might Not Know (via NYTimes.com): http://nyti.ms/ho0YiH

Homeowners Associations stepping up legal pressure with foreclosures (via StarNewsOnline.com): http://bit.ly/ezUX9d

Federal prosecutors say a Northern California man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids at foreclosure auctions in a county among the hardest hit by the real estate bust (via mercurynews.com): http://bit.ly/ezrELe

Community banks are preparing to step into the mortgage market just as politicians debate how to scale back housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: http://bit.ly/fm7FkH

As one of the few backers of low-down-payment mortgages in a time of stringent lender underwriting, the Federal Housing Administration has become a primary means of financing for U.S. home buyers (via WSJ.com): http://on.wsj.com/ibaOzs

Homeowner watches credit rating sink amid frustrations with mortgage program (via Jacksonville.com): http://bit.ly/gMXIcf

Sales of hundreds of foreclosed homes in Oregon have been halted or withdrawn in recent weeks after federal judges repeatedly questioned their legality, according to a number of real estate attorneys in the state (via oregonlive.com): http://bit.ly/gK5zrG

Realtor fights big trucks in driveways (via azstarnet.com): http://bit.ly/feEBkr