Real Estate News – September 23, 2011
A lawsuit is being revived in federal court from a group of California home owners who allege that eight major homebuilders are responsible for the loss in value of their homes and for their neighborhood becoming less desirable (via REALTORMag):
Fannie Mae missed chances to catch law firms illegally signing foreclosure documents and its government overseer did not take the right steps to ensure Fannie was doing its job, according to a federal watchdog (via NPR.org): http://n.pr/pa166n
U.S. banks may take at least another year to sort through millions of foreclosure files and fix improper foreclosure practices, a top federal bank regulator said Friday (via MarketWatch.com): http://bit.ly/qXEY3T
State and federal officials on Friday were again to meet with representatives of the nation’s largest banks, trying to finalize a much-anticipated settlement over shoddy foreclosure practices that remains elusive a year after the abuses first garnered national attention (via WashingtonPost.com): http://wapo.st/qTwLpD
Bank of America Corp. reportedly plans to sell a commercial real estate loan portfolio worth $880 million–at a discount of 20-25 percent from face value–to a group of investors (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/ongmwP
20-percent rule for mortgage down payments unlikely in near future (via WashingtonPost.com): http://wapo.st/ofu6vW
The Las Vegas City Council gave a big win Wednesday to Peccole Ranch homeowners who were fighting with their HOA. The homeowners opposed plans to put a cell phone tower in the middle of their neighborhood, between the tennis courts and an elementary school (via ktnv.com): http://bit.ly/qZxmcj
Several states in the country have laws that require foreclosures to go through the court system before they are approved, but a handful of Florida government leaders are urging lawmakers to change state law and consider making Florida a non-judicial process for foreclosures. The government leaders argue that the change would help speed up foreclosures and boost the state’s economy. Florida currently has the second-highest foreclosure rate in the country (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/qaW8LE
After last year’s revelations that lenders were authorizing actions without reviewing case files halted foreclosure activity for months, US banks are finally starting to address the backlog, and speed up the foreclosure process (via MarketWatch.com): http://bit.ly/r4eZiN
A $1 billion federal program designed to help people avoid foreclosure will fail to meet its goal of helping 30,000 homeowners, the government admits (via moneynews.com): http://bit.ly/n7VSmF
Housing Market Acrobatics – BOA Transfers Billions In Home Loans To Fannie Mae (via Examiner.com): http://exm.nr/oxGIYT
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has asked a court to shut down websites that falsely suggested they were federal consumer assistance agencies or affiliated with government agencies focused on mortgage or debt relief, the agency said Thursday (via pcworld.com): http://bit.ly/p6FYJ2