Real Estate News – September 29, 2011



In Oakland, California, city officials say they plan to stop placing prospective liens on properties that building inspectors deem “blighted.” The announcement comes shortly after a grand jury scolded the city about its practice of citing home owners for property blight (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/onjNWF


For some reason, the government just can’t seem to figure out how to aid struggling homeowners. First, its Making Homes Affordable program — meant to prevent several million foreclosures — continues to struggle to reach even one million. Then, its long-awaited principal reduction effort was completely shunned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which significantly limited its potential effectiveness. Another mortgage-aid effort ends Friday, which intended to help 30,000 underemployed Americans avoid foreclosure. Instead, it may not reach even 15,000. What went wrong this time? (via TheAtlantic.com): http://bit.ly/nElUiT


One in five homeowners whose mortgages were modified under a program aimed at reducing foreclosures defaulted again within a year after their payments were cut, the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency reported today (via BusinessWeek.com): http://buswk.co/pDlZDK


Thanks to foreclosure freeze, Florida courts are running out of cash (via weblogs.sun-sentinel.com): http://sunsent.nl/pvBgMY


The Foreclosed Mansions Of The Formerly Wealthy (via BusinessInsider.com): http://read.bi/oF7GWn


The real estate market has Hulk Hogan in a serious chokehold — because the Florida mansion he once listed for $25 MILLION … has now been reduced all the way to $8.87 million (via TMZ.com): http://bit.ly/p0Z2FO


Midwest Real Estate Data Launches Down Payment Assistance Program (via MarketWatch.com): http://bit.ly/pYFyUF