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by Lois Beckett ProPublica A representative from Bank of America meets with homeowner Alysa Cerisier, right, to discuss mortgage modifications at a workshop on Aug. 25, 2011, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) With housing prices dropping sharply, and foreclosure filings against more than 1 million properties in the first half of this year, the...
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ANNAPOLIS, MD Governor Martin O’Malley has announced a $40 million program to assist homeowners in addressing back mortgage payments. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with the goal of helping homeowners who are facing foreclosure due to job loss or a decrease in wages, including those who lost...
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by Paul Kiel ProPublica, March 31, 2011, 1:43 p.m. Pamela Jeter of Atlanta, Ga., has been trying to get a mortgage modification for more than two years. She seems like an ideal candidate. She has shown she can stay current with a reduction in her monthly mortgage payments. Everybody would seem to win. Even...
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by Marian Wang ProPublica Making the argument that the Treasury Department has done “very little” to improve a foreclosure prevention program that has failed to meet its goals, the government’s TARP watchdog testified at a hearing on Wednesday that the case for keeping the program alive has worn thin and is “all but exhausted”...
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A number of Maryland homeowners are hoping that they can avoid foreclosures. It has been reported that Wells Fargo & Co. will be dismissing foreclosure cases in the region, including in Frederick, MD. The move is said to be an attempt to preempt a planned class-action lawsuit by homeowners’ attorneys. The suit would allege...
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A number of Maryland homeowners are hoping that they can avoid foreclosures. It has been reported that Wells Fargo & Co. will be dismissing foreclosure cases in the region, including in Frederick, MD. The move is said to be an attempt to preempt a planned class-action lawsuit by homeowners’ attorneys. The suit would allege...
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by Paul Kiel and Olga Pierce ProPublica Before he took office, President Obama repeatedly promised voters and Democrats in Congress that he’d fight for changes to bankruptcy laws to help homeowners—a tough approach that would force banks to modify mortgages. “I will change our bankruptcy laws to make it easier for families to stay...
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by Marian Wang ProPublica When problems in the foreclosure process caused banks to temporarily freeze foreclosures last fall, the focus was on improperly signed foreclosure affidavits—legal documents used when foreclosure are required to go through courts. But as we’ve noted, most states are “non-judicial” states, meaning foreclosures can proceed without a court order. And...
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by Marian Wang ProPublica When Massachusetts’ highest court ruled against U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo earlier this month and invalidated two foreclosures, the decision was hailed by some as an important precedent for courts seeking to resolve foreclosure disputes. While the decision’s impact isn’t entirely clear, even Wall Street analysts who downplayed its...
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by Marian Wang ProPublica We’ve pointed out cases in which banks’ miscommunication and disorganization have caused mistaken foreclosures, but as several recent reports have noted, that’s not the only way in which bank mistakes have affected homeowners. Some consumers have been surprised to see damage to their credit score after requesting information from the banks. One...
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