Mortgage Damage Spreads The unfolding foreclosure-processing debacle is causing bank stocks to slide and putting millions of delinquent borrowers in limbo. But how disruptive the crisis ultimately becomes—for homeowners, the housing market and the broader economy—depends on how quickly a number of technical problems and legal challenges are resolved in the months ahead. In essence, …
Category Archives: Real Estate
From a Maine House, a National Foreclosure Freeze
From a Maine House, a National Foreclosure Freeze The house that set off the national furor over faulty foreclosures is blue-gray and weathered. The porch is piled with furniture and knickknacks awaiting the next yard sale. In the driveway is a busted pickup truck. No one who lives there is going anywhere anytime soon. Nicolle …
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Why Florida’s Foreclosure Machine Is Slowing Down
Why Florida’s Foreclosure Machine Is Slowing Down At the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse in Tampa, Judge Sandra Taylor presides over one of the special courts set up to help work through Florida’s backlog of foreclosure cases. Sitting at a desk in a fifth-floor conference room, with a court assistant and a cart stacked with manila …
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The Short Sale Alternative
The Short Sale Alternative When newlyweds Justin and Rebecca Rakitin starting shopping for their first home in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area last year they assumed the process would be quick and easy, with a $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit at their disposal and ‘For Sale’ signs littering every block. In fact, most of the …
After Foreclosure Problems, Homeowners’ Eyes Move to Title Insurance
After Foreclosure, a Focus on Title Insurance When home buyers and people refinancing their mortgages first see the itemized estimate for all the closing costs and fees, the largest number is often for title insurance. This moment is often profoundly irritating, mysterious and rushed — just like so much of the home-buying process. Lenders require …
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Robo-signing controversy could derail nation’s entire foreclosure process
What began as scattered accusations of shoddy paperwork and fudged documents is mushrooming into a full-blown crisis threatening to derail the foreclosure process across the country. Bank of America on Friday became the first big bank to temporarily halt foreclosures in all 50 states while it reviews hundreds of thousands of cases for potential paperwork …
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