Sleazy Real Estate Developers' Latest Scam Could Skim 5 Percent Off Your Home's Value | | AlterNet

Sleazy Real Estate Developers' Latest Scam Could Skim 5 Percent Off Your Home's Value | | AlterNet

And of course they are talking about private transfer fees, as we have been doing here for some time.

BofA halts foreclosure sales in 50 states

BofA halts foreclosure sales in 50 states

Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp., the nation's largest bank, said Friday it would stop sales of foreclosed homes in all 50 states as it reviews documents used to process foreclosures. A week earlier, the company had said it would only stop such sales in the 23 states where foreclosures must be approved by a judge.

"We will stop foreclosure sales until our assessment has been satisfactorily completed," company spokesman Dan Frahm said in a statement. "Our ongoing assessment shows the basis for our past foreclosure decisions is accurate."

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This appears to be the beginnings of a foreclosure holiday with lenders finally realizing that mass foreclosures aren't benefiting anyone and may well exacerbate and extend weak economic conditions, leading to even more non performing mortgages in a classic unvirtuous cycle. The legal brouhaha over the validity of foreclosure documents provides a convenient and face saving rationale for a hiatus on foreclosures. Lenders may also be realizing that their notes could be more easily recoverable and worth more in the future when the legal and economic climate is less uncertain.

The other foreclosure crisis gets more press

Fox Business: Can my homeowners association really foreclose on my home?

In California, for example, associations may begin the foreclosure process only 75 days after a missed payment was first due, while a tax collector must wait five years before beginning the foreclosure process for a tax lien. Associations are not required to go through a court to foreclose, as a property owner would to evict a tenant. Also, homeowners do not receive the benefit of the homestead exemption when their house is foreclosed upon by an association, as they would in the case of any other money judgment.
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Yes, it can. The mortgage foreclosure crisis has gotten a lot of press. Now so are foreclosures by HOAs, which by comparison to lender foreclosures come far faster and less mercifully -- and well before the tax man comes calling for delinquent property taxes.

Nonprofits Unable To Keep Up With Growing Suburban Poverty, New Reports Say

Nonprofits Unable To Keep Up With Growing Suburban Poverty, New Reports Say: "two analyses released this week by the Brookings Institution show suburban poverty has skyrocketed in recent years and the way in which social services are lagging behind this shift."

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Nobody likes the suburbs except suburbanites...who are the majority of the US population.

Obama won't sign bill that would affect foreclosure proceedings

Obama won't sign bill that would affect foreclosure proceedings: "At least 10 states - with Iowa and Delaware being the latest - are seeking to expand a voluntary freeze on foreclosures by some of the nation's largest mortgage lenders to include more companies and more regions. And calls have increased for a nationwide moratorium - a move that could deal a blow to the earnings of big banks and grind to a halt the sale of millions of properties in foreclosure."

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I hear from real estate attorneys that banks have been holding off on foreclosing because they have too much REO property already and they can't sell it, so they don't want to acquire more and put it on the market, which would only drive prices down further. But even with that voluntary restraint, the foreclosure process is hopelessly glutted and gridlocked.

Suburbs take hit as US poverty climbs in downturn

Suburbs take hit as US poverty climbs in downturn

More than half, or 57, of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas had substantial increases in poverty. They were most evident in Sun Belt suburban areas including Modesto and Riverside, both in California, as well as Lakeland, Fla.; Orlando; Miami and Tampa, which had seen large population gains during the housing boom.
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That's Privatopia and this negative trend may at least partly explain why lots of HOAs are coming up short on assessments.