The House Financial Services Committee is considering a bill to ease the pressure that unsold inventories of vacant, foreclosed homes are putting on the housing market. The Neighborhood Preservation Act would authorize FDIC-member banks, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to enter into five-year lease agreements to rent REO properties back to the foreclosed homeowner. News surfaced last month that the administration was considering such a policy for Fannie and Freddie, but a group of bipartisan U.S. representatives want to enact it with legislation.

First American Title Insurance Company has named Kurt Pfotenhauer EVP and vice chairman, responsible for maintaining executive-level relationships with the nation's largest money center banks and assisting with political and legislative relations for the corporation. First American Title also announced that it has added two key executives to its mortgage services division. Christos Bettios has been named chief information officer of the business unit and Steven Ferringer has been appointed SVP of enterprise relations.

Federal and state regulators shut down three more community-based lenders over the weekend in Indiana, South Carolina, and Virginia. With this latest round of closings, the FDIC's failed-bank list has grown to 61 for the 2011 calendar year. Integra Bank, N.A. in Evansville, Indiana, was the largest of this weekend's seizures, with 52 branches, $1.9 billion in deposits, and assets totaling $2.2 billion. It was taken over by Old National Bank, also in Indiana.

The nation's housing crisis has forced unprecedented numbers of homeowners out of their homes, made for a difficult homebuying environment, and tainted many Americans' ideal of owning a home. These factors are taking their toll on homeownership in this country. The Census Bureau says homeownership in the United States has fallen to its lowest level in more than 13 years, slipping to 65.9 percent in the second quarter. The increase in the homeownership rate seen during the housing boom has been more than completely wiped out by the bust.

What many consider to be a staple of American homeownership is expected to be on the chopping block as lawmakers look to trim the nation's deficit. The prized mortgage interest tax deduction has been part of the federal tax code since 1913. Currently, it costs the U.S. Treasury an estimated $94 billion a year. Congress has tossed around several proposals for amending this part of the federal tax code, including lowering the debt limit to $500,000 on first mortgages. Such a move is estimated to return between $5 billion and $15 billion.

The Chicago City Council has passed a local statute that will make lenders liable for the upkeep of vacant homes even when the borrower still holds the title. The ordinance was approved unanimously by council members. It amends the definition of a ""property owner"" in the municipal code to include an entity who holds a mortgage on the property, which means lenders are liable for routine maintenance and repairs even prior to foreclosing and taking control of the title if the borrower abandons the home.

Wells Fargo and the National Urban League have released the second edition of ""The Foreclosure Workbook: The Complete Guide to Understanding Foreclosure and Saving Your Home."" The resource offers information to aid homeowners behind on their mortgage payments. Through its affiliates that manage homeownership and foreclosure prevention programs, the Urban League will distribute about 7,500 copies of this latest edition to distressed homeowners across the country.

CoreLogic has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its India-based operations, CoreLogic Global Services Private Ltd., to Cognizant. Cognizant is an information technology, consulting, and outsourcing firm headquartered in New Jersey with a large presence in India already. The deal will net CoreLogic approximately $50 million in cash, plus adjustments for working capital. The transaction is expected to close next month.

Geoffrey Milne has been recognized as a 2011 Super Lawyer in Connecticut for the area of business litigation. Milne is a partner at Hartford, Connecticut-based Hunt Leibert Jacobson, P.C., which provides legal representation in finance, foreclosure, bankruptcy, and mortgage-related litigation in both state and federal courts throughout Connecticut.

Economic activity continues to grow but the pace has moderated in many parts of the country, weighed down by a persistent weakness in the residential real estate sector, according to the latest market-gauging Beige Book from the Federal Reserve. Contacts in the Boston district said housing markets ""remain in the doldrums."" A pickup in sales of higher-priced homes was evident in the D.C. area. In the Kansas City region, they're seeing an increase in all-cash purchases of existing homes, while demand in the Dallas district was described as ""choppy.""