The year 2008 rung in more foreclosure activity with lenders repossessing about three out of every 1,000 households this year, according to foreclosure data provider ForeclosureS.com. ForeclosureS.com said in its latest report that, so far this year, 210,280 homeowners have lost their homes to foreclosure.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based mortgage brokerage 1st Metropolitan Mortgage says low interest rates, a changing philosophy in the mortgage marketplace and a new interest in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans have prompted the company to weigh heavily on FHA origination.

Recent law school graduates and attorneys with experience in bankruptcy, litigation, ethics and corporate governance could find a silver lining in the clouds of the subprime credit crisis with more than half of law firms and corporate legal departments expecting to increase their staffing in the next 12 months, according to a new report from legal staffing giant Robert Half Legal.

If you thought The War of the Roses was just a movie, think again. Apparently, a couple fighting over assets—namely a house—and doing so at the detriment of their own health, or the health of their real estate, is not fiction after all.

Fitch Ratings has made the decision to downgrade certain ratings for The First American Corp., according to a press release issued this week. Fitch says First American’s issuer default rating has been slashed from a ‘BBB+’ rating to ‘BBB,’ and its senior unsecured debt has been cut from ‘BBB’ to ‘BBB-’.

Bellevue, Washington-based Routh, Crabtree, Olsen, P.S., a law firm that serves a variety of financial institutions, credit unions and investors on the West Coast, has hired two new associates and an escrow closings manager.

The recent signature of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley on a piece of legislation has expanded the entire foreclosure timeline that attorneys adhere to in the East Coast state from somewhere between 35 to 45 days to 45 to 115 days.

The 2008 Foreclosure Prevention Act (Senate Bill 2636) passed the U.S. Senate after Senators voted 84 to 12 Thursday in favor of the legislation. The bill passed despite opposition from various industry and consumer advocacy groups, as well as the White House, which claimed earlier in the week that the bill favors the use of taxpayer money to bail out investors and lenders over solutions that would support additional aid for distressed borrowers.

Thirteen of the nation’s largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are at serious risk of experiencing significant declines in home values over the next two years, according to the latest Spring 2008 U.

Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, has announced a strategic partnership with Bellevue, Washington-based Reliance Network LLC company that offers Web-based applications for the benefit of real estate professionals, companies and agents.