Magazine

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has sued the Federal Housing Finance Agency and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, alleging the companies' refusal to engage in foreclosure buyback programs is "unfairly and illegally causing Massachusetts families to lose their homes."

Foreclosures continue to be a national problem, and one metro's City Attorney thinks a large chunk of the problem came from discrimination. Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer is suing one of the nation's largest banks, JPMorgan Chase, alleging the bank engaged in discriminatory lending.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced the latest victory in its ongoing effort to protect taxpayers by combating fraud, waste, and abuse connected with the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Michael Edward Filmore of Chesterfield, Missouri was sentenced to four years in federal prison and ordered to pay $6.5 million in restitution for defrauding Pulaski Bank.

The FDIC announced the closure of another bank, noting that Slavie Federal Savings Bank of Bel Air, Maryland has been closed. The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Bay Bank, FSB of Lutherville, Maryland to assume all the deposits of the recently shuttered Slavie Federal Savings Bank.

In Michigan, DLS Servicing Consultants and WorkSmart Database Masters have come together to release WaterfallCalc.com, a new Web-based Waterfall loss mitigation program for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced that Steven Pitchersky of Rancho Mirage, California was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for a scheme to defraud GMAC Inc., since rebranded as Ally. Through his fraudulent actions, the company incurred losses of approximately $5.3 million.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered RealtySouth to pay a civil penalty of $500,000 for inadequate disclosures. The largest real estate firm in Alabama was charged with leaving consumers unaware of their rights to choose service providers during the home-buying process.

Columbia Savings Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio was closed by the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions, which appointed the FDIC as receiver. The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with United Fidelity Bank of Evansville, Indiana to assume the failed bank's deposits.

Homes are selling faster and at higher prices in the metropolitan Chicago real estate market in April, according to a recent analysis of market activity by RE/MAX. However, sales of distressed homes, either through foreclosure or short sales, fell off steeply for the month as the housing market continued to work through the foreclosure process.

In a recent ranking of the best beach town's by RealtyTrac, Hawaii held a slim majority over California and Florida with 11 of the top 20 beach markets in the nation. The company based its selections on four criteria: average temperature, percentage of sunny days, percentage of days with good air quality, and crime rates.