News

RealtyTrac released its October 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report today, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions — were reported on 279,561 U.

Craig Long LLC, a real estate law firm with offices in Cumming and McDonough, Georgia, announced today that Ashley Carroll has joined the firm as an associate attorney. In this role, Carroll will conduct closings and handle other general legal practice matters for the firm’s McDonough office.

Today’s tumultuous housing market can be a dangerous place for the brokers, agents, and field inspectors who must walk into foreclosed and REO properties on a daily basis. Occupied or vacant, these properties represent unfamiliar territory often rife with unknown peril.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced this afternoon that the government’s plan to purchase financial institutions’ under-performing mortgages has been put on hold. In fact, based on Paulson’s remarks, it is unlikely that the Treasury will conduct any auctions to purchase bad loans and other troubled assets – the original intention of the $700 billion bailout package.

Home values in the United States posted their seventh consecutive quarterly decline, falling 9.7 percent year-over-year to a Zillow Home Value Index of $202,966, according to the third quarter Zillow Real Estate Market Reports released today.

Following suit behind other national lenders such as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup said on Monday that it is stopping foreclosures on borrowers who occupy their property as a principal residence and have enough income to keep up lower, renegotiated mortgage payments.

Government officials and mortgage industry leaders announced a major initiative Tuesday that is designed to stem the growing number of foreclosures on a national scale by streamlining loan modifications to put struggling homeowners into sustainable mortgages.

Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland and Ocwen Financial Corporation, a servicer of subprime mortgages, have signed a compact that is designed to reduce foreclosures and keep Maryland homeowners in their homes.

A Colorado regulator who has led previous crackdowns on captive reinsurance agreements and sham affiliated business arrangements says she has grave concerns about the legality of real estate marketing agreements.

Foreclosures fell for the second month in a row in October to nationwide lows not seen since last February, according to the latest U.S. Foreclosure Index from ForeclosureS.com. Nationally, October pre-foreclosure filings — which can include notice of default and/or foreclosure auction — were down more than 10 percent from August’s highs, and nearly 7 percent from September’s numbers.