Foreclosures

Guess What Wall Street's Doing With Foreclosed Homes?

Despite the new housing construction boom, there are still lots of empty foreclosures out there, which banks have been trying to rent. But now, Wall Street wants to bundle those rental properties into securities and sell them to investors. Does this sound disturbingly familiar?

Late-Payment Rate on U.S. Mortgages Hits 4-Year Low

Homeowners who took on mortgages well after the housing bubble burst are doing a better job in keeping up with payments, a trend that has helped push the national rate of late payments on home loans to the lowest level in four years.

Home Prices Rose in December by Most Since May 2006

U.S. home prices rose 8.3 percent in December compared with a year earlier, according to data Tuesday from CoreLogic, a real estate data provider. That is the biggest annual gain since May 2006. Prices rose last year in 46 of 50 states.

10 Top Banks Agree to Pay $8.5 Billion for Foreclosure Abuses

Ten major banks and mortgage companies have agreed to pay $8.5 billion to settle complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners. Under the settlement, people who were wrongfully foreclosed on could receive from a few hundred dollars up to $125,000.

Fighting Off Foreclosure: One Woman's Three-Year Ordeal

When even a single home goes into foreclosure, the effects can be far reaching. In the case of Dee, when she faced foreclosure on her home in Prince George's County, Maryland, the potential hardship extended well beyond her immediate family.

Foreclosures Fall to 5-Year Low

The wave of foreclosures hitting the nation's housing market has been much less severe than anticipated, with foreclosure filings at their lowest level in five years last month, according to a report out Thursday.

Credit Card Debt Payoff: How She Shed $32,000 in 22 Months

In 2008, when the foreclosure crisis was raging, Simone Griffin spent her days counseling homeowners behind on their mortgage payments, and her nights worrying about the precarious state of her own finances: $32,000 in debt on two credit cards. Then came her "scared straight" moment.

Home Prices Rose in 20 Major U.S. Cities in July

Home prices kept rising in July across the United States, buoyed by greater sales and fewer foreclosures. National home prices increased 1.2 percent in July, compared to the same month last year.

Economy by the Numbers: Are We Better Off Than We Were in 2008?

This fall, as Americans prepare to mark their ballots, Republicans are hoping that voters' minds will be focused on one (and only one) simple question: Are you better off today than you were four years ago? Unfortunately for the GOP, the answer isn't quite as clear as they'd like.

Did Capital One Target Deployed Soldiers for Foreclosure?

Legally, banks are forbidden to foreclose on the homes of our nation's deployed servicemembers, and they're supposed to cut them a break on credit card interest, too. Seems Capital One has been breaking those rules -- but it may not be a scandal.

Vegas Realty Crisis, Meet Reality TV: CNBC Flips Over Foreclosures

If America's subprime mortgage crisis was an earthquake, Las Vegas would be the epicenter: No U.S. city has suffered more. But all that devastation makes for great TV. Or at least CNBC hopes so, because it's mining that economic disaster for "Flipping Wars: Vegas."

Payments for Bad Foreclosures Are No Undeserved Windfall

Since the housing crash, millions of Americans have lost their homes, many of them victims of improper foreclosures. Now, those unfairly evicted homeowners are getting compensation. But don't be concerned that they're getting more than they deserve.

Foreclosures Were 26% of Home Sales in Q1 as Short Sales Rose

Homes in some stage of the foreclosure process saw their share of U.S. home sales grow in the first quarter even as sales of bank-owned homes fell. The increase was driven by a spike in short sales, or homes that sell for less than what the owner owed on their mortgage.

Teen's Facebook Posting Gets Her Mom's House Robbed

An Australian newspaper reports that a 17-year-old was helping her grandma count her savings when she decided to snap a photo of some wads of cash and post it to Facebook. Not long after, a pair of robbers arrived at her family's home.

6 Simple Reasons Why You Shouldn't Buy a Home

Houses are cheap. Interest rates are low. And the economy is improving. Even Warren Buffett says that housing might be the best investment today. So should you run out and buy a home? Not necessarily.

Car Loans Are Now Americans' No. 1 Bill-Paying Priority

The recession and its hangover have turned our bill-paying habits upside down. Cash-strapped Americans are paying off their car loans before they pay credit card bills and make mortgage payments, a TransUnion study finds.

Even God Can't Get a Loan: Church Foreclosures Soar

During the heady days of the real estate bubble, many congregations took out 5-year loans to refurbish and enlarge their churches. Now, with balloon payments due, real estate values down, and refinancing not an option, church foreclosures have hit record highs.

$25B Nationwide Mortgage Deal Goes to States

The nation's five largest mortgage lenders have agreed to overhaul their industry after deceptive foreclosure practices drove homeowners out of their homes, government officials said Monday. A draft settlement between the banks and U.S. states has been sent to state officials for review.