mortgage modifications

Wells Fargo still won't admit it, but its employees' testimony makes it clear that, like GMAC, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and OneWest Bank, they have a problem with their foreclosure documents. But the solution isn't just a better documentation process: It's time to bring back cram downs.

Several data points this week confirm an ominous new trend among desperate consumers: They have stopped paying their mortgages but they're continuing to pay off their credit cards so they can keep buying staples, like food.

Michael Feder of Radar Logic thinks it does. And he adds that the federal government, which has underwritten or guaranteed almost every new mortgage since the financial crisis began, is in a precarious position itself. But Feder offers one possible solution.

If you get turned down for a permanent mortgage loan modification, is filing a lawsuit against your bank the way to go? Not enough data in to spot a trend, but news out of Boston Wednesday does suggest a relatively new approach that more distressed homeowners may eventually wish to try: suing.

So-called "forensic audits" are often nothing more than con games bilking distressed homeowners out of money they certainly can't afford to just toss away. One high-ranking California law enforcement official is trying to steer people away from them. Former California governor, turned current...

Mortgage modifications have turned out to be far more difficult than the Obama administration apparently initially thought they'd be. Many homeowners complain they can't get lenders to award them permanent modifications after a required three-month trial. Servicers often blame the borrowers for...

Here is a gift that can keep on giving. But it may be as elusive as landing a Zhu Zhu toy for your kid by Christmas. If you're struggling to make home-mortgage payments and losing your home is a real possibility, some banks are offering sweet deals on loans, some with rates as low as 2%, according...

Citigroup (C) has hired 1,400 more employees to ramp up its mortgage modification troops and work more quickly with homeowners who could benefit from President Obama's Home Affordable Modification Program. But, unfortunately for many homeowners, it may be too little too late. Banks have been...

When I moved to Florida to be closer to my mom after my dad died, I never expected to be buying into what would become a toxic asset waste dump. Luckily, I bought my home in 2004, before the housing bubble inflated between 2005 and 2007. Surprisingly, I still have a paper profit in Central Florida,...