Helping Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure
More on Helping Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure
by Zach Carter and Ryan Grim
Despite mounting evidence of big banks committing serious fraud in the foreclosure process, the U.S. Senate eliminated $35 million in legal aid to homeowners trying to keep their homes.
by Steven Gillan
The week of Nov. 15-19 was a big week in Washington D.C. for troubled homeowners, housing counselors and anyone in the mortgage industry who cares about what is happening to real estate in this country — or it should have been.
The Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Service's Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held hearings that week to get a handle on foreclosure issues.
By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Members of Congress criticized federal regulators for failing to recognize problems with the nation's foreclosure system before they were brought to light by media reports, and they called for an examination into whether these issues present a systemic risk to the financial system.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) during a House subcommittee hearing said that a newly created group of senior financial regulators, known as the Financial Stability Oversight Council, should assess the potential impact on the broader economy.
GOP worry that focus on paperwork problems delays recovery
By Ronald D. Orol
The head of a congressional housing committee on Thursday said the Treasury Department hasn't done enough to push lenders to modify mortgages that are close to default.
By Lorraine Woellert and Clea Benson
U.S. House lawmakers criticized the Obama administration's program to prevent foreclosures as a Treasury Department official testified that the initiative has reduced monthly mortgage payments for almost 520,000 homeowners.
Phyllis Caldwell, chief of the Treasury's Homeownership Preservation Office, told House Financial Services Committee members at a hearing today that the number of borrowers aided by the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program had grown from the 495,898 reported in September.