A method of property transfer that has been used in other areas of the country has come to New Orleans:
KEYS FOR CASH!
Sounds like a TV game show, but it isn’t.
With the increase in foreclosures, many lenders are looking for new and less abrupt way to get the former owners of a foreclosed upon house out of the house.
Under [...]

The Senate, in a vote of 45 -51, rejected the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009.
This bill would have allowed bankruptcy court judges to help families to save their homes from foreclosure by restructuring home mortgages, known as a “cram down”.
Follow this link to see how your State’s Senator voted:
Senate Vote

Bigelow Homes, a residential home builder with developments in Illinois and Texas, has announced what it calls the “Recession Proof House”.
Bigelow is following the lead of many automobile manufacturers in offering to pay the buyer’s mortgage if the buyer becomes unemployed. 
In an additional effort to improve sales, Bigelow is also offering:

No down payment financing.
A guarantee that the [...]

In her article “House Vote on Help for Homeowners Delayed”, South Carolina consumer bankruptcy lawyer  Däna Wilkinson reports that a scheduled vote on a bill that would give bankruptcy judges the ability to restructure home mortgages was delayed after a group of so-called moderate Democrats expressed concerns about how the bill would affect homeowners who are not facing bankruptcy [...]

American Banker is reporting that the number of home foreclosures could soon “explode” as a moratorium that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac put on foreclosure sales and evictions in late November is scheduled to expire.
At the time of the November 2008 moratorium Freddie Mac had somewhere between 5,000 to 6,000 loans scheduled for foreclosure, and [...]

On Thursday Fannie Mae announced that it will suspend foreclosures scheduled to occur from November 26, 2008 through January 9, 2009.
The temporary suspension of foreclosures will allow Fannie Mae to implement a loan modification program scheduled to begin on December 15, 2008.
Loan servicers and foreclosure attorneys for Fannie Mae were also directed to suspend foreclosure sales on occupied single-family [...]

There is no doubt that a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop a lender from continuing a proceeding to foreclose on your house.  But how does a bankruptcy affect the long term chances of keeping your house?
Well, the Federal Reserve has weighed in on this topic.
In a paper entitled:  “The Homeownership Experience of Households in Bankruptcy” the [...]

Do you own investment property or vacation property that is mortgaged? 
Do you know if your mortgage company has a correct address to contact you for notices involving your mortgage? 
More importantly, does your mortgage company have a correct address to have you served with a lawsuit if it decides to foreclose on your property?
For investment property and vacation [...]

Eugene S. Melchionne in his article entitled:  “Is A Reverse Mortgage Right For You?” provides a excellent summary of the pros and cons of the reverse mortgage and is necessary reading if you are considering a reverse mortgage.
So what if you have weighed the pros and cons and have decided to get a reverse mortgage!  Should [...]

 
A recent report on National Public  Radio focused on a scam wherein people at risk of foreclosure on their home inadvertently give away their home to scam artists.
These scam artists, holding themselves out as providing Foreclosure Rescue, prey upon people who are about to lose their homes.
Under these scams the owner is lead to believe that  he is signing [...]