Less than a week ago, President Bush signed a piece of legislation, or what could be called a piece of something else, which I will gladly explain later. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against helping individuals save their homes; as a matter of fact, I help people save their homes or stay [...]

“What’s next?” mythical television president Jedidiah Bartlett would ask, after solving one problem and moving on to the next crisis.  In the world of mortgage foreclosures, the “What’s next?” answer is Alt-A loans.  These loans were graded one step above the disasterous subprime loans that crashed the balance sheets of many companies.  The Alt-A loans were [...]

With foreclosures skyrocketing, many people are looking for ways out of their mortgages. Short sales are often used to avoid foreclosure. They do avoid foreclosure. But do they really benefit you, the homeowner?
In many cases, they benefit others, and can leave you and your credit worse off than filing for bankruptcy.
Here’s the inside scoop on [...]

Two names all over the news, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  We are about to be put on the hook for billions of dollars to keep them afloat.
This is necessary to keep the economy from failing, we are told.
I am sure it has nothing to do with the tens of millions of dollars Fannie and [...]

With foreclosures skyrocketing, many people are looking for ways out of their mortgages. Deeds in lieu of foreclosure are often used to avoid foreclosure. They do avoid foreclosure. But do they really benefit you, the homeowner? In many cases, they can leave you and your credit worse off than filing for bankruptcy.
Here’s the inside scoop [...]

Attorney General Brown of California has filed suit on behalf of the State suing Countrywide Financial for Mortgage abuses and deceptive practices.  The suit is one of the first of its kind in this day and age of sub-prime loans and soaring foreclosures.
The lawsuit alleges a number of abuses committed by Countrywide, chief among them [...]

In a recent article on the Maryland Bankruptcy Blog, I talk about the human cost of foreclosures–the emotional trauma that strikes even those who clean out foreclosed homes for the banks. The Human Cost of Foreclosure, also talks about a darker side of this trauma–suicide.
But, as the article notes, there is hope. Not only are [...]

It looks like Congress is poised to dispatch down payment assistance plans, programs whereby low income buyers can obtain a home loan backed by FHA without the need to save up a down payment on the purchase price.  Under these FHA approved programs, the down payment money is supplied by a non-profit housing assistance organization.  [...]

This weekend the New York Times published an article about the increased debt load carried by many Americans, and did a great job of explaining one of the primary reasons for the continuing mortgage and credit crisis, and why junk fees are increasing the cost of your home mortgage.
[B]ehind the big increase in consumer debt [...]

As a consumer lawyer who is actively fighting foreclosures on behalf of my clients, I discuss with my clients the different types of mortgages which they have signed onto. If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, the chances are pretty good that your interest rate is tied to LIBOR.
The question that I am most often [...]