Renting vs. Buying in Foreclosure Era: Trulia’s New Indices

As the foreclosure crisis persists and a moderate economic recovery hangs on, more Americans are asking themselves: Is it cheaper to rent or buy a home? One real estate research site has come up with a formula to help solve that puzzle in key U.S. cities.

Bank of America Expands Foreclosure Help in Nevada

Bank of America has opened the first of three centers in Nevada to assist homeowners seeking mortgage modifications to avoid foreclosure. With the acquisition of Countrywide in 2008, Bank of America now services about one in every three mortgage loans in Nevada, a state with communities plagued by the foreclosure crisis.

Mortgage Servicers Converge in ‘Waterfall’ of Foreclosure Fixes

Before the financial crisis and the “avalanche” of mortgage delinquencies that began in 2007, loan modifications to prevent foreclosures were case-by-case and disconnected efforts by mortgage servicers.

Badly Overdue Mortgages, Foreclosures Stay at Record Highs

Borrowers seriously delinquent on their mortgages – those at least 90 days late – and those in foreclosure continued at historically high percentages in the first quarter of 2010, while shorter-term delinquencies showed a possible plateau – a potential bright spot in an otherwise troubling report by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

More Details on Foreclosure Prevention Plan for Unemployed

The Obama Administration’s new foreclosure prevention assistance for the unemployed becomes effective July 1, but newly released criteria gives several conditions before a homeowner can qualify. The program was announced by President Obama in March, part of an expansion of the troubled Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP.

Cancelled Mortgage Relief Trials Soar 80% in April: HAMP

The number of cancelled mortgage reduction trials under the government’s foreclosure prevention effort surged 122,467, or 80 percent, in April – compared to a 29.5 percent increase in borrowers approved out of the trial phase and into a reduced-payment program.

Bank of America: Mortgage Modification Trials Slowing

Bank of America said it approved another 24,000 mortgage payment reductions in April, bringing its total effort under the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program to 56,400 borrowers offered full-term assistance. But the bank cautioned that it is seeing the beginning of a decrease in the number of active trial modifications, in part because of stricter HAMP requirements.

Total Foreclosure Filings Drop; Bank Repos Set New High

Foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 333,837 properties in April, a 9 percent decrease from the previous month and a 2 percent decrease from April 2009, according to RealtyTrac’s monthly update. It was the first year-over-year drop since RealtyTrac started tracking foreclosure filings in January 2006.

Chase Plans Foreclosure Prevention ‘Events’ in 8 Markets

Chase said today its counselors will work with struggling homeowners “as long as 12 hours a day” at special events intended to prevent borrowers from falling into foreclosure. Chase and other top mortgage lenders, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, have initiated several assistance programs in the face of an unabated foreclosure crisis, with a growing number of homeowners owing more than the value of their property.

Freddie Mac: Consider ‘Social’ Cost of Strategic Foreclosures

When factoring in monthly payments and the future time horizon on a severely underwater mortgage, more homeowners with sufficient incomes and good credit are strategically defaulting, or “walking away” and toward foreclosure. But are these borrowers who are still caught up in the housing market collapse considering the social cost of such a move?

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