Foreclosure | featured news

Changing the face of foreclosure in America will take some time, several state attorneys general said Wednesday, cautioning that an agreement with major lenders over revamped foreclosure practices was not imminent. "We want to move as quickly as possibly but it has to be done right," said Roy Cooper, the attorney general of North Carolina. "We have plowed this ground before."Ever since the law enforcement officials from all 50 states signed on last month to a highly publicized investigation of big mortgage lenders, there has been a public tug of war.

The number of U.S. homes taken over by banks fell 9 percent in October as foreclosure processing was stalled by questionable paperwork, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

The nation's economic stress fell in September to a 16-month low, thanks to more hiring in New England, fewer foreclosures in the mid-Atlantic and declining bankruptcy filings in the Southeast, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis of conditions around the country.

Grocery store owners William and Esperanza Casco were making enough money to stay current on their mortgage, but when JPMorgan Chase & Co. offered a plan that reduced their payments, they figured they could use the extra cash and signed up.

The mortgage-finance company warned that foreclosure delays could lead to higher costs, as it asked the Treasury to provide a $2.5 billion infusion.

The jump from the previous quarter is the first time the measure has increased since early 2009, according to data from MDA DataQuick. However, the numbers are down from the same period last year.

The Federal Reserve chairman says the review is 'seeking to determine whether systematic weaknesses are leading to improper foreclosures.'

Bank of America for the first time acknowledged finding some mistakes in foreclosure files as it begins a thorough review of 102,000 cases.

With one out of every 245 Minnesota housing units in foreclosure during September, news has broken that Wells Fargo, along with other big banks, may have helped push some homeowners off properties with the use of "robo signers."And the bank, with deep ties to Minnesota, has no intention of changing its ways.

The number of U.S. homes taken over by banks topped 100,000 for the first time in September, though foreclosures are expected to slow in coming months as lenders work through questionable paperwork, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.