Housing Market, Foreclosure | featured news

The Obama administration’s effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure may not achieve its goal of helping 3 million to 4 million borrowers, a government watchdog group says.

Jump comes despite extensive federal program aimed at helping borrowers stay in their homes.

With foreclosures rising and mortgage companies flooded with borrowers in trouble, is it a good idea to just pay the thing off if you can afford to? The Answer Desk, by John W. Schoen.

U.S. home loans failed at a record pace in July despite ongoing federal and state programs to avoid foreclosures, which have severely strained housing and the economy.

Many mortgage companies are reluctant to give strapped homeowners a break because the companies collect lucrative fees on delinquent loans.

U.S. home foreclosure activity galloped to a record in the first half of the year, overwhelming broad efforts to remedy failing loans while job losses escalated.

U.S. officials are weighing a plan to let borrowers who have fallen behind on mortgage payments avoid eviction by renting their home instead, sources familiar with the administration's thinking said on Tuesday.

If nothing else, the legal maneuver will buy them some breathing room. But it also will destroy their credit rating, and it may not even be necessary.

To most people, bankruptcy is a four-letter word.

Existing home sales in the U.S. rose in May for a second month as record foreclosures caused prices to drop.

Housing advocates who work with homeowners say that while President Obama’s loan modification program could help thousands of New Yorkers, it has been slow to get off the ground.