Housing Market, Foreclosure | featured news

Bank of America said Friday it would reduce by about $100,000 the amount owed by as many as 200,000 underwater homeowners as part of the recently announced government foreclosure settlement with top mortgage servicers.

The number of Americans at risk of foreclosure is declining, as more homeowners climb out of debt and find steady work.

The U.S. government said on Thursday that the biggest U.S. banks will provide $25 billion in relief to distressed homeowners and states, as officials hold lenders responsible for taking illegal shortcuts during foreclosures and other mortgage paperwork.

California's attorney general said on Thursday her state will receive up to $18 billion in benefits under a federal-state mortgage settlement to be announced later today.

Court hearings meant to protect New York homeowners from foreclosure are hopelessly slowed by endless paperwork and requests for additional information.

As the nation's five largest mortgage lenders edge close to a $25 billion settlement over foreclosure abuses, it's becoming clear that the deal will have little or no impact on their future bottom lines.

More and more, homeowners say that mortgages they thought were dead and buried are springing back to life, sometimes haunting them all the way into foreclosure.

With U.S. unemployment at a lofty 8.6 percent, home foreclosures rising and property prices under pressure, more and more Americans have given up the dream of owning, opting instead to rent, a shift that is remaking the face of the U.S. housing industry.

The Occupy Wall Street protests are moving into the neighborhood. Finding it increasingly difficult to camp in public spaces, Occupy protesters across the country are reclaiming foreclosed homes and boarded-up properties, signaling a tactical shift for the movement against wealth inequality.

Massachusetts' top lawmaker has sued five top U.S. banks for allegedly foreclosing illegally on homes in the state and for deceptive loan servicing, including robo-signing.