Massachusetts Foreclosure Laws
Boston Foreclosure Scams Targeted in New Initiative
Homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments beware: Some people promising help just want to grab your scarce dollars. That is the key message of a campaign launched in Massachusetts on Monday to alert homeowners to the proliferation of loan modification schemes nationwide. The campaign, backed by local, state, and federal agencies, urges owners not to [...]
Massachusetts Supreme Court to Review Massachusetts Foreclosures
The state Supreme Judicial Court will consider a contentious 2009 Land Court decision that has called into question the validity of hundreds, if not thousands, of foreclosure sales in Massachusetts. The seven-member court said Monday it will take on the so-called Ibanez case through a process that allows it to bypass the Appeals Court. The [...]
Bank of America To Help Avert Massachusetts Foreclosures
I’ve been rough on Bank of America (BAC) in recent months over its failure to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. So it’s encouraging to see the financial giant saying that it will begin reducing the principal balance on mortgages for eligible borrowers. Cutting loan balances is perhaps the best way to keep people in their [...]
Is the Foreclosure Crisis in Massachusetts Ending or At Least Slowing?
The foreclosure mess is far from over. But there is a flurry of signs, some national, and one local, that we just might be finally reaching a turning point. On the macro level, the number of homeowners falling behind on their mortgages actually fell in the fourth quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Friday. Mortgages [...]
Newton Massachusetts Family Fights Foreclosure (video)
A Newton, Massachusetts mother is hoping the kindness of friends and strangers can help her keep her family home. When Elinor Beatrice met her husband Jeff 20 years ago, they each had children from previous marriages, but they would spend the coming years expanding their family even more. They raised 11 kids in the same [...]
Massachusetts Foreclosures fall by 30% year over year; Foreclosures in Massachusetts Rise 4% Over Quarters
The number of Bay State residents whose homes were seized by lenders increased from July through September compared to the previous quarter, but foreclosures have declined by nearly 30 percent year-over-year, according to a new report by the Warren Group. “Lenders are facing pressure from federal leaders to offer loan modifications to troubled homeowners, and [...]
Late Leap in Massachusetts Foreclosure Rates
The Bay State may not be a national leader when it comes to the foreclosure epidemic. That honor still rests with such boomtown states gone bust as Nevada, Arizona and California. That’s the good news. But let’s not get smug here. The latest numbers from RealtyTrac are out, and they don’t look good for Massachusetts. [...]
Massachusetts Foreclosure Sales Could Be Invalidated
A Massachusetts Land Court justice’s ruling today puts into question the ownership of hundreds — and possibly thousands — of foreclosed properties in the state. Justice Keith C. Long affirmed his own March decision that invalidated foreclosure proceedings involving two Springfield homes because the lenders did not hold clear titles to the properties at the [...]
Massachusetts Foreclosure and Subprime Mortgage Crisis
BOSTON — Where were Massachusetts banking regulators as the subprime mortgage crisis exploded all around them? An investigation by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting found Massachusetts lags far behind other New England states in the number of serious disciplinary actions against mortgage brokers. Jaime Alvarez has the face of a trusting man. The [...]
Harvard MBA Students Support Fight Against Massachusetts Foreclosure
The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) today announced that it was teaming up with students at Harvard Business School (HBS) to support the Foundation’s mission of preventing foreclosure and preserving homeownership. Beginning in the fall semester, students of the class of 2010 will work alongside the Homeownership Preservation Foundation in several independent field studies aimed at [...]