A settlement between big banks and the government is expected this week. Homeowners screwed by robo-signing and other sleazy scams may get $1,800 checks while up to a million with bloated mortgages may see the principles reduced. A new study based on a Louisville sample suggests that the high foreclosure rates in black neighborhoods is [...]

Foreclosure rates dropped by a third last year — but not because of better financial times for homeowners.  Fearing  federal  penalties for  sloppy or  fraudulent paperwork, bankers  slowed-down  their  lending processes, that  formerly included “robo signing.” In League City, the council narrowly  faced-down NIMBY opposition to a n affordable complex for seniors. For a pdf [...]

Anticipating a done-deal, government prosecutors are expanding an offer to banks to drop charges in exchange for billions of dollars to adjust mortgages for “under-water” homeowners. Meanwhile, Galveston shakers and movers find a new way to delay construction of public housing destroyed by Hurricane Ike three years ago. For a pdf version of the full [...]

As desperate families jostle for position in lines for public housing, Congress slashes federal housing programs by $3.8 billion. The housing shortage pre-dated the mortgage crisis and now the nationwide housing shortage is estimated at 3.5 million homes. For a pdf. version of the full articles, plus contextual stories on social, environmental and legal issues, [...]

Tuesday Report, Dec. 27, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Corruption in the nation’s banking industry is profoundly illuminated by the current mortgage debacle that came more in focus as one of the themes of Occupy protesters. As the Occupy Movement retreats in the harsh winter, new information reveals that federal [...]

Tuesday Report, Nov. 1, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service As retribution for sleazy mortgage deals, federal housing authorities contemplate forcing major banks to cut mortgage debts by up to $25 billion. Critics say the deal does not bring justice for the abuses by the mortgage industry. For a pdf version [...]

Tuesday Report, Oct. 4, 2011 Special to the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service The federal program to rescue “underwater” homeowners is shutting down after a terrible start and a system so mired in red tape that few qualified. The program had helped about half of the 30,000 targeted homeowners. For the few who qualify, [...]

Mortgage defaults soar as bankers bear down on marginal borrowers. The 33 percent spike comes as Bank of America loses a court battle with a vice president who was fired for reporting fraudulent loan practices. For a pdf version of the full stories, plus contextual articles in social, environmental and legal areas, contact Bo McCarver [...]

Economists present mixed views of the housing industry with some saying it will get worse before it gets better and others claim the inverse. Meanwhile, record-low interest rates do nothing to increase sales because thresholds for qualifying for loans are beyond the reach of most would-be homeowners. For a pdf version of the full stories, [...]

In order to increase the value of occupied houses, banks are now financing the demolition of some that aren’t. In Cleveland, big lenders will pay for half of the 700 houses schedule for demolition this year with the land going into a local land banking organization. For a pdf version of the full stories, plus [...]

Depressed home sales nationwide signal that the end of the recession is nowhere near. Record low interest rates at 3.75 percent mean little as incomes shrink and living expenses rise. In Texas, the head of TDHCA resigns amid accusations of slow progress in addressing housing losses from Hurricane Ike. Meanwhile, conservatives on Galveston Island continue [...]

Stale sales in the housing industry continue to spook builders as potential buyers are increasingly squeezed-out by the general economic turndown. Meanwhile, unsold houses are converted to rental units and solvent mortgage holders are refinancing at record-low rates. For a pdf version of the full stories, plus contextual articles in social, environmental and legal areas, [...]

As Congress finally acts, analysts are still pouring over the impacts of the debt-ceiling package — but a general belt-tightening is assured. The compromise includes spending cuts of $900 billion over 10 years on discretionary items — primarily education, housing and transportation programs. In Galveston, conservatives still fight the rebuilding of public housing on the [...]