FINALLY! There is some new news!

Found this new information online:

UPDATE (July 6, 2011): The final approval hearing was held on May 16, 2011. The Hon. Judge Norgle issued an order granting final approval of the settlement on July 1, 2011. The order becomes final in 30 days if there are no appeals. Class members could begin receiving payouts late this year. Please continue to visit this website for further updates.

This information came courtesy of "pissed-off consumer" and this information also appear's on the settlement's official website.

Suffice it to say that I am kind of PO'ed myself! Why a decision should take so long is beyond words! Now that the judge has made his final decision there is still another 30 days to go before the decision is final (bar-ing any appeals.

Now they tell us that we might get paid late this year????? How late will that be!

Ocwen Loan Servicing Takes Home from Handicapped Because There’s Equity!

Well it looks as though there is more bad news if you are one of the unfortunate people that still have a mortgage with Ocwen!

I was online looking to see if I could find out some more current information about the Ocwen Settlement - (so far I haven't)

I found this article online about how Ocwen is foreclosing on a home of a handicapped man and his family.

This information that was posted on someone's blog has some very good detail on how this whole thing happened - though I don't know at this time whether or not the home has actually been foreclosed on yet.

The blog also lets you comment and I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of people that read this blog post and are going to be outraged by what Ocwen has been doing!

To read the blog post just click the link below:


Ocwen Loan Servicing Takes Home from Handicapped Because There’s Equity!

Obama administration rejects nationwide foreclosure moratorium

I have to say that I am highly disappointed with the President's decision! So many people are losing their homes to foreclosure and I ask how in the world is that going to make our country better?????

As someone that researches government grants for a living, I have blogged about many government grant programs for those that are looking to buy their own home.

However one of the problems with some of these grant programs is that real estate investors apply for these same grant programs leaving legitimate homebuyers out in the dust!

I surely do hope that the President will change his mind on this!

You can read the article about this by clicking here.

Another Family Manages To Save Their Home!

Here is yet another story of a family who managed to save their home from foreclosure!

It seems that if you are subject to homeowner association fees, if you don't pay them then they can foreclose on your property. In this instance the family owned their home free and clear but the homeowner's association could foreclose on their property even though they owed less than $1000 on their homeowner's association fees! What makes this story even more sad is that the home, worth $300,000, was sold to a bidder for $3,500!

According to the article, "In Texas and about 30 other states, HOAs have the power to foreclose on your home if you fail to pay your home association dues, even if you own it free and clear". This has angered a lot of people and this particular story has brought it more into the light!

And then another fact included the fact that the husband was in the military. There is a federal law that protects those on active duty from certain legal and financial obligations, including foreclosure, without going to court. (To find out more about government grant programs and other financial aid programs for veterans please see my Grant Basics 101 Blog)

But this story has a happy ending! The family was able to come to a settlement agreement with the homeowner's association.

You can read the article for yourself by clicking here.

Another source of money is unclaimed money. You can find out more about unclaimed money by visiting my blog, The Unclaimed Money Blog

I Hope You Find This Article Helpful

For those of you that have an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) and your mortgage payments are getting higher and higher - to the point that you may not be able to pay - I hope that you find the article link below helpful!

It seems that even if one has a bad or low credit score that there still may be help available for you if you need to refinance your mortgage.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage Help

Here Is Another Link To An Article That I Hope You Find Helpful.

Here is a link to another article that I hope that you will find useful.

It seems that there are so many more foreclosure sales being reported all around the United States that any information that one can find to help them avoid foreclosure would be helpful.

It May Be A Good Time For Buying Real Estate But........

I was just watching a news segment about how people were able to buy property at well below the market value of the property. For instance one family bought a home for around $175k but the house was appraised at $250k!

In the interview one of the family members said how they knew that the home was a foreclosure and that while they felt sorry for the people that lost their home, they felt that "their loss was their gain".

I really don't agree with this though because there are just too many people losing their homes to foreclosure! And while this particular news story talked about who was able to buy the home, they didn't mention anything about who it was that lost the home in the first place!

On a more positive note I saw on one of the public access channels that there is a grassroots organization in Philadelphia that is helping people who are being faced with foreclosure. They are staging some kind of anti-eviction campaign where they will try to help the homeowners stay in their homes. (Hopefully if I find out more about this organization, I will post more about them here.)

Some Hope And Some Help (at least for a while)....

Here is a link to an online article about some homes managing to hold off being foreclosed on at least for during the holidays.

It seems that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending some scheduled foreclosures until mid January 2009 while they re-evaluate those home loans.

I'm sure that this is a welcomed gesture for the 16,000 homes and the families that live in them!



Here is a link to the article

Help For Those Facing Foreclosure In Minnesota?

Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday announced initiatives aimed at reducing home foreclosures statewide, including a "pact" that encourages lenders to negotiate with high-risk borrowers.

In addition, the state is sponsoring a series of home foreclosure workshops and has established a hotline for loan counselors. Minnesota also will make third-party mediators available to lenders and homeowners who are renegotiating loan agreements. Mediators will be funded through state grants, Pawlenty said.

The state also has asked lenders to sign the Minnesota Foreclosure Prevention Compact. Participants in the pact agree to work with foreclosure prevention counselors, contact high-risk borrowers and make an effort to modify loans. Members also agree to report progress on loan modifications to the state.

The number of home foreclosures in Minnesota reached 20,573 in 2007, up 84 percent compared to the prior year, Pawlenty reported in a press statement.

Last week, the City of St. Paul stepped up efforts to get lenders to fix and sell foreclosed homes scattered across the city.

The city sent letters to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Wells Fargo & Co., U.S. Bancorp, Deutsche Bank and HSBC Bank USA. It also sent a letter to MERS, which owns an electronic mortgage registry system.

There are roughly 1,700 registered vacant properties in St. Paul, Mayor Chris Coleman said in a statement.

source
Biz Journals.com

Reverse Mortgage?

I was listening to one of my local radio community talk shows and they were talking about reverse mortgages.

The definition of a reverse mortgage is a loan giving a senior homeowner the ability to change home equity into cash. Usually no payments are due until the senior moves, passes away, or the home is sold. The loan is due when the senior dies, moves, or sells. The final payment is calculated to not exceed the home's selling price.

It sounds like a good idea for those seniors that are having trouble with making their mortgage payments BUT before you decide to take advantage of this kind of mortgage please check it out first!

It may help if you listened to the same program that I was listening to. It is a local community talk radio show called "The Empowerment Zone" and it is heard on Saturdays at 4pm to 5pm on WURD-900 am. Since this radio station has an online website you can listen to the radio program via the internet even if you are located outside the Philadelphia area!

Here is more information on this radio station:

900AM WURD
1341 N. Delaware Avenue
Suite 300
Philadelphia, PA 19125

Office Hours: 9am - 5pm EST
Phone: 215-425-7875
Fax: 215-634-6003

Sources For Extra Money?

If you are looking for sources of extra money then take a look at my Unclaimed Money Blog.

I just recently posted about the state of unclaimed money in Louisianna. There is over $300 million dollars in unclaimed money in the state of Louisiana alone!

"I Am Facing Foreclosure" Blog

I happened upon a very interesting blog called "I Am Facing Foreclosure".

This is my first visit to this blog so I haven't had a chance to look at all of the information but from what I can see now it has a lot of information relating to foreclosures, people facing foreclosures and what one can do to help stop their homes being foreclosed on.

I have to admit that I'm a little jealous of all the information that is provided in this blog. It is what I aspire my blog to be too!