Courtesy: reader Randall Marquis Federal and local law enforcement agencies raided the United Law Group’s offices in Irvine today, as part of a loan modification fraud investigation, The Register’s Irvine reporter Sean Emery writes. Officials shut the office at 2525 Campus Drive … Read More

Homeowners who are in over their heads but have been unsuccessful at getting a loan modification may get some different help from Uncle Sam — $1,500 to move if they sell for less than they paid for the house, reports … Read More

The expected market time for foreclosures in Orange County is ”a mind numbing 1.14 months, a deep seller’s market,” says Steve Thomas of Altera Real Estate in his bi-weekly analysis of  local real estate. Foreclosures make up 33% of the housing inventory in … Read More

Despite some reports that suggest the housing crisis may be hitting bottom, foreclosures so far represent the “tip of the iceberg,” real estate analyst, investor and lender Bruce Norris says. Norris told hundreds of investors attending a seminar he held in Costa … Read More

Are all these loan modifications we keep hearing about actually helping homeowners avoid foreclosure, and thus helping the housing market and economy? Matthew Monks, writing for American Banker and National Mortgage News , notes delinquent loans seem to be near … Read More

( Update: Attorney Lear comment. ) The seizure of a handful of mortgage-aid companies operated by two men was made permanent today by Orange County Superior Court Judge Frederick Horn. The Judge granted a petition by the California State Bar, … Read More

The California State Bar said today it shut down the loan modification businesses of two men for allegedly lying to consumers about being supervised by attorneys. The bar, which acted with the Orange County Superior Court in this case, has … Read More

Federal officials said today they have subpoenaed 15 mortgage companies “with significant claim rates against the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program.” Curiously, none of the companies are based in California — the largest housing market in the country. Subpoenas … Read More

Economics blog Calculated Risk hears the Obama administration’s plan to help homeowners with their second mortgages has stalled. We already know the plan for first mortgages is only keeping a fraction of delinquent borrowers in their homes. The blog says … Read More

This should come as no surprise, from Bloomberg: Mortgage servicers must give U.S. homeowners more time before kicking them out of the government’s loan-modification program, reflecting further struggles in the execution of the plan. Servicers can’t cancel an active Home … Read More