California will be one of five states designated to receive up to $1.5 billion to help unemployed homeowners and those who owe more than their homes currently are worth, according to several news reports. Dubbed the Help for the Hardest-Hit … Read More

Five people in a $13 million mortgage fraud ring targeting more than 100 southern California homeowners were sentenced this week in federal court, receiving terms of 1  to 15 years. . Edward Seung Ok, 44, who pleaded guilty to mail fraud, … Read More

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported today that interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans dropped below 5 percent for the third week this year, adding that rates also fell for most other loan types. Thirty-year loans averaged 4.97 percent with an … Read More

New figures show that a rising number of Orange County home loans are in the foreclosure pipeline, but fewer are actually being seized by banks. Orange County homes in foreclosure continued to rise through December, new figures from Santa Ana-based … Read More

US Home Loan Advocates was featured in a recent Los Angeles Times article, titled: Get Ahead Of The Slow Moving Loan Mod Train , where our President, David Bartels, was interviewed about the challenges homeowners face when they are seeking … Read More

I missed this yesterday from Bank of America: Bank of America announced that it is the first mortgage servicer to sign an agreement formally committing to participation in the pending second-lien component of the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program … Read More

While property values are anticipated to decrease through 2009, many homeowners are finding themselves in a position where they owe more on their mortgage than their property is worth. If a loan modification is not attainable, and a bankruptcy is … Read More

Bloomberg has this spoiler for 2010: Homeowners with the best credit are the next big risk for the U.S. housing market. An increase in mortgage defaults among prime borrowers in 2009 is likely to accelerate this year, slowing the real … Read More

via: MarketWatch.com By Lew Sichelman ____________ Winning the trial, losing your house Trying to prevent foreclosure while waiting for a permanent loan modification WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Question: I have also made trial payments under the Making Home Affordable program. But … Read More

Lenders initiated the foreclosure process on 1,868 home loans in November in Orange County, up 55 percent from a year ago but down 13 percent from October. The big rise in notices of default from a year ago is largely … Read More