Foreclosure News

Why Aren’t Foreclosure Rescue Policies Working?
By Nick Timiraos
The Wall Street Journal
September 9, 2009

Government officials and banking industry representatives will testify before a congressional panel that examines the progress, or lack thereof, on the Obama administration’s housing-rescue policies Wednesday morning. While some economists and housing analysts have lauded the administration’s effort as ambitious, the administration may have itself to blame, in part, for negative headlines suggesting that the program hasn’t lived up to its hype.

Foreclosure Effort Made Modest Strides in August
By Jessica Holzer
The Wall Street Journal
September 9, 2009

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's $75 billion foreclosure-prevention effort made modest strides in August, according to a report released Wednesday by the Treasury Department.

The data come amid growing concern that the effort, which relies on hefty government incentives for lenders and borrowers, won't be enough to dent mounting foreclosures around the country.

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Makena Resort investors default on loan
Development stalled indefinitely; fate of more than 500 employees uncertain
By Chris Hamilton
The Maui News
August 26, 2009

MAKENA - Skittish lenders and real estate buyers apparently accomplished what hundreds of protesters couldn't: halt the massive Makena Resort development in South Maui.

A least for now. Everett Dowling, the Wailuku developer who spearheaded the project, said on Tuesday that he hopes to be back on board with new investors in six months.

Fannie, Freddie shares soar on huge volume
By Associated Press
Business Week
August 24, 2009

Shares of government-controlled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac zoomed higher Monday on much higher volume than normal, even as Wall Street continues to expect big losses.

The volume of Monday and late last week on the shares is "kind of strange," said Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Bose George. He thinks retail traders, coming from online brokerages such as Charles Schwab Corp., are driving the trading. It's not from institutional investors, he said.

Investing Money, Muscle in a Foreclosure
By Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post
August 22, 2009

As banks become desperate to offload their foreclosed properties, some are rethinking their take-it-or-leave it policies and are more willing to spend money to make their foreclosures attractive to buyers.

Orlando remains foreclosures 'hot spot'
By Mary Shanklin
Orlando Sentinel
August 13, 2009

Orlando's pool of foreclosures swelled in July, and yet the city dropped in a nationwide ranking of foreclosure-prone metro areas because other cities were hit even harder, according to a report released today by the research firm RealtyTrac Inc.

While the number of foreclosure actions in the four-country metro area grew 8 percent from June to July, Orlando ranked 15th out of more than 200 metropolitan areas across the country. In June it had ranked 14th — and in May, eighth.

Commercial foreclosures rocket
Valley is 'at the tip of the iceberg' for notices, expert says
By J. Craig Anderson
The Arizona Republic
August 5, 2009

More than 2,000 commercial properties in Maricopa County have received 90-day foreclosure notices since Jan. 1, representing $6.3 billion in real-estate loans on which the borrowers have failed to make payments.

That number is staggering when placed in contrast with the average commercial foreclosure rate over the past decade, which has been practically zero.

West Town project faces foreclosure
By Samantha Sleevi
Crain's Chicago Business
August 20, 2009

(Crain’s) — A suburban bank is seeking to collect more than $4 million from a venture of little-known developer Joseph Annunzio over a partially built retail and residential project in West Town.

2 Gold Coast sites face foreclosure
By Andrew Schroedter
Crain's Chicago Business
August 19, 2009

(Crain’s) — A lender has sued to collect more than $50 million on two well-known Gold Coast development sites controlled by Chicago developer Mark Hunt, including the shuttered Esquire Theater.

In the larger of the two suits, Anglo Irish Bank Corp. is seeking to collect $33.2 million for the nearly half-acre Esquire site at 58-104 E. Oak St., where Mr. Hunt had once planned to demolish the 1930s-era theater, known for its vertical neon marquee, and build a boutique hotel.