Foreclosure activity in Massachusetts surged 62.4 percent in 2008 compared to 2007 and was nearly four times the level seen in 2006, The Warren Group, a publisher of real estate data, reported January 21, 2009; however, foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process, ended the
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01/27/2009
Legislation filed in Massachusetts would require lenders to modify home loans in certain circumstances, the Boston Business Journal reported January 27, 2009. The legislation named, An Act to Require Commercially Reasonable Efforts to Avoid Foreclosure, was filed by Massachusetts Attorney Genera
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01/27/2009
The Boston Herald reported January 25, 2009 that a Dallas-based auctioneer, Hudson & Marshall, will auction off more than 100 bank-owned Massachusetts properties at the Boston Quincy Marriott Saturday January 31, 2009. Another 28 Western Massachusetts properties will be sold January 27, 2009 at
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01/26/2009
Federal and state regulators announced an agreement to regulate home appraisal practices as part of an agreement with mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Everett, Washington Herald reported January 4, 2009.Many complaints of problems with inflated appraisals and their impac
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01/20/2009
RealtyTrac reported that there were more than three million various foreclosure filings (default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions) in 2008 on 2,330,483 U.S. properties, an 81 percent increase in total properties from 2007 and a 225 percent increase in total properties from 200
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01/20/2009
A Dorchester, MA mortgage broker who helped home buyers who were credit risks secure subprime loans has pleaded guilty to forgery, larceny, and other criminal charges, the Massachusetts Attorney General's office reported January 13, 2009.Nicole Lyder, age 34, pled guilty to charges of forgery (6
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01/20/2009
Merrimac, Massachusetts home sales declined from 30 single-family home sales from January through September 2007 to 19 sales during the same period in 2008, a 36.6 percent decline; however, the median price of a single-family home increased 5.8 percent from $359,000 (2007) to $380,000 (2008).Duri
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01/12/2009
Many home buyers have been convinced that bank-owned properties or short sales are the best bargains. It's just not true. Bank-owned properties, sometimes referred to as real-estate owned (REO), typically need a substantial amount of work. Most people think that work means fresh paint and new ca
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01/12/2009
The Massachusetts Division of Banks January 7, 2009 opened its on-line database of Massachusetts foreclosure notices to the general public. The web-based resource (www.mass.gov/dob) allows the Division to study trends and better focus foreclosure examination efforts.The Division of Banks opened
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01/12/2009
Inman News recently polled more than 700 readers, a majority of whom said they expect new rules governing the real estate industry to surface in the new year. Lenders likely will be the primary target, according to the survey, but title insurers, real estate brokers, and property agents also coul
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01/04/2009