Home loan investigation to be led by NY attorney general
Article from Legal News Line:
Home loan investigation to be led by N.Y. attorney general
BY JESSICA M. KARMASEK
President Barack Obama announced the creation of the unit during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening.
“Tonight, I’m asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorney general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis,” Obama said.
“This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.”
Schneiderman, who will co-chair the unit along with officials from the Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission, says the unit will focus on those actions that created the financial crisis, not the abuses that occurred after.
“I would like to thank President Obama for his leadership in the creation of a coordinated investigation that marshals state and federal resources to bring justice for the victims of the misconduct that caused the mortgage crisis,” he said in a statement.
“In coordination with our fed…………………continues on Legal News Line
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Mortgage loan payoffs hit 10-year low
Article from Denver Post:
The number of mortgage loans paid off in Colorado was down 6.4 percent in 2011 compared with 2010, according to a new report from the Colorado Division of Housing.
A total of 235,749 deeds of trust were released in 2011, falling from 2010′s total of 251,861, the report states.
Typically, a release of a deed of trust occurs when a real estate loan is paid off, which can include a refinancing, a sale of the property or because the owner has made the final payment on the loan. Release activity declines as refinance and home-sale activity falls.
For the fourth quarter, the number of deeds of trust released fell 27.3 percent to 58,340 from 80,265 during the same period in 2010.
Loan payoffs, though, rose 15.5 percent from the third quarter to the fourth quarter.
“Real estate activity perked up a bit during the fourth quarter, which would reflect some very recent growth in employment and some mild increases in home prices.” said Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing. “But overall, the fourth quarter’s activity wasn’t enough to keep 2011 from being another flat year.”
The number of deeds of trust released during 2011 was the smallest annual release total reported since the state began keeping release records in 2000.
Trends in release activity varied by county. From 2010 to 2011, releas…………………continues on Denver Post
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