USA Today has this report today: More walk away from homes, mortgages.
A snippet:
“The most disturbing aspect of this is that it’s becoming acceptable to do,” says Joel Naroff, an economist with Naroff Economic Advisors. “What does that mean down the road for housing and the economy if people are happy to walk away and destroy [...]

I normally do not post about “what if” proposals. I prefer to write about programs, resources and services that really do exist, and that my readers really can follow up on.
However, this headline will certainly be of interest to my Michigan and Ohio readers. The unemployment rate in Michigan has been 15 percent all summer.
USA [...]

I haven’t jumped on the mortgage refinance bandwagon. Why? Laziness, I guess. It just sounded so complicated. Besides, my husband and I are not in a dire housing situation since we have a 30-year fixed rate mortgage and no plans to move again.
So we have been focusing my family’s money-saving efforts in other directions.
But I [...]

USA Today has this report: Mortgage relief program is still too slow, some say.
A snippet:
Just 12% of eligible mortgages have been modified under a $75 billion federal program to rework home loans into more affordable monthly payments, according to a Treasury Department report Wednesday.
A total of 360,165 mortgage modifications are in a three-month trial period, [...]

This post is for my readers in southeast Michigan:
U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Dearborn, will host an assistance forum from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 1 for residents of southeast Michigan who are facing foreclosure.
The forum will take place at Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E. Huron River Dr., Ann Arbor, Mich. [...]

Susan Tompor has a report for the Detroit Free Press with Q&A tips on modifying home loans.

The Grand Rapids Press is reporting the state of Michigan will be sending 3,700 letters to residents regarding a settlement in the Countrywide Financial case.
A snippet:
Eligible residents received Countrywide loans between January 2004 and December 2008, including sub-prime loans or adjustable rate mortgages and later lost their homes.

Michigan Radio and Detroit Public Television are hosting a call-in / live web chat show at 1 p.m. July 16 to take questions and comments relating to the Michigan mortgage crisis.
The event is part of the team’s Facing the Mortgage Crisis Project.

Did you do the numbers on the Obama mortgage refinance plan, only to find you didn’t meet the eligibility requirements?
It may be time to do the numbers again. CNN is reporting that the eligiblity guidelines are extended to homeowners whose home loans are at 125 percent of the home value. A snippet:
Borrowers whose loans are [...]

This post is for my southeast Michigan readers:
Michigan Public Radio and Detroit Public Television have been producing on a joint project called Facing the Mortgage Crisis.
Some of items you’ll find on line include links to special reports and other news stories.
Here is the project’s twitter @ForeclosureMI.