The Detroit Free Press has a Cover Story package starting today about underwater mortgages. There are lots of charts and articles that include average home sale prices, unemployment rates and foreclosure filings in Michigan.
The piece that should be a must-read for any Michigan resident considering such a move is Lenders crack down. A snippet:
Many states [...]

This post is for my readers in Monroe County, Mich.
Bettina Pearch, financial counselor at GreenPath Debt Solutions, was scheduled to speak about how to avoid foreclosure and deal with mortgage modifications at noon Wednesday Feb. 10 at Summerfield-Petersburg Branch Library, 60 E. Center St., Petersburg, Mich..
Because of the weather, her program has [...]

CNNMoney has this report: Mortgage lenders pursue homeowners even after foreclosure.
A snippet:
Former homeowners may still be on the hook if there’s a difference between what they owed on their mortgage and what the bank could sell it for at auction. And these “deficiency judgments” are ticking time bombs that can explode years [...]

The Making Home Affordable mortgage modification program will be requiring more documentation up front for applicants, rather than letting them start the process as the papers are in process.
Some of the participating lenders already had such a policy, and that was proving to be more effective at getting people through the program. Here’s the program’s [...]

The Federal Housing Administration has announced new efforts to help struggling homeowners before they become delinquent on the mortgages.
The details: You have to prove a “significant reduction in income or some other hardship.”
Here’s the press release.

There are some signs the worst of the mortgage meltdown has passed in the Monroe, Mich., area — even if recovery will be slow.
The Monroe Evening News had this report Thursday: Fewer foreclosures – property defaults are down from a year ago.
A snippet:

Sheriff’s deeds resulting from the sale of foreclosed property at auction — part [...]

Susan Tompor at the Detroit Free Press is finding some unwanted side effects on home loan modifications.

Do you remember all the buzz about mortgage relief when the new national programs got announced? The national financial journalists and some government officials are watching the statistics, and the reviews have not been good.
CNNMoney is adding to the discussion with its report Few getting long-term mortgage relief.
A snippet:
Under the president’s plan, delinquent borrowers are [...]

My husband and I live in a middle-class neighborhood in the city of Monroe, Mich.
Families have always moved in and out of this part of the city for a variety of reasons. But during the past year, there has been a lot more moving out than moving in.
It’s a bit rattling for my husband and [...]

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.