Short sales

Bank of America has received approval for additional credit during the first quarter of 2015 from the independent monitor overseeing its compliance with the requirements of its mortgage settlement agreement.

The share of U.S. home purchases made with cash has fallen to a five-year low as investors pull back from a property market that's rebounding without them.

Unless Congress acts before the end of 2015, homeowners who had their mortgage principal reduced in a loan modification or lost their homes through a foreclosure or short sale will find themselves in this position.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California has indicted Robert Farrace of Modesto, Calif., on charges of wire fraud in connection to a short-sale scheme.

The number of homes classified as serious delinquencies fell 2% from March to April, as industry players continue to use short sales and other techniques, according to the advocacy group Hope Now.

A flood of ex-homeowners may be ready to re-enter the mortgage market over the next five years, according to a TransUnion report.

RealtyTrac reported 126,868 foreclosure filings last month, the highest level of activity in 19 months, driven mainly by bank repossessions and a 5% year-over-year increase in scheduled foreclosure auctions.

The decline in foreclosures and short sales is contributing to the dearth of housing inventory, complicating the prospects for home buyers feeling the pinch of tight credit and lenders that need purchase mortgages to supplant refinancing once interest rates rise.

A Virginia short sale specialist was convicted Wednesday by a federal jury on charges including mortgage and tax fraud.

There were foreclosure filings on a reported 125,875 properties in April — 3% more from the previous month and 9% more from a year ago.

Foreclosure starts increased slightly while non-foreclosure resolutions for homeowners remained level from the same time last year, according to industry advocacy group Hope Now.

Real estate buyers seeking money to renovate and flip houses are getting help from some of the world's biggest investment firms.

Real estate investors are shifting their purchases to multifamily properties as the number of available distressed single-family homes for sale has been depleted over the past two years.

When insensitive consumer policies are implemented the result can be a costly compliance violation.

Only about one in four former homeowners who lost property during the housing crash will soon become buyers again as tight credit keeps many out of the U.S. real estate market, according to a National Association of Realtors study.

The number of borrowers who could reap the benefits of refinancing has grown to 7.1 million as interest rates have fallen, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Large mortgage servicers continued to shed delinquencies as overall loan performance improved in the fourth quarter, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Friday.

Foreclosure activity in February fell to its lowest level in nine years even though lenders repossessed more assets, according to data from RealtyTrac.

Hope Now said nearly 1.9 million homeowners received some sort of mortgage assistance in 2014.

One in three struggling homeowners who received a loan modification through the Home Affordable Modification Program ultimately redefaulted on those loan.Meanwhile, the program that was supposed to help some 4 million families avoid foreclosure has helped only a fraction of that amount, according to a report presented to Congress.