Home mortgage modification snags spark lawsuits
USA TODAY for more: http://bit.ly/9dg15c
Most of the lawsuits allege that the three- or four-month trial payment plans are contracts, and that Bank of America and other servicers broke them by not giving permanent modifications to homeowners who made their trial payments on time and provided the necessary documentation.

NYT: Housing Woes Bring New Cry: Let Market Fall
For more: http://s.nyt.com/u/mwx6
“Housing needs to go back to reasonable levels,” said Anthony B. Sanders, a professor of real estate finance at George Mason University. “If we keep trying to stimulate the market, that’s the definition of insanity.”

NYT: Bernanke Blames Self For Not Seeing Sub-Prime Mortgage Flaws
For more: http://s.nyt.com/u/mdCj
“This is my own fault, in a sense,” Mr. Bernanke said, adding that he was worried at the time about contributing to panic in the markets. “I regret not being more straightforward there.”

NYT: More Banks in Trouble, but Profits Are Rising
For more: http://s.nyt.com/u/mXXo
Even as the economy remains weak and the number of troubled banks creeps higher, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s quarterly report card on Tuesday showed that the banking sector is slowly starting to recover.

NYT: 2 New Federal Programs to Help Borrowers Pay Their Mortgages
For more: http://s.nyt.com/u/9-Ju
The Obama administration plans to take two new steps in the next few weeks to help struggling homeowners pay their mortgages, said Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

20m Borrowers Could Be Underwater before 2012: Deutsche Bank
For more: http://bit.ly/aY1DsY
The presence of negative equity goes hand-in-hand with an increased likelihood of strategic default, as borrowers sometimes may not be willing to pay when the house has lost substantial amounts of value.

NYT: Rethinking Adjustable-Rate Mortgages
For more: http://s.nyt.com/u/9-zj
With mortgage rates and many financial indexes low, and the economy showing no signs of a quick recovery, current ARM borrowers face an interesting choice. If they keep their loans, they may well have lower payments in the next year than those who have fixed-rate loans.

Louisville house prices down but not as bad as most
For more: http://bit.ly/aSvfhZ
Louisville-area house prices are down 2.25 percent compared to a year ago, according to federal data released Wednesday, but Louisville was the 83rd best-performing market among 303 metro areas.

NYT: In Defense of Home Ownership
For more: http://s.nyt.com/u/9_4p
A mortgage is still a form of long-term forced savings, after all. This is more important than ever, since fewer people have access to generous pensions than they did during the last big housing slump.

NYT: Foreclosures Fall, but Early Delinquencies Rise
For more: http://s.nyt.com/u/9_EY
The foreclosure crisis might have finally peaked in the first half of this year, but with the continued weakness in the economy and the recent deterioration of the housing market, the gains may prove fleeting.

Banks owe Metro Louisville $200,000 on foreclosures
For more: http://bit.ly/9EbDwy
A list of financial operations that owe the city more than $10,000 in property-maintenance violations recently was provided to the Louisville Metro Council, which is studying ways to hold property owners more accountable for the upkeep of vacant houses. All but one of the financial institutions are based outside the city.

Home sales slide: Low prices, interest rates fail to stem 27% drop in July
Courier-Journal.com for more: http://bit.ly/aYrajd
However, in Louisville, houses have been moving faster this year than last. Through July, the average home sold in 82 days, six days faster than the same period in 2009.

NYT: _Too Big to Fail_ View Hurts Small Banks, Fed Official Says
For more: http://s.nyt.com/u/9cz7
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (Reuters) — Thomas M. Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, warned on Monday that landmark financial reforms may not end market perceptions that taxpayers will rescue the largest banks, and he cautioned against speculative investments in housing.

Mortgage fraud on the rise again
WSJ: http://bit.ly/cJclKr
New data suggests that mortgage fraud—which got tougher to pull off after the collapse of the U.S. real estate market—is returning in a big way.

NYT: Housing Fades as a Means to Build Wealth, Analysts Say
For more: http://s.nyt.com/u/9SVL
Housing will eventually recover from its great swoon. But many real estate experts now believe that home ownership will never again yield rewards like those enjoyed in the second half of the 20th century, when houses not only provided shelter but also a plump nest egg.