Tagged: foreclosure

Illinois' 102 county recorders will split $3.3 million from the settlement of a national mortgage lawsuit. 

Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the disbursement of funds on Wednesday.  Madigan and 45 other attorneys general reached the settlement with Florida-based Lender Processing Services Inc. in January. 

The attorneys general alleged the company used widespread "robo-signing" of mortgage documents to service loans for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. They said an LPS subsidiary took part in "surrogate signing," in which an unauthorized person signed documents in someone else's name. 

Tennessee homeowners facing foreclosure now have a free hotline to turn to for help. The Mortgage Assistance Hotline refers homeowners to free foreclosure prevention counseling. The hotline is staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Callers can get free counseling over the phone or get a referral for in-person counseling at a local non-profit.

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway joined an effort to urge Congress to extend tax relief to homeowners who have had mortgage debt canceled or forgiven because of a decline in housing values. Since 2007 mortgage debt that is forgiven after a foreclosure or short sale can be excluded from a taxpayer’s taxable income. But that exclusion will expire at the end of this year.

Kentucky residents could get part of a 49 state settlement if their home was foreclosed on between 2008 and 2011. The Paducah Sun reports the $25 billion settlement between the states and five of the country’s biggest banks means 16,000 Kentuckians could be eligible for $2,000 in relief funds.

Illinois' home foreclosure rate rose 6 percent in October compared to the previous month, and was 19 percent higher than in October of last year. A RealtyTrac report released Thursday shows Illinois with almost 15 thousand foreclosure filings last month, the third-highest rate in the nation. Filings include default notices, auction-sale notices and bank repossessions. Nationally, October's foreclosure activity rose 3 percent from the previous month but fell 19 percent from October of 2011.