Mortgage scam threatens 200 homes with foreclosure
...The couple now fear they are victims of a $100 million mortgage fraud that may have touched hundreds across the south metro. Up and down their street, friends and neighbors who rented from Parish Marketing and Development - an Eagan homebuilder - have received foreclosure notices informing them their two-story dream homes will be sold at sheriff's sales. Some houses already have been resold.  As the housing market has cooled and foreclosure rates have skyrocketed, authorities are investigating a bevy of mortgage fraud cases across the state and nationwide - particularly in rural and far-reaching suburbs. This latest investigation is notable not only for the dollar amount but also for the number and concentration of homes.

Countrywide closes local subprime lending office
Countrywide Financial Corporation has shuttered its San Antonio office that specialized in subprime lending...Also, a joint venture between Countrywide and volume builder KB Home remains intact. Countrywide has an office at the KB Home office off of Fredericksburg Road just north of Loop 410. The partnership also often places Countrywide loan officers in KB model homes in San Antonio and across the country...Subprime mortgage loans are made to borrowers with a poor credit history or other factors that make them a high risk for a lender, and typically come with a higher interest rate and bigger fees.

Lenders still finding ways to finance home purchases, refis
Despite the relentless onslaught of alarming headlines in recent weeks, there are still plenty of mortgage lenders willing to extend credit to subprime borrowers.  Although you might be hard-pressed to find subprime or Alt-A lenders offering 2/28 hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs),100 percent financing or "piggyback" second loans, an informal survey of loan officers and mortgage brokers around the nation finds they're still able to help clients from all walks of life buy or refinance a home.

Buyer beware: Foreclosure sales not for everyone
Real estate buyers are taking note of the rise in foreclosures in many housing markets across the country, but foreclosure properties aren't for everyone, said David Levin, principal for David Levin & Associates, a Florida-based real estate consulting firm. "There are real risks in the foreclosures business ... in a normal market. If you're not schooled in this stuff it's not for the faint of heart," said Levin. During the days when home-price appreciation and sales were setting records month after month, investors could profit by scooping up properties for a quick flip. Foreclosures may lure buyers because of the potential for a discounted price, but there can be other associated costs. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed that people don't get seduced," he said.

Upside down: Homeowners share lessons in foreclosure
A housing market slowdown, coupled with a credit crunch, have put the brakes on home sales in some market areas, which has led to an increase in foreclosures nationwide. Data company RealtyTrac reported this month that U.S. foreclosure activity grew 93.4 percent in July compared to the same month last year, to a rate of one foreclosure filing for every 693 households.

Countrywide to Cut Up to 12,000 Jobs
Struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. will cut as many as 12,000 jobs in a bid to slash costs and cope with soaring foreclosures and defaults, the company said Friday. Countrywide has been struggling as the housing slump led to a sharp rise in mortgage defaults and foreclosures, particularly among borrowers with subprime loans.

Stewart Title Reaches $1 Million Settlement On Kickback Charges
California Department of Insurance said yesterday that it had reached a $1 million settlement agreement with Stewart Title Guaranty Company over a $46 million lawsuit targeting captive reinsurance agreements that the regulator characterized as “illegal and unfair.” The CDI had charged that Stewart — along with other major title insurance operations — paid a portion of the title insurance premium collected to builders, lenders, and title agents in return for the referral of business.

Stewart Title faces $1.95 million fine in Washington state
Washington state officials are seeking $1.95 million in fines against Stewart Title Guaranty Co. for allegedly using illegal incentives and inducements to win business from real estate agents, brokers and agencies. Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said an investigation of records at Stewart Title of Snohomish County Inc. uncovered 195 violations of a state law that prohibits title insurance companies from giving more than $25 a year to individuals as business inducements.

Mortgage meltdown claims new set of victims
Rick Thompson watched from the sidelines this month as his company unraveled. In a matter of weeks, Houston-based Aegis Mortgage, the company he co-founded 14 years ago, went from being a big nationwide mortgage lender to a bankrupt husk, undone by the mortgage meltdown rippling across the markets. Aegis has told many of the 1,200 employees it had at the start of the month, including 300 locally, that their jobs will end by late September.

FOX News Poll: Many Concerned About Losing Their HomesA new FOX News poll finds that more than 4 of 10 Americans are concerned they or someone close to them could lose their home in the current economic climate. Even so, sizable majorities say the government should not bail out homeowners who took out mortgage loans they are having trouble paying or the banks that made those loans...Nearly half of Americans (44 percent) are concerned that they or a close friend or relative could lose their home, including 23 percent that say they are "very" concerned and 21 percent "somewhat" concerned. Slightly more (54 percent) say they are not concerned.