NEW YORK, NY - March 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers' Committee) and pro bono counsel Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Davis Polk) filed a lawsuit today on behalf of local homeowners who were scammed by for-profit loan modification companies. Today's complaint - which targets a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud vulnerable homeowners - marks the beginning of a statewide legal campaign to pursue those who exploit New Yorkers affected by the financial crisis

March 4, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano would like to let resident’s know that the Nassau County Office of Housing & Homeless Service Homeownership Center offers FREE Foreclosure/Default Prevention Counseling Services to assist homeowners in Nassau County who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments due to a financial hardship

New York, NY - February 25, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy’s Quarterly Housing Update analyzes six key indicators of housing market performance, based on a variety of administrative data sources

NEW YORK, NY - February 18, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- City Comptroller John C. Liu stated the following in response to inquiries about his reaction to Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh’s testimony to the Senate Banking Committee today that regulators are finalizing sanctions against banks that violate foreclosure laws and regulations

NEW YORK, NY - February 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today released Subprime Foreclosures and the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform, the latest article in its Economic Policy Review series from the Research and Statistics Group.

Washington, DC - December 3, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) led a full committee hearing on "Foreclosed Justice: Causes and Effects of the Foreclosure Crisis," in which the Committee discussed with invited witnesses the government’s response to the country’s foreclosure crisis.One of the witnesses, a New York bankruptcy judge, testified that he had routinely encountered in his court foreclosure attorneys who: failed to know who they represented, lacked the underlying note evidencing their entitlement to seek foreclosure, failed to establish the legal chain of title establishing the standing of their client-mortgagees, and submitted to the court false affidavits attesting to the ownership of the note and mortgage

NEW YORK, NY - November 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York City Comptroller John C. Liu stated the following in response to questions about the Congressional hearing today on irregularities in the foreclosure process:

November 18, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Good morning and thank you Chairman Lopez, Chairman Weinstein, Chairman Towns and members of the committees for inviting me here today to discuss New York's response to the foreclosure crisis.

NEW YORK, NY - November 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York City Comptroller John C. Liu, on behalf of the trustees of the New York City Pension Funds, is calling on directors at Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) to conduct an independent audit of their banks’ mortgage and foreclosure practices. The four banks are the largest mortgage servicers in the country representing 56 percent of the nation’s $10.64 trillion mortgage industry

October 27, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ms. Caldwell, you and the Department of Treasury deserve substantial credit for pushing an industry towards mortgage modifications and preventing avoidable foreclosures when that industry failed to appropriately act. In this way, Treasury’s HAMP program has shown great potential. Thanks to your work, we have a new industry standard that has kept more people in their homes than otherwise would have been able – certainly more than HAMP’s monthly reports demonstrate on their own.

New York, NY – October 21, 2010 – Home sales across 25 of the largest metropolitan areas in the country declined roughly 10 percent in August compared to July, according to the August 2010 RPX Monthly Housing Market Report released today by Radar Logic Incorporated. This was the largest decline in sales activity from July to August observed in Radar Logic’s data set, which dates back to January 2000. The rapid declines in home sales during August are a continuation of the record declines from June to July, and reflect a continued weakening in demand for home purchases.

New York, N.Y. - October 7, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Banking Department today announced that more than 76,744 90-day pre-foreclosure notices were sent to New York homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments since May 31, 2010.

NEW YORK, NY - September 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York City Comptroller John C. Liu today announced that talks have officially begun between his office and five of the City’s largest banks on steps the banks can take to reform the loan modification process, improve customer service and help save more New Yorkers from foreclosure.

New York, NY - August 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- While the number of foreclosures continues to seriously outpace the number of loan modifications being made, there are reasons to be optimistic about the performance of those loan modifications. According to a report issued today by the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group, recent loan modifications are performing better than modifications made earlier in the mortgage crisis.

New York, NY - August 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (35th District – D/WF) announced that a new law guaranteeing greater protections (S7139) for tenants of buildings in foreclosure has been signed into law.

NEW YORK CITY, NY - July 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- New York State's housing agencies today approved $18.4 million in grants and financings to build and renovate affordable housing, help businesses grow and create jobs, and assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

New York, NY - June 10, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The New York State Banking Department today announced that more than 57,256 90-day pre-foreclosure notices were sent to New York homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments since Feb. 13, 2010.

Washington, DC - May 19, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- As families across New York and across the country struggle to find work after losing their jobs for no fault of their own, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is advancing legislation to provide temporary mortgage relief for struggling families to stave off the threat of foreclosure.

Albany, NY - May 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) today announced 26 awards totaling $9.6 Million that will help more than 97,000 New York homeowners avoid foreclosure.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 14, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Congressional Oversight Panel today released its April oversight report, "Evaluating Progress of TARP Foreclosure Mitigation Programs."

Albany, NY - April 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) today announced six awards totaling $3.5 Million that will help at least 10,000 New York homeowners to avoid foreclosure and potential homelessness.

NEWARK, NY - March 30, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A Brooklyn man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes and repair their damaged credit, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

New York, NY - March 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, New York City Chief Service Officer Diahann Billings-Burford, Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo and Commissioner of Department of Consumer Affairs Jonathan Mintz today launched a new NYC Service initiative to provide free legal support for New Yorkers at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure.

Albany, NY - March 2, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- DHCR participated recently in the Consumer Protection Board's (CPB) Annual Consumer Action Day at the Empire State Plaza in Albany.

New York, NY - February 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway today launched the Water Debt Assistance Program, a new initiative that will temporarily relieve homeowners at risk of foreclosure of past-due water and sewer debt.