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WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 19, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Dean Heller (R-NV) today introduced the Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act to ensure that underwater homeowners, those who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth, would not be hit with additional income tax if a portion of their mortgage is forgiven. Without the Stabenow-Heller legislation, homeowners will be required to pay these additional taxes when they refinance or sell their homes in what are commonly called "short sales."

LANSING - June 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced checks will go out this week to Michigan borrowers who submitted a valid foreclosure payment claim through the National Mortgage Settlement. Eligible borrowers will receive checks for approximately $1,480. Approximately 72,000 Michigan borrowers affected by the National Mortgage Settlement will receive a share of approximately $107.2 million in restitution for mortgage servicing abuses related to the national foreclosure crisis.

LANSING - May 9, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill Schuette today sent a letter to Joseph A. Smith, Jr. head of the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight to alert him to concerns that certain terms of the National Mortgage Settlement are not being met by the banks that signed on

LANSING, MI - April 17, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Gov. Rick Snyder today signed a bill that updates existing law to reflect changes in the way the Mortgage Industry Advisory Board is composed.

LANSING - February 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced Lorraine Brown, former president of mortgage document processor DocX, pleaded guilty to racketeering for her alleged role in authorizing the fraudulent signing of mortgage documents filed in Michigan. Brown pleaded guilty today to one count of Conducting Criminal Enterprises (Racketeering), a 20-year felony, before Kent County Circuit Court Judge Mark Trusock. She will return for sentencing on May 2, 1:30 PM. The guilty plea follows an Attorney General investigation into questionable mortgage documentation filed with Michigan's Register of Deeds offices during the foreclosure crisis

LANSING, MI - January 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced that he has reached a $2.5 million civil settlement with Lender Processing Services, Inc., and its now defunct subsidiary DocX, a document processing company located in Georgia.

LANSING WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 25, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation (OFIR) has issued an order for Finlock Financial Group, LLC to immediately cease and desist from conducting unlicensed activities as a mortgage broker and lender without first obtaining a license or registering under the Mortgage Brokers, Lenders, and Servicers Licensing Act (MBLSLA).

LANSING, MI - November 26, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced he charged Lorraine Brown, former president of mortgage document processor DocX, with racketeering for her alleged role in authorizing the fraudulent signing of mortgage documents filed in Michigan. The felony charge comes as the result of an ongoing Attorney General investigation into questionable mortgage documentation filed with Michigan's Register of Deeds offices during the foreclosure crisis.

November 22, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- According to the MLS reports compiled by the Michigan Association of REALTORS®, overall October total sales volume increased considerably, while average sales price of single-family homes in Michigan continued to rise compared to the same time last year. According to the report, 11,434 single family homes were sold in Michigan in October, 2012, an increase of 22.58% over October, 2011.

WASHINGTON, DC - November 22, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., made the following statement in response to the legal action taken today by the Administration’s Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group headed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman:

LANSING, MI - November 8, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Just as the housing market is showing signs of recovery, Gov. Rick Snyder today signed legislation that will help keep the momentum going by updating and realigning several Michigan State Housing Development Authority programs.

LANSING - September 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced that claim forms are being mailed to approximately 148,000 Michigan borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011. Qualified Michigan borrowers may be eligible for a cash payment under the $25 billion national mortgage settlement.

LANSING, MI - August 2, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michigan residents at risk of losing their homes due to faulty foreclosure processes and poor servicing of mortgages will get financial relief under legislation signed today by Gov. Rick Snyder.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 27, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that thousands of home-buyers with significant tax debt were given one-time mortgage help under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), despite federal rules that make tax cheats ineligible for federal mortgage insurance. The report found that “many individuals with tax debt take advantage of government programs, such as federal loan insurance, thereby reaping benefits from these programs while failing to pay their own taxes.” The report also found tax cheats that took advantage of the program were two-to-three times more likely to default on home loans, posing a much higher risk for the program. The report was done at the request of Senators Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK), Carl Levin (D-MI), Max Baucus (D-MT), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA).

LANSING - April 19, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today warned Michigan residents of a scam in which criminals are telling victims of the foreclosure crisis they can help them receive benefits from the national mortgage settlement for a fee. Schuette warned of the scams during testimony before the Michigan House Banking and Financial Services Committee to address the impact of a multi-billion dollar nationwide settlement with five of the nation's largest banks/mortgage servicers