SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will become the first state to write into law much of the national mortgage settlement negotiated this year with the nation’s top five banks, if state lawmakers approve wide-ranging legislation on Monday. Majority Democrats say they ...

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LOS ANGELES — Homes in some stage of the foreclosure process saw their share of overall U.S. home sales grow in the first quarter even as sales of bank-owned homes fell. The increase was driven by a spike in short ...

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Roger D. Winston, managing partner of the Bethesda office of Ballard Spahr, has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Washington, D.C. Lawyers for 2012 by Super Lawyers. Winston is a partner in the Real Estate Department of Ballard ...

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Linda Donhauser, a principal and chairwoman of Miles & Stockbridge PC’s creditor’s rights and bankruptcy practice, will co-chair the newly-restructured Greater Maryland chapter of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation. She will be joined by Joyce Kuhns, a partner ...

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Kevin Kelehan, a partner with Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett and Scherr LLP  in Columbia, will receive the Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Service to Howard Community College. Kelehan co-chairs the Howard Community College Educational Foundation Campaign Council, which raises money to ...

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WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department rushed out a major revamp of its foreclosure-prevention program in 2010, limiting the plan’s ability to help people who are unemployed or owe more than their homes are worth, a government watchdog says. Treasury’s Hardest ...

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The number of foreclosure filings in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2012 was down 16 percent from the opening quarter of 2011, possibly signaling a “hairline crack” in the pent-up housing market, a new report released Thursday said. ...

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If you have a great, big pile of law school debt, Sen. Dick Durbin wants to hear from you. The Illinois Democrat is collecting stories from real students in his push to pass legislation, called the Know Before You Owe ...

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WASHINGTON — The federal government plans to propose new rules on Tuesday that will give homeowners more ways to avoid foreclosure and get an accurate accounting of their monthly mortgage payments. Congress mandated changes in the rules covering the mortgage ...

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WASHINGTON — The average U.S. rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose above 4 percent for the first time in five months. The sharp increase suggests the window to buy or refinance a home at historically low rates is closing. ...

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