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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Last week, a large group of Marylanders stood in a driving rain outside the statehouse, holding up signs that talked about saving Maryland’s MID. They weren’t braving a near monsoon out of concern for Naval Academy Midshipmen. They were protesting ...

Tagged with: Baltimore bob and donna mcwilliams housing lenders Martin O'Malley maryland Real Estate realities of real estate

LOS ANGELES — Banks took back more U.S. homes in January than in the previous month, the latest sign that foreclosures are accelerating after slowing sharply last year while lenders sorted out foreclosure-abuse claims. Foreclosures rose 8 percent nationally last ...

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Maryland stands to receive between $895 million and $959 million in benefits under a pending multibillion-dollar nationwide settlement with the five largest mortgage lenders over alleged foreclosure abuses, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said Wednesday. Gansler joined the ranks of ...

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WASHINGTON — The nation’s five largest mortgage lenders have agreed to overhaul their industry after deceptive foreclosure practices drove homeowners out of their homes, government officials said Monday. A draft settlement between the banks and U.S. states has been sent ...

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Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler has announced an agreement with Wells Fargo relating to allegedly deceptive marketing of adjustable rate mortgages written by companies it acquired in 2008. Gansler said Thursday the settlement involves mortgages written by Wachovia and Golden ...

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SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Defying Republican lawmakers, President Barack Obama on Wednesday barreled by the Senate and installed a national consumer watchdog on his own, provoking GOP threats of a constitutional showdown in the courts. Setting a fierce tone in ...

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Authorities say a Maryland man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for his role in a scheme to defraud lenders and a title insurance company of at least $937,000. The plea agreement for 72-year-old Stephen Troese, of Davidsonville, was announced ...

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Amid all off the hoopla about falling mortgage interest rates that has spawned another refinance boom for homeowners comes news that two of the nation’s largest lenders are backing away from the mortgage industry. This month, Bank of America announced ...

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LOS ANGELES — More U.S. homes are entering the foreclosure process, but they’re taking ever longer to get sold or repossessed by lenders. The number of U.S. homes that received a first-time default notice during the July to September quarter ...

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