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• $33 million in mortgage relief checks on the way in Colorado

  June 5, 2013 8:13 AM

  DENVER (AP) - Coloradans affected by mortgage servicing issues should see a relief check sometime this month. The total amount being distributed is $33 million, and those checks are to be mailed to nearly 23,000 Colorado borrowers who had submitted a valid foreclosure-payment claim through the National Mortgage Settlement administrator.... more »

• Fort Lyon Receives Funding

  March 16, 2012 7:55 PM

  Fort Lyon is slated to receive $5 million from the mortgage settlement funds as announced this morning by the governor. The news is very welcome to the small community of Las Animas. As we've been reporting, the closure of the prison has forced some 200 employees to commute, some... more »

• Resurgence of the adjustable rate mortgage (ARM)

  July 22, 2011 12:55 AM

  Adjustable-rate mortgages, also known as "ARMs," seem to be making a comeback, and if you can recall, it was only a few years ago many blamed ARMs for the housing crisis. Now, ARM rates are extremely enticing, but should you really commit to a fluctuating mortgage rate? As... more »

• Cal and Illinois probe robosigning allegations

  May 25, 2011 6:04 PM

  LOS ANGELES (AP) - The top prosecutors in California and Illinois are investigating allegations that one of the nation's largest mortgage processing companies engaged in the illegal practice of "robosigning" - signing thousands of foreclosure documents without checking their accuracy. The attorneys general of both states said Wednesday that... more »

• Guilty to one count, 71 others dropped

  February 11, 2011 3:56 PM

  Pueblo Restaurant owner Tony Ianne has agreed to plead guilty to one count, and in exchange the District Attorney will drop 71 others. Ianne, who owns Rosario's and Tony's Chop House, was charged in a complex mortgage fraud case related to sale of 18 houses back in 2007. ... more »

• What caused financial meltdown?

  January 27, 2011 6:54 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - When it comes to finding the cause of the financial meltdown, the answers break down along party lines. The six Democratic members of a panel appointed by Congress agree that government officials and Wall Street executives share the blame for ignoring the warning signs. But... more »

• Attorneys General prepare foreclosure investigation

  October 13, 2010 7:47 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - As nearly all the state attorneys general prepare an investigation into the mortgage industry over the foreclosure-document mess, they're also discussing ways to settle the matter. If the states have their way, mortgage companies will have to revamp the way they handle foreclosures, pay penalties for... more »

• States want foreclosure changes

  October 12, 2010 6:01 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorneys general in up to 40 states want to force mortgage companies to revamp the way they handle foreclosures, pay financial penalties for violations and expand help to homeowners on the verge of foreclosure. The attorneys general are discussing the outlines of a settlement that would... more »

• CBI receives $1.7 million grant to fight mortgage crime

  October 5, 2010 3:10 PM

  Colorado ranked tenth among the 50 states in mortgage fraud in 2008, and first in 2006, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. Colorado was first among the states in mortgage fraud in 2006. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation plans to crack-down on mortgage fraud by adding six new... more »

• Great credit may not get you a great mortgage

  September 28, 2010 9:12 AM

  Have you been working to boost your credit score before trying to get a mortgage? It may not yield the payback you expect. The mortgage loan interest rates offered to borrowers with stellar FICO scores aren't much lower than the rates offered to those with a middle-of-the-road 720 score... more »

• Fannie Mae offers housing aid to military families

  September 27, 2010 10:35 AM

  Mortgage giant Fannie Mae plans to give military families a break on their home loan payments if they are struggling because of the death or injury of a service member. The Washington-based company says it will reduce or suspend borrowers' monthly payments up to six months. Fannie Mae is... more »

• Late mortgage payments rise again in 2nd quarter

  August 17, 2010 8:25 AM

  The rate at which U.S. homeowners fell behind on their mortgage payments remained elevated in the second quarter. Credit reporting agency TransUnion says its data shows that in the three months that ended on June 30, the number of mortgage holders 60 days or more behind on payments was... more »

• Few takers as mortgage rates hit new record low

  July 22, 2010 10:01 AM

  Mortgage rates fell to a new record low for the fourth time in five weeks. But low rates haven't been enough to lift a struggling housing market. Freddie Mac says the average rate for 30-year fixed loans this week was 4.56 percent, down from 4.57 last week. That's the... more »

• Economy still struggling to recover

  July 15, 2010 11:04 AM

  The latest economic reports contain new signs that the recovery remains tepid. Regional manufacturing indexes in New York and Philadelphia plummeted this month, but a national report showed modest growth in industrial output nationwide. The government also reported that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell, but that was... more »

• Mortgage applications lowest in 13 years

  June 9, 2010 1:43 PM

  The number of customers applying for a mortgage to purchase a property fell to the lowest level in 13 years last week, a sign the housing market is struggling without government incentives. The Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday purchase volume declined 5.7 percent and is at its lowest point... more »

• Real estate division head steps down

  June 4, 2010 7:27 PM

  The head of Colorado's real estate division is stepping down after clashing with a state lawmaker and her own boss. Erin Toll was suspended in March after she sparred with state Sen. Ted Harvey over a bill that would strip her of the power to oversee mortgage brokers. Toll... more »

• Mortgage delinquencies surge to a record

  May 19, 2010 1:21 PM

  The number of homeowners who missed at least one mortgage payment surged to a record in the first quarter of the year, a sign that the foreclosure crisis is far from over. More than 10 percent of homeowners had missed at least one mortgage payment in the January-March period,... more »

• Mortgage fraud incidents rise last year

  April 26, 2010 11:40 AM

  Incidents of residential mortgage fraud increased last year, a sign that scammers are still targeting the industry despite efforts to find and report such activity. A study released Monday by the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute showed the number of mortgage fraud reports among loans made in 2009 grew 7... more »

• Ianne report still not released

  April 23, 2010 5:40 PM

  A special prosecutor's report into the grand jury proceedings that resulted in indictments against Pueblo businessman Tony Ianne was to have been released Friday, but last week the Pueblo District Attorney's Office filed a motion to keep it private. It's the latest chapter in a convoluted mortgage fraud case.... more »

• Mortgage aid program said more vulnerable to scams

  April 20, 2010 11:47 AM

  A government watchdog is warning that recent changes to the Obama administration's mortgage assistance program may make it more vulnerable to fraud. The changes are intended to make it easier for struggling homeowners to avoid foreclosure. But the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, says... more »

• Transcripts to be released in Ianne indictment

  April 2, 2010 6:02 PM

  A Pueblo District Judge ruled Friday afternoon that hundreds of pages of testimony that resulted in an indictment against Pueblo businessman Tony Ianne may be released to the defense. The scene, in Judge David Crockenburg's court was unusual, with six attorneys present, plus another on the phone. Ianne was... more »

• Loan modification can quickly hurt credit

  March 19, 2010 11:53 AM

  Homeowners who are making their payments on time but are on the verge of default are finding a hidden whammy in the government's loan modification program. Once they apply, the mortgage company notifies the three big credit bureaus, which may reduce their credit scores up to 100 points. That... more »

• Government mortgage plan aids just 16% of borrowers

  March 12, 2010 2:29 PM

  The Obama administration's mortgage relief plan has helped only about 16 percent of borrowers who signed up since its launch last year, and hundreds of thousands of homeowners are in limbo without an answer. The Treasury Department says that as of last month, about 170,000 homeowners had completed the... more »

• Colorado senator investigated for mortgage fraud

  March 3, 2010 5:30 PM

  The Colorado Division of Real Estate is investigating allegations that a state senator and the mortgage company where he works engaged in false advertising. Division Director Erin Toll says state investigators believe Republican Sen. Ted Harvey and the company where he works as a mortgage broker, American Home Funding,... more »

• Mortgage rates now above 5 percent

  February 25, 2010 12:08 PM

  Rates for 30-year home loans rose above the 5 percent threshold for the first time in three weeks, but remained near historically low levels. The mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 5.05 percent this week, up from... more »

• Fewer people falling behind on home loans

  February 19, 2010 1:27 PM

  A mortgage analyst says there's still a big problem with borrowers falling behind on their mortgage payments. But Jay Brinkmann of the Mortgage Bankers Association says, "The good news is it looks like it may not get much bigger." The group says the number dropped sharply at the end... more »

• Government cracks down on loan modification scams

  February 4, 2010 1:31 PM

  The government is cracking down on companies that advertise help for troubled homeowners but often turn out to be scam artists. The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it would propose to ban those foreclosure rescue services from collecting payment up front. Instead, they could only collect money if they... more »

• Only 10,000 permanent loan modifications so far

  December 9, 2009 3:06 PM

  Only about 10,000 homeowners have received permanent loan modifications under the Obama administration's mortgage relief plan, evidence of continuing woes for the government's effort to stem the foreclosure crisis. That means fewer than 2 percent of the 650,000 homeowners enrolled in the program as of October had their mortgage payments... more »

• Colorado acts against 10 foreclosure-rescue companies

  November 25, 2009 8:08 AM

  Ten more loan-modification firms have agreed to comply with Colorado laws or be barred from doing business in the state. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Tuesday that the companies, nine of which are based outside Colorado, were accused of engaging in deceptive advertising or of collecting fees from... more »

• Mortgage relief plan hits goal early

  October 8, 2009 10:15 AM

  The government's mortgage relief program has hit its goal of helping 500,000 borrowers, almost a month ahead of schedule. The government in July gave the lending industry a Nov. 1 deadline to meet that goal for the $50 billion program, which is designed to reduce foreclosures by lowering borrowers' monthly... more »

• Obama's mortgage relief program gaining traction

  September 9, 2009 11:27 AM

  The Obama administration's mortgage relief program is finally gaining traction. Nearly one in five eligible homeowners have been offered help so far, a government report says. The plan, launched with great fanfare in March, had been slow to get going, but more than 571,000 loan modification offers, or 19 percent,... more »