mortgages

Rodney Getlan, 45, was charged by the Baltimore County State's Attorney with felony theft, operating without a license, mortgage fraud and other counts, according to a statement Friday from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

Maryland's attorney general said Friday that the nearly $60 million pot of money he controls from the national mortgage settlement would be spent only in ways designed to help homeowners and communities struggling with foreclosure.

A Columbia-based affordable housing organization will announce today that it is merging a mortgage division with a Cleveland firm and will own a majority of the new company.

An Edgewater man, Gary Pierce, 44, was sentenced to six years in prison and a Crofton man, Todd R. Bettin, 42, pleaded guilty Friday for their involvement in a Gambrills-based mortgage fraud scheme, prosecutors said.

Charles Donaldson, 58, of Bowie, was sentenced Thursday to more than three years in prison, prosecutors said.

Contrary to what Realtors say, the mortgage interest deduction has done little to promote homeownership.

The number of homes for sale is falling fast in communities across the Baltimore region. But it's not quite the cheery news of less supply and more demand — the precursor to price gains — that beleaguered homeowners have been waiting for.

About 125,000 homes in the Baltimore region are worth less than what the owners owe on their mortgages, real estate data firm CoreLogic estimates.

Marylander regulators warn of mortgage settlement scam

Recipients include young professionals in $300,000-plus homes

The number of Maryland homeowners behind on their mortgage payments but not yet in foreclosure inched downward in 2011.

Under the recently announced State Attorneys General Mortgage Servicing Settlement Marylander's behind on mortgage payments once again have a tool to stay in their homes or receive restitution if they have already been foreclosed upon. On Thursday, February 9, 2012, Maryland joined with the federal government and 48 other states to announce the $25 billion settlement with five of the largest mortgage servicers in the nation. For families there are three basic types of relief:

The mortgage settlement offers no help for those who pay their bills on time.

Lisbon/Woodbine: The Lisbon Children's Christian Care Center is sponsoring a Quarter Mania Fundraiser Friday, Feb. 17 at the Lisbon Volunteer Fire Hall.

As the federal government and 49 states signed onto a landmark mortgage relief settlement, housing advocates and others pointed to shortcomings.

Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is right to sign on to a settlement with the nation's five largest banks over problems in the foreclosure process.

Maryland joins other state attorneys general in an agreement with the nation's top five mortgage servicers over shoddy and illegal foreclosure practices.

Governor applauds mortgage deal, ignores Gansler role

Calif., N.Y., Fla. were on fence about joining; announcement expected Thursday

Obama is only investigating the mortgage mess because it's an election year

President Obama must make good on his promise to hold those responsible for the collapse of the housing market accountable

A lawsuit over alleged foreclosure "robo-signing" was thrown out of federal court in Maryland last week because the plaintiffs should have brought up their complaints during their foreclosure cases, a judge ruled.

Fair housing: New consumer watchdog agency means that for the first time in decades, fair housing laws can be effectively enforced

Bethesda man gets two years in prison in scheme that defrauded lenders, family members and others of $1.4 million.

Wells Fargo has agreed to make loan modifications and pay more than $900,000 in restitution to borrowers under an agreement reached with Maryland's Consumer Protection Division over allegedly deceptive marketing of adjustable rate home loans.

Wells Fargo has agreed to make loan modifications and pay more than $900,000 in restitution to borrowers under an agreement reached with Maryland's Consumer Protection Division over allegedly deceptive marketing of adjustable rate home loans.

Thomas Robert Lindos, a retired First Home Mortgage loan officer and a continuing education teacher for the Harford County Association of Realtors, died of cancer Dec. 25 at Gilchrist Hospice Care. He was 64 and lived in the Village of Cross Keys.

Landowners, Realtors seek more disclosure, protections

Despite signs of improvement, Peter Morici sees four reasons to be deeply concerned about where the economy is headed

Banking consultant Anita G. Newcomb says new regulation such as that required by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law will make it difficult for smaller banks to survive without merger partners.

Edwin F. Hale Sr., the Baltimore trucking magnate and developer, said Friday that he has retired as chief executive and chairman of First Mariner Bancorp — the banking company he built from scratch and has struggled in the last several years to save from failure.

The Republican primary season is about to begin, and so far, the candidates are all competing over the same narrow segment of the party base.

Planners use simple benchmarks to help clients see if their savings levels measure up.

In response to concerns raised by a high-profile applicant for a downtown Baltimore slots casino, Maryland officials have relaxed a rule designed to keep people with past gambling transgressions from winning licenses to operate such facilities.

Obama and Wall Street: A cozy relationship

Regulators offer tips on how to spot mortgage modification scam

Occupy Wall Street protesters should remember that government regulators played a role in housing meltdown

Mortgage servicers have started the countdown to foreclosure on more than 18,000 Maryland homes so far this month, a big uptick that is worrying state officials and could signal an end to more than a year of robo-signing-related delays.

The owner of a company that defrauded more than 1,000 people — most from Maryland — in an "egregious" $78 million investment scheme was convicted in federal court Thursday of conspiracy to commit money laundering and related crimes.

Nerve-wracking economic conditions and more stringent mortgage requirements helped push home sales in the Baltimore region to their lowest level for the month of October in at least 13 years, putting more downward pressure on prices.

State regulators said Wednesday that they have ordered Allied Home Mortgage to stop making loans to Marylanders after federal investigators alleged the company violated the law.

Loni Ingraham's recent story, "Latest auction of vacant Armacost nursing home...," (Oct. 20, Towson Times) underscores the growing crisis in Towson and other areas regarding real estate.