Jingle Mail May be Urban Myth

Despite reports to the contrary, a trend described as "walking away" or "jingle mail" which involves homeowners voluntarily defaulting on their loans even though they possess the means to make payments has been dismissed by experts as a myth.

The trend which was the subject of "Inside Edition", a celebrity focused TV news program highlighted a story featuring former baseball MVP, Jose Canseco, who abandoned his $2.5 million mansion outside Los Angeles to move into a smaller property.

"You look at the Jose Canseco issue and say that it's a walkaway, but he is probably the only person on his block that did that, said Robert Padgett, director of loss mitigation for Freddie Mac. "Those types of stories garner a lot of attention," he added, but they are isolated occurrences," he is quoted as saying in The New York Times.

According to Moody's, an estimated 9 million American households, or 10.3 percent of all single-family homes, owe more than their home is worth. By comparison, 4.8 percent of home loans were in foreclosure or delinquent by 60 days or more at the end of last year, figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association indicate.

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Fannie and Freddie Shares Plunge

Shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac experienced their sharpest drop in 16 years on Monday amid fears the government backed enterprises may be forced to raise as much as $75 billion in additional capital.

Housing Rescue Slows as Foreclosures Increase

With lenders on the back foot following mounting criticism over their sluggish attempts to quell the rising tide of foreclosures, new figures from Hope Now, show its members helped roughly 170,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure in May. The figure however is a 7 percent drop from April's figure of 183,000.

Mortgage Application Volumes Rise

Weekly mortgage applications in the U.S rebounded in the week ended June 27, figures from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) revealed on Wednesday. The figure is a 3.6 percent week-over-week increase in applications.

Jazz Legend Avoids Foreclosure

Renowned jazz vocalist, Ernestine Anderson has been able to stave off the threat of foreclosure - for now.

Florida sues Countrywide

Florida has joined the increasing number of states to take action against Countrywide, with Florida Attorney General, Bill McCollum filing the lawsuit against the mortgage lender for predatory lending practices.

Five Indicted in Alleged Mortgage Fraud

A federal grand jury has indicted five people on federal charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and other crimes tied to an alleged mortgage fraud scheme.

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