Foreclosures

ACORN — the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — called out Rep. Michele Bachmann on Thursday for falsely claiming that the group was under federal indictment for voter fraud. The group noted Bachmann’s opposition to foreclosure relief, citing the Minnesota Independent’s report that Bachmann’s district has the state’s highest rate of foreclosures.

A Minnesota Independent analysis of foreclosure data from across the state reveals that the crisis is worst where congressional representation is doing the least to address the issue: Rep. Michele Bachmann’s 6th district leads the state with 5,227 foreclosures and 1.8 percent of households in foreclosure in 2008, but the second-term Republican voted against five key foreclosure relief bills.

The Minneapolis Advantage, a program to encourage home ownership in foreclosure impacted neighborhoods, will receive an infusion of cash which will triple the program’s current budget. Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Des Moines awarded the city $1.5 million to continue the program.

It’s become a broken record of late: Home-price declines breaking records. With the economy on the skids and the subprime crisis still unfolding, home values are getting devoured first. This morning the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index was released, revealing that the trend doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. The 20-city index showed year-to-year August price declines of 16.6 percent. Minneapolis saw a drop of 13.3 percent over the year period, with a 1 percent decline from July to August.

In late March, the FBI warned of the newest form of identity theft: house stealing. The crime often works like this: A group or an individual finds a vacant home. They look up the deed information. They briefly steal the current owner’s identity (or create a fake one if the home has been foreclosed on) [...]

Foreclosures in Minnesota rose by 68 percent in April over the same period last year, according to the latest RealtyTrac study. Minnesota saw 1,405 foreclosures and 38 Notice of Defaults in April. In the first quarter of this year, Minnesota was hit with 4,231 foreclosures, or one foreclosure per 540 households. That’s a 72 percent [...]

In an effort to ward off the rising tide of vacant homes, the city of Minneapolis is offering forgivable $10,000 loans to qualified buyers purchasing homes in one of the city’s 18 eligible neighborhoods. The zero-interest, zero-payment loans are forgiven at a rate of 20 percent each year.

Located mostly within the central South and North [...]

The sun is shining. The snow is melting. The soil is finally softening. Oh, and so are those financial markets. But you already knew that. So on this bright Friday, we offer you, dear readers, more light at the end of that dark, long tunnel. The zinc lining in the dark cloud. It’s Friday Financials!

A group of plaintiffs that includes the city of Minneapolis, the Family Housing Fund, the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation and three neighborhood organizations has announced it plans to file a lawsuit in Hennepin County today accusing a Roseville real estate firm of fraudulently flipping several dozen homes in North Minneapolis.

Here’s some background reading on the [...]

The city of Minneapolis will join with three north Minneapolis neighborhoods Wednesday to file a lawsuit against “a fraudulent real estate scheme” that has worsened the city’s foreclosure crisis, according to a press release from the mayor’s office.

The mayor’s spokesman, Jeremy Hanson, said in an e-mail the lawsuit will be filed against TJ Waconia in [...]