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New Funds Now Available to First-Time Homebuyers Who Purchase and Rehabilitate Foreclosed Homes in...

Partnership between MassHousing, city of Brockton, Brockton Housing Partnership, and lenders will help create opportunities for buyers who buy properties in need of repair. BOSTON, MA - June 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing announced a new initiative today in partnership with the city of Brockton, Brockton Housing Partnership, and area lenders to make grant funds available to first-time homebuyers who purchase foreclosed homes in Brockton.

AG Coakley Reaches Settlements with Real Estate Company and Broker for Serving Alleged Deceptive...

BOSTON, MA - May 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- AG Coakley has reached settlements with a Fairhaven real estate company and a real estate broker for delivering alleged deceptive notices to tenants living in foreclosed properties in Roxbury and southeastern Massachusetts in an effort to unlawfully break their lease agreements and remove them from the properties. The notices allegedly threatened to remove the tenants and their belongings from the premises if the defendants were not immediately contacted.The Assurances of Discontinuance filed yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court against RE/MAX Classic of Fairhaven and real estate broker Simone Schettino provide a broad range of relief and preventive measures to ensure their future compliance with state and federal consumer protection laws

Former Adams Man Ordered to Pay $185,657 in Connection with Western Massachusetts Mortgage Fraud

BOSTON, MA - May 11, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- A former Adams man has been ordered to pay $185,657 in damages and civil penalties for engaging in mortgage fraud that resulted in a string of foreclosures in Adams, Greenfield, North Adams, and Pittsfield, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced today.AG Coakley’s Office obtained a Final Judgment against Richard E. Doherty, 65, of Norwich, Connecticut, resolving claims of mortgage fraud that were outlined in a 2008 lawsuit. The final judgment, entered by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Fahey last week, determined Doherty violated the Consumer Protection Act when he obtained loan proceeds by fraudulently procuring mortgages on multi-family homes and commercial buildings in communities in Western Massachusetts.

Kerry, Brown: Seven Mass Housing Organizations To Receive $399,780 For Foreclosure Prevention

BOSTON, MA - April 20, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown today announced that seven Massachusetts housing organizations will receive a total of $399,780 in federal funding from NeighborWorks America. The funding will be used to help local communities revitalize and sustain their neighborhoods and to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure.

New Funds Now Available to First-Time Homebuyers Who Purchase and Rehabilitate Foreclosed Homes in...

Partnership between MassHousing, city of Haverhill and Haverhill Bank will help create opportunities for qualified buyers who purchase properties in need of repair. BOSTON, MA - April 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- MassHousing, Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini and Haverhill Bank announced a new initiative today to make grant funds available to first-time homebuyers who purchase foreclosed homes in Haverhill. Qualified homebuyers who obtain a MassHousing Mortgage through Haverhill Bank will be eligible for a second loan to assist in rehabilitating the foreclosed property. The second loan will be funded through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), which was created in federal economic recovery legislation.

AG Coakley Sues Danvers Man for Soliciting Illegal Fees From Homeowners for Foreclosure Services

BOSTON, MA - April 13, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a lawsuit against Christian Hayes, of Danvers, a former mortgage loan officer with Bank of America, alleging he deceptively funneled loan modification requests originally directed to Bank of America to his company Foreclosure Alternatives where he demanded illegal fees from distressed homeowners before assisting them with their troubled mortgages. The Attorney General’s Office is seeking a preliminary injunction prohibiting Hayes and his business from soliciting or advertising foreclosure-related services to Massachusetts residents, destroying any records or transferring assets.“Homeowners who were struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments went to their lender seeking expert advice and we allege that those homeowners were mislead and taken advantage of,” said Attorney General Martha Coakley. “Under first-in-the-nation regulations that our office issued, it is illegal for a mortgage professional to require up-front fees to assist struggling homeowners. Our office will continue to hold accountable individuals and businesses who attempt to exploit struggling homeowners in this unfair and deceptive manner.”

HUD SECRETARY ANNOUNCES DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR MASSACHUSETTS STORM VICTIMS

WASHINGTON, DC - April 1, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to seven counties in Massachusetts and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following the ongoing severe storm and flooding this month.

Kerry: Chelsea to Receive $352,000 for Foreclosure Prevention

BOSTON, MA - March 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator John Kerry today announced that Chelsea Neighborhood Developers, Inc. will receive $352,000 in federal funding from NeighborWorks America. The funding will be used to help local communities revitalize and sustain their neighborhoods and to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure.

Kerry: South Shore to Receive $84,000 for Foreclosure Prevention

BOSTON, MA - March 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator John Kerry today announced that Neighborhood Housing Services of the South Shore, Inc. will receive $84,000 in federal funding from NeighborWorks America. The funding will be used to help local communities revitalize and sustain their neighborhoods and to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure.

Kerry: Lawrence to Receive $163,500 for Foreclosure Prevention

BOSTON, MA - March 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Senator John Kerry today announced that Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc. will receive $163,500 in federal funding from NeighborWorks America. The funding will be used to help local communities revitalize and sustain their neighborhoods and to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure.

PATRICK-MURRAY ADMINISTRATION TARGETS $5.1 MILLION TO SUPPORT FORECLOSURE PREVENTION EFFORTS IN FIVE COMMUNITIES

BOSTON, MA - March 8, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Friday, March 5, 2010 – Furthering the Patrick-Murray Administration's commitment to improve communities hard hit by foreclosure, Governor Deval Patrick today announced that $5.1 million in federal funds will be allotted to boost neighborhood stabilization programs underway in Framingham, Leominster, Lynn, Marlboro and Worcester. Those funds can be used to acquire, and rehabilitate foreclosed properties and get them reoccupied with new renters or homeowners."Foreclosed and vacant properties lessen the quality of life for entire neighborhoods," said Governor Patrick. "This influx of additional funds to those communities will enhance the good work they are already doing to revitalize neighborhoods and create new affordable housing opportunities for hard-working individuals and families who earn modest wages."

City of Boston, Bank of America Announce Pilot to Preserve Tenancies in Foreclosed Properties

October 29, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Bank of America Corporation today announced a first-of-its-kind in the nation initiative to prevent tenants from being displaced out of foreclosed homes. The initiative marks the latest expansion in the City’s on-going efforts to meet all of the challenges presented by the foreclosure crisis

Delahunt Announces Foreclosure Assistance To South Shore

Funds to Help Homeowners at Risk of Losing Homes. WASHINGTON, DC - October 21, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt today announced the award of $115,823 in Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants to Quincy Community Action Programs (QCAP) and the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority.

MassHousing Honors Seven Lenders for Their Commitment to Affordable Housing

Bank of Canton recognized as top producing lender and top minority lender. BOSTON, MA - May 21, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — MassHousing recently honored seven of the agency’s top-producing lending partners for 2008 during its annual Home Ownership Awards Ceremony.

Boston Hosts Second Homeowner Foreclosure Prevention Workshop

April 07, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) — Mayor Thomas M. Menino, together with the Boston Home Center, today hosted hundreds of residents at the City's second Homeowner Foreclosure Prevention Workshop in an effort to connect some of Boston's most vulnerable homeowners with their mortgage servicer to see if they can avoid foreclosure. Today's event, held at Madison Park High School in Roxbury, drew seven servicers, eight non-profit housing organizations, and more than 200 homeowners.

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AG Healey Secures $2 Million in Restitution for 20,000 Massachusetts Homeowners...

One of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers will pay $2 million in restitution to resolve allegations that it violated state law and committed unfair and deceptive practices by charging Massachusetts homeowners for unnecessary fees and overpriced force-placed insurance policies, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today