BUSINESS
Yvonne Wenger | May 30, 2012
More buyers are looking to score a deal on a foreclosure, while more Americans are worried that the foreclosed properties will lower their home values. Those are two of the highlights from a recent Realtor.com survey that illustrates how people's attitudes about foreclosures are changing. That's perhaps not too surprising, given that bank-owned properties have become commonplace in American cities in recent years. Realtor.com, the website for the National Association of Realtors, commissioned the survey, which was conducted May 4-6. The results are based on more than 1,000 interviews.
NEWS
January 13, 2012
This letter is in regard to your recent coverage of the foreclosure protest in Union Square ("Occupy Baltimore members gather to fight foreclosure," Jan. 11). As a reader and subscriber to the online and print editions of The Sun, I am disappointed because the article lacked facts and background information that could have made it great. It's also a situation that ties into many issues The Sun has covered recently such as "Occupy" protest, the city's high property tax rate, foreclosures, short sales, disillusion at large banks receiving special treatment that little people do not, and human interest about the plight of our elderly.
NEWS
November 28, 2007
Cities across America are feeling the sharp pinch of the subprime mortgage crisis: billions in lost tax revenues, a decline in new-housing starts, fewer home sales and - most insidious - a swell of vacant, foreclosed homes. Mortgage lenders aren't responding fast enough to the crisis, which leaves room for others to step in - and bankruptcy judges are in an excellent position to help. They should be given the power to reset home mortgage rates as an immediate remedy for those seeking bankruptcy protection.
BUSINESS
By Lorraine Mirabella, The Baltimore Sun | April 30, 2012
A Reisterstown synagogue facing foreclosure is one of an increasing number of U.S. houses of worship suffering in the continuing financial slump. Susquehanna Bank filed to foreclose on Adat Chaim in March, saying in court papers that the 27-year-old synagogue had defaulted on an $800,000 loan taken out in 2005. The Lititz, Pa.-based bank, which filed the case in Baltimore County Circuit Court, listed remaining debt of more than $756,0000. Once nearly unheard of, foreclosures on houses of worship jumped to record numbers nationally in the past two years, showing that religious facilities are not immune to the wave of foreclosures that followed the bursting of the credit bubble.
BUSINESS
By Steve Kilar and The Baltimore Sun | January 8, 2013
A Baltimore Circuit Court judge has given the go-ahead for Citigroup to sell property in South Baltimore's Westport neighborhood that is owned by developer Patrick Turner, according to court records. In November, lender Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corp. filed a foreclosure action against Turner-affiliated companies, alleging they owed nearly $32 million on a 2007 loan. Several parcels of land -- 2401 through 2417 Kloman Street -- were secured as collateral for the loan, according to court records.
NEWS
By Yvonne Wenger, The Baltimore Sun | January 10, 2012
Occupy Baltimore protesters set a new scene Tuesday for their stand against corporate greed and social injustice: a red-brick rowhouse in Union Square where a 65-year-old widow has made her home for nearly six years. As many as 100 protesters gathered outside Lila Kara's house, where faded American flags occupy a curbside flower bed, to block the Baltimore City Sheriff's Office from evicting the Bulgarian immigrant — at least for a day. The action is an evolution of Baltimore's version of the three-month-old national movement, when protesters camped at McKeldin Square.