Foreclosures Lower Prices by 32%

Wis. Foreclosure Filings Declining So Far in 2010

Firsthand Foreclosure Experience Shared

“The entire foreclosure experience is awful. I still don’t know where I stand after two years of trying to do the right thing. Just because you go through a foreclosure doesn’t make you a bad person,” wrote a reader in a letter to Ken King of Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Sheboygan, which detailed his experiences with his bank. Read more in the Sheboygan Press.

M&I Again Extends Foreclosure Moratorium

Marshall & Ilsley Corp. has again extended a moratorium on home foreclosures that has been in place since December 2008 – this time through Sept. 30, 2010, The Business Journal of Milwaukee reported.

Freddie Chooses Milwaukee for Program

Developer Sues M&I Over Agreement

Subdivision developer Simon Group is suing M&I Bank over an agreement reached earlier this year that allowed the bank to take back several undeveloped properties to settle 15 foreclosure cases. In the suit, Simon Group alleges that M&I did not follow the conditions of the agreement, according to the Business Journal of Milwaukee.

Wis. Foreclosures Up 5% from Last May

Foreclosure filings in May rose about 5 percent in Wisconsin from the same month last year, as jobless homeowners were unable to keep up with mortgage payments even as the economy was showing some signs of improvement, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Foreclosure Activists to Meet with German Bank

Members of the citizen group Common Ground planned to go to Frankfurt, Germany, to speak at the Deutsche Bank shareholders meeting about the foreclosed properties the bank owns or holds in trust in southeastern Wisconsin and elsewhere. The organization has asked the banks to commit to invest money in revitalizing areas that have fallen into disrepair because of the foreclosure crisis, the Milwaukee State Journal reported.

Arrests Possible for Entering Foreclosures

Squatters entering a foreclosed Madison home will now face arrest if they enter. Earlier in the week a local group had illegally entered the home to prepare it for a family to move in. They want the bank to give the home to families for free. Police say they can’t do anything about that trespassing until they’ve made contact with the owner, in this case, bank representatives, WKOW.com reported.

‘Squatting’ in Foreclosed Homes Encouraged

A Madison-based homeless advocacy group, Operation Welcome Home, is encouraging the practice of “squatting” in foreclosed properties. Defending a family that entered a foreclosed home through a broken door and took up residence, the group said “it’s already been paid for as Bank of America, which holds the mortgage, has received millions in federal bailout money during the current recession,” according to a story from Channel3000.com.