Frederick Cooper Harris III, 43, of Wilmerding, PA., has posh taste in real estate.  Perhaps too posh, considering it just landed him in a great deal of trouble.
After viewing a $500,000 property with a real estate agent, Harris decided it would be a good idea to move in without the owner’s permission.  It turned out to be a remarkably bad …

A homeowner can become desperate looking for ways to avoid foreclosure. Perhaps he or she attempted to do a loan modification, deed-in-lieu and even a short sale, seemingly exhausting all conventional options.
The situation appears hopeless. That is until another, considerably more unconventional option emerges.
Adzookie recently announced that it will pay someone’s mortgage in exchange for turning the distressed homeowner’s house into a giant billboard.
But there’s a catch.
The person who hires Adzookie must own the home. The paint must remain on the home for at …

According to Urban Turf, a DC real estate guide, the listing web site Redfin had the White House listed, of all things, “for sale by owner.” Yup, the 55,000 square foot presidential pad was listed for sale for a cool $10 million, with a price per square foot of $182.00.
On CBSNews.com Redfin released a statement regarding the data faux paus:
“At Redfin we want to show all the homes for sale. So in addition to showing you homes for sale from MRIS, the MLS in DC, we also get for sale …

According to a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel, Florida is now home to the ‘largest house in America.’ The palatial, French provincial modern home dubbed ‘Versailles’ is a whopping 90,000 square feet and offers 13 bedrooms and 23 full baths. The home located in Orange County outside of Orlando is currently under construction and is for sale at an asking price of $75 million.
David Siegel, a time share mogul, and his wife currently own the home and plan to see it to completion for the new owners. …

In her recent trial Patricia Morgen admitted to bilking more than 400 investors out of millions of dollars with faulty real estate investment promises. Morgen was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The Madoffess Morgen is set to pay $9 million in restitution to her victims. However, whether or not that kind of money is still available remains a question.
Morgen was allegedly running a Ponzi scheme, promising investors large profits from real estate investments in the Reno, Nevada area while actually paying previous investors and skimming for herself. …

Locked in Foreclosure
Keith Sadler of Stony Ridge, Ohio barricaded himself and six others within his residence early last week in protest of his recent foreclosure. Days prior his home of twelve years had been taken back by the bank at auction.
Sadler and a group of friends and family members hunkered down for five nights in the foreclosed home but on the sixth morning were met by a police stand-off. Two hours later all seven were arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and trespassing. …

This week’s article, “Jumping Ship: How homeowners are walking away,” explored a disconcerting trend of homeowners “strategically defaulting” on their loans, despite having the ability and the means to remain current. The main reason of this voluntary foreclosure seems to be attributed to an “underwater” mortgage, or a home with a value lower than the amount of the note. Certain moral and ethical alarms sound off when considering this new option, which prompted the creation of a poll. Voice your opinion below.

If you didn’t think foreclosures could get any scarier, think again. A new horror-thriller movie is in the works titled, “Foreclosure” with the tagline: Ghosts don’t move out. Producer and director Richard Ledes is set to start shooting in Queens, NY this week.
The lead role stars Michael Imperioli of HBO’s hit series “Sopranos.”
According to the Web site, “Foreclosure is the story of a broken family striving to stay together while a curse and the ghosts of a haunted house try to tear them apart.”
Richard Ledes, an award-winning …

Today, July 17, 2009, marks one year since the genesis of Foreclosure Research. Our goal has been to provide informative reporting and serve as a checks and balances to the foreclosure reporting industry. Our one year anniversary further exemplifies our commitment to uncovering the truth behind foreclosure data.
Here are a few of the year’s highlights:
July 2008

ForeclosureS.com reports a 5% increase in foreclosures while RealtyTrac reports a 3% decrease, an 8% disparity.

August 2008

New Jersey court systems reports double the foreclosures as RealtyTrac for the same period.
ForeclosureS.com falsely states they …

It looks like Foreclosure research isn’t the only website/researcher uncovering the discrepancies between foreclosure listings providers and the news publications that report their data.
According to a blog on The Washington Post, author Elizabeth Razzi voices her frustrations with foreclosure reporting. In an article posted on March 16, 2009, titled “How Many Foreclosed or Homeless?” Razzi writes, “One of the biggest frustrations in trying to report about this housing crisis and recession is the lack of reliable numbers on two of its most dire outcomes: foreclosures and homelessness.”
Razzi continues by stating, …