Bank Seizures of U.S. Homes Drop 9% as States Probe Foreclosure Practices

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"Home seizures in the U.S. fell 9 percent in October from the previous month, the biggest decline in a year, as attorneys general began a nationwide probe into lender foreclosure practices, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

The number of properties taken back by banks fell to 93,236 last month from a record 102,134 in September, the Irvine, California-based data seller said today in a report. Foreclosure filings, which also include default and auction notices, fell 4 percent from the previous month to 332,172 and were little changed from a year earlier. One in 389 households got a filing.

Top legal officers in all 50 states began a coordinated inquiry on Oct. 13 into whether banks and loan servicers used false documents and signatures on hundreds of thousands of foreclosures in a process known as “robo-signing.” The probe is on a “fast track” and may lead to multiple settlements, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, the leader of the investigation, said in an interview this week.

Foreclosures last month “probably would have been higher except for the fallout from the recent ‘robo-signing’ controversy,” RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James J. Saccacio said in a statement. The probes are likely to result in further declines in home seizures in November, he said."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-11/home-seizures-in-u-s-decline-9-as-states-probe-foreclosures.html