Massachusetts working to improve housing market in-state

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley recently launched an investigation to see if banks had violated state property-recording laws during the housing boom, and broke foreclosure rules during the onset of the housing crisis.

The Boston Herald reported that questionable paper filed by banks on thousands of home sales, refinancings and foreclosures triggered Coakley's probe. Registers of deeds cited a practice known as robo-signings - when an employee authorizes documents without reading them or they do not have the property authority to sign them - to complete numerous applications. Plus, some lenders have used a private network created by lenders to trade home loans among themselves, rather than document the mortgage transfers with registers. Some registers believe this violates Massachusetts property-record laws, according to the news source.

"From predatory loans to robo-signing to service fraud, the banks continue to go merrily on their way while consumers, the real estate industry and the commonwealth of Massachusetts are being cheated," Coakley told the news source.

According to Boston.com, customers looking to buy or sell residential property through the website will receive a special discount and benefits, which include a social media educational seminar. The social media marketing tool for real estate industry professionals, SocialMadeSimple, wants to help professionals market their business and improve relationships with their target audience. The tool provides an easy-to-use platform that offers guidance to users with a library full of industry specific resources.  

More News