Coakley will address foreclosure crisis

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference for today to outline her plans to address the state's foreclosure crisis.

Among other initiatives, the Massachusetts attorney general's office was expected to offer a proposal that would address so-called foreclosure rescue schemes - schemes in which lenders entice troubled homeowners into bailouts that only push them deeper into debt and that can result in the loss of their homes.

Foreclosures have become a problem in Massachusetts over the last year.

The Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data, reported that the number of Massachusetts homeowners facing an auction of their homes from foreclosure jumped 54 percent in April, the fourth consecutive month of increases, the Globe noted in a May 16 story.

Regulators have blamed so-called subprime loans, which are often targeted to home buyers with poor credit, for driving up the number of Massachusetts home owners delinquent on mortgage payments, the Globe has reported.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)