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VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM the second-highest delinquency rate in September—12.21 percent—followed by hotel delinquencies at 12.16 percent. Both office and retail delinquencies declined in September, arriving at 10.48 percent and 8.09 percent, respectively. New York Allots $60M for Legal Services to Prevent Foreclosures Schneiderman announced in September that his state will spend $60 million on housing counseling and legal services for struggling homeowners. A portion of the funds is a result of the $25 billion national mortgage servicing settlement, which was reached in February between the five largest mortgage servicers and state and federal officials. Thirty-five legal services organizations New York Attorney General Eric T. and 59 housing counseling agencies will receive $16.1 million to offer free foreclosure help. An additional $3.9 million will go toward training, technical assistance, and other support services to assist homeowners in foreclosure. "Funding housing counseling and legal North Carolina rank: 24 90+ Day 2.80% 2.99% -6.3% 90+ Day 3.83% year ago 4.62% percent point change -17.1% 1.7% Top Core-Based Statistical Area Foreclosure CHARLOTTE-GASTONIA-CONCORD, NC-SC 90+ Day Delinquency Rate august 2012 3.00% year ago 3.29% percent point change -8.8% -0.5% note: The 90+ Day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are 90- plus days delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the August 2012 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary August 2012 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of Lender Processing Services. services is an essential first step to help more families stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. As we continue to investigate the mortgage crisis that has hurt communities in every corner of this state, we must ensure that homeowners get the expert guidance and legal representation they need to protect their rights before it's too late," Schneiderman said. KNOW THIS New York-White Plains-Wayne was the least affordable major metropolitan housing market in the country in Q2, a distinction it's held for 17 straight quarters, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. 3.66% 3.64% Rate 5.28% Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate august 2012 2.92% year ago 3.03% percent point change -3.8% Top County ANSON COUNTY Delinquency Rate august 2012 5.37% Unemployment Rate 9.7% 10.7% -9.3% Foreclosure Rate or $5,000 to eligible applicants who faced possible discriminatory practices based on disability income. BofA cooperated with the investigation and agreed to settle without contested litigation. Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said the case highlights an unfair practice that may not have been receiving enough attention. "Loan applicants with disabilities should not be subjected to invasive requests for medical information from a doctor when they are applying for credit," Perez said. "Today's settlement shines a light on a practice that violates the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit and Opportunity Act." The lawsuit arose after three loan applicants filed complaints through HUD. After an investigation of the complaints, HUD started a broader investigation of BofA's practices, during which the bank revised its policies for documenting disability income. The case was then referred to the Justice Department. The initial three complainants will IN THE NEWS BofA Settles Discrimination Suit but Faces New Fair Housing Allegations September 13 that it reached a settlement with Bank of America (BofA) over allegations of loan discrimination against people receiving disability income. The bank was accused of violating the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by asking disabled mortgage loan applicants to provide letters from their doctors to document the income they received from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Some applicants were asked to provide more detailed medical information to document their income. BofA agreed to maintain revised policies, The Justice Department announced conduct employee training to ensure that all applicants are treated lawfully, and pay compensation to victims to resolve the allegations. The terms of the settlement also require the bank to pay $1,000, $2,500, receive a total of $125,000 to compensate the applicants for costs associated with their loan applications. The bank will hire a third-party administrator to search through approximately 25,000 loan applications involving SSDI income to identify other possible victims. "This settlement confirms the resolve of this office to protect the civil rights of citizens in our district from illegal discriminatory practices," said Anne Tompkins, U.S. Attorney of the Western District of North Carolina, where the settlement was filed. "Discrimination in lending has profound consequences that will not be tolerated." After Bank of America settled with the Justice Department, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and five member agencies filed a federal discrimination complaint against the bank on September 25, alleging widespread neglect in predominantly black and Hispanic communities across the country. NFHA and its members unveiled a HUD-funded report to support the claims that Bank of America violates the Fair Housing Act by neglecting REO properties in these communities. NFHA conducted a study of 373 foreclosed properties across eight major metro areas, including Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. "Our economy may be recovering in some communities, but this is a Tale of Two 99