Orange County Register – As of March 1, struggling borrowers who relinquish their homes can live in them temporarily without having to make mortgage payments under new guidelines implemented by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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CNBC – So-called “strategic defaulters,” some of them investors and some owner-occupants, are coming back to the market, despite damaged credit, and apparently the market is welcoming them back.

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DSNews – Designating credit scores below 620 as “subprime,” Equifax found the number of subprime borrowers decreased 2.1 percent from the third quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2012. The 2.1 percent translates to about 1 million Americans who rose from the subprime category.

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New York Times – Many people who file for bankruptcy think that it will be many years before they can obtain a mortgage or refinance an existing home loan, if they ever can – perhaps because notice of a bankruptcy filing typically stays on a credit report for seven to 10 years.  In reality, they could become eligibile in as little as one year, as long as they work diligently to improve their financial picture.

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Inman News – Nearly two-thirds of potential home buyers surveyed by Realtor.com this month say they are likely to buy a home that’s been through the foreclosure process, compared with 25 percent in October 2009.

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Short sellers have increasingly resorted to bankruptcy to extend their stay in the property when a foreclosure (or even a closing date) is looming. It used to be that once a borrower in default filed for bankruptcy protection, the lienholder would quickly obtain permission from the bankruptcy court to continue the foreclosure process. Those days are long gone. Now, very often the lienholders do nothing after a bankruptcy has been filed, but instead simply wait it out until the debtor has received a discharge and the bankruptcy closes. There is simply no hurry for the lienholders to add to their portfolio of REO properties. Agents are now routinely facing a series of unique situations which in the past were rarely encountered. What happens when the seller in contract files for bankruptcy protection? Can real estate licensees sell the property as a short sale during the bankruptcy? Can the property be sold even after the bankruptcy concludes? This Legal Q&A addresses these issues.