State Sues Feds Over Foreclosure Practices

Even if you think a huge federal agency is breaking state laws, who has the money and experience to sue them? Maybe a state? The Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is suing the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the mortgage behemoths Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae for violating a 2012 state law aimed at stopping some foreclosures.

In effect, Massachusetts passed a law that allows for the sale of homes in foreclosure to non-profit groups that might restructure the loan and sell the property back to the homeowner. Coakley said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have continued to block buybacks even though they lose money in the process – the companies are under the supervision of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA.

You can read details and some of the arguments at Boston.com here: Massachusetts sues federal agency over housing law