Recently in Foreclosure in Boston:

A state attorneys general’s deal on mortgages is likely and it could cut one million homeowners’ mortgage burden by about $20,000 each, reports the New York Times.

The deal, between the attorneys general, federal officials, and the nation’s biggest mortgage servicers has been on the table for a while, and just needs a little more of a push.

Even as housing secretary, Shaun Donovan, is going forward with crafting a deal, some critics think it might be too lenient.

Alternative forms of resolution, such as mediation and arbitration, have their place within the legal world. Everyone from big companies, to professional athletes, to families going through divorce utilize them. And that has raised the question of whether mediation and arbitration have a place in the real estate industry, too.

One of the parties driving the foreclosure mediation debate is the United States Department of Justice. In writing about their Access to Justice program, the DOJ describes what it means when it refers to foreclosure mediation:

There are millions of jobless in America who are having a hard time affording their monthly mortgage payments.

Perhaps in response to this, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (those dreaded Mac siblings), are announcing an extension of a program that allows unemployed homeowners to defer part or all of their monthly payments for up to 12 months while they are out of work.

The mortgage deferment for unemployed homeowners is a form of forbearance.

Are you a homeowner and want to complain to the federal government about the foreclosure crisis? The Federal Reserve's foreclosure survey could be coming your way, reports the San Francisco Business Times.

The Federal Reserve is not alone in the foreclosure review. The body is joined by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The foreclosure survey will go out to people that faced foreclosures in 2009 or 2010, reports the OCC website. The OCC is calling it the Independent Foreclosure Review.

Homeowners with mortgages should be paying attention to a debate currently taking place at the highest levels of politics.

Turns out that some politicians have been advocating using Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to set off a nationwide mortgage refinancing and it seems to be getting bipartisan support, reports the Washington Post.

The impetus for the idea comes from the fact that more than 75% of homeowners have been paying interest rates higher than 5 percent, whereas the current interest rate is closer to 4 percent. That could mean hundreds of dollars of difference just in a month.

Bank of America's Countrywide Financial unit, which made all sorts of wild home loans in the past, is haunting the bank (rightfully so), most recently in a lawsuit by a bond insurer.

Bank of America (BAC) was sued by MBIA, a bond insurer, for losses that MBIA suffered as a result of Countrywide's loans, and the court recently ruled in MBIA's favor, reports Bloomberg News.

GMAC Mortgage, a national provider of mortgages and home refinancing, will cease buying new mortgage loans in Massachusetts that were made by other lenders and brokers, reports Reuters. GMAC will continue to make those loans that come through its direct lending practice.

“GMAC Mortgage has taken this action because recent developments have led mortgage lending in Massachusetts to no longer be viable,” the company said in a statement.

Even if you don’t own a home, you can be hit hard by foreclosure. And as more and more landlords continue to default on loans and enter foreclosure, renters will want to know what are tenant rights in foreclosure.

When a home is foreclosed upon, the bank becomes the new property owner and the new landlord. As banks normally aren’t in the business of renting homes, the bank will likely try to get rid of the property as soon as it can. Upon sale, renters may be evicted from the home.

This week, President Barack Obama unveiled his latest effort at giving mortgage relief to Americans struggling to remain in their homes. The Obama mortgage relief plan will help about one million borrowers refinance their homes at lower interest rates.

Under the plan, homeowners who are still current on their mortgages would be able to refinance, no matter how much their home value has dropped below what they still owe, reports the Associated Press.

The number of foreclosed homes in Massachusetts are down for the month of September. Only 737 homes were foreclosed upon, a 17 percent drop from September 2010 and an 18 percent drop from August 2011.

According to a study by the Warren Group, the number of foreclosure petitions fell even more drastically last month. There were 1,164 foreclosure petitions filed against homeowners, more than 50 percent lower than the number from September 2010, reports The Boston Globe.