The Kalamazoo Gazette reports from Michigan. "No matter the motivation, many homeowners are finding that despite reasonable interest rates, they're stuck with the loans they've got. The problem? Declining home prices and a slow market have stolen the equity many homeowners thought they had built up in their properties."

"Lost equity has been especially severe for those who bought homes in 2005 and 2006 using adjustable-rate mortgages and down payments of less than 20 percent, experts say."

"'Anybody who got a low-down-payment loan in the last couple years is under water right now,' said Brian Seibert, president-elect of the Michigan Mortgage Brokers Association."

"The large number of home foreclosures is driving down prices because when a bank resells a property, it's usually at a heavily discounted price, Seibert said. Home repossessions after foreclosure in the county are on track to top 1,000 this year, which would be a record."

"'Most of the sales in the last six months have been distressed sales,' Seibert said."

"Eric Hendrickson, senior VP of mortgage lending in West Michigan for Fifth Third Bancorp, said much of the secondary market has dried up. So Fifth Third is denying risky refinances when borrowers don't have enough equity built up."

"'If they borrowed 100 percent of value two years ago, the equity probably won't be there,' he said. 'Home prices have declined. That's the issue.'"

The Grand Rapids Press from Michigan. "Propelled by a fast-growing housing market and rapid development, bank profits were soaring in 2006 as dividends were on the rise with little indication of an end in sight."

"But by 2007, things started to get ugly. Bankers who had been loaning out cash to practically anyone with a pulse found themselves in a pickle. An oversupply of housing left developers with no buyers and unable to pay on loans for huge projects."

"Banks admitted they didn't know how bad the situation would get. Turns out, it got really, really bad. So bad that bankers such as Fifth Third Chief Executive Kevin Kabat began to talk about a potential wave of bank failures, without naming names."

"So bad that hyperbole like 'uncharted waters' and 'the worst I've ever seen" became part of the everyday vernacular in an industry that had only a few years ago become accustomed to talking 'record profits' and 'expectations for continued success.'"

"'We're in waters as a banking industry that in my 26 years I have never seen,' said Sean Welsh, regional president for National City."

The Indystar from Indianapolis. "A national housing activist group is threatening legal action to force Lake County's sheriff to halt the sale of foreclosed properties. The Lake County Council recently endorsed the group's proposal for a temporary moratorium on home foreclosures to give homeowners more time to try to save their homes."

"More than 4,600 foreclosures have taken place in Lake County since October 2006, part of a national trend as adjustable rate mortgage payments start to balloon."

"Lake County Chief Judge John Pera said that while he is sympathetic, he'd be reluctant to deviate from the prescribed legal response to late mortgage payments.'

"'There isn't a judge in this county who is not concerned about the foreclosure situation,' Pera said. 'Unfortunately, the judiciary has to follow the law, and the law allows for mortgage foreclosures.'"

The Courier News from Illinois. "Pressed by a wave of foreclosures in South Elgin, the village board approved an ordinance this week cracking down on owners who let vacant properties fall apart."

"Community Development Director Steve Super said the code enforcement staff estimates between 100 and 180 homes in South Elgin are vacant. Not all are empty because of mortgage foreclosures. But a growing number are, and those probably cause the most problems, Super said, because they often end up owned by some far-away bank or mortgage company that does nothing to keep up the property."

"Before joining the board's unanimous 'yes' vote, Trustee Scott Richmond said forcing a homeowner who already can't pay his mortgage to hire a local property manager and go through red tape 'seems like piling on.'"

"But Super said the original resident rarely will be affected by the new rules. 'The vast majority of the parties involved are banks,' Super said."

From WJFW TV 12 in Wisconsin. "Even the Northwoods isn't immune to the hard times being seen in the housing market. Eric Johnson is a broker and owner at Remax First in Minocqua, he says, 'We're being pulled into what's happening in the rest of the country. Our market is slower.'"

"Mike Mulleady, GM of Coldwell Banker Mulleady Realtors adds, 'We've had such a hot market over the last 5 years that it's come back down to a normal range.'"

"And for buyers that's good news. 'They buyers know it's a buyer's market. They are jumping around like butterflys from flower to flower to see what's there,' says Mulleady."

From Kiplinger. "The market shows no signs of reviving anytime soon. In May, Dave and Mary Jo Nelson hired an auctioneer to sell their large, pristine home on Big Sand Lake, near Hertel, Wis., which includes an acre of lakefront land."

"The Nelsons were angling for $399,000. But the highest bid came in at $355,000, and the Nelsons rejected it. They want to move somewhere 'where it's warm and there's no snow,' says Mary Jo, but they're still holding out for a better offer."

"Two years ago, shells were selling quickly for as much as $85,000. Now Pat Tomanek, a real estate agent in Siren, Wis., can show you a two-story, 1,200-square-foot shell on a generous lot near Crooked Lake for $59,900, down from the original asking price of $75,000."

"Minnesota's Cross Lake glistens in the spring sunshine as real estate agents Jeremiah Bicknese and Tricia Erickson inspect waterfront homes listed for sale. One drab, four-bedroom rambler needs paint but is redeemed by a two-level wraparound deck with a lake view and a boat dock."

"The sellers were asking $335,000 last summer and struck out; over the winter, they cut the price to $290,000. 'It's still way overpriced for the condition it's in,' confides Bicknese. Would the sellers take $250,000? 'I bet they would,' he says. 'Absolutely.'"

"Just a few hundred feet away sits a smaller but more appealing home, in much better condition. And it's been on the market for a year, priced first at $249,000, then $229,000 and now $209,000. 'They'd take $190,000 if you did a cash transaction and closed quickly,' says Bicknese."

The Timberjay from Minnesota. "In Minnesota, home foreclosures could exceed 66,000 by the end of 2008, according to a study that compiles data from the state's 87 counties for the first time."

"Foreclosures in the Twin Cities area rose from 3,759 in 2005 to 7,039 in 2006 - a jump of 87 percent - and leaped to 12,974 in 2007. The study forecasts that foreclosures in the area could rise to 19,936 in 2008."

"Leading the pack by sheer numbers is Hennepin County, where foreclosures from 2005 through 2007 reached 10,284 and are projected to grow by another 8,585 in 2008."

"'The FBI ranks Minnesota as the fourth highest state in the county for mortgage fraud,' added Warren Hanson, president of the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund. 'I don't know if it's because we're considered easy pickings because we're trusting or if it was because fast-rising property values created opportunities for lots of mischief.'"

The Courier from Iowa. "Southern Cedar Falls neighborhoods Greenhill Village, Greenhill Townhomes and Huntington Ridge were developed primarily by Regency Homes, but construction came to a halt in late April when the Des Moines-based company announced it could no longer cover its financial obligations."

"Regency subcontractors suspended construction on homes throughout the state, and mechanics' liens and lender lawsuits piled up against the homebuilder. Several of Regency's properties in the neighborhoods have been purchased by Weichert Realtors-Inspired Real Estate --- the real estate company that previously had been selling the homes for Regency."

"All involved parties are trying to downplay the neighborhoods' association with Regency. Signs at the entrances to the neighborhoods have been altered to remove affiliation with the stagnant homebuilder, but within the neighborhood, Regency signs are still present on the properties that the company still owns."

"'We're not trying to put a ribbon on a pig,' Darryl High of High Development Corp., the underlying developer of the neighborhood, said of the situation. 'But for those of in the process of trying to move forward, we don't want to take any additional bumps.'"

The Kansas City Star from Missouri. "Don't blame Missouri's subprime mortgage problems on subprime loans, says a researcher for the credit union industry."

"'Let's not overreact. Let's not do away with subprime lending, because that has helped a lot of people who up until now have not been able to purchase a home,' said Nancy Pierce, president of Tipton Research Group in Kansas City."

"Pierce said she found that Missouri's subprime loan problems had much to do with mismatches between buyers' income levels and the amount of money they were borrowing, not the kind of loan itself."

"'People were buying more house than they could afford,' she said."

"Pierce said some lenders improperly qualified buyers based on temporarily low interest rates that held down house payments. Problems compounded when stagnant-to-falling house prices prevented borrowers from refinancing."

"'It's not the subprime loan by itself that's the culprit here,' Pierce said. 'There's been a lot of greed that has gone on in a lot of different areas that has contributed to the subprime problem.'"

"Pierce said the research also found that subprime mortgage delinquencies in Missouri have been above the national average, though foreclosures have been below the average. Pierce said that the state may yet see a surge in foreclosures."

"Unfortunately, Pierce said, credit union managers have told her recently that they were beginning to see borrowers miss payments on other types of loans, hoping to keep their mortgages paid up. She said that could suggest more difficulties ahead."

From KMBC.com in Missouri. "Is there a silver lining to the record number of home foreclosures? A Northland real estate agent said there is if you are willing to take a chance on a Department of House and Urban Development home."

"KMBC's Bev Chapman reported that you probably would not think of a $300,000 home in Riss Lake as a HUD home. But the house had a government-backed loan, and when the family who lived there lost it, it went back to the government."

"Sometimes people who are forced from these homes are not happy. 'Somebody's been real rough on this place. I bet somebody rehabbed this and got over-extended. Every door's been kicked in,' said Mike Phillips of Century 21."

"The bank has already been here, and the locks have been changed. Phillips is just here to check out the property and try to sell it. Chapman reported that Phillips is moving as many as 150 homes a month. They are priced to sell as is. Before the mortgage crisis, Phillips said he might sell one a month."

"'How we got into this situation was mortgage fraud; people fudging numbers, mortgage brokers fudging your numbers when you don't know about it,' Phillips said."

"'It's just average mom and pop ... working couples. It's sad when something like this happens. They were just trying to achieve the American dream. (They) did everything they could to own a home, even though home ownership might not have been right for them at that point in time,' Phillips said."