The United States government was initially slow to respond, failing to recognize the magnitude of house of cards (pun intended) that was about to collapse. Eventually, several housing/foreclosure assistance programs, along with their requisite acronyms, were gradually rolled out over time.

Not a single one, or all of them in combination, however, have had their intended impact on recovery. Not yet, anyway.

In fact, in a recent Gallup Poll, 58 percent of Americans want the government to do more to prevent additional foreclosures. In contrast, 34 percent of Americans are against increasing government intervention and prefer that “housing market resolve its problems in its own.”

The complete study, which you can view right here, is more detailed, drawing distinctions between political parties, annual incomes and college graduates.

The good news is that Gallop reports that collective confidence about the national economy, as well as the job outlook, is on the rise. And well all know, people must have jobs and earn incomes to be able to afford houses.

That’s something that just isn’t happening right now, with only 66 percent of those polled owning their primary residences. That ties a 66 percent all-time low.

To read more about the government-backed foreclosure/housing assistance programs — HAMP, HARP, 2MP and HAFA — currently in place click here.

Such is the curious case of Wise Ahadzi, a single father with two young girls, who vacated his house in Brooklyn, N.Y., when he could no longer afford to pay the mortgage. He apparently didn’t realize that he could remain in the home until the foreclosure was complete. In fact, the lender has recently confirmed that he is still the rightful owner of the property until the foreclosure process has run its full course.

Meanwhile, “Occupy” members targeted his house and vowed to fix it up and move in a new family, looking make a bold statement against the major financial institutions that the movement blames for the current economic crisis in the United States.

Ahadzi, according to the New York Post, was “livid” when authorities alerted him about the situation. He’s since pleaded with the protesters to fight for him, since you know, it is his house, but he was told “he doesn’t qualify” for assistance because he is not homeless — he moved to a “meager” two-bedroom apartment nearby while he sorted out his “mortgage nightmare.”

Unreal.

It’s unclear why authorities have not removed the protesters from the home and restored it to Ahadzi.

Regardless, Ahadzi is now fighting a two-front battle: Evicting the illegal squatters who laid claim to his property and negotiating a potential resolution on a mortgage in default to save a house in which other people illegally live.

And there’s no guarantee, when all is said and done, that he can win them both, if any at all.

Bizarro.

Simpson — who was charged with her murder, but ultimately was found innocent after the “Trial of the Century” concluded — is facing foreclosure on the five-bedroom Miami, Fla., home that he purchased back in 2000 for $575,000.

To see Simpson’s preforeclosure listing on Foreclosure.com click here.

In an odd twist, the lender apparently attempted to serve Simpson “on a daily basis” with foreclosure papers; however, “Juice” is currently locked up behind bars in a Nevada prison, “serving a nine-to-33-year prison sentence in a 2007 armed confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel room.”

According to the report from FOXSports.com, the attorneys for the former Buffalo Bills running back are attempting to have the foreclosure case dismissed. It’s unclear who is living in the house while Simpson rides out his jail term and/or what he intends to do with the property if he can rescue it from repossession.

Stay tuned.

The subject of the 2012 Foreclosure.com Scholarship Program is as follows:

“What creative solutions, programs and/or initiatives to stimulate the United States housing market, as well as to turn the foreclosures tide, must a presidential candidate outline/promise to earn your vote? Feel free to include your very own original stimulus plan and/or ideas in your response, which can also be used to enhance existing platforms from candidates and/or other influential thought leaders.”

Foreclosure.com, which received a record-setting amount of entries (nearly 10,000) from students throughout the nation during its scholarship program in 2011 alone, will accept written essays/plans (800-word minimum, 2,000-word maximum) through its website (www.foreclosure.com/scholarship/) from Jan. 1, 2012, to Dec. 1, 2012.

Five winners will be selected by a third-party panel of judges at the conclusion of the contest and will share $9,000 in allotted scholarship funds. The top prize is a $5,000 scholarship and four $1,000 grants will be awarded to the runners up.

“This scholarship program has impacted the lives of the recipients, enhancing their career goals and educational pursuits,” said Linda Yates, Foreclosure.com Director of Education. “With scholarships lessening and disappearing this scholarship has been growing — our applications have increased year-over-year and the competition has grown more fierce. We look forward to continuing that trend in 2012.”

In addition to the five cash prizes in the form of scholarships, totaling $9,000, these solutions will be featured on Foreclosure.com for the entire year. All students must read and agree to the scholarship rules, which are located on the Foreclosure.com contest page (www.foreclosure.com/scholarship), before submitting their entries for review.

“It’s an election year, so we wanted the topic to reflect the thoughts and concerns of our nation,” said Yates. “The housing industry is still trying to recover and the creativity of college students across the nation may be the catalysts to provide solutions that will help the entire economy.”

Foreclosure.com introduced its scholarship program in 2009. Since that time, the company has (or will) award(ed) 15 deserving college students throughout the United States with a total of $27,000 in scholarship money.

For complete details and submission requirements/instructions for the 2012 Foreclosure.com Scholarship Program visit www.foreclosure.com/scholarship.

What’s that mean?

It means that if you are considering a short sale and/or foreclosure the time to act is yesterday. That’s because the amount a lender forgives on a primary residence will be taxable on federal income taxes the second the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, 2013.

Indeed, banks must sign off on a deal, as well as agree to release the distressed homeowner from the debt/shortfall before Dec. 31, 2011.

Currently, under the five-year plan, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) “allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence…. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.”

In 2013?

Sun-Sentinel breaks it down:

” … if a house sold $50,000 short of what is owed on the mortgage, then the selling homeowners will owe federal income taxes on that $50,000. Homeowners would owe $12,500 in they’re in the 25 percent bracket; $7,500 if in the 15 percent tax section. Homeowners would be on the hook even if the house sold but the bank had not formally forgiven the loan in a letter.”

Yuck.

With short sales taking perhaps several months to complete, if not longer, underwater homeowners — or those on the fence — should make their decisions sooner rather than later to avoid Uncle Sam hitting them hard on their taxes.

There’s no word at this time if the debt relief act will be extended again or modified to include “pending” short sales as the deadline approaches.

Stay tuned.

Many Americans are taking the Foghat approach to living these days, unable (or unwilling) to meet their monthly mortgage obligations and, in the process, living rent-free until theirs lenders evict them from their homes.

And with the average distressed homeowner able to live like this for nearly two years (674 days) it’s actually emerged as a popular “strategic” move because of the economic hardship plaguing millions throughout the nation. Indeed, according to a recent CNN Money report, nearly 40 percent of homeowners in default have not paid their lenders a single penny throughout the entire foreclosure process.

The other 60 percent in distress have made some sort of payment(s), ”looking for ways to make good with lenders and get their homes back.”

So how is it possible to live in a home for so long without paying a mortgage?

Well, first, there is the fact that the United States is in the midst of a terrible housing crisis — one of the worst ever.

Foreclosures are abundant, lenders are overwhelmed, robo-signing scandals are rampant, court rooms are beyond clogged with cases. All these conditions, and several others, add up to the foreclosure process taking much longer than it should.

But, that’s not all.

In states like Florida, where foreclosure can take more than three years or longer to complete, and elsewhere homeowners — along with their throng of foreclosure attorneys — have a few tricks up their sleeves to delay foreclosure even longer.

Among the many stall tactics:

• Challenging the bank’s actions
• Waiting to file paperwork right up until the deadline
• Requesting the lender dig up original paperwork
• Declaring bankruptcy ( in some extreme cases)

Meanwhile, the homeowners live rent-free for literally years, saving money and, in some cases, even making it by renting out rooms to friends and relatives, among others.

All the while, holding out hope that a resolution can be hatched that will help them stay put before the local Sheriff comes a knocking, demanding that they vacate the premises.

BofA donated 150 homes throughout the United States in 2011 and plans to up that amount to more than 1,200 in 2012. Wells Fargo, meanwhile. topped 1,120 donated homes last year, which is 295 more than it did in 2010.

Most of these homes are either refurbished, resold or demolished “to rid neighborhoods of blight,” helping the communities in which they are located recover from the housing downturn faster. On the flip side, banks rid themselves of maintaining homes they can’t sell, which, naturally, saves them money over time. Even underwater homeowners who can’t sell their properties are literally giving them away in exchange for tax deductions.

According to the GreenBayPressGazette.com, Habitat for Humanity — a nonprofit housing organization that builds simple, decent, affordable housing in partnership with people in need – renovated and sold 1,210 donated homes that it received from June 2010 to June 2011.

It’s a “win, win, win” decision, according to a BofA official mentioned in the report, which benefits the neighborhood, bank and investor.

That’s a pretty solid life lesson, which should certainly be applied to many things, especially when it comes to making a big decision like where you intend to lay your head at night.

Therefore, be weary of “homeowners” who offer to rent properties — that aren’t even theirs to market — for rockbottom prices. In fact, with the glut of foreclosed homes affecting just about every corner and neighborhood throughout the United States, the opportunities for scammers looking to dupe hard-working, honest folks increase exponentially.

Such is the case foreclosed homes being used to scam would-be renters. The scammers list foreclosed and/or vacant homes for rent, collect a down payment, typically online, and then disappear.

Rinse, wash, repeat and cheat.

A Keller Williams Realty agent from San Jose, Calif., explains how it’s done via the Seattle Times:

“They [a scammer] take my listing, flip it around, advertise it as a rental. People are told to wire money to an overseas account. Usually, the common thread is, ‘I’m the owner, I’m out of the country for some reason, and that is why I can’t come and meet you. If you’re interested, here’s my bank account, for the deposit.’”

Naturally, the would-be renter, in most cases, can’t “enter” the property until a deposit is made, meaning that photos online and a curbside inspection in these types of scams are red flags that must be identified — and avoided — at all costs.

Other foreclosure rent scam red flags include, but are not limited to:

• Insist on meeting the owner
• Don’t wire a deposit in exchange for the keys
• Be wary of rentals that are “too good to be true”
• Get a written rental agreement
• Be suspicious if the owner doesn’t want any information about you

Craigslist, which “goes to great lengths to prevent scams,” is often a common hunting ground for scammers to attempt this type of terrible trick. Be smart, rent carefully.

To check out a very reliable list of foreclosed homes for rent be sure to check out the best nationwide database right here.

Foreclosure.com today announced that the deadline to submit essays for its 2011 scholarship program has expired and that it will now begin the review process of the nearly 10,000 submissions received throughout the 10-month contest.

At the beginning of the year, the company challenged college students throughout the nation, regardless of major, to answer the following question:

“You have acquired $150,000 in cash to be used specifically for a distressed real estate purchase. Outline a detailed strategy that ensures the maximum return on investment, whether it is in terms of financial profit or personal satisfaction … or both.”

Entries, which were required to be original and be at least 800 words in length and no more than 2,000, came from far and wide across the United States, including University of Southern California (USC), Syracuse University, Duke University, Ohio State University (OSU) and Arizona State University (ASU), among others.

In total, the Foreclosure.com 2011 Scholarship Program tallied 9,636 essay submissions.

“We are thrilled with the tremendous amount of submissions we received for our 2011 scholarship program,” said Linda Yates, Foreclosure.com Director of Education. “Now it’s time for our esteemed panel of university professors throughout the nation to determine the five talented winners. We appreciate those educational institutions that have supported our program by sharing/posting the link to our scholarship page for the benefit of their students.”

Foreclosure.com will review each submission and determine the top 20 based on writing ability, creativity, originality and overall excellence. The company will then provide the top 20 submissions to an outside panel of third-party expert judges, whose collective impressions will determine the five scholarship-winning entries.

The grand prize winner with the best essay will receive a $5,000 scholarship, while the four runners up will each receive $1,000 each to put toward their higher educations. In addition, all scholarship winners will have their essays featured on Foreclosure.com’s scholarship page.

Foreclosure.com expects to announce the five winners of its 2011 scholarship program on or around Jan. 31, 2012. In the meantime, already plans to offer a similar scholarship program in 2012 based on the continued success and increasing participation among college students.

“The 2012 scholarship topic will be announced very soon,” said Yates. “We encourage college students to keep checking Foreclosure.com for all the details. It is an exciting time of year as we determine winners and brainstorm next year’s foreclosure topic. We look forward to even more creative and well-thought-out essays in 2012 and beyond.”

Foreclosure.com introduced its scholarship program in 2009. Since that time, the company has (or will) award(ed) 15 deserving college students throughout the United States with a total of $27,000 in scholarship money.

For complete scholarship details visit the Foreclosure.com (http://www.foreclosure.com/scholarship) scholarship page.

“Like I always said, if I’m one of the top players in the game, pay me like I’m one of the top players in the game.”

– Terrell Owens

Former National Football League (NFL) wide receiver, Terrell Owens — who banked somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million in salary, excluding sponsorship/endorsement deals, throughout his colorful 14-year career on the gridiron — recently rid himself of a $2 million condominium located in Dallas, Texas.

However, Owens — who played for the Dallas Cowboys from 2006 to 2008 — had to negotiate a short sale, accepting $1.6 million (about a $400,000 shortfall) rather than losing the property to foreclosure. FOXSports.com reports that this isn’t the first time that the outspoken and controversial wideout has made a short sale play, selling off another property at a $56,000 loss not too long ago.

The six-time Pro Bowl selection, who cracked into the league back in 1996 with the San Francisco 49ers where he played eight seasons, has experienced major financial problems since his involuntary exit from the sport last year because of a knee injury. In fact, he barely avoided jail time a few months for failing to pay child support for his young daughter in Atlanta, Georgia.

Owens, 38, who trails only NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in all-time career touchdowns and receiving yards, recently held a highly-publicized workout for NFL teams in an attempt to keep his career alive. Not a single team attended and Owens remains a free agent.