Banks move quickly to foreclose on homes after moratoriums lifted

For a second month in a row, foreclosure filings jumped dramatically in April, according to RealtyTrac. More than 342,000 households received at least one foreclosure-related notice in April, just slightly higher than March's record of 340,000. While the moratorium put in place by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 did stall the foreclosure process, it does not appear that any major progress was made in preventing foreclosures.

President Obama's $75 billion incentive plan to encourage the mortgage industry to modify loans rather than foreclose homes was announced in March. The plan was going to help nine million borrowers avoid foreclosure, according to the administration, but based on April's figures it does not appear the banks have been taking that option seriously.