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If you never thought you'd read news about rapper Chamillionaire, political pundit George Stephanopoulos, and architect Frank Lloyd Wright all in a single article, today's your lucky day. It was all here on HousingWatch this week -- see what else our readers were interested in:

1. Rapper Chamillionaire Loses Houston Home to Foreclosure
Best known as a 1-hit wonder for "Ridin' Dirty" (inspiration for Weird Al's brilliant riff, "White 'n Nerdy"), the Houston-based rapper / businessman has decided to "give [his house] back to the bank" instead of continuing to make payments on a property he's "never at". Groan. Read more.

2. San Francisco Condo: Short Hop to Giants' Ballpark, $1.8M
Peep this stunning Bay Area condo that's within foul-ball range of San Francisco's AT&T park, home to MLB's Giants. The gorgeous 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom home features several hard-to-find features (in city-center San Franciso, anyway) such as two private rooftop decks, a solar spa, and a 1-car garage. Play ball! Read more.

Are you one of the millions who didn't make the cut for the federal loan modification program, because you weren't in bad enough trouble? If your loan is held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you may be in luck.

Worried that home prices will continue to decline, Fannie and Freddie are offering a hand to borrowers looking to shrink their mortgage payments. American Banker reports that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have begun offering loan modifications to borrowers who tried but couldn't qualify for the Home Affordable Modification Program because their housing costs are less than 31 percent of their income.

Why would the Feds do that?

With the average foreclosure now taking 438 days, delinquent borrowers are finding that they can live in their homes without making mortgage payments for at least a year. But there is a catch. That nationwide average may not apply in your state.

The states with the longest wait time before foreclosure are those states that require a judicial foreclosure, which means the bank or investor must take the case to very crowded courtrooms. There are 16 states that require a judicial foreclosure: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

But even if you don't live in one of those states, your state might be taking action to slow down foreclosures and at least require a mediation before you lose your home.

Are you considering applying for help from a foreclosure prevention program? Here's some good news. Recent changes to the largest foreclosure prevention program, the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), should help the program work much more smoothly.

Over the last year, the press about HAMP has been overwhelmingly negative. Recent stories like this one in the Wall Street Journal point out that one-in-every-four borrowers who entered the program with trial modifications to their home loans have since been thrown out of the program.

Hundreds of thousands more borrowers have waited with trial modifications that went for six months or even longer, often racking up heavy fines and fees in the process according to the story, even though the trial period is only supposed to last three months.

Why were so many people kicked out? And how can the program be made to work?

It used to be that when people got into more financial trouble than they could manage on their own, they would declare personal bankruptcy.

Then, in 2005, U.S. bankruptcy laws became more stringent: The amount of home equity that was protected from creditors was subject to tougher rules and, along with additional costs, filing bankruptcy was not the "fresh start" for the many who had used it before.

Now the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has released research that argues that the change in bankruptcy rules actually forced more homeowners into mortgage default than otherwise would have been the case. The group of economists that authored the report say that nearly 200,000 mortgages are delinquent or have gone into default because of the new laws.

Could more homeowners have held on to their homes if bankruptcy laws were preserved?

As recently reported on NBC Miami's website, homeowners in danger of losing their homes because of an increasing mortgage now have a place to turn, and it's as easy as logging on and registering on the site. It's called freeHAMPreport.com and was created by the website's CEO and founder, Jonathan Ende.

It's a one-stop-shop site where the process is neatly organized in a way that makes it comprehensible and doable. It provides assistance through the maze of forms and paperwork necessary to get homeowners back on track and, essentially, save their homes.

It was a big news week for homeowners, as the federal government ended its massive mortgage asset buying program that has been propping up the housing market, home prices barely budged, and California Governor Schwarzenegger unveiled a new $10,000 tax credit for home buyers. HousingWatch had those stories and more. See what else was happening on HousingWatch this week.

1. Extreme Makeover Home Sells in Las Vegas
If you're looking to buy in Las Vegas, here's your chance to own a tricked-out "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" house without having the hyper-active Ty Pennington invade your space for a week.

2. DJ AM Goldstein's SoHo Apartment Sells
A NYC buyer was able to look past the stigma surrounding the apartment where Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein passed away last year, putting down a contract on the SoHo property that listed a few months ago for $1.79 million.

The U.S. Treasury building in Washington, D.C. - where HAMP is administered.

Happy Birthday, HAMP!

As the federal foreclosure mitigation program hits the one-year mark, it's finally helping a significant number of people renegotiate their mortgage payments and stay in their homes.

More than a quarter million people had been approved for permanent home loan modifications through the $75 billion federal Home Affordable Modification Program as of the end of February, according to the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

And there's an indirect benefit to a wider group of people who may be worried about the value of their homes: A new wave of home loan foreclosures is the biggest potential threat to the housing market's weak recovery.

Broward County protests Bank of America's poor track record helping homeowners.

As Florida continues to reel from foreclosures, some officials have had enough. Of Bank of America, that is.

Last week, Broward County's Board of Commissioners barred the bank from participating as one of five co-managers in an upcoming municipal bond sale. The bond will raise $208 million to pay for the replacement of a section of the county courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Why keep out brawny BofA?

The county commission wanted to send a message: Bank of America, they believe, is not playing nice with struggling homeowners who desperately need mortgage loan modifications.

Having trouble getting through the red tape of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)? You're not alone. But getting mortgage relief has just gotten a little bit easier.

A new web site, FreeHAMPreport.com, promises to walk you through the process and determine whether you are eligible for HAMP within 15 minutes -- at no cost. It even offers online chat if you run into trouble completing the information needed for HAMP paperwork. If you do qualify, the site offers more assistance, for a fee. But we're thrilled to see a useful tool to help borrowers who have been struggling with the complex process of applying for a mortgage modification.

Underwater and waiting to exhale

According to a draft proposal obtained by the Wall Street Journal and some others, the Treasury Dept. is toying with the idea of giving distressed homeowners 30 days to respond to a mortgage lender after being turned down for a mortgage modification---you know, the type most folks haven't been able to obtain anyway.

During the 30-day response period, while the homeowner is presumably appealing the decision, the home could not be put up for sale at auction.
(Servicers would also have to provide written certification that a borrower isn't eligible for HAMP before a foreclosure can proceed).

With so many homeowners "underwater" and vulnerable to foreclosure, Is delay the answer? Treasury officials apparently thinks so.

President Obama and Senator Harry Reid

In his latest effort to stop the foreclosure tidal wave, President Obama, flanked by Nevada Senator Harry Reid (D), on Friday announced a Plan B for five states hardest hit by the housing crisis: Nevada, Florida, Michigan, California, and Arizona. The president is directing an additional $1.5 billion in aid to the states, which they can spend as they choose.

It's small change compared to the $50 billion the feds have committed so far to the Home Affordable Modification Program, but don't be deceived. This could be the first baby step toward real help for homeowners – if the states play their cards right.

Will the cramdown survive into the next decade?

Banks have successfully lobbied against many proposed financial reforms, but perhaps none more strenuously than the cramdown -- a court-ordered reduction of a mortgage loan's outstanding principal. Although lowering principal is arguably one of the most effective ways to stem foreclosures, banks have killed numerous attempts to allow bankruptcy judges to cramdown.

As the year drew to a close, however, a surprising pattern was observed: more banks and thrifts were stepping up to the plate and lowering mortgage principals themselves, according to a report released in late December by the Office of the Comptroller (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervisions. Even though banks and hedge funds have spent millions to stop such regulations, they seem to realize the times are changing.

Get this: Citigroup wants to make sure that its customers -- those on the verge of being booted out of their homes -- have a less stressful holiday. So the beleaguered bank has decided to give them a holiday reprieve by suspending foreclosures and evictions for up to 30 days.

"We want our borrowers to have a much less stressful time, to spend their time with their families during the holidays as opposed to worrying about their homes," the head of Citi's mortgage division told the Associated Press.

Do they get a Hallmark card, too?

I mean, does anybody believe that Citigroup really cares what kind of holiday its customers have? Banks have been dragging their feet so much on loan modifications, it's hard to believe Citigroup or any other bank cares about the type of holiday American families will have.

When Lindsay Zortman and her husband put up their newly renovated house on the market in September 2008, the family moved into a rental home so that it would be easier to close on the sale. But the real estate market collapse went into full force, and the Zortmans decided to tough out the winter and then move back into their luxurious five-bedroom country home in the spring since no one was buying it. Tragedy overtook them, however, when the couple learned that their youngest son had brain cancer.

Photo Gallery: These Famlies Considered Walking Away

Lots of money and effort went into treating their 3-year-old son and the family stopped focusing on selling their house. "In December 2008, we made the hard decision to stop paying our mortgage and let our home go into foreclosure," says Zortman. "Our only thought was that money didn't matter as much as being together. Our credit was ruined and we knew [the situation] was just going to get worse with both of us off of work," she adds.

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