Average U.S. 30-year mortgage rate at 4.2% – Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates declined slightly this week, after marking their largest one-week gain of the year the previous week.

Major Delinquency Metrics Turned Higher in July – Mortgage delinquencies jumped in August, a 5 percent increase which sent the rate to its highest level since February.   At the same time, foreclosure starts declined for the first time in five months, dropping 10 percent from July and 24 percent from August 2013.  There were 81,600 foreclosures initiated during the month.

Bringing a Defective Product Liability Claim – Not all personal injury lawsuits stem from accidents. When a person suffers an injury because of a faulty product they used, they may be able to file a defective product liability claim to recover for their harms and losses (damages).

Divorce, Sanford Style: Social Media and Mediation – The Mark Sanford divorce saga has gone back behind closed doors: After a surge of attention to the South Carolina congressman’s rambling Facebook post on Friday about his private life, a family-court judge said today that Mr. Sanford and his ex-wife, Jenny, have agreed to mediation on parenting issues and other concerns.

First rise in foreclosure auctions in nearly four years – Foreclosures are up for the first time in nearly four years. But housing experts aren’t worried.

Wells Fargo finds mortgage myths hamper home purchases – Getting a mortgage in the United States may be easier than many borrowers think, according to a survey released Monday by Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), the largest U.S. mortgage lender.

More mediation ordered over potential Detroit bankruptcy deal – A federal judge on Thursday ordered ongoing mediation in Detroit’s historic bankruptcy over a potential settlement between the city and one of its fiercest creditors, while adding holdout creditor Financial Guaranty Insurance Co to the list of parties whose attendance is required.

Social Security and Divorce: Can You Collect Benefits on Your Ex’s Earnings Record? – If you’re divorced and juggling expenses, being able to boost your income with a spousal benefit can be a real plus. But no matter what your marital status, it pays to do some serious thinking about the best time for you to file. Your health, family longevity, and overall retirement plan are all factors to consider. If you can wait a few years to collect a larger benefit, that’s probably the smartest choice for the long term.

US foreclosure activity rises for second straight month in August: RealtyTrac – U.S. foreclosure activity jumped in August for the second consecutive month as banks started the process on more properties and scheduled more housing auctions, industry firm RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Mediators discuss alternative to court – Imagine your neighbor suing you over a barking dog, or your landlord refusing to return your deposit. What if you don’t have time or money to go to court? Mediation is the answer for many people because it is often cheaper and faster than litigation.

Ask Carrie: Social Security and Divorce: Can You Collect Benefits on Your Ex’s Earnings Record?  – The first requirement is that your marriage must have lasted for at least 10 years. Interestingly, it doesn’t matter if your ex has since remarried—you’re still in the picture benefits-wise.

Real estate Q&A: Foreclosure may wipe out lien holder’s claim – Liens have priority in the order in which they are recorded, so if the lender recorded its mortgage before your judgment, it can foreclose your lien along with his ownership (as long as it followed certain procedures in the foreclosure process, such as including your lien in the lawsuit).

Silicon Valley tech titans beg for more mediation time in wage-fix lawsuit – Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley have filed a court motion asking for more time in mediation before going to court to fight former employees who claim they were put on secret no-hire blacklists by their bosses.

Average US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Holds Steady – The average 30-year U.S. mortgage rate this week remained at a 52-week low of 4.10 percent for the third straight week.

Retirement has changed but ERISA still holds up – ERISA. Forty years after its enactment and still standing. In light of its evolution, one could say that ERISA should stand for the Employee Responsibility Income Security Act due to the shift of the burden of providing an adequate retirement income from the employer to employees, most of whom have little or no experience with determining how much they need to save or how to choose a suitable mix of investments.