Even though he retired from the National Football League (NFL) in 1979, Hall of Fame inductee O.J. Simpson can’t seem to avoid the hits, which have come fast and furious since the 1994 murder of his estranged wife, Nicole Brown.

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.

Coming off its most successful year ever, the Foreclosure.com scholarship program will once again reward five college students with money to put toward their studies who can best provide a solution(s) to its latest essay topic for 2012.

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.

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The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 is set to expire at the end of 2012.

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?

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Slow ride, take it easy …

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?

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When mediation, short sale, foreclosure and all other property-saving options are exhausted, big banks such as Bank of America (BofA) and Wells Fargo are donating select — typically “low value” — distressed real estate assets to local charities.

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.