This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Since January, lenders have seized or begun the process to seize about two million American homes. In September alone, banks and other financial companies reclaimed over one hundred thousand properties because of unpaid loans. That was the most yet since the housing collapse that led to the recent recession.

Now, efforts to speed a housing recovery have hit new problems. These include questions about whether banks have acted unlawfully in reclaiming some homes.

Reports of abuses have grown with talk lately of "robo-signers." These are employees who sign foreclosure forms without taking the required legal steps or even reading the paperwork. They simply act like robots. In some cases, documents may have been falsified.