It's a nationwide problem that Attorney Generals in almost every state are now looking into whether some banks are foreclosing on homes even if they don't have the proper documents to back them up. Our Steve Ference talks with local mortgage and real estate experts to explain what the problem is and how big a problem it might be for the housing industry and our economy.

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ALBANY, N.Y. -- You've heard of no-doc loans where some unscrupulous mortgage lenders allowed people to get into houses without documenting their income or credit ratings. But now, how about no-doc foreclosures by some banks?

Realtors have been grappling with slower home sales. And now, even more uncertainty, as the industry races to understand what the so-called robo-signing scandal might mean after some big banks allegedly foreclosed on properties without the proper paperwork, potentially undermining basic property rights in America.

Attorney Generals around the country are now investigating. Andrew Cuomo is among those demanding a halt to all foreclosures by banks allegedly involved. Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, GMAC Mortgage/Ally have all stopped their foreclosures for now. Wells Fargo, though implicated, hasn't. For smaller banks, it's likely not as much of an issue.

Jim Bopp, Wilber Bank Mortgage Sales Vice President, said, "My employer, Wilbur Bank, we keep many of our loans in portfolio. We know where the note mortgage is. We have the note mortgage."

But with 130,000 foreclosures in New York this year alone, industry insiders say they're waiting for the fallout, so here's a very basic explanation of what supposedly happened.

During the housing boom, mortgages from various houses were combined and sold to investors on Wall Street. But many people went through foreclosure, turning those investments bad as the market collapsed.

The problem? When all those mortgages were originally shuffled around, in many cases it became unclear who ended up with the title. If you don't have the title, how can you foreclose on the property?

That's where the robo-signing comes in: Allegations that those big banks signed documents to go ahead with foreclosures anyway, without checking on the titles.

NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, released a statement, saying, "I will not allow New Yorkers to lose their homes due to mortgage goliaths that buck the system by submitting affidavits signed without knowledge of the facts. Such conduct is a fraud upon our courts and a slap in the face of New Yorkers struggling to get by in this economy. My office will continue to root out these practices so homeowners receive the full protections afforded by our judicial system."

All of this, leaving plenty of legal black holes. The AG's office, recommending anyone being foreclosed on to find out the status of your file, and to get an attorney.

So what's the bottom line impact for the "fraudclosure" mess? No one knows for sure. But short term it could help stabilize the market because fewer houses would be for sale. Long-term though, those houses have to be sold at some point, and that could create uncertainty in home values in the future. It's an issue with ramifications not only for the larger economy, but your neighborhood as well.