Archive for March, 2012

Saturday Round-Up; Mortgage Debt Relief Extended?; NY Foreclosure Dismissed; Foreclosure Crisis in A Quilt

Saturday, March 31st, 2012

cowboy lassoBill extends Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007

I warned you earlier this month that if you’re considering a short sale, the time to get the ball rolling is now.

That’s because the Mortgage Debt Relief Act, which was passed in 2007, is set to expire at the end of this year. If that happens you’ll have to pay taxes on any forgiven debt that comes out of a short sale.

I remain skeptical that Congress, in this election year, will come through and extend the MDRA, but at least some Congressmen haven’t forgotten how important this legislation is. Then again, in an election year anything is possible.

U.S. Reps. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and John Larson, D-Conn., have introduced the Homeowners Tax Fairness Act. It would extend the Mortgage Debt Relief Act for another three years.

Let’s hope Congress gets their act together and passes this bill.

NY Foreclosure Case Could Be A Game Changer

It remains to be seen if a foreclosure dismissal will have an impact here in Florida, but none the less it has the chance to be a real game changer.

The case is OneWest Bank, FSC vs Galli. OneWest had tried for a partial summary judgement against the Gallis, but the judge in the case denied it and instead ruled in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Galli.

As I’ve always said, you have to make the banks prove they own the note, but in reality it’s more than that. I could pick up a note off the street and say I owned it, but it wouldn’t necessarily be true.
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Dallas Fed Calls Out Too Big To Fail Banks

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

Too Big To Fail used to be a joke.

It became an insult hurled by Occupy Wall Street or the Tea Party at the big banks, but that’s all it was.

It was never an expression that had any legitimacy. It was just a nice little way for the media to classify the banking industry in a ready-made slogan.

Guess what? Too Big To Fail isn’t a joke anymore. It’s actual policy towards our nation’s biggest financial institutions.

The Federal Reserve of Dallas has now legitimized my scathing criticisms of the banks in their annual report and it has resonated with with everything I’ve been writing in this blog.

It was a nice early birthday present when I got home yesterday and read the report, written by the head of the Dallas Fed’s research department. Harvey Rosenblum.

When Greg Smith published his critique of Goldman Sachs, the aftershocks rang through the halls of every office on Wall Street.

After reading Rosenblum’s report, which was subtitled “Why We Must End Too Big To Fail — Now”, I can only imagine what will happen now.

It’s about time that someone on the government side validated the anger and anxiety shared by the Occupy and Tea Party movements. Right there in an official Fed paper!!

So what did I find so appealing about his critique? He spells it out, clear as day, what Too Big To Fail really is, and what’s it’s led to.

What It Is: In 1970 the top 5 banks possessed 17% of the nation’s banking assets. In 2010? 52 percent.
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Did Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Just Admit Principal Reduction is Good?

Monday, March 26th, 2012

Could Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finally be willing to sign off on principal reduction as a way to keep homeowners out of foreclosure and in their homes?

Edward DeMarco, the acting head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and de facto leader of the two GSEs has been steadfast in his opposition.

President Obama has made principal reduction priority one. It was one of the highlights of the mortgage settlement and many economists point to it as the way out of this housing mess.

But DeMarco still hasn’t budged, because he says principal reduction will cost the taxpayer money and isn’t good for Fannie and Freddie’s bottom line.

Except maybe it is.

According to NPR and ProPublica, executives at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have concluded that principal reduction would prevent larger losses and in fact, save the two companies money.

Their report claims that in part because of new Obama incentives, which would reimburse lenders half of what they write off, that Fannie and Freddie would benefit from principal reduction

These presentations have yet to be made public, but Democrats are already clamoring to see them. And so am I.

Look I’m not saying that principal reduction comes without risk. Could everyone decide to stop paying their mortgages in order to get a write-down? Sure.

But just because you might get hit by a car doesn’t mean you don’t cross the street. The housing market will NEVER rebound if people keep getting kicked to the curb.

And I don’t care what Edward DeMarco has said, the bottom line shouldn’t be his bottom line. It shouldn’t be about what is cost effective, it should be about what keeps borrowers in their homes. Last time I checked, they are taxpayers too.
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From Project X to Project Rent: Bank Of America To Test Lease Program

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Banking officials, as a general rule, are old school. They are very resistant to change, and usually refuse to think outside of the box.

Over the years I’ve seen the banks hold little to no regard for the customers they serve. Their philosophy has essentially been ‘You can’t pay your mortgage, then out on your butt you go!’

Forget that they’ve screwed people, or caused the worst recession in 80 years.

Forget that homeowners often have good reasons for not being able to pay. Banks have had very little heart and even less common sense.

So I was blown away by Bank of America’s new test program, called “Mortgage to Lease”, which was unveiled this week. In a few select markets, BofA will give about 1,000 customers facing foreclosure the chance to stay in their homes by turning them into renters.

Bank of America will offer these borrowers the opportunity to have their mortgage debts forgiven, and instead of kicking them to the curb, BofA will lease these homes back to the borrower for up to 3 years for less than the market rental rate.

No more mortgage, no more property taxes or homeowners insurance! And people can stay in their homes! Imagine that!

Turning foreclosure properties into rentals is an idea I’ve long advocated. It only took Bank of America a few years to listen to me!

I was wondering why now, what finally turned Bank of America over to my way of thinking?

I could tell you that Bank of America’s small heart grew three sizes like the Grinch’s, but we all know that’s not true.
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