Saturday Round-Up; Mortgage Debt Relief Extended?; NY Foreclosure Dismissed; Foreclosure Crisis in A Quilt
Sat Mar 31, 2012 by Oppenheim Law on Florida Law News, Foreclosure Defense & Short Sales
Bill 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.
But Judge John Maltese correctly pointed out that MERS (the illegal entity the big banks set up to subvert the recordation system of our country) had assigned this mortgage several times before OneWest even came into the picture, something the judge ruled MERS did not have the right to do.
By the judge’s own words, “How the plaintiff came into possession of the mortgages and notes in this case is suspect.”
We have rules in place for a reason, rules the banks constantly try to skirt, so thank you to Judge Maltese for not allowing it in this case.
How Quilting Can Explain The Foreclosure Crisis
I never thought I’d use the words quilting and foreclosure in the same sentence, but there’s a first time for everything right?
San Francisco artist Kathryn Clark once worked as an urban planner, and her response to seeing people losing their homes was to turn neighborhood maps into a quilt, with an empty spot representing a foreclosed home.
The result is simple, yet a haunting example of what foreclosure can do to a neighborhood.
Even if you’ve never had to face foreclosure up front, I doubt you can look at one of her quilts and not come away with an understanding of just how widespread the foreclosure crisis is.
Have a great weekend and we’ll see you soon in the trenches!
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