Posts Tagged ‘mortgage’

Politics of Foreclosure? The Wall Street Journal Needs a Reminder

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

Over a year ago I felt compelled to call out The Wall Street Journal after a particular column really got under my skin.

It’s time to call them out once more. Not for another column, but rather, a lack of one.

In October 2010 their column “The Politics of Foreclosure” made light of the plight many of my clients have undergone, and shrunk the foreclosure crisis down to a mere inconvenience for a few Washington insiders.

You and I, of course, know different.

And as the crisis grew wider and wider, and the expansiveness of the banks fraud became even more apparent, The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board continued to be a haven for outdated ideas, protection of the status quo and disgust for anyone trying to do good by the American homeowner.

When the AG settlement was first announced back in February, the Wall Street Journal called it a ‘bank job’ worthy of the Barker gang.

I found it disturbingly amusing that a settlement that was basically little more than a public spanking for the banks angered them so. The settlement didn’t land a single banking executive in jail, yet the columnists at The Wall Street Journal still treat the banks as the victims in the housing crisis.

The crisis, you know that the banks basically created.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board still believes the banks didn’t illegally foreclose on a single homeowner, something I personally know not to be true.

Either their editorial board is remarkably stupid or just ignorant.

And so I shouldn’t be all that surprised that they have been silent after the Department of Housing and Urban Development released audits that laid out how pervasive the culture of fraud was amongst our nation’s lenders.
(more…)

Friday Round-Up; Budget Cuts Cripple Foreclosure Docket; Whistleblower Gets $18 mil; Stern Employees Settle

Friday, March 16th, 2012

cowboy lassoClerks of court warn budget cuts will delay filings

Just as I had predicted (and feared) now that the Florida legislature has passed a 7% budget cut to the state’s Clerk of Courts, officials from those offices are already warning of a major slowdown at courthouses across the state.

Case filings may now take weeks instead of days. Hearings may be delayed.

For people who have foreclosure cases before the court, don’t expect a return to the ‘rocket docket’ days.

Even though the state is giving the foreclosure docket a one-time $2 million allocation to hire more judges and caseworkers specifically to handle the foreclosure backlog, it will do little to fill in the gaps caused by the budget cuts.

For example in Palm Beach County, Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock said she is losing $2.5 million from her budget, but getting back just 200K. She added they’re expected to lose 55 jobs in that office, but will only be able to hire an additional 4 people for foreclosure cases.

So she’ll be able to hire more judges, but the Clerks Office won’t have anyone to process the titles for all these new foreclosures the state will now try to push through!!!

Palm Beach Gardens homeowner gets $18 million in foreclosure settlement

One of the little tidbits that came out of the finalizing of the settlement with the Attorneys General was that one homeowner in Palm Beach Gardens getting a little more financial relief than she ever expected.

$18 million dollars to be exact .

Now Lynn Szymoniak is no average homeowner. She’s a foreclosure fighter whose own personal investigation into the banks led to many of the industry changes that are being implemented by the settlement.
(more…)

Foreclosure Settlement Filed; But Banks’ Crimes Go Largely Ignored

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

In the weeks after the mortgage settlement was announced by the Federal Government, I waited under baited breath to the see it in its entirety.

Almost every week I read a different report stating the documents to finalize the settlement were about to be filed in court.

And as each reported deadline came and went, I grew more and more skeptical.

Would the banks manage to sneak some last minute releases in? Would the lofty figures promised to beleaguered borrowers be diminished?

The good news, now that documents have been completed and released to the public, is that the answer to both questions is a sound no.

The banks are not getting any get-out-of-jail-free cards, claims against MERS and the securitization process are still very much on the table.

On the other hand, did I learn anything new about the massive frauds perpetrated by the banks? Not really.

There are pages listing what the government has now labeled as “Unfair, Deceptive, and Unlawful Loan Practices”.

The settlement does say that the banks violated federal laws, that they wrongfully denied modification applications, and overcharged for ‘forced place insurance, among other misdeeds.

It even finally acknowledges that the banks engaged in robosigning.

But these are things that my clients and I have long known.

If you’ve read the Wall Street Journal, or the New York Times, or any thorough news story on the housing crisis, there’s little in the mortgage settlement’s pages that will surprise you.

And that’s thoroughly disappointing. What the government has presented to the public is a complete white-washing of the robosigining and “fraudclosure” scandal. It acknowledges that the banks committed certain indiscretions yes, but I couldn’t find one concrete example, not one thorough examination of how it occurred.
(more…)

Friday Round-Up — Bank Of America Makes Deal; Return of Rocket Docket?; Foreclosed Military To Receive Pay Day

Friday, March 9th, 2012

cowboy lassoBank of America to Reduce Principal For 200,000 Underwater Homeowners

First some good news, if you’ve got an underwater mortgage owned by Bank of America.

BofA has come to a separate agreement with the US government to to help reduce some the fines it owes to the Housing and Urban Development Agency from last month’s huge settlement.

Bank of America has agreed to cut the principal of more than 200,000 underwater loans, and they are cutting them by an even larger amount than the other 4 banks. In exchange they’ll owe about $850 million less in fines.

If you’re a Bank of America customer (and the loan has to be owned by them, Fannie and Freddie loans don’t count) and you qualify, you will have the opportunity to cut your mortgage balance to your home’s current value.

The reductions will average more than $100,000, according to the Wall Street Journal. This is big news because the settlement only promises to reduce the principal of eligible loans to 125% of their current value.

Bottom line, that’s 200,00 homeowners who won’t be underwater anymore and will have a real chance of staying in their homes. But I wish the other banks would step up and follow Bank of America’s lead.

Fla. budgets $4 million to hire more judges to clear foreclosure backlog

Now here comes the bad news, for Florida homeowners facing foreclosure. We could be seeing a return to the days of Florida’s infamous ‘rocket docket’ if the state legislature approves a one time $4 million stipend which will allow Florida’s court to hire more judges and case managers for the foreclosure courts.
(more…)


PHP/MySQL Components, WordPress Plugins, and Technology Opinions at TravisWeston.com

Bad Behavior has blocked 8297 access attempts in the last 7 days.