Posts Tagged ‘shaun donovan’

Shaun Donovan. Refinanciamiento. Y el Gorila de 900 libras

Friday, June 22nd, 2012
Secretary for Housing and Urban Development

Shaun Donovan, Secretario de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano

Después de la pequeña carta que le escribí al Presidente, yo me pregunto que tipo de respuesta yo recibiría, mas importante aun me pregunto si esta carta fue leída por la audiencia deseada…. O por cualquier audiencia.

Bueno las respuestas al blog por parte de mis clientes y seguidores fueron instantáneas. Claramente no estoy solo en esta idea.

Talvez no habré recibido la respuesta del Presidente, pero si tuve la oportunidad de hablar con uno de sus más respetado asesores en el Mercado de viviendas.

Gracias a una invitación de último momento por parte de mi amiga, la Congresista Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, pude participar en una mesa redonda dirigida por Shaun Donovan, el Secretario del Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano.

La mayoría de los presentes en este evento están envueltos con este departamento, del cual yo soy parte. Es mas estoy bastante seguro que era la única persona del sector privado presente, y más que seguro que era el único abogado.

En la mesa había un sentimiento de frustración porque ellos están teniendo problemas porque los bancos no están cooperando con ellos.

Escuche una y otra vez que los bancos no están siendo competitivos y más allá de eso no están siendo obedientes. Suena familiar no?

Durante esta reunión, yo pude darle mi opinión directamente al Secretario Donovan. Hasta ese momento el había hablado lo suficiente con relación al plan de refinanciamiento, lo mucho que tenían que empujar y presionar al Congreso para que pasaran las pólizas y que el Presidente pensaba que este plan de verdad funcionaria. Pero el Secretario no había mencionado el gorila de 900 libras que estaba sentado en el medio de la mesa… los bancos.
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Shaun Donovan, Refinancing, and the 900 lb. Gorilla

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

Secretary for Housing and Urban DevelopmentAfter I wrote my little letter to the President, I wondered what kind of response I would get and perhaps more importantly, whether my message would reach its intended audience….if any.

Well the response to the blog, from my clients and from my blog readers, was instantaneous. Clearly I’m not alone in my thinking.

I may not have received an audience with the President, but I did get to speak with one of his key housing advisers.

Thanks to a last-minute invite from my friend, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, I was invited to participate in a roundtable led by Shaun Donovan, the Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Most of the people who were there are very involved with HUD, which I am not. I’m pretty sure I was the only private sector person there and I was definitely the only attorney.

There was a universal sentiment among the panel, that they were having trouble getting business done because the banks are not cooperating with them.

I heard time and time again that the banks were not being competitive with one another and further, they are not being compliant. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

During the meeting, I was able to directly address Secretary Donovan. Up until that point he had talked a great deal about refinancing, about the need to push Congress to pass several bills that he and the President feel will help the housing market. But he hadn’t addressed the 900 lb. gorilla in the room… the banks.

I spent several minutes telling the Housing Secretary the opinions that I have shared here countless times. And when it was all said and done, to his credit, he did not disagree with me.
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Friday Round-Up — Settlement Docs Weeks Away, Donovan Hopes Fannie and Freddie Come Around; Citi-Bank Settles Suit; Bank Approves Loan Modification, Then Forecloses

Friday, February 17th, 2012

AGs Weeks From Filing Foreclosure Settlement Documents

Yesterday we expressed concern because we have yet to see the formal documents behind last week’s landmark $25 billion settlement, and it seems few people actually have.

HousingWire reports, through an unnamed source, that federal prosecutors plan to file them in court by the end of the month.

But of course herein lies the problem: We’ve heard how much money each individual state is getting, Florida alone is set to receive about $8.4 billion alone, but until the documents are filed, but until all I’s are dotted and all T’s crossed, those numbers are always subject to change!

While Rich Andreano, a banking lawyer quoted in the article says he doesn’t expect any drastic changes to the numbers, we still need to see them for ourselves!

And will we really see these documents filed this month? How many deadlines associated with the settlement have come and gone without a hint of activity?

Will we see any additional surprises, like additional immunity for the banks? Let’s hope not.

Shaun Donovan, HUD Chief, Hopes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Will Write Down Mortgages

The problem with this headline is glaring. Donovan HOPES Fannie and Freddie will write down mortgages. Not he demands, not he insists, he hopes. Well I hope for world peace, doesn’t mean it will happen now does it?

Donovan told the Huffington Post that he thinks the people behind the two GSE’s will finally come on board the principal reduction train once they see the effects from last week’s settlement on the housing market. Donovan called their reluctance to engage in principal reduction, “quasi-religious”, which is the problem in a nutshell.
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Will Obama Target Housing Crisis During State Of The Union?

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the economy at Shaker Heights High School,Shaker Heights, Ohio, Jan. 4, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

We really haven’t seen President Obama insert himself directly into the housing crisis, but there are rumblings that he may do just that during Tuesday’s State of The Union address.

The fact is that is what homeowners have been clamoring for. A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found 58% of Americans want the government to do more to help people keep homes.

According to HousingWire, Ohio senator Sherrod Brown told reporters today that there was evidence that Obama would address the robo-signing case which involves several major banks. A North Carolina congressman even said there were rumours that Obama would announce a settlement, something HUD secretary Shaun Donovan suggested last week was ‘very close’, as we mentioned in our Week In Review on Friday.

For the record, Obama’s press secretary refused to confirm any details, saying only that the President was “focused on the issue of housing”.

Between Dononvan’s comments and the recent white paper sent out by the Federal Reserve, it seems that more and more top government officials are finally realizing how important the housing market is to our economic recovery, not to mention their own political survival.

This is not news to us here at the South Florida Law Blog.

In the Huffington Post last September, Roy Oppenheim called housing the “thousand pound gorilla in the room” in the 2012 election, as many of the states with the highest underwater mortgages, such asFlorida, are also key electoral swing states. The pressure on Obama to be more aggressive on the banks is growing in Washington, and it’s about time.
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