Friday Round-Up; Foreclosures Up Again, DeMarco Dances With Reductions; Bank Of America Sues Itself

Foreclosures, repos up from last year in South Florida

I said after the foreclosure settlement was announced that banks had been given the green light to rev up their foreclosures engines, and in South Florida at least, I’m being proven right.

RealtyTrac’s numbers from last month show dramatic year-over-year increases in both new foreclosure filings (85%) and repossessions (39%) in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties, compared to March 2011.

In Florida overall, new foreclosure cases were up 58 percent. Nationally however, new filings dropped 12 percent from last year, however they rose 7 percent from February.

Since the sunshine state has one of the largest foreclosure backlogs in the country, it really shouldn’t surprise you that the numbers skew so heavily against Florida.

The settlement has emboldened banks to become more aggressive in seeking to foreclosure, and the numbers certainly back that up.

Edward DeMarco Not Ready For Principal Reduction

More back and forth this week from Edward DeMarco, who despite announcing that principal reduction could save Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 1.7 billion dollars, seems unwilling to venture far from his previous stance on loan modifications.

He said in a speech this week that a new analysis does show writing down the value of some underwater mortgages does have the potential to lower foreclosure rate and save both GSEs substantial money, but he’s still downplaying the significance of principal reduction.

While he has eased up on his previous refusals to even entertain the idea of modifications, he still seems fixated on the risk of strategic default, which he feels could wipeout any potential savings.

There is another human element in this story that does not seem to receive much attention,” DeMarco added.

“Clearly, many households got over-extended financially. Yet there are other Americans who did not do these things.”

DeMarco said he is still working with the government on the possibility of allowing principal forgiveness, but he still hasn’t offered up any details on how he might offer it to Fannie and Freddie loan holders.

Bank of America Sues Itself In Unusual Foreclosure Case

If ever a foreclosure case seemed appropriate for Friday the 13th, it would be this one. I’ve seen some strange things while traversing the world of foreclosure defense, but this is right on the top of the list.

In Palm Beach County Bank of America is both the plaintiff and defendant in nearly a dozen foreclosure cases filed since last March, according to our friend Lynn Syzmoniak.

In one such case, Bank of America is seeking to foreclose on a property that they own the second mortgage. So they are trying to get damages from itself.

Bank of America spokeswoman Jumana Bauwens told the Huffington Post. “Naming the second-lien holder in the suit is necessary to eliminate the junior interest,” Bauwens said.

Uh-huh. Sounds to me like BofA’s attorneys were asleep at the wheel. How do you let your clients to sue themselves?

Happy Friday 13th From the Trenches!!!