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Real Estate & Property Law

The Home Equity Theft Reporter

Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues.
By r morris

Post Frequency: 25.7/day

Last Entry: September 06, 2017 at 04:02:00

Relentless, Taunting Phone Calls From Loan Servicer Constitutes Illegal Harassment, Says Delinquent Homeowner In Recent Lawsuit

Posted on July 31, 2010
In Jupiter, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:A Palm Beach County woman diagnosed with terminal brain cancer is suing her home loan servicer following what she said were relentless harassing phone calls that further harmed her health when she fell behind on payments...

Michigan Woman Fears Loss Of Business Due To Typo; Foreclosing Lender's Screw-Up With Wrong Property Leads To $35K Loss, Says Victim

Posted on July 31, 2010
In Clio, Michigan, WJRT-TV Channel 12 reports:A well-known master gardener in Mid-Michigan says her business could be headed for closure, all because of a paperwork error. She is speaking out and warning others to beware. After 12 years of doing business as Jenny B's Garden Party on Clio Road near Clio, Jenny Burrows says there's a chance her once-thriving business might not survive past next

Foreclosed Homeowner Dodges Boot With Help From Local Media; Servicer Acknowledges Screw-Up In Handling Loan Modification

Posted on July 31, 2010
In Stockton, California, KXTV-TV Channel 10 reports:It has been an uneasy few days for homeowner Teena Blanco ever since she found a notice on her door informing her she had three days to vacate her Stockton home. Despite working for months with her bank to modify her mortgage, the house was sold on July 13 -- and the bank wanted her out...

Indicted NYC Real Estate Agent Identified By Queens Homeowner As Perpetrator Of Home Equity Ripoff

Posted on July 31, 2010
On Staten Island, New York, the Staten Island Advance reports:A New Springville man was part of a scheme that illegally obtained $1.6 million in mortgages for properties in Brooklyn and Queens, prosecutors allege. Nir Zeer, 30, [...] and four others are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, said Manhattan federal prosecutor Preet Bharara...

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Iraq War Vet, Wife Get Back $300K+ Home Lost In Lien Foreclosure Sale Over $977 In Unpaid HOA Dues

Posted on July 30, 2010
In Frisco, Texas, The Dallas Morning News reports:The Frisco soldier and his family who lost their home to foreclosure while he was serving in Iraq will get the house back. Army National Guard Capt. Michael Clauer and his wife, May, lost their $315,000 southwest Frisco home in May 2008 after falling behind on Heritage Lakes Homeowners Association dues...

Oregon Homeowner Gets Clipped Out Of $3K For Bogus Loan Modification By California Outfit Owned By Now-Disbarred Attorney

Posted on July 30, 2010
In White City, Oregon, the Mail Tribune reports:Saul Cervantes thought he was making a smart financial move by accepting the services of a company claiming it would help him negotiate with his bank to lower his monthly mortgage payment. Instead, Cervantes was bilked out of $3,000 in a mortgage scam that has struck a handful of Southern Oregon households, according to Larry Kahn, the executive

Judge Tacks 3 Years Prison Time Onto Scammer's Sentence For Failure To Pay $25K Upfront Restitution; Man Accused Of Ripping Off $227K From Mom's HELOC

Posted on July 30, 2010
In Norwalk, Connecticut, The Hour reports:A Westport man was sentenced to three years in prison [] at Norwalk Superior Court for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his elderly mother. Charles Gamer, 54, [...] was also given a 10-year suspended prison sentence and five years of probation...

Cook County Continues Sitting On $18M Pile Of Unclaimed Surplus Foreclosure Sale Cash Belonging To Ex-Homeowners With Few Takers To Be Found

Posted on July 30, 2010
In Chicago, Illinois, CBS2chicago reports:Nearly $18 million; it's money that belongs to thousands of Chicago-area families who've lost their homes through foreclosure. But CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports, many of those families haven't seen a cent. One former owner of a condo in Wrigleyville is owed $3,485 after losing a unit to foreclosure...

Ongoing Probe Turns Up The Heat On Two Phoenix Cops Accused Of Ripping Off Homeowners Using Fraudulent Sale Leaseback Scam

Posted on July 29, 2010
In Phoenix, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:For the past seven years, Tim and Ellie Gray have been forced to live with their parents. They are the latest victims to come forward claiming they were scammed by two Phoenix police lieutenants, Lee Brent Shaw and Mark Tallman...

Feds Settle Civil Suits With Operators Of Loan Modification Rackets In Three Separate Cases

Posted on July 29, 2010
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced:Eight marketers are banned from selling mortgage modification or foreclosure relief services under settlements with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC alleged that the marketers charged homeowners up-front fees and falsely claimed they could get their mortgage loans modified or prevent foreclosure on their homes...

Use Of Obama Name & Likeness, Federal Logo Popular With Scammers Running Loan Modification Ripoffs

Posted on July 29, 2010
The New York Daily News reports:Scammers are using President Obama's mortgage relief program - and his photo - to squeeze bogus fees from homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure. Across the country, dubious loan modification firms are claiming affiliation with the Obama administration's $75 billion program to help struggling homeowners trim mortgage payments...

Vegas Trio Charged With Ripping Off Homeowners Facing Foreclosure While Running Alleged Loan Modification Racket

Posted on July 29, 2010
In Las Vegas, Nevada, KLAS-TV Channel 8 reports:Rena Starks was a homeowner advocate who said she wanted to stand up for Nevadans hit hard by our housing crisis. A TV commercial for her company, Homekeepers, said the business "modified all types of home loans...

Lenders' Loan Modification Runarounds Physically, Emotionally Overwhelming For Many Homeowners

Posted on July 28, 2010
In Southern California, KPCC 89.3 FM (Southern California Public Radio) reports:Lydia Mojica of Pasadena has been trying to save her home for the past year. ?It?s been a nightmare. I can?t talk about it without starting to cry,? she says. She's negotiated with National City Mortgage for her loan...

NJ An Unfriendly Place For Sale Leaseback Peddlers As Judge Slams Another Operator With $225K In Triple Damages, $50K+ In Homeowners' Legal Fees

Posted on July 28, 2010
In Bergen County, New Jersey, another foreclosure rescue operator who entered into a sale leaseback arrangement with a financially strapped local couple was found to be on the wrong end of a court ruling in a civil suit.(1)In finding that the foreclosure rescue operator violated the state Consumer Fraud Act ("CFA"), Judge Ellen Koblitz found that the amount of actual damages suffered by the

Boston Feds Pinch Mortgage Broker In Fraudulent Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Suspect Stripped Home Equity, Leaving Owner With More Debt

Posted on July 28, 2010
In Boston, Massachusetts, The Herald News reports:A North Dartmouth mortgage broker was charged Monday with defrauding mortgage lenders in connection with a mortgage rescue scheme in Wareham and Tiverton. Ryan Lazar, 31, of Tiverton, has been charged in a written allegation, called an ?information,? with three counts of wire fraud, according to a press release issued by United States Attorney

Victimized Homeowner "A Piece Of Garbage!", Judge "A Bleeding Heart Liberal!", Court Ruling "A Disgrace!", Says Attorney For Equity Stripping Clients

Posted on July 28, 2010
A recent story in the New Jersey Law Journal reported on how a foreclosure rescue operator group was slammed in a civil lawsuit for screwing a financially strapped homeowner out of the equity in her home. The following excerpt, buried at the end of the story, describes the apparent hard feelings of the attorney representing the losing sale leaseback peddlers after Bergen County, New Jersey

Report: Servicers' Claims That Investors Owning Delinquent Mortgages Won't Allow Loan Modifications A Bunch Of BS

Posted on July 27, 2010
ProPublica reports:Arthur and Alberta Bailey are about to lose their home near New Orleans, and their mortgage company says one thing stands in the way of relief: The investors who own their mortgage won?t allow any modifications.It?s a story heard again and again across the country as desperate homeowners try to participate in a federal program created to foster loan modifications and prevent

Accused Foreclosure Rescue Operator Under Indictment & Free On Bond Continues To Target Financially Strapped Homeowners

Posted on July 27, 2010
In Brooklyn, New York, the New York Daily News reports:Brooklyn homeowner Angela Neysmith scraped up $1,500 when real estate broker Lavette Bills promised to trim her loan payments via President Obama's foreclosure prevention plan. "She said she could put me into the Obama program," Neysmith said, recalling Bills told her, "I could get a fixed rate and everything would be good for me...

Parties In Michigan Predatory Lending Lawsuits Wrestle Over Forum Selection; Homeowners Ask Federal Judge To Kick Cases Back To State Court

Posted on July 27, 2010
In Troy, Michigan, the Daily Tribune reports:Officials at an organization representing homeowners battling their mortgage lenders say hundreds more people in the tri-county area will join additional lawsuits. Officials at Michigan Loan Compliance Advisory Group Inc...

Use Of Private Process Servers In Chicago Foreclosure Actions Leading To Increased Incidents Of "Sewer Service"?

Posted on July 27, 2010
Buried in a recent story on the blog Chicago Now is an account of a local homeowner facing foreclosure who may be the victim of "sewer service" when a private process server purportedly served the foreclosure papers upon her when the lawsuit was commenced:[Zabrina] Worthy, who lives on the South Side, came home in the winter of 2008 to find her bungalow boarded up...

Woman Recovers Home Title Lost In Equity Stripping Scam; Judge Belts Sale Leaseback Peddlers w/ $75K In Punitves, Refers Case To Criminal Prosecutors

Posted on July 26, 2010
In Newark, New Jersey, the New Jersey Law Journal reports:A Bergen County, N.J., judge [...] ordered the president of a mortgage firm and one of its salespeople to pay $75,000 in punitive damages, and more in attorney fees, for leading a homeowner into unknowingly selling her house and losing $162,000 -- for their own benefit...

Utah Court Declares Rental Agreement, Eviction Invalid; Future Trial To Determine Property Title In Lawsuit Between Homeowner, Sale Leaseback Peddler

Posted on July 26, 2010
In Taylorsville, Utah, KTVX-TV Channel 4 reports:A Taylorsville man faced with the prospect of losing his home turned to a foreclosure rescue company for help. But instead of help, he claims the company practically tricked him out of his home.Mark Jeffs was months late on his mortgage, and his bank was looking to collect...

BofA Demands Death Certificate As Condition For Loan Modification; Financially Strapped Homeowner Refuses To Comply, Exclaims "I Am Not Deceased!"

Posted on July 26, 2010
The Wall Street Journal reports:Sarah Larson had been trying for months to get a break on her mortgage payments when a letter from her bank arrived in March. Sitting at the dining-room table of her Minneapolis house, the 33-year-old acupuncturist ripped open the envelope and pulled out a list of important documents demanded by Bank of America Corp...

Chicago Suit Challenging Use Of Private Process Servers In F'closure Actions Could Void Thousands Of Cases In Cook County; "Sewer Service" A Concern

Posted on July 25, 2010
In Chicago, Illinois, Chicago News Cooperative reports in The New York Times:In the summer of 2007, with the housing bubble bursting and the number of foreclosure cases soaring, [Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird, the presiding judge in the Chancery Division of Cook County Circuit Court,] issued an order making it easier for mortgage-foreclosure lawyers to hire special process servers to do what otherwise

Subprime Loan Investors Gain In Effort To Force Major Banks To Buy Back Crappy Mortgages

Posted on July 25, 2010
Reuters reports:U.S. mortgage bond investors have quietly banded together to gain the long-sought power needed to challenge loan servicers over losses the investors claim resulted from violations in securities contracts. A group holding a third of the $1...

Lenders, Mortgage-Backed Bond Packagers May Eat As Much As $30B In Crappy Loans Owned by Fannie, Freddie, Says Regulator

Posted on July 25, 2010
Bloomberg News reports:Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?s regulator may identify as much as $30 billion of debt included in mortgage bonds that the companies can force sellers to repurchase, according to Joshua Rosner, an analyst who in 2007 predicted the collapse in the market for the securities...

Recently-Passed Wall Street Reform Law Tacks On Two Add'l Years To Protecting Tenants At Foreclosure Act

Posted on July 25, 2010
From the Office of the National Low Income Housing Coalition:The National Low Income Housing Coalition applauds the expected enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protections Act (H.R. 4173), which has passed the House and Senate and is likely to be signed by President Obama [...

Minnesota Feds Charge Attorney In Alleged Mortgage Fraud Flipping Scam; Suspect Accused Of Using 86-Year Old Mom As Unwitting Straw Buyer

Posted on July 25, 2010
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Vadnais Heights Press reports:A White Bear Town Board official who was accused of using his elderly mother to ?flip? a real estate deal and pay off a foreclosed office property was indicted in federal court July 14. The U...

Chicago Lawmakers To Offer 5% Kickbacks For Reporting Vacant, Deteriorating Foreclosures In Effort To Persuade Lenders Into Maintaining REOs???

Posted on July 24, 2010
In Chicago, Illinois, CBS2chicago reports:Ratting out your neighbors could have its rewards ? at least when it comes to those living near crumbling, foreclosed homes. As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, tell the city about one and you could get paid ? if an ordinance one alderman is set to propose, passes...

Couple Blames Lender's Failure To Repair Leaky Roof In Adjacent Bank-Owned F'closure For Caving-In Ceilings, Black Mold Invasion; Fear Loss Of Home

Posted on July 24, 2010
In Cape Canaveral, Florida, WESH-TV Channel 2 reports:The roof is caving in on a Central Florida couple. Roger and Sharon Harrell share a roof with the condo next door to them, which has been posted as unsafe by the city. The Cape Canaveral couple said there's a big problem: the condo next door is in foreclosure and owned by the bank...

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