The Home Equity Theft Reporter: Real Estate & Property Law

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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

$150K Homestead Exemption From Forced Sale Remains Intact For California Homeowner Retaining Possession Of Premises Despite Title Transfer To Another

Posted on May 20, 2010
A California Court of Appeals addressing several legal issues relating to a judgment creditor's attempt to snatch away a judgment debtor's home through a forced sale decided, among other things, that the debtor is entitled to shelter $150,000 of equity from the creditor pursuant to the state's homestead exemption laws, despite the fact that she transferred the legal title to another...

Court Hits Sale Leaseback Peddlers With $33K+ In Plaintiff's Legal Fees; Declines To Apply Contingent Risk Fee Enhancement, Opts Against Punitives

Posted on May 20, 2010
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, New Jersey that recently found two men liable for violation of several consumer protection statutes in connection with a sale leaseback, equity stripping foreclosure rescue scam (see O'Brien v. Cleveland (In re O'Brien), 423 B...

Alleged "Ghetto Loans" Peddler's SEC Filing Acknowledges Government Probe Into Possible Reverse Redlining Home Lending Practices

Posted on May 20, 2010
In Memphis, Tennessee, The Memphis Daily News reports:The San Francisco bank Memphis and Shelby County governments sued in December over its lending practices has acknowledged it?s the subject of a probe by ?certain government entities? over the same thing...

More Light Shines On Baltimore City Tax Sale Auctions & Bid-Rigging Allegations

Posted on May 19, 2010
In Baltimore, Maryland, The Huffington Post Investigative Fund reports (story appears in The Baltimore Sun):Baltimore City officials on Monday auctioned liens on 12,689 homes and properties whose owners failed to pay local taxes and municipal bills ? a probable record and twice as many as in 2006 in the midst of Baltimore's housing bubble...

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100+ Victims In Maryland-Based "Money Store" Sale Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Scam To Get Stiffed In Proposed Civil Suit Settlement

Posted on May 19, 2010
In Greenbelt, Maryland, The Associated Press reports:More than 100 people who say they were victimized by a mortgage fraud scheme would get only a few thousand each under a proposed settlement. Ten people have been convicted in the Metropolitan Money Store scheme, which took advantage of homeowners facing foreclosure...

Hefty Tax Bills Ready To Bite R/E Investors Using So-Called "Tax-Free" 1031 Exchange Deals; Many Close To F'closure w/ Little Cash, Equity To Pay IRS

Posted on May 19, 2010
Crain's New York Business reports:During the real estate boom, hundreds of landowners reaped enormous gains on the sales of property and, under Rule 1031 of the U.S. Tax Code, deferred paying taxes on those profits by buying new properties of equal or greater value within 180 days...

Providence Judge Issues Split Decision On City Foreclosure Ordinance

Posted on May 19, 2010
In Providence, Rhode Island, The Providence Journal reports:A Superior Court judge has ruled on a controversial city ordinance enacted last year in an effort to slow the tide of foreclosures in the city. Superior Court Judge Jeffrey A. Lanphear ruled on Monday that the city has the right to require banks to take part in homeowner mediation before foreclosing on a home and the right to impose a

Minn. Feds Suspect Attorney Of Leaving 88-Year Old Mom Holding The Bag As Straw Buyer In Scam To Generate Cash To Redeem His Law Office From F'closure

Posted on May 18, 2010
In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:At least the feds waited until after Mother's Day. The U.S. attorney's office filed documents in federal court [] revealing an IRS criminal investigation of White Bear Township's board chairman -- a St...

Ohio AG Hammers Home Improvement Contractors For Pocketing Customer Cash, Failing To Provide Services Paid For

Posted on May 18, 2010
From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General:As Ohio consumers begin to make springtime repairs to their homes, Attorney General Richard Cordray [] sent a stern message to home improvement contractors who defraud Ohioans. Concluding a statewide law enforcement sweep, Cordray announced charges, and in some cases judgments, against eight Ohio companies accused of swindling consumers...

Facing The Boot, Homeowners' Claim That F'closure Sale Price Was So Low As To "Shock The Conscience" Was Enough To Thwart Subsequent Eviction Attempt

Posted on May 18, 2010
In a recent ruling by the Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, two Alabama homeowners were successful in reversing an adverse lower court ruling and, consequently, able to temporarily stall getting kicked out of their home that had been sold at a foreclosure sale...

Union, Grassroots Group Orgnize Invasion Of Lender Exec's, Lobbyist's Lawns

Posted on May 18, 2010
CBS News reports:As the Senate gears up to continue its debate over Wall Street reform, liberal activists and labor unions are mobilizing protesters against the big banks in demonstrations in downtown Washington and in front of the homes of bank lobbyists...

Queens DA Bags Seventeen Suspects In Alleged Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Racket

Posted on May 17, 2010
From the Office of the Queens District Attorney's Office:Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by New York State Banking Superintendent Richard H. Neiman(1) and Acting New York State Police Superintendent John P. Melville, [] announced that 17 individuals ? including two Queens attorneys ? have been charged with defrauding legitimate homeowners and various lending institutions out of

Two Phoenix Cops Face Internal Police Probe After Financially Strapped Homeowners' Complaints About Off-Duty Business Peddling Sale-Leaseback Programs

Posted on May 17, 2010
In Phoenix, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:Two Phoenix police lieutenants are under investigation after residents complained that some of the 120 real-estate purchases conducted by their off-duty business were unethical or illegal. Lts. Mark Tallman and Lee Brent Shaw have been involved in several lawsuits, each of which were dismissed or settled for small amounts, court records show...

Judge Sticks Sale Leaseback Peddler With Tab For Victim's Interim Attorney's Fee Even Though NJ Consumer Fraud Act Lawsuit Is Still In Discovery

Posted on May 17, 2010
In Newark, New Jersey, the New Jersey Law Journal reports:In a case of first impression, an Essex County, N.J., judge has awarded counsel fees during a pending Consumer Fraud Act suit, brought by a couple who claim they were scammed by two foreclosure-rescue companies...

Bay Area Foreclosure Help, Rent Skimming Racket Pocketed $2K Both From Homeowners To Sign Away Deed & Tenants To Lease Home Subsequently Auctioned Off

Posted on May 17, 2010
In Northern California, KGO-TV Channel 7 reports:Dozens of distressed Bay Area homeowners say they have been lured into signing away their homes to a company offering to help them. A seven-month 7 On Your Side investigation has uncovered what happens to many of these homeowners after they sign on the dotted line...

Queens County District Attorney Scores $100K In Federal Cash To Fight Deed & Mortgage Scams

Posted on May 16, 2010
In Kew Gardens, Queens, The Queens Gazette reports:With the mortgage meltdown still victimizing hundreds of thousands of helpless homeowners, Congressmember Anthony Weiner (D?Queens/Brooklyn) last week presented Queens DA Richard Brown with a $100,000 federal grant to continue the battle against mortgage fraud...

Woman Faces Felony Charges For Allegedly Pocketing $80K+ In Monthly Mortgage Payments Received From Trusting Co-Owner, Leaving Home In Foreclosure

Posted on May 16, 2010
In Stamford, Connecticut, the Stamford Advocate reports:Peter Scrofani trusted Wendy Greco. For the past five years, they lived in the same house, shared a mortgage, and their families raised each other's children. In police reports, he refers to her as his aunt...

80-Year Old Mom Left "Heartbroken" Over Daughter's Attempt To Give Her The Boot Out Of Her Own Home

Posted on May 16, 2010
In Worcester, Massachusetts, the Worcester Telegram reports:Elayne Gilbert took the witness stand in Worcester Housing Court and said she was ?heartbroken? over efforts to evict her from the Shrewsbury condo she?s inhabited since 2002. [...] Ms. Gilbert is 80 and living on Social Security...

Failure To Provide Proper Notice Of Foreclosure Leads To Improper Loss Of Home, Say Homeowners In Lawsuit

Posted on May 16, 2010
In Grtena, Louisiana, WWL-TV Channel 4 reports:While serving as Jefferson Parish president, Aaron Broussard had a lucrative side business as a court curator, appointed by judges to find missing parties in lawsuits. Now Broussard himself is the subject of a lawsuit for allegedly dropping the ball in one of his many curatorships...

Court Orders Partial Disgorgement Of Legal Fees Where Attorney Fails To List Prior Filing In Client's Subsequent Bankruptcy Petition

Posted on May 15, 2010
In a recent ruling by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria Virginia, a bankruptcy attorney was ordered to pay back some of his $1,500 in legal fees after screwing up a bankruptcy petition filed on behalf of a client. The matter occurred in the context of a homeowner first approaching the attorney at the "eleventh hour" to file a bankruptcy petition to stave off a foreclosure sale, the attorney

Attorney Convicted Of Advising Client To Transfer Home, Land Out Of Their Names Prior To Filing Bankruptcy In Attempt To Screw Creditors

Posted on May 15, 2010
In Huntington, West Virginia, The West Virginia Record reports:A Putnam County attorney has been found guilty of committing fraud in a former client's bankruptcy case. Following a two-day trial in U.S. District Court, Patrick B. Anderson was convicted on April 29 on one count each of bankruptcy fraud, and fraudulent transfer and concealment of assets...

Homeless Shelter Housing Hundreds Each Night & Facing Foreclosure Files Civil Rights Suit Against City Of Atlanta, Two Civic Groups

Posted on May 15, 2010
In Atlanta, Georgia, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:Leaders of an Atlanta homeless shelter fighting foreclosure announced during a Thursday rally they filed a complaint against the city and two civic groups, accusing them of violating their clients' civil rights...

Massachusetts AG Hammers Three Landlords In Separate Cases For Using Craigslist To Publish Discriminatory "No Section 8" Rental Ads

Posted on May 15, 2010
From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:AG Coakley Obtains Judgment Against Fall River Landlord and Tenant for Alleged Posting of Discriminatory Housing Advertisement on Craigslist (Judgment part of statewide investigation into reports of discriminatory Internet advertising),AG Coakley Obtains Consent Judgment Against Revere Landlord for Alleged Posting of Discriminatory Housing

Income Tax Hit Bites Some Underwater Homeowners

Posted on May 14, 2010
The Wall Street Journal reports:[Homeowner] Maxine McDaniel has a message for Americans considering walking away from an unaffordable mortgage: Beware of taxes. Though not every homeowner who's underwater on a mortgage need worry, many are finding that a foreclosure or other form of housing loss can lead to a big tax obligation...

Homeowner Sues Lender For Foreclosing On Home After Saying Sale Was Postponed

Posted on May 14, 2010
In Charleston, West Virginia, The West Virginia Record reports:A Rivesville couple is suing Wells Fargo and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation after they claim the defendants have proceeded to foreclose their home, despite their ability to make payments...

Massachusetts AG Settles w/ Real Estate Brokerage For Allegedly Using Deceptive Notices To Bully Tenants Out Of Homes In Illegal Foreclosure Evictions

Posted on May 14, 2010
In Boston, Massachusetts, South Coast Today reports:A Fairhaven real estate firm must pay thousands of dollars in penalties after Attorney General Martha Coakley busted an alleged foreclosure scheme that involved attempts to force tenants out of their homes...

FTC Adds Forensic Mortgage Loan Audit Scams To Its Watch List Of Foreclosure Rescue Rackets

Posted on May 13, 2010
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced:Fraudulent foreclosure ?rescue? professionals use half-truths and outright lies to sell services that promise relief to homeowners in distress. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation?s consumer protection agency, the latest foreclosure rescue scam to exploit financially strapped homeowners pitches forensic mortgage loan

Brooklyn Judge Strikes Again; Dismisses Foreclosure With Prejudice Where Assignment Of Mortgage Fails To Transfer Title To Promissory Note

Posted on May 13, 2010
In Brooklyn, New York, State Supreme Court Justice Arthur M. Schack has, in a recent ruling, added to the list of foreclosing lenders he has booted from his courtroom for filing lawsuits without having legal standing to do so.(1) According to Justice Schack:The instant June 16, 2009 assignment [of mortgage] from MERS, as nominee for FREMONT, to U...

Implied Duty Of Good Faith, Fair Dealing & The Collection Of Deficiency Judgments In Foreclosure Actions

Posted on May 13, 2010
Lexology reports:It is fairly well-settled that a bank who breaches the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing may be barred from collecting its deficiency judgment in a foreclosure action. See de Jong v. Leitchfield Deposit Bank, 254 S.W.3d 817, 823 (Ky...

More On Central Florida Foreclosure Mill Operation

Posted on May 12, 2010
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, The National Law Journal recently ran a story on the state attorney general's investigation into Tampa-based Florida Default Law Group, one of the nation's largest foreclosure mill law firm operators over allegations it "appears to be fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases," according to the AG's Economic Crimes Division in

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