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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

Section 8 Mom, 4 Kids May Face Illegal Foreclosure Eviction

Posted on January 23, 2009
In West Palm Beach, Florida, WPEC-TV Channel 12 reports: It's a dire situation more and more renters are facing--losing your rental home to foreclosure. But for one West Palm Beach mother--her future looms. "If I'm not out early Friday morning than they are just going to come in and throw my stuff out," said renter Barbara Wright...

St. Louis Builder Faces Charges Of Bank Fraud; Lenders, Subs, Homebuyers Take $10M+ Hit, Say Prosecutors

Posted on January 23, 2009
In St. Louis, Missouri, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports: [L]ongtime, high-end west St. Louis County home builder [Edward A. Levinson, 49,] has been indicted on bank fraud charges after his attempts to prop up his struggling business cost banks, subcontractors and home buyers more than $10 million, federal prosecutors said this morning...

Swastikas Painted On Vacant Foreclosed Home Creates Eyesore In Upstate NY Town, Leaves Neighbors Angry

Posted on January 23, 2009
In Monroe, New York, the Times Herald Record reports: For more than two months, neighbors and passers-by have had to endure the sight of three big, red swastikas, spray-painted on the front of an empty house on Dug Road. Neighbors have complained to the state police and the real estate broker who's been trying to sell the house, which was seized through foreclosure six months ago...

Civil War Amongst Interest Holders Of Securitized Mortgages May Be On Horizon As Investors Begin To Fight Over Foreclosure, Loan Modification Issues

Posted on January 22, 2009
In Boston, Massachusetts, The ABA Journal reports: A default on debt tied to Boston?s John Hancock Tower highlights the kind of legal fights that will likely break out among investors who have varying rights to repayment after property foreclosures.When mortgages are pooled and securitized, the investors purchase bonds that are grouped by payment priority known as tranches...

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Owners Desperate To Rent Out Their Homes The Target Of Anti-Tenant Neighbors, Municipalities

Posted on January 22, 2009
A recent column at SmartMoney.com gives a look at the problems facing homeowners in rental-restricted communities - whether it be those who need to move, can't unload their home, and want to bring in some quick cash by renting to tenants; or those who remain and wish to limit rentals, arguing that a failure to do so will result in the neighborhood's quality of life will go down the tubes: [F]or

Owners Desperate To Rent Out Their Homes The Target Of Overseas "Cash Back" Rent Scams

Posted on January 22, 2009
In Nashville, Tennessee, WSMV-TV Channel 4 reports: Police said they have seen an increase in scammers hoping to make money from desperate property owners during the current recession. Many people are looking for renters to help them make their mortgages and avoid foreclosure, but that is putting them in a vulnerable position to be bilked...

Federal Law Protects Against "Due On Sale" Clauses When Inheriting Mortgage Property From Relatives

Posted on January 22, 2009
A Real Estate Mailbag Q&A article by attorney and syndicated columnist Benny Kass serves as a reminder of the Federal law that protects those who inherit a mortgaged home of 4 units or less from relatives. Specifically, it prohibits lenders from demanding that the new owner(s) immediately fork over the entire outstanding balance on the loan by exercising a "due-on-sale" clause in the mortgage,

Fannie To Tack On 3/4% Fee On All Condo Loans Made With Less Than 25% Downpayment

Posted on January 22, 2009
The Chicago Tribune reports: With many lenders already casting a wary eye on condo loans because of their default rate, Fannie Mae has upped the ante by adding a fee of .75 percent of the loan amount of a 30-year fixed mortgage, for borrowers who put down 25 percent of the purchase price or less, effective April 1...

Trump Tower Tampa Going Down The Tubes?

Posted on January 22, 2009
In Tampa, Florida, the (Un)Real Estate blog at the St. Petersburg Times reports: The fading hopes of Trump Tower Tampa just got fainter. A Tampa bankruptcy judge has ruled that Colonial Bank, owed $3.5-million by tower developer SimDag LLC, can proceed with its foreclosure against the project?s riverfront lot at 100 S...

Title Closing Company Owner Gets 10+ Years In Cash Back Mortgage Scam

Posted on January 22, 2009
In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Business Journal reports: A Miami woman was sentenced in federal court on Thursday to more than 10 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $6 million in restitution for her role in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme...

Kansas Feds Nail Two In Upront Fee, Fractional Interest Deed Transfer Rescue Scam; Bogus Bankruptcy Petitions Filed To Stall Foreclosure Actions

Posted on January 21, 2009
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Topeka, Kansas announced: [Isaac Yass, 42, and co-defendant Robert Andrew Blechman, 39, both of Los Angeles, California] have been convicted of running a scam in which homeowners who were behind on their mortgage payments paid them to hold off foreclosure by filing fraudulent bankruptcy petitions...

California Woman Gets 12+ Years In Ponzi Scheme Scamming 600+ Into Investing $18M+ In Phony Firm Purportedly Helping Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

Posted on January 21, 2009
In Los Angeles, California, The Associated Press reports: [J]eanetta Standefor, 40, of Altadena, was sentenced to 151 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $8.6 million in penalties. [...] Prosecutors said Standefor ran a Ponzi scheme between 2005 and 2007 that lured more than 600 investors in California, Nevada and Georgia into investing money in her company, which purported to use the

Woman, Disbarred Attorney Among 3 Charged In Theft Of Dead Grandfather's Home; Accused Of Pocketing $100,000+

Posted on January 21, 2009
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced [last week]: [W]arren Nickel, 59, of Tinley Park, Adrian Garner, 37, of Calumet Park, and Chiffon Mars, 38, formerly of the Chicago area, each face four counts of theft over $100,000 and four counts of theft over $10,000...

NYC Proposed Statute Would Impose Licensing-Related Requirements On Upfront Fee Loan Modification Firms

Posted on January 21, 2009
In New York City, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports: The City Council has proposed legislation that will increase the regulatory requirements for distressed property consultants. This bill, when signed into law, will crack down on people attempting to prey upon homeowners facing foreclosure...

Middle Class Joining The Poor In Inability To Find Affordable Legal Help, Says Iowa Chief Justice

Posted on January 21, 2009
In Des Moines, Iowa, the Des Moines Register reports: Iowa?s state courts face higher costs, greater language barriers, a bare-bones workforce and more needs for low-income residents as they strive to ensure justice, the state?s top judge said [last week]...

Free County Bar Walk-In Legal Clinic For Queens Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

Posted on January 21, 2009
In New York City, The Queens Gazette reports: Queens homeowners facing foreclosure can get free legal advice from lawyers trained by the Queens County Bar Association at the association's free, walk-in legal clinic, Wednesdays, 5 to 8 p.m. or Fridays, 9 a...

Investigative Report Links High Foreclosure Rates To Small Number Of Real Estate Pros

Posted on January 20, 2009
In Southern California, North County Times reports: A tiny number of real estate brokers is associated with an inordinately large number of foreclosures in North County, raising questions about how just a few salesmen could play a role in sending hundreds of families into foreclosure and causing millions of dollars in losses for lenders...

2009: The Year Of Really Bad "Rent-To-Own" Home Purchase Contracts?

Posted on January 20, 2009
In Newport, Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio reports: Melissa Joseph, 28, thought her rental house in Newport was a lucky break. She and her fiance have shaky credit, so they can't easily qualify for a mortgage. They thought buying a house with a rent-to-own agreement was an easier path to homeownership...

Condo Residents Forced From Homes As HOA's Failure To Pay Utility Bills Results In Water & Electric Shutoffs, Causing City To Condemn Building

Posted on January 20, 2009
In Danville, Virginia, GoDanRiver.com reports: Cabin Lake Apartments have been emptied of residents, the doors have been boarded up and its fate ? and the fate of people who owned the apartments ? is uncertain. The complex was condemned when majority owner Raymond Pyant failed to pay the utility bill, even after Danville Utilities gave him extensions and set up payment plans to bring his account

Indiana To Lead U.S. In Most Trained Judges, Pro Bono Lawyers & Mediators To Fight Foreclosures, Promises State Chief Justice

Posted on January 20, 2009
In Indianapolis, Indiana, WTHR-TV Channel 13 reports: [S]upreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard in his annual state of the judiciary Wednesday pointed out that last year Indiana saw more new foreclosure lawsuits than new divorce lawsuits. Now he has pledged to get the judiciary involved in the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network headed up by Lt...

Northern California Woman Faces Eviction After Foreclosure Rescue "Life Preserver" Turns Out To Be An Anchor

Posted on January 20, 2009
In Northern California, the Redding Record Searchlight reports on the story of a local homeowner who was facing financial trouble and looking for help to save her home from foreclosure. Facing mounting debts, she took a step that would ultimately cost her her home...

Countrywide Faces Civil RICO, RESPA Charges In Washington Class Action Suit; Accused Of Using Phantom Subsidiary To Inflate, Pocket Appraisal Fees

Posted on January 19, 2009
In Seattle, Washington, the law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP announced last week: A group of Washington homeowners this week filed a lawsuit against Countrywide, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and the nation's largest mortgage company, claiming the mortgage giant illegally rigged the appraisal process in a scheme to boost profits at the expense of homeowners and

Twice-Jailed "Priest" Accused Of "Preying" On Builders, Leaving Them "On Their Knees" After Clipping Them For Upfront Fee$ On Sour Loan Promises

Posted on January 19, 2009
Much like financially strapped homeowners trying to save their homes, it appears that some builders and developers whose financing sources have dried up can be equally vulnerable to upfront fee finance-related deals that somehow seem to go sour. In this light, the St...

Financially Strapped Builder Charged With Stripping Appliances From Unsold Homes Encumbered By Bank Lien

Posted on January 19, 2009
In Gloucester, Virginia, the Daily Press reports: Embattled Gloucester developer George Woodhouse was arrested on charges of grand larceny Tuesday, less than a month before he is due in court to answer to 10 felony counts of forgery.(1)Woodhouse, 39, of Hayes, was charged with grand larceny in connection with a Dec...

Mortgage Fraud Flood Flowing Through Fort Worth DA's Office

Posted on January 19, 2009
In Fort Worth, Texas, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports: Three years ago, it was rare for a Tarrant County prosecutor to see a case alleging mortgage-loan fraud. Now, the district attorney?s office is covered up in them. "We have been hit with a tsunami of mortgage fraud," said Joe Shannon, chief of the economic-crimes unit of the Tarrant County district attorney?s office...

Lease-Options, "Rent To Own" Gaining In Popularity As A Way To Unload An Unsold Home?

Posted on January 18, 2009
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports: In South Florida's depressed housing market, some people are taking a wait-and-see approach by renting with an option to buy later. Leasing is still more common with cars, but the concept is spreading. Sellers are willing because they're struggling to unload their properties, and a rent-to-own contract brings in cash...

Attorney Declared Competent To Stand Trial On Charges Of Stealing Refinancing Proceeds From Two Clients

Posted on January 18, 2009
In Fayette County, Pennsylvania, The Herald Tribune reports: Although a Fayette County judge found that a former deputy prosecutor has experienced declined intellectual function because of his ailing health, he ruled the former attorney is competent to stand trial...

Connecticut Man Faces Charges Of Fleecing Elderly Woman Out Of $125K+, Leaving Home In Foreclosure With $15K+ In Back Taxes

Posted on January 18, 2009
In New London, Connecticut, the Norwich Bulletin reports: [R]ichard K. Wallace, 55, faces the charge of first-degree larceny for conning Dorothy Dinallo out of at least $125,000, police said. Wallace claims he is a longtime family friend and was taking care of the family and managing their finances after the death of Dinallo?s husband...

More On Fires & Foreclosures

Posted on January 18, 2009
Recent stories on fires & foreclosures: Lynn, Massachusetts: Acting Fire Chief James Carritte said an explosion in a natural gas line may have ignited the three-alarm fire in a home housing eight people. Several residents at home in the triple-decker at the time, including children, escaped unharmed...

More Stories On Tenants With Landlords Facing Foreclosure

Posted on January 18, 2009
The following is an assortment of stories on tenants and the problems arising when landlords find themselves financially overextended: Sioux City, Iowa: Tenants of many apartments owned by KJM Properties and Meyer Company are getting the boot from their foreclosed buildings in the coming weeks, but in the meantime they're just doing what they can to stay warm...

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