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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

Unlicensed Practice Of Law Becomes An Issue With Some Loan Modification Firms

Posted on December 30, 2008
A recent story in The Washington Post raises an issue that could begin taking hold in targeting certain loan modification firms for engaging in illegal conduct when seeking out financially distressed homeowners: [T]he pitch companies make varies. But one approach includes paying a company to challenge the legality of a loan -- a process housing experts say can be long and complicated...

100+ Borrowers Ripped Off By Ex-Bank Exec, Mortgage Broker For Inflated Loan Fees Entitled To Restitution, Says Federal Court

Posted on December 30, 2008
In Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports: Federal appeals court judges ruled [earlier this month] that Coast Bank borrowers were indeed victims in the scheme that involved a former bank executive skimming money from their loans.***In his argument, [Sarasota attorney Alan] Tannenbaum invoked the Crime Victims' Rights Act on behalf of 104 Coast borrowers who he says deserve to

Sloppy Lender/Servicer Leaves Judge Fuming, Homeowners Frustrated

Posted on December 29, 2008
A recent story in The New York Times describes how Wells Fargo left one federal bankruptcy judge fuming regarding a dispute the lender had with a homeowner couple over whether they had missed some of their required payments on their home loan. Wells Fargo claimed that the couple missed some payments but that, if they could present ?valid, accurate and true copies? of the front and back of the

Foreclosing Lender Can't Prove Ownership Of The Note? So What's The Big Deal???

Posted on December 29, 2008
The following excerpt out of a recent article on MSNBC.com addresses the importance of establishing the ownership of a promissory note in foreclosure (or, for that matter, not in foreclosure): [M]aking an issue out of the actual ownership of the securitized title might strike some as a shameless stalling tactic aimed at abetting a debtor who, after all, owes the money...

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Colorado, California Collaborate To Shut Down Loan Modification Scams

Posted on December 29, 2008
Buried in a recent story in the Rocky Mountain News on a homeowner claiming to have been screwed out of about $3,000 by a loan modification firm is this excerpt: [I]n addition to the [16 subpoenas sent to loan modification companies in Colorado, California and Arizona, Colorado director of the division of real estate Erin] Toll also recently entered into what she calls an "unprecedented

Loan Modification Firms Beginning To Find Themselves In The Crosshairs Of Various Groups

Posted on December 29, 2008
The Washington Post reports: A growing industry has emerged to take advantage of the unprecedented wave of foreclosures, charging distressed homeowners for help negotiating better loan terms -- a service provided for free or for a nominal fee by many nonprofits...

Judges, Homeowner Attorneys Begin To Wonder How To Do A Loan Modification When Lender Can't Prove Ownership Of Promissory Note?

Posted on December 28, 2008
The New York Times reports: WITH home prices in free fall and mortgage delinquencies mounting, pressure to modify troubled loans is ratcheting up. But lawyers who represent candidates for modifications say the programs are hobbled by the complexity of securitization pools that hold the loans, as well as uncertainty about who actually owns the notes underlying the mortgages...

Focus Of NYC Commercial Real Estate Market Shifting From "Bricks & Mortar" To Buying/Selling Secured Paper? More Lenders Look To Dump Mortgage Loans

Posted on December 28, 2008
In New York City, The New York Times recently ran a story on a reported "shift in the commercial real estate market, away from brick-and-mortar properties and toward the buying and selling of debt." [M]any lenders are looking to offload [their problem mortgage] loans because they need to cash out quickly, or because they are not in the business of selling real estate and lack the necessary

New Pennsylvania Law To Make It Tougher For Deed Theft Scammers To Heist Homes

Posted on December 28, 2008
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and its suburbs, The Intelligencer reports: To the relief of real estate title companies and county workers, Pennsylvania Act 110, which regulates how a homeowner's deed is registered and recorded, took effect this month...

1031 Exchange Intermediary Suspected Of Feloniously Pocketing $550K+ In Clients' Sale Proceeds Found Dead By Suicide

Posted on December 28, 2008
In Boulder Colorado, the Boulder Daily Camera reports: [K.C.] Schneider, who owns a commercial real estate firm in Boulder, said Wednesday he is [...] out $425,000 in real estate proceeds he gave National 1031 Exchange Service to hold while he closed on a new property...

"Baby Mama" Accuses Ex-NBAer Of Forging Signature On Releases Of Lien For Child Support, Then Draining Equity From The Unencumbered Properties w/ Refi

Posted on December 28, 2008
In Mobile, Alabama, the Press Register reports on a civil lawsuit involving a former pro athlete and one of, what has been alleged to be a slew of, his babies mamas: Former pro basketball player Jason Caffey has been hit with a lawsuit accusing him of using forged signatures on legal documents to transfer property...

Refinance Scam Leaves SW Florida Sisters Facing Foreclosure

Posted on December 28, 2008
In Lee County, Florida, WINK News reports: Two Lee County sisters say they've been duped out of tens of thousands of dollars, all from a home finance scheme that now threatens to put their home in foreclosure. "We are good people, we are trusting people, and that's what they work on," said Kesrie Persaud, who thought she could trust a man who claimed to be looking out for her financial interests.

Judge Tells Convicted Foreclosure Rescue Scammer To "Take A Hike" In Response To Request For Relief From Sentence

Posted on December 27, 2008
In Newark, Ohio, the Newark Advocate reports: A man convicted of preying on homeowners facing foreclosure was in prison for slightly more than two weeks before his first chance at early release presented itself. Common Pleas Judge Thomas Marcelain [last week] denied Harry Blausey an opportunity for placement in a state program that could have allowed him to move first to a halfway house or

"Foreclosure Chaser" Charged In Alleged Scam To Screw Lenders Financing His Buys; Accused Of "Playing The Gap" Leaving Title Insurers Holding The Bag

Posted on December 27, 2008
In Denver, Colorado, The Denver Post reports: A man described by the Denver grand jury as a "foreclosure chaser" has been charged with multiple counts of theft and forgery for allegedly stealing money from various financial institutions in the Denver area...

NYS Contractor Pleads Guilty To Grand Larceny For Squeezing $80K+ From 88-Year Old Widow For Shoddy, Substandard Home Repairs

Posted on December 27, 2008
From the Office of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo: Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo [last month] announced the guilty plea of a Western New York home improvement contractor(1) who repeatedly pressured an 88-year-old widow into paying more than $80,000 for home improvements that were never done or done in a way described by outside experts as ?grossly substandard...

City Of Cincinnati Sues Lenders In Connection With Costs Incurred With Blighted Foreclosed Homes

Posted on December 27, 2008
In Cincinnati, Ohio, area media outlets are reporting: The city of Cincinnati is expanding its fight against bank-owned properties by suing Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo to force repairs on four vacant buildings in Westwood, Camp Washington and Northside...

Miami Housing, Legal Aid Advocates Help Get Deal With Incoming Landlord On Behalf Of 24 Families In Foreclosed Building

Posted on December 27, 2008
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports: After a year of organizing, pleading and protesting, 24 families that endured unbearable living conditions after their landlord abandoned their apartment complex to foreclosure have reached an accord with the incoming owner...

More On The Yanking Of The Presidential Pardon Of HUD Housing Scammer

Posted on December 26, 2008
The New York Daily News reports: President Bush turned Brooklyn's Isaac Toussie into a poster boy for outrageous presidential pardons, granting, then rescinding, the order in 24 hours.The mystery is how the administration ignored Toussie and his father's background - a tale of payoff and corruption allegations spanning more than 45 years - in pardoning the son for a massive housing scam...

NJ To Crack Down On Tactics Used To Illegally Intimidate Tenants Into Moving From Foreclosed Buildings

Posted on December 26, 2008
In Newark, New Jersey, The Jersey Journal reports: On the heels of recent stories in The Jersey Journal about tenants being forced out of buildings going through foreclosure, state officials announced [Tuesday] several steps they are taking to combat the illegal practice...

Tenant Intimidation Continues In SF As Renters In Rent-Controlled Foreclosed Buildings Often The Targets Of Illegal Eviction Attempts

Posted on December 26, 2008
In San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reports: [S]ome renters are being told that if their landlord defaults on the mortgage during this foreclosure crisis, they must move out - even if they've been making their rent payments on time. The fact is, in San Francisco that is simply not true...

Oakland Moves To Protect Renters From Utilities Shutoffs In Foreclosed Rental Properties

Posted on December 26, 2008
In Oakland, California, KGO-TV Channel 7 reports: The City of Oakland announced a new plan to help renters who face the shut-off of their heat and electricity this winter because the building they live in has been foreclosed. During a Monday morning press conference Oakland officials announced the details of a plan meant to protect people who were suddenly blindsided by their landlord's

New Minnesota Laws Offer Protection For Tenants In Foreclosed Homes

Posted on December 26, 2008
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio reports: [T]housands of renters in Minnesota are living in foreclosed properties and the state has already tried to ease the burden on them by passing a set of laws designed to protect renters' rights...

Maryland Pro Bono Organizers Seek Another Wave Of Attorneys To Step Up In Foreclosure Defense Effort

Posted on December 26, 2008
The Washington Post reports: When Maryland's chief judge asked the state's lawyers to help homeowners facing foreclosure over the summer, hundreds of lawyers across the state stepped forward, agreeing to provide free legal assistance.(1)Now, with state officials expecting a fresh surge in foreclosures in the coming weeks and months, organizers of the pro bono project say they are going to need

Kentucky Legal Aid Programs Face Fin'l Squeeze As Governor Puts Hatchet To State Funding; Federal, Private, IOLTA Funding Also Down

Posted on December 26, 2008
In Lexington, Kentucky, the Lexington Herald Leader reports: [T]he state typically provides $1.5 million in funding for four legal aid organizations in Kentucky [...].(1) But this fiscal year that was cut to $500,000 divided among the four agencies. Then last week, Gov...

White House Wakes Up; Revokes Pardon Of NY Developer Who Scammed HUD; Pop Donated $28.5K To RNC

Posted on December 25, 2008
Bloomberg News reports: President George W. Bush withdrew a pardon he granted a day earlier to a New York real-estate developer after the White House learned his father made the maximum $28,500 donation to the Republican National Committee months earlier...

Protection For NYC Residents From Deed Theft

Posted on December 25, 2008
In New York City, the Daily News reports: There's no foolproof way to stop someone from stealing your property with a fake deed - just as there's no certain way to stop a skilled thief from stealing your car. But there are some things you can do to protect yourself...

Fannie Mae Reminders On Home Loan Modification, Foreclosure Eviction Policies

Posted on December 25, 2008
Syndicated real estate columnist Kenneth R. Harney gives this reminder on Fannie Mae's recent change in its loan modification policy: [Y]ou no longer have to miss two to three months of payments before your mortgage company can modify the loan terms you can no longer afford...

HOA Passes $75K Per Unit Special Assessment; Homeowners Respond With Lawsuit

Posted on December 25, 2008
In Torrance, California, The Daily Breeze reports on an area condominium association that has levied a $75,000 special assessment on each of around 180 homeowners to pay for a $13.5 million exterior renovation project that more than a few of the homeowners are finding unaffordable...

Vandals Hit 25 Cars In Condo Parking Lot; Management Blames Lack Of Security On Shortage Of Funds Due To Unit Owners Delinquent On Maintenance Fees

Posted on December 25, 2008
In North Miami, Florida, WTVJ-TV Channel 6 reports: At least 25 car owners were left without radios, baby strollers and children's Christmas presents after the items were stolen from their cars Monday morning, residents said. [...] Two different high-rise communities were attacked on the dead-end street...

No Heat, Hot Water For 18 Cincinnati Families Living In Building Facing Foreclosure

Posted on December 24, 2008
In Cincinnati, Ohio, WLWT-TV Channel 5 reports: It's going to be a cold Christmas for 18 families in Avondale because their furnace has been broken for three months and the soonest it'll be fixed is New Year's. "It?s just real cold in this building, but we survive...

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