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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

23-Year Old Med School Dropout Seeks $1.7B From Lender In F'closure Defense Suit; Bank Try To Move Case To Federal Court Gets Boot Back To State Forum

Posted on August 13, 2010
In Pomona, California, the Los Angeles Times reports:As foreclosure fights rage in the nation's courts, the battle over Shahida and Ather Ali's house in Diamond Bar looks like a classic mismatch. In one corner, weighing in at $2.5 trillion in assets, sits Deutsche Bank, which is attempting to evict the Alis from their home of 24 years...

"Buy & Bail" Activities By "Underwater" Homeowners Continue, Despite Beefed Up Fannie, Freddie Mortgage Lending Underwriting Standards

Posted on August 13, 2010
Bloomberg News reports:Harvey Collier, a mortgage broker in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says he gets as many as 10 calls a month from people planning to default on their loans. The twist: They first want financing to buy another home.Real estate professionals call it ?buy and bail,? acquiring a new house before the buyer?s credit rating is ruined by walking away from the old one because it?s ?

Victimized Homeowners Receive $125K+ Restitution For Unpaid Taxes & Insurance In Escrow Ripoff; State Loan Originators Pick Up Tab For Defunct Racket

Posted on August 13, 2010
From the Office of the Indiana Attorney General:Attorney General Greg Zoeller [] announced 97 financial fraud victims have received $125,679.22 in restitution for taxes and insurance bills that went unpaid by defunct American Escrow, a Chicago-based company...

Ex-Ski Area Operator Accuses Connecticut Town, Officials Of Wrestling Away Ownership Of 278 Acre Property; Files Suit Seeking $11M In Damages

Posted on August 13, 2010
In Middlefield, Connecticut, The Middletown Press reports:The former Powder Ridge operator and his family announced [last week] that they have filed a lawsuit against the town of Middlefield and several of its officials after they used ?bully tactics? to take over the approximately 278 acres where the former ski area once stood...

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New York To Use New Law To Hammer Loan Servicers Giving Financially Strapped Homeowners Loan Modification Jerk-Around

Posted on August 12, 2010
In New York City, ProPublica reports:New York regulators have crafted new laws to give the state authority to punish mortgage servicers -- something the Treasury Department, in administering its struggling mortgage modification program, has so far failed to do...

"Sovereign Citizens" Continue On Home-Snatching Binge By Using Phony Deeds To Snag Property Titles; Actions Characteristic Of Domestic Terrorist Group

Posted on August 12, 2010
In Augusta, Georgia, The Augusta Chronicle reports:"Richard-Terence: Jenkins" appeared to be a man of means, with deeds in his name to six Augusta houses and a seventh in Snellville, Ga., all notarized and on file with the clerk of Superior Court. He also had a mailing address at a house in Hephzibah and a car tag specifying "diplomatic corps...

NH Homeowner Gets 60-Day Reprieve From Foreclosure; Bad Media PR May Have Caused BofA To Reconsider Borrower's Requested Loan Mod

Posted on August 12, 2010
In Sandown, New Hampshire, the Eagle Tribune reports:All Victoria Gauvin wants to do is pay her mortgage and stay in her home. But since May, she has called Bank of America repeatedly. Her attorney has called Bank of America repeatedly. Mail has been received by the bank, but has gone unanswered...

Another Successful Intervention For Atlanta TV Station's 11Alive Help Desk; Helps Homeowner Work Out House Payments After Getting Loan Mod Jerk-Around

Posted on August 12, 2010
In Covington, Georgia, WXIA-TV Channel 11 reports:For a Covington homeowner, it was a refinancing nightmare as documents could not be found and it could have meant foreclosure. Lisa Dailey was one of thousands who sat for hours at last month's Neighborhood Assistance Mortgage event in downtown Atlanta, hoping to refinance a home loan and keep her house...

More Journalists Sought To Report On Victimized Homeowners' Loan Modification Horror Stories

Posted on August 12, 2010
ProPublica announces:Earlier this year, to help shed light on problems with the federal mortgage modification program, we launched ProPublica's Reporting Matchmaker, a project designed to capture the stories of struggling homeowners by matching them with reporters in their area...

Mortgage Industry Move To Wipe Out Paperwork Maintenance Hassles Continues; Use Of Fraudulent Practices In F'closure Cases May Become Harder To Detect

Posted on August 11, 2010
Housing Wire reports:BNY Mellon Corporate Trust launched a new eVault service for its clients to receive, process and store electronic mortgage documents. The service is the latest in the industry to provide deliver and secure storage for electronic documents...

Homeowner Facing Foreclosure Scores $45K & 2% Loan Modification Workout In Lawsuit Settlement With BofA, Countrywide, Fannie

Posted on August 11, 2010
In Northern California, the Appeal Democrat reports:A Linda woman who once faced eviction from her home will be paid $45,000 and have her loan modified as part of the settlement to her legal challenge to the foreclosure by a bank and a government agency...

Unwitting Tenant Evicted From One, Faces Boot From Another Home In F'closure w/in 6 Months; Loses Cash Paid For Home Repairs In Bogus Rent To Own Deal

Posted on August 11, 2010
In Reno , Nevada, The Reno Gazette Journal reports:In just six months, Stephanie Williamson was evicted from one home that she was renting, and she is about to be evicted from a second. Both of the Reno homes Williamson rented were foreclosed on. ?As a single mom with two boys, I don?t exactly have all this extra income to be shelling out deposits,? Williamson said...

Another Novice Homebuyer Gets Screwed Over In Land Contract Deal; Sinks $15K Into Property Rehab, Now Faces The Boot Over Undisclosed Title Claim

Posted on August 11, 2010
In Racine, Wisconsin, The Journal Times reports:After transforming a hovel into a source of neighborhood pride, Noelia and Joaquin Raygoza have been ordered to leave. Not long after moving into a house they had agreed to buy at 1404 Buchanan St., the couple began receiving eviction notices - in someone else's name...

State AG's Office: News Of Earlier Probe Into Central Florida Foreclosure Mill Triggered Flood Of Complaints Against Current Trio Under Investigation

Posted on August 11, 2010
A short excerpt from a larger story in the Sarasota Herald Tribune on the recently-announced probe into Florida foreclosure mills Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson in Fort Lauderdale, Shapiro & Fishman in Tampa, and the Law Offices of David J. Stern in Plantation:Another foreclosure mill, Florida Default Law Group in Tampa, is already the focus of a civil investigation by the AG's office into

Appeals Court Boots Back Another Florida Trial Judge's Rubber-Stamped F'closure Ruling; "Uncontested Facts Of Record" Show "No Evidence" Of Assignment

Posted on August 11, 2010
In Northern Florida, the state's First District Court of Appeal has recently issued this short & sweet unanimous ruling in a foreclosure action, vacating and booting back a rubber-stamped judgment of Walton County Circuit Court Judge Kelvin C. Wells (bold text is my emphasis, not in the original text):In this mortgage foreclosure action, appellee, American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc...

Whistleblower Lawsuit: Fannie Made Mess, Mishandled Money In Handling HAMP

Posted on August 10, 2010
The Center for Public Integrity reports:Fannie Mae executives bungled their stewardship of the federal government?s massive foreclosure-prevention campaign, creating a bureaucratic muddle characterized by ?mismanagement and gross waste of public funds,? according to a whistleblower lawsuit by a former Fannie Mae executive and consultant...

The PSA & "The Alphabet Problem" In ?Proving Up? Unbroken Chain Of ?Assignments & Transfers? Of Notes, Mortgages In Foreclosure Defense Litigation

Posted on August 10, 2010
Consumer bankruptcy litigation attorney O. Max Gardner III writes:The Pooling and Servicing Agreement (PSA) is the document that actually creates a residential mortgage backed securitized trust and establishes the obligations and authority of the Master Servicer and the Primary Servicer...

Indiana AG Files Three More Lawsuits Against Foreclosure Rescue Outfits For Violating State Rules; Runs String Of Legal Actions To 22 This Year

Posted on August 10, 2010
In Indianapolis, Indiana, The Indianapolis Star reports:Despite a two-year crackdown by his office, the state attorney general said for-profit foreclosure consultants are still ripping off Indiana homeowners by promising mortgage foreclosure relief but not providing it...

Woman Wins Battle To Escape Legal Grasp Of Guardianship "Kidnapping"; Now Faces Possible Loss Of Home To Satisfy $100K+ In Unpaid Guardian, Legal Fees

Posted on August 10, 2010
In Hennepin County, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:Isabelle Jessich went to court Friday with two goals: to regain her liberty from a court-appointed guardian and to prevent him from selling her Edina home to pay $100,000 in fees for himself and seven lawyers...

State AG Announces Probe Into Florida Foreclosure Mills For Allegedly Manufacturing Phony Documents Used To Take Homes Away From Delinquent Borrowers

Posted on August 10, 2010
The Palm Beach Post reports:The Florida Attorney General's office announced this morning investigations into the state's three largest foreclosure law firms for allegations of unfair and deceptive actions. The firms, sometimes called "foreclosure mills," are the Fort Lauderdale Law Offices of Marshall C...

Massachusetts AG Concludes Civil Action Against Equity Stripping Attorney, Five Confederates For Using Sale Leaseback Racket To Rip Off Homeowners

Posted on August 09, 2010
From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:[Last week], Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office concluded its case against former Brockton attorney Alec G. Sohmer and five other defendants over their roles in a 2006 foreclosure rescue scheme...

NY Couple Gets 2 To 6 Years For Roles In Equity Stripping, Sale Leaseback Scam; Homeowners Who Sought Foreclosure Rescue Have Civil Suits Pending

Posted on August 09, 2010
In Westchester County, New York, The Journal News reports:A judge admonished a Tarrytown couple Thursday for their roles in "sham real estate transactions" that cost four Westchester County families their homes. The judge then sentenced Hubert "Phil" Hall and his wife, Doreen Swenson, to two to six years in state prison...

Upstate NY Couple Left In Limbo After Refinancing Home As Closing Attorney Is Charged w/ Pocketing Payoff Proceeds Due To Existing 1st Mtg Lender

Posted on August 09, 2010
In Lake George, New York, The Post Star reports:When Theresa Olson-Hoffman saw Patrick Reidy in the news last summer, in police custody and heading for a Saratoga County Court Room, she immediately recognized him. He was, she remembered, the same Saratoga Springs lawyer who had acted as a closing attorney when she and her fianc� completed paperwork to refinance a home loan almost a year

C. Florida Closing Agents Cop Pleas To Looting Real Estate Escrow Accounts; Ordered To Pay $7.9M In Restitution To Title Insurer Left Holding The Bag

Posted on August 09, 2010
From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:Attorney General Bill McCollum [last week] announced that a Pinellas County woman pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $8 million in a real estate fraud scheme. Cheryl Wehlau, owner of Gulf Coast Title Offices, entered her plea [last week] in a case prosecuted by the Office of Statewide Prosecution...

Florida U.S. Senate Candidate Linked To Alleged Straw Buyer Mortgage Scam That Left Banks, Taxpayers Holding The Bag On Nearly $34M Of Worthless Paper

Posted on August 08, 2010
The St. Petersburg Times reports:Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Greene says he had nothing to do with creating the sub-prime mortgage mess that made him fabulously wealthy. He was simply a savvy investor who "could see that the housing market was imploding" and lucky enough to make more than $500 million by betting against it...

NYC "Loan Scam Busters" Hit The Streets Of South Jamaica Targeting Side-Of-The-Road "Bandit" Signs Peddling Foreclosure Rescue Programs

Posted on August 08, 2010
In South Jamaica, Queens, the Queens Tribune reports:Volunteers took to the streets of Southeast Queens [last week] to help the City crack down on the vultures who prey on victims of the foreclosure crisis. The City Dept. of Consumer Affairs ["DCA"], partnering with NeighborWorks America, enlisted volunteers to bike through South Jamaica on July 31 to find and report deceptive foreclosure

Another Lender Jumps Gun Against Couple In Foreclosure; Wife, Kids Discover Home Interior Destroyed While Hubby Is Deployed In Afghanistan

Posted on August 08, 2010
In Tuscola County, Michigan, WJRT-TV Channel 12 reports:He's in Afghanistan, serving his country. Back home, his family is in a fight to preserve their home. A Tuscola County family thought they had worked out everything with their lender through a program that helps military families facing foreclosure...

Renters In 11,000-Unit NYC Complex In Foreclosure Score Big Win In Rent Overcharge Case; Tenants' Lawyer Pegs Haul At Approx. $200M

Posted on August 08, 2010
In New York City, Crain's New York Business reports:Tenants of market-rate apartments at Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village won a significant victory on Thursday when a judge ruled that they are entitled to rebates for rent overcharges. The ruling stems from a court decision last October, which said that the owners of the sprawling Manhattan residential complex were not entitled to deregulate

Florida Supreme Court Disciplines "Dirty Dozen" For Playing Fast & Loose With Their Clients' Money

Posted on August 08, 2010
The Florida Bar recently issued its quarterly "gossip sheet," in which it announced that the Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined 27 attorneys, disbarring eight and suspending 17.The following 12 attorneys (or now ex-attorneys, as the case may be) were either booted or suspended from the profession for allegedly playing fast and loose with their clients' money or just outright

City Gives Residents In 36-Unit Condo The Boot As Rotting Wood Threatens Collapse Of 6-Year Old Structure; Suit Against Developer, Others Pending

Posted on August 08, 2010
In Bradenton, Florida, the Bradenton Herald reports:They received their packing papers Friday night. And all day Saturday, U-Haul trailers and cars packed with personal items began trailing out of Mainstreet at Bradenton Condominiums, 210 Third St. W...

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