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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

Loan Modification Nightmares Begin to Pile Up

Posted on August 20, 2009
McClatchy Newspapers reports:A story Sunday on how lenders aren't following through on promises of modifying distressed mortgages, prompted an outpouring of comments and e-mails from others with similar tales of woe.For some of their stories, see More nightmares from the world of mortgage modifications (Borrowers still have little chance of getting payments lowered).

Bogus Fee Complaints Continue Rolling In Against Loan Servicer Despite Settlement In Class Action Lawsuit

Posted on August 20, 2009
ConsumerAffairs.com reports:Four months after [Goldman Sachs-owned] Litton Loan Services settled a class action accusing the company of imposing bogus late fees,(1) complaints about Litton continue to roll into ConsumerAffairs.com. Some consumers allege that Litton failed to timely post payments to their accounts, the main issue in the class action...

NYC Convicted Deed Thief, Welfare Cheat Now Faces New Charges In Alleged Straw Buyer Scam

Posted on August 20, 2009
In New York City, the New York Daily News reports:Old con men never die - they just find a new scam. Herbert Steed, who famously went to jail in the '90s for collecting welfare while living large in a Trump Tower pad,(1) is now charged with a fresh $1...

Another Foreclosure Screw Up Forces South Florida Family Into Temporary Homelessness

Posted on August 20, 2009
In Homestead, Florida, NBC Miami reports:You know times are tough when people are getting kicked out of their house when it?s not even for sale. That?s what happened to Anna Ramirez after she found all of her stuff out on the front lawn of her Homestead home last week and a strange man demanding she get out of his newly purchased house...

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State High Court Task Force Issues Report & Recommendations On Florida Foreclosure Crisis

Posted on August 20, 2009
In Tallahassee, Florida, the Miami Daily Business Review reports:Florida Supreme Court task force is calling for uniform mandatory mediation for all residential foreclosure cases in the state to deal with the tide of foreclosures that has swamped courthouses...

Show Me The Original Note And I Will Show You The Money!

Posted on August 19, 2009
On the Credit Slips blog, consumer bankruptcy attorney O. Max Gardner III writes:As mortgage delinquencies rise each month, and as the number of foreclosures increase each quarter, the ?new mantra? of many pro-se and represented consumers is to demand that the mortgage servicer ?prove up the original note...

Claims Of Deception, Illegal Practice Of Law Unfounded, Says NY-Licensed Attorney In Response To Connecticut AG Probe Into Loan Modification Firm

Posted on August 19, 2009
In East Berlin, Connecticut, the Connecticut Law Tribune reports:Kent Gross said he can?t be done with Connecticut soon enough. For him, it?s become impossible to do business here. The New York-licensed attorney said [First Legal Group, a] company he helped set up in East Berlin to assist homeowners facing foreclosure has been unfairly targeted by state grievance officials and Attorney General

Missouri AG Accuses Mobile Home Operator Of Pocketing Buyers' Money & Failing To Deliver Homes; Also Allegedly Swiped Proceeds Of Brokered Sales

Posted on August 19, 2009
From the Office of the Missouri Attorney General:Attorney General Chris Koster has charged Edna Kay Jackson of Kirbyville with 12 felony counts for allegedly deceiving people who did business with her to buy or sell mobile or modular homes. The charges, filed in Greene County, accuse Jackson, doing business as Dogwood Homes, of taking money for the purchase of homes and not delivering either the

Maryland Homebuilder Gets 12 Years For Pocketing Customer Deposits & Loan Proceeds, Failing To Build Homes

Posted on August 19, 2009
In Prince George's County, Maryland, The Washington Post reports:A District Heights developer was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison for collecting more than $1 million from banks and home buyers for houses that were never built. Leon Coleman promised 11 buyers that he would build homes in Kings Grant, a new subdivision in Upper Marlboro, but he never built them...

North Carolina AG Adds Rent Skimming Rackets, "Subject To" Deed Conveyances To Its "Foreclosure Rescue" Radar

Posted on August 18, 2009
In Charlotte, North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reports:Like others across North Carolina, [77-year-old Ruth Barbour] fell victim to a type of mortgage scheme that's become more common as businesses target homeowners desperate to get out of their houses...

Mortgage Servicer Encouragement To Default On House Payments To Qualify For Workout A Common Complaint From Homeowners Seeking Loan Modifications

Posted on August 18, 2009
In Washington, D.C., McClatchy Newspapers reports:Nearly three years into the deepest U.S. housing slump in generations, lenders are modifying only a small number of problem mortgages, and rising foreclosures are restraining the economy's recovery. The Obama administration has stepped up pressure on lenders and their mortgage servicers, who act as bill collectors on behalf of investors who own

"We Will Be Bringing More Lawsuits As Needed" Says Ohio AG To Mortgage Servicers Who Fail To Provide Reasonable Loan Mods To Eligible Borrowers

Posted on August 18, 2009
Statement from Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray:?[A recent] report from the U.S. Treasury further demonstrates that most mortgage loan servicers are not doing enough to live up to their commitments to help keep people in their homes. What is it going to take to get these companies to change their behavior and take responsibility? [Recently], Ohio broke new ground by filing a lawsuit against

310-Unit Condo Conversion Complex Struggles To Stay Afloat; Considers "Blanket Receivership" To Grab Rents Away From Deadbeat Owner/Landlords

Posted on August 18, 2009
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:Dealing with an ongoing crisis, the company that manages cash-strapped Mirassou Condominium wants to start a blanket receivership system to collect association fees from deadbeat owners.(1)(2) [...] As budgets continue to worsen in South Florida condo associations, Mirassou's situation underscores the consequences communities are facing when unit owners

Overleveraged Apartment Buildings Falling Into Foreclosure Threaten Tenants, Jeopardize Neighborhoods Throughout NYC

Posted on August 18, 2009
In The Bronx, New York, Crain's New York Business reports:Linda Kemp remembers when the hallway floors at Robert Fulton Terrace were waxed regularly, when tulips, not weeds, bloomed in the garden, and when mold wasn't growing in the bathrooms of apartments in the 18-story complex that once was the envy of the Morrisania section of the Bronx...

Man Ripped Off Absentee Owners Of Title To Mortgage-Free Properties, Pocketing Proceeds Of Fraudulently Obtained Mortgages In The Process, Say Feds

Posted on August 17, 2009
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Orlando, Florida):United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton announces the arrest yesterday of Edwin M. Lugo-Abreu (age 34, of Orlando) on an indictment(1) charging him with mortgage fraud. If convicted on all counts, Lugo-Abreu faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison...

"There Is Zero Time To Waste" Says Indiana AG In Continuing Effort To Eliminate Loan Modification Scams Targeting Hoosiers

Posted on August 17, 2009
In Indianapolis, Indiana, The Indianapolis Star reports:The Attorney General's Homeowner Protection Unit has filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County against a Jacksonville, Fla.-based foreclosure consulting company. The lawsuit against National Foreclosure Counseling Services Corp...

"Zero Tolerance" For Loan Modification Scams, Says Missouri AG As Civil Charges Brought On Outfit Allegedly Charging Upfront Fees & Failing To Deliver

Posted on August 17, 2009
In Kansas City, Missouri, Missourinet.com reports:Missouri has filed suit against a Kansas City firm, claiming that it is preying on people who are desperate to save their homes. Attorney General Chris Koster has filed suit against Premier Credit Services of Kansas City and principals Michael and Angela Eads...

Using "Qualified Written Requests" In Consumer Bankruptcy Cases

Posted on August 17, 2009
On the Credit Slips blog, consumer bankruptcy attorney O. Max Gardner III writes:I have trained over 350 attorneys at my Bankruptcy Boot Camps and to my surprise less than 10 percent know what I mean when I refer to a "QWR." This is shocking in that a reasonable QWR can provide the attorney for the Chapter 13 debtor with some of the very best discovery outside of a contested case or Adversary

Illicit Loan Proceeds From Alleged Long Island Sexual Fantasy Club-Based Mortgage Fraud Ring Now Up To $82M, Says Suffolk County DA

Posted on August 16, 2009
In Suffolk County, New York, Newsday reports:A dominatrix, her male personal assistant, two employees at her Manhattan sexual fantasy club and her 65-year-old mother are among the latest defendants charged as part of an $82-million mortgage fraud scheme in which a former Suffolk legislator is accused of having a central role...

Feds Convict Two In Beverly Hills Mortage Fraud Scam Resulting In $40M+ In Lender Losses

Posted on August 16, 2009
From the Office of the FBI (Losa Angeles, California):A federal jury [...] convicted a prominent Beverly Hills real estate agent and a licensed real estate appraiser on federal charges for their roles in a massive mortgage fraud scheme that caused more than $40 million in losses to federally insured banks...

Ex-Real Estate Agent Gets 15 Years In I.D. Theft, Mortgage Fraud Scam; One Unwitting Victim Left Broke

Posted on August 16, 2009
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Star Tribune reports:Former Twin Cities real estate agent Larry Maxwell received a 15-year prison sentence Thursday from a Hennepin County judge who said Maxwell's extensive mortgage and identity fraud scheme merited the term...

Cleveland Grand Jury Brings 96-Count Indictment Against 12 In Alleged $14M+ Straw Buyer, Mortgage Fraud Racket; Left Home Sellers Clipped Out Of $3M

Posted on August 16, 2009
In Cleveland, Ohio, The Plain Dealer reports:A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted 12 people and three companies Friday in what prosecutors say was a brazen $14.7 million mortgage fraud scheme involving seven upscale houses - some with waterfront views...

Lender Reposseses 500+ Units In Failed Condo Conversion Complex, Leaving Remaining Struggling Unit Owners With Uncertain Future

Posted on August 15, 2009
In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:The future is uncertain for another big Tampa Bay area condominium project that was foreclosed on Wednesday. Corus Bank, the lender for the $74.8 million Lansbrook Village Condominiums in Palm Harbor, took back the property after its Atlanta-based developer defaulted on payments, online Pinellas County court records show...

Aging Buildings, Developer Disputes, High Rate Of Absentee Landlords, Underwater Owners, Scarce Buyers Leave Condo Conversions In Deep Trouble

Posted on August 15, 2009
In South Florida, The Miami Herald reports:Since 2003, when housing prices took off, more than 74,000 rental apartments were converted into condominiums in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, twice as many as the previous 50 years combined, according to state records of condo conversion applications...

High Cost Of Maintenance Has Struggling HOAs Looking Into Unloading Private Streets Onto Cities

Posted on August 15, 2009
In Riverside County, California, The Press Enterprise reports:A Corona homeowners association has made a simple plea to the city: Take our street. Parkview Estates' struggle to come up with more than $10,000 a year to maintain the private 2 �-block Ruth Circle that runs through its modest 17-home tract is symbolic of trouble faced by homeowners associations everywhere: They are losing hundreds of

Townhome Buyer Sues Developer For Refund As Crime, Foreclosures, Questionable Sales, Unwanted Renters Plague Failed Complex

Posted on August 15, 2009
In Riviera Beach, Florida, the South Florida Daily Business Review reports:When Pamela Hart paid $275,000 for a townhouse in one of Cornerstone Group?s new developments in Riviera Beach, she thought she was making a great purchase. The 59-year-old county employee said she received a $10,000 discount when she bought what she believed was the last unit for sale in Sonoma Bay...

Couple Lets Home Go To Foreclosure After Dispute With Condo Association Over Source Of Mold Problem

Posted on August 15, 2009
In Golden Valley, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:On July 15, at the roll call of heartbreaks known as the Hennepin County sheriff's mortgage foreclosure sale, a deputy called out the names of Denise Martineau and Mark Bufkin. It was the couple's last chance to pay up before the lender took their condo in Golden Valley...

Countrywide Fights City To Stop Demolition Of Moldy Foreclosed Home

Posted on August 15, 2009
In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, The Northwestern reports:A court will decide if an 11-year-old house in the city of Oshkosh that is filled with mold must be razed. [...] The city has issued raze or repair orders for the single-story home, but Countrywide Home Loans Inc...

Suspect In Looting Of Unoccupied Home In Foreclosure Accidentally Busted By Victim; Found Peddling Ripped Off Items At Neighborhood Yard Sale

Posted on August 15, 2009
In Severn, Maryland, The Baltimore Sun reports:A woman whose home was burglarized as she stayed with her daughter was shocked to spot her belongings offered at a neighbor's yard sale, Anne Arundel County police say. [...] Police said they found $25,000 worth of her clothes, furnishings and other possessions - even a fur coat - on the property...

California Bar Obtains Attorney Resignations From Two, Files Charges Against Another In Connection With Alleged Loan Modification Scams

Posted on August 14, 2009
From The State Bar of California:Continuing its aggressive pursuit of lawyers who commit professional misconduct by taking advantage of vulnerable homeowners, The State Bar of California announced [Thursday] that it has obtained the resignations of two lawyers and filed charges against a third for their loan modification activities...

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