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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

MD Appeals Court: State Foreclosure Rescue Law Applies To Transaction Where Law Took Effect After Contract But Before Closing Of Sale Leaseback Ripoff

Posted on January 04, 2011
In a recent ruling by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the court rejected an accused sale leaseback peddler's attempt to dodge the application of the state's Protection of Homeowners in Foreclosure Act by claiming that the contract for the transaction pre-dated the effective date of the statute, in a deal that didn't actually close until after the law took effect...

Fed-Up Judge Refuses Further Trial Delays For Ex-Closing Attorney Accused Of Ripping Off Real Estate Escrow Funds In 4-Year Old Case

Posted on January 04, 2011
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reports:The only way a former Fayette County attorney accused of stealing about $99,000 in mortgage-settlement claims from two elderly couples can avoid going to trial on Jan. 3 is if he is hospitalized, according to the trial judge...

Florida Statewide Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation Program Off To Sluggish Start

Posted on January 04, 2011
The Palm Beach Post reports:Florida homeowners have had scant success in the state's required foreclosure mediation program with just 6 percent leaving the negotiating table with a resolution. The first statewide measure of the program, which the Florida Supreme Court made mandatory one year ago, was released Wednesday with information from seven of the state's 20 circuit courts...

Florida Appeals Court: Presenting Meritorious Defense In Foreclosure Action Unnecessary Where Notice Of Lawsuit Not Properly Served On Homeowner

Posted on January 03, 2011
A recent ruling by a Florida appeals court hopefully serves as a reminder to the rubber-stamping trial judges intent on pushing as many foreclosure judgments through the rocket dockets as quickly as possible to slow down when defects in the process by which notice of the lawsuit was purportedly served on the homeowner are apparent on the face of the affidavit of service filed in court by the

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Pennsylvania Notary Unlicensed In New Jersey At Center Of Garden State Robosigner Scandal

Posted on January 03, 2011
The New York Post reports:The face of New Jersey's robo-signing scandal may be a Pennsylvania notary public who signed thousands of foreclosure documents in the Garden State even though he wasn't licensed there.Thomas Strain, who now heads the bankruptcy team at GMAC Mortgage Corp...

Thousands Of Affidavits 'Robosigned' By Dead Woman Used By Zombie Debt Buyers To Collect Debts In Credit Card Account Lawsuits

Posted on January 03, 2011
The Wall Street Journal reports:Martha Kunkle has come back to life. She died in 1995. Yet her signature later appeared on thousands of affidavits submitted by one of the nation's largest debt collectors, Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., in lawsuits filed against borrowers...

Foreclosure Law 'Reading List' To Be Given To Central Florida Judges; Circuit Chief Hopes Briefing Will Help Jurists Avoid Getting "A Pie In The Face"

Posted on January 03, 2011
In Central Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Starting Monday, three of the most experienced circuit judges will begin handling civil cases [in the courtrooms of Florida's 12th Judicial Circuit], but first they have a reading list: lengthy analysis of the latest foreclosure law and arguments, and guides written by judges who have been in the foreclosure mess for years...

Fla Appeals Court 'Green Lights' Class Action Against Foreclosure Mill Accused Of Clipping Delinquent Borrowers In Bogus Loan Reinstatement Fee Ripoff

Posted on January 02, 2011
In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:As many as 2,000 homeowners suing the law firm of self-proclaimed foreclosure king David J. Stern over excessive attorney fees and costs won a major victory [last week] when an appeals court blessed the group's class-action status...

Boston Feds: Attorney/Title Agent Pocketed Closing Cash Meant For Mortgage Payoffs, Seller On Three Deals, Then Issued Title Insurance To Victims

Posted on January 02, 2011
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Boston, Massachusetts):A Boston attorney was arraigned [] on wire fraud and money laundering charges arising out of a mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in Braintree and Malden. STUART H. SOJCHER, 57, of Leominster, was indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering...

MERS: A Primer

Posted on January 02, 2011
The Washington Post recently ran a story on Virginia-based Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems ("MERS"), the electronic clearinghouse serving as a registry with a reported 67 million mortgages on file, that is said to be at the center of the foreclosure mess by its critics...

Ohio AG Urges Continued Vigilance By The Courts In Foreclosure Robosigner Cases

Posted on January 01, 2011
From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General:In a letter sent [] to Ohio judges, Attorney General Richard Cordray has requested that the state courts continue to pay close attention to foreclosure cases that may have affidavits signed by robo-signers...

Stern Makes "Dirty Dozen" List Of South Florida Despicables For 2010; Scores Perfect 10 On New Times' "Dirt Meter"

Posted on January 01, 2011
In South Florida, Broward-Palm Beach New Times reports that foreclosure mill king David J. Stern has made its "Dirty Dozen" list of most despicable South Florida people for the year 2010.In rating the bad guys from one to ten (with ten being the worst) on its special Dirt Meter (distinguishing mere scamp from pure unadulterated scoundrel), Stern scored a perfect ten...

Lawsuit: Insurer Stiffed Homeowner On Claim After Hard Freeze Allegedly Led To Ruptured Water Pipe, Causing Shift In Foundation, Damage To Structure

Posted on January 01, 2011
In Galveston, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Santa Fe couple alleges that American Security Insurance Co., Assurant Inc., Claim Adjustment Specialists and adjuster Michael Bower have failed and refused to fully honor their claim over a water line rupture at their residence, recent court documents say...

Lawsuit: Landlord's Failure To Fix Water Leak Forces Tenant To Flee Apartment, Citing Mold Damage That Caused Health Concerns, Damage To Possessions

Posted on January 01, 2011
In Jefferson County, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Jefferson County man wants to be reimbursed for items he says he lost when mold infested them following a recurring water leak at his apartment. Leonard Lewis filed a lawsuit Dec. 13 in Jefferson County District Court against Kiran Housing Group, doing business as Alabama Garden Apartments...

BofA Continues Its Reckless Conduct By Threatening Foreclosure & Ruining Homeowners' Credit Despite Acknowledging That Mortgage Is Not In Default

Posted on December 31, 2010
In West Hartford, Connecticut, Connecticut Watchdog reports:In one of the more bizarre foreclosure cases, Bank of America is threatening to throw a West Hartford family out of their home even though the couple never missed a mortgage payment.The largest bank in the United States earlier this month notified Shock Baitch and his wife Lisa (Friedman) Baitch that foreclosure action will start today ?

Jailed Son Scores $1.1M Inheritance From Deceased Mom, Despite Getting Ten Years For Neglect, Abuse, $115K Ripoff Before Her Death

Posted on December 31, 2010
In Louisville, Kentucky, The Louisville Courier Journal reports:Filthy, frail and suffering from dementia, 81-year-old Harriet Robbins was removed from her Cherokee Gardens home in late 2006 after police found the retired church bookkeeper alone and in ?deplorable condition,? with no heat or power, according to court records...

"Granny Snatching" Expected To Soar As A Prime Form Of Elder Abuse, Allowing Perpetrators To Hijack Control Over Aged Relatives' Assets

Posted on December 31, 2010
The Connecticut Watchdog reports:Granny Snatching. What is it? It?s an ugly phrase and an uglier practice and it is increasingly affecting more and more American families. Granny Snatching occurs when younger family members take custody of an elder relative under false pretenses, convince a judge to declare the elder person incompetent, allowing them to then force their aged relative into a

Real Estate Investor Agrees To Pay $47K+ To Settle Civil Charges Of Foreclosure Auction Bid Rigging Brought By NC AG

Posted on December 30, 2010
From the Office of the North Carolina Attorney General:A Virginia man and his company are barred from rigging bids on public auctions and must pay civil penalties and consumer refunds for trying to fix foreclosure sales of properties in Durham and Mecklenburg counties, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced []...

Attorneys Face Elder Abuse, Negligence Suit For Alleged 'Involvement' In POA Abuse Leading To Fleecing Of Now-Deceased Cancer Victim's Home, Estate

Posted on December 30, 2010
In Multnomah County, Oregon, Willamette Week reports:Two Portland lawyers are being sued for elder abuse and negligence after allegedly helping two women steal from an ailing relative in her 80s. According to the suit filed Dec. 17 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, lawyers Stacy Fletcher and James Dodge were hired in 2008 to prepare a power of attorney for Evelyn Roth, who was 81 at the time and

Duo Face Felony Charges In Theft From Now-Deceased, Dementia-Stricken Man; One Suspect Scored POA & Had Herself Inheriting Victim's House, Assets: DA

Posted on December 30, 2010
In Lake County, California, Lake County News reports:Two local women have been charged with grand theft and theft from an elder. Karen Lee Allen, 51, and Wendie Christine McRae, 46, both of Lower Lake, were arrested by a District Attorney's Office investigator on Dec...

BofA Tagged With Suit Alleging That Countrywide Misrepresented Risks On $700M+ In Crappy Mortgage Securities It Unloaded On Insurance Company

Posted on December 29, 2010
Reuters reports:Allstate Corp has sued Bank of America Corp, its Countrywide lending unit and 17 other defendants for allegedly misrepresenting the risks on more than $700 million of mortgage securities it bought from Countrywide.Allstate, the largest publicly traded U...

GMAC To Pay $462M To Avoid Fannie Buyback Demand On $292B In Crappy Loans

Posted on December 29, 2010
Reuters reports:Ally Financial Inc, the lender formerly known as GMAC, on Monday said it agreed to pay $462 million to Fannie Mae to avoid having to repurchase poorly underwritten mortgages sold to the housing finance giant.Ally, which is majority-owned by U...

Indiana Homeowner Caught In Middle Of Tug-Of-War Between Two Banks Both Claiming To Own Same Mortgage

Posted on December 29, 2010
In Bloomington, Indiana, WRTV-TV Channel 6 reports:Bickering between banks over who owns the mortgage to a Bloomington home could force the family living there into foreclosure. Jonathan Partlow said he was trying to modify his family's loan with Washington Mutual when he received a notice from La Salle Bank seeking to foreclose on his property, 6News' Rafael Sanchez reported...

Media Probe Reveals Illegal Evictions At Indiana Nursing Homes; Weak Rules Enforcement Leads To Booting As Cheap, Easy Way To Unload Unwanted Patients

Posted on December 29, 2010
In Indianapolis, Indiana, The Indianapolis Star reports:Nursing homes are allowed to evict residents, but only for certain reasons. And only after telling the residents they have a right to appeal. And only if the nursing home has found another suitable home for the residents...

Florida Trial Judges Continue Sloppy Work In Foreclosure Actions; Rubber-Stamped Judgments Tainted By Sewer Service Reversed By State Appellate Courts

Posted on December 28, 2010
The Palm Beach Post reports:Improperly served foreclosure notices may be the mortgage industry's next roadblock to repossessing homes. The Florida attorney general's office is investigating two of the state's largest companies that serve court summonses on homeowners, while at the same time [appellate court] judges are throwing out rulings based on faulty deliveries...

Northern NJ Couple's Suit Says Loan Servicer Duped Them Into Making Temporary Loan Mod Payments w/ Bogus Assurances That Deal Would Be Made Permanent

Posted on December 28, 2010
In New Milford, New Jersey, The Bergen Record reports:Luis and Maria Valenzuela of New Milford struggled to pay their mortgage after a cascade of setbacks ? including illness, a car accident, their daughter's layoff, and a granddaughter's autism diagnosis...

Parade Of Homeowners Bringing HAMP Lawsuits Continues; Missouri Class Action Says BofA Refuses To Follow Loan Mod Rules Despite $25B TARP Cash Grab

Posted on December 28, 2010
In St. Louis, Missouri, Courthouse News Service reports:The seemingly endless string of class actions against Bank of America's foreclosure policies continued here in Federal Court. The class claims that BofA and BAC Home Loans Servicing refuse to participate in foreclosure prevention programs despite taking $25 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program money...

Recent Law School Grads Recruited By Foreclosure Mills Attract Cloud Of Suspicion For Roles In Alleged Widespread Document Manufacturing Racket

Posted on December 28, 2010
The Palm Beach Post reports:Recently out of law school and looking for work, scores of young Florida attorneys found steady paychecks in burgeoning firms whose business is based on repossessing the American dream. Today, more than 260 attorneys work at four of Florida's largest foreclosure firms, and 48 percent of them have been practicing law for less than three years, according to Florida Bar

Ex-Chase Mid-Level Exec Files Whistleblower Complaint Alleging Robosigner, Other Illegal Practices Involving Its Credit Card Debt Processes

Posted on December 27, 2010
AOL's Daily Finance reports:Linda Almonte, a former employee of JPMorgan Chase who is suing the bank for wrongful termination, has just upped the ante: She has now also filed a whistleblower complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The core allegations add context to her lawsuit, and they charge Chase with grotesque and illegal practices involving its credit card debt processes,

Fla F'closure Mills Now Use 'Robo-Verifiers' As 'End Run' Around New State High Court Rules As Some Trial Judges Continue To Yawn & Snooze

Posted on December 27, 2010
The Daily Business Review reports:Lenders and their law firms are violating new procedures implemented by the Florida Supreme Court intended to address a controversy over botched foreclosure cases, according to attorneys for homeowners.After a national foreclosure scandal that resulted in a moratorium, new procedures implemented by lenders and their law firms are still falling short of

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