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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

Two Canadian Tourists Find Themselves Illegally Locked Out Of Rented Home By Foreclosing Lender After Returning From Day At Beach

Posted on October 05, 2010
In Punta Gorda, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Two Canadian tourists returning to their rental home from a day at the beach found evidence burglars had struck -- or so it seemed. Their laptop computer and MP3 player were missing, as were six bottles of wine...

Maryland Man Cops Plea In Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Ripoff That Targeted High-Equity Homeowners With Unaffordable House Payments

Posted on October 05, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Baltimore, Maryland):James William Fox II, age 40, of Crofton, Maryland, pleaded guilty [] to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme which promised to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their homes, but left them with no equity and no longer holding the title to their properties...

Minn. Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Victim Wins Back Free & Clear Home With Help From Non-Profit Law Firm As Judge Voids Sale & Subsequent Mortgage

Posted on October 05, 2010
In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Housing Preservation Project announces:The Foreclosure Relief Law Project(1) won a major victory [...] in a prolonged equity stripping lawsuit. After a two day trial, the Court ordered that the homeowner now owns her home free and clear of a mortgage...

Maine Residents File Class Action Suit In Effort To Hold Lender Accountable For Allegedly "Routinely & Systematically" Using False F'closure Documents

Posted on October 04, 2010
In Biddleford, Maine, the Molleur Law Office announces:Five Maine residents filed a complaint(1) today [Oct 1, 2010] against GMAC Mortgage, LLC ("GMAC") on behalf of themselves and a class of Maine homeowners alleging that the company routinely and systematically files false certifications that it has a right to foreclose on Maine homeowners, and false affidavits when asking courts to enter

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Central Florida's "Hang 'Em High, Harry" Ready To Wield Heavy Gavel To Hammer Sloppy Foreclosure Mills Unable To Follow Simple Court Rules

Posted on October 04, 2010
In Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Criminal defense attorneys used to call Judge Harry Rapkin "Hang 'Em High Harry" for his tough prison sentences, and his latest crackdown in foreclosure court might have home lenders trying to come up with a similar nickname...

Fort Lauderdale-Area Court System Not Immune To 'Kangaroo-Itis' In Foreclosure Actions As Local Chief Judge Takes "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" Posture

Posted on October 04, 2010
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, WFOR-TV Channel 4 ran a story that made the following reference to the goings-on at the local county courthouse in connection with foreclosure actions that, to some, may appear to be a rubber-stamping kangaroo court system, and where the local chief judge is seemingly taking his cues from Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru, better known as the proverbial "Three Wise

DOCX Foreclosure "Document Fabrication" Price Sheet?

Posted on October 04, 2010
4closurefraud.org has an interesting post on the DOCX?s GetNet? Document Recovery solution, which DOCX describes in its promotional literature as:"[a] national network of runners that is engaged to provide document recovery, expedited recordation services, title searches, and insurance submissions...

Mortgage Loan Servicing's 'Dirty Dozen'

Posted on October 04, 2010
In West Palm Beach, Florida, Fraud Digest reports:On September 28, 2010, Fraud Digest released its list of the Dirty Dozen - the mortgage servicing companies most responsible (in the opinion of Fraud Digest) for flooding courts with millions of fraudulent mortgage assignments and Affidavits in foreclosure cases...

Mass. AG Begins Probe Into Mortgage Lenders Over Foreclosure Irregularities; Asks Them To Stop Actions Until They Can Show State Law Was Complied With

Posted on October 04, 2010
In Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports:Attorney General Martha Coakley said yesterday that her office is investigating Bank of America and other creditors for their possible failure to follow state foreclosure laws, and she asked the lenders to put a temporary freeze on foreclosure proceedings in Massachusetts...

Title Insurer Extends Policy-Writing Suspension To JP Morgan Chase Foreclosures

Posted on October 03, 2010
The New York Times reports:A major title insurance company has stopped insuring homes foreclosed by JPMorgan Chase, another sign that the controversy over the legal practices of the big lenders is starting to influence the housing market.The company, Old Republic National Title Insurance, told its agents Friday that it would not write policies on foreclosed Chase properties until ?the

Florida Congressman Takes To YouTube To Explain The Foreclosure Mess Created By The Home Loan Industry

Posted on October 03, 2010
Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida's 8th District (Orlando area) has taken to YouTube to provide a clear, cogent explanation of what foreclosing lenders, loan servicers, foreclosure mills, Mortgage Electronic Registration Services ("MERS"), "robosigners"/"affidavit slaves"/multiple corporate hat-wearing vice presidents and others have done to create the foreclosure mess we all find ourselves in,

The Ghosts Of The Dearly Departed WAMU, Lehman Brothers Continue Cranking Out Foreclosure Docs?

Posted on October 03, 2010
Shelter Island, New York attorney Abigail Field writes in AOL's DailyFinance:GMAC, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America and One West Bank employees routinely sign hundreds of documents without verifying what they're signing. Those documents are then submitted to courts as if the documents were true, to enable the banks to foreclose on delinquent properties...

1st Time Homebuyers May Be Out Thousand$ In Tax Credits Due To Stalled Closings Resulting From Recent 'Robo-Signer' Mess

Posted on October 03, 2010
HousingWire reports:Homebuyers who were set to close on the purchase of a foreclosed home may not qualify now for the homebuyer tax credit after lenders suspended those sales in 23 states, real estate agents tell HousingWire. The closing deadline for the homebuyer tax credit was extended earlier in the year from July 30 to Sept...

Lawsuit: Timeshare Outfit Uses Foreclosure Threat In Attempt To Squeeze $276 In Late Fees Over "Missing Penny"

Posted on October 03, 2010
In Passaic County, New Jersey, Courthouse News Service reports:An attorney claims his Hawaiian timeshare company charged him $276 in late fees and threatened to foreclose on his property because he owed it a penny. Jonathan Dorman says the Kahana Beach Vacation Club subjected him to abuse and threats until he wrung from it the information that it was charging him 20 months of late fees for a

Fresno Feds: Duo Pocketed Bank Loan Proceeds While Simultaneously Conning High-Equity Elderly Home Sellers Into Owner Finance, Equity Stripping Ripoff

Posted on October 03, 2010
In Fresno, California, The Sacramento Bee reports:The founder and longtime owner of Century 21 Apollo real estate was arrested Friday and charged with defrauding banks and elderly homeowners of more than $10 million. Jim Lankford, 71, and his roommate, Jon McDade, 46, bilked seniors and lenders for 11 years, according to a federal grand jury indictment []...

Pending NYS Law Targets Loan Modification Scams, Deed Ripoffs; Bill Awaits Governor's Sign-Off

Posted on October 03, 2010
In the Throgs Neck section of The Bronx, the New York Daily News reports:The bottom-feeders are back, but a bill on Gov. Paterson's desk could protect distressed Bronx homeowners from fraud. Two years after the subprime mortgage crisis imploded, unscrupulous loan modification consultants are still scamming homeowners like Angeleta Beckford...

Schwarzenegger Signs Bill Targeting Forensic Loan Audit Ripoffs

Posted on October 02, 2010
In Sacramento, California, The Sacramento Bee reports:California homeowners could get protection from "foreclosure-relief" scams under a bill signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, said his measure targets so-called forensic loan audits, where homeowners paid upfront fees, purportedly to determine their lender's compliance with state and federal mortgage

California AG: "I'm Directing Chase To Prove It Is Following The Law Before It Continues Foreclosures In California!"

Posted on October 02, 2010
From the Office of the California Attorney General:Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has demanded that JP Morgan Chase prove immediately that it is complying with state law or, if it cannot, halt foreclosing on California homes. "I'm taking this action to further protect California homeowners on the brink of foreclosure," Brown said, "JP Morgan Chase, like GMAC/Ally Financial, has admitted

BofA Joins Parade Of Lenders Hitting Brakes On F'closures In 23 States; Company 'Robo-Signer' Signed Up To 8,000 Docs/Month Without Reviewing Them

Posted on October 02, 2010
The Washington Post reports:Bank of America, the nation's largest bank, on Friday became the latest lender to put foreclosures on hold in 23 states because of concerns that court documents it submitted were improperly prepared.Bank of America and other mortgage companies have been under pressure to review their paperwork after employees and contractors said in sworn depositions that, because of

Atlanta-Area Law Enforcement Probes Alleged Loan Modification Racket Accused Of Ripping Off Thousand$ From Financially Strapped Homeowners

Posted on October 02, 2010
In Atlanta, Georgia, WGCL-TV Channel 46 reports:A CBS Atlanta exclusive investigation has exposed a local company victimizing people who are trying to lower their home and car loans. CBS Atlanta has spoken with dozens of families who say they've been devastated by one man who's profiting off their misfortune...

Customers Claim Forensic Loan Audit Outfit Left Them Out Thousand$ & Homeless

Posted on October 02, 2010
In Rancho Cordova, California, KOVR-TV Channel 13 reports on companies U.S. Loan Auditors and My U.S. Legal, two firms who have been accused by disgruntled clients of ripping them off out of thousands of dollars by claiming to perform forensic loan audits on their home loan documents, purportedly in an effort to avoid foreclosure...

Store Owner Suspects City Of Using Code Enforcement Rules To Take His Property, Squeeze Him Out Of Business

Posted on October 02, 2010
In Plantation, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:For the latest example of local government run amok, look no further than the small Farm Store owned by Nasir Ahmed on Peters Road in Plantation. It's a drive-through convenience store where people roll up to buy beer, cigarettes and milk...

Bedbug Invasion In Rented Condo Has Tenant's Skin Crawling; Complex Management Says It's Not Their Problem; Says Unit Owner May Be In Foreclosure

Posted on October 02, 2010
In Phoenix, Arizona, KPHO-TV Channel 5 reports:They are trapped in Scotch tape like fingerprints from a crime scene. Bree Daniels said it's the evidence that bedbugs have infested her Phoenix condo. "I woke up one night and saw one crawling out of my electrical socket, and I freaked out," Daniels said...

Would-Be Renter Out $1350 In Craigslist Rent Ripoff; Scammer Tricked Victim Into Transacting Bogus Deal Inside Bank Where He Claimed To Be Employed

Posted on October 02, 2010
In Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:Nothing Betty Baker experienced after she replied to an ad on Craigslist for a $750-per-month apartment in June gave the single mother any reason to pause. The owner walked Baker through the spotless duplex, the paperwork was in perfect order...

Ohio Secretary Of State Asks Feds To Open Criminal Probe Into 'Robo-Notary' Abuses Involving Mass-Produced Foreclosure Docs; Lists 5 Violations Of Law

Posted on October 01, 2010
From the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State:Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Ohio?s chief elections officer and the state officer responsible for licensing notary publics, [...] revealed that she has referred specific instances of notary abuse occurring at Chase Home Mortgage in Columbus and by the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc...

Major Title Insurance Company Declares Ally/GMAC REOs Uninsurable Until Further Notice!

Posted on October 01, 2010
A recent story in The New York Times on the ongoing turmoil due to the dubious documents being used by loan servicers and foreclosure mills in foreclosure actions against delinquent borrowers contains this gem:As more defaulting homeowners become aware of the lenders? problems, they are expected to hire lawyers and challenge the proceedings against them...

Federal Regulator Directs Seven Big Banks To Review Foreclosure Processes

Posted on October 01, 2010
The Washington Post reports:A top federal bank regulator said Thursday that he has directed seven of the nation's largest lenders to review their foreclosure processes after learning about the widespread mishandling of homeowner evictions by the industry...

Florida Foreclosure Mills Under Assault Fire Back As Judges Rulings Citing Unprofessional Conduct, Rules Violations Face Challenge

Posted on October 01, 2010
In Manatee County, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports:A foreclosure firm that was scolded and fined for unprofessional conduct by a Manatee County circuit judge last month has fired back, saying the judge is prejudiced against them and broke the rules herself...

Homeowner Suffers Through Series Of Lock Outs As Lender Changes Door Hardware Seven Times After Falling 30 Days Behind On House Payments

Posted on October 01, 2010
In South Florida, WFOR-TV Channel 4 reported on local homeowner Xavier Bracco, and the recent problems with his mortgage lender:[L]ast fall, Bracco's dream turned into a nightmare."I felt as if like everything was coming down," said Bracco. When he got a pay cut, forcing him to miss one mortgage payment by only 30 days...

Another Homeowner Who Never Missed A Payment Victimized By Wrongful Foreclosure Lock-Out; Bank Agent Admits Screw-Up

Posted on October 01, 2010
In Scottsdale, Arizona, KTVK-TV Channel 3 reports:The foreclosure crisis has forced thousands of Valley families out of their homes but a few days ago a Scottsdale woman got locked out of her home, which is not in foreclosure.Banks are hiring private companies to lock people out of their foreclosed homes but mistakes are being made due to more homeowners going into foreclosure...

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