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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

F'closure Rocket Docket Alive & Well In Palm Beach County; Local Chief Tells Financially Strapped Homeowner Hit w/ Rubber-Stamped Ruling To Appeal

Posted on September 26, 2010
In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:Last month, Palm Beach County Senior Judge Roger Colton opened his afternoon foreclosure session by telling homeowners that he'd heard all their stories before, and he would give them a maximum of five months before letting lenders take their homes...

Miami-Area Foreclosure Defense Attorneys Concerned Over Court's Expressed Goal Of Bulldozing 52,000 Foreclosure Cases Off The Docket By June

Posted on September 26, 2010
In Miami, Florida, the Daily Business Review reports a story on the Miami-Dade Circuit Court's recently announced goal of bulldozing 52,000 foreclosure cases out of the judicial pipeline by June. Naturally, the foreclosure defense bar expresses concern:[T]he creation of a foreclosure master calendar heard by senior judges whose sole task is to consider summary judgments and clear dockets causes

Trio Of Congressional Dems Demand Answers From Fannie As To Why They Used Foreclosure Mills Accused Of Fabricating Court Docs

Posted on September 26, 2010
The Washington Post reports:A trio of congressional Democrats is demanding to know why government-backed mortgage giant Fannie Mae has entrusted many of its foreclosure cases to Florida law firms that stand accused of fabricating or backdating numerous court documents...

Florida Court System Begins Banning Public From Observing Foreclosure Proceedings? "You Don't Argue With Someone Carrying A Gun," Says One Attorney

Posted on September 25, 2010
Buried in a recent story in The Tampa Tribune on the three-ring circus that is the foreclosure process in Florida had this excerpt regarding public access to the legal proceedings taking place when booting delinquent homeowners from their homes:Another concern of defense attorneys: a closed-door policy for something that should be open to the public...

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Los Angeles Feds: Section 1031 Exchange Accomodator Illegally Dipped Into Investor Escrow Accounts, Pocketing $23M

Posted on September 25, 2010
In Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Times reports:This week's indictment of Los Angeles real estate mogul Ezri Namvar on criminal fraud charges was welcome news to local investors who say the Iranian immigrant preyed on their shared ethnic ties and bilked them out of hundreds of millions of dollars...

Now-Disbarred Title Lawyer Cops Plea To Ripping Off $2.7M In Real Estate Closing Proceeds Due To Existing Mortgage Holders, Clients From Trust Account

Posted on September 25, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Fort Lauderdale, Florida):[A]ttorney James B. Hayes, 57, of Boca Raton, Florida, pled guilty [] to a criminal information charging him in two counts of making false statements on a HUD-1 Settlement Form, a matter within the jurisdiction of the U...

South Florida Feds: Recently Disbarred Lawyer Looted $2.4M In Client Cash From Trust Account

Posted on September 25, 2010
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:A disbarred Fort Lauderdale attorney faces a mail fraud charge with federal authorities suspecting him of embezzling more than $2.4 million from clients.Joseph Sindaco, 62, lost his law license last month after admitting during Florida Bar proceedings he misappropriated about $445,000 from two clients...

Metropolitan Money Store Foreclosure Rescue Civil Litgation Continues Kicking Around

Posted on September 25, 2010
The class action plaintiffs/homeowners who were victims of the Metropolitan Money Store sale leaseback, foreclosure rescue scam were hit with something of an unfavorable ruling in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Maryland recently in a matter involving the Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding of Sussex Title, LLC, a title and closing agent involved in the deals resulting in the draining of any equity the

CT Probate Judge Dodges Major Trouble, Gets Hand-Slap In Suspected Land Grab Case Involving Now-Deceased, Dementia-Stricken 92-Year Old's $1.5M+ Farm

Posted on September 25, 2010
In Southington, Connecticut, The New Britain Herald reports:Local Probate Judge Bryan Meccariello has been publicly censured by the Council of Probate Judicial Conduct for his conduct in the Josephine Smoron estate issue. The council found that Meccariello ?engaged in judicial misconduct? and ?failed to perform the duties of his office and his conduct was prejudicial to the impartial and

NYC To Use Pro Bono Engineers, Architects In Program To Estimate Rehab Costs, Ward Away Would-Be Flippers, Of Over-Leveraged Apartment Buildings

Posted on September 25, 2010
In New York City, The Wall Street Journal reports:The City Council plans to announce [...] a new program to detail distressed living-conditions in the city's so-called over-leveraged buildings,(1) aiming to raise awareness about the money required to make the buildings more habitable...

Deed Service Ripoff Operation Uses Mail Solicitations Simulating Government Notices To Clip Homeowners Out Of Unecessary Fees

Posted on September 25, 2010
In Colorado Springs, Colorado, KKTV-TV Channel 11 reports:A company is targeting homeowners, asking for $87 to send you a copy of your property deed. The company uses a mailing that looks a lot like a bill from a government agency, but don't be fooled...

Well-Known Monopoly Icon Gets Boot From Expensive Park Place/Boardwalk Hotel Digs; Forced To Shack Up In Modest Baltic Avenue Abode

Posted on September 25, 2010
Spooftimes.com reports:Echoing the difficult economic times being faced by so many people, a well-known Monopoly player recently had two valuable properties foreclosed-- including five hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk. The bank gave him just two weeks to vacate the expensive properties -- forcing the owner to move into a much thriftier small green house on Baltic Avenue...

WV High Court Disbars Attorney For $90K Ripoff Of Client Cash; Follows Suit After Lawyer Received Similar Boot From Maryland, Virginia, D.C Bars

Posted on September 25, 2010
In Charleston, West Virginia, The West Virginia Record reports:The state Supreme Court has followed suit with Maryland's high court to disbar an attorney for misappropriating over $90,000 in client funds. The Court on Sept. 16 voted to annul the license of Cumberland, Md...

Ally/GMAC Told Freddie Of Dubious Documents Weeks Before Slamming Brakes On Its Own Foreclosures

Posted on September 24, 2010
Bloomberg News reports:Ally Financial Inc.?s GMAC Mortgage unit told Freddie Mac that foreclosures by the auto and home lender might have been faulty weeks before halting its own evictions, according to two people briefed on the matter.Ally informed Freddie Mac on Aug...

Texas, Iowa AGs Open Probe Into Ally/GMAC Foreclosure Practices

Posted on September 24, 2010
Bloomberg News reports:Attorneys general in Texas and Iowa, following Florida, have started their own investigations into foreclosure practices at Ally Financial Inc.?s GMAC mortgage unit.?The integrity of the foreclosure process is of utmost importance and we are very concerned by the issues that have been raised regarding Ally Financial?s treatment of affidavits,? Iowa Assistant Attorney

Dubious Docs Begin Surfacing In Ally/GMAC's 27 Non-Foreclosure Moratorium States, Leaving Homeowners Across Country Scrambling To Challenge F'closures

Posted on September 24, 2010
The Washington Post reports:Flawed foreclosure documents like those that led mortgage lender Ally Financial [the outfit formerly known as GMAC] to halt evictions in 23 states this week are showing up in parts of the country previously thought to be unaffected, including the Washington area, according to attorneys and consumer advocates...

Florida Appeals Court Says No Way To Rubber-Stamping Trial Judge Caught Improperly Striking Homeowner's Pleadings In Foreclosure Action

Posted on September 24, 2010
A Florida appeals court recently reversed another rubber-stamped summary judgment in a foreclosure action. This time, the state's 3rd District Court of Appeal reversed a ruling by Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge Mark King Leban who, on his own motion ("sua sponte"), improperly struck all of the pleadings filed by a homeowner/defendant, and then granted summary judgment for the foreclosing

Volunteer Lawyers' Efforts Help Shine Light On Shoddy Mortage Servicing Practices In Foreclosure Actions

Posted on September 24, 2010
In Portland, Maine, The Portland Press Herald reports:Two Maine lawyers who help homeowners fight foreclosures may have contributed to a decision this week by one of the nation's largest mortgage-servicing companies to stop foreclosing on homes in 23 states, including Maine...

Other Multiple Corporate Hat Wearing Vice Presidents Begin To Share The Spotlight

Posted on September 24, 2010
The Washington Post reports:The nation's overburdened foreclosure system is riddled with faked documents, forged signatures and lenders who take shortcuts reviewing borrower's files, according to court documents and interviews with attorneys, housing advocates and company officials...

"Robo-Signers" Masquerading As Multiple Corporate-Hat-Wearing Vice Presidents Just "Affidavit Slaves" With Modest Incomes, Mountainous Workloads

Posted on September 24, 2010
A recent story in The Washington Post describes the multiple corporate-hat wearing vice presidents employed by foreclosing lenders, servicers, foreclosure mills, etc. around the country in this excerpt:Many large mortgage lenders have come to rely on a relative handful of so-called robo-signers [...

Federal Commission: Florida Played Starring Role In Mortgage Fraud Problem That Led To Untold Trillion$ In Crappy Loans

Posted on September 23, 2010
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:Mortgage fraud is responsible for untold trillions of dollars in bad loans currently defaulting across the country, and Florida has played a starring role in the tragedy, a federal commission said during a hearing in Miami on Tuesday...

Four Pinched On Grand Theft, Forgery Charges; Used Stolen I.Ds To Obtain Homes, Mtgs: Cops; Victims Discover Scam When Stiffed Banks Sought Repayment

Posted on September 23, 2010
From the Office of the San Bernardino, California District Attorney:On Monday, September 13, 2010, Ray Gross, 46, of Victorville, was arrested at his residence by San Bernardino County Sheriff?s deputies for real estate fraud charges. Gross was arrested for numerous felony counts including grand theft, forgery, and filing forged documents with the County Recorder?s Office...

Forced Placed Insurance Drives Central Florida Homeowner Into F'closure; Loan Servicer Backpeddles On Initial Demands After Inquiries From Local Media

Posted on September 23, 2010
In Port Richey, Florida, WFTS-TV Channel 28 reports:A Port Richey homeowner nearly lost his house not once but twice to foreclosure. Mark Poulsen said it had nothing to do with his payment history, but rather a new insurance policy.***About the same time when Mark lost his job, he says, CITI bank attached a $5,000 wind policy to his home...

Use Of Robo-Signers In Foreclosure Actions Not New For GMAC/Ally; Earlier Case Required Servicer To Cough Up $8K In Fees To Homeowner's Attorney

Posted on September 23, 2010
Bloomberg News reports:Ally Financial Inc.?s GMAC Mortgage unit, which suspended evictions in 23 states last week after finding employees didn?t verify foreclosure documents, was sanctioned in 2006 for similar practices, court records show.GMAC gave ?false testimony? when it justified foreclosures by submitting sworn affidavits signed by a mortgage executive who later said in a deposition she

Foreclosure Mills Begin Filing Motions To Withdraw Previously Filed Court Documents Signed By Loan Servicers' "Affidavit Slaves"

Posted on September 22, 2010
Mother Jones reports:Christopher Immel, an attorney for Ice Legal, a Florida foreclosure defense firm, said each and every foreclosure that relied on an affidavit signed by GMAC's [Jeffrey] Stephan is shrouded in doubt.(1) "People who lost their homes to evidence like that did have their homes taken wrongly," he says...

Loan Modification Operator Denies Taking Upfront Fees; Says Money Taken Was For "Attorney Fees"

Posted on September 22, 2010
In Kansas City, Missouri, The Kansas City Star reports on Livonia, Michigan's Expert Financial Services, a loan modification outfit, led by its chief - Rick White, that has been accused of ripping off some local homeowners out of thousands in upfront fees...

Fannie Agrees To Rescind Foreclosure For Virginia Family After Recent "Post" Article; Says Chase Botched Loan Modification Application Process

Posted on September 22, 2010
In Prince William County, Virginia, The Washington Post reports:Chase -- the bank that foreclosed on the home of a Prince William County couple caring for their gravely ill child -- has reversed the foreclosure and offered to modify the family's mortgage, the bank said Friday...

GMAC's Use Of "Affidavit Slave" May Affect Hundreds Of F'closing Lenders Using Firm To Service Mortgages, Opening Door For Challenges Across Country

Posted on September 22, 2010
The Washington Post reports:Some of the nation's largest mortgage companies used a single document processor who said he signed off on foreclosures without having read the paperwork - an admission that may open the door for homeowners across the country to challenge foreclosure proceedings...

Use Of Special Addendums & Bank-Designated Title Agents When Dumping REOs Mark Wave To Unload Defectively-Titled F'closed Homes Onto Unwitting Buyers?

Posted on September 22, 2010
Naked Capitalism reports:Another ticking time bomb in the realm of real estate bad behavior is bound to go off sooner rather than later, and it is likely to impede normalization of values of residential property.(1)For more, see Latest Real Estate Time Bomb: Title of Foreclosed Properties Clouded; Wells Fargo Dumping Risk on Hapless Buyers...

Florida Congressman Asks State Chief Justice To Slam Brakes On Potentially Lawless Foreclosure Mill Seizures

Posted on September 22, 2010
The Florida Independent reports:Citing the reporting of Mother Jones and the New York Times, Congressman Alan Grayson has sent a letter calling on the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court to ?abate? foreclosure cases involving three law firms currently under scrutiny from the Office of Attorney General Bill McCollum until the investigation is complete...

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