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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

California Regulator To Step Up Education, Enforcement Efforts In Response To Alarming Escalation Of Short Sale Fraud

Posted on September 15, 2010
The Bakersfield Californian reports:The California Department of Real Estate says it has noticed an alarming escalation of short sale fraud and will step up education and enforcement efforts to combat it.***"It's just starting to take shape," said Department of Real Estate spokesman Tom Pool...

California Appeals Court Allows Homeowner's Class Action Suit Alleging Loan Modification Misconduct Against Attorney To Continue

Posted on September 15, 2010
In Southern California, Metropolitan News Enterprise reports:The Fourth District Court of Appeal has ruled that a former client can proceed with a suit alleging that Irvine attorney Sean Rutledge, who resigned from the State Bar in November amid accusations of loan modification misconduct, engaged in capping and charged illegal fees...

Loan Modification Scammer Wastes No Time With Guilty Plea As Indictment Remains Pending Against Two Others

Posted on September 14, 2010
From the Office of the Nevada Attorney General:Doninador Palalay a.k.a. Dominador Palalay has pled guilty to Theft-Obtaining Money in Excess of $2500 by Material Misrepresentation, a category B felony, for his role in operating a foreclosure rescue scam in Las Vegas during 2008 and 2009 under the business name of PDM Financial Group, Inc...

Couple Dodges The Boot After Buying Home On A Land Contract, Then Discovering Undisclosed Title Flaw After Making Significant Property Improvements

Posted on September 14, 2010
In Racine, Wisconsin, The Journal Times reports:A family that was threatened with eviction after investing thousands to improve a home will apparently be allowed to stay. Racine County Sheriff Robert Carlson said there are no plans to evict Noelia and Joaquin Raygoza from the home at 1404 Buchanan St...

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Lender's Improper Calculation Of Interest Sinks Foreclosure Action, Leaves It Holding An Unenforceable Mortgage Loan Subject To Cancellation

Posted on September 14, 2010
A recent court ruling by a Florida appeals court shows how a private mortgage lender, by engaging in certain practices, can find itself unwittingly holding the bag on what a court finds to be a criminally usurious loan that is unenforceable and subject to cancellation...

Federal Court To Consider Consolidation Of Homeowner HAMP Suits Against BofA Alleging Illegal Jerk-Arounds As Similar Claims Continue To Proliferate

Posted on September 13, 2010
USA Today recently ran a story on the proliferation of lawsuits being brought by financially-strapped homeowners against loan servicers for jerking them around when seeking affordable modifications of their house payments, and points to a recent class action suit brought by Lake Stevens, Washington couple Anthony and April Soper, among others, as an example of these types of suits...

Suspicious Shorts Sales Continue To Attract Spotlight

Posted on September 13, 2010
The New York Times reports:STRUGGLING homeowners have found some refuge in short sales, in which lenders allow borrowers to escape foreclosure by selling a home for less than what is owed on the mortgage. Government programs offering incentives to both parties will push the number of short sales to 400,000 this year from 100,000 in 2008, according to CoreLogic, a financial consulting firm...

NC Real Estate Operator Cops Guilty Plea To Foreclosure Bid Rigging Claims; Conduct Suppressed Sale Prices, Screwing Lienholders, Homeowners: Feds

Posted on September 13, 2010
From the U.S. Department of Justice:A Raleigh, N.C., real estate speculator pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids for public real estate foreclosure auctions held in multiple counties in eastern North Carolina, the Department of Justice announced []...

Montana Man Gets 10 Years For Attempted Vacant Home Hijacking; R/E Agent Blows Whistle After Noticing Missing "For Sale" Sign From One Of His Listings

Posted on September 12, 2010
In Polson, Montana, the Great Falls Tribune reports:A drifter convicted of trying to assume ownership of a Polson-area house in foreclosure has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. KERR-AM reports that District Judge Kim Christopher sentenced 53-year-old Brent Arthur Wilson to 20 years in prison with 10 suspended on Thursday...

WPB Man Convicted In Earlier Home Hijacking Incident Bagged Again; Accused Of Filing Four Adverse Possession Claims On Homes Soon After Jail Release

Posted on September 12, 2010
In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:A year in jail wasn't enough to deter a 52-year-old West Palm Beach man bent on renting out homes he doesn't own. Claiming he is backed by an obscure Florida law pertaining to abandoned and vacant property, Carl Heflin again has attempted to take homes via adverse possession and rent them to unwitting tenants, according to Palm Beach County

CT Probate Judge With Dubious History Faces Judicial Misconduct Charges In Suspected Land Grab Involving Now-Deceased 92 Year-Old's $1.5M+ Farm

Posted on September 12, 2010
In Southington, Connecticut, the Hartford Courant reports:Rare is the chutzpa so shamefully displayed by Southington Probate Court Judge Bryan F. Meccariello. The judge who presided over a court process that expunged Sam Manzo, a humble farmhand, from Josephine Smoron's will, now wants to be the hero...

Allegedly "Fixing" F'closure Case Among Activities Set Forth In Charges Filed Against Cuyahoga County Auditor Suggesting Possible Judicial Corruption

Posted on September 11, 2010
In Cleveland, Ohio, The Plain Dealer reports:The charges filed Thursday against Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo offer the most detailed description yet of the suspected corrupt activities of two Common Pleas Judges -- one of whom is seeking re-election...

Publicly-Traded S. Florida Foreclosure Mill's Reported Profits, Revenues Take Dip; Stock Sells At 25% Of April 26 Value

Posted on September 11, 2010
In Plantation, Florida, the South Florida Business Journal reports:As an investigation by the Florida Attorney General?s Office looms over its chairman and CEO, Plantation-based DJSP Enterprises reported a decline in both profits and income during the second quarter...

Desperate Dogs Left Trapped In Garage Of Abandoned Home In Foreclosure; County Animal Control Officials Show Little Interest, Says Neighbor

Posted on September 11, 2010
In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Investigative Voice reports:The driveway is littered with an empty cigarette pack and toys. A garden hose sits at the ready, tools nearby. For all intents and purposes, the home on Oakwood Drive in Anne Arundel County looks occupied...

Ex-Project Mgr.: Condo Conversion Amounted To "Putting Lipstick On An Elephant" As Developer Allegedly Unloaded Shoddy Units On Unwitting Homebuyers

Posted on September 11, 2010
In Redmond, Washington, The Seattle Times reports:Vijay Dusi is paying $2,450 a month to live in a condominium so riddled with toxic mold that his family has shuffled from room to room for three years to escape the health hazards that go with it. His kids, ages 2 and 4, can't sleep or play in their room...

Escrow Agent Cops Guilty Plea For Role In Mortgage Fraud, Straw Buyer Flipping Scam Allegedly Involving Hundreds Of Condo Units Throughout California

Posted on September 11, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Oakland, California):Donna Demello pleaded guilty in federal court in Oakland [] to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. At the time of the offense, Demello worked as an escrow officer at Stewart Title in Milpitas, Calif...

Historic Hip-Hop Birthplace May Get New Life As NYC Helps Finance Delinquent Bronx Building Loan Buy; ?A Great Moment For 1520 Sedgwick": DJ Kool Herc

Posted on September 11, 2010
From The Bronx, New York, The New York Times reports:Housing advocates, tenants and elected officials(1) have declared a victory in the Bronx with the announcement of the sale of the mortgage on an apartment building that has been called the birthplace of hip-hop...

Homeowners' Lack Of Knowledge, Confusion About Complex Homestead Protection Laws Against Certain Creditors Creates Opening For Sleazy Debt Collectors

Posted on September 10, 2010
The New York Times reports:[E]ven though homestead exemptions have been on the books since the late 1800s, many people do not know about them. Tax officials, consumer credit counselors and bankruptcy lawyers said homeowners often fail to claim rightful deductions on their property taxes and are unaware that a homestead, or a significant portion of its value, is often legally protected from

"Schack" Rulings Merit Note In Ohio Appeals Court Ruling Reinforcing Importance To Borrower That Promissory Note's Chain Of Title Be Established

Posted on September 10, 2010
In recent, apparently high stakes litigation(1) in which a lower court's ruling dismissing a lender's foreclosure action was affirmed, an Ohio Court of Appeals issued a reminder of how essential it is to the borrower (ie. the "maker" of the note) that the lender prove it is the proper holder of the promissory note being enforced...

Judge Calls Off Tax Foreclosure Sale, Gives Homeowner Extension To Cough Up Cash After Finding Temporary Legal Incapacitation Prevented Payment

Posted on September 10, 2010
In Berrien County, Illinois, WSJM Radio 94.9 FM reports:The owner of a lakefront home in Saint Joseph that was almost auctioned off by the Berrien County Treasurer's office won a break in court last week. According to the Herald Palladium, the Lakeshore Drive home of Tony Basso, of Chicago, will not be offered as part of a tax foreclosure auction on September 21st, after all...

FHA Continues Doing Business With Home Loan Execs With Tainted Backgrounds???

Posted on September 10, 2010
The Washington Post reports:A crackdown on reckless mortgage lenders by the Federal Housing Administration has failed to root out several executives with criminal records whose firms continue to do business with the agency in violation of federal law, according to government documents, court records and interviews...

Ohio Appeals Court Boots Promissory Note-Lacking Lender As State AG, Six Non-Profits Jump Into (Apparently) High-Stakes Fray In Support Of Homeowner

Posted on September 09, 2010
A recent decision ruling by an Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's ruling:striking the affidavit of an employee of a loan servicer (identified as a manager of trial preparation and discovery for Ocwen Loan Servicing) acting as servicing agent of the purported lender (HSBC Bank, as Trustee for ...

Court Hammers Alleged Loan Modification Racket With $100K Judgment; 2nd Score Against Foreclosure Rescue Operators In Recent Weeks For Wisconsin AG

Posted on September 09, 2010
In Dane County, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:A Dane County circuit judge has ordered the California-based Federal Loan Modification Center LLP to pay $105,754 and to stop doing business illegally in Wisconsin, Attorney General J.B...

State Regulator Orders Two Suspected Loan Modification Outfits To Cease & Desist As Sheriff's Deputies Execute Search Warrants On Companies' Records

Posted on September 09, 2010
In Northern Florida, The Florida Times Union reports:The Florida Office of Financial Regulation ["OFR"] and Clay County Sheriff's Office [] ordered two Clay County mortgage loan modification companies to cease business and served search warrants on their records, the two agencies announced...

Servicing Handbook Issued By Treasury Department Sets Forth New Rules For HAMP-Participating Loan Servicers When Evaluating Loan Modifications

Posted on September 08, 2010
Lexology reports:There is a new manual governing HAMP loan modification practices, and the changes, often subtle but important, are worth noting. The United States Department of Treasury created the Home Affordable Modification Program (?HAMP?) to assist homeowners in default (or at risk of default) on their mortgages...

San Diego DA Bags Pair In Alleged Forged Deed, Bogus Bankruptcy Filing, Rent Skimming Ripoff Affecting 300+ Victims Throughout Five Counties

Posted on September 08, 2010
In San Diego, California, KGTV-TV Channel 10 reports:Two brothers were charged Tuesday in a $1.5 million foreclosure fraud scheme in which they allegedly stole the identity of several notaries and forged hundreds of deeds across five counties, including San Diego...

Ex-TV News Anchor Says Loan Mod Racket Ruined His Reputation, Stiffed Him On Infomercial Fee After Promises To Homeowners In Foreclosure Were Broken

Posted on September 08, 2010
In Houston, Texas, KRIV-TV Channel 26 reports:[H]omeowners Legal Assistance, also known as Delgado and Associates, was featured on infomercials on Spanish television. The advertisements featured Antonio Hernandez, a veteran Houston news anchor, as well as a money back guarantee...

Ex-Real Estate Agent Cops Plea For Role In Mortgage Fraud Scam Where Builder Kicked Backed Cash To Buyers, Salespeople To Help Unload Unsold Inventory

Posted on September 08, 2010
In Charlotte, North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reports:A Mint Hill man has pleaded guilty in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme that involved kickbacks [by] a homebuilder, according to documents filed Wednesday in federal court in Charlotte...

Fla. Rocket Dockets' Use Of Retired Judges To Steamroll Homeowners In Foreclosure Leave Advocates Crying Foul As "Standing" Issues Are Often Ignored

Posted on September 07, 2010
The New York Times reports:No one disputes that foreclosures dominate Florida?s dockets and that something needs to be done to streamline a complex and emotionally wrenching process. But lawyers representing troubled borrowers contend that many of the retired judges called in from the sidelines to oversee these matters are so focused on cutting the caseload that they are unfairly favoring

Convicted Foreclosure Rescue Scammer Could Face Life Sentence On New Charges In Alleged Sale Leaseback, Equity Stripping Ripoff That Fleeced 5 Victims

Posted on September 07, 2010
In Los Angeles, California, The Los Angeles Times reports:Timothy Barnett spent nearly five years in state prison for a 1990s foreclosure rescue scam in which he conned homeowners out of tens of thousands of dollars. Now, prosecutors say, he has been at it again, targeting residents in the same South Los Angeles neighborhood he fleeced before...

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