Loan Modification Blogs

Loan Modification Blog Posts from November 19, 2009

View all Loan Modification blogs . Search blog posts

Select another subject and/or day

Search

Loan Modification Posts (November 19, 2009)

Details on the Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension

Home sales got a needed boost because of the Obama administration?s $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers. With the national economy and housing market still fragile, the government recently decided to extend the tax credit through June 2010. The government also rolled out a new tax credit aimed at existing homeowners. Currently in effect, the $6,50
Posted on Blown Mortgage on November 19, 2009 at 6:39 PM

Is Strategic Foreclosing The Best Loan Modification For You

Last week I received a very interesting comment on one of my articles on loan modifications. The comment claimed that for most underwater borrowers (homeowners that owe more on their property than it is worth) a ?strategic default? is smartest way to go. I had some months ago written an article claiming along similar lines that in many cases foreclosu
Posted on Blown Mortgage on November 19, 2009 at 6:08 PM

Own to Rent: Breaking Down Fannie Mae?s Deed for Lease Program

Good article giving an overview of Fannie's "Deed For Lease" program (where your house becomes a rental). Includes nice monthly savings estimates table.
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 5:39 PM

14.41 Percent of All Mortgages Late or in Foreclosure

A staggering 14.41 percent of all residential mortgages were either delinquent or in some stage of foreclosure as of the end of the third quarter, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The delinquency rate (at least one month behind) rose to 9.94 percent from 8.86 percent a quarter earlier, while the foreclosure [...]
Posted on The Truth About Mortgage.com on November 19, 2009 at 4:00 PM

Few Getting Loan Modifications

Only a tiny percentage of troubled homeowners have received permanent modifications under President Obama’s foreclosure prevention plan, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the $75 billion effort. Fewer than 5% of the trial modifications on loans owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac were converted to long-term adjustments as of Sept. 30, ac
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 19, 2009 at 3:32 PM

Ohio Among States Least Helped By Fed Foreclosure Plan

A new study shows that Ohio is one of the states least helped by President Barack Obama’s plan to help borrowers in trouble. It’s a distinction the state can hardly afford. Ohio has long been one of the worst hit states in the country’s foreclosure crisis. ideastream�’s Mhari Saito reports. According to the US Treasury, just [..
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 19, 2009 at 3:29 PM

Mortgage Rates are Hot, Hot, Hot

Mortgage rates fell for a third consecutive week, pushing the 15-year fixed to its lowest point ever recorded, according to the latest survey from mortgage financier Freddie Mac. The 15-year fixed slipped to a record low 4.32 percent from 4.40 percent, and now sits well below the 5.73 percent average seen this time last year. The popular [...]
Posted on The Truth About Mortgage.com on November 19, 2009 at 3:28 PM

FHA, Prime Mortgage Defaults at Record Highs on Job Losses

"Foreclosures on prime mortgages and home loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration rose to three-decade highs in the third quarter, driven by the biggest job losses since the Great Depression."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 2:48 PM

Why No One?s Watching Fannie and Freddie

"An arcane legal matter has left the agency charged with overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without an independent inspector general for nearly one year, setting off a storm of finger pointing and raising concerns from members of Congress over why the agency has gone without independent oversight for so long."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 2:43 PM

Barney Frank Pushes for Regulation Despite Financial Industry Funds

Audit The Fed Effort Wins Support From An Unusual Coalition

An unusual coalition of progressive economists, labor leaders, and bloggers has decided to fight back against a congressional amendment that would allow the Federal Reserve to continue operating in secrecy. In a Thursday letter to the House Financial Services Committee, economists like Dean Baker and Rob Johnson, author Naomi Klein, and such labor lu
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 2:32 PM

Mississippi Valley Title: 65 claims for $41, 415, 242 have been filed by lenders in Evans case

"Mississippi Valley Title Insurance Company filed the affidavit of Brad Jones in the bankruptcy case of Chris Evans on November 17. The affidavit provides the testimony of Brad Jones, an employee of MVT who provides specific details on how the Charles Evans, Jr. and Chris Evans allegedly perpetuated a fraud upon Mississippi Valley Title and many banks.
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 2:31 PM

Congressman Kevin Brady

The video is a good run down of our ills
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 2:24 PM

Economists Opposing Fed Audit Have Undisclosed Fed Ties

As the debate over an audit of the Federal Reserve intensifies in the House, one camp is trotting out eight academics that it calls a "political cross section of prominent economists." A review of their backgrounds shows they are anything but.
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 2:14 PM

Hedging Shortfalls May Raise RMBS Ratings Volatility: Moody?s

" Certain hedging shortfalls on residential mortgage-backed security (RMBS) transactions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) may lead to reduced levels of credit enhancements that protect investors, according to a report this week by Moody?s Investors Service."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 12:20 PM

Moody?s May Cut Goldman Debt in $450 Billion Review

"Debt sold by Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. is among the $450 billion of securities that Moody?s Investors Service said it may downgrade."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 12:13 PM

"Liberal" Consensus On Dumping Geithner?

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said Wednesday that he and other liberal House members are becoming increasingly tired of Obama administration economic policies that they say are too focused on maintaining the stability of Wall Street firms and largely ignore "Main Street." "A growing consensus in the caucus [believe that Geithner should be removed]," De
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 12:08 PM

FHA-Backed Lending Is a ?Train Wreck,? Toll Says

?Yesterday?s subprime is today?s FHA,? Toll said today at a New York conference for builders sponsored by UBS AG. ?It?s a definite train wreck and the flag will go up in the next couple of months: Bail us out. Give us more money.? Toll Brothers is largest U.S. luxury homes builder.
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 11:55 AM

Life After Foreclosure

Van Zalingen said renting might be a smarter choice for some current homeowners. ?Foreclosure isn?t the end of the world. If your payment is unaffordable and your house is worth a lot less than what you owe the bank, consider renting an apartment for less and walking away. You can use that extra money to take [...]
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 19, 2009 at 11:50 AM

Greenleaf Legal Services: DRE says they?re operating illegally and they need to be stopped

Authorities said Greenleaf’s website falsely advertises it’s “approved” by the Department of Real Estate. “They’re not approved to do loan modifications,” said Commissioner Jeff Davi of the Department of Real Estate. “It’s false, misleading and completely inaccurate. And we are going to ensure that
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 19, 2009 at 11:45 AM

The small bank ? big bank dichotomy

"After a huge fall off in credit consistent with the fall in nominal GDP, we are seeing credit stabilise at a lower level. Debt to GDP ratios may not be lower, but as GDP is lower, so too is credit in the system. Yet there is a large difference between the haves and the have-nots, largely due to a difference in which banks received government largesse
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 11:36 AM

Steve Dilbert & MFI Miami: In regards to you placing blame on homeowners

Here is an open email discussion with MFI Miami�and Steve Dilbert forwarded to me by a very concerned consumer advocate. Her name is Krista Railey and I came to know her when I started writing about Green Credit Solutions. She began sending me emails and we exchanged information about the various scams we know about. She [...]
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 19, 2009 at 11:24 AM

MFI Miami: Are Steve Dilbert & Green Credit Solutions Partners in Loan Modification Crime?

Are�MFI-Miami and� Steve Dilbert really a front for illegal loan modification scams? For years I have�volunteered and offered�free foreclosure prevention and loan modification information on and off the internet. In doing so I have had many mortgage copy cats, critics and internet haters. Some of these very same people have made it a business to go [..
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 19, 2009 at 10:38 AM

Housing Starts Green Shoots Wither On Vine

" After optimists talked up rising housing starts for several months as green shoots, improving conditions, etc., reality came knocking in full force with the New Residential Construction Report For October 2009."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 10:04 AM

Calling for Blankfein's Resignation

"CNBC's Charlie Gasparino is calling for Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein's resignation."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 7:01 AM

Soci�t� G�n�rale tells clients how to prepare for 'global collapse'

"Soci�t� G�n�rale has advised clients to be ready for a possible "global economic collapse" over the next two years, mapping a strategy of defensive investments to avoid wealth destruction."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 6:52 AM

2 Trump hotel unit owners face foreclosure

" The investors who bought the two units from the developer last year are trying to sell them at steep discounts through so-called short sales, or for less than the debt owed on the units. One hotel room is on the market for less than half of what it sold for in March 2008."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 6:49 AM

U.S. Office Vacancies May Approach 20% Next Year

" Jones Lang, the world?s second-biggest publicly traded commercial property firm, predicted vacancies will rise to 19.5 percent late next year, while Grubb & Ellis estimated a peak of 18.7 percent."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 6:44 AM

The Fed is sending gold higher

"Gold is surging because investors see that the Federal Reserve ? more concerned with deflation and unemployment than sound money ? may be trapped in a never-ending cycle of monetary accommodation."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 19, 2009 at 6:42 AM

Warren Buffett Increases Stake in Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Via Berkshire Hathaway (BRK:A) ? Is it Ethical?

In its most recent regulatory filing, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK:A) increased its stake in Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) by over 10 million shares in the third quarter. To me, this does raise ethical questions on the part of the actions and comments of Warren Buffett, who has been backing up the bailout of banking and other institutions on the one hand, while
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 4:08 PM

Wells Fargo to Buy Back $1.3 Billion in Auction Debt

" Wells Fargo & Co., the fourth- biggest U.S. bank by assets, agreed to repay about $1.3 billion to brokerage clients whose funds were frozen when the auction- rate securities market collapsed last year, the North American Securities Administrators Association said today."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 4:06 PM

Southern California home prices edge upward again in October

" The median price in six Southland counties rises 1.8% from September, to $280,000; sales are up too, by 2.8%, according to MDA DataQuick."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 3:51 PM

Citi raises salaries for CFO, global markets head

Citigroup Inc. said its chief financial officer and co-head of global markets are getting raises, while CEO Vikram Pandit will continue to collect a salary of $1 per year. Citigroup, based in New York, faces restrictions on executive compensation because it received $45 billion in government bailout money after the peak of the credit crisis last fall
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 3:49 PM

Call for Worldwide Minimum Mortgage Standards

Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan today called on regulators around the world to adopt minimum mortgage standards to address the ongoing mortgage crisis. He noted that each country has its own ?unique credit culture? and ?different approaches to mortgage financing,? but that every country should establish a set of standards and periodically rep
Posted on The Truth About Mortgage.com on November 18, 2009 at 3:41 PM

Home Builder Calls FHA Lending a Train Wreck

I guess it’s official now; FHA lending is bad, bad news. I mean, we’ve known for a while that FHA lending replaced subprime lending, with its no or low down payment and minimum credit score requirements. And last week we saw the FHA’s capital ratio fall to just 0.53 percent, well below the Congressionally mandated two-percent minimum,
Posted on The Truth About Mortgage.com on November 18, 2009 at 3:01 PM

Push to curb credit-card rates fades

" Efforts in Congress to cap credit-card interest rates are faltering because of opposition from Democrats and a lack of specific support from the White House, despite growing consumer outrage over a rush by banks to impose rates as high as 30 percent."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 2:34 PM

Banks dangle bucks for savers

" U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo are offering "free" money to capitalize on Americans' reborn desire to pad savings. "
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 2:32 PM

Land Securities Says Market ?Turned Quite Sharply?

" ?The market has turned quite sharply and positively, which has surprised us to a degree,? Chief Executive Officer Francis Salway said today on a conference call. ?The turning point came earlier than we expected and we are just having a short moment when we have got very few sellers.?"
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 2:26 PM

Trump Creditors Poised to Take Control of Atlantic City Casinos

"-- Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka ended their fight to control bankrupt casino operator Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., clearing the way for creditors to take over the three New Jersey properties that bear his name."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 2:24 PM

Applications to Purchase a Home Lowest Since 1997

So much for the extension of the first-time home buyer tax credit… Last week, applications to purchase a home hit their lowest point since November 1997 after falling for the sixth consecutive week, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The latest weekly decline was 4.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, accom
Posted on The Truth About Mortgage.com on November 18, 2009 at 2:10 PM

Are Lenders "Cherry Picking" Loan Modifications for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure?

Homeowners are in a race with the foreclosure clock. Often many lose. Loan modifications on the most delinquent borrowers are not being done in time to save their homes. Blogs and newspapers are filled with desperate stories. Some are sprinkled with success. But the question is are lenders, participating in HAMP, "cherry picking" loan modifications? Em
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 12:44 PM

Florida Attorney General Sends Big Banks a Message

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General McCollum today sent a letter to the Florida executives of Bank of America, JP Morgan/Chase, Wells Fargo and Wachovia, calling upon the bank executives to provide homeowners with a fair and efficient loan modification process. The Attorney General also requested the executives meet with him to discuss the banks?
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 18, 2009 at 12:30 PM

Florida Residents Fleeing the State for Greener Pastures

“Florida’s population is shrinking — a disturbing trend for a state that has built its economy, and structured its state budget, on the assumption that throngs of new residents will move to its sunny shores each year,” Later this month, Rick and Connie Desrochers will join a migration out of Florida that began before the housing
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 18, 2009 at 12:24 PM

Counseling Helps Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure

Troubled homeowners who receive housing counseling are 60 percent more likely to avoid foreclosure and have their mortgage payments lowered significantly than borrowers who navigate the process themselves, according to a study to be released Wednesday. The study, by the D.C.-based Urban Institute, examines the effectiveness of the government-funded Nat
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 18, 2009 at 12:18 PM

FTC Rules Against Michigan Realtors

Realcomp, a National Association of Realtors (NAR) affiliate, failed to release discount real estate listings to its own and other public Web sites and made these listings unavailable on default searches from their database. By restricting access to these listings, the FTC said the company narrowed consumer choice and harmed competition. Realcomp is no
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 18, 2009 at 12:14 PM

FBI Addresses Homeowner Foreclosure Theft

The FBI- Foreclosure theft, as well as mortgage fraud, have become growing problems since the collapse of financial markets last year. Newburg addressed a crowd of about 60 people, mostly real estate agents, at Tuesday’s presentation. The FBI’s Detroit office handles large-scale mortgage- and foreclosure-related complaints through a hot lin
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 18, 2009 at 12:04 PM

Government Foreclosure Plan Causing Much Confusion

For help she turned to “Making Home Affordable,” or MHA, the Obama administration’s program to help homeowners facing financial hardship, refinance their mortgages and avoid foreclosure. For the Shrauners, it sounded like the perfect solution: a chance to cut their payments and keep their home. But it wasn’t that easy. They woul
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 18, 2009 at 11:58 AM

New York Goes to Bat for Struggling Homeowners

The state Legislature has passed a bill that will give New York state homeowners and renters more protection during foreclosures. It will expand the mandatory 90-day pre-foreclosure notice to all types of home loans ? not just subprime mortgages ? so all homeowners are given information and time to take action. Gov. David Paterson introduced the bill.
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 18, 2009 at 11:47 AM

Philadelphia Knows How to Protect Homeowners

In most American cities, that probably would have been the end of the story: another home turned into distressed bank inventory by the national foreclosure crisis. But in Philadelphia, under a program begun last year to try to keep people in their homes, Mr. Hall entered the courtroom with a reasonable chance of hanging on. Under [...]
Posted on Loan Modification & Home Loan News on November 18, 2009 at 11:37 AM

REGGIE MIDDLETON PERSONALLY CONTRAGULATES GOLDMAN, BUT QUESTIONS HOW MUCH MORE CAN BE PULLED OFF

" The world's most handsome and charismatic blogger stands outside his beloved friends at Goldman Sachs to congratulate them on the outstanding CMBS offering made through TALF government leveraging for Developers Diversified Realty"
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 11:22 AM

Worst Is Yet To Come For Insurance Companies

"U.S. life insurers, a group led by MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc., may lose as much as $22.6 billion on investments in commercial real estate through 2011, Fitch Ratings said."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 10:20 AM

DeLong Says Odds of Another Great Depression Reach 5%; I Assess Odds of Various Scenarios

" DeLong is blaming Democrats and Republicans for not wanting to spend enough. He is right about the increasing odds, yet he is badly misguided as to the the reason why."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 10:13 AM

An Inflation Warning Sign

"In a speech on Monday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said he did not see inflationary threats on the horizon. Perhaps that is because he's looking in the wrong place."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 9:58 AM

Lying Sack Of Dog Squeeze: Blankfein

Goldman Sachs, the most profitable securities firm in Wall Street history, had a record profit in the first nine months of this year and set aside $16.7 billion for compensation expenses. No they didn't. Their "profit" was entirely ill-gotten.
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 9:55 AM

Tax Credit to Steady, Not Rescue, Shaky U.S. Housing

" Don't expect the expanded home buyer tax credit to be a permanent cure for the U.S. housing market. It won't. Take the spike in mortgage demand created by the tax credit this summer. It was followed by a plunge as the incentive was set to expire, showing how housing's recovery is tethered to government aid."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 9:51 AM

Mortgage Delinquencies Still Rising

" Mortgage delinquencies are the first step in a house eventually going into foreclosure, so look for those to start heading up again. Foreclosures have been held down by trial modifications under the HEMP program, but very few of those have gotten to the stage of being final modifications. And even when mortgages are modified, there is a strong tenden
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 9:19 AM

The Fed Talking About Reducing Leverage Is Like A Crack Cocaine Dealer Handing Out "Just Say No" Stickers

"Forest fires are judged to be nasty, especially when one?s own house or life is threatened, or when grave harm is being done to tourist attractions. The popular conviction that fires are an unqualified evil reached its zenith after a third of Yellowstone Park in the US was destroyed by fire in 1988. Nevertheless, conventional wisdom among forest manag
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 9:16 AM

California faces a projected deficit of $21 billion

" The legislative budget analyst's projection, to be released Wednesday, threatens to send Sacramento back into gridlock and force more broad cuts to state programs."
Posted on Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter on November 18, 2009 at 9:10 AM

2009-11-19 Posts in other Subject Areas

Academic (197), Criminal Law (187), Legal News (171), Legal Commentary (134), Legal Research (92), Religion & Law (89), Personal Injury Law (85), International Law (85), Intellectual Property Law (60), Loan Modification (58), Litigation (57), Labor & Employment Law (42), Real Estate & Property Law (39), Federal Judiciary (32), Bailout (31), Taxation & Estate Planning (28), Indiana (27), Celebrity Law (26), Miscellaneous (22), Constitutional Law (22), Corporate & Securities Law (22), Legal Writing (20), Patent Law (20), Ethics (20), Estate Planning (18), Election-Campaign Law (18), Politics (18), Bankruptcy (17), Law Students (17), Legal Niches (16), Law Humor (15), Family Law (15), Copyright Law (15), Kentucky (14), Consumer Law (11), Media & Entertainment Law (10), In-House Counsel (9), Corporate Governance (9), Legal History (9), Law Technology (9), Immigration Law (9), Legal Marketing & PR (8), Paralegals & Legal Secretaries (8), Health Law (8), Florida (7), Class Action (5), Disability Law (4), Ohio (4), Environmental Law (4), Law School (3), New Law Blogs (3), Bar Associations (3), Local Law Blogs (3), Massachusetts (3), Legal Journals (3), Practice Management (3), Education Law (3), Public Defense (3), State Courts (3), Personal Blogs (3), New York (2), Banking Law (2), Bad Cops & Prosecutors (2), Careers (2), Energy Law (2), Legal Malpractice (2), Elder Law (1), Solo Practice (1), Obama Citizenship (1), Persaonl Blogs (1), Appellate Law (1), Michigan (1), Arbitration & Mediation (1), Litigation Support (1), Trademark Law (1),