Foreclosure Lawyers Face New Heat In Florida
Amir Efrati reports on a growing trend among high volume foreclosure mills. A few weeks ago I reported on the Law Offices of David Stern and how a representative back dated a notarized document. The second largest foreclosure mill in Florida, the Florida Default Group, is being accused of similar deeds. According to Mr. Efrati, […]
Lenders collecting foreclosure deficiencies
Dina ElBoghdady from the Washington Post writes about a subject that I speak to realtors and sellers about on a daily basis. The subject is deficiency judgments! Uneducated homeowners and realtors oftentimes assume that if a bank forecloses on a property, then the homeowners financial obligations are behind them. While this may be true in […]
Man Facing Foreclosure Tries To Tear Down Home With SUV
Stephanie Sklar from New Carlisle OH report on what NOT to do when facing foreclosure! The article describes a man that took his SUV and proceeded to destroy his house! I guess he thought felt that if he couldn’t have it, the bank wasn’t going to get it either! While this is an extreme […]
Foreclosure rates highest in 5 years
Alex Veiga from the Associated Press reports on a record number of foreclosures during the first 3 months of 2010. RealtyTrac Inc. reported that the number of foreclosures increased by 35% during the first quarter of 2010. Houses that were in pre foreclosure jumped by 16% as compared to the same period in 2009. A […]
Homeowners face foreclosure after told to stop paying
Lita Epstein brings us an article that hits home. On a very frequent basis, home owners are being told by lenders and/or servicing companies to “stop paying your mortgage or your loan modification won’t be considered.” The problem is that very few loan modifications are getting approved. Because very few get approved and because they […]
Foreclosed? Here comes the tax man
This article from Les Christie is a very timely article. A question that needs to be addressed BEFORE the short sale starts, is one of taxation. If you are purchasing a short sale or if you are considering listing a short sale, you should require that the seller seek advice regarding the tax effects of […]
Why a short sale often takes so long
REAL ESTATE: It’s better for some banks to ‘delay and pray,’ brokers say Tom Bayles from the Sarasota Herald Tribune brings us an enlightening article describes the plethora of reasons as to, “Why a short sale often takes so long” to complete. He touches on the obvious ones which include:• The banks are being flooded […]
Foreclosure firm’s revenues jump to $260 million
Michael Sasso from the Tampa Tribune brings us a report regarding the law offices of David Stern. David Stern is Florida’s top law firm that represents banks and their investors who are foreclosing on peoples homes. When I say “top” I am not implying that they are the best; they are the largest. They take […]
Above water?
The Washington Post brings us another article about yet another “refinement” to the Treasury Department’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) program. The refinement involves forbearances for those that are recently unemployed. They also involve programs that will encourage lenders and loan servicing companies to write down principal balances in order to make a mortgage more […]
Foreclosure Properties May Take 5 Years To Be Absorbed Into Market
Cheryl Reams brings us an article about a subject that people have heard about but probably know little about. That subject is the “Shadow Market” of houses that will continue to depress out housing market for years to come. Cheryl points out that , “The shadow inventory is composed of homes with delinquent loans, bank […]
TO HAFA OR NOT TO HAFA…THAT IS THE QUESTION!
Our government recently introduced yet another acronym….HAFA or Home Affordability Foreclosure Avoidance . People praise this as a new foreclosure prevention program when, in fact, it is a revision to HAMP or the Home Affordability Modification Program. Jeff Watson, a short sale attorney, has put together a video blog which breaks down what HAFA is […]
A Bold U.S. Plan to Help Struggling Homeowners
David Streitfeld from the New York Times reports on new government initiative that, on the face of it, sounds good. The new program (I’m not quite sure what acronym they’re going to throw at it!) will target those that are behind in payments but also those that own a property that is worth less than […]