From the monthly archives:

September 2008

Uncle Sam Realty and Loans Inc.

by Moe Bedard

Sadly, recent events in Washington suggest that this optimism of some kind of meaningful rescue plan for Main Street may have been misplaced and that politicians, never the most economically intelligent of mankind, may be working towards constructing the Great Depression - Part II.

The reality now is that we are heading into a major recession and the [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Citigroup will absorb Wachovia’s loans

by Moe Bedard

Wachovia announced this summer it would stop offering pick and pay loans, but that wasn’t soon enough for thousands of homeowners like Marie, who are already in those loans.
Citigroup did not return our calls on Monday seeking comment about what it will do with the existing loans and Wachovia said it was too early to [...]

Read the full article →

Bailout: Little help for homeowners

by Moe Bedard

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The $700 billion bailout legislation now under consideration by Congress calls for the Treasury Secretary to implement a plan to stem foreclosures by working with servicers to modify loans.

But many housing experts question whether the bill will help struggling homeowners refinance into more affordable mortgages. They stress that the economy won’t [...]

Read the full article →

Even with bailout, mortgage delinquencies will likely worsen

by Moe Bedard

The “proposal is positive for the housing market to the degree that it shores up the banks’ ability to lend and prevents banks from closing their doors, that is key to finding stability for the housing market,” says Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “But it [...]

Read the full article →

The “loan modifications,” Coakley said, would have kept homeowners in their homes under affordable, “sustainable” terms.

by Moe Bedard

Little more than a week ago, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley was in Washington, D.C., testifying before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee about the state’s prosecution of auction-rate securities fraud.
However, more interesting was written testimony Coakley submitted to the committee regarding the failure of the state’s attempt to get the mortgage industry to rearrange [...]

Read the full article →

Wachovia Option-ARM Mortgage Losses May Force Merger

by Moe Bedard

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) — Wachovia Corp., under increasing pressure after shares of the sixth-biggest U.S. bank by assets plunged 47 percent last week, may be forced to seek a buyer or merger partner as losses from mortgage defaults mount.
Three days after Chief Executive Officer Robert Steel told employees Wachovia was “strong and performing well,” the [...]

Read the full article →

Bailout includes no bankruptcy aid for homeowners

by Moe Bedard

The Wall Street rescue deal does not include a provision allowing judges to revise loans on primary residences.
LA TIMES WASHINGTON — As congressional negotiators labored over the giant financial bailout plan last week, business leaders saw little to applaud in more than a few of the ideas under discussion, including one that proposed changing the [...]

Read the full article →

Bailout: What’s in it for homeowners

by Moe Bedard

Sunday’s revised plan calls for the Treasury to work with loan servicers to stem the tide of foreclosures, but how that will happen remains unclear.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The revised $700 billion bailout legislation unveiled Sunday calls for the Treasury Secretary to implement a plan to stem foreclosures and to work with servicers to modify [...]

Read the full article →

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 Gives Little Hope for Homeowners

by Moe Bedard

I personally have read over the preliminary details of the 106 page Wall Street Bailout Bill, called the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and I am disappointed to say the least. This was the most significant federal intervention in the economy since the Great Depression and a golden opportunity to develop a loan modification [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

The Mortgage Servicing Sector Has Failed & Is In Complete Chaos

by Moe Bedard

The facts remain that without provisions mandating loan workouts and loan modifications, increased regulation on mortgage servicers, servicer accountability and without complete 100% control of these mortgages, themselves, this bailout plan WILL NOT work.
Well, at least for the people on Main Street losing their homes.
The proposed $700 bailout proposed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, in [...]

Read the full article →

Lost Home Not a Lost Voice, Official Says

by Moe Bedard

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler instructed local and state election officials to make certain that voters who have lost homes to foreclosure know that they have not lost their right to vote.
Gansler (D) sent a letter this week to Linda H. Lamone, administrator of the state Board of Elections, after his office was [...]

Read the full article →

Provision to Alter Loans Is Sought

by Moe Bedard

A push by Democrats to include in the proposed Wall Street bailout new legislation that would allow U.S. judges to modify mortgages for people in bankruptcy potentially could save hundreds of thousands of homeowners from future foreclosure, judges and other legal experts say.
The provision is being demanded as part of an effort to make the [...]

Read the full article →

Will Congress Give the Courts Power to Modify Mortgages?

by Moe Bedard

Congress voted that primary residences would not be allowed to be modified when they rewrote the bankruptcy laws in 1978. I wonder who swayed that decision (banks maybe)? Bankruptcy judges already have the ability to modify the terms of other debt, including car loans and even 2nd homes, to help consumers with a reasonable payment [...]

Read the full article →

Senator Clinton Speaks on Loan Modifications and Help for Homeowners

by Moe Bedard

Please Watch the CNN Money Video: Clinton – “The Time to be Decisive”

Read the full article →

What about my mortgage?

by Moe Bedard

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Bush administration wants to help beleaguered financial institutions – and prevent the financial crisis from getting worse – by spending $700 billion to buy up troubled mortgage securities.
But many struggling homeowners are asking: “Where’s my bailout?”
Democratic lawmakers have taken up their battle and say they will include more help for [...]

Read the full article →

Will the Bailout Help Homeowners on Main Street?

by Moe Bedard

If US Treasury Secretary Paulson and President Bush have it their way, the world’s largest bail out will give the US Treasury what is essentially a blank check to do with it as they please. Meanwhile, the tax payers and the homeowners footing the bill will get nothing, nada, go straight to foreclosure because we’re too busy bailing out [...]

Read the full article →

Lenders Offering Homeowners Little Aid, Congress Told

by Moe Bedard

The House Financial Services Committee is holding hearings this week into mortgage lenders’ efforts to help struggling homeowners avoid default. The testimony from one state official was less than encouraging.

“Based upon our experiences in Massachusetts, lenders, holders and servicers have not lived up to their very public promises of avoiding foreclosures by achieving loan modifications,” said Massachusetts [...]

Read the full article →

Welcome to Washington Street – They Get Trillions While You Get Kicked Out of Your Home!

by Moe Bedard

It looks like American tax payers on Main Street America may be on the hook for trillions of dollars as we try and figure out how to get gas in the car to find a second job and not lose our homes.
Meanwhile in Washington and Wall Street, AKA, Washington Street, they have come up with [...]

Read the full article →

New Study Shows Wells Fargo Offers Very Little Help to Struggling Homeowners

by Moe Bedard

I had the privilege of receiving a new study done on Wells Fargo via email by Valparaiso University law professor and member of the Federal Reserve Board’s consumer advisory council, Alan M. White this past week.  The study concentrated on a pool of Wells Fargo mortgages and gives us all a not too common look under the hood [...]

Read the full article →

Statement of Sheila C. Bair Chairman FDIC on A Review of Foreclosure Mitigation Efforts

by Moe Bedard

Applying workout procedures for troubled loans in a failed bank scenario is something the FDIC has been doing since the 1980s. Our experience has been that turning troubled loans into performing loans enhances overall value. In recent years, we have seen troubled loan portfolios yield about 32 percent of book value compared to our sales [...]

Read the full article →

Who’s My Mortgage Lender this Week?

by Moe Bedard

Imagine you go to a Ford dealership, test drive a car, and then sign a contract to buy it. But as soon as the deal is done, they tell you you’re actually getting a Chevy, and the dealership across the street will be handling the details.
Or you go to a restaurant and order a steak, [...]

Read the full article →

U.S. Holds the Whip Hand in Modifying Mortgages

by Moe Bedard

For much of the last year, Washington officials have been pressing the mortgage industry to modify home loans and avoid foreclosures. Now, the extraordinary government intervention in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and a growing number of banks puts federal agencies in the powerful, and awkward, position of deciding which borrowers will receive help and who [...]

Read the full article →

IRS Tax Laws on Short Sales

by Moe Bedard

Disclaimer: I am not an accountant or an attorney. It is important to consult with a professional tax attorney or accountant when considering the implications of the law regarding your individual situation.
In order to avoid home foreclosures, which can be complicated and lengthy, banks often engage in negotiations with borrowers. A short sale occurs when [...]

Read the full article →

Bank Armageddon: The FDIC is Strapped for Cash

by Moe Bedard

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) looks to be strapped for cash. Just like the banks and the American people for which their cash, they protect. It looks like they’re following in the footsteps of Bear Stearns, Freddie and Fannie because now the FDIC may seek to borrow money from the Treasury Department AKA the [...]

3 comments Read the full article →

A Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure as a Cure for Your Mortgage Woes

by Moe Bedard

For home borrowers (”mortgagors”) facing foreclosure, a deed in lieu of foreclosure provides an alternative solution to the standard default process. In particular, the deed grants the lender, the “mortgagee”, full rights to the property title to satisfy the conditions of the loan. Such agreements are a common form of mortgage contract settlements. In general, [...]

Read the full article →

Democrats Call for a Fannie & Freddie Foreclosure Freeze

by Moe Bedard

When I hear the word, freeze, in regards to the mortgage and housing crisis, I immediately think of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Batman and Robin as Mr. Freeze with his super duper freeze gun.
Freezing everything in sight!
Yes, sometimes I fantasize in my own little loan modification and foreclosure freeze world. Hell, you have to fantasize a [...]

Read the full article →

JD Powers Mortgage Servicing Survey is a Complete Joke

by Moe Bedard

Don’t these guys just rate cars and appliances? That’s what I thought until I saw the new survey titled simply, “Satisfaction with Mortgage Servicing Declines for a Second Consecutive Year.”
Looking down the list of small time and big time mortgage servicers, I see the familiar names and players. Some belong where they are on the [...]

Read the full article →

Bear Stearns and EMC Mortgage to Pay $28 Million to Settle FTC Charges of Unlawful Mortgage Servicing and Debt Collection Practices

by Moe Bedard

Attention American Homeowners: Do you think your servicer may be charging you fees illegally, abusing the debt collection laws or just plain scamming you? Guess what? They most likely are and if you do not do anything about it. You are what are called a helpless victim.
I am begging you to fight back and [...]

Read the full article →

I did lose it all. I have no job, no car, no HOME, and no “AMERICAN DREAM!”

by Moe Bedard

Written by Jenzy. A 56 year old American woman, homeowner, and another mother who has lost her American Dream.
I once owned two businesses, and had a nice car and a roof over my head. I lost it all at age 55 yrs. old due to a very deceitful mortgage company. Things were fine in 2004, 2005, [...]

Read the full article →

Where’s the Wachovia Loan Modifications?

by Moe Bedard

Where’s the loan modifications Wachovia?
That’s what many homeowners are telling me daily and also your employees who seem readily available to tell us that Wachovia is not offering loan modifications at this time and to literally take a hike.
The San Francisco Gate came out with a story about Wachovia and there unwillingness to assist struggling homeowners today. I [...]

Read the full article →

Ocwen delinquencies flat to down, on modified loans

by Moe Bedard

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ocwen Financial Corp., a large subprime mortgage servicer, on Thursday said delinquency rates on loans it manages held flat, or fell, since May in a reprieve from the subprime crisis. 
Ocwen (OCN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said falling delinquencies on loans it serviced follow so-called loan modifications, which can include cutting [...]

Read the full article →

Safe Tools to Help You Through the Foreclosure Process From Loan Safe

by Moe Bedard

By Moe Bedard

The foreclosure process moves fast and in order to make it through this unforgiving time frame, you need to have a plan. The best mindset for anyone in this situation is to hope for the best and plan for the worst because there are no guarantees of success when attempting to negotiate with [...]

Read the full article →