From the monthly archives:

February 2009

Governor Schwarzenegger Places 90 Day Freeze on California Foreclosures

by Moe Bedard

California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures on Tuesday. The foreclosure freeze bill will impose a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures in the state of California.  The bill exempts lenders who have a loan modification program in place meeting the standards set forth in the bill.

One such mortgage servicing standard [...]

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New Debate on Obama’s Foreclosure Rescue Plans

by Moe Bedard

On the verge of rolling out President Obama’s new foreclosure rescue package some politicians are squabbling over the details. To me the details seem minor, to others, namely the politicians themselves, they are, in customary form, making a mountain out of a molehill.
While the Secretary of Housing announced banks are ready to roll out the [...]

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Another Fannie Mae Bailout

by Moe Bedard

Will bailouts of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ever stop? Today, Fannie Mae made public to the Securities and Exchange Commission their profit and loss statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Total losses at Fannie Mae for 2008 are greater than 58 billion dollars.
Given President Obama’s recent plans for normalizing the housing [...]

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Schumer Says 2/3 of Mortgage Servicers on Board Obama Foreclosure Boat

by Moe Bedard

It appears that 2/3 of mortgage servicers are on board the Obama foreclosure boat has it heads to neighborhoods to rescue struggling homeowners. The boat is leaving the port very soon and the remaining mortgage hold outs will most likely will drown in a sea of bad PR  if they don’t jump on the Obama [...]

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HUD ALLOCATES MORE THAN $10 BILLION OF RECOVERY ACT FUNDING ONE WEEK AFTER BILL SIGNING

by Moe Bedard

Nearly 75 percent of HUD Recovery funds allocated today
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today allocated nearly 75 percent of its funding, or $10.1 billion, made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Recovery Act includes $13.61 billion for projects and programs administered by HUD, 75 [...]

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Loan Modification Assistance to Thousands of Homeowners Free of Charge in Columbia, SC

by Moe Bedard

LoanSafe Solutions and Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) to Provide Loan Modification Assistance to   Thousands of Homeowners Free of Charge in Columbia, SC
Corona, CA (February 24, 2009) — For the second time this year LoanSafe Solutions (LSS) will participate in yet another Save the Dream Event Hosted by NACA in Columbia, SC from March [...]

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Congress Still Concerned About Mortgage Servicers & Loan Modifications

by Moe Bedard

This Thursday the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill that would provide much needed help to  struggling homeowners. The bankruptcy bill that we have been talking about for well over a year on LoanWorkout.org, HR 200, would allow bankruptcy courts to modify mortgages and slash principles for underwater homeowners.
See Moe’s past bankruptcy blog posts [...]

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Legislature May Pass Bill Modifying Bankruptcy Providing Judges Wide Reaching

by Moe Bedard

Following the trends of bankruptcy law over the last year the subject of “cramdowns” has made some lenders tremble and others, like me, anxious to see what our legislature will do to empower homeowners nationwide. If this new legislation makes it in to the senate and passes, I’m hoping President Obama will sign the new [...]

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Learn how to avoid mortgage and loan modification scams

by Nathan Fransen Esq.

Is it me or are “loan modification scam” companies becoming as prevalent as mortgage broker chop shops were a couple years ago? I don’t mean to be overly critical, and I understand many do good work, but I have heard stories of “former mortgage industry professionals” charging thousands of dollars to negotiate with the bank on behalf of the borrower.

At the risk of sounding like a protectionist, isn’t this something that should be done by a lawyer?

I have so many people come into my office who were victims of “predatory lending” and then victims of this next loan modification craze.

Take for instance just last month, I had a client tell me they paid $15k to a “modification company”. The company promised her they would reduce her balance and lower her interest rate to 5%. This truly sickens me.

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Loan Modification Lawsuits Looming in the Near Future?

by Moe Bedard

Since October, 2008 LoanWorkout.org has been following various legal developments as they pertain to loan modifications. One such issue is whether loan servicers can be sued by share holders for providing loan modifications without the consent of the owners of mortgage back securities. Since President Obama has passed a stimulus package that incentivizes services to [...]

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Wisconsin Attorney General Announces $40 Million Settlement With Countrywide

by Moe Bedard

“I am pleased that this agreement means eligible borrowers in Wisconsin will be able to stay in their homes and that other relief will be brought to the State of Wisconsin,” Van Hollen said. Under the terms of the settlement, Countrywide has agreed to provide various forms of relief, including:

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HUD Chief Defends Obama Housing Plan

by Moe Bedard

“We have millions of families across this country through no fault of their own that are in trouble on their mortgages,” he said. “Let’s remember that every time there’s a foreclosure, a next-door neighbor loses value in their house too… by stopping foreclosures, this benefits everyone.”

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White House Press Secretary Responds to CNBC’s Rick Santelli

by Moe Bedard

By Moe Bedard
 
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs put CNBC’S Rick Santelli in his place today. Acting more like a rabid dog than a professional journalist, Santelli referred to suffering American homeowners as “losers.” Whereas Santelli feels the White House is awarding “bad behavior” Press Secretary Gibbs and I both feel the plan can and [...]

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CNBC’s Rick Santelli Refers to Suffering Homeowners as “Losers”

by Moe Bedard

By Moe Bedard
CNBC’s Rick Santelli isn’t a happy man. Referring to the millions of suffering Americans as “losers” Santelli spews forth some of the vilest verbiage I’ve heard in the foreclosure prevention debate. Santelli argues the new administration should use their powers of social media to determine how the average American feels about President Obama’s [...]

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Obama’s Foreclosure Incentives Yield Positive Results

by Moe Bedard

By Moe Bedard
Two days ago I wrote an article that summarized the complex details of President Obama’s Foreclosure Rescue Plan.  My prediction was that incentivizing lenders to do the right thing would improve Main Street directly and not merely line the pockets of major lenders and financial executives.  Today, two major lenders, Bank of America [...]

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Where’s the note, who’s the holder: Enforcement of the promissory note secured by real estate

by Moe Bedard

I have been writing about the missing note theory almost two years now and it appears that the great minds in the legal profession and of our courts have decided to really dive into this fascinating subject. The results have been nothing short of awesome and the banks should be very scared about the potential implications that this has and will have on initiating “illegal foreclosures.”

A hat tip to foreclosure fighter and consumer advocate lawyer from Florida, April Charney for sending this great legal analysis of the missing note theory to me via email.

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Help for homeowners: Courtesy of the White House

by Moe Bedard

Questions and Answers for Borrowers about the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

Borrowers Who Are Current on Their Mortgage Are Asking:

* What help is available for borrowers who stay current on their mortgage payments but have seen their homes decrease in value?

Under the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, eligible borrowers who stay current on their mortgages but have been unable to refinance to lower their interest rates because their homes have decreased in value, may now have the opportunity to refinance into a 30 or 15 year, fixed rate loan. Through the program, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow the refinancing of mortgage loans that they hold in their portfolios or that they placed in mortgage backed securities.

* I owe more than my property is worth, do I still qualify to refinance under the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan?

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President Obama’s Foreclosure Prevention Plan Explained

by Moe Bedard

For those of us that pay attention to the world of home loan workouts there was a great deal of anticipation leading up to President Obama’s speech today.

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Financial Crisis: “Silver Bullets” for Toxic Mortgages?

by Moe Bedard

The Obama Administration is floating a proposal that would allow the government to directly buy more loans from servicers of mortgage-backed securities

With the financial crisis quickly becoming President Obama’s primary burden, his Administration has intensified its efforts to stem the rising tide of foreclosures in order to solve the root cause of the difficulties. On Feb. 11, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the Housing & Urban Development Dept., met with community groups and key stakeholders in the banking industry to gauge support for a potential program that would allow the government to directly buy whole loans from servicers of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in order to modify them—and keep more borrowers in their homes.

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What’s the latest fitness craze? The loan workout

by Moe Bedard

Brownstone and other local loan workout specialists have their hands full these days. With condo sales stalled and commercial building values eroded across the region, antsy lenders have been quick to put projects on watch lists at the first sign of trouble. Those signs could be anything from insufficient sales or leases to slashed asking prices that could make a project unprofitable.

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Stabilizing the Housing Market: Focus on Communities

by Moe Bedard

To help those distressed households for which foreclosure can be prevented, servicers must implement effective and sustainable modifications. Key private and public steps toward preventing unnecessary foreclosures have already been taken, but much more must be done. While community bankers typically do not have large portfolios on which to perform wholesale modifications, I would urge you to be sure that you are making reasonable accommodations whenever possible to keep homeowners in their homes.

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Chase CEO writes Barney Frank a letter / Franks says $50 billion for housing is not enough

by Moe Bedard

House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) received a letter last week from JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon announcing a three week foreclosure moratorium.

This just a day or so after Frank had called on mortgage servicers to impose a foreclosure moratorium to delay unneccasary foreclosures until the Obama adminisaration announces the housing details of the recently passed stimlus plan on Wednesday.

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Lender sues Michigan sheriff for halting foreclosures

by Moe Bedard

“I will not allow one more family to be put out of their home in Wayne County until I am satisfied they have been afforded every option they are entitled to under the law to avoid foreclosure,” Evans said in a statement.

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Citi issues statement on mortgage foreclosure moratorium

by Moe Bedard

Today’s announcement expands on Citi’s current foreclosure moratorium in which Citi does not initiate or complete a foreclosure sale on any eligible borrower where Citi owns the mortgage, the borrower is seeking to stay in the home, which is his or her primary residence, is working in good faith with Citi and has sufficient income for affordable mortgage payments.

“Since the start of the housing crisis in 2007, Citi has worked successfully with approximately 440,000 homeowners to avoid potential foreclosure on combined mortgages totaling approximately $43 billion. Last year, Citi kept approximately four out of five distressed borrowers with mortgages serviced by Citi in their homes.”

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Foreclosure Moratorium’s Announced in Anticipation of Government Backed Loan Modification Programs

by Moe Bedard

Will the new Administration finally use stimulus money to directly benefit Americans in foreclosure? While details are not yet available, signs of an impending government intervention in foreclosure prevention are giving major lenders great pause.
Lawmakers in a congressional hearing earlier this week asked the executives of some of the nation’s largest banks to institute a [...]

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Frank, regulator urge suspension of foreclosures

by Moe Bedard

“I would ask all of you now to please make sure that we have a moratorium in effect,” said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., at a hearing where the CEOs of eight major banks testified about how they were using money from a $700 billion bank bailout fund.

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B of A’s CEO Ken Lewis looks like a deer in the headlights as Congresswoman Waters asks him about offshore loss mitigation efforts

by Moe Bedard

Ask any homeowner how difficult it is to speak to a live person in a loss mitigation department and here’s what they’ll tell you: next to impossible. In those rare occasions when a homeowner does get through to someone they rarely find someone on the other end, knowledgeable on the other side and understanding of [...]

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Administration weighs plan to lower mortgage rates

by Moe Bedard

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is considering spending taxpayer dollars to lower mortgage rates for borrowers on the verge of foreclosure, according to two people briefed on the plan.
The details of the government’s plan were not final. But they are expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks as part of a plan to [...]

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U.S. regulator urges thrifts to halt foreclosures

by Moe Bedard

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision urged its regulated institutions on Wednesday to halt home foreclosures until the government’s $50 billion plan is implemented.
The request comes one day after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled a bank rescue package that includes a program aimed at reducing monthly payments for troubled homeowners.
A broader U.S. [...]

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Obama administration delay foreclosure rescue details

by Moe Bedard

Few people would argue that there is a simple solution to the current mortgage and housing crisis. This crisis, however, has been brewing for years and now through two administrations. Is it sufficient that the present administration can clearly articulate the problem or is it time that we begin to demand specific answers from our [...]

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Director of the Federal Housing Finance Board Blasts the American Securitization Forum

by Moe Bedard

James B. Lockhart III, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Board, has said that “The ASF has taken too long.”

Lockart spoke at the American Securitization Forum’s annual industry conference on Monday. He also said that he was glad to see that the industry is making progress in standardizing loan modifications for borrowers whose mortgage has become unaffordable.

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Colorado Attorney General Attorney Announces Countrywide Settlement

by Moe Bedard

DENVER) – Colorado Attorney General John Suthers today announced that Colorado has entered into a settlement with Countrywide Financial Corporation, and several of its affiliated entities, over the marketing of subprime and other high-risk mortgage products in Colorado.

As part of the agreement, Countrywide will make nearly $6 million available to eligible Colorado borrowers and to the State, including $500,000 for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Housing to support the continued operation and expansion of the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline.

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Another Example of the Deplorable Conditions at Countrywide Home Loans

by Moe Bedard

We have applied for a rate reductions but were told we would have to be diliquent on our account to qualify. That’s coming from Countrywide. So, we are behind now and everytime we call, we get someone different or the call center in India. Everytime I get connected to India, I request to speak to someone in US. When they do that, I get disconnected. I can’t believe that Countrywide can even exist with the way the treat the customer.

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NACA & Loan Safe Foreclose on the CEO of Morgan Stanley’s Home

by Moe Bedard

As you can see from the video above from CNN, we were not “exactly” welcome house guests to his multi-million dollar mansion bought on the backs of suffering and debt burdened Americans.

I am the guy with the camera that looks like paparazzi. Funny, I love being a Capitalist Pig CEO paparazzi. I think I may start a second career following these pigs and planting myself outside their homes as they live high on the hog.

The man in the video wearing the hat and trench coat that was assaulting Bruce Marks appears to be John Macks hired goon or security guard. This must be the most action this dude has seen ever at Mr. Macks house. The guys looked like literally looked he was gonna have a heart attack and how in the hell was he going to stop hundreds of us.

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The Washington Foreclosure Shuffle Continues

by Moe Bedard

The new Administration in Washington and President Obama’s recent appointments seem to have their fingers closer to the pulse of the American economy than our previous administration.  Evidence for this stems from the fact that discussion of loan modifications are finally being seriously considered in the context of macroeconomic debate.
Today, Walter Lippman, Pulitzer Prize winning [...]

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Virginia AG McGraw settles Countrywide suit

by Moe Bedard

Attorney General Darrell McGraw today settled his suit against Countrywide Financial Corporation, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, LP, and Full Spectrum Lending, Inc.
Countrywide sold subprime loans, including adjustable rate mortgages (”ARMs”) with teaser rates that were unaffordable and unconscionable to West Virginia consumers. These loans exposed consumers to foreclosure and loss of [...]

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Wilbur Ross Purchases Citi’s $185 Billion Mortgage Servicing Portfolio

by Moe Bedard

I have been watching WL Ross and AHMSI since they gobbled up H&R Blocks’ Option One this past year and what I can say that this guy is the real deal. Mr. Ross knows exactly how to operate a proficient and “effective” specialty mortgage servicing operation for homeowners that are in default.

My firm was dealing with the infamous subprime Option One prior to the WL Ross purchase and their service went from terrible to OK within about 60 days of AHMSI taking over. There is still much room for improvement, but it seems like Ross is dedicated to helping more homeowners stay in their homes and he wants to stand out from the rest of the mortgage servicing crowd.

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Tom the Homeowner: How many more Americans must we let suffer?

by Moe Bedard

This question haunts my thoughts as I sit on my extra soft hotel bed in Stamford, Connecticut. All I can think about are the hundreds of people that I have spoken to over the last year who are still suffering in their homes on the East Coast.
As a Native Californian, coming from over 3,000 miles [...]

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Another Wachovia Loan Modification Nightmare

by Moe Bedard

The facts are that Wachovia who is now “Wells Fargo” is one of the absolute worst and abusive mortgage servicers in the country.

Good luck getting a loan modification from Wachovia because you’ll need some huge luck and some “real” thick skin thrown in to get you through the most stressful process ever.

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I also better throw in a large dash of persisitence because this will be nothing short of the fight of your life!

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State AG’s urge feds to push for affordable mortgage modifications

by Moe Bedard

“Every day, our office hears from families struggling to make their mortgage payments and those who have lost their homes,” McKenna said. “They are our neighbors and we have as much of an investment in helping them as do officials in the other Washington. The states want to work with federal regulators – not against them – to help reduce foreclosures.”

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Get FREE Foreclosure Help in Stamford, Connecticut Feb. 7-9 from NACA & Loan Safe

by Moe Bedard

Corona, CA (February 3, 2009) Save the Dream Campaign – For the second year in a row LoanSafe Solutions (LSS) and the LoanSafe.org staff will participate in the Annual Save the Dream Event Hosted by NACA. Each year, thousands of homeowners attend the free event in an effort to make their mortgages more affordable at absolutely no cost to the consumer.

NACA will host another massive foreclosure prevention event beginning Saturday February 7th through Monday the 9th at the Marriot Hotel in Stamford CT. Join NACA and Loan Safe in making your mortgage payment affordable and holding the executives of these financial institutions accountable.

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