May 2009

Hi! My name is Moe Bedard and I am the founder of LoanWorkout.org and LoanSafe.org. I am also the author of a new free do it yourself loan modification book for homeowners called Saving the Dream. This book is dedicated [...]

The Federal Trade Commission has charged a mortgage foreclosure “rescue” operation with falsely promising Spanish-speaking consumers who are behind on their mortgage payments that it would stop foreclosure. Many people who paid the defendants ultimately lost their homes, and others [...]

By Nathan Fransen Esq. Early on in the foreclosure fiasco we are now knee deep in, the Federal government announced a program that was billed as a proactive measure that would provide needed relief to some 400,000 homeowners. The program [...]

A plunge in housing starts and permits is a key factor in today’s market malaise, with CNBC’s Diana Olick.

Marketers Falsely Claimed to Operate MakingHomeAffordable.gov At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal district court issued an order to stop an Internet-based operation that pretends to operate “MakingHomeAffordable.gov,” the official Web site of the federal Making Home Affordable program [...]

By: Anthony E. Dietz, Esq.,MBA “Focus on Making Your Mortgage Payment(s) First and Affordable-Stop Paying your Credit Cards!”   In the national best selling book “First Things First,” business management guru, Stephen Covey teaches his readers how important it is [...]

Assets Belonging to Excel Loss Mitigation, United Servicing, others frozen by Attorney General HOUSTON – A Harris County district judge froze several Houston firms’ assets after Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott charged the companies with running foreclosure “rescue” scams. According [...]

There has been a great deal of negative press regarding paid foreclosure assistance and in particular, loan modifications. The media has taken the loan modification ball and they are sounding the TV trumpets, mis-informing consumers by the millions, “DON’T PAY FOR [...]

Discussing what the obama administration can do to fix the housing crisis, with Gerald O’Driscoll, of the Cato Institute; Jonathan Cowan, of Third Way; and CNBC’s Diana Olick.

“If a modification is not possible, we are also announcing steps to encourage the quick private sale or voluntary transfer of property, which will save homeowners money and protect their financial future,” Geithner said. “These are critical steps in stemming [...]

Just this last month, the FTC had issued court injunctions on two predatory loan modification companies. These companies were parading around advertising their services in a manner very similar to the 2008 Paulson formed Hope Now coalition of mortgage servicers [...]

From a Countrywide/Bank Of America Mortgage Holder: Since I’m 55 and have lost most of my retirement fund, and am facing age discrimination in the job market, I don’t feel like I will be able to retire in the US, [...]

BOSTON – Today, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with Goldman Sachs & Company (Goldman), stemming from the office’s investigation of subprime lending and securitization markets. The Attorney General’s Office has been investigating [...]

CHICAGO, May 7 (Reuters) – Efforts at mortgage loan modification are having positive results, but their ultimate success will depend on the trajectory of the economy, Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Corp., said on Thursday. “My sense is [...]

By Moe Bedard The simple act of renting a home for Main Street Americans has become a sick game of “Where’s the foreclosure?” or another popular rental hit, “Let’s see how long we can rent in this home before it [...]

The Federal Trade Commission today told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity of the Committee on Financial Services that, with the rapid increase in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, the FTC has intensified its efforts to protect consumers [...]

By Moe Bedard Under the cover of the cramdown bill another important piece of legislation was passed today, a bill that protects lenders and servicers from lawsuits if they modify or refinance their client’s loans. This bill, which passed with [...]

By Moe Bedard The phrase “Fed Speak” originated when Alan Greenspan sat as chairman of the Federal Reserve. The phrase refers to his ambiguous method of speaking to the public, rarely saying anything of concrete substance in an effort to [...]

By Moe Bedard While a few stalwart senators tried to battle for the passage of the cramdown bill last week we heard a number of important opinions, both pro and con, regarding the proposed power of bankruptcy judges to reduce [...]

By Moe Bedard Today’s ABA Banking Journalelicited 10 steps to insuring that when a bank offers a loan modification to one of its clients at the request of federal regulators that it doesn’t at the same time break further laws [...]

By Moe Bedard It seems that Main Street isn’t the only important party angered by safe harbor clauses in the pending cramdown bill, mortgage investors are agitated as well. While Main Street looks at safe harbor clauses as an appeasement [...]

By Moe Bedard Major banks except Citi have formally cut off all negotiations with the Senate in an effort to limit even further the scope of the cramdown bill. Senators from both sides of the isle have given up hope [...]