January 2011

(Source: The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif) – Shareholders of the failed Sonoma Valley Bank are organizing a class action lawsuit against its management, according to several investors. “It is quite clear they did not put the interest of shareholders [...]

(Source: By Chris McDaniel, The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.) – The drop in Yuma County’s foreclosures between 2009 and 2010 was probably helped along by an upturn in short sales, says Michael Hall, owner of ERA Matt Fischer. “There are still [...]

Image by The U.S. Army via Flickr (Source: ) – Orange County Choppers is facing mortgage foreclosure threats from its lender. The custom motorcycle builder has failed to repay two mortgages taken through the GE Commercial Finance Business Property Corp., [...]

Source: TC Plam) – Some Florida foreclosure rescue companies and law firms that offer loan modifications continue to charge upfront fees and do little to help struggling homeowners, according to thousands of complaints filed with state regulators. New laws enacted [...]

(Source: NC Times) SAN DIEGO —- A man who admitted using false and misleading statements to entice struggling homeowners to buy loan-modification services from his San Marcos company was ordered Monday to serve five years, three months, in prison, federal [...]

(Source: The Columbian) – “Hi, Grandma, it’s me,” said a man who called Marie Cook of Vancouver on Tuesday morning. Cook, 67, was immediately on alert because the caller didn’t sound like any of her three grandsons. Also, she’d read [...]

(Source: Bakersfield.com) – The once highflying Crisp & Cole Real Estate firm was a “full-service mortgage fraud factory,” federal authorities said on Friday as they detailed fraud, money-laundering and conspiracy charges against 10 people connected to the company. Principals David [...]

(Source: Bakerfield.com) – Ordsall Street homeowner Elaine Hull was trying not to think about the massive Crisp & Cole Real Estate mortgage fraud scheme alleged in a 56-count federal indictment unsealed Friday. Still, Hull can’t get over her suspicion that [...]

(Source: By by Sanjay Bhatt, The Seattle Times) –’The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers Fleeced America — and Spawned a Global Crisis’ by Michael W. Hudson Times Books, 384 pp., $26 In his richly [...]

(Source: By Jesus Lopez Jr., Standard-Examiner) Ogden, Utah – With interest rates and house prices at historic lows, it is the perfect time to buy a home. But before a purchase is made, a bank loan officer or a mortgage [...]

(Source: By Sarah Shemkus, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.) – HYANNIS — Lined up along one wall of Carla Roy’s compact office are seven filing cabinets, each with four drawers. And all of those 28 drawers, she said, are filled [...]

(Source: By Allison Manning, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio) – With more federal money than it can lend, Delaware County is giving it out free. The money, which is administered by the state Department of Development, typically is used for low-interest [...]

(Source: Inman) – Some people regard Brent T. White’s point of view as an affront to basic notions of right and wrong — perhaps even a threat to the general financial well-being of the country.

(Source: ABC 15) – User question: I was contacted by a law firm offering to help me keep my home. They mentioned the HAMP program and it’s one of the programs in which I’d need a lawyer to file. Then [...]

(Source: By Dale Kasler, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.) – The real estate crash bankrupted Roseville developer Abe Alizadeh. Tax problems landed him in jail. Alizadeh, the Iranian immigrant who started his career making tacos and built an empire of fast-food [...]

(Source: By Jim Buchta, Star Tribune, Minneapolis) – It’s moving day for Lucretia Samuels, a grandmother who hasn’t had a permanent home for more than three years. Her new St. Paul apartment is spotless, with a big window, and it [...]