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FTC to Ban Up-front Loan Modification Fees

by Moe Bedard

FTC Proposes Rule That Would Bar Mortgage Relief Companies From Charging Up-Front Fees

The Federal Trade Commission moved to protect distressed homeowners from the promoters of bogus foreclosure rescue and mortgage modification services by proposing a new rule that would forbid companies to charge up-front for these services. Instead, companies could only collect payment after providing [...]

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Solving the Mortgage Mess With Loan Modifications and Borrower Modifications

by Moe Bedard

Day points to two changes that need to be made to the program in order to see greater success: It must be mandatory for lenders rather than voluntary, and it must attack the principal of the loans rather than just the interest rates. Giving bankruptcy judges the power to modify mortgages on primary residences would [...]

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BlackRock: Consumers need a new type of bankruptcy that would better aid homeowners

by Moe Bedard

Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — Consumers need a new type of bankruptcy that would better aid homeowners and be fairer for mortgage-bond investors than the existing U.S. loan-modification program, BlackRock Inc. Vice Chairman Barbara Novick said.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, proposes creating a bankruptcy option under which terms of a consumer’s mortgage can be eased, [...]

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United Law Group & California Attorney Robert Buscho practicing law across the nation ?

by Moe Bedard

Back in September the California Bar announced a state wide crack down on attorneys who were under investigation for using or should I say renting out their law licenses to allegedly operate illegal loan modification operations. One of those law firms, the United Law Group and attorney Robert Buscho were named by the Cal Bar in [...]

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Freedom Team Financial: Beware of Rob Robson, the multi level marketing schemer and liar

by Moe Bedard

Complaint submitted by someone in the know via my blog: Clients, beware of Freedom Team Financial and Rob Robson. He is a multi level marketing schemer and a liar. He was never nor is the largest sales rep for Choice. Do not pay him or anyone from his company a dime. Your best bet is to [...]

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Business Bankruptcies Soar 39% in 2009

by Moe Bedard

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) – U.S. business bankruptcies rose 38 percent last year, to a record since bankruptcy laws were changed in 2005, according to a bankruptcy data firm on Tuesday.
There were 89,402 bankruptcy filings by businesses last year, compared with 64,584 the previous year, according to data compiled from court filings by Automated [...]

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Personal Bankruptcies Skyrocket as Homes Sales Plunge

by Moe Bedard

Bankruptcy filings increased in all 50 states in 2009. The states with the highest filing rates were Nevada, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Indiana. Those with the sharpest increases over 2008 filing rates were Arizona, Nevada, California, Wyoming and Utah, all of which saw increases of between about 60 percent and 80 percent, according to Professor [...]

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Lanny Welch & Isaac Yass Sent to Prison For Bankruptcy Scams

by Moe Bedard

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Two men from California have been sentenced for filing fraudulent bankruptcy petitions in Kansas to bilk homeowners who were facing foreclosure.
U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch says 43-year-old Isaac Yass, an Israeli who was living in Los Angeles, and 40-year-old Robert Andrew Blechman of Culver City, Calif., were sentenced Monday.
Yass was sentenced to [...]

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Apply 2 Save & Derek R. Oberholtzer: Idaho Attorney General Files Lawsuit

by Moe Bedard

Apply 2 Save and Derek R. Oberholtzer must have the loan modification  record for being sued by various Federal and State consumer protection agencies. 
I wrote about the FTC lawsuit in July, Apply 2 Save – FTC Files Lawsuit to Bar Unlawful Activities:
Works, Inc, a corporation, and Derek R. Oberholtzer, individually and as an officer of [...]

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Real Estate Bankruptcies Expected to Rise as Lenders Take Huge Losses

by Evan Bedard

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — Harvey Miller, lead bankruptcy lawyer for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., says real estate bankruptcies may rise as lenders find they can no longer delay taking losses on their loans.
Miller, 76, a partner of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP of New York, told Bloomberg Radio today that financial institutions are holding “huge [...]

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Mortgage Bankruptcy Cram-Down Bill Fails, Yet Again

by Moe Bedard

The banks win and homeowners loose as the glorious people who are supposed to represent the people, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to slam-down the cram-down measure that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages in a court of law for struggling homeowners.
The home mortgage bankruptcy bill or commonly referred to as the “mortgage [...]

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House Democrats Bring Up Mortgage Bankruptcy, Yet Again

by Moe Bedard

House Democrats are bringing up mortgage bankruptcy and I wanted my homeowners readers to know that blah, blah, blah…blah-blah. Yes, this Washington bankruptcy flap coming from Democrats over the last two years is getting rather old folks. So old that the only word that comes out of my mouth to comment on this news is blah, blah, blah.

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The Lamb Group & US Consumer Solutions: North Carolina AG Files Lawsuit

by Moe Bedard

AG Cooper stops Kannapolis foreclosure scam – Release date: 12/4/2009
Raleigh:  A Kannapolis foreclosure rescue operation is barred from collecting any money from consumers for foreclosure assistance or loan modifications, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced Friday.
 
“Scammers entice struggling homeowners with false promises of lower mortgage payments, then do little or nothing to help them,” Cooper said. [...]

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Crowder Law Center or Group: Still Advertising for Clients After FTC Lawsuit

by Moe Bedard

It looks like this loan modification firm that was sued by the FTC is still very much in business
I wrote about the FTC actions against Crowder Law Group last month.
The FTC is suing these people and companies below involved in this operation that seems to doing business across the country. 
FTC
VS.

WASHINGTON DATA RESOURCES, INC.,
a Florida corporation,
OPTIMUM BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, LLC,
a Nevada limited liability [...]

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Home Flippers Back to Business as Usual

by Moe Bedard

It’s hard to know what to make of this. Some people are looking to buy a home — that’s understandable, given that everybody needs shelter. And some people are looking to invest money with a long-term time horizon. And some people even fall into both categories at once. But that’s no reason to desperately try [...]

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Crowder Law Group – FTC Says They Acted Like the Feds to Dupe Homeowners

by Moe Bedard

Crowder Law Group and its co-defendants allegedly misrepresented themselves as a federal government agency or affiliate. Their personalized postcards to consumers stated, “You may qualify under the new government bailout to refinance your current mortgage . . . ” Some postcards described the defendants’ programs as federal programs and were signed by an attorney in [...]

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Freddie Mac to Suffer Big Losses From Bankrupt Firm

by Moe Bedard

Freddie Mac (FRE) said its additional losses related to the bankruptcy of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. could be “significant.”
At the end of September, the giant mortgage lender, which federal regulators took control of a year ago, estimated its potential exposure related to Taylor Bean’s loan repurchase obligations at $500 million.
Freddie said Monday in [...]

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Steve Dibert & MFI Miami: In regards to you placing blame on homeowners

by Moe Bedard

Here is an open email discussion with MFI Miami and Steve Dilbert forwarded to me by a very concerned consumer advocate. Her name is Krista Railey and I came to know her when I started writing about Green Credit Solutions. She began sending me emails and we exchanged information about the various scams we know about.
She [...]

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Foreclosures Hitting Blacks and Hispanics Hard

by Moe Bedard

Black and Latinos are at a disproportionate risk in the ongoing foreclosure crisis because they are more likely than whites to have higher-cost mortgage loans and face higher unemployment rates, a report says.
The report from the William C. Velasquez Institute called on the federal government to take steps, including reforming bankruptcy laws and expanding eligibility [...]

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3 More Loan Modification Attorneys Resign from the California Bar

by Moe Bedard

California Bar – The State Bar’s loan modification task force obtained the resignations of three more California attorneys as a result of misconduct related to their loan modification activities. It also placed another attorney on inactive status, charging his work poses a substantial threat to the public, and has undertaken similar efforts against two other [...]

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Unemployment and Foreclosure Caused Man to Murder

by Moe Bedard

Jason Rodriguez, accused of killing one and injuring five, ‘is a compilation of the front page of the entire year — unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, divorce,’ his lawyer says.
When people loose everything, sometimes they loose their minds and will do things that make no sense, like murder. This is a trend that will explode over the coming [...]

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Fannie Mae Deed for Lease Program Allows Homeowners to Rent Back

by Moe Bedard

WASHINGTON, DC — Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) is implementing the Deed for Lease™ Program under which qualifying homeowners facing foreclosure will be able to remain in their homes by signing a lease in connection with the voluntary transfer of the property deed back to the lender.
“The Deed for Lease Program provides an additional option for qualifying [...]

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If they want my home they will get it over my dead body

by Moe Bedard

Submitted by a Homeowner Via Email to Me: I will take further action as necessary to keep my home. If they want my home they will get it over my dead body.
Dear Mr. Marks and Mr. Bedard,
Please feel free to use the attached documents and share the information therein as well as this email to [...]

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Help Modify Now & Consumer Resource Law Services: Homeowner says they are a scam!

by Moe Bedard

Submitted by a Ripped Off Homeowner
Dear Moe,
My advice to all who read this would be to beware of anyone claiming that they can do better then you at negotiating with your lender. I paid $3,000 to “Help Modify Now” out of Newport Beach, California last April and am afraid that I have become yet another [...]

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Americans Repeating Great Depression Mistakes

by Moe Bedard

For the past several months, investors have been acting like it’s 1999, the first year when the Dow crossed 10,000, and stocks took off in complete disregard for reality. Yet the atmosphere then and now couldn’t be more different. Back then, stocks were frothier than real businesses, no doubt. But today, American job prospects are [...]

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California Attorney General Brown’s Letter to Banks & Loan Servicers

by Moe Bedard

The foreclosure crisis continues to plague California homeowners who are trapped in mortgages with exploding monthly payments. While the economy is beginning to improve, homeowners desperate to save their homes have seen little relief. And analysts predict that foreclosures will continue to worsen, particularly as Pay Option ARMs begin to recast.
Economists estimate that about one [...]

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Lack of Good Lawyers Adding to the Foreclosure Crisis

by Moe Bedard

Unlike similar legal fields such as bankruptcy, foreclosure is rarely a full-time practice and is often handled by real estate attorneys or legal aid services agencies. Still, more than 3 million property foreclosures were filed in the U.S. last year; South Florida is expected to see more than 150,000 this year compared to fewer than [...]

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Banks and Delinquent Borrowers: The Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost

by Moe Bedard

Never mind that Bank of America seemed to think it was “entitled” to tens of billions of taxpayer dollars. Now the bank suddenly thinks that other people being “entitled” is such a bad thing? Who set the example?
The article also cites a disturbing trend:
On a recent morning, Tiffany Palmer was on the line with a [...]

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JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley agree to pay $100 million to settle suit over lender

by Moe Bedard

JPMorgan Chase&Co. and two other investment banks have agreed to pay $100 million to settle a lawsuit over their contribution to investor losses in the collapse of American Business Financial Services Inc., the bankruptcy trustee’s lawyer said Friday.
The banks, including then-independent Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse Group and Morgan Stanley, deny any wrongdoing in settlement documents [...]

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Banks abuse borrowers

by Moe Bedard

The Government Accountability Office – GAO – in July found that the Treasury was short staffed and had hired only half of the employees necessary to monitor the loan modification program.
Taxpayer dollars bailed out the banks from bankruptcy, now they’re back on track to pay out big bonuses while at the same time they are [...]

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SENIOR LOAN OFFICER SENTENCED IN MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME

by Moe Bedard

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Winston Thomas, age 43, of New Carrollton, Maryland today to 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for failure to file federal tax returns and for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme in which he and his [...]

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FTC Announces New Enforcement Actions In Continuing Crackdown On Mortgage Relief Services Scams

by Moe Bedard

The Federal Trade Commission today announced two new law enforcement actions in a continuing crackdown on mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams, bringing to 22 the number of these cases the Commission has filed since the housing crisis began. The FTC also announced developments in similar pending mortgage-related actions.
“Today’s challenging economy presents an opportunity [...]

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Helping homeowners?

by Moe Bedard

Lenders are not moving quickly enough to do their part and refinance mortgages
In March, Phoenix homeowner Bobbi Giguere started asking her mortgage company, Wells Fargo, to modify her loan. She since has gone rounds with the company, trying to provide information and get an answer.
As The New York Times recently reported, it took bankruptcy Judge [...]

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Mortgage bankers waste no time in fighting cram down flap

by Moe Bedard

Barney says he “might” bring back “talks” about bankruptcy if mortgage servicers do not behave and help more homeowners. The bankers have chimed in and said that bankruptcy will hurt the already dying mortgage business and further tighten bank lending.
Here’s the bankers:
In response to discussion today in the House Financial Services Committee raising the possibility [...]

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Treasury Says Cramdown Is Still Off the Table, Even Though Loan Modifications Aren’t Working

by Moe Bedard

As Mike pointed out today, the slow pace of loan modification progress has prompted some lawmakers to once again call for mortgage cramdown legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify loans and keep borrowers in their homes.
But the Obama administration is signaling clearly that while it may be open to some new tactics, cramdown [...]

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Wealthy Families Face Bankruptcy on Real Estate Crash

by Moe Bedard

More individuals or families with at least $1,010,650 in secured debt and $336,900 unsecured are using Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code typically associated with business reorganizations. Falling U.S. home prices leave them unable to refinance or sell properties when they drop below the value of the mortgage, said Joseph Baldi, a Chicago bankruptcy [...]

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Top Dems Renew Call for Cramdown: YAWN

by Moe Bedard

More mortgage bankruptcy puffery in Washington for your intertainment. Is this all just for show Main Street? Are these politicians really fighting for you to keep your home or are they out to just fool you long enough until the 2010 elections?
 “Waiting for banks to ‘volunteer’ to end this foreclosure crisis is a waste of time,” Durbin said in [...]

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Barney Frank threatens mortgage bankruptcy, yet again

by Moe Bedard

Barney Frank is threatening yet again to bring the bankruptcy cram down bill to life again. The same Senate opposition is speaking up against it. Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, “Bankruptcy cram down would seriously prolong our housing recovery by decreasing mortgage credit,” he said in opening remarks at the hearing. 
I am sorry Mr. Frank, but [...]

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FDIC Says Taylor Bean Is Holding Homeowners ‘Hostage’

by Moe Bedard

Taylor Bean “is holding hostage hundreds of thousands of homeowners, and each day of delay is causing mounting and growing harm to individual homeowners” who are unable to get information related to their mortgage loans, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday in a bankruptcy court filing.
The FDIC, which is the receiver for Alabama’s recently [...]

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Judge To Question Bank On Loan Modifications

by Moe Bedard

PHOENIX — A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered a top Wells Fargo executive to testify in court about the bank’s loan modification policies.
The order came in response to a Phoenix woman’s complaint that Wells Fargo had ignored her modification request.
“I sent them everything they asked for and then when I called to follow up they [...]

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National Foreclosure Consultant Services – Sued by Indiana Attorney General

by Moe Bedard

Attorney General Greg Zoeller urges Hoosiers to avoid illegal foreclosure consultants
Zoeller recommends Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network (1-877-GET-HOPE) for free and certified mortgage counseling
INDIANAPOLIS – A lawsuit filed today against National Foreclosure Consultant Services (NFCS) by Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s Homeowner Protection Unit (HPU) marks Zoeller’s eighth suit against illegal foreclosure consultants since taking office in [...]

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Barney Frank – Can he save homeowners?

by Moe Bedard

Looks like Barney Frank may come to rescue homeowners. Mr. Frank is in the media again threatening lenders with bankruptcy reform because he wants more loan modifications and they are just not happening.
Is this just more hot air from Washington and how long can we pose empty threats at an industry that just does not seem [...]

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Prodigy Law Group – Used car salesman selling loan modifications?

by Moe Bedard

Homeowner Alert: Don’t do business with any business that cold calls you on the phone! There ARE reputable outfits out there, but they don’t cold call you and pitch you BS.
Possible scam alert: Homeland Support Services, Prodigy Law Group and attorney Seth D. Hayman
Known websites, affilliations and reports:
http://www.prodigylawgroup.com/default.asp
(Main Office) 
Location: 18111 Von Karman Avenue, 7th Floor, [...]

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Cram Down or Sham Town?

by Moe Bedard

OK, this Washington bankruptcy cram down BS is getting soooooo old. I have heard the same BK lip service for the last two years and it looks like I better get my homeowner boots on because here it goes again folks.
Yet another attempt in Washington to revisit the bankruptcy cram down has begun. Yawn…. I think [...]

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Death of the mortgage broker?

by Moe Bedard

Not so fast people!
The facts are that mortgage brokers and loan officers seem to adapt to their economic environments much like their close cousins, the cockroach. They seem to study this dirty little creature and how they have evolved over the past few million years.
These creeps just don’t seem to die so easy….
Now like a play book from their [...]

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