Some banks and other lenders will agree to modify home loans during mediation but then renege on the agreements, said a legislative leader who sponsored a bill on foreclosure mediation.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley. D-Las Vegas, made the comment late Tuesday during a hearing before the Nevada Supreme Court in Las Vegas.

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Federal prosecutors have said Nanan was part of a short-sale scheme with fellow Taylor, Bean & Whitaker employee Victor Cedeno.

Nanan and Cedeno worked with real-estate agents, homebuyers, lenders and title agents during sales financed by Taylor, Bean & Whitaker.

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Struggling Californians who get short sales or loan mods may face huge tax bills

by Moe Bedard

With less than a month until tax filings are due, struggling Californians who received mortgage modifications or lost their homes in short sales or foreclosures last year face the prospect of huge state tax bills. That’s because legislation that would prevent their canceled debt from being treated as

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ABS Solutions: Paul Killmar accused of scamming Stockton homeowners with mortgage audits

by Moe Bedard

Like thousands of others in Stockton, the retired Tinney faces declining value in his home and was struggling each month to make mortgage payments. He wanted to modify so badly, however, that he fell for a scam – and it cost him $2,900.
The 66-year-old Tinney leads a list of 15 Stockton residents who allege a [...]

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Video: Florida courts clogged with foreclosures

by Moe Bedard

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — State courts are taking brand new action to try and alleviate the chokehold that foreclosures are causing and keeping everyone’s property values down.
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A family’s loan modification nightmare

by Moe Bedard

The Gentrys have been working with OneWest, which was formed from the ruins of IndyMac Bank in 2009, for 18 months to find a way to ease their mortgage payments. The family is eager to keep the house, Marianne Gentry said, in part because they’ve adapted it to meet the needs of her 74-year-old husband, [...]

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Reports on the Home Affordable Modification Program are “glossing over disappointing results”

by Moe Bedard

March 17 (Bloomberg) — The Obama administration is inflating the success of programs that prevent foreclosures by skewing data on loan modifications and revising the goals, according to House Republicans.
Reports on the Home Affordable Modification Program are “glossing over

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Homeowners who get bad loan modification terms walk away

by Moe Bedard

William Negron, in his mid-70s, lost his job in car sales two years ago. The possibility of losing their home put “so much stress on him,” said son Carlos Negron. “My mother has been to the hospital twice because of this.”
Relief turned to shock when the Negrons saw the new loan terms: the

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Pilot project speeds loan modification applications through the system

by Moe Bedard

In January, counselors at Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago started processing applications electronically in a pilot project that’s akin to TurboTax for loan modifications. It won’t mean more homeowners will qualify for loan modifications, but they would know sooner whether they’re going to lose their homes and can plan accordingly.

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4 arrested in Florida $6 million mortgage fraud ring

by Moe Bedard

MIAMI — Four South Florida residents have been charged in a $6 million mortgage fraud scheme.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office made the announcement Tuesday. Arrested were 53-year-old Carlos Cano of Delray Beach; 34-year-old Robyn Colon of Boynton Beach; 52-year-old Jose L. Colon of Boynton Beach; and 40-year-old Maria L. Lozada of Miami.
They were charged with one [...]

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Video: The 6,000 plus Green Credit customers came from sales people, called brokers, all across California

by Moe Bedard

“Green Credit Solutions had a loose affiliation with a few lawyers. Never really had a lawyer on staff handling the loan modifications. And the one lawyer they did hire to work with them was a suspended Tennessee attorney,” said state bar investigator John Noonen.

The 6,000 plus Green Credit customers came from sales people, called brokers, [...]

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Police Officers Fighting Crime By Fighting Foreclosure

by Moe Bedard

Officers Connecting At-Risk Homeowners With Foreclosure Help
MILWAUKEE — Police officers are joining forces with city and community organizations to connect at-risk homeowners with foreclosure help
Some Milwaukee police officers are engaged in a different type of foot patrol — they are fighting crime by fighting foreclosure.
“Empty homes impact our area because a lot of crimes occur [...]

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You might want to read this before you walk away

by Moe Bedard

8. If all else fails? There are not always easy answers. If there really is no way to make use of Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, you may indeed decide just to walk away from your mortgage and let the chips fall where they may. You have already made valiant efforts to keep up your [...]

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More homeowners looking to walk away from home loans

by Moe Bedard

More Phoenix-area homeowners are walking away from their mortgage payments, and many more are likely considering it.
These are not people losing homes due to severe financial problems. “Walking away” now also describes people who can make their payments but

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OneWest Bank offers family a loan modification after they evicted them

by Moe Bedard

Last year, Paulette fell ill.Medical expenses swamped them. They tried to renegotiate their home loan with IndyMac Mortgage Services. Instead, IndyMac began foreclosure.
The Steltons now rent a home.

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Short sale tax shortchanges ex-homeowners

by Moe Bedard

Tara Blackwell and her husband sold their Fairfield house in December for about half of its original $825,000 price as a short sale, in which the bank agrees to accept less than is owed on the mortgage.

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FTC: Foreclosure scams are like viruses

by Moe Bedard

“All these scams are like viruses or bugs — they adapt and modify,” Baker said.
The FTC says the new scam is the offer of a home audit or lawsuit to get the lenders off your back.

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Ex-banking president charged with TARP fraud

by Moe Bedard

A lifelong banking-industry executive was arrested Monday on numerous charges, including allegations of defrauding regulators in connection with what prosecutors said was his desperate effort to save his New York bank from failing.

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Another Trump foreclosure

by Moe Bedard

Lawsuits also are pending from unhappy investors who want refunds of their 20 percent deposits. They allege developers used misleading advertising and breached their contract for failing to finish the project on time — no later than December 2008.

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Haitian man gets 17 years in prison for mortgage fraud

by Moe Bedard

A Haitian man was sentenced Monday to nearly 17 years in prison for leading a mortgage fraud scheme in Phoenix that authorities say cost banks about $9.5 million.
Federal prosecutors say 51-year-old Mario G. Bernadel was convicted last

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