(Newser)
–
Amid wrongful foreclosures and screwy paperwork, banks have been breaking into homes whose owners still occupy them, a flurry of lawsuits argues. Owners have returned home to find the locks changed and their property—from laptops to old photos to the ashes of a loved one—missing, the New York Times reports. In some cases, banks mistakenly think homes have been abandoned; most mortgages contain a clause letting banks enter abandoned homes to secure the property.
In other cases, mortgage payments are up to date, but the banks, apparently confused, enter anyway. Banks say these mistakes happen in only a tiny portion of a huge number of cases. But “volume is not an excuse for violating someone’s rights,” says a law expert. “This is in essence a burglary,” said one victim who sued a bank for breaking into her chalet and emptying it of her belongings.
We asked readers to sign a letter to Iowa attorney general Tom Miller, who is leading the 50 state probe into foreclosure and mortgage abuses. Here is the official report from National People’s Action, which was part of the group that met with Miller earlier today:
Leader of 50 State Foreclosure Probe Tells Struggling Homeowners: “We Will Put People in Jail”
Iowa’s Attorney General Miller also agreed that principal reductions, loan modifications, and compensation for defrauded homeowners are all on his agenda
The lead Attorney General in the 50-state foreclosure investigation, Iowa’s Tom Miller, told homeowners at risk of foreclosure today that he supports a settlement with the big banks that requires significant principal rate reductions, loan modifications, compensation for citizens defrauded of their homes, and criminal prosecutions against big bank executives who broke the law.
“We will put people in jail,” Miller said, in response to questioning. “One of the main tools needs to be principal reductions, just like in the farm crisis in the 1980s…There should be some kind of compensation system for people who have been harmed…And the foreclosure process should stop while loan modifications begin. To have a race between foreclosures and modifications to see which happens first is insane.”
Attorney General Tom Miller met Tuesday with more than 100 people from 15 states representing community, faith, and labor organizations, foreclosure victims and struggling homeowners from across the country. Participants urged Tom Miller to make a strong settlement that includes loan modification and principal reduction as the primary tools for cleaning up the mortgage mess created by the banks.
Miller also agreed to continue to work with grassroots community, faith, and labor groups from across the country and agreed that the Bank Accountability Campaign’s members are stakeholders who deserve a seat at the table.
“We are very pleased with how this meeting turned out and now our expectations are higher than ever,” said Deacon Mike McCarthy, an Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) member from Des Moines, IA.
“Attorney General Miller made it clear that he sees this investigation as a chance to clean up the foreclosure crisis that has ransacked our communities for over three years now and continues to push down housing values for everyone. He stated that loan modifications will be a core component in any settlement,” said Gina Gates, a foreclosure victim with PACT-PICO in San Jose, California.
“The stakes are high. A strong settlement is the best hope to hold Wall Street banks accountable and prevent millions more Americans from losing their homes,” said Mikael Broadway, from IAF in North Carolina.
“The big banks have repeatedly weakened efforts to get to the root of the foreclosure crisis,” said Shirley Broomfield, a struggling homeowner from Melbourne, Florida who is working two jobs to pay her mortgage. “They’ve failed to live up to their promises and outright ignored the rules of the game, with little to no consequences. The Attorneys General have a chance to change this.”
This is the first of a series of similar meetings with the state Attorneys General who are on the investigation’s executive committee. Participants in the meeting included borrowers who have lost their homes unjustly, other homeowners in danger of foreclosure, clergy and community advocates from 15 states – including Iowa, California, Illinois, Washington, New York, Colorado, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Massachusetts, Kansas, Michigan, Montana and Oregon. The participants presented a stack of homeowner testimonies to Mr. Miller and made it clear that this investigation is their best hope for resetting the housing market and helping millions avoid foreclosure.
The group is staging protests this afternoon at the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage headquarters in West Des Moines and at branch of Bank of America in Des Moines to highlight the massive bonuses that bank executives will receive this month while millions of homeowners face foreclosure. They plan to lift up a new report showing that restoring equity to underwater homeowners would cost the big banks $73 billion, approximately one-half this year’s bonus & compensation pool. Similar protests will take place this week in New York and California.
The growing activity from homeowner groups comes amidst a turbulent time for big banks, especially Bank of America, with both investor lawsuits and the Attorneys General investigation pending, and some analysts beginning to predict the eventual need to restructure America’s largest bank in 2011.
The meeting with AG Miller and other events this week are organized by PICO National Network, National People’s Action, SEIU, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Alliance for a Just Society, and IAF Southeast.
Yves here. This is certainly good news, since the public can hold Miller’s feet to the fire if he fails to live up to these commitments. One concern I have is that the standard for fraud under the law, as opposed to from a common-sense perspective, is stringent, which means it is extremely difficult to prove. Remember Joe Cassano of AIG, the head of AIG’s financial products group? An investigation of him did not lead to prosecution, effectively because he has discussed what he was up to with AIG’s accountants. Fraud, as defined under the law, requires intent. So perversely, “I thought this was kosher” will get you out of a fraud charge.
We have a short form discussion in ECONNED as to how various laws and regulations were weakened over the 1990s to make it very difficult to prosecute financial fraud successfully. You can find a full treatment in Frank Partnoy’s book Infectious Greed.
robert shumake detroit
Shakesville: Brett Favre <b>News</b>
Brett Favre News. [Trigger warning for sexual assault, which applies to both links] [Link includes descriptions of sexual assault] Associated Press: "Two massage therapists sued Brett Favre on Monday, saying they lost them their ...
Movie <b>News</b> Quick Hits: Bigfoot to get the 'Avatar' Treatment <b>...</b>
A leaked costume test from MGM's completed-but-shelved remake of 1984's 'Red Dawn' has found its way online. It's not much, but thanks to MGM's.
Baby Boomers and Sacrifice - AOL <b>News</b>
WASHINGTON -- Baby boomers have long been derided as a bunch of spoiled brats -- a.
robert shumake detroit
Shakesville: Brett Favre <b>News</b>
Brett Favre News. [Trigger warning for sexual assault, which applies to both links] [Link includes descriptions of sexual assault] Associated Press: "Two massage therapists sued Brett Favre on Monday, saying they lost them their ...
Movie <b>News</b> Quick Hits: Bigfoot to get the 'Avatar' Treatment <b>...</b>
A leaked costume test from MGM's completed-but-shelved remake of 1984's 'Red Dawn' has found its way online. It's not much, but thanks to MGM's.
Baby Boomers and Sacrifice - AOL <b>News</b>
WASHINGTON -- Baby boomers have long been derided as a bunch of spoiled brats -- a.
robert shumake
(Newser)
–
Amid wrongful foreclosures and screwy paperwork, banks have been breaking into homes whose owners still occupy them, a flurry of lawsuits argues. Owners have returned home to find the locks changed and their property—from laptops to old photos to the ashes of a loved one—missing, the New York Times reports. In some cases, banks mistakenly think homes have been abandoned; most mortgages contain a clause letting banks enter abandoned homes to secure the property.
In other cases, mortgage payments are up to date, but the banks, apparently confused, enter anyway. Banks say these mistakes happen in only a tiny portion of a huge number of cases. But “volume is not an excuse for violating someone’s rights,” says a law expert. “This is in essence a burglary,” said one victim who sued a bank for breaking into her chalet and emptying it of her belongings.
We asked readers to sign a letter to Iowa attorney general Tom Miller, who is leading the 50 state probe into foreclosure and mortgage abuses. Here is the official report from National People’s Action, which was part of the group that met with Miller earlier today:
Leader of 50 State Foreclosure Probe Tells Struggling Homeowners: “We Will Put People in Jail”
Iowa’s Attorney General Miller also agreed that principal reductions, loan modifications, and compensation for defrauded homeowners are all on his agenda
The lead Attorney General in the 50-state foreclosure investigation, Iowa’s Tom Miller, told homeowners at risk of foreclosure today that he supports a settlement with the big banks that requires significant principal rate reductions, loan modifications, compensation for citizens defrauded of their homes, and criminal prosecutions against big bank executives who broke the law.
“We will put people in jail,” Miller said, in response to questioning. “One of the main tools needs to be principal reductions, just like in the farm crisis in the 1980s…There should be some kind of compensation system for people who have been harmed…And the foreclosure process should stop while loan modifications begin. To have a race between foreclosures and modifications to see which happens first is insane.”
Attorney General Tom Miller met Tuesday with more than 100 people from 15 states representing community, faith, and labor organizations, foreclosure victims and struggling homeowners from across the country. Participants urged Tom Miller to make a strong settlement that includes loan modification and principal reduction as the primary tools for cleaning up the mortgage mess created by the banks.
Miller also agreed to continue to work with grassroots community, faith, and labor groups from across the country and agreed that the Bank Accountability Campaign’s members are stakeholders who deserve a seat at the table.
“We are very pleased with how this meeting turned out and now our expectations are higher than ever,” said Deacon Mike McCarthy, an Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) member from Des Moines, IA.
“Attorney General Miller made it clear that he sees this investigation as a chance to clean up the foreclosure crisis that has ransacked our communities for over three years now and continues to push down housing values for everyone. He stated that loan modifications will be a core component in any settlement,” said Gina Gates, a foreclosure victim with PACT-PICO in San Jose, California.
“The stakes are high. A strong settlement is the best hope to hold Wall Street banks accountable and prevent millions more Americans from losing their homes,” said Mikael Broadway, from IAF in North Carolina.
“The big banks have repeatedly weakened efforts to get to the root of the foreclosure crisis,” said Shirley Broomfield, a struggling homeowner from Melbourne, Florida who is working two jobs to pay her mortgage. “They’ve failed to live up to their promises and outright ignored the rules of the game, with little to no consequences. The Attorneys General have a chance to change this.”
This is the first of a series of similar meetings with the state Attorneys General who are on the investigation’s executive committee. Participants in the meeting included borrowers who have lost their homes unjustly, other homeowners in danger of foreclosure, clergy and community advocates from 15 states – including Iowa, California, Illinois, Washington, New York, Colorado, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Massachusetts, Kansas, Michigan, Montana and Oregon. The participants presented a stack of homeowner testimonies to Mr. Miller and made it clear that this investigation is their best hope for resetting the housing market and helping millions avoid foreclosure.
The group is staging protests this afternoon at the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage headquarters in West Des Moines and at branch of Bank of America in Des Moines to highlight the massive bonuses that bank executives will receive this month while millions of homeowners face foreclosure. They plan to lift up a new report showing that restoring equity to underwater homeowners would cost the big banks $73 billion, approximately one-half this year’s bonus & compensation pool. Similar protests will take place this week in New York and California.
The growing activity from homeowner groups comes amidst a turbulent time for big banks, especially Bank of America, with both investor lawsuits and the Attorneys General investigation pending, and some analysts beginning to predict the eventual need to restructure America’s largest bank in 2011.
The meeting with AG Miller and other events this week are organized by PICO National Network, National People’s Action, SEIU, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Alliance for a Just Society, and IAF Southeast.
Yves here. This is certainly good news, since the public can hold Miller’s feet to the fire if he fails to live up to these commitments. One concern I have is that the standard for fraud under the law, as opposed to from a common-sense perspective, is stringent, which means it is extremely difficult to prove. Remember Joe Cassano of AIG, the head of AIG’s financial products group? An investigation of him did not lead to prosecution, effectively because he has discussed what he was up to with AIG’s accountants. Fraud, as defined under the law, requires intent. So perversely, “I thought this was kosher” will get you out of a fraud charge.
We have a short form discussion in ECONNED as to how various laws and regulations were weakened over the 1990s to make it very difficult to prosecute financial fraud successfully. You can find a full treatment in Frank Partnoy’s book Infectious Greed.
robert shumake detroit
robert shumake
Shakesville: Brett Favre <b>News</b>
Brett Favre News. [Trigger warning for sexual assault, which applies to both links] [Link includes descriptions of sexual assault] Associated Press: "Two massage therapists sued Brett Favre on Monday, saying they lost them their ...
Movie <b>News</b> Quick Hits: Bigfoot to get the 'Avatar' Treatment <b>...</b>
A leaked costume test from MGM's completed-but-shelved remake of 1984's 'Red Dawn' has found its way online. It's not much, but thanks to MGM's.
Baby Boomers and Sacrifice - AOL <b>News</b>
WASHINGTON -- Baby boomers have long been derided as a bunch of spoiled brats -- a.
robert shumake
Shakesville: Brett Favre <b>News</b>
Brett Favre News. [Trigger warning for sexual assault, which applies to both links] [Link includes descriptions of sexual assault] Associated Press: "Two massage therapists sued Brett Favre on Monday, saying they lost them their ...
Movie <b>News</b> Quick Hits: Bigfoot to get the 'Avatar' Treatment <b>...</b>
A leaked costume test from MGM's completed-but-shelved remake of 1984's 'Red Dawn' has found its way online. It's not much, but thanks to MGM's.
Baby Boomers and Sacrifice - AOL <b>News</b>
WASHINGTON -- Baby boomers have long been derided as a bunch of spoiled brats -- a.
robert shumake detroit
If you've been looking into buying a property then there's a nearly 100% chance you've heard of bank foreclosure homes or what's termed in the industry as "REO." REO or Real Estate Owned by the bank are properties taken back through a foreclosure sale when the original owner defaulted on their loan. Banks are (supposedly) in the business of lending and not owning properties, so obviously the motivation for the bank to sell is fairly high.
If you have a motivated seller, you have can get a good deal right? Conventionally, yes, but you need to be careful and watch out for potential pitfalls when thinking of buying a bank foreclosure home.
Even if you're looking for a "fixer upper" then a bank foreclosure home may be an attractive option, but be sure you know what you're getting into.
Legal
One positive about buying a bank foreclosure home is that the title is usually pretty clear. Having a foreclosure, or in my hometown of San Diego, a trustee sale, does a pretty good job of wiping out junior liens and other clouds on the title that may have prevented a short sale from being a success. That being said, some liens are going to stick around.
State and local taxes, Home Owner Association Fees and utility assessments are all potential land mines when you go to close. In our own business we've been seeing more and more HOA liens popping up on the HUD 1 which is very disappointing when you realize that those types of lien are eating right into your profit or making it more difficult to get started when you're moving into a first home.
Occasionally you're going to find when looking a hot bank foreclosure home that an overzealous broker may not be 100% up front about what's called a redemption period. A redemption period is a post foreclosure period where the borrower actually has the opportunity to purchase the property back. When this happens you've just invested a great deal of time looking at a bank foreclosure home you're not going to occupy.
Always consult a qualified real estate professional or real estate attorney when looking into these potential legal bombs.
Damage
The eight hundred pound gorilla of a problem when buying a bank foreclosure home is... well, it can look as though an eight hundred pound gorilla has gone through the property. Even the most rational, educated human being can be susceptible to feelings of anger towards a perceived wrongdoer. In this case, that perceived wrongdoer is the bank that is foreclosing. Sometimes an angry borrower can do a lot of active damage to a property that in some cases can be difficult to find.
Recently a property our firm took back in foreclosure actually had quite a bit of seafood rotting in the walls throughout the bank foreclosure home. Terrible... awful smell.
Even when the damage isn't malicious people facing foreclosure of their primary residence can simply shut down and when that happens their property can just deteriorate. It's not an active piece of destruction, but to the end user it can be just as damaging.
In single-family residences for example, especially in more rural environments, watch out for the pools. A tiny crack in the foundation of a pool can go unnoticed during inspections and can really cause large problems over time. Again, it's important to always do a thorough job of due diligence when looking at buying a bank foreclosure home.
Bottom Line
Nine times out of ten it just seems as though working with a borrower and the bank to execute a short sale is more favorable than waiting around to buy a bank foreclosure home. Obviously any property purchased at the right price is going to yield value, but when you're doing your value equation you have to pay great attention that you remember to add your time in. Your time has valued. You only get to go around once and buying a bank foreclosure home can be a time sink. The Tom Hanks movie comes to mind. Don't get caught in a money pit.
robert shumake
Shakesville: Brett Favre <b>News</b>
Brett Favre News. [Trigger warning for sexual assault, which applies to both links] [Link includes descriptions of sexual assault] Associated Press: "Two massage therapists sued Brett Favre on Monday, saying they lost them their ...
Movie <b>News</b> Quick Hits: Bigfoot to get the 'Avatar' Treatment <b>...</b>
A leaked costume test from MGM's completed-but-shelved remake of 1984's 'Red Dawn' has found its way online. It's not much, but thanks to MGM's.
Baby Boomers and Sacrifice - AOL <b>News</b>
WASHINGTON -- Baby boomers have long been derided as a bunch of spoiled brats -- a.
robert shumake detroit
robert shumake detroit
(Newser)
–
Amid wrongful foreclosures and screwy paperwork, banks have been breaking into homes whose owners still occupy them, a flurry of lawsuits argues. Owners have returned home to find the locks changed and their property—from laptops to old photos to the ashes of a loved one—missing, the New York Times reports. In some cases, banks mistakenly think homes have been abandoned; most mortgages contain a clause letting banks enter abandoned homes to secure the property.
In other cases, mortgage payments are up to date, but the banks, apparently confused, enter anyway. Banks say these mistakes happen in only a tiny portion of a huge number of cases. But “volume is not an excuse for violating someone’s rights,” says a law expert. “This is in essence a burglary,” said one victim who sued a bank for breaking into her chalet and emptying it of her belongings.
We asked readers to sign a letter to Iowa attorney general Tom Miller, who is leading the 50 state probe into foreclosure and mortgage abuses. Here is the official report from National People’s Action, which was part of the group that met with Miller earlier today:
Leader of 50 State Foreclosure Probe Tells Struggling Homeowners: “We Will Put People in Jail”
Iowa’s Attorney General Miller also agreed that principal reductions, loan modifications, and compensation for defrauded homeowners are all on his agenda
The lead Attorney General in the 50-state foreclosure investigation, Iowa’s Tom Miller, told homeowners at risk of foreclosure today that he supports a settlement with the big banks that requires significant principal rate reductions, loan modifications, compensation for citizens defrauded of their homes, and criminal prosecutions against big bank executives who broke the law.
“We will put people in jail,” Miller said, in response to questioning. “One of the main tools needs to be principal reductions, just like in the farm crisis in the 1980s…There should be some kind of compensation system for people who have been harmed…And the foreclosure process should stop while loan modifications begin. To have a race between foreclosures and modifications to see which happens first is insane.”
Attorney General Tom Miller met Tuesday with more than 100 people from 15 states representing community, faith, and labor organizations, foreclosure victims and struggling homeowners from across the country. Participants urged Tom Miller to make a strong settlement that includes loan modification and principal reduction as the primary tools for cleaning up the mortgage mess created by the banks.
Miller also agreed to continue to work with grassroots community, faith, and labor groups from across the country and agreed that the Bank Accountability Campaign’s members are stakeholders who deserve a seat at the table.
“We are very pleased with how this meeting turned out and now our expectations are higher than ever,” said Deacon Mike McCarthy, an Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) member from Des Moines, IA.
“Attorney General Miller made it clear that he sees this investigation as a chance to clean up the foreclosure crisis that has ransacked our communities for over three years now and continues to push down housing values for everyone. He stated that loan modifications will be a core component in any settlement,” said Gina Gates, a foreclosure victim with PACT-PICO in San Jose, California.
“The stakes are high. A strong settlement is the best hope to hold Wall Street banks accountable and prevent millions more Americans from losing their homes,” said Mikael Broadway, from IAF in North Carolina.
“The big banks have repeatedly weakened efforts to get to the root of the foreclosure crisis,” said Shirley Broomfield, a struggling homeowner from Melbourne, Florida who is working two jobs to pay her mortgage. “They’ve failed to live up to their promises and outright ignored the rules of the game, with little to no consequences. The Attorneys General have a chance to change this.”
This is the first of a series of similar meetings with the state Attorneys General who are on the investigation’s executive committee. Participants in the meeting included borrowers who have lost their homes unjustly, other homeowners in danger of foreclosure, clergy and community advocates from 15 states – including Iowa, California, Illinois, Washington, New York, Colorado, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Massachusetts, Kansas, Michigan, Montana and Oregon. The participants presented a stack of homeowner testimonies to Mr. Miller and made it clear that this investigation is their best hope for resetting the housing market and helping millions avoid foreclosure.
The group is staging protests this afternoon at the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage headquarters in West Des Moines and at branch of Bank of America in Des Moines to highlight the massive bonuses that bank executives will receive this month while millions of homeowners face foreclosure. They plan to lift up a new report showing that restoring equity to underwater homeowners would cost the big banks $73 billion, approximately one-half this year’s bonus & compensation pool. Similar protests will take place this week in New York and California.
The growing activity from homeowner groups comes amidst a turbulent time for big banks, especially Bank of America, with both investor lawsuits and the Attorneys General investigation pending, and some analysts beginning to predict the eventual need to restructure America’s largest bank in 2011.
The meeting with AG Miller and other events this week are organized by PICO National Network, National People’s Action, SEIU, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Alliance for a Just Society, and IAF Southeast.
Yves here. This is certainly good news, since the public can hold Miller’s feet to the fire if he fails to live up to these commitments. One concern I have is that the standard for fraud under the law, as opposed to from a common-sense perspective, is stringent, which means it is extremely difficult to prove. Remember Joe Cassano of AIG, the head of AIG’s financial products group? An investigation of him did not lead to prosecution, effectively because he has discussed what he was up to with AIG’s accountants. Fraud, as defined under the law, requires intent. So perversely, “I thought this was kosher” will get you out of a fraud charge.
We have a short form discussion in ECONNED as to how various laws and regulations were weakened over the 1990s to make it very difficult to prosecute financial fraud successfully. You can find a full treatment in Frank Partnoy’s book Infectious Greed.
robert shumake
Shakesville: Brett Favre <b>News</b>
Brett Favre News. [Trigger warning for sexual assault, which applies to both links] [Link includes descriptions of sexual assault] Associated Press: "Two massage therapists sued Brett Favre on Monday, saying they lost them their ...
Movie <b>News</b> Quick Hits: Bigfoot to get the 'Avatar' Treatment <b>...</b>
A leaked costume test from MGM's completed-but-shelved remake of 1984's 'Red Dawn' has found its way online. It's not much, but thanks to MGM's.
Baby Boomers and Sacrifice - AOL <b>News</b>
WASHINGTON -- Baby boomers have long been derided as a bunch of spoiled brats -- a.
robert shumake detroit
robert shumake
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