loan modification: Tax Upsides & Downsides of Mortgage Debt Relief - 04/14/10 07:42 AM
Upside - Downside of Debt Forgiveness.
As you are aware, California just passed SB401 which brings th state of California into compliance with the Federal Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007. Essentially what that means is that, like the federal program, California homeowners who have benefited from a short-sale or foreclosure (benefited? That's questionable), qualify for relief.
Most of you already know what it means but for any first-time readers, this means if you took out a loan from a lender to buy a house and that house is now worth half what it was when you bought - you … (3 comments)

loan modification: Making Home Affordable - Another, Day Another Lie - 03/22/10 08:13 AM
You all remember the great fanfare wherein President B H Obama introduced the fabulous Making Home Affordable Program (Help for the hardest hit - according to the website)? He said - and I quote, "this program will enable as many as 3 to 4 million home owners to modify the terms of their mortgage" preserving the dream of home ownership. Last May in Washington DC, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan trumpeted the program before a packed audience of Realtors® during our Legislative Summit Day - the plan 'does a number of things to make sure that 3 to 4 million families can … (5 comments)

loan modification: Countrywide Loses Ruling in Mortgage Suit - Death Knell for Loan Mods & Short Sales? - 08/28/09 07:24 AM
A member forwarded this article to me this morning. I haven't seen or heard anything about it before this. This particular ruling on short-sale and loan modification relief is limited in that it apparently decided that the matter is more appropriately handled by state courts rather than Federal - but...
If this becomes a precedent on investor rights it will sound the death knell for an already shaky loan mod & short sale program. Sounds like the banks are hung out to dry here . directed by legislature to modify loans and expedite short sales, prohibited by this ruling from doing … (1 comments)

loan modification: A Loan Modification Success Through 'Making Home Affordable' Program - 06/20/09 07:41 AM
Tuesday after speaking to the City Council about our housing market, several people followed me out as I left the chambers. Usually they're chasing me with cudgels, but this night they just wanted to share stories and ask about getting help with their housing problems.
One story I still hear way too often in spite of all our efforts to get the word out was a story of fraud. One gentleman lamented that he had sent $2,500 to a Florida company that promised to get his loan modified. Not only has nothing been done in three months, but now they don't … (25 comments)

loan modification: California AG Jails RE Fraud Group - 03/09/09 11:32 AM
Our Attorney General Jerry Brown has been raising some hell with scam artists this year. Prosecuting these cases is proving difficult for local DA's, especially with the current budget crunch impacting their offices. But Jerry is stepping up, he's cracking down on some of these perps very quickly, acting to reduce the impact on communities and giving them real jail time. Probably not enough jail time - but it's a start.
Locally we're still working on indictments for scams that occurred back in 2004 and 2006. While the DA diddles with figuring out why they paid $150,000 over asking price, that … (1 comments)