news: Phoenix mini-bubble: (more) market manipulation - 07/21/09 10:12 AM
AP put out a story yesterday about "bidding wars" that are affecting home values in the greater Phoenix area. The article states that in several markets throughout the country, prices on bank-owned homes are being inflated by a combination of investors keen on getting a deal, regular home buyers (many of … (1 comments)
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news: California "foreclosure moratorium": will lenders even care? - 06/16/09 09:24 AM
I've been receiving many calls and emails about California's so-called foreclosure moratorium, which went into effect yesterday. Frankly, I doubt it will actually do anything meaningful for struggling homeowners. Here's why:
Loan servicers can qualify for an exemption simply by filing a form with the state that claims the loan servicer … (2 comments)
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news: Has the foreclosure crisis hit bottom? Don't bet on it - 05/27/09 08:30 AM
So it seems we have a variety of opinions regarding the proverbial bottom of the market: folks with vested interests in a thriving real estate market, like Zillow.com and commercial real estate mogul Sam Zell, claim that there are signs the market will improve in the next few months. Well, actually, … (5 comments)
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news: Senate, White House sell out the American people - cram down cave in - 05/01/09 08:42 AM
Well, the banking lobby's millions have carried the day, and the Obama Administration left over 8 million American families twisting in the wind by failing to back up an Obama campaign promise.
On Thursday, the Senate failed to pass the cram down bill. The final vote was 45 in favor to … (2 comments)
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news: Senate screws the little guy: the cram down may be dead for now - 04/24/09 08:47 AM
After spending millions on lobbying (despite the lobbying ban in place for banks who received bailout money), it looks like the banking industry has spent and lied its way into delaying Senator Durbin's cram down bill.
I am shocked, dismayed, and disgusted that in Washington, it's business as usual when it … (1 comments)
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news: More nail-biting as the Senate works to pass the cram down bill - 04/16/09 10:24 AM
The Senate is officially in recess until Monday, April 20, but many senators are hard at work, trying to make - or break - the bankruptcy cram down reform bill.
At stake for banks: increased FDIC insurance, perhaps lower FDIC premiums (banks have to pay for FDIC insurance, and because of … (2 comments)
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news: Video about the bankruptcy cram down process - 04/10/09 01:57 PM
This is a clip from "A Day in the Neighborhood," a local San Francisco a public affairs program I appeared on back in February. We discuss how bankruptcy cram downs would work under the proposed legislation (which is still working its way through the Senate). Special thanks to Myrna Lim, the … (2 comments)
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news: More news on the cram down bill - Senate edition - 04/02/09 04:38 PM
I just read that the cram down bill, which already passed the House of Representatives, is facing stiff opposition in the Senate from...Senate Democrats?
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has recently commented that he may have to pull the provision from the Senate banking bill, because of opposition from lender-friendly … (4 comments)
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news: Loan Modification Madness - 12/03/08 07:55 AM
Now that the election results have begun to sink in, and economists have decreed that our economy is officially in recession (actually, the recession started a year ago), lenders are starting to see the writing on the wall. If lenders don't do more to work with homeowners to fix bad loans, … (4 comments)
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news: Banking meltdown highlights absurdley weak federal oversight - 10/11/08 08:24 AM
Remember how, after the September 11 attacks, Congress moved swiftly to eliminate law enforcement "turf wars" over sharing information and cooperating to catch evildoers? In light of recent events in the financial world, it's time for bank regulators to work together for the common good and stop the current practice of … (0 comments)
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news: "Cash for trash" set to include help for homeowners - 09/25/08 07:10 AM
It's 4:42 AM.
I've been up since 4:00, scouring Google News for the latest headlines on the bank bailout bill.
Here's the latest:
Everyone hates investment bank executives, so executive pay will get clipped in some way under the plan.
Mr. Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, will not get the blank check … (6 comments)
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news: The new biggest junk debt buyer: you - 09/20/08 11:06 AM
Awhile back, I wrote a post warning about the impact that junk debt buyers could have on the housing crisis. The business model is as simple as it is brutal: buy delinquent loans for as little as 20 cents on the dollar, foreclose on the homeowners, sell the properties at 50 … (4 comments)
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news: MA Attorney General: lenders refusing voluntary loan mods - 09/19/08 09:11 AM
In the midst of this week's market turmoil, Congress was taking testimony about the new FHA refinance program set to start on October 1. The testimony was a study in contrasts.
On the one hand, representatives from major lenders were grumbling about the prospect of mandatory principal writedowns under the FHA … (1 comments)
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news: Another foreclosure scam cautionary tale - 09/14/08 12:16 PM
I found this news item about two Bay Area foreclosure scammers recently sentenced to prison for their crimes.
The two women were running a scam where they have homeowners deed an interest to a shell company so the scammers could stall a foreclosure by filing a phony bankruptcy in the name … (0 comments)
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news: Worst of the worst: beware of foreclosure rescue scams - 09/11/08 08:03 AM
I just read yet another account of a common foreclosure scam. The article is a transcript from a story broadcast on the radio program Marketplace.
The moral of the story is twofold. First, if it sounds too good to br true, it probably is. Second, homeowners in distress are easy to … (1 comments)
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news: 4 million homeowners delinquent or in foreclosure - 09/05/08 10:27 PM
Now it's official: the Mortgage Bankers Association, a major banking industry interest group, has released a report that confirms what many (myself included) have feared for the past several months.
Four million American homeowners with a mortgage were either delinquent on their payments or in some stage of foreclosure for the … (3 comments)
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news: Homeowner beware: primer on foreclosure scams - 08/21/08 08:16 AM
In my law practice, I get more calls than I should from desparate homeowners in foreclosure who paid a lot of money - often many times (like 10 to 20 times) what I charge for actual legal services from a real live lawyer - to some company who sent them direct … (0 comments)
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news: More data on foreclosures tanking home values - 08/21/08 07:47 AM
Recent data from DataQuick bear out the negative impact foreclosures are having on home values.
In July 2008, REOs accounted for one third of all sales in the San Francisco Bay Area, compared to just 4.2% of sales in July 2007. In some areas, like Solano County (where I happen to … (2 comments)
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news: California foreclosure figures for July 2008 - 08/15/08 09:03 AM
July 2008 may be looked upon as a study in contrasts. On the one hand, it was the month that Congress and the White House put aside their differences to enact sweeping legislation aimed at stemming off foreclosures and propping up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
And then there's the bloodletting … (1 comments)
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news: New Fannie Mae loan workout incentives - 08/13/08 04:00 PM
Fannie Mae has announced new loan servicer incentives, designed encourage loan workouts instead of foreclosures.
Here's a link to a PDF of the announcement.
Some highlights:
A "HomeSaver Advance" loan program, to provide unsecured loans to homeowners as part of a workout
Increased payments for loan workouts ($700), the unsecured loans … (0 comments)
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