The Obama administration has announced “enhancements” to its housing program that will make it easier for a homeowner to lose their home via short sale. Huh?
If this is part of a home retention program, I don’t get it. A short sale nets no money for the seller. It simply allows a buyer to get clear [...]
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Reduced to facilitating short sales?
Lobbyists against modification spend millions
In the first quarter of 09, the financial industry spent over $42 million dollars to defeat mortgage modification in bankruptcy. That doesn’t count what was spent in the month of April in an effort to avoid leveling the playing field on home loan modifications.
All of this money to preserve the right to lose a bunch [...]
What now, naysayers?
The Senate bill to allow Chapter 13 plans to modify home mortgages went down to defeat last week. I am still waiting for those who couldn’t vote for this change in bankruptcy law to propose a solution to underwater homes, adjusting rate mortgages, and neighborhoods full of bank owned homes.
Have we rejected the “good” in [...]
Foreclosure Discussion in Chico on April 30
A discussion of foreclosures and possible alternatives will take place at the Chico Council Chambers on Thursday evening, April 30 at 6:00 pm. This is a free event open to anyone interested.
The program is being sponsored by the Butte County Bar Association and Legal Services of Northern California.
A panel of three professionals, knowledgeable about foreclosures [...]
Oakland foreclosure prevention workshop April 29
Foreclosure prevention and coping with foreclosure, either as a homeowner or a tenant, will be the focus of a workshop in Oakland Wednesday April 29th.
The workshop will be held at the West Oakland Teen Center from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
More details when I can find them.
Meantime, it appears that the mortgage modification bill [...]
Bay Area foreclosure help fair Thursday
Foreclosure prevention counseling, credit counseling, and loan modification help will be available at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds noon to five p.m. April 23rd.
The event is sponsored by the City of San Jose’s housing department and other local housing organizations. Homeowners are asked to bring their original loan documents, bank statements, mortgage statements, tax returns [...]
Faces of those facing foreclosure
The elderly, the unsophisticated, and non English speakers are a significant part of my clients who need access to mortgage modification in bankruptcy. The Wall Street Journal reported on a number of victims of unscrupulous mortgage brokers, sold loans by means of false representations. The facts all rang true to me.
My two lawyer firm has [...]
Housing crisis continues in face of Congressional inaction
One in eight US homes is at risk of foreclosure, and the mortgage bankers continue to block a remedy that costs the tax payers nothing. I continue to marvel that the very folks who created this crisis by making utterly foolish loans have any credibility on Capitol Hill. Maybe their money continues to talk persuasively.
Conservatives [...]
Vountary modifications flow from judicial power to modify
The week the House was debating the judicial mortgage modification, lawyers on the other side of three of my cases volunteered their openess to a modification of the mortgage in question. Unheard of!
Prior to this point, I had seen only one client who made any headway with a voluntary loan modification, and it eventually crashed [...]
Senator rejects limitations on mortgage modification
Senator Schumer is quoted in Politico as rejecting a proposed compromise to S. 61 that would limit its scope to sub prime mortgages. Bravo!
The apparent strategy of the bankers is to try to amend the mortgage modification bill into irrelevancy. Schumer points out that such a limitation would dramatically reduce the positive effect of the [...]