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Real Estate & Property Law

The Home Equity Theft Reporter

Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues.
By r morris

Post Frequency: 25.7/day

Last Entry: September 06, 2017 at 04:02:00

Chase Refused Couple's Attempts To Make Mortgage Payments, Says Texas Lawsuit

Posted on March 01, 2010
In Jefferson County, Texas, The Southeast Texas Record reports:A Beaumont couple claims their bank has repeatedly threatened to foreclose on their home and has refused the couple's attempts to make payments. Charles W. and Phyllis E. Turnage filed a lawsuit Feb...

Crooked Counselor Charged In Refi Swindle; State Lawyer Fund Coughs Up Cash To Cover Client's Mortgage On Eve Of Foreclosure; More Charges In Works

Posted on March 01, 2010
In New Haven, Connecticut, The New Haven Register reports:A former city lawyer has been arrested in the theft of more than $143,000 while handling the refinancing of a client?s home mortgage in 2007. Morris I. Olmer, 81, [...] was arraigned at Superior Court on a single count of first-degree larceny...

Montana Bar Again Bags, Boots Repeat Offender For Client Ripoffs As Attorney Cops Federal Plea To Wire, Bankruptcy Fraud

Posted on March 01, 2010
In Billings, Montana, the Billings Gazette reports:A former Billings lawyer with a felony record of stealing from clients(1) [] admitted he again stole from clients. Appearing in federal court, Marvin Earl ?Toby?? Alback, 62, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud for misappropriating money from clients for his own personal use...

Loan Servicers Feel The Squeeze From Increased Denials Of Mortgage Insurance Claims

Posted on February 28, 2010
Housing Wire reports:In the face of dwindling business, with January 2010 showing fewer new policies than any month in 2009, mortgage insurance (MI) companies are increasingly denying claims for defaulted loans that allegedly do not conform to underwriting standards, increasing costs for servicers and investors...

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"Nail & Mail" Process Service Victimizes Dead Man In Foreclosure Suit; Survivors Left To Sift Thru Parents' Personal Belongings Dumped On Front Lawn

Posted on February 28, 2010
In Douglas County, Georgia, MyFoxAtlanta reports:A Douglas County family is trying to figure out what went wrong and why they lost a home to foreclosure. Family members said Thursday that a court appointed conservator was supposed to pay the bills on a home belonging to a deceased relative, but the home ended up in foreclosure...

El Paso Man Accused Of Sale/Rental Of Homes To Would-Be Buyers Without Paying Off Existing Mortgages; One Victim Loses Home, Another Faces The Boot

Posted on February 28, 2010
In El Paso, Texas, KFOX-TV Channel 14 reports:An arrest warrant is issued for the owner of a local mortgage company after allegedly defrauding two women on their payments. Maria Martinez is being evicted from her Lower Valley home [...]. She claims she was defrauded by Solar of El Paso Inc...

Pair Held On $200K Bond For Allegedly Pocketing Proceeds On "Contract For Deed" Home Sales Without Making Payments On Existing Liens

Posted on February 28, 2010
In Midland, Texas, the Midland Reporter Telegraph reports:The second man allegedly involved in a real estate fraud scheme targeting homeowners around Midland turned himself in to authorities [...]. Marcus Jacob Rosenberger, 33, was charged with two counts of forgery after police said he and his business partner Jason Heath Morrison, also 33, defrauded several individuals by purchasing their

Upstate NY Assembly Line F'closure Mill Law Firm Attracts Spotlight, Scorn From Various Quarters; Manufactured Mortgage Assignments Among Allegations

Posted on February 28, 2010
The New York Post reports:As the mortgage melt down paralyzed the economy across the US and throughout New York State, one company in the center of the storm had all the business it could handle. The little-known law firm of Steven J. Baum PC, which is based in suburban Buffalo, NY, and represents dozens of banks in matters of failed mortgages, last year filed a staggering 12,551 foreclosure

Giant California Public Employees Pension Plan Feeling Backlash For Its Role In Predatory Equity Real Estate Investments

Posted on February 27, 2010
The Wall Street Journal reports:Calpers took a hit last year when its investment in Manhattan's Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town apartment complex collapsed. But Stuyvesant Town wasn't the huge pension fund's only foray into real-estate investments that involved ousting low-rent tenants...

Concerns Raised That Overleveraged, Deteriorating Residential NYC Buildings In F'closure Will Wind Up In Hands Of Speculators, Inexperienced Operators

Posted on February 27, 2010
In New York City, Crain's New York Business reports:As tens of overleveraged apartment complexes slide toward foreclosure, fears are mounting that the new owners won't be any better than the ones they replace. Even those with the best of intentions may simply be too inexperienced or burdened by debt to fix up their buildings...

Oakland Judge Gives Lender The Boot In Unlawful Detainer Action After Foreclosure; Says Ambiguous Eviction Notice = No Notice

Posted on February 27, 2010
In Oakland, California, BeyondChron reports:In a direct challenge to bank evictions of tenants across the state, Tenants Together is urging renters to contest foreclosure evictions. Pointing to a new ruling from an Alameda County Superior Court judge, Tenants Together argues that most post-foreclosure eviction notices issued to tenants are invalid under California law...

Foreclosing Lenders Continue Giving Tenants The Boot In Violation Of Federal Law

Posted on February 27, 2010
CNNMoney reports:Renting a home that is going through foreclosure? If so, don't be fooled: Lenders can't kick you out; they have to honor the terms of your lease.(1) Of course, that doesn't mean that some lenders' representatives aren't trying to scare people away...

Tenants Across The Country Feel Effect Of Landlords Facing Foreclosure

Posted on February 27, 2010
ABC News reports:As landlords find themselves owing more than their properties are worth, some have simply walked away, leaving garbage to pile up. Others have disappeared into bankruptcy, with unpaid utility bills. Some have tried to reduce their losses by neglecting basic maintenance...

300+ C. Florida Condo Residents Face The Boot Over Unpaid Electric Bill As Delinquent Unit Owners Facing Foreclosure Stiff HOA On Maintenance Fees

Posted on February 27, 2010
In Orange County, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:More than 300 Orange County residents could be forced out of their condos again because of unpaid power bills. WFTV reported two weeks ago that Progress Energy shut off power to the Blossom Park condos [...

Fight Between Alleged Slumlord Facing Foreclosure & Bank Over Collection Of Rent Payments Leaves Milwaukee Tenants Caught In The Middle

Posted on February 27, 2010
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, WITI-TV Channel 6 reports:A foreclosure faux pas and the link to a notorious landlord. Some east side renters say they're caught up in someone else's financial woes, and caught up in a rent paying run around. One apartment with two places to send the rent check...

Unpaid Bill Leads To Water Shutoff In Rented Home; Archaic Law Prohibits City From Accepting Tenant's Payment Towards Delinquent Landlord's Account

Posted on February 27, 2010
In Syracuse, New York, The Post Standard reports:Syracuse resident Freddie Wells would like to pay a water bill for his landlord, who owes $210, Wells said. It would be worth scraping together the extra money if it meant he could stay in the [] home he has rented for five years, Wells said...

Hedge Fund Operator Sues Loan Servicer To Jam Foreclosure Action On $3B Mortgage Secured By 11,000-Unit NYC Apartment Complex

Posted on February 26, 2010
In New York City, The Wall Street Journal reports:Hedge-fund investor David Tepper has stepped into the battle over the fate of Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town, the giant New York City apartment complex involved in one of the largest commercial-real-estate failures...

Soured Contract For Deed Deal Leaves Illinois Homeowner Out On The Street, Despite Having Never Missed A House Payment

Posted on February 26, 2010
In Knoxville, Illinois, The Register Mail reports:The big green house has been purchased by a mortgage company, even though [Amanda] Schwabe kept up her contract-for-deed payments faithfully for 31 months. Even though she paid homeowners insurance, the property taxes and even replaced a boiler...

Underwater Home Sellers Cautioned To Keep Their Eyes Open For Fine Print In Lenders' Approval Packages When Seeking Short Sales

Posted on February 26, 2010
In Central Florida, a recent story in The Tampa Tribune serves as a cautionary admonition to underwater homeowners looking to go the short sale route in an attempt to unload their homes (and their related mortgage obligation(s)):Lenders are increasingly adding language to the [short sale] approval package, reserving the right to pursue the deficiency later - that is, the difference between what

Indiana AG File Civil Suit Against Notorious Alleged California Loan Modification Racket

Posted on February 26, 2010
In Allen County, Indiana, The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports:Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller sued a California mortgage relief company, alleging violation of Indiana?s deceptive consumer sales act. The lawsuit, filed this month in Allen Superior Court, is not the only one pending against Home Relief Services LLC, which is facing more legal troubles in California, including felony

Northern NJ Attorney Charged w/ Misleading Client Of Lien Status On Real Estate Purchase Encumbered By Three Mortgages, Misusing Cash In Trust Account

Posted on February 26, 2010
In Bergen County, New Jersey, The Record reports:An Englewood attorney has been charged with theft and forgery, accused of misrepresenting the legal status of a development property in which he allegedly encouraged a client to invest $245,000, authorities said []...

FDCPA Suit Seeking Class Action Status Shines Light On Alleged "Assignment Manufacturing" Practices By Lenders, Servicers, Others In F'closure Actions

Posted on February 25, 2010
A recent Federal lawsuit filed in Miami, Florida alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) describes some of the practices allegedly engaged in by lenders, servicers, their employees, and others involving the manufacturing of assignments of mortgage that are then used when bringing foreclosure actions against homeowners who have fallen behind on their house

Wells Fargo, BofA Stiffed Homeowners On Permanent Loan Modification Promises, Say Suits Seeking Class Action Status

Posted on February 25, 2010
In Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports:Two lawsuits filed [] in US District Court in Boston claim Wells Fargo and Bank of America have not followed federal rules for mortgage loan modifications, leaving some homeowners stuck in foreclosure ?limbo...

Wells Fargo Sells Home Out From Under Borrower, Despite No Late Payments On Loan Modification, Says Boston Homeowner

Posted on February 25, 2010
In Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Herald reports:Roberta Frugoli thought she had a deal to modify her mortgage and avoid foreclosure, but the Carver woman claims Wells Fargo auctioned off her home anyway. ?My head is still spinning,? the 54-year-old divorced mother of three said...

Couple Loses Home To Foreclosure Despite Being Current On Loan Modification Payments; Media Intervention May Cause Lender To Reverse Action

Posted on February 25, 2010
In Colorado Springs, Colorado, KXRM-TV Channel 21 reports:A Colorado Springs family has their house auctioned off from under them. But they may get to stay in their home now that FOX21 News is asking questions. The family bought the home near the Air Force Academy in 2005...

Mass. High Court To Hear Ibanez? Court Ruling Shined Light On Foreclosure Screw-Ups That Left Title To Thousands Of Bay State Homes In Legal Limbo

Posted on February 25, 2010
Massachusetts attorney Richard D. Vetstein writes in The Boston Globe's Boston Real Estate Now blog:For those of you following the controversial U.S. Bank v. Ibanez case,(1) which invalidated potentially thousands of foreclosures across the state, both sides last week asked the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to take the case ? as I originally predicted...

Fla. High Court Creates Safeguards In Foreclosure Process By Requiring Loan Ownership Verification By Lenders Before Filing Suits, Mandating Mediation

Posted on February 25, 2010
In Central Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports:The Florida Supreme Court continues to make it more difficult for lenders to foreclose in the Sunshine State. The court says lenders are now required to verify they own loans before they file a foreclosure lawsuit...

The Sloppiness Of The Assembly Line, Foreclosure Mill Attorneys Continues

Posted on February 24, 2010
In Central Florida, a recent column in the Sarasota Herald Tribune comments on some of the sloppy paperwork being churned out and filed in court by assembly line, foreclosure mill law firms, and the judges letting them get away with it:[T]here's much evidence, as the Florida Bar has confirmed, that some bulk-rate foreclosure firms are seriously cutting corners...

2nd Defendant Cops Plea In Bridgeport Short Sale Flipping Scam; Allegedly Duped Lenders Into Accepting Less Than Full Payment On Underwater Loans

Posted on February 24, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Bridgeport, Connecticut):Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANNA McELANEY, 38, a licensed real estate agent residing in Norwalk, pleaded guilty [...] to one count of bank fraud stemming from her involvement in a ?short sale? mortgage fraud scheme...

Albany-Area Title Agent Admits To Pocketing $125K In Closing Cash Intended To Satisfy Existing Mortgages In Real Estate Transactions

Posted on February 24, 2010
In Albany, New York, The Business Review reports:The owner of a title company in Clifton Park, N.Y., will spend three to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing $125,000 that should have been used to pay off her clients? old mortgages. Susan Laverne, 64, pleaded guilty on Feb...

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