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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

State AG Shuts Down Western NY Debt Collection Operation; Arrest Owner/Convicted Felon For Gun Possession

Posted on June 27, 2009
In Buffalo, New York, the New York Post reports:New York authorities say they've shut down a debt collection company that was falsely telling people they'd be thrown in jail if they didn't pay immediately. State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says the Buffalo firm routinely broke the law by having its collectors impersonate law enforcement officials...

Law Students Spending Their Summer Vacation Helping Renters Beat Back Foreclosure Evictions

Posted on June 27, 2009
In Fall River, Massachusetts, The Herald News reports:A small group of area law students is circulating throughout this city and elsewhere in the SouthCoast to help tenants learn their rights and avoid evicted under harsh terms because landlords didn?t pay the bills and the banks came knocking at their doors...

Swat Team Takes Distraught Man Into Custody After Seven Hour Standoff; Job Loss, Fear Of Foreclosure Results In Suicide Threat

Posted on June 27, 2009
In Yucaipa, California, the News Mirror reports:Yucaipa Police Department personnel along with the San Bernardino County SWAT team responded to a suicidal man who barricaded himself in his home with an assault rifle Tuesday evening in a Chapman Heights neighborhood resulting in an all-night stand-off...

150 Guests Who Unwittingly Booked Rooms In High-End Motown Hotel In Foreclosure Bolt As Malfunctioning A/C, Ice Machines Make Visitors Feel The Heat

Posted on June 27, 2009
In Detroit, Michigan, WXYZ-TV Channel 7 reports:Hundreds of guests are steaming mad about the service they've been receiving while guests at the Detroit Riverside Hotel. Now Action News has learned the hotel is just days away from foreclosure and knew about it before booking hundreds of rooms...

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Big Apple Scores Another "Ruthian" Coup Over Boston; NYPD To Pick Up Five Of Beantown's Finest From Recently Disbanded Horse Unit

Posted on June 27, 2009
In New York City, the New York Post reports:First, it was Babe Ruth. Now, it's Mr. Ed. Boston's taking a beating again at the hands of the Big Apple, which is set to trot off with the cream of beleaguered Beantown's recently disbanded police-horse unit, cops said [last week]...

House OKs Bill To Allow LSC-Affiliated Non-Profit Law Firms To Pocket Prevailing Party Legal Fees From Losing Litigant; Senate To Address Measure

Posted on June 26, 2009
The Washington Post reports:[Last week] the House [of Representatives] approved a budget of $440 million for the LSC [Legal Services Corporation](1) -- up $50 million from 2009 funding and $5 million more than the amount requested by the Obama administration...

California DRE Posts List Of Alleged Loan Modification Scofflaws

Posted on June 26, 2009
The California Department of Real Estate has posted a list of persons and entities that have been served with a Desist and Refrain Order and/or Accusation by the Department resulting from a loan modification and/or foreclosure rescue transaction. In some instances, the person or entity has been ordered to stop providing loan modification and/or foreclosure rescue services because the person or

NYC Woman Faces Charges Of Allegedly Pocketing $11K+ By Renting Out Apartment She Didn't Own; Used Craigslist To Reel In Seven Victims, Says DA

Posted on June 26, 2009
In Richmond Hill, Queens, the New York Post reports:Elizabeth Mosh was so excited when she rented a Queens apartment for $650 a month last September, that she even ordered a bed and a flat-screen TV online so they would be there when she moved in. But the 23-year-old preschool teacher was never able to make the move into the two-bedroom apartment in Richmond Hill because the woman who rented it

Lender "Hijacks" House In Foreclosure Despite Court Order To The Contrary; Judge Orders BofA To Turn Over Keys To Homeowner & Pay Her Legal Fees

Posted on June 26, 2009
In Kissimmee, Florida, WFTV Channel 9 reports:Eyewitness News found an Osceola County homeowner won her battle in court to save her home from foreclosure, but the bank wouldn't listen. Ana Chavez used to live on Killamanjaro Drive until the Bank of America changed her door locks in violation of a court ruling...

Oregon Lawmakers Close To Eliminating Loophole Allowing Lenders To Sue Homeowners With Two-Note Mortgages After Home Is Lost To Foreclosure

Posted on June 26, 2009
In Salem, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:The Oregon Senate unanimously voted on Wednesday to close the loophole in Oregon law that allows people with two-note mortgages to be sued for money even after they lose their home to foreclosure. House Bill 3004 prevents lenders from suing borrowers who had a 80/20 mortgage or another combined mortgage...

Miami Judge Discovers 15,000+ Unserved Foreclosure Cases; Could Lead To Title Disputes Down The Road If Courthouse Sales Are Allowed To Go Forward

Posted on June 25, 2009
In Miami, Florida, the Daily Business Review reports:A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge discovered more than 15,000 foreclosure cases filed this year haven?t been served. It?s the latest shoe to drop in a foreclosure crisis garnering nationwide attention, and an unwelcome discovery in the face of state budget cuts that produced layoffs for courts and clerks...

Mortgage Broker Gets 3 Years For Illegally Pocketing $16K By Filing Phony Mechanics Lien Shortly Before Title Closing

Posted on June 25, 2009
In Jacksonville, Florida, The Florida Times Union reports:A Jacksonville mortgage broker faces three years in prison for pocketing thousands of dollars at a real estate closing by pretending she did home repairs. Katina Mickens, 30, was sentenced [.....

Loan Modification, Foreclosure Rescue Firm Changes Name After Being Hit With Complaints, Tagged With Lawsuits

Posted on June 25, 2009
In Charlotte, North Carolina, WCNC-TV Channel 36 reports:The Better Business Bureau wants to warn you about a Charlotte mortgage consultant.A formal complaint has been filed against Michael Grieco, previous owner of Home Assure, a mortgage foreclosure rescue business...

Attorney Hired By Homeowner To Fight Back Against Foreclosure Rescue Scammers Found Guilty Of Taking Fees, Doing Nothing

Posted on June 25, 2009
From the Office Of The State's Attorney For Prince George's County, Maryland:Prince George's County State?s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey [...] announced that a Prince George?s County grand jury found David Alexander, 37, of North Bethesda, MD guilty of Theft over $500 and Unauthorized Practice of Law in representing Renata Brevard, 45, of Prince Georges County, MD, who hired him to help her recover her

Aggression, Violence Against Process Servers Delivering Foreclosure Notices On The Upswing?

Posted on June 25, 2009
In Prescott, Arizona, KNXV-TV Channel 15 reports:Sheriff's deputies questioned a Prescott couple after a woman allegedly pointed a shotgun at a process server Thursday. According to Yavapai County Sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn, the official went to the home [...

Chicago Feds Announce Mortgage Fraud Busts In Five Separate Cases; 37 Individuals, 4 Businesses Face Felony Charges

Posted on June 24, 2009
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Chicago, Illinois):Forty-one defendants are facing federal charges relating to various mortgage fraud schemes in five separate cases(1) made public today by federal law enforcement officials. In some of the schemes, the defendants were charged with falsely inflating the values of dilapidated homes in urban areas...

Florida Attorney Group Formed To Spread Accurate Foreclosure Information On Legal Rights For Homeowners, Effective Litigation Defenses For Advocates

Posted on June 24, 2009
The Florida Bar News reports:A group of Florida bankruptcy and foreclosure attorneys have founded The Florida Foreclosure Defense Bar Association to help families facing foreclosure find accurate information about their legal rights and to provide lawyers engaged in helping Floridians fight for their homes with access to up-to-date information about the most effective legal defenses being used

Phones Start Ringing At Brooklyn DA's Deed Scam, Mortgage Fraud Unit

Posted on June 24, 2009
In Brooklyn, New York, WNYC Radio 93.9 FM reports:[Brooklyn District Attorney] Charles Hynes says his new mortgage and real estate fraud unit has opened more than 80 investigations since March, leading to the indictment of eight people. [...] Hynes says the new unit was created with $875,000 of federal funding, and is investigating cases of mortgage fraud, refinancing fraud, predatory lending,

The Rush Is On By Lenders, Servicers Looking To Dodge California's New 90-Day Foreclosure Moratorium

Posted on June 24, 2009
In Southern California, the Orange County Register reports:Bank of America, Citigroup and EMC Mortgage Corp. are among seven companies that have received permanent exemptions to California?s 90-day foreclosure moratorium, which began last week. More than 20 other lenders and loan servicers, including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, have received a temporary exemption while they wait to learn if

Arizona Firms Selling Allegedly Bogus Loan Modification Services & "Loss Mitigation Consultant" Business Opportunities Faces Federal Civil Charges

Posted on June 23, 2009
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced:At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has halted a bogus mortgage foreclosure prevention operation that misrepresented both the ?loss mitigation? services it offered and the earnings potential of the business opportunity it sold...

State AG Probe Focuses On Central Florida Man With Involvement In Dubious Sale Leaseback, Foreclosure Rescue Deals

Posted on June 23, 2009
In Central Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:For scores of desperate Tampa Bay homeowners, it seemed like a lifeline ? Gideon Rechnitz would help bring their mortgage payments up to date and save their homes from foreclosure. But now the Florida Attorney General's Office is investigating whether Rechnitz misrepresented himself and his St...

Two Lawmakers Ask Fannie, Freddie To Ease The Squeeze On Available Financing For New Condo Units

Posted on June 23, 2009
The Wall Street Journal reports:Two Democratic lawmakers are calling on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relax recently tightened standards for mortgages on new condominiums, saying they could threaten the viability of some developments and slow the housing-market recovery...

Virginia Accountant Charged In Alleged Mortgage Scam; Accused Of Creating Letters Containing Bogus Info To Assist Straw Buyers Obtain Home Loans

Posted on June 23, 2009
In Northern Virginia, The Washington Examiner reports:Federal authorities have accused a Virginia accountant of writing false letters verifying the incomes of homebuyers who were caught in a mortgage fraud scheme that caused banks to lose about $3 million when their homes went into foreclosure...

Arizona Minister's Real Estate Deals Attract Interest From State, Federal Investigators; 23 Of 26 Purchases Went Into Foreclosure

Posted on June 23, 2009
In Phoenix, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:A Valley preacher with a worldwide ministry and his wife bought multiple upscale homes with deceptive loan applications, according to a state case accusing a mortgage firm of illegal practices. Clint Rogers, head of Mesa-based Clint Rogers Ministries, and Angela Faith Rogers are not accused of any wrongdoing in the complaint filed by the Arizona

Hawaii Feds Accuse Three Of Arranging For Fraudulent Financing In Foreclosure Rescue Schemes

Posted on June 22, 2009
In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Honolulu Advertiser reports:Another mortgage fraud criminal case has been filed in federal court, this one accusing more people affiliated with Accel Mortgage LLC with conspiracy to commit mail, wire and loan fraud. Charged in the case are Carla Dutro, identified by the U...

City Judge Orders Wells Fargo To Clean Up Its Mess Of Foreclosed Homes Throughout Cleveland; Bans Sales Of Homes Under $40K That Violate Local Codes

Posted on June 22, 2009
In Cleveland, Ohio, The Washington Independent reports:For neighborhoods fighting the blight and deteriorating property values caused by foreclosed properties that banks abandon or unload on speculators, this is big news: A housing court judge in Cleveland has ordered Wells Fargo to clean up the foreclosed houses it owns in Cleveland...

Cook County Sits On $18M In Foreclosure Sale Surplus Funds Owing To Approx. 1,900 Ex-Homeowners; $460K In Unclaimed Cash Awaits One Former Owner

Posted on June 22, 2009
In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Sun Times reports:Call it a green lining on the cloud of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. Homeowners who handed the keys over to the bank may actually have some money coming their way, and in Cook County, a new online system may help nearly 2,000 property owners get their due...

Condo Living Begins To Get Ugly In Some Complexes Where Non-Delinquent Unit Owners Are Left On The Financial Hook By Their Deadbeat Neighbors

Posted on June 22, 2009
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:Well into the second year of South Florida's foreclosure crisis, deadbeat condo owners are taking a heavy toll on associations [...]. Owners in or facing foreclosure often stop paying their condo fees that are needed to pay for essential utilities and services...

Over A Dozen Tenants Put Out Onto Street Without Notice As Landlord Is Accused Of Housing Violations & Suspected Of Stealing Electric & Water Service

Posted on June 21, 2009
In Pinellas County, Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:At least 15 residents of a west Oldsmar apartment building were evicted Friday morning with no prior notice after Pinellas County sheriff's deputies said their landlord violated housing codes...

Mass. Family With Young Children Pockets $10K Settlement From Real Estate Agents Accused Of Violating State Anti-Discrimination, Lead-Based Paint Laws

Posted on June 21, 2009
From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office obtained a consent judgment against Geoffrey Wells, doing business as (d/b/a) Harvard Real Estate of Brookline, and one of his employees, David Ravalli, accused of violating state antidiscrimination and lead paint laws by refusing to show a property to a family because they had young children...

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