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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

Foreclosing Lender Claims Mortgage Is Nine Years In Arrears; 68-Year Old Homeowner Says "Prove It!" As Bank Admits It Can't Find The Promissory Note

Posted on January 27, 2009
In Decatur, Georgia, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports: [C]itigroup and Wells Fargo say [68-year old Zella Mae] Green has failed miserably as a homeowner and is nine years behind on her payments. And they want to take the house. ?Nine years? There ain?t no way,? Green said...

Woman Probed For Taking Out $400K+ Mortgage On Friend's Home Without His Knowledge Arrested For Draining $100K+ From His Bank Accounts

Posted on January 27, 2009
In Anchorage, Alaska, the Anchorage Daily News reports: Local businesswoman Samantha DeLay-Wilson knew when to expect her longtime friend's disability check to hit his bank account, and, while he was in Central America, she slipped into his house, used his checks and drained more than $100,000 from it, according to charges filed Thursday...

Bakersfield Cops Probe Two Property Managers Accused Of Failing To Turn Over Rent To Over A Dozen Landlords, Leaving Some In Danger Of Foreclosure

Posted on January 27, 2009
In Bakersfield, California, KBAK/KBFX TV Channels 29/58 report: Court records show two women who are under investigation for their ownership of a local property management firm also have a history of white collar crimes. Bakersfield police are looking into fraud allegations against Kristi Smart and Michelle Gamero of now-defunct Elite Property Management LLC...

Legal Aid Lawyers Save Day For Massachusetts Couple Facing Foreclosure; Counsel Helps Reach Agreement Allowing Homeowners To Buy Back Home

Posted on January 27, 2009
In Uxbridge, Massachusetts, The Metrowest Daily News reports on a local couple who were able to dodge the loss of their home to foreclosure with the help of a local non-profit law firm: The Damons said without their lawyers at the [...] Legal Assistance Corp...

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Indiana Lawmakers Consider Bill Allowing Tenants To Void Leases In Homes That Fall Into Foreclosure

Posted on January 27, 2009
In Indianapolis, Indiana, the Post Tribune reports: Renters would have the power to void their leases if the properties where they live fall into foreclosure under a bill that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Tenants would be guaranteed notification if the property is foreclosed on, and then would be able to break their lease so they could find somewhere else to stay, rather

Ohio AG Files Civil Charges Against Upfront Fee Loan Modification Firms Offering Help To Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

Posted on January 26, 2009
From the Ohio Attorney General's Office: Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has filed a lawsuit against two Cincinnati-based foreclosure rescue companies accused of failing to deliver on their promises to save consumers from foreclosure. The suit, filed in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, charges Foreclosure Assistance USA, Inc...

Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney Draws Overflow Crowd For One-Day "Boot Camp" In Tampa

Posted on January 26, 2009
In Tampa, Florida, The Tampa Tribune reports: Millions of homeowners across the nation have been sued by lenders who seek foreclosure. Their biggest cheerleader may be April Charney. The lawyer with the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid agency wants to shout from the top of her lungs that every one of them - regardless of circumstance - should fight back...

Defect In Serving Notice Of Legal Action, Subsequent/Innocent Buyer's Failure To Probe Rights Of Occupants Leads Court To Void Sale Of Foreclosed Home

Posted on January 26, 2009
A 2006 decision of a New Jersey trial court provides another example of the problems a foreclosing creditor causes for itself and others when it chooses to serve delinquent property owners with notice of a foreclosure action by publishing a legal notice in a local newspaper (ie...

California Court Hammers Foreclosure Rescue Operator For $280K Plus Attorney Fees In Sale-Leaseback Foreclosure Rescue Deal

Posted on January 26, 2009
A November, 2008 decision by a California appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that awarded a homeowner facing foreclosure monetary and exemplary damages in the amount of $280,000 (plus the homeowner's legal fees) from a real estate broker / foreclosure rescue operator to whom she sold her home in a sale-leaseback arrangement which violated the California Home Equity Sales Contract Act (

Upfront Fees For Loan Modifications In California Prohibited Once Notice Of Default Is Recorded On Home In Foreclosure

Posted on January 26, 2009
Contrary to what some loan modification firms doing business with California homeowners may believe, a Consumer Alert appearing on the California Department of Real Estate ("DRE") website makes clear that charging upfront fees from California homeowners for providing loan modification services is prohibited once a Notice of Default has been recorded against an owner's home by his/her mortgage

Mortgage Servicer's Libel Suit Against "Victim" Of "Engineered" Foreclosure To Begin Today; Firm Admits Loan Was Current When Legal Action Started

Posted on January 26, 2009
In Dallas, Texas, MSNBC.com reports: On the surface, the trial scheduled to begin Monday morning in the Dallas courtroom of U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle is your basic libel suit. Orix Capital Markets, a $1 billion financial services company, says its reputation is being seriously damaged by allegations posted on a Web site that mocks its very name...

Detroit-Area Sheriff Asks Governor To Declare State Of Emergency, Six Month Moratorium On Foreclosure Sales

Posted on January 26, 2009
In Detroit, Michigan, The Detroit News reports: Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans has written a letter to Gov. Jennifer Granholm calling for a state of emergency on the foreclosure crisis in the state's largest county. Evans, a Detroit mayoral candidate, is asking Gov...

CNBC On Upfront Fee Loan Modification / Foreclosure Rescue Scams

Posted on January 25, 2009
CNBC's nightly consumer finance program On The Money ran a segment last week on upfront fee loan modification / foreclosure rescue scams. For the video (6:23), see Fraud At Your Front Door (or go here for a summary of the report).

Loan Modification Firm's Instructions To Withhold Mortgage Payments From Lender During Negotiations Leaves Two Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

Posted on January 25, 2009
In Burlington, North Carolina, WFMY News 2 reports on two area homeowners who claim were screwed out of thousands of dollars from loan modification firms and, after following their instructions to withhold the mortgage payments while the purported negotiations with the lenders were ongoing, were left facing foreclosure...

Three Miami Women Accused Of Cheating Housing Authority Of Federal Rent Subsidies Close To Winning $60K Lawsuit Settlement

Posted on January 25, 2009
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports: The proposed settlement figure is small -- $60,000 for three women who said they were wrongly denied housing benefits in Miami-Dade County. But the lawsuit that emerged from the fight provides a window into the far-reaching problems that plagued the county's Housing Agency and Section 8 voucher program...

Alleged Fraud By Federally Subsidized Renters Involving Housing Assistance Benefits Leaves Landlord Of 50-Unit Building Facing Foreclosure

Posted on January 25, 2009
In Fairhope, Alabama, the Press Register reports: Some Spring Run Apartments residents say the bills came without warning. Internal Revenue Service records had revealed that certain residents had under-reported their income to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and now they faced eviction if they failed to pay back rent...

Fannie Targets Florida Condos With Tougher Lending Rules

Posted on January 25, 2009
The Miami Herald reports: Lending giant Fannie Mae is slapping tough new requirements on mortgages for Florida condos, moves that analysts believe will make it even more difficult to sell units in buildings already starved for residents and struggling financially...

Lawyer On Trial Accused Of $160K Mortgage Investment Scam Forces Mistrial By Firing Defense Attorney, Then Claiming Depressed Mental State

Posted on January 24, 2009
In Barrie, Ontario, The Barrie Examiner reports: After just two days at trial, a Barrie lawyer facing criminal charges has insisted he can't go on with his trial because he is depressed and mentally unstable, a court heard yesterday. "I'm not operating on all cylinders," Myles McLellan said...

Fire Inspector Gives Residents In 40-Unit Building In Foreclosure The Boot As Water From Burst Frozen Pipes Floods Premises

Posted on January 24, 2009
In Dayton, Ohio, the Dayton Daily News reports: The freeze-thaw cycle from the recent cold spell apparently caused pipes in an apartment building to burst on Thursday, Jan. 22, sending water cascading through ceilings and displacing as many as 10 residents...

Failure To Winterize Homes, Indoor Floods Due To Burst Frozen Water Pipes Tying Up Fire Department Resources

Posted on January 24, 2009
In Columbus, Ohio, NBC4 reports: Pipes in vacant homes are causing problems for fire departments around Central Ohio. Battalion Chief Doug Smith said that when utilities aren?t turned off and homeowners or banks don?t properly winterize, fire crews end up getting tied up with a major mess and not able to answer other calls, NBC 4?s Mikaela Hunt reported...

Arson Suspected As Vacant Home In Foreclosure Burns To The Ground

Posted on January 24, 2009
In Alvin, Texas, The Facts reports: Alvin fire officials suspect arson as the cause of a blaze that destroyed a vacant two-story home and led to a firefighter?s injury early Monday morning. Fire officials received the call about 1 a.m. Monday, and once they arrived at the 3,500-square-foot house [...

Church Finance Director Facing Foreclosure Charged With Pocketing $37K In Bank Deposits

Posted on January 24, 2009
In St. Paul, Minnesota, the Pioneer Press reports: A former finance director for the Church of St. Bernard in St. Paul has been charged with embezzling $37,000 from church deposits and covering her tracks by moving money from church reserve accounts. Debra Ann Thompson, 44, of St...

Loan Modification Foreclosure Scams On The Upswing In Montana

Posted on January 24, 2009
Montana's News Station reports: Foreclosure scams are becoming more frequent in Montana. That's according to Consumer Credit Counseling Service Branch Director Beverly Johnston who warns about companies that promise to get people out of a foreclosure by charging enormous fees...

Foreclosed Homeowner Fights Back - Files Police Complaint Reporting Burglary After Mortgage Firm Employee Was Sent To Change Locks On Home

Posted on January 24, 2009
In Lake Oswego, Oregon, the following blurb is buried on the Police Blotter under "Burglaries" appearing in The Lake Oswego Review: 1/15/09 11:45 a.m. Homeowners on Summer Woods reported a burglary when a mortgage company employee was sent to the home to change the locks following a foreclosure...

B of A Gives California Congresswoman The "Telephone Bounce Around" In Her Attempt To Seek Loan Modification Help For Constituents

Posted on January 23, 2009
ABC News Nightline reports: In a revealing example of what she says the average homeowner faces, a California Congresswoman spent more than two hours on the phone trying, without success, to find someone at the Bank of America who could help a struggling constituent modify his mortgage payments...

Improvements Sought In Philly Foreclosure Diversion Program

Posted on January 23, 2009
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports: A steering committee is entertaining suggestions to tweak the Philadelphia courts? pilot program to divert residential mortgage foreclosures, which has saved hundreds of homeowners from sheriff sale and serves as a model for other jurisdictions around the country...

NYC Man Accuses Sister Of Tricking 80-Year Old Mom Into Signing Over The Deed To Her $1.2M Home

Posted on January 23, 2009
In Forest Hills, Queens, the New York Post reports: A Queens man says his sister bamboozled their elderly mother out of the deed to a $1.2 million house in exclusive Forest Hills Gardens, according to court papers. James Leong said his sister, Jean Tom, told their mother, Poy Fong Leong, 80, that the deed she was signing over was a "document designed to ensure that Mother Leong would be cared for

Illegal Loan Modification Firms Beware

Posted on January 23, 2009
Appearing on the MortgageOrb website is, what appears to be, a press release announcing: A new investigative firm has been created to contend with the growing number of illegally run loan modification and foreclosure rescue companies. MFI-Mod Squad, founded by MFI-Miami LLC head Steve Dibert, is a privately funded loan modification company based in Boynton Beach, Fla...

Miami Feds Bust Mortgage Fraud/Marijuana Grow House Operation; 10 Of 18 Homes Financed With Fraudulently Obtained Loans Used As Indoor Pot Farms

Posted on January 23, 2009
In Miami, Florida, the U. S. Attorney's Office (Fla. Southern District) announced last week the indictment of nine Miami residents allegedly involved in a mortgage fraud scheme used to finance the purchase of a number of homes used in a marijuana grow house operation...

NY Landlord Fined Nearly $10K For Taking Tenant's Toilet To Force Move; Social Services Helps Relocate Woman, Child

Posted on January 23, 2009
In Spring Valley, New York, The Associated Press reports: A landlord was fined nearly $10,000 for removing the toilet and other fixtures from a basement apartment to get his tenant to move out. The Rockland Board of Health issued the fine to Fausto Pinos on Wednesday...

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