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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

Streetlights To Entire Subdivision Shut Off For Failure To Pay Electric Bill; Lower Maintenance Fee Collections Leaves HOA Low On Cash, High On Crime

Posted on January 18, 2009
In Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reports: Streetlights have been dark for months in Hathaway Hills, a 4-year-old subdivision in west Mecklenburg County. But it took a tragedy to highlight the problem's urgency. When Louis Navarre was shot to death in his home Jan...

Lease-Option Tenants In New Townhouse Development Caught Between Conflicting Demands For Rent From Builder In Foreclosure & Stiffed Mortgage Lender

Posted on January 17, 2009
In Bakersfield, California, KBAK-TV Channel 29 reports: Creekside Townhomes is a row of 32 units at 500 White Lane. Tenants can lease to own, but the project is facing financial troubles.***On Dec. 22, tenants' received a letter from a law firm representing First Regional Bank...

Developer Disaster Leaves 10 Families Living In S. Florida Ghost Town; Letter Carriers Refuse To Deliver Mail; Cops Can't Find Complex On Their System

Posted on January 17, 2009
In Florida City, Florida, WFOR-TV Channel 4 reports: Ten families bought a piece of the American dream, only to end up with a nightmare. A bank took over a South Florida development before it was complete. Now, the people who bought in are stuck living in a ghost town...

Condo Developers Stuck Holding Excess Inventory Turning To Renters For "Bailout"?

Posted on January 17, 2009
In Las Vegas, Nevada, KLAS-TV Channel 8 reports: The condo craze exploded in the Las Vegas valley just a few years back, but now with the foreclosure crises, people aren't buying into condos when housing prices are so low. It leaves condos floundering with too much inventory...

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Attorney On Trial For Forgery, Criminal Breach Of Trust For Allegedly Duping 85-Year Old Man Out Of $160K In Bogus Mortgage Investment Deal

Posted on January 17, 2009
In Barrie, Ontario, the Toronto Sun reports: An 85-year-old investor stood up in the witness box yesterday and told the court that a lawyer is a "criminal" who duped him out of $160,000 in a fake mortgage scheme. "All that he told me was a bunch of lies," said Sam Klaiman, after a full day of questioning in the witness box...

Ohio Attorney Gets 4 Years For Lifting $624K+ From Escrow Account, Stiffing 23 Clients In The Process

Posted on January 17, 2009
In Toledo, Ohio, the Toledo Blade reports: A former Toledo attorney who pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her clients was sentenced in Lucas County Common Pleas Court Thursday to 4 years in prison. Karyn McConnell Hancock, 38, was convicted of aggravated theft in November for stealing more than $624,000 from 23 clients over a period of nearly six years...

Developer, Lender Pointing Fingers As Unsold 75% Of Condo Units In Upscale Tower Fall Into Foreclosure

Posted on January 17, 2009
In Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports: Foreclosures proceedings are under way for the high-end condominium development Overlook at Eden Park. But the development firm behind the multi-million dollar project, Covington-based Joshua One, argues that the lender is to blame for the financial unraveling of the project, according to court documents filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas

Renting Unsold Units To Avoid Foreclosure A Possibility For Oakland Condo Developer In Default

Posted on January 17, 2009
In Oakland, California, the Alameda Times Star reports: An upscale residential project that is one of the keys to the downtown's revival has lurched into a mortgage default and faces an uncertain future. The owner of the 901 Jefferson complex in downtown Oakland, consisting of 75 for-sale condominiums, has defaulted on a $26 million construction loan issued in 2006, Alameda County property

Builder Tried Rent To Own, Now Goes With Auction To Unload Slow Moving Inventory

Posted on January 17, 2009
In Brookfield, Illinois, the Riverside/Brookfield Landmark reports: [L]ast week, the "for sale" signs in front of the Courtyards of Brookfield at Shields and Eberly avenues came down in favor of two signs announcing the auction of 11 unoccupied units in the development...

Countrywide Forecloses On Bakersfield AIDS Group Home; Residents Face End Of Month Boot

Posted on January 17, 2009
The Bakersfield Californian reports: Bakersfield AIDS Project faces a Jan. 30 deadline to vacate the east Bakersfield house it rents for use as a group home and community center. The non-profit social service organization was asked to leave at the end of the month after the trust that owned the 102-year-old house defaulted on its mortgage...

Fannie, Freddie Accused Of Requiring Financially Strapped Homeowners To Waive Legal Rights As Condition To Getting Loan Modifications

Posted on January 16, 2009
The Washington Independent reports: When the government announced in November that it would use mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to streamline loan modifications for possibly hundreds of thousands of borrowers, officials billed the idea as a fast-track program to fight foreclosures...

Toxic Chinese Drywall Suspected Source Of Health Problems For C. Florida Homeowners, Pets; May Also Be Cause Of Home Equipment, Electronics Failures

Posted on January 16, 2009
In Manatee County, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports: As the investigation into toxic Chinese drywall continues, a single street in Manatee County appears to be ground zero for the largest cluster of problem homes. Within the Lighthouse Cove subdivision of Lennar's Heritage Harbour development, sits a quaint street of two-story homes called Montauk Point Crossing...

HUD Launches Program In Six Cities To Help Homeowners Not Yet In Foreclosure

Posted on January 16, 2009
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports: [A]nother effort to keep borrowers from losing their homes to foreclosure was launched Wednesday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Called ''Keep Your Home, Know Your Loan,'' the campaign includes public service announcements and print materials that will be distributed in six major metropolitan areas where home foreclosures rates are

Fraudulent Flipping Of One South Florida Home Lands Four In Federal Can

Posted on January 16, 2009
In Miami, Florida, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that Yadira Garrido (51 months in prison, 3 years probation, & $5.3+ million in restitution), Jorge Cordero (10 months, 3 years probation, and $840,000+ in restitution), and Maritza Salan (60 days, 3 years probation, and $800,000+ in restitution) were sentenced last week for their roles in the fraudulent flipping of one residential property

Listing Agent Photos May Be Key In Prosecution Of Foreclosed Homeowner Accused Of Trashing Home Before Walking Away

Posted on January 16, 2009
In Oregon City, Oregon, KPTV Channel 12 reports: Investigators said a Damascus couple whose house went into foreclosure trashed the place, stole every appliance and fixture inside and are now facing criminal charges. Grigoriy and Inna Bogoslavets have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of theft, trespassing and criminal mischief...

JP Morgan To Modify Troubled Securitized Mortgage Loans; Doesn't Believe Actions Will Violate Investor Agreements

Posted on January 16, 2009
In New York City, Reuters reports: JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, on Friday said it will boost home foreclosure prevention efforts by modifying loans tied up in securitizations, in addition to the loans it owns.***"Chase believes it can legally modify the vast majority of its mortgages owned by investors consistent with the relevant investor agreements and the best

SW Florida Broker Guilty In Commercial Land Flipping Deal; Allegedly Clipped Investors For Almost $3M

Posted on January 16, 2009
In Fort Myers, Florida, WINK News reports: Guilty as charged -- that's the verdict a federal jury handed down in the case of Samir Cabrera. Jurors agreed that the Lee County land developer cheated his investors out of nearly $3 Million. He'd hoped to be a well-respected land developer...

Cop In Foreclosure Now Faces Bank Robbery Charges

Posted on January 16, 2009
In Carbondale, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports: A Carbondale police officer has been suspended without pay after prosecutors alleged he and his neighbor were the two men that robbed a bank at gunpoint while wearing motorcycle helmets. Jackson County prosecutors charged city patrolman James Gaddis, 26, and Anthony Fike, 35, both of Murphysboro, in the Oct...

Authorities Have Their Hands Full As Real Estate Operators Shift From Equity Stripping Scams To Upfront Fee Loan Modifications

Posted on January 15, 2009
The New York Times reports: As home values across the country continue to plummet, the authorities say a new breed of swindler is preying on the tens of thousands of homeowners desperate to avoid foreclosure.Until recently, defrauders tried to bilk homeowners out of the equity in their homes...

Attorneys For Major Lender In New Hampshire Lawsuit Admit Company's Loan Modification Assurances Are "Mere Commercial BS"

Posted on January 15, 2009
In Merrimack County, New Hampshire, MSNBC.com reports: In marketing, advertising and testimony before Congress, Countrywide Home Loans has said repeatedly that it is working hard to modify the mortgages of financially strapped borrowers caught up in the subprime meltdown...

Contoversial Nationwide Service To Facilitate Loan Modifications In Bankruptcy Leaves Debtor Attorneys Divided

Posted on January 15, 2009
MSNBC.com reports: Aiming to keep overextended borrowers in their homes, judges and trustees in the federal bankruptcy court system have helped a small Kentucky firm set up a nationwide service intended to speed the modification of troubled mortgages...

L.A. County To Aggressively Attack Real Estate Fraud As Complaints On Loan Modification, Foreclosure Consultants Flood County Consumer Affairs Office

Posted on January 15, 2009
In Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles Daily News reports: At a time when home foreclosures in Los Angeles County have increased elevenfold in the past three years, the Board of Supervisors launched a new effort Tuesday to attack predatory lending practices and aggressively prosecute real estate fraud...

New Foreclosure Hotline For Financially Strapped New Jersey Homeowners Gets 6,000+ Calls In First 3 Days

Posted on January 15, 2009
In Newark, New Jersey, The Star Ledger reports: A statewide foreclosure prevention hotline that began Friday has been unable to handle the overload of calls, said David Wald, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office. "The response has been pretty phenomenal," he said...

Struggling Developer Turns Tables On Uncooperative Lenders; Uses "Asset Assignment" To Force Mortgage Holders To Negotiating Table

Posted on January 15, 2009
In Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports: Unable to get bankers to renegotiate nearly $22 million in debt, Southwest Florida home builder Lee Wetherington has filed a legal action akin to a bankruptcy proceeding. Wetherington said that the filing, known as an "assignment for the benefit of creditors," affects only the development side of his business, and that he is using it as

Unwitting Straw Buyer Sues Bakersfield Broker For Unauthorized Use Of His Name In Flipping Deal, Ruining Credit, Leaving Him Holding The Bag

Posted on January 15, 2009
In Bakersfield, California, KGET-TV Channel 17 reports: An Oakland man is suing former Realtor David Crisp, saying Crisp used the man's name in a house flipping scheme that ultimately defrauded lenders. Jorge Ochoa says David Crisp destroyed his good credit...

Freddie Continues Bringing Foreclosure Actions; Says Its Announced Moratorium Applies Only To Actual Sales & Evictions, Not To Court Filings

Posted on January 15, 2009
Bloomberg News reports: Freddie Mac continues to foreclose on homeowners and make plans to evict them, drawing fire from legal aid groups who say the moves violate the spirit of a moratorium the company agreed to in November. While Freddie has suspended sales of foreclosed properties and isn?t locking people out of their homes, the mortgage- finance company continues to initiate court cases

Baltimore, St. Paul Among At Least 18 Cities Forming Litigation Work Group To Hammer Mortgage Lenders Over Vacant & Abandoned Foreclosures

Posted on January 14, 2009
In Baltimore, Maryland, The Maryland Daily Record reports: Baltimore?s law department is partnering with 18 cities across the country to use litigation to address the foreclosure crisis. City Solicitor George A. Nilson spoke Monday afternoon in support of a City Council resolution that was to have been introduced at Monday evening?s meeting that establishes a ?Multi-City Litigation Work Group on

Memphis Loan Modification / Foreclosure Rescue Firm Agrees To Temporary Injunction With Tennessee AG; Will Stop Clipping Homeowners For Upfront Fees

Posted on January 14, 2009
In Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis Commercial Appeal reports: Memphis mortgage rescue company Patrick & Patrick Loss Mitigation Services has agreed to stop what the Tennessee Attorney General charged in a Nov. 18 lawsuit (go here for the Tennessee AG's Nov...

The Sloppiness Continues For Attorneys Representing Foreclosing Lenders; "They Are Totally Disorganized!" Says Florida's 12th Judicial Circuit Chief

Posted on January 14, 2009
In Sarasota, Florida, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports: [T]he foreclosure glut is so bad that the law firms that specialize in handling the court cases in bulk for lenders are now too busy. They even let many foreclosure cases stall and remain inactive for months or years, if resident homeowners put up any sort of legal fight...

Fannie Unveils Its "No Boot" Policy For Eligible Tenants In Foreclosed Homes; Renters To Choose Either Month-To-Month Lease Or "Cash For Keys"

Posted on January 14, 2009
In Washington, D.C.: Fannie Mae [Tuesday] announced the establishment of a new National Real Estate Owned (REO) Rental Policy that will allow qualified renters in Fannie Mae-owned foreclosed properties to stay in their homes.***The new policy applies to renters occupying foreclosed properties at the time Fannie Mae acquires the property...

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