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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

"Zombie Debt" Buyers Cancel $9.5M+ In Consumer Debt In Settlements With WV AG; Lawyer Accused Of Threatening Suits To Collect Time-Barred Obligations

Posted on November 20, 2010
From two press releases from the Office of the West Virginia Attorney General:West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw [last week] announced settlement agreements with three unlicensed collection agencies that will result in $1,277,648.33 in cancelled debts for 161 West Virginia consumers and $15,337...

L.A. Extends "Boot Ban" For Tenants In Foreclosure Evictions Thru End Of 2011

Posted on November 20, 2010
In Los Angeles, California, KABC-TV Channel 7 reports:Los Angeles lawmakers have made a move to protect renters from becoming victims of the foreclosure crisis. The Los Angeles City Council has voted to extend a moratorium that protects renters from being evicted when their home or apartment is foreclosed on and a new owner takes over...

NYC Homeowner Targets Former Owners Dead For 100 Years In Lawsuit To Quiet 'Cloudy' Title

Posted on November 20, 2010
In Elmhurst, Queens, the New York Post reports:A Queens woman is "summons"-ing the dead -- suing the former owners of her Elmhurst home, who died a century ago. Miriam Castro, 61, has summoned Charles Simonson, Wilder Pallez and their descendants to court to verify past ownership of the property her $700,000 house is built on...

Central Florida Woman Threatened With Foreclosure Says She Was Scammed Out Of Her Deed By Sale Leaseback Peddler; Now Sues To Recover Title To Home

Posted on November 20, 2010
In Orange County, Florida, WFTV-TV Channel 9 reports:An Orange County woman thought she was being rescued from foreclosure, only to realize she was scammed out of the deed to her home. Now, she's fighting to get her home back. Claudina Mills worked two jobs to try to keep her Azalea Park home, but in 2007, the bank threatened to put it into foreclosure...

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Title Mix-Up Leads To Home Sale Out From Under Now-Homeless Kansas City Senior

Posted on November 20, 2010
In Kansas City, Missouri, WDAF-TV Channel 4 reports:An elderly woman was evicted [last month] from the house she's lived in for more than 10 years on Kansas City's east side, but not because she was behind on her mortgage or because of foreclosure.Norma Rozzelle could only watch and cry as sheriff's deputies removed her belongings from her home...

Fed Proposal To Pull Rug Out From Under Homeowners Enforcing "Truth In Lending" Rights When Fighting Illegal Loans: Consumer Advocates

Posted on November 19, 2010
From a press release from the National Consumer Law Center:Hundreds of consumer, civil rights, legal services, community and labor groups and private and public interest attorneys representing homeowners, along with the coalition Americans for Financial Reform, urged the Federal Reserve Board to withdraw a proposed rule that would destroy a key legal tool to unwind illegal loans and avoid

Masaachusetts Foreclosure Rescue Operator Gets 2-2.5 Years As Mastermind In Fraud Scam; Sale Leaseback Deals Among Ripoffs Run On Desperate Homeowners

Posted on November 19, 2010
From the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General:An Oxford man has been sentenced to State Prison after pleading guilty in Worcester Superior Court for his role in a complex scheme in which fraudulent documents were used to defraud homeowners and mortgage lenders in numerous real estate transactions involving distressed properties in the Worcester County area,(1) Attorney General Martha

Maryland Title Insurance Agent Cops Plea To Pocketing Real Estate Closing Cash Meant For Existing Mortgage Payoffs; Underwriter Left Holding $3.7M Bag

Posted on November 19, 2010
From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Maryland):Anthony V. Weis, age 45, of Phoenix, Maryland, pleaded guilty [] to wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme to defraud lenders of approximately $3.7 million in just eight months.***According to Weis?s plea agreement, Weis was the president and a shareholder of Maple Leaf Title LLC (MLT), a real estate title agency located in Towson,

NJ Scammer Used Forged Documents To Pocket $700K In Mortgage Proceeds On Elderly Woman's Home; Senior Now Faces Foreclosure

Posted on November 19, 2010
In Ocean Grove, New Jersey, WCBS-TV Channel 2 reports:A New Jersey woman was scammed out of all of her money after being duped by a woman she met at church. [...] Yobbagy worked hard, saved her money, and expected to retire on the Jersey Shore. Now, though, her house is in foreclosure and all of her money has been lost to a scam artist...

Foreclosure Mill Does The "Affidavit Two-Step" In Central Florida; Begins To Flood Court With Letters Requesting Judges To OK "Document Do-Overs"

Posted on November 18, 2010
In Central Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:Judges in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court say they've never seen anything like the letters they've been receiving over the past few weeks from the South Florida foreclosure law firm of David J. Stern.Referring to Florida Bar rules that say lawyers have a duty to disclose false evidence presented to the court, the letter said that unbeknownst to

Spooked Home Loan Industry Looks To Dodge Criminal Responsibility For Robosigner Mess Through Settlement Talks With State AGs

Posted on November 18, 2010
The Washington Post reports:State attorneys general and the country's biggest lenders are negotiating to create a nationwide fund to compensate borrowers who can prove they lost their home in an improper foreclosure, state and industry officials said...

Florida Bar Puts Out Call To Judges Around State To Blow The Whistle On Rule-Breaking Foreclosure Mill Attorneys

Posted on November 18, 2010
The Florida Times Union reports:Out of the more than 200 lawyers the Bar suspended or stripped of licenses this year, none was punished for lying in a foreclosure trial or making fake documents for one, behavior that a cottage industry of critics works to document...

The Bleeding Continues For South Florida Assembly Line Foreclosure Mill King

Posted on November 18, 2010
Mother Jones reports:The bleeding just won't stop for David J. Stern, the South Florida foreclosure baron and attorney who built an empire within the foreclosure industry, only to see it crumble. The subject of an eight-month investigation by Mother Jones published in August, Stern and his companies learned [last] week that Wells Fargo was the latest bank cutting ties with Florida's foreclosure

Atlanta's Largest Foreclosure Mill, Document Processor Among Those Targeted In Federal Robosigner Suit Seeking Class Action Status

Posted on November 17, 2010
In Atlanta, Georgia, WSB-TV Channel 2 reports:A Channel 2 consumer investigation is now the basis for a federal class action lawsuit. Distressed homeowners accuse Atlanta?s largest foreclosure law firm, and its document processor, of fraud and racketeering...

BofA Seeks To Dodge State Court Adjudication In Ohio Robosigner Suit; Requests Removal To Federal Court

Posted on November 17, 2010
In Sandusky, Ohio, The Morning Journal reports:A lawsuit brought by a Sandusky woman, who lost her home to foreclosure and is suing the bank, claiming the paper work was done improperly, could be moved to federal court. Rhonda McLaughlin filed the lawsuit against the Bank of America claiming a ?robosigner? signed an affidavit during the foreclosure process, thus violating the law...

The End Draws Near For S. Fla. Foreclosure Mill; Stiffs Landlord On Office Rent; Affiliate Enters Into Loan Forbearance Over $12M Credit Line Default

Posted on November 17, 2010
In Plantation, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:The Law Offices of David J. Stern, which has helped banks seize thousands of homes from homeowners who missed mortgage payments, is now having trouble paying its own bills. One of its subsidiaries is seeking bank forbearance for defaulting loans, and the shrinking company has fallen behind on rent payments at its Plantation offices, according to a

Florida Media Outfits, ACLU Call On State High Court To Leave Foreclosure Proceedings Open To Public

Posted on November 17, 2010
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:A group of Florida news organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union Monday called on Florida?s Supreme Court to preserve open access to foreclosure proceedings.In a letter to Chief Justice Charles T. Canady, the group cites ?numerous reports? of barriers to access for the news media and the general public that have taken place since August in Duval,

Florida Chief Justice To State Trial Judges: 'Open Up Doors To Foreclosure Proceedings'

Posted on November 17, 2010
The Palm Beach Post reports:[Florida Supreme Court] Chief Justice Charles Canady ordered judges throughout the state to open up foreclosure proceedings, responding to requests from civil rights lawyers, the media and First Amendment advocates. Florida law already requires that the foreclosure cases be open, but judges and court officials have barred the public from attending them in part because

NY F'closures Screech To A Halt? Lender Lawyers Reluctant To Risk Bar Ticket By Filing Crappy Paperwork In Violation Of State High Court Directive

Posted on November 16, 2010
The New York Post reports:Bank lawyers prosecuting the 80,000 foreclosure cases in New York are all but admitting that the cases they have filed over the past number of years have been riddled with fraud.In the three weeks-plus since New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman put the foreclosure lawyers on notice that any fraud in foreclosure paperwork would be met with severe penalties -- he is

'Lender' Targets Cash-Strapped, High-Equity Homeowners For Easy Profits; Tactics Embarrassing, Undermine Industry Reputation, Says Hard Money Lender

Posted on November 16, 2010
In Seattle, Washington, The Seattle Times reports:Emiel Kandi forever changed the lives of a pregnant hairdresser, a jobless mechanic and a single mom when he loaned them money. These unsophisticated, desperate borrowers thought a short-term loan from the well-dressed professional could save them from financial collapse or foreclosure...

Cops Pinch Recently Disbarred Attorney; Suspect Accused Of Forging Court Documents While Peddling Foreclosure Defense Services

Posted on November 16, 2010
In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:A Coral Springs lawyer forged the signatures of two Miami-Dade judges while lying to a client about a bogus lawsuit settlement, authorities said Wednesday. The lawyer, Frank J. Ingrassia, who was working with a disgraced foreclosure rescue company called Outreach Housing, was arrested last week in Broward County and charged with three felonies involving

DC Now Requires Six-Month Mediation Period Before Proceeding With Foreclosure

Posted on November 16, 2010
In Washington, D.C. (a non-judicial foreclosure sale jurisdiction), The Washington Post reports:[Last] week, the D.C. Council approved a measure requiring lenders to go through six months of mediation with a homeowner before proceeding with a foreclosure...

MERS Primed For Congressional Bailout?

Posted on November 15, 2010
CNBC's NetNet blog reports:When Congress comes back into session next week, it may consider measures intended to bolster the legal status of a controversial bank owned electronic mortgage registration system that contains three out of every five mortgages in the country...

Scrutiny Into Short Sale 'Flopping' Deals Continues

Posted on November 15, 2010
In Phoenix, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:As more houses in metro Phoenix go on the market for short sales, some investors have begun buying and reselling them quickly for a profit, using strategies that some in the housing industry say could be unethical or worse...

Online Videos Expose Multi-Hatted 'Corporate Vice Presidents' As Clueless Robosigners Crankilg Out Foreclosure Documents In Assembly Line Operation

Posted on November 15, 2010
In Central Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:Over the past several years, Bryan Bly, Crystal Moore and Dhurata Doko have signed thousands of mortgage assignments as vice presidents of Citi Residential and other major lenders. Yet when asked in a recent deposition what a mortgage assignment is, Bly replied: ?I?m really not sure...

Homeowner's Payment In Full Not Enough For Citi To Call Off Foreclosure Mill As Action To Take Colorado Home Continues

Posted on November 15, 2010
In Fruita, Colorado, The Denver Post reports:Brent and Wendy Diers of Fruita thought their foreclosure nightmare would end in April when they sent a check to pay off their mortgage. But more than six months later, CitiMortgage hasn't followed through on repeated assurances it would release the lien and give them title...

Sloppy Bay State Banks Resort To Foreclosure "Do-Overs" As Title Insurers Refuse To Insure Crappy Titles; Opportunities Open Up For Booted Homeowners

Posted on November 14, 2010
In Boston, Massachusetts, The Boston Globe reports:Zepheniah Taylor lost his Dorchester three-decker to foreclosure two times in 17 months. Now the 59-year-old grandfather has returned home to stay. The scenario, once implausible, is becoming more common in the crazed and fast-changing world of foreclosures...

Opportunity To Reclaim Homes For Foreclosed Owners Victimized By "Nail & Mail" Sewer Service?

Posted on November 14, 2010
As the number of ex-homeowners looking to reclaim their unlawfully foreclosed-upon homes increases, a number of methods to accomplish this goal will gain attention. One method is to challenge the propriety of the manner in which the notice of the foreclosure lawsuit was purportedly served upon the homeowner...

Rubber-Stamping Judge Threatens Foreclosure Defense Legal Aid Lawyer With Contempt For Bringing Media Member To Observe Rocket Docket

Posted on November 14, 2010
Buried in a recent story in Rolling Stone, in which columnist Matt Taibbi writes about, among other things, his experience witnessing the proceedings in the Jacksonville, Florida foreclosure 'rocket docket' of Judge A.C. Soud, is the following excerpt:Just minutes before, I had watched what happens when defendants don't show up in court: kerchunk! The judge more or less automatically rules for

Be Prepared To Ask Questions About Legal Fees When Hiring A Foreclosure Defense Attorney

Posted on November 14, 2010
For those homeowners looking to hire a foreclosure defense attorney and are wondering how they get paid, attorney Mark Stopa offers his views on the subject:The New York Times did a story over the weekend about how Florida foreclosure attorneys are charging homeowners facing foreclosure...

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