Saturday, November 27, 2010
Biloxi Buzz for Saturday
Student Suicide Sparks Outrage At Notre Dame
Doctors say Medicare cuts force painful decision about elderly patients — Want an appointment with kidney specialist Adam Weinstein of Easton, Md.? If you're a senior covered by Medicare, the wait is eight weeks. — How about a checkup from geriatric specialist Michael Trahos?
Restart of Foreclosures By Banks Goes Slowly
Bank of America Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. have hit snags in efforts to restart nearly 230,000 foreclosures across the U.S., meaning some cases are likely to remain in limbo until early next year.
Several complications are slowing the process, ranging from the hiring of new law firms to handle foreclosure paperwork to making sure that correct procedures are being followed as new or revised files are submitted in the 23 states where court approval is required for foreclosures.
The delays aren't a sign that documentation problems are worse than previously acknowledged by the nation's two largest banks by assets, according to the companies. And Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., and J.P. Morgan, of New York, haven't backed down from their insistence that no one was wrongly foreclosed on as a result of errors in affidavits or other loan documents.
Still, Bank of America said it has refiled documentation on just a "handful" of foreclosures that must be approved by a judge. The bank previously said it would resubmit 102,000 affidavits on pending foreclosures starting Oct. 25, with foreclosure sales resuming in November.
James Mahoney, Bank of America's head of public policy, said "the process is now picking up," adding that "we expect there will be thousands of affidavits in the courts by the end of December." He wouldn't provide an estimate of how long it could take to go through all 102,000 cases being reviewed by employees.
The delay partly reflects a decision by Bank of America officials to make several visits to new law firms working on foreclosure cases for the bank to check that proper procedures are followed as new files are submitted to courts.
"We'll be opening the valve soon," another Bank of America executive said. "We're going to move slowly to ensure high quality."
J.P. Morgan said in November that it expected to start refiling foreclosure affidavits "within a couple of weeks." The bank temporarily suspended foreclosures in October.
However, "we still haven't quite started," a J.P. Morgan spokesman said. "We're making sure everything is right." Bank officials have said it will take three or four months to submit revised documentation on roughly 127,000 loans affected by the temporary halt.
Read on.
Several complications are slowing the process, ranging from the hiring of new law firms to handle foreclosure paperwork to making sure that correct procedures are being followed as new or revised files are submitted in the 23 states where court approval is required for foreclosures.
The delays aren't a sign that documentation problems are worse than previously acknowledged by the nation's two largest banks by assets, according to the companies. And Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., and J.P. Morgan, of New York, haven't backed down from their insistence that no one was wrongly foreclosed on as a result of errors in affidavits or other loan documents.
Still, Bank of America said it has refiled documentation on just a "handful" of foreclosures that must be approved by a judge. The bank previously said it would resubmit 102,000 affidavits on pending foreclosures starting Oct. 25, with foreclosure sales resuming in November.
James Mahoney, Bank of America's head of public policy, said "the process is now picking up," adding that "we expect there will be thousands of affidavits in the courts by the end of December." He wouldn't provide an estimate of how long it could take to go through all 102,000 cases being reviewed by employees.
The delay partly reflects a decision by Bank of America officials to make several visits to new law firms working on foreclosure cases for the bank to check that proper procedures are followed as new files are submitted to courts.
"We'll be opening the valve soon," another Bank of America executive said. "We're going to move slowly to ensure high quality."
J.P. Morgan said in November that it expected to start refiling foreclosure affidavits "within a couple of weeks." The bank temporarily suspended foreclosures in October.
However, "we still haven't quite started," a J.P. Morgan spokesman said. "We're making sure everything is right." Bank officials have said it will take three or four months to submit revised documentation on roughly 127,000 loans affected by the temporary halt.
Read on.
CitiMortgage – Family w/ Autistic Daughter, Father with Alzheimers, Homeless Despite Making Payments
After struggling with medical crises and recession-related lost income, Susan and Robert Gerke thought they had jumped through every hoop that their bank, CitiMortgage, required for them to get a loan modification.
They made 11 trial payments on time, sent in paperwork as requested and stayed in close touch with Citi. So it came as a rude shock when they received the foreclosure notice on the San Rafael home they’ve owned for 15 years.
“We were so sure we could keep it and that they were really working with us, I just feel blindsided,” Susan Gerke said.
The house is scheduled to be foreclosed upon on Dec. 29, leaving the family of four – the Gerkes, their 22-year-old autistic daughter and Susan’s 86-year-old father, who has Alzheimer’s disease – without a place to live.
Their story mirrors those of thousands of other homeowners who’ve been denied long-term relief under the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program. The pace of conversion from trial plans to permanent modifications has slowed dramatically, dropping from about 55,000 a month early this year to just 28,000 in September, government records show.
What sets the Gerkes’ situation apart is that as longtime homeowners, they have significant equity in their home.
Penalized for equity
In fact, their attorney, Marilyn Sullivan, said the couple are being penalized for that equity.
“Citibank gave them a HAMP loan modification and took it away from them – because the house is worth more than the loan, so Citi will financially benefit from foreclosure,” she said.
Citi spokesman Mark Rodgers wrote in an e-mail discussing the typical approach to equity, not the Gerkes’ case: “In general, a borrower with positive equity in their property has the ability to refinance or sell their property and pay off the loan in full to avoid foreclosure. A modification is still an option if the borrowers’ income can support a payment that passes the (net present value) test when compared against liquidation.”
Net present value is a formula banks use to determine whether foreclosure or loan modification would be better for them financially. Under HAMP, banks may pick the option that nets them more money.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/24/BUD61GGJ2I.DTL#ixzz16QW2QRBn
They made 11 trial payments on time, sent in paperwork as requested and stayed in close touch with Citi. So it came as a rude shock when they received the foreclosure notice on the San Rafael home they’ve owned for 15 years.
“We were so sure we could keep it and that they were really working with us, I just feel blindsided,” Susan Gerke said.
The house is scheduled to be foreclosed upon on Dec. 29, leaving the family of four – the Gerkes, their 22-year-old autistic daughter and Susan’s 86-year-old father, who has Alzheimer’s disease – without a place to live.
Their story mirrors those of thousands of other homeowners who’ve been denied long-term relief under the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program. The pace of conversion from trial plans to permanent modifications has slowed dramatically, dropping from about 55,000 a month early this year to just 28,000 in September, government records show.
What sets the Gerkes’ situation apart is that as longtime homeowners, they have significant equity in their home.
Penalized for equity
In fact, their attorney, Marilyn Sullivan, said the couple are being penalized for that equity.
“Citibank gave them a HAMP loan modification and took it away from them – because the house is worth more than the loan, so Citi will financially benefit from foreclosure,” she said.
Citi spokesman Mark Rodgers wrote in an e-mail discussing the typical approach to equity, not the Gerkes’ case: “In general, a borrower with positive equity in their property has the ability to refinance or sell their property and pay off the loan in full to avoid foreclosure. A modification is still an option if the borrowers’ income can support a payment that passes the (net present value) test when compared against liquidation.”
Net present value is a formula banks use to determine whether foreclosure or loan modification would be better for them financially. Under HAMP, banks may pick the option that nets them more money.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/24/BUD61GGJ2I.DTL#ixzz16QW2QRBn
Elizabeth Warren’s Job ‘Undermines’ Constitution According to GOP Lawmakers
In the letters Reps. Spencer Bachus and Judy Biggert sent to the Treasury and the Federal Reserve, the GOP lawmakers challenge the legality of Elizabeth Warren’s authority to set up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
By appointing Warren as special adviser in September, the president “undermined” the Constitution, Bachus and Biggert contend, in two nearly identical letters dated Nov. 22. From the letters:
“First, the President’s decision to appoint Professor Elizabeth Warren as a special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and as a senior advisor in the White House with lead responsibility for establishing the Bureau, hiring its staff, and setting its agenda — as opposed to nominating the director of the Bureau, as contemplated by the Act — circumvented the advice-and-consent process and undermined one of the key checks and balances in our Constitution. While the Act confers upon the Secretary of the Treasury limited interim authority ‘to perform the functions of the Bureau’ (Section 1066(a)), Professor Warren is now exercising that authority.”
Spencer Bachus and Judy Biggert Letter to Treasury RE Elizabeth Warren
By appointing Warren as special adviser in September, the president “undermined” the Constitution, Bachus and Biggert contend, in two nearly identical letters dated Nov. 22. From the letters:
“First, the President’s decision to appoint Professor Elizabeth Warren as a special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and as a senior advisor in the White House with lead responsibility for establishing the Bureau, hiring its staff, and setting its agenda — as opposed to nominating the director of the Bureau, as contemplated by the Act — circumvented the advice-and-consent process and undermined one of the key checks and balances in our Constitution. While the Act confers upon the Secretary of the Treasury limited interim authority ‘to perform the functions of the Bureau’ (Section 1066(a)), Professor Warren is now exercising that authority.”
Spencer Bachus and Judy Biggert Letter to Treasury RE Elizabeth Warren
Fannie Mae restarts foreclosure sales
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae sent a memo to brokers late last night letting them know it’s OK to restart some sales of foreclosed properties.
While lockouts and evictions are still on hold for foreclosures serviced by GMAC, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, One West Bank and Sovereign Bank, brokers were told to proceed with scheduling and holding closings of Fannie Mae owned properties.
It was unclear Thursday whether Fannie Mae has reviewed all of its REOs and decided there were no fraudulent documents filed in the foreclosure cases. Surely that would have been tens of thousands of cases, at least, that would have had to be reviewed. Also, Fannie was one of David J. Stern’s largest clients. It removed its foreclosures from the firm’s care earlier this month and put them on hold. Also unknown Thursday was whether cases handled by Stern are back on the market.
Read the report in full here…
While lockouts and evictions are still on hold for foreclosures serviced by GMAC, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, One West Bank and Sovereign Bank, brokers were told to proceed with scheduling and holding closings of Fannie Mae owned properties.
It was unclear Thursday whether Fannie Mae has reviewed all of its REOs and decided there were no fraudulent documents filed in the foreclosure cases. Surely that would have been tens of thousands of cases, at least, that would have had to be reviewed. Also, Fannie was one of David J. Stern’s largest clients. It removed its foreclosures from the firm’s care earlier this month and put them on hold. Also unknown Thursday was whether cases handled by Stern are back on the market.
Read the report in full here…
Friday, November 26, 2010
DOCX Linda Green Had NO AUTHORITY To Sign For MERS 10/08-10/09
Stopforeclosurefraud:/
Linda Green is/was an employee of DocX a subsidiary of Lender Processing Services located in Alpharetta, Georgia. Her signature was forged on key sensitive documents relating to county land records.
Below is a document that Shapiro & Fishman filed as a CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT OF MORTGAGE. What about the Satisfactions?
DOCX’s site it said:
“DOCX has built its solid reputation at not only managing large assignment projects, but satisfactions as well“.
• Exactly how many documents were signed by Green’s name as VP for MERS between these dates?
• Exactly who is being notified if there is any title issues on your homes?
• Has there been a recall notice sent to County Recorders on this issue?
• Are there more VP’s of MERS who had no authority to execute documents?
In the document it says:
Linda Green is/was an employee of DocX a subsidiary of Lender Processing Services located in Alpharetta, Georgia. Her signature was forged on key sensitive documents relating to county land records.
Below is a document that Shapiro & Fishman filed as a CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT OF MORTGAGE. What about the Satisfactions?
DOCX’s site it said:
“DOCX has built its solid reputation at not only managing large assignment projects, but satisfactions as well“.
• Exactly how many documents were signed by Green’s name as VP for MERS between these dates?
• Exactly who is being notified if there is any title issues on your homes?
• Has there been a recall notice sent to County Recorders on this issue?
• Are there more VP’s of MERS who had no authority to execute documents?
In the document it says:
"This Corrective Assignment of Mortgage is being recorded to correct the Assignment of Mortgage dated October 17, 2008 and recorded October 13, 2009 in Instrument Number [redacted], the said Assignment was executed by Linda Green, Vice President who at that time did not have signing authority on the behalf of [MERS]."
Biloxi Buzz for Friday
Germany Pushes France To Toughen Bailout Stance
Girl, 15, arrested over ‘Facebook Koran burning video’ — A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of inciting religious hatred after allegedly burning an English language version of the Koran. — The 15-year-old, who lives in the West Midlands, allegedly posted the video, filmed two weeks ago on her school premises, on Facebook.
Muslim woman says roller-skating rink discriminated against her — Tweet — A Muslim woman claims that a Connecticut roller-skating rink discriminated against her because it wouldn't allow her to skate in her headscarf. — Marisol Rodriguez-Colon, 40, said she was “mortified” …
Bank of America, GMAC Suspend Foreclosures in Maine
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. agreed it won’t complete foreclosures in Maine and Ally Financial’s GMAC Mortgage unit said it will halt sales of foreclosed homes in the state, Maine Attorney General Janet T. Mills said.
Bank of America will not “proceed to judgment on any pending matters” in Maine until it has finished an internal review of its foreclosure procedures and reported the findings to Mills, the state attorney general said today in a statement on her website. GMAC agreed to temporarily halt sales of foreclosed homes until the end of negotiations in an attempt to resolve Mills’ concerns about the company’s foreclosure procedures, according to the statement.
Read on.
Bank of America will not “proceed to judgment on any pending matters” in Maine until it has finished an internal review of its foreclosure procedures and reported the findings to Mills, the state attorney general said today in a statement on her website. GMAC agreed to temporarily halt sales of foreclosed homes until the end of negotiations in an attempt to resolve Mills’ concerns about the company’s foreclosure procedures, according to the statement.
Read on.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Biloxi Buzz for Thursday
WATCH: Traveler Wears Bikini Through LAX Security
Palin: 'Obviously, We've Got To Stand With Our North Korean Allies' — In recent days, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has hinted in her clearest language yet that she is seriously considering a run for the presidency in 2012. Many observers have argued that Palin could never win …
Obama: 'I Don't Think About Sarah Palin' — “Obviously Sarah Palin has a strong base of support in the Republican Party and I respect those skills,” Obama said. “But I spend most of my time right now on how I can be the best possible president. And my attitude has always been …
Palin dismisses ‘blue-blood’ Bush criticism — Sarah Palin dismissed Barbara Bush's recent criticism as a matter of class privilege in an interview with Laura Ingraham today: — “I don't want to concede that we have to get used to this kind of thing, because i don't think the majority …
Norm Coleman tells Miller to call it quits — Former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who was at the center of his own drawn out legal battle over a Senate seat in 2008, thinks Republican Joe Miller should hang it up and officially concede to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
Ireland Unveils Harshest Cuts, Tax Hikes In Its History
Warren Helped Shoot Down Bill That Would Have Sped Foreclosures
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Kamala Harris Wins CA Attorney General Race, Cooley Concedes
The LA Times reports:
More than three weeks after he declared victory in the race for state attorney general, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley conceded defeat Wednesday as he trailed by more than 50,000 votes in one of the closest statewide races in California history.
The decision means that San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris will assume the post of California's top law enforcement official, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the statewide offices.
On a side note: Ms. Harris is the first African-American/South Asian woman to become Attorney General in California.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, folks! Light posting tomorrow but will not resume normal posting until Friday!
More than three weeks after he declared victory in the race for state attorney general, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley conceded defeat Wednesday as he trailed by more than 50,000 votes in one of the closest statewide races in California history.
The decision means that San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris will assume the post of California's top law enforcement official, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the statewide offices.
On a side note: Ms. Harris is the first African-American/South Asian woman to become Attorney General in California.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, folks! Light posting tomorrow but will not resume normal posting until Friday!
FL CLASS ACTION: Alleging LPS Violated Federal Securities Laws
Stopforeclosurefraud:
City of St. Clair Shores General Employees Retirement System
v
Lender Processing Services, Inc., Jeffrey S. Carbiener, Lee A. Kennedy, and Francis K. Chan
The complaint alleging violations of the federal securities laws by Lender Processing Services, Inc. and certain of its officers and/or directors. The class action was commenced in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of purchasers of LPS securities between July 29, 2009 and October 4, 2010 (the “Class Period”) by Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd LLP
LPS CLASS
City of St. Clair Shores General Employees Retirement System
v
Lender Processing Services, Inc., Jeffrey S. Carbiener, Lee A. Kennedy, and Francis K. Chan
The complaint alleging violations of the federal securities laws by Lender Processing Services, Inc. and certain of its officers and/or directors. The class action was commenced in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on behalf of purchasers of LPS securities between July 29, 2009 and October 4, 2010 (the “Class Period”) by Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd LLP
LPS CLASS
Bank of America fined for harassing ex-homeowners
A judge recently hit Bank of America (BAC) with $126,000 in damages, $63,000 of them punitive, for contempt of court. How did BofA express its contempt for the legal system this time (as opposed to robo-signing)? By "flagrantly ignoring the terms of a [court] order".
Michael and Dolores Kirkbride filed for bankruptcy, and as part of the process, signed a consent order with Countrywide Home Loans to let it foreclose on two properties in exchange for releasing the Kirkbrides from the mortgage debt. That order was made effective October 27, 2008 -- and Countrywide started violating it three days later. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge J. Rich Leonard found it
particularly frustrating [that Countrywide] actively negotiated the terms of the consent order with the debtors, signed the order, and later, through the its agents, repeatedly acted as if the order did not exist and made it nearly impossible for the debtors to bring the order to [its] attention.
As of the time of publishing, BofA had not responded to a call for comment.
What did Countrywide -- and later, BofA -- do that so frustrated the judge? From October 30, 2008 through May, 2010, the bank called the Kirkbrides over 400 times demanding payment of the settled debt, of which they answered at least 100. Each of those calls took 30 to 40 minutes and involved the typical customer service pleasure of "being put on hold and repeating the same information to more senior personnel."
In addition, Countrywide and BofA sent the Kirkbrides over 20 letters demanding payment, and -- because the bank didn't foreclose on one of the properties until February, 2010 and still hasn't foreclosed on the other -- caused the Kirkbrides to run up tax bills and homeowner association dues. Since the local government and homeowners association went after the Kirkbrides to collect, the bank's failure to foreclose "embarrassed and humiliated" the Kirkbrides. Finally, unlike all the other creditors that the Kirkbrides dealt with in their bankruptcy, BofA refused to report their debt as settled to the credit bureaus. As a result, the Kirkbrides' credit reports have had a large and misleading black mark for two years.
On January 5, 2010, the Kirkbrides got BofA to acknowledge that it had received a letter from them containing the consent order, and the bank promised it would respond within 20 business days. But the harassment continued, and no response was forthcoming. Only when the Kirkbride's attorney asked the judge to sanction BofA in May did the harassment stop.
To compensate the Kirkbrides, the judge ordered BofA to pay them $200 for each call the Kirkbrides answered and spoke with BofA; $50 for each call they skipped; $2000 for the wrongful written demands; and $10,000 for causing the tax and homeowner association bills and related problems -- $63,000 in all. Turning to punitive damages, the judge noted that the standard for "punitive damages for violation of an order ... requires a demonstration of 'egregious conduct,' 'malevolent intent,' or 'clear disregard of the bankruptcy laws.'" He then explained it was
See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/elW4hY
Michael and Dolores Kirkbride filed for bankruptcy, and as part of the process, signed a consent order with Countrywide Home Loans to let it foreclose on two properties in exchange for releasing the Kirkbrides from the mortgage debt. That order was made effective October 27, 2008 -- and Countrywide started violating it three days later. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge J. Rich Leonard found it
particularly frustrating [that Countrywide] actively negotiated the terms of the consent order with the debtors, signed the order, and later, through the its agents, repeatedly acted as if the order did not exist and made it nearly impossible for the debtors to bring the order to [its] attention.
As of the time of publishing, BofA had not responded to a call for comment.
What did Countrywide -- and later, BofA -- do that so frustrated the judge? From October 30, 2008 through May, 2010, the bank called the Kirkbrides over 400 times demanding payment of the settled debt, of which they answered at least 100. Each of those calls took 30 to 40 minutes and involved the typical customer service pleasure of "being put on hold and repeating the same information to more senior personnel."
In addition, Countrywide and BofA sent the Kirkbrides over 20 letters demanding payment, and -- because the bank didn't foreclose on one of the properties until February, 2010 and still hasn't foreclosed on the other -- caused the Kirkbrides to run up tax bills and homeowner association dues. Since the local government and homeowners association went after the Kirkbrides to collect, the bank's failure to foreclose "embarrassed and humiliated" the Kirkbrides. Finally, unlike all the other creditors that the Kirkbrides dealt with in their bankruptcy, BofA refused to report their debt as settled to the credit bureaus. As a result, the Kirkbrides' credit reports have had a large and misleading black mark for two years.
On January 5, 2010, the Kirkbrides got BofA to acknowledge that it had received a letter from them containing the consent order, and the bank promised it would respond within 20 business days. But the harassment continued, and no response was forthcoming. Only when the Kirkbride's attorney asked the judge to sanction BofA in May did the harassment stop.
To compensate the Kirkbrides, the judge ordered BofA to pay them $200 for each call the Kirkbrides answered and spoke with BofA; $50 for each call they skipped; $2000 for the wrongful written demands; and $10,000 for causing the tax and homeowner association bills and related problems -- $63,000 in all. Turning to punitive damages, the judge noted that the standard for "punitive damages for violation of an order ... requires a demonstration of 'egregious conduct,' 'malevolent intent,' or 'clear disregard of the bankruptcy laws.'" He then explained it was
See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/elW4hY
Foreclosure crisis hits World War II veteran
Written by Biloxi
We have U.S. troops that are in Afghanistan and Iraq sacrificing their lives to serve their country. As foreclosure has hit the American people struggling financially in bad economy, families of veterans, too, are struggling to keep their homes. Last week, Vice President Joe Biden had announced on the White House website initatives to help homeowners as well as veterans with access to legal services to address legal challenges in areas such as foreclosure, consumer fraud, and employment issues. Unfortunately, the foreclosure crisis has claimed an unlikely victim: A World War II veteran and homeowner.
Jay Jensen, from Missouri took out a new mortgage from JP Morgan Chase on his paid-off home in 2004 to help finance a development deal. Mr. Jensen has had his home since 1952. When the development deal collapsed because of the real estate bubble burst , Mr. Jensen lost his land to foreclosure. And now he's lost his house and faces eviction. Chase Mortgage foreclosed on the property, and it was sold at auction in the St. Louis County Courthouse in Clayton November 16, 2010. Now comes the blame game. Mr. Jensen blames Chase mortgage made continuous paperwork errors and misstated income figures. In addition, Mr. Jensen and his son said that they were told "not to make any mortgage payments because all of the payments would be rolled into the back end of a new modified mortgage."
On other hand, Chase disagreed. According to Chase spokeswoman, Christine Holevas. Ms. Holevas said, "We have worked with Mr. Jensen for more than two-and-a-half years. We delayed foreclosure three times. Our analysis shows he can not afford the home. We've reached out to the new mortgage investor to see if he can stay in the house." Read on Mr. Jensen's story. Click here. As Mr. Jensen fights for his home, JP Morgan Chase launched a few weeks ago a website to provide financial services for the military called chasemilitary.com. On chasemilitary.com, Chase provides home financing and homeownership U.S. service members. As much as I applaud Chase to provide services for the U.S. service members, but what about veterans like Jay Jensen who had served their country that are struggling homeowners? It seem odd that a veteran who lived in his home for nearly 60 years and paid for his home in full in 2004 was not given other options of programs than a new modified mortgage. This story is an eye opener because veterans who are or aren't currently serving can be victims in this foreclosure crisis. As veterans come home after serving and protecting this country, it is a tragedy that we hear stories like Jay Jensen who are losing their American dream of homeownership .
Finally, on Chasemilitary website, it says "Your commitment is to our country. Our committment is to you." Is Chase really committed to save veterans like Jay Jensen who had served their country who is about to lose his American dream?
We have U.S. troops that are in Afghanistan and Iraq sacrificing their lives to serve their country. As foreclosure has hit the American people struggling financially in bad economy, families of veterans, too, are struggling to keep their homes. Last week, Vice President Joe Biden had announced on the White House website initatives to help homeowners as well as veterans with access to legal services to address legal challenges in areas such as foreclosure, consumer fraud, and employment issues. Unfortunately, the foreclosure crisis has claimed an unlikely victim: A World War II veteran and homeowner.
Jay Jensen, from Missouri took out a new mortgage from JP Morgan Chase on his paid-off home in 2004 to help finance a development deal. Mr. Jensen has had his home since 1952. When the development deal collapsed because of the real estate bubble burst , Mr. Jensen lost his land to foreclosure. And now he's lost his house and faces eviction. Chase Mortgage foreclosed on the property, and it was sold at auction in the St. Louis County Courthouse in Clayton November 16, 2010. Now comes the blame game. Mr. Jensen blames Chase mortgage made continuous paperwork errors and misstated income figures. In addition, Mr. Jensen and his son said that they were told "not to make any mortgage payments because all of the payments would be rolled into the back end of a new modified mortgage."
On other hand, Chase disagreed. According to Chase spokeswoman, Christine Holevas. Ms. Holevas said, "We have worked with Mr. Jensen for more than two-and-a-half years. We delayed foreclosure three times. Our analysis shows he can not afford the home. We've reached out to the new mortgage investor to see if he can stay in the house." Read on Mr. Jensen's story. Click here. As Mr. Jensen fights for his home, JP Morgan Chase launched a few weeks ago a website to provide financial services for the military called chasemilitary.com. On chasemilitary.com, Chase provides home financing and homeownership U.S. service members. As much as I applaud Chase to provide services for the U.S. service members, but what about veterans like Jay Jensen who had served their country that are struggling homeowners? It seem odd that a veteran who lived in his home for nearly 60 years and paid for his home in full in 2004 was not given other options of programs than a new modified mortgage. This story is an eye opener because veterans who are or aren't currently serving can be victims in this foreclosure crisis. As veterans come home after serving and protecting this country, it is a tragedy that we hear stories like Jay Jensen who are losing their American dream of homeownership .
Finally, on Chasemilitary website, it says "Your commitment is to our country. Our committment is to you." Is Chase really committed to save veterans like Jay Jensen who had served their country who is about to lose his American dream?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
'Simpsons' Mocks Fox News: 'Not Racist, But #1 With Racists' (VIDEO)
A moment later, the chopper pulled alongside the famed statue’s headgear, and a passenger departed the aircraft to enter the statue through one of the openings there. The man’s exit left only the helicopter’s pilot who then exclaimed, as the chopper suddenly dropped and crashed: “We’re unbalanced, it’s not fair!” It was a direct hit on FNC’s famous motto: “Fair and balanced.”
In the episode, nuclear-power tycoon Montgomery Burns, the meanest man in Springfield, was believed to have died, and he was replaced as CEO of the town’s power plant by none other than Dick Cheney (not voiced by the real former vice president), who was portrayed as an angry sadist. The words on his business card even read: “Dick Cheney: Architect of America’s Downfall.”
It’s not the first time that ‘The Simpsons’ has poked fun at Fox News Channel – which is, of course, owned by the same company that owns the broadcast network on which ‘The Simpsons’ appears. The show has also smacked its own network over the years, and satirized the company’s chairman, Rupert Murdoch, who has appeared as himself several times on the series
The entire episode is on Hulu here
Open thread!!!
Essex County Register of Deeds in MA requests investigation of MERS
Last week, Essex County Register of Deeds John O’Brien sent a letter to Attorney General Martha Coakley requesting that she investigate whether or not the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. has failed to pay the recording fees required when a lender assigns a mortgage to another entity. The so-called MERS system includes such banking conglomerates as Bank of America, Countrywide Home Loans, Wells Fargo Bank and others.
O’Brien said that it had come to his attention that a number of states have alleged in court filings that MERS intentionally failed to pay recording fees, and failed to disclose the transfer and assignments of interest in property, solely to avoid and decrease the recordation fees owed to the counties and the state.
In addition, MERS may have wrongfully bypassed Massachusetts recording requirements, thereby frustrating the borrower’s right to know the true identity of the holder of his or her mortgage, according to O’Brien.
“As the keeper of the land records in Essex County, I take my job very seriously,” O’Brien said. “Every day, hard-working people come into the Registry to record their documents, and they pay the proper fees. It troubles me greatly that these major lenders may have devised a scheme to avoid paying what the average citizen is legally required to pay. In many cases, MERS has assigned homeowners’ mortgages dozens of times to various MERS-related entities, thereby avoiding recording the proper assignments in the respective registries of deeds.”
O’Brien, whose district includes 30 cities and towns in Essex County, said that in his registry alone, if it is proven that fees were not properly paid, it could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue for the state.
O’Brien is asking the attorney general for an official opinion as to whether or not the taxpayers have been victimized. If so, he is requesting that Massachusetts follow other states’ lead and immediately file a lawsuit to recoup any and all fees, penalties and interest.
Read on.
O’Brien said that it had come to his attention that a number of states have alleged in court filings that MERS intentionally failed to pay recording fees, and failed to disclose the transfer and assignments of interest in property, solely to avoid and decrease the recordation fees owed to the counties and the state.
In addition, MERS may have wrongfully bypassed Massachusetts recording requirements, thereby frustrating the borrower’s right to know the true identity of the holder of his or her mortgage, according to O’Brien.
“As the keeper of the land records in Essex County, I take my job very seriously,” O’Brien said. “Every day, hard-working people come into the Registry to record their documents, and they pay the proper fees. It troubles me greatly that these major lenders may have devised a scheme to avoid paying what the average citizen is legally required to pay. In many cases, MERS has assigned homeowners’ mortgages dozens of times to various MERS-related entities, thereby avoiding recording the proper assignments in the respective registries of deeds.”
O’Brien, whose district includes 30 cities and towns in Essex County, said that in his registry alone, if it is proven that fees were not properly paid, it could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue for the state.
O’Brien is asking the attorney general for an official opinion as to whether or not the taxpayers have been victimized. If so, he is requesting that Massachusetts follow other states’ lead and immediately file a lawsuit to recoup any and all fees, penalties and interest.
Read on.
One ‘Nightmare’ Mortgage: Problems From Origination Through Foreclosure
Imogene Hall, a 49-year-old Jamaican immigrant living in Miami, is exactly the kind of poster child you don't want to be. From a mortgage broker's knock on her door four years ago all the way to today, when the Florida courts may be limiting her due process, the Miami Herald has the details [1] on Hall's story, documenting the ways her situation shows many common indicators of fraud.
"If homeownership represents the American dream, then Hall's story is the nightmare," wrote the Herald's executive editor.
A broker (now serving 11 years prison) knocked on her door in late 2005 and said he could help Hall draw on some of the equity she had built in her home, where she had lived since 1997. Hall thought getting some cash would be helpful, since at the time she was having trouble finding work as a nursing aide and had bills to pay.
Ultimately, the broker and his associates pocketed $180,000 while Hall got about $50,000, the Herald reported.
The broker used a "straw buyer" -- someone other than the person living in the house -- to get the mortgage. Reuters has reported that using straw buyers was a common scam:
In this scheme, fraudsters use a fake identity or that of someone else who allows them to use their credit status in return for a fee. The seller pockets the money the buyer borrows from a lender to pay for the home.
The straw buyer listed as his employer a nonexistent Blockbuster video store, yet the lender still gave him the loan.
The broker's plot was aided by a closing agent, title agent and broker's affiliate who have all since been charged or convinced of mortgage-related fraud.
Read on.
"If homeownership represents the American dream, then Hall's story is the nightmare," wrote the Herald's executive editor.
A broker (now serving 11 years prison) knocked on her door in late 2005 and said he could help Hall draw on some of the equity she had built in her home, where she had lived since 1997. Hall thought getting some cash would be helpful, since at the time she was having trouble finding work as a nursing aide and had bills to pay.
Ultimately, the broker and his associates pocketed $180,000 while Hall got about $50,000, the Herald reported.
The broker used a "straw buyer" -- someone other than the person living in the house -- to get the mortgage. Reuters has reported that using straw buyers was a common scam:
In this scheme, fraudsters use a fake identity or that of someone else who allows them to use their credit status in return for a fee. The seller pockets the money the buyer borrows from a lender to pay for the home.
The straw buyer listed as his employer a nonexistent Blockbuster video store, yet the lender still gave him the loan.
The broker's plot was aided by a closing agent, title agent and broker's affiliate who have all since been charged or convinced of mortgage-related fraud.
Read on.
FBI raids two hedge funds
(Reuters) - The FBI has raided two hedge funds run by former managers of Steven Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors in connection with a widening probe into insider trading, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday.
Diamondback Capital Management LLC and Level Global Investors LP were the subject of the raids, according to the report. Neither was immediately available for a comment.
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko told Reuters that the agency had executed search warrants in connection with an ongoing investigation. He declined to discuss the nature of the probe or the targets.
Diamondback oversees roughly $5 billion of assets and is based in Stamford, Connecticut. Level Global is based in nearby Greenwich, Connecticut.
The reported raids come as federal prosecutors are preparing to unveil a series of new insider trading cases against hedge fund traders, consultants and Wall Street bankers, several lawyers familiar with the investigation said. The charges could be filed as soon as this year, these people said.
These lawyers said investigators are likely to file several cases targeting the $1.7 trillion hedge fund industry rather than a single large case. The lawyers asked not to be named because the investigations are ongoing.
Read on.
Diamondback Capital Management LLC and Level Global Investors LP were the subject of the raids, according to the report. Neither was immediately available for a comment.
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko told Reuters that the agency had executed search warrants in connection with an ongoing investigation. He declined to discuss the nature of the probe or the targets.
Diamondback oversees roughly $5 billion of assets and is based in Stamford, Connecticut. Level Global is based in nearby Greenwich, Connecticut.
The reported raids come as federal prosecutors are preparing to unveil a series of new insider trading cases against hedge fund traders, consultants and Wall Street bankers, several lawyers familiar with the investigation said. The charges could be filed as soon as this year, these people said.
These lawyers said investigators are likely to file several cases targeting the $1.7 trillion hedge fund industry rather than a single large case. The lawyers asked not to be named because the investigations are ongoing.
Read on.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Deposition: Countrywide Admits to Not Conveying Notes to Mortgage Securitization Trusts
Written by Biloxi
I will recap the chain of title when a homeowner takes out a mortgage loan:
A (originator) = B (sponsor) = C (depositor) = D (trust).
A testimony in a New Jersey bankruptcy court case certainly gives more proof that banks may not know whether they hold the notes of the homeowners and that the mortgages may not be properly transferred in the mortgage securitization process. It has been long said mortgage backed securities have been packaged, re-packaged, and sold to investors.
In a testimony in New Jersey bankruptcy court case bankruptcy court filing, posted by StopForeclosureFraud website, provides the first of many problems down the road.
EXCERPT:
The new allonge was signed by Sharon Mason,
Vice President of Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., in the Bankruptcy Risk
Litigation Management Department. Linda DeMartini, a supervisor and
operational team leader for the Litigation Management Department for BAC
Home Loans Servicing L.P. (“BAC Servicing”) testified that the new allonge
was prepared in anticipation of this litigation, and that it was signed several
weeks before the trial by Sharon Mason.
As to the location of the note, Ms. DeMartini testified that to her
knowledge, the original note never left the possession of Countrywide, and that
the original note appears to have been transferred to Countrywide’s foreclosure
unit, as evidenced by internal FedEx tracking numbers. She also confirmed
that the new allonge had not been attached or otherwise affIxed to the note.
She testified further that it was customary for Countrywide to maintain possession of
the original note and related loan documents.
In a supplemental submission dated September 9,2009, the defendant
asserted that “the Defendant/Secured Creditor located the original Note. The
original Note with allonge and Pooling and Servicing Agreement are available
for inspection.,,7 When the matter returned to the court on September 24,
2009, counsel for the defendant represented to the court that he had the
original note, with the new allonge now attached, in his possession. No
additional information was presented regarding the chain of possession of the
note from its origination until counsel acquired possession.
And what is allonge? An allonge is a separate sheet of paper which is attached to a note to allow for more signatures. It looks like Countrywide, now Bank of America, have quit conveying the mortgage notes to the securitization trust, yet Countrywide never changed the pooling and servicing agreement on the loan to reflect the change. The question is how many banks will get caught with the same problems as Countrywide? Stay tuned.
I will recap the chain of title when a homeowner takes out a mortgage loan:
A (originator) = B (sponsor) = C (depositor) = D (trust).
A testimony in a New Jersey bankruptcy court case certainly gives more proof that banks may not know whether they hold the notes of the homeowners and that the mortgages may not be properly transferred in the mortgage securitization process. It has been long said mortgage backed securities have been packaged, re-packaged, and sold to investors.
In a testimony in New Jersey bankruptcy court case bankruptcy court filing, posted by StopForeclosureFraud website, provides the first of many problems down the road.
EXCERPT:
The new allonge was signed by Sharon Mason,
Vice President of Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., in the Bankruptcy Risk
Litigation Management Department. Linda DeMartini, a supervisor and
operational team leader for the Litigation Management Department for BAC
Home Loans Servicing L.P. (“BAC Servicing”) testified that the new allonge
was prepared in anticipation of this litigation, and that it was signed several
weeks before the trial by Sharon Mason.
As to the location of the note, Ms. DeMartini testified that to her
knowledge, the original note never left the possession of Countrywide, and that
the original note appears to have been transferred to Countrywide’s foreclosure
unit, as evidenced by internal FedEx tracking numbers. She also confirmed
that the new allonge had not been attached or otherwise affIxed to the note.
She testified further that it was customary for Countrywide to maintain possession of
the original note and related loan documents.
In a supplemental submission dated September 9,2009, the defendant
asserted that “the Defendant/Secured Creditor located the original Note. The
original Note with allonge and Pooling and Servicing Agreement are available
for inspection.,,7 When the matter returned to the court on September 24,
2009, counsel for the defendant represented to the court that he had the
original note, with the new allonge now attached, in his possession. No
additional information was presented regarding the chain of possession of the
note from its origination until counsel acquired possession.
And what is allonge? An allonge is a separate sheet of paper which is attached to a note to allow for more signatures. It looks like Countrywide, now Bank of America, have quit conveying the mortgage notes to the securitization trust, yet Countrywide never changed the pooling and servicing agreement on the loan to reflect the change. The question is how many banks will get caught with the same problems as Countrywide? Stay tuned.
Shareholders Demand – Where Are Banks Directors in Foreclosure Mess?
Hat tip to Stopforeclosurefraud website.
PR10-11-104
Contact: Sharon Lee, (212) 669-3747 November 18, 2010
SHAREHOLDERS DEMAND: WHERE ARE BANKS’ DIRECTORS IN FORECLOSURE MESS?
Liu: “Their Silence is Deafening”
NEW YORK, NY – New York City Comptroller John C. Liu stated the following in response to questions about the Congressional hearing today on irregularities in the foreclosure process:
“Mass foreclosures, due in part to widespread irregularities, have hurt homeowners, mortgage investors, and regional economies. Bank shareholders are also at risk.
“Where are the bank directors in this enormous mess? Their silence is deafening, particularly when management continues to sweep the problem under the rug as mere ‘technical glitches.’
“The Directors are ultimately responsible, not only for compliance, but for ensuring sound business practices. They must serve their shareholders and must fix the root problems, including managing perverse financial incentives in the current business model.
“Since July, we have warned that flawed bank procedures are forcing New Yorkers from their homes and hurting our economy. It is now clear that foreclosure and mortgage irregularities expose shareholders to substantial liabilities and loss. This would hurt our retirees and taxpayers.”
SOURCE: New York City Comptroller
Shareholders Demand - Where Are Banks Directors in Foreclosure Mess?
PR10-11-104
Contact: Sharon Lee, (212) 669-3747 November 18, 2010
SHAREHOLDERS DEMAND: WHERE ARE BANKS’ DIRECTORS IN FORECLOSURE MESS?
Liu: “Their Silence is Deafening”
NEW YORK, NY – New York City Comptroller John C. Liu stated the following in response to questions about the Congressional hearing today on irregularities in the foreclosure process:
“Mass foreclosures, due in part to widespread irregularities, have hurt homeowners, mortgage investors, and regional economies. Bank shareholders are also at risk.
“Where are the bank directors in this enormous mess? Their silence is deafening, particularly when management continues to sweep the problem under the rug as mere ‘technical glitches.’
“The Directors are ultimately responsible, not only for compliance, but for ensuring sound business practices. They must serve their shareholders and must fix the root problems, including managing perverse financial incentives in the current business model.
“Since July, we have warned that flawed bank procedures are forcing New Yorkers from their homes and hurting our economy. It is now clear that foreclosure and mortgage irregularities expose shareholders to substantial liabilities and loss. This would hurt our retirees and taxpayers.”
SOURCE: New York City Comptroller
Shareholders Demand - Where Are Banks Directors in Foreclosure Mess?
Stealing from the dead, denying the living
Los Angeles Times:
More often than not, life insurers make good on policies, paying $38 billion in death benefits on individual policies last year. But what happened to Sheila Weissberger was not unusual. The claims of thousands of beneficiaries are denied or disputed every year -- more than 5,000 last year alone -- many for allegedly flawed applications, a Times review found.
More often than not, life insurers make good on policies, paying $38 billion in death benefits on individual policies last year. But what happened to Sheila Weissberger was not unusual. The claims of thousands of beneficiaries are denied or disputed every year -- more than 5,000 last year alone -- many for allegedly flawed applications, a Times review found.
Biloxi Buzz for Monday
Buffett Tells ABC Rich Americans Should Be Paying ‘A Lot’ More in Taxes — Billionaire Warren Buffett said that rich people should pay more in taxes and that Bush-era tax cuts for top earners should be allowed to expire at the end of December. — “If anything, taxes for the lower …
TSA Will Work To Make Pat-Downs Less Invasive
Ireland Asks For International Bailout
Foreclosure crisis: One nation under fraud
Written by Biloxi
For a long time, many reasons have been said as to why people are losing their homes in this economic downturn. But, this week, we have heard at some length in Congressional testimony that borrowers that do seek to stay in the home typically fall into one of three categories. First is that some homeowners are in a loan modification program, but find the foreclosure is moving apace despite the bank saying otherwise. Second is that homeowners believe that they are not in arrears and that the bank has been charging unwarranted and excessive fees. Third is that some homeowners filed for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy yet the bank is still improperly trying to take their house.
I had to wonder why the banks had been moving too quickly to foreclosure for homeowners rather than to seek loan modification to save homeowners from losing their home. From watching the Congressional testimonies with the bank representatives as well as the acting head of the Office of Comptroller of Currency (OCC) John Walsh, we now learn that there was no checks and balances for the banks and no accountability from the banks as well as federal regulators. In other words, no one was minding the store.
On Tuesday at the Senate Banking Committee hearing, Barbara Desoer President of home loan division of Bank of America, said that no homes were properly seized. Ms. Desoer said, “Thus far we have confirmed the basis for our foreclosure decisions has been accurate....” Then Ms. Desoer to say, “At the same time, however, we have not found a perfect process.”
On the other hand, David Lowman, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s home loan division admitted to mistakes in the bank, however, foreclosure is the last resort. Mr. Lowman said, “Our process was not what it should have been; quite simply, it did not live up to our standards...” Also, Mr Lowman said that didn't find any errors in its foreclosure process after completing a review. Click here to read more.
On Thursday, we turn to a hearing held by the House Financial Committee. From that hearing, more shoes had dropped that showed a very broken system in the housing crisis. In GMAC/Ally Financial CEO Thomas Morano’s testimony, Mr. Morano admitted that were flows in their foreclosure process. Mr. Morano said, “There were affidavits signed outside the immediate physical presence of a notary and without direct personal knowledge of the information in the affidavit…” “These flaws are entirely unacceptable to me.” Click here to read more on Mr. Morano's testimony.
However, R.K. Arnold, CEO of MERS Corp, the electronic mortgage registry system company that is in the midst of the foreclosure problems in this country and used so-called robo-signers, those who allegedly push forward foreclosure documentation without proper review, throws the mortgage servicers under the bus. In Mr. Arnold’s testimony, he stated MERS only begins a foreclosure when instructed by the bank servicer and does not receive financial compensation when it does so. In the testimony Harold Lewis, managing director of CitiMortgage, Mr. Lewis found problems in the foreclosure affidavits. Mr. Lewis is reviewing about 14,000 foreclosure affidavits, including 4,000 that may have been signed outside the presence of a notary. Interesting, CitiMortgage admits to foreclosure problems yet Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase stated no errors in their foreclosure process in their testimonies to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
And the Congressional hearings gets better. We now know that the departments in the government that were supposed to be responsible for holding the banks responsible weren’t minding the store.
In the testimony of Treasury Homeowner Preservation Office head Phyllis Caldwell hasn’t yet punished nor fined the banks any significant way For Failing To Comply With Mortgage Mod Program, even though it is outline in the guidelines of the Making Home Affordable Program to the banks in last year. Ms. Caldwell said to Rep. Maxine Waters, chair of the subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity "To date we have not gone back to take back incentives that have already been paid, but we have pursued many of the non-monetary remedies, including further actions and evaluations, and re-evaluations.”" Ms. Caldwell’s testimony didn’t go too well with Rep. Waters after Waters repeatedly asked her if she had "levied any penalties or sanctions." Office of Comptroller of Currency head’s testimony made this whole housing mess worse.
Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said that he is launching investigation into alleged documentation problems at Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS). Walsh said "[W]e are taking aggressive actions to hold national banks accountable, and to get these problems fixed.” Sounds great? Well, what Mr. Walsh left out is that Congressional Oversight Panel, an independent panel developed by Congress, called on the Treasury Department to investigate documentation problems in the mortgage industry. According to Housingwire, if this documentation problem has spread to the securitization process, banks may not know which mortgages they own according to the Congressional Oversight Panel.
Mr. Walsh’s testimony gets worse. Rep. Waters grilled Walsh on whether his agency had fined or imposed sanctions on any banks. Here an excerpt of the exchange:
Waters: Has OCC taken any enforcement action?
Walsh: We have certainly issued supervisory requirements on matters requiring….
Waters: Have you levied any fines?
Walsh: I do not believe that we have.
Waters: Have you issued any .. orders?
Walsh: I don’t believe there have been any public actions.
Waters: Have you threatened to revoke any charters?
Walsh: No.
Waters: Do you think the servicers really believe you mean business if they don’t fear consequences?
Walsh: I think the consequences are clear and ….
Waters: But you haven’t done that. You haven’t done any of that. Why should they take you seriously?
Basically, representatives of Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase were in complete denial on their failure to help homeowners to stay in their homes. Instead, Ms. Desoer said that decisions on loan modifications are made by the investor of the home and not from the bank servicer. And what was an eye opener from Ms. Desoer’s testimony is that Ms. Desoer said that 23% of mortgage loan are owned by Bank of America whereas 77% of mortgage loans are owned by investors and 66% of those loans are owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Real scary. Read more of the testimonies of Ms. Desoer and Mr. Lowman and other testimonies of other witnesses on the Senate Banking Committee website.
As you can see that there is a blame game within the testimonies of the banks and the watchdogs that are supposed to hold banks accountable in the housing mess. MERS CEO says bank servicers have the say in a foreclosure process of a home. Yet, banks are claiming that the investors are the decision makers in the loan modification requests and foreclosure process. And we have the government that supposed to be the watchdogs to the banks and protectors of rights of the homeowners that has sat by the sidelines and did nothing.
This entire housing mess doesn't boil down to who did what and how and why. It all boils down to does the bank actually hold the note to all homeowners. We just learned from Bank of America representative's testimony that Bank of America only owns 23% of mortgage loans and 77% of mortgage loans are owned by investors. So, who really controls Bank of America? Not Bank of America but the investors. Back to the note. In the pooling and servicing agreement on a mortgage loan, the agreement governs who does what. It requires the note (the borrower IOU) to be endorsed (like signed by one party over to the next), showing the full chain of title. The chain of title looks like this:
A (originator) => B (sponsor) => C (depositor) => D (trust).
Now, if that chain is broken, that would mean a complete disaster to housing and the purchasing of a home as a whole. That would mean homeowners whose homes were foreclosed, homeowners who are delinquent of their payments, homeowners that are current on their mortgage payments, and homeowners are about to pay their entire house off in full may not know if their bank is the holder of their note. From this week's Senate and Congressional hearings and testimonies, there is certainly more More Evidence That many Mortgage Loans Were Not Properly Conveyed to mortgage Securitization Trusts. How many loans that weren't processed properly? We don't know. According to the Washington Post this week, lobbyists from financial services industry are on Capitol Hill to press lawmakers to protect its ability to package mortgages as securities and resell them around the world. Washington Post reported that companies "are flying top executives to Washington for one-on-one meetings with lawmakers...and they are blanketing Congress with white papers, memos and other documents that lay out their arguments."
With the OCC, Federal Reserve, Department of Justice, FDIC, and all 50 state Attorney Generals investigating the housing crisis, the question in people's minds will be whether the banks will be held accountable for their mistakes or will the banks get a free pass for their mistakes.
Finally, from the bank testimonies, there is certainly a mortgage servicing business model that needs a serious and extreme makeover. Last week, Sarah Raskin, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors spoke in Boston at the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference hosted by the National Consumer Law Center said that mortgage servicing business model needs reworking. Ms. Raskin added that "because a servicer's interests are indirectly connected to the performance of a loan, they [bank servicers] maximize fees and minimize expenses while performing the bare minimum of tasks set by the investor." Ms. Raskin went on to say that "in the case, for instance, of a homeowner struggling to make payments, a foreclosure almost always costs the investor money, but may actually earn money for the servicer in the form of fees. Proactive measures to avoid foreclosure and minimize cost to the investor, on the other hand, may be good for the homeowner, but involve costs that could very well lead to a net loss to the servicer."
The bottom line is that the banks need to get out of the foreclosure business and more into the loan modification business. But, that is not going to happen until the entire bank servicing business model is fixed. We know that there will be a big price to pay for the banks, yet we just don't know how much. It will be interesting the outcome of all of these investigations as the homeowners, investors, and the world will be watching. What the banks should be really worried about is not the investigations, but the homeowners and investors teaming up to take down the banks since both investors and homeowners are victims of the blame game by the banks.
For a long time, many reasons have been said as to why people are losing their homes in this economic downturn. But, this week, we have heard at some length in Congressional testimony that borrowers that do seek to stay in the home typically fall into one of three categories. First is that some homeowners are in a loan modification program, but find the foreclosure is moving apace despite the bank saying otherwise. Second is that homeowners believe that they are not in arrears and that the bank has been charging unwarranted and excessive fees. Third is that some homeowners filed for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy yet the bank is still improperly trying to take their house.
I had to wonder why the banks had been moving too quickly to foreclosure for homeowners rather than to seek loan modification to save homeowners from losing their home. From watching the Congressional testimonies with the bank representatives as well as the acting head of the Office of Comptroller of Currency (OCC) John Walsh, we now learn that there was no checks and balances for the banks and no accountability from the banks as well as federal regulators. In other words, no one was minding the store.
On Tuesday at the Senate Banking Committee hearing, Barbara Desoer President of home loan division of Bank of America, said that no homes were properly seized. Ms. Desoer said, “Thus far we have confirmed the basis for our foreclosure decisions has been accurate....” Then Ms. Desoer to say, “At the same time, however, we have not found a perfect process.”
On the other hand, David Lowman, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s home loan division admitted to mistakes in the bank, however, foreclosure is the last resort. Mr. Lowman said, “Our process was not what it should have been; quite simply, it did not live up to our standards...” Also, Mr Lowman said that didn't find any errors in its foreclosure process after completing a review. Click here to read more.
On Thursday, we turn to a hearing held by the House Financial Committee. From that hearing, more shoes had dropped that showed a very broken system in the housing crisis. In GMAC/Ally Financial CEO Thomas Morano’s testimony, Mr. Morano admitted that were flows in their foreclosure process. Mr. Morano said, “There were affidavits signed outside the immediate physical presence of a notary and without direct personal knowledge of the information in the affidavit…” “These flaws are entirely unacceptable to me.” Click here to read more on Mr. Morano's testimony.
However, R.K. Arnold, CEO of MERS Corp, the electronic mortgage registry system company that is in the midst of the foreclosure problems in this country and used so-called robo-signers, those who allegedly push forward foreclosure documentation without proper review, throws the mortgage servicers under the bus. In Mr. Arnold’s testimony, he stated MERS only begins a foreclosure when instructed by the bank servicer and does not receive financial compensation when it does so. In the testimony Harold Lewis, managing director of CitiMortgage, Mr. Lewis found problems in the foreclosure affidavits. Mr. Lewis is reviewing about 14,000 foreclosure affidavits, including 4,000 that may have been signed outside the presence of a notary. Interesting, CitiMortgage admits to foreclosure problems yet Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase stated no errors in their foreclosure process in their testimonies to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
And the Congressional hearings gets better. We now know that the departments in the government that were supposed to be responsible for holding the banks responsible weren’t minding the store.
In the testimony of Treasury Homeowner Preservation Office head Phyllis Caldwell hasn’t yet punished nor fined the banks any significant way For Failing To Comply With Mortgage Mod Program, even though it is outline in the guidelines of the Making Home Affordable Program to the banks in last year. Ms. Caldwell said to Rep. Maxine Waters, chair of the subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity "To date we have not gone back to take back incentives that have already been paid, but we have pursued many of the non-monetary remedies, including further actions and evaluations, and re-evaluations.”" Ms. Caldwell’s testimony didn’t go too well with Rep. Waters after Waters repeatedly asked her if she had "levied any penalties or sanctions." Office of Comptroller of Currency head’s testimony made this whole housing mess worse.
Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said that he is launching investigation into alleged documentation problems at Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS). Walsh said "[W]e are taking aggressive actions to hold national banks accountable, and to get these problems fixed.” Sounds great? Well, what Mr. Walsh left out is that Congressional Oversight Panel, an independent panel developed by Congress, called on the Treasury Department to investigate documentation problems in the mortgage industry. According to Housingwire, if this documentation problem has spread to the securitization process, banks may not know which mortgages they own according to the Congressional Oversight Panel.
Mr. Walsh’s testimony gets worse. Rep. Waters grilled Walsh on whether his agency had fined or imposed sanctions on any banks. Here an excerpt of the exchange:
Waters: Has OCC taken any enforcement action?
Walsh: We have certainly issued supervisory requirements on matters requiring….
Waters: Have you levied any fines?
Walsh: I do not believe that we have.
Waters: Have you issued any .. orders?
Walsh: I don’t believe there have been any public actions.
Waters: Have you threatened to revoke any charters?
Walsh: No.
Waters: Do you think the servicers really believe you mean business if they don’t fear consequences?
Walsh: I think the consequences are clear and ….
Waters: But you haven’t done that. You haven’t done any of that. Why should they take you seriously?
Basically, representatives of Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase were in complete denial on their failure to help homeowners to stay in their homes. Instead, Ms. Desoer said that decisions on loan modifications are made by the investor of the home and not from the bank servicer. And what was an eye opener from Ms. Desoer’s testimony is that Ms. Desoer said that 23% of mortgage loan are owned by Bank of America whereas 77% of mortgage loans are owned by investors and 66% of those loans are owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Real scary. Read more of the testimonies of Ms. Desoer and Mr. Lowman and other testimonies of other witnesses on the Senate Banking Committee website.
As you can see that there is a blame game within the testimonies of the banks and the watchdogs that are supposed to hold banks accountable in the housing mess. MERS CEO says bank servicers have the say in a foreclosure process of a home. Yet, banks are claiming that the investors are the decision makers in the loan modification requests and foreclosure process. And we have the government that supposed to be the watchdogs to the banks and protectors of rights of the homeowners that has sat by the sidelines and did nothing.
This entire housing mess doesn't boil down to who did what and how and why. It all boils down to does the bank actually hold the note to all homeowners. We just learned from Bank of America representative's testimony that Bank of America only owns 23% of mortgage loans and 77% of mortgage loans are owned by investors. So, who really controls Bank of America? Not Bank of America but the investors. Back to the note. In the pooling and servicing agreement on a mortgage loan, the agreement governs who does what. It requires the note (the borrower IOU) to be endorsed (like signed by one party over to the next), showing the full chain of title. The chain of title looks like this:
A (originator) => B (sponsor) => C (depositor) => D (trust).
Now, if that chain is broken, that would mean a complete disaster to housing and the purchasing of a home as a whole. That would mean homeowners whose homes were foreclosed, homeowners who are delinquent of their payments, homeowners that are current on their mortgage payments, and homeowners are about to pay their entire house off in full may not know if their bank is the holder of their note. From this week's Senate and Congressional hearings and testimonies, there is certainly more More Evidence That many Mortgage Loans Were Not Properly Conveyed to mortgage Securitization Trusts. How many loans that weren't processed properly? We don't know. According to the Washington Post this week, lobbyists from financial services industry are on Capitol Hill to press lawmakers to protect its ability to package mortgages as securities and resell them around the world. Washington Post reported that companies "are flying top executives to Washington for one-on-one meetings with lawmakers...and they are blanketing Congress with white papers, memos and other documents that lay out their arguments."
With the OCC, Federal Reserve, Department of Justice, FDIC, and all 50 state Attorney Generals investigating the housing crisis, the question in people's minds will be whether the banks will be held accountable for their mistakes or will the banks get a free pass for their mistakes.
Finally, from the bank testimonies, there is certainly a mortgage servicing business model that needs a serious and extreme makeover. Last week, Sarah Raskin, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors spoke in Boston at the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference hosted by the National Consumer Law Center said that mortgage servicing business model needs reworking. Ms. Raskin added that "because a servicer's interests are indirectly connected to the performance of a loan, they [bank servicers] maximize fees and minimize expenses while performing the bare minimum of tasks set by the investor." Ms. Raskin went on to say that "in the case, for instance, of a homeowner struggling to make payments, a foreclosure almost always costs the investor money, but may actually earn money for the servicer in the form of fees. Proactive measures to avoid foreclosure and minimize cost to the investor, on the other hand, may be good for the homeowner, but involve costs that could very well lead to a net loss to the servicer."
The bottom line is that the banks need to get out of the foreclosure business and more into the loan modification business. But, that is not going to happen until the entire bank servicing business model is fixed. We know that there will be a big price to pay for the banks, yet we just don't know how much. It will be interesting the outcome of all of these investigations as the homeowners, investors, and the world will be watching. What the banks should be really worried about is not the investigations, but the homeowners and investors teaming up to take down the banks since both investors and homeowners are victims of the blame game by the banks.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Free manuretv: Sunday's bobblehead show
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CBS’s “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday.”
Other guests on NBC include Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, and Rep.-elect Allen West (R-Fla.).
CBS also has House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). And Fox interviews Texas Gov. Rick Perry
ABC’s “This Week” has Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, who’ll also discuss the 9-year-old war in Afghanistan.
Mullen is on CNN’s “State of the Union,” too, along with TSA Administrator John Pistole and Florida Rep. John Mica, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
TV One’s “Washington Watch” has Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Andre Carson (D-Ind.), as well as Virgin Islands Del. Donna Christensen, a Democrat.
Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” has Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who discusses the new controverisal screeening proceedures at the nation’s airports.
Other guests on NBC include Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, and Rep.-elect Allen West (R-Fla.).
CBS also has House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). And Fox interviews Texas Gov. Rick Perry
ABC’s “This Week” has Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, who’ll also discuss the 9-year-old war in Afghanistan.
Mullen is on CNN’s “State of the Union,” too, along with TSA Administrator John Pistole and Florida Rep. John Mica, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
TV One’s “Washington Watch” has Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Andre Carson (D-Ind.), as well as Virgin Islands Del. Donna Christensen, a Democrat.
Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” has Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who discusses the new controverisal screeening proceedures at the nation’s airports.
Biloxi Buzz for Sunday
POPE: CONDOMS CAN BE JUSTIFIED
Millionaires To Obama: Tax Us!
Economists Take Aim At Bonuses For Teachers With Master's Degrees
Arizona Worker Fired For Euthanizing Afghan War Hero Dog
Incoming Speaker Takes Commercial Flight, but Skips the Pat Down — WASHINGTON — Representative John A. Boehner, the soon-to-be Republican speaker, pledged recently that he would fly commercial airlines back home to Ohio, passing up the military plane used by the current speaker, Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat.Moseley Braun running against Emanuel for Chicago mayor
Last week's poll had asked:
British Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK still had "deeply-held concerns" over human rights, on his visit to China. Should western countries speak out on the affairs of non-western states? JL readers answered maybe. This week's poll is now up.
Last week's poll had asked:
British Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK still had "deeply-held concerns" over human rights, on his visit to China. Should western countries speak out on the affairs of non-western states? JL readers answered maybe. This week's poll is now up.
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