Weekend Digest - March 12 to March 16, 2012 - ForeclosureGate Gazette

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Weekend Digest - March 12 to March 16, 2012 - ForeclosureGate Gazette

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This Edition Of The ForeclosureGate Gazette Contains Active Links

WEEKEND DIGEST MARCH 12 – MARCH 16, 2012
ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition And Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

MONDAY MARCH 12
Policymakers, Legislators and Judges Should Demand Answers To The Foreclosure Sales Scandal The latest in the long and continuing scam/scandal story brought to us by the banks is how they are not allowing third party purchasers to take title to foreclosed properties at the public foreclosure auctions. The expressed purpose of every foreclosure case is to divest the current property owner of title, and get that property back out into the marketplace…. Banks Repaid Taxpayer Bailout With Other Taxpayer Money: Government Report But 48 percent of the banks that have repaid the CPP used money they'd gotten from other federal programs, according to the GAO report. Those programs include the Community Development Capital Initiative -another TARP program…. Mortgage Deal Is Built on Tradeoffs Banks won a handful of concessions in the landmark $25 billion settlement of alleged foreclosure abuses, as federal officials struck a balance between their desire to be tough on lenders and the need to provide immediate relief to the housing market. A key sticking point in the year-long negotiations was how to structure mortgage write-downs, and who should bear the losses…. Occupy Movement Regroups, Preparing for Its Next Phase The ragtag Occupy Wall Street encampments that sprang up in scores of cities last fall, thrusting “We are the 99 percent” into the vernacular, have largely been dismantled, with a new wave of crackdowns and evictions in the past week…. Whistleblower Lawsuits Against Banks Extinguished in Foreclosure Fraud Settlement I think my disgust over federal housing policy is just about complete. As you know, we’re still waiting for the actual terms of the foreclosure fraud settlement, more than one month after the announcement. But more information has dribbled out, not much of it to the good. Michael Hiltzik rounded up some of the more troubling issues. He mentions that OCC penalties will get folded into the settlement, basically charging $0 for their violations.…. Boom-Era Property Speculators Foreclosure Aid: Mortgages to Get

2012

The Obama administration will extend mortgage assistance for the first time to investors who bought multiple homes before the market imploded, helping some speculators who drove up prices and inflated the housing bubble….

A land bank could foreclosure crisis

be

the

answer

to

The recent rise in foreclosures — many centered in our urban neighborhoods — and declines in property values have caused the number of vacant properties to increase to record levels. In the Kansas City metropolitan area, there are approximately 12,000 vacant and abandoned properties….

FTC: Mortgage Relief Scammers Who Harmed Thousands of Consumers At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. district court put the mortgage relief business permanently off limits to marketers who allegedly charged thousands of consumers up to $2,600 each, based on bogus promises to provide loan modifications that would make mortgages much more affordable….

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This Edition Of The ForeclosureGate Gazette Contains Active Links

WEEKEND DIGEST MARCH 12 – MARCH 16, 2012
ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition And Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

TUESDAY MARCH 13
FHFA Ed DeMarco's Refusal on Principal Reductions Grounds for Firing DeMarco steadfastly refuses to allow Fannie and Freddie to help distressed homeowners by writing off principal balances on their mortgages. This has ensured that tens of millions of borrowers remain "underwater," meaning they owe the banks more than their homes are worth…. 14-Year-Old Girl Just Bought A House In Florida Meet Willow Tufano, age 14: Lady Gaga fan, animal lover, landlord. In 2005, when Willow was 7, the housing market was booming. Home prices in some Florida neighborhoods nearly doubled from one month to the next. Her family moved into a big house; her mom became a real estate agent….

2012

Elizabeth Warren Calls on AIG to play by the rules Today, Elizabeth Warren joined forces with a bipartisan group of her former colleagues on the Congressional Oversight Panel charged with oversight on the bank bailout to call on Congress to end AIG’s ongoing bailout and special tax status. Enough is enough….

Alma Counts, 82-Year-Old Northwest Detroit Stroke Survivor, Fights Foreclosure With Community Groups Alma Counts, an 82-year-old resident of northwest Detroit, is drawing on the support of community organizations, local officials, unions, the Occupy movement and a committed lawyer to help fight off an impending foreclosure on the home she has lived in for 39 years….

US, 49 States File Settlement Of ForeclosureAbuse Allegations The U.S. government and 49 states filed a $25 billion settlement of alleged foreclosure abuses in federal court on Monday, capping a year of negotiations with five major banks after public outrage erupted in fall 2010 over revelations that banks cut corners when processing foreclosures….

Funds for defrauded homeowners diverted by state State legislators and Gov. Nathan Deal will spend $104 million of the $815 million banks are paying Georgia to settle foreclosure fraud claims, but if past indications hold true, much of that money won’t be going to distressed homeowners….

Government extends deadline for foreclosure reviews Only 89,000 people have asked for reviews even though more than 4 million got letters from the government late last year telling them that they could, says Bryan Hubbard, a spokesman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Consumer groups say promotion was flawed by letters that were too legalistic and text-heavy advertisements that weren't eye-catching….

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker To Use Foreclosure Settlement To Balance Budget, Not Help Homeowners Of a $31.6 million payment coming directly to the state government, most of that money – $25.6 million – will go to help close a budget shortfall revealed in newly released state projections. [Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen], whose office said he has the legal authority over the money, made the decision in consultation with Walker….

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This Edition Of The ForeclosureGate Gazette Contains Active Links

WEEKEND DIGEST MARCH 12 – MARCH 16, 2012
ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition And Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

WEDNESDAY MARCH 14
Managers at major banks ignored widespread errors in the foreclosure process Managers at major banks ignored widespread errors in the foreclosure process, in some cases instructing employees to adopt make-believe titles and speed documents through the system despite internal objections, according to a wideranging review by federal investigators…. Foreclosure settlement worth $18 million to 60 Minutes Whistleblower Tucked into the landmark $25 billion national foreclosure settlement filed this week in federal court is an $18 million payday for Palm Beach Gardens homeowner Lynn Szymoniak. The 63year-old attorney specializes in white collar crime cases and was featured last year on the CBS news show 60 Minutes….

2012

The foreclosure process in Colorado is one of blind faith Thousands of Colorado homes were taken in foreclosure in recent years by banks that probably never had the right to do so because no one bothered to challenge the process, said a lawyer who worked for the state's biggest foreclosure law firm….

Renters Beware: Craigslist

Fraud

Still

Lurking

On

With a burgeoning "sharing economy" and the growing amount of trust in peer-to-peer marketplaces like Craigslist, consumers have become increasingly comfortable with online transactions. These days, it's no exaggeration to say that people are willing to look for almost anything online….

Consumer bureau to unveil mortgage statement prototype

monthly

TN Man Charged For Defrauding Investors and Tarp-Recipient Banks The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Jerry E. Martin today announced that Edward Shannon Polen, 41, of Greenbrier….

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week will unveil a prototype for a new monthly mortgage statement for consumers designed to clearly show important information from their servicer….

Operators of CA-Based Mortgage Mod Scam Plead Guilty The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California Laura E. Duffy today announced that three individuals pled guilty yesterday in federal court in San Diego, California, to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud….

NY-Queens Foreclosure Auction was shut down The Occupy Our Homes movement has continued to grow since it began last November. On Valentine's Day, Occupy LA disrupted a foreclosure hearing for an active duty solider and veteran and his family. This week, thousands of supporters helped Occupy Nashville save the home of a local 78-Year-Old Civil Rights Activist….

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This Edition Of The ForeclosureGate Gazette Contains Active Links

WEEKEND DIGEST MARCH 12 – MARCH 16, 2012
ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition And Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

THURSDAY MARCH 15
Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen Sues MERS, Banks, Wants Them to “Fix Their Mess” Here’s the complaint, and there’s additional information at this mini-site. A couple things are interesting about the suit. First of all, Thigpen is getting assistance from Talcott Franklin, the law firm which has been rounding up investors to pursue repurchase cases against the banks. So he’s accessing a great deal of knowledge there…. Beware of mortgage rescue scams masquerading as new federal programs Home loan modification scams may appear to be help from one of the new foreclosure assistance programs recently announced by the federal government, but don't be fooled. NeighborWorks America is reminding homeowners to be wary of such scams as National Consumer Protection Week winds down….

2012

Banks, Meet the New Foreclosure Monitor The mortgage industry has a new cop on the beat: Joseph A. Smith Jr. Mr. Smith resigned his post last month as North Carolina’s top banking regulator to serve as the new monitor of the $25 billion mortgage settlement that wasfiled in federal court on Monday….

Oregon bill reforms foreclosure process, ends dual tracking The Oregon State Legislature passed new reforms of the foreclosure process, including a financial incentive for fewer filings. The bill, S.B. 1552, ends dual tracking by prohibiting foreclosures on borrowers being considered for a modification and sets up a mediation program for borrowers….

Nevada foreclosure filings and sales plunge: ForeclosureRadar Foreclosure filings and sales declined dramatically in several Western states, especially Nevada, according to data from ForeclosureRadar that shows foreclosure sales down in February. Foreclosure filings dropped for the month in California, Nevada and Washington….

Southland home sales improve as Wall Street eyes foreclosures A Southland home sales recovery gained steam in February as a record number of deeppocketed investors snapped up distressed properties at bargain-basement prices. With so many purchases of low-end homes, median prices remained in a slump….

Singing Foreclosure Queens Courtroom

Protesters

Occupy

Fannie Mae Nixed Plan to Reduce Mortgage Debt, Democrats Say Fannie Mae pulled the plug on a 2010 plan to forgive borrowers' mortgage debt because company executives were “philosophically opposed” to the idea, a former company employee told House investigators….

The third "People's Bailout", a series of singing protests organized by activist group Organizing for Occupation that aims to disrupt the court foreclosure proceedings, took place this morning at 11am at the Queens Supreme Court….

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This Edition Of The ForeclosureGate Gazette Contains Active Links

WEEKEND DIGEST MARCH 12 – MARCH 16, 2012
ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition And Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

FRIDAY MARCH 16

2012

..And Vampire Squid Whistle-Blowers: You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up No Hollywood scriptwriter could plot a more implausible story. Here is the plotline sequencing: 1. Bankers make NINJA loans, securitize them, and sell on to government GSEs….

Foreclosure Activity for Judicial vs. NonJudicial States Flip-Flopped Depending on whether the data was based on a judicial or non-judicial state, foreclosure activity told different stories in RealtyTrac’s Foreclosure Market Report released today for February 2012….

Georgia May Stash More Than $100 Million Of Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Money In State’s Rainy Day Fund Several states have already announced that they plan to use some of the funds they receive from the $25 billion foreclosure fraud settlement for budget items other than helping homeowners, despite that being the purpose of the money….

Occupy-inspired movement puts families in vacant homes It all sounds so normal. But the 40-year-old mother of four is never sure when she’s going to have to gather up her family and their possessions and leave. Smith and her children are squatters, or as Liberate the South Side, the community group that placed her in the vacant home calls them, “tenants without a lease.”…

NYS Department of Financial Services Launches Statewide Foreclosure Relief Effort Benjamin M. Lawsky, Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, has launched a statewide effort to stem mortgage foreclosures by helping homeowners at risk of losing their homes. …

Rage grows over mortgage deal As more details emerge about the massive $26 billion foreclosure settlement between the five biggest mortgage lenders and the states' attorneys general, a growing number of borrowers are realizing that the deal will do little, if anything, to help them out….

Will Mortgage Settlement Avoid Repeating Obama’s Foreclosure Failures? According to the state attorneys general and the administration, a major selling point of the new settlement is that it won't repeat HAMP's mistakes. This deal, they say, is different….

California's size lands state big share of foreclosure settlement California walked away with the biggest chunk of this week's landmark foreclosure settlement partly because of the state's size but also because of Bank of America's desire to escape the legacy of its Countrywide problems….

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