New York finally holds banks accountable for Good Faith Mortgage Modification Negotiations
It took two and a half years, but finally, New York has taken steps to hold banks and mortgage servicers accountable for their negotiating mortgage modifications in good faith. Lenders and servicers have avoided distressed mortgage owners since the mortgage meltdown at the end of the Bush presidency. Just in the last few months, a few bank administrators have even been caught admitting to this obvious lack of good faith. (Please see the first video on this blog home page.)
Two Benefits of using an Investor to Short Sell your property
Using an investor to make a cash offer on your distressed mortgage and property has two immense benefits. The short sale will assuredly move along faster, and they can negotiate the deficiency better than anyone else. Realtors should be used for what they do: sell houses. Not for what they don’t do: make cash offers to buy and negotiate deficiencies.
A Third Chance to make the Nations Banks Ours
President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act today. It seems to be better known simply as the Financial Reform Bill, and HR 4173 seems a key also. We missed the first two chances. Insist on Elizabeth Warren to have a snowball’s chance this time.
Home Affordable Foreclosure Assistance going down the same dead end street
I have written about the pitfalls and drawbacks to the Home Affordable Foreclosure Assistance Plan (HAFA) before. Now the first online newspaper I have found has written about most of those same pitfalls and drawbacks. The article is linked below.
When Short Sale Fraud isn’t
Media posts on short sale fraud seem to be getting more popular as the mortgage crisis moves on. The problem is that explanations of that fraud and avoiding being a victim, seem to make the explanation even less evident.
Benefits of a professionally negotiated Short Sale
I was reminded of a big benefit to having an experienced investor negotiate a distressed mortgage short sale. An experienced negotiator/investor can have all, or most, of the deficiency dismissed as a condition of the short sale. Based on the stated hardship of the distressed homeowner, the negotiator will make the dismissal of the deficiency the first condition of the short sale purchase.
FTC forbidding up front mortgage modification fees will ensure the end of beneficial and affordable mortgage modifications
The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, is nearing the end of their hearings on proposing regulations on how prfessional mortgage modification firms get paid for their service. Mandelman and I both published articles about the misguided direction of the FTC at the start of these hearings. Now, Mandelman writes an even more in-depth criticism of these hearings.
The REST Report and a strategy to do your own Mortgage Modification evaluation
Mandelman has finally recommended a software program that prequalifies a distressed mortgage owner for a federal HAMP mortgage modification. The solution is called the REST Report.
Published proof from inside the banks that they want to foreclose on you
Half of the distressed homeowners I counsel are convinced there is no reason for their lender to foreclose on them. Those of us in the business have known for months that foreclosure is exactly what their lender has in mind. Here is proof that your bank wants your home.
San Francisco Chronicle recognizes mistake of mortgage modification up-front fee prohibition
Those of us trying to get distressed mortgage modifications to those deserving them have been dismayed for months at the various state and federal government efforts to regulate those of us trying to negotiate those same beneficial and affordable mortgage modifications. We watched as the California Legislature passed their ill-advised SB94. It was and is a bad idea and has proved itself a hindrance to any success that the Home Affordable Mortgage Plan, or HAMP, might have had. Today, the San Francisco Chronicle published an article, linked below, that advises the same conclusion.
