In a November 25, 2014 article by Adam D. Maarec of Davis Wright Tremaine, my old alma mater, posted here, he notes that attorneys general from sixteen states signed a letter to the ubiquitous, omniscient, and otherwise ever-vigilant, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, aka the “CFPB” – or as they like to refer to themselves, using the Hoover-esque nom de plume, “the Bureau,” urging that it adopt rules imposing “prohibitions, conditions, or limitations on the use of pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer agreements for financial products or services.” Continue reading “Querin Law: State AGs Ask CFPB To Limit Arbitrations”
Ocwen, the servicing industry’s version of a corporate piñata, is, once again, stealing the wrong kind of headlines. In a November 8, 2014 article [“Firm Accused Of Illegal Practices That Push Families Into Foreclosure”] appearing on npr.org, here, the servicing behemoth is accused of – gasp! – gouging borrowers. No! Not Ocwen! How can that be?! Their motto is “Helping Homeowners Is What We Do.” Continue reading “Ocwen: The Servicing Industry’s Corporate Piñata”
Introduction. For most readers of my rants posts, it is no secret that I am a strong supporter of the “little guy;” the folks who suffered the brunt of the Great Recession; whose political heft is felt only during elections, and is otherwise at the mercy of politicians, their hacks and cronies.
However, during the post-recession years, circa 2010 forward, I have watched with disgust what our elected leaders have done under the guise of helping the “little guy.” In my opinion, they have taken every opportunity to capitalize on every transgression by Wall Street and the Big Banks, to fear-monger and fight, solely in an effort to shore up their flagging poll numbers. While trying to aggregate power in Washington, they have completely ignored the needs of the constituents that elected them. Continue reading “Political Dithering – Why Pols Can’t Focus On Extending The Tax Forgiveness Law For 2014”
This secret congressional testimony was surreptitiously transcribed and delivered anonymously to me by a high-level government employee who had recently been foreclosed by Cerberus Servicing Systems, a little known, but highly aggressive foreclosure company. Cerbrus’ namesake is the mythical three-headed dog, guarding the gates of Hell, preventing those who enter from ever leaving. Cerberus Servicing goes after those borrowers the Big Banks wants to teach a “lesson” to, since it requires a uniquely demonic set of skills. Cerberus’ trademark tactic is to pretend to be interested in assisting homeowners to modify their loans, using platitudes such as “We Care” and “We’re Here to Help,” while simultaneously commencing a foreclosure against them. Cerberus personnel are known for their perverse enjoyment of intentionally losing a homeowner’s modification paperwork and then ignoring their pleas to postpone the foreclosure sale so they can re-send their loan mod documents a 4th or 5th time. PCQ Continue reading “Breaking News: Big Bank Spills All To Secret Congressional Committee!”
In a recent article appearing at the online site “nationalmortgagenews.com” there appeared a short blurb titled “Altisource Opens Technology Office in India.” For those who have never heard of Altisource, they are one of the few major members on the Pantheon of Scoundrels, or POS, for short. On their website, they proudly boast:
Altisource provides services to some of the most respected organizations in their industries, including one of the nation’s largest sub-prime servicers….
Continue reading “Altisource And Its New “Disruptive Enterprise Software””
In January 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published a study titled “The Structure and Practices of the Debt Buying Industry.” The full report can be found here. It makes very interesting reading, and confirms a few things I’ve always suspected.
The reason this information appeals to me is that in some instances, homeowners involved in some form of distressed housing event, such as a short sale, are unable to get the lender or servicer to waive the unpaid balance of the debt, i.e. the difference between the lender’s net recovery in the short sale and the full amount of the debt due [often including thousands of dollars of accrued interest].
When asked by clients what they should do, I tell them the decision is theirs…but to me the choice is clear. Here’s why: Continue reading “Pssst! Wanna Buy Some Unpaid Mortgage Debt – Only 4 Cents On The Dollar!”
In a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled “Mortgage Lenders Ease Rules for Home Buyers in Hunt for Business” by Nick Timiraos and Annamaria Andriotis, we continue to hear that banks are beating the bushes for borrowers; and they are relaxing some of the tough lending requirements that have stymied may would-be homebuyers in the last few years. The reason? The refi boom which was triggered by ever lower interest rates has about run its course. In the search for other profit centers, many banks are trying to fill the void with loan origination business. Continue reading “Are Mortgage Lending Rules Easing?”
A change in how the most widely used credit score in the U.S. is tallied will likely make it easier for tens of millions of Americans to get loans. ~Wall Street Journal Online, August 7, 2014.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal online article [FICO Recalibrates Its Credit Scores], FICO is going to get under the hood and re-jigger some of its proprietary algorithms, to deal with the realities of the damage wreaked on distressed homeowners over the past five years. Continue reading “Fair Isaac Co. (aka “FICO”) Just Got Fairer!”
“…the United States is still producing around $800 billion a year less in goods and services than it would if the economy were at full health, and as a result millions of people aren’t working who would be if conditions were better.” Neil Irwin, senior economics correspondent, N.Y. Times, Aug. 4, 2014.
If the U.S. economy were a person, we’d characterize them as suffering from chronic malaise, interrupted by occasional bursts of vitality. In a recent N.Y. Times article subtitled “A Recovery in Need of a Recovery” (here), author, Neil Irwin, the paper’s senior economics correspondent, does an excellent job identifying and discussing those sectors of the economy in need of a Venti Americano, with a few extra shots of caffeine. Continue reading “America’s Economic Malaise And The Importance Of Real Estate”
While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two GSEs[1] who’ve received the most attention of late – and much of it bad, after being taken over by the feds in October 2008 – their forgotten little sister, Ginnie Mae,[2] has been quietly growing into a strong young woman – metaphorically speaking. Continue reading “Ginnie Mae – The Forgotten Sister”