Introduction. On September 2, 2013 the online Wall Street Journal carried an article that should be of interest to thousands of folks who have weathered the last five years of unpleasantness, but in the process suffered a short sale, foreclosure or perhaps a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure. The full article can be found here. Continue reading “New FHA Underwriting Guidelines – Good News For Former Distressed Homeowners Re-Entering The Marketplace”
OK, we’ve made it through the first half of 2013. We now have six months’ of foreclosure statistics. I posted the first quarter stats for the year here. Now, armed with the second quarter, I’m prepared to prognosticate – for what it’s worth. [Actually, Q3 and Q4 will be the most interesting, as we move forward into a post-Niday foreclosure world, and SB 558, the mandatory resolution law, goes into effect. I predicted here, that the Niday and Brandrup decisions would have little impact on the Big Bank judicial foreclosures; the stats going into the end of 2013 will give us a peek of things to come.] Here is the link to the 2Q stats. What follows is a “back of the napkin” analysis – i.e. scribbled notes and scrambled thoughts. I could be all wrong. Time will tell. Continue reading “Q2 Portland-Metro Foreclosure Stats – What Are They Telling Us?”
It is no secret that my regard for the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (“the CFPB”) is akin to my regard for Bubonic Plague; they both grow exponentially, can be difficult to eradicate – and they both come from rats. For background about this regulatory Leviathon, see my rants posts here and here. Continue reading “The CFPB – Spawn of Frankendodd”
Background. As mentioned in an earlier post here, the Niday case, which I have previously commented on here and here as it was winding its way up the appellate process, and its companion case, Brandrup, were recently decided by the Oregon Supreme Court.
- Brandrup presented to the Court four “certified questions” for the judges, sitting as a full panel “en banc”, regarding MERS and its role as henchman for the Big Banks in the Oregon trust deed foreclosure process. The Brandrup opinion is found here.
- Niday, was decided based of the Court’s answers to the certified questions in Brandrup. The Niday opinion is found here. Continue reading “Will The Niday & Brandrup Rulings Change How Foreclosures Are Conducted In Oregon? Not Likely!”
In a important decision on the future role of MERS in Oregon’s non-judicial foreclosure process, the Oregon Supreme Court answered four certified questions that had been submitted to it. Herewith, verbatim, is a copy of the media release. This is not the court’s written opinion. The release contains a link to the official opinion. [Note: I changed the formatting slightly for readability. PCQ]
SUPREME COURT Media Release Contact: The full text of these opinions can be found at http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/ Stephen P. Armitage Staff Attorney (503) 986-7023
Cases decided June 6, 2013
Bart G. Brandrup, et al., v. Recontrust Company, N.A., et al., (USDC Case No. 311CV1390HZ, 311CV1399HZ, 311CV1533SI, 312CV0010HA) (SC S060281)
On certified questions from the United States District Court. The certified questions are answered. Opinion of the Court by Justice David V. Brewer. Justice Rives Kistler concurred in part and dissented in part, and filed an opinion in which Chief Justice Thomas A. Balmer joined.
Today, the Oregon Supreme Court issued an opinion answering four questions that had been certified to it by the United States District Court. The questions all pertain to the Oregon Trust Deed Act (OTDA) and how it is affected by the practice in the home mortgage industry of drafting mortgages and trust deeds so that a certain Delaware corporation, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), rather than the lender, is identified as the security instrument’s “beneficiary.” The questions arose when home loan borrowers in four separate cases brought actions in state court against MERS and other entitles that were attempting to use the nonjudicial foreclosure procedures of the OTDA to foreclose the trust deeds securing plaintiffs’ home loans. In each case, plaintiffs sought to enjoin the foreclosure on the ground that a condition for nonjudicial foreclosure set out in ORS 86.735(1) — that any assignments of the trust deed by the “beneficiary” be recorded in the relevant county real property records — had not been satisfied. In each case, defendants removed the case to federal court and then filed a motion to dismiss under FRCP 12(b)(6), arguing that MERS was the lawful beneficiary under the trust deeds and that all assignments of the trust deeds by MERS had been recorded. Uncertain as whether MERS could be deemed the “beneficiary” of the trust deeds in question under the OTDA, and, if not, what role MERS could play under the statute, the United States District Court certified the following (reframed) questions to the Oregon Supreme Court: Continue reading “QUERIN LAW: Oregon Supreme Court Decides Niday and Brandrup”
One of the most notable bi-products of the foreclosure disaster, was another disaster – the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act; a 2300 page tome bearing the names of two of the primary beneficiaries of the Lender Lobby, Chris Dodd, charter member of the “Friends of Angelo” [as in Angelo Mozilo, CEO of Countrywide] who gave sweetheart loans to his political cronies, and the irascible Barney Frank, whose distinction lies in the fact that while heading the Financial Services Committee in 2006, he patently ignored the credit and housing bubbles, while taking campaign money from one of his two largest contributors, the American Bankers Association. And both men – in what can best be described as “biting the hand that fed them” – co-authored the uber-regulatory bill that bears their names, then promptly retired from the Senate, leaving the bureaucrats to write the 400 rules interpreting this wildly aspirational set of laws.[1] Continue reading “CFPB – A Bad Case of Mission Creep”
Ever been curious which areas are hardest hit by foreclosures in the Portland-Metro counties? Wondering how many judicial vs. non-judicial foreclosures are filed? Are the foreclosure mills going to be hiring or firing personnel over the coming months?
Well, thanks to the raw data ably compiled in First American Title Company of Oregon’s Foreclosure Report, and a skilled Notre Dame law grad, Danica Skeoch, who did the wonderful graphics, the information for the first quarter of 2013 is depicted on the following ten pages here. I have some thoughts on what they mean, and hope to post them soon. Enjoy! ~PCQ
An unfortunate fact of life is that housing and financial problems can metastasize, destroying marriages and families. When this happens, despite the cloud of unhappiness that hovers over a couple’s life during these times, differences should be set aside when it comes to how to dispose of the family home. Continue reading “QUERIN LAW: Distressed Property, Distressed Marriage (2013)”
By now, most Realtors® have heard the rumblings about defective bank foreclosures in Oregon and elsewhere. What you may not have heard is that these flawed foreclosures can result in potential title problems down the road.
Here’s the “Reader’s Digest” version of the issue: Several recent federal court cases in Continue reading “Realtors® – Use Caution When Representing Buyers of Bank REOs”
The local and national real estate markets have been on the ropes for five years. The third quarter of 2007 was the statistical peak for housing prices in the Portland-Metro area. From that point forward, the real estate market went into a downward spiral from which it has never fully recovered.
However, the third quarter of 2012 was the first time since the third quarter of 2007 that home prices have actually increased over the prior year. Bend, Oregon is experiencing the same resurgence.
So for those homeowners still awash in negative equity, 2013 may be the last and best year to complete a short sale with a minimum of adverse consequences. This is especially true since this year we know that if a home is short sold [or foreclosed, or deeded back in lieu of foreclosure] the seller will not have to pay income tax on the cancelled debt.[1] We don’t know if the forgiveness law will be extended into 2014. The extension for this year was not even announced until early January 2013, causing a lot of anxiety for homeowners who were unable to complete their short sales by December 31, 2012.
What follows are a series of FAQs based upon the latest information I have acquired while consulting with homeowners on their foreclosure avoidance options. ~ PCQ Continue reading “2013 Short Sale FAQs [Part One]”
