Short Sale Fraud – Hard Time For A Bogus Hardship
February 2, 2013 by Phil Querin
January 29, 2013 was a very bad day for Diane Hathaway. That was the day she pled guilty to bank fraud, committed in the course of securing her lender’s consent to a short sale of her Michigan manse in Gross Pointe Park. The home reportedly carried a $1.4 million mortgage with online bank, Ing Direct,[1] […]
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Posted in Miscellany, Real Estate/Distressed, Short Sales | Tagged Deficiency Liability, Distressed Transactions, Financial Crisis, Market Conditions, Promissory Notes, Short SalesBorrower Exposure to Deficiency Risk
January 28, 2013 by Phil Querin
“To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” The term “deficiency” arises in the context of a borrower’s default to their lender. It refers to the difference between what the lender/servicer recovers, e.g. through short sale, deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure (“DIL”), or foreclosure, and the total debt owing. Let’s go through each one, and see how and when the […]
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Posted in Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, Deficiency Liability, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Legislation - Federal, Legislation - Oregon, Lenders, Loan Modifications, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Real Estate/Distressed, Subprime Crisis, Trust Deeds | Tagged Banks, Deficiency Liability, Distressed Transactions, Financial Crisis, Legislation - Oregon, Market Conditions, Modification, Mortgages, Promissory Notes, REOs, Short Sales, Trust DeedsHAMP, HARP, and Harpster
January 5, 2013 by Phil Querin
My fondness for alliterations compels the title. I could not resist. The purpose of this post is to welcome Lake Oswego attorney extraordinaire, Kelly Harpster, to the blogosphere – that vast otherworld known as the Internet, where one can accomplish two respectable goals: (a) Sharing important information on self-selected topics, and (b) doing so through […]
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Posted in Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Legislation - Federal, Legislation - Oregon, Lenders, Loan Modifications, Market Conditions, MERS, Miscellany, Real Estate/Distressed | Tagged Banks, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Legislation - Oregon, Market Conditions, MERS, Real Estate, Strategic DefaultBelial Bank’s 2012 Holiday Planning Meeting
December 9, 2012 by Phil Querin
Following a rough and tumble year in the banking industry, Belial Bank’s feckless fearless leader, B.L. Zebub, believes it is high time to bring some levity and loyalty to the lowly troops who have been tirelessly foreclosing all the Beleaguered Borrowers they may have missed the first and second time around. Mostly, however, B.L. is […]
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Posted in B. L. Zebub, Belial Bank, Deficiency Liability, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Mills, Legislation - Federal, Lenders, Market Conditions, MERS, Real Estate/Distressed, Realtors, REOs, Servicers, Subprime Crisis, Tax Issues | Tagged B.L. Zebub, Bank Ethics?, Belial Bank, Distressed Transactions, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Mills, Legislation - Oregon, Market Conditions, MERS, Mortgages, Rating Agencies, Realtors, REOs, Securitization, Servicers, Wall StreetBig Banks: The Illusion of Strength
December 3, 2012 by Phil Querin
“I don’t care about being strong; I just want to look strong.” [Heard in the gym from a steroid-infused bodybuilder] This statement could have been quietly uttered by any number of CEOs and CFOs today when speaking privately about their Big Banks. In an interesting Bloomberg article [“Breaking Up Banks Is Hard With Traders […]
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Posted in Fannie&Freddie, Financial Crisis, GSEs, Legislation - Federal, Lenders, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Subprime Crisis | Tagged Banks, Fannie & Freddie, Financial Crisis, Market Conditions, Wall StreetWill The Mortgage Forgiveness Law Be Extended?
November 30, 2012 by Phil Querin
Background. In 2007 Congress passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. The gist of the law is that for those taxpayers who have had debt cancelled as the result of a principal write-down, short sale, deed-in-lieu, or foreclosure, the ordinary income tax that would normally be assessed is forgiven. There are two primary qualifications: (a) […]
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Posted in Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Legislation - Federal, Loan Modifications, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Real Estate/Distressed, Realtors, Short Sales, Tax Issues | Tagged Banks, Deed In Lieu Of Foreclsoure, Distressed Transactions, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Market Conditions, Real Estate, Realtors, Short SalesPortland Metro Housing Prices – The Last Five Years [Part Two]
November 25, 2012 by Phil Querin
This is the second installment of my article looking back over the past five years at Portland housing statistics. Part One examined the real reason for the housing crisis which officially commenced in 3Q 2007, and looked at the historic numbers for average and median (i.e. “mean”) sale prices according to the RMLS™. The link […]
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Posted in Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, Fannie&Freddie, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, GSEs, Legislation - Federal, Legislation - Oregon, Lenders, Loan Modifications, Market Conditions, MERS, Miscellany, Real Estate/Distressed, Realtors, Refinancing, REOs, Servicers, Short Sales, Subprime Crisis, Subprime Mortgages, Trust Deeds | Tagged Banks, Deed-In-Lieu, Distressed Transactions, Fannie & Freddie, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Legislation - Oregon, Loan Mods, Market Conditions, MERS, Mortgages, Oregon, Piggy-Back Loans, Rating Agencies, Real Estate, Realtors, Refinancing, REOs, Servicers, Short Sales, Wall StreetPortland Metro Housing Prices – The Last Five Years [Part One]
November 20, 2012 by Phil Querin
Background – 3Q 2007. Looking back, August 2007 was a memorable month, filled with good news and bad. Based upon RMLS™ numbers, it was a statistically impressive month for closed residential transactions in the Portland Metro area. The bad news was that it was the last such month we were to see. From that point […]
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Posted in Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Lenders, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Ratings Agencies, Real Estate/Distressed, Realtors, REOs, Short Sales, Subprime Mortgages | Tagged Banks, Distressed Transactions, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Lawyers, Market Conditions, Mortgages, Oregon, Real Estate, Realtors, REOs, Short Sales, Wall StreetMERS Fatigue
November 17, 2012 by Phil Querin
OK, I admit it! I am suffering from chronic MERS fatigue. Every few days, in some part of the country, MERS gets sued by someone. Sometimes it involves a pending foreclosure; other times it involves some state or county suing to recover lost recording fees. And the beat goes on. MERS apologists, aka the Big […]
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Posted in Fannie&Freddie, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Lenders, MERS, Miscellany, Real Estate/Distressed, Subprime Crisis | Tagged Bank Ethics?, Distressed Transactions, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Market Conditions, MERS, Mortgages, Oregon, Promissory NotesDistressed Housing FAQs
November 3, 2012 by Phil Querin
Question [Hardship Letters]. I am trying to do a short sale. The bank is asking me for a “hardship letter.” What is it they are looking for? Do I have to have some life changing event to qualify for help, such as divorce or some financial calamity? Answer. I rarely, if ever, have seen a […]
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Posted in Deficiency Liability, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Legislation - Oregon, Lenders, Miscellany, Real Estate/Distressed | Tagged Deficiency Liability, Distressed Transactions, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Legislation - Oregon, Market Conditions, Oregon, Promissory Notes, Real Estate, Short Sales, Trust Deeds
