
QUERIN LAW Mission Statement 2018
December 26, 2017 by Phil Querin
[Trigger warning: This post has not been vetted by the Sensitivity Police. If you are offended by sarcasm, irony, satire, mockery, cynicism, acerbity, disdain, jest, banter, and other features occasionally found in normal, interesting, adult repartee, please discontinue reading this post, and find a safe space to curl up with a warm blankie.] A Precocious […]
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Posted in Miscellany, Real Estate General, Realtors, Residential Housiing, Satire | Tagged Real EstateAltisource And Its New “Disruptive Enterprise Software”
August 31, 2014 by Phil Querin
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 […]
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Posted in Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Q-Rants, Real Estate/Distressed, Servicers | Tagged Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Market Conditions, Modification, Real Estate, Short SalesBig Banks, Loan Fraud, and Moral Equivalence – Part Two
October 18, 2013 by Phil Querin
In Part One of my latest rant blog post, I took a look at the Big Banks and their sordid activities during the securitization heydays of 2005 – 2007/8. But I was just getting warmed up. Part Two discusses how the banks have come to the aid of the prosecutors and courts in presenting themselves […]
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Posted in Lenders, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Mortgage Insurance, Ratings Agencies, Real Estate General, Real Estate/Distressed, Servicers, Subprime Mortgages | Tagged Bank Ethics?, Banks, Financial Crisis, Market Conditions, Real Estate, SecuritizationWhat’s In Your Bank?
October 6, 2013 by Phil Querin
In one of the most insightful articles I’ve read about Big Banks from the Great Depression to the present, authors Frank Partnoy and Jesse Eisinger, writing in the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of The Atlantic, discuss why America’s big lending institutions are no safer today, than the months leading up to the 2008 collapse of the […]
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Posted in Dodd-Frank, Financial Crisis, Legislation - Federal, Miscellany, Subprime Crisis | Tagged Bank Ethics?, Banks, Dodd-Frank, Financial Crisis, Q-Rants, Real Estate2013 Short Sale FAQs [Part One]
April 21, 2013 by Phil Querin
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 […]
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Posted in Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, Deficiency Liability, Fannie&Freddie, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Mills, GSEs, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Real Estate/Distressed, Realtors, Servicers, Short Sales, Tax Issues | Tagged Banks, Deed In Lieu Of Foreclsoure, Deficiency Liability, Distressed Transactions, Fannie & Freddie, Foreclosure, Market Conditions, Mortgages, Real Estate, Realtors, Short SalesOregon Real Estate Laws, Customs, & Practices (2013)
April 10, 2013 by Phil Querin
Ever wondered whether the seller or buyer pays for title insurance in a residential transaction? What if the seller is selling on contract, where title is not conveyed until there is a full payoff? Is title insurance appropriate? What kind of policy should be ordered, and when? And what about escrow costs and recording fees […]
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Posted in Broker Risk Management | Tagged Legislation - Oregon, Real Estate, Realtors2013 Fiscal Cliff Legislation And Its Impact On The Real Estate Industry
January 17, 2013 by Phil Querin
If the politicians in Washington today were instead the CEOs of private industry, they’d all have been fired by now.” Anonymous [sort of] Introduction. At the end of 2012 we all went over the Fiscal Cliff like Wile E. Coyote. But unlike Wile E., we were able to grab a hold of a small scraggly branch on […]
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Posted in Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, Deficiency Liability, Financial Crisis, GSEs, Legislation - Federal, Loan Modifications, Market Conditions, Miscellany, Real Estate/Distressed, Realtors, Refinancing, REOs, Short Sales | Tagged Banks, Deed In Lieu Of Foreclsoure, Foreclosure, Legislation - Oregon, Mortgages, Oregon, Real Estate, Realtors, Short SalesHAMP, 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 DefaultWill 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 Street