For a brief history of the multiple extensions of the The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 (“the Act”), go to my June 2017 post here. I predicted at the time that it would be extended through 2018; but I also predicted that news of the extension would be slow in coming, because this law – which no politician in their right mind would actively oppose – was a small bit player in the horse-trading that takes place at the end of each year for tax extenders, and often is not finally settled until early the following year. Then, once the legislation is passed, it is applied retroactively to January 1 of the preceding year. Continue reading “Mortgage Debt Relief Act Extended Through 2018 – Finally!”
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”
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!”
“…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”
“Ocwen, Ocwen, Ocwen.” What a peculiar sounding name for a large company! Does it have some noble Greek meaning? Or perhaps a venerated Roman god high on the Pantheon of deities? Surely, a quick Google search will provide an etymology, and the mystery will be solved. Right? No, Nada, Nyet! There is nothing; just a name with no provenance. But wait! One genealogy site shows there to be a single birth record of someone with the name of “Ocwen.” However, that’s it. The trail abruptly ends. No other births, no family records, no divorces, no death notices. Just an odd name, a cipher, existing in a peculiar jumble of discordant letters. Hmmm. Sounds slightly demonic, like something from a Dracula script; the undead – existing to suck the life from its victims. Given the Ocwen we see today, perhaps that isn’t too far from the truth….[Continue here.]
These FAQs were previously located on the FAQ Section of the Q-Law homepage. They have been replaced by another set of frequently asked questions on foreclosures [which will consist of at least three parts and 30+ FAQs]. However, since short sales have not completely disappeared, and aren’t likely to do so for at least another year, I decided to add the short sale FAQs to the Q-Law Real Estate Articles Section of the homepage. The direct link is here. That way, even though short sales are gradually receding in the rearview mirror of memory, folks still in the throws of having to make a distressed housing decision will have another resource. ~PCQ
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?”
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
Introduction. The term “multiple offers” refers to situations in which sellers receive two or more offers to purchase their property. The reason for multiple offers during the boom years of 2005 – 2007 was because prices were rising rapidly, and buyers wanted their offers accepted quickly in order to lock in the price. Consider this: With average prices appreciating, say 18% per year [which was not unheard of], this meant that at 1.5% a month, by the time a buyer closed in 45-60 days, he or she had already realized a sizeable amount of paper equity. On the other side of the coin, sellers who had already committed to sell were often lured by higher offers that came in while their sale was pending with another buyer. It is for this reason that there were so many specific performance suits and/or arbitrations filed during this time; sellers didn’t want to close with their buyer, because after they went under contract they found they could get a better price, and looked for reasons to terminate the first transaction. Continue reading “QUERIN LAW: Dealing with Multiple Offers in 2013”
