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Governor Jerry Brown Turns Robber Baron with Foreclosure Settlement
A few months ago, the State of California agreed to participate in settlement with the nation’s five largest home lenders over their foreclosure procedures. California Attorney General Kamala Harris had walked away from the settlement discussions several months earlier. She only agreed to return to them when the banks agreed to pay more money to California residents who had been impacted by their procedures. In the final agreement, the banks agreed to allocate $410 million which was to be used to compensate those who lost their homes through foreclosures that used illegal procedures. But now Gov. Brown has decided that he wants to use that money for other purposes. Specifically, to plug some holes in the state’s $16 Billion deficit.
California was key to the bank settlement. The state has the largest overall number Read the rest of this entry »
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Another Drop in Housing Prices?
Is another drop in housing prices on its way? Well, according to economist Gary Shilling the answer is “yes.”
In a piece that Shilling penned for the Christian Science Monitor, he said that he foresees another correction that could be as much as 20%. He believes that the only bright spot in housing markets these days is in multiunit rentals.
“Housing activity remains depressed, with the only life coming from the multifamily component, which is being driven by the zeal for rental apartments as homeownership falls.”
Of course, Shilling’s assessment is for the market nationwide. And there, he may very well be correct. As I mentioned in a recent blog posting, B of A has just changed Read the rest of this entry »
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Real Estate Scam Artists Targeting Lenders Now Facing Criminal Charges
If you read a lot of stories about real estate, it is easy to come to the conclusion that banks are made up of “bad guys”. They are all out to profit at the expense of poor, defenseless consumers. That is precisely what a lot of mainstream media sites would like you to believe. But the truth of the matter is that banks are made up of people who are trying to do their jobs the best way that they know how. Yes, there are some bad players. But you will find that in any segment of society. As proof of this, I offer you the tale of a real estate scam in which the lenders are the victims.
The LA District Attorney has just charged a group of people with defrauding CitiMortgage and MetLife Bank out of $2.3 Million in a real estate fraud scheme. In this scheme, the crooks used stolen Read the rest of this entry »
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Wanna Sell Your House Next Year? There’s a Tax for That
Selling your home or being foreclosed on is likely to get a lot more expensive after the end of this year. The reason for this is federal taxes. There are three major changes in federal tax law that are slated to take place at the beginning of next year, and only Congress can change them. But given the current state of polarization in Washington, DC, I simply don’t think that anyone should count on that. In fact, my bet is that Congress won’t act and that the White House doesn’t want them to.
I’m going to start this out with the big disclaimer that is beaten into all real estate agents. I’m not an accountant or a tax attorney, and real estate agents are not qualified to give tax or legal advice. That said, I have evolved slightly beyond the amoeba state so I am capable of Read the rest of this entry »
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Bank of America Restructuring Short Sale Process
If you think that you can put your house up for sale in a short sale and then have the opportunity to stay in it for another six months, Bank of America has news for you. If your mortgage is with them, those days are gone. The bank has announced that it is restructuring its approval process and the new procedures will be in full force and effect by next week. That’s good news for buyers, real estate agents and for sellers who want to unload their home. But for those who have been gaming the system to say in their homes for months… or in some cases, years… the party is over.
Bank of America is going to be overhauling its system this coming weekend. According to a Read the rest of this entry »
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