There’s a judge in Brooklyn, NY, who has tossed out nearly half of the foreclosure cases brought before him over the past year, because the lenders have such messy paper trails that they can’t prove ownership anymore.
loans
Brooklyn Judge Rejects Improperly Documented Foreclosure Motions, Shocks Banking Industry
By 8.31.09
Bad News: Yet Another Record Month For Foreclosures
By 8.13.09
For the third time in the last five months a new record for foreclosure filings has been reached says foreclosure tracking firm RealtyTrac. July saw an increase of 7% from June of this year and, even more telling, a 35% increase from last year.
Poor Customer Service Preventing Home Owners From Modifying Mortgages?
By 8.4.09
There is currently a $75 billion program called MHA or Making Home Affordable, which aims to modify mortgages so home owners can stay in their homes. According to a new report by the Treasury Department, some banks are starting off so slowly that they’ve yet to modify a single mortgage. Others, like Bank of America, have modified only 4% of the eligible mortgages in its portfolio that are 60 or more days delinquent.
Banks That Reap Fees From Bad Loans Won't Want To Help Beleaguered Homeowners
By 7.30.09
The White House has asked mortgage executives to come up with the manpower to stop precarious loans from becoming foreclosures, but a New York Times story says finance experts say a lack of bodies isn’t the problem. It’s greed.
Mortgage Mod Scams Using Paperthin Lawyers As Legit Front
By 7.24.09
“Let me put it this way. It’s like food stamps,” said the mortgage modification telemarketer trying to talk consumer advocate and Red Tape Chronicles blogger Bob Sullivan into a new loan. Following the trail of who this guy works for lead Sullivan to discover a new kind of mortgage modification scammer.
Study Shows People Take Out Loans At 400% Even When They Do Know Better
By 7.24.09
Why would you ever take out a loan at 400% interest? Because you’re absolutely desperate, or because you have no idea what 400% interest actually means. Well, many people do it every two weeks. It’s called a payday loan, and Slate has an article discussing the findings of a recent study on these “storefront loan sharks”.
Most Payday Loans Are To Repay Other Payday Loans
By 7.14.09
Listen to the payday loan industry and their apologists and they’ll try to tell you that their customers are savvy and just need of a break to tide them over. But a new survey (PDF) shows that most payday loans are to repay other payday loans. Of the 80% of borrowers who take out multiple payday loans in a year:
Lender Makes Borrowers Pledge Their Souls
By 7.8.09
Mirosiichenko said his company would not employ debt collectors to get its money back if people refused to repay, and promised no physical violence. Signatories only have to give their first name and do not show any documents. “If they don’t give it back, what can you do? They won’t have a soul, that’s all.”
Obama To Call For Financial Watchdog Agency
By 6.16.09 — Updated: 2.24.17
Tomorrow, President Obama is expected to call for the creation of a new watchdog agency that would help protect consumers from abusive credit card, mortgage, banking practices. The banking industry is not happy about the idea, reports CNN. But hey, they’re just looking out for us: “It’s bad for consumers,” a banking industry lobbyist told the network. Oh, well, never mind then, and pass me some more delicious subprime!
Affidavits On How Wells Fargo Gave "Ghetto Loans" To "Mud People"
By 6.8.09
Here’s the official court filing (PDF) so you can get the full details on how Wells Fargo pushed or even fraudulently placed black borrowers into sub-prime loans, even when those borrowers could afford prime loans, along with an office environment where employees threw around racist slurs, calling black borrowers “mud people” and their mortgages “ghetto loans.” The official statements referenced in the NYT article are in this document in full. The affidavits begin on page 48. Two screenshots inside…
Pay Off Debt Like You're Training For A Marathon
By 6.8.09
How is paying off all your loans and becoming debt-free like training for a marathon? JD, a personal finance blogger who is training for a marathon shares his tips. For instance, running first thing in the morning is a lot like the idea of “paying yourself first.” To wit:
Interest Rates Will Rise Within The Year, Markets Bet
By 6.8.09
As growing global economic optimism begins to build, the market is betting that the Fed will raise interest rates by the end of this year. This will mean mortgages will get more costly and credit card APRs will rise, but the interest you make off your savings account will go up. [Bloomberg] (Photo: Ben Popken)
Loan Officers Detail Wells Fargo's Blatantly Racist Subprime Loans
By 6.7.09
UPDATE: Read the affidavits here.
Repo Man: Borked Chrysler Site Can't Take Your Money, But Can Rack Up Late Fees
By 6.3.09
Late last Thursday night, two guys rang reader Sean’s doorbell and asked if he’d like to get anything out of his 2007 Jeep Compass before they repossessed it. Since then, Sean has tried to get current on his payments, but Chrysler’s web site snafus have kept him from getting the cash to Chrysler, which won’t let him get his car back unless he forks over hundreds of dollars in fees. Oy. Sean’s story, inside..
By 6.2.09
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Know your financial obligations: Though you let your car get voluntarily repossessed, you’re still responsible for the unpaid balance on the loan, plus any storage and transportation fees, plus interest charges. [Bankrate]
Judge Slaps Ameriquest Hard For Selling Mortgage, Then Pretending To Still Own It
By 6.1.09
Ameriquest originated a mortage, securitized it, and sold it. Then pretended it still owned the mortgage to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge. Whoops.
Costly Private Loans Masquerade As Federal Student Loans
By 5.22.09
Some students who didn’t read the fine print are finding out too late that what they thought were federal student loans were actually private loans. The mistake is the difference between a 6% and 18% interest rate.
Acting CFO Of Freddie Mac Found Dead This Morning
By 4.22.09
David Kellermann, a former Freddie Mac senior vice president who had been serving as the acting chief financial officer of the mortgage buying company since its takeover by the federal government last September, was found “hanging in the basement of his Reston home, dead from an apparent suicide” early this morning. Police were called to his home by someone inside the house at about 5 am today and found Kellermann’s body.
