Oregon Live-

A late attempt by the finance industry to change Oregon mortgage recording laws is dead.

Oregon House Judiciary co-chair Wayne Krieger opened a hearing this afternoon and said the amendment sought by loan servicers, title companies and credit unions would not pass out of the committee today. Minutes later, the committee voted to approve Senate Bill 519, the bill that the financial industry lobby attempted to amend.

At least they agree a cloud hoovers over foreclosures…

Oregon Live-

A bid by major financial institutions to retroactively waive Oregon recording requirements blocking foreclosure sales appears in jeopardy but will get at least one more day, a legislative leader says.

[ipaper docId=56770733 access_key=key-yffs6yq1bun6j1jpddk height=600 width=600 /]

Staradvertiser-

It will be several months until a key consumer-protection provision of Hawaii’s overhauled foreclosure law can be used. But there has been one immediate impact: a freeze on many new foreclosures and auctions of homes owned by occupants.

The new law, which took effect earlier this month, did not prescribe a foreclosure moratorium, but the law prohibits lenders from holding nonjudicial foreclosure auctions until borrowers have an opportunity to participate in a dispute resolution program.

Poll: Should Oregon lawmakers give foreclosures, MERS a do-over?

OregonLive-

A federal judge this week issued a stern rebuke to big banks and the Mortgage Electronic Registration System in its handling of foreclosures and what he called a violation of a long-standing Oregon recording law.

Now, the financial industry lobby wants the Oregon Legislature to amend an affordable housing bill to retroactively waive those reporting requirements.

[ipaper docId=56562854 access_key=key-1i78dfa8ydriwym94290 height=600 width=600 /]

Denver Post-

Nearly a dozen major banks and hedge funds, anticipating quick profits from homeowners who fall behind on property taxes, are quietly plowing hundreds of millions of dollars into businesses that collect the debts, tack on escalating fees and threaten to foreclose on the homes of those who fail to pay.

The investors, which include Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, have purchased from local governments the right to collect delinquent taxes on several hundred thousand properties, many in distressed housing markets, the Huffington Post Investigative Fund has found.

In many cases, banks and hedge funds created new companies to do their bidding.

In exchange for paying overdue real-estate taxes, the investors gain legal powers to collect the debts and levy fees. At first, property owners may owe little more than a few hundred dollars, only to find their bills soaring into the thousands. Some jurisdictions tack on bills, such as for water, sewer and sidewalk repair.

Chicago Sun-Times-

It isn’t clear what is worse: the housing crisis that keeps deepening or the reports of pervasive banking fraud that keep getting exposed. With the banks facing billions in potential damages, perhaps some measure of justice can be done to the homeowners who have been the victims of the crisis and the crimes.

We’re still not at the bottom of the housing mess. Home prices continue to fall. Now nearly 30 percent of homes with mortgages are under water. Another 2 million in foreclosures are due to come. Banks are sitting on hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes, a dead weight on any recovery in home prices.

[image: Bilerico]

HuffPO-

When banks were caught improperly signing off on foreclosure documents last fall, consumer advocates and property rights experts hoped the public outcry would force the companies to change their foreclosure processing systems to ensure that meaningful document reviews were conducted and wrongful foreclosures were prevented.

But in at least one county in North Carolina, banks have responded by exploiting a filing loophole that has allowed them to continue signing off on key documents en masse, according to a local official.

Come back and check these two links below…

MERS Signing Agreements /Corporate Resolutions Signed Using Stamps

~

ARE MERS’ SIGNATURES ON DOCUMENTS REAL or SCANNED DUPLICATES?

The Temporary Rules, a Certified Conversion Petition form, a form by which co-owners and co-signers may agree to submit the case to the courts, and form judgments are available on the Judiciary’s website.  Because Act 48 became effective May 5, the rules are effective as of that date.  Anyone, however, may propose amendments to the temporary rules by sending an email to pao@courts.state.hi.us or writing to the Judiciary’s Communications and Community Relations office at 417 South King Street, Room 212, Honolulu, HI 96813.

Act 48 specifies that public auctions of real property resulting from non-judicial foreclosures cannot take place on court property. According to the law and effective immediately, non-judicial foreclosure auctions may no longer be held on judiciary grounds and are to be held at state buildings designated by the Department of Accounting and General Services. Judicial foreclosure auctions may continue to be held on court grounds.

[ipaper docId=56062097 access_key=key-qqa5aaky4qvya4y9rbj height=600 width=600 /]

Excerpt:

In all mortgage foreclosure actions pending on May 9,2011, before any merits hearing in the case, or if an order of foreclosure has been entered, before any foreclosure sale, the Mortgagee shall, through its attorney of record, file with the court and serve upon every Mortgagor a notice of the Mortgagots right to foreclosure intervention. All proceedings in the foreclosure action shall be stayed until completion of such foreclosure intervention.

No foreclosure hearing or foreclosure sale may be held in the foreclosure action until the Mortgagee’s attorney certifies the following:

Continue below…

[ipaper docId=54538968 access_key=key-fp3scs2ub28q7ondaw5 height=600 width=600 /]

We saw this coming for a bit now…

(Reuters) – The Internal Revenue Service has launched a review of the tax-exempt status of a widely-held form of mortgage-backed securities called REMICs.

The IRS confirmed to Reuters that the review comes in response to mounting evidence that banks violated tax requirements by mishandling the transfer of mortgages to REMICs, short for Real Estate Mortgage Conduits.

By Les Christie, staff writerMarch 18, 2011: 4:14 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — It’s not always easy to feel sorry for sunny Florida. But they just got hit with another blow.

On Thursday, the Census Bureau revealed that 18% — or 1.6 million — of the Sunshine State’s homes are sitting vacant. That’s a rise of more than 63% over the past 10 years.

Having this amount of oversupply on the market will keep home prices depressed and slow any recovery.

By Lorraine Woellert – Mar 15, 2011 5:46 PM ET

Federal Housing Administration Commissioner David H. Stevens will become head of the Mortgage Bankers Association after he leaves his government post this month, the trade group said.

Stevens last week announced his intention to resign from the housing agency. He will join the Washington-based bankers group in May.

Michael D. Berman, chairman of the bankers group, called Stevens “uniquely qualified” for the job.

“He has had a tremendous impact at FHA,” Berman said in a statement today.

by Kim Miller

Federal mortgage backer Freddie Mac is taking its foreclosure cases from the Fort Lauderdale-based Marshall C. Watson law firm, one of eight Florida firms facing state scrutiny for its handling of home repossessions.

Brad German, a spokesman for Freddie Mac, confirmed the removal of the cases this morning, but did not say why Watson will no longer be used.

“Going forward our servicers will be directing business to other counsel,” German said.

In a statement, the Marshall C. Watson law firm said the parting was a mutual decision made by both sides.

“Freddie Mac and our firm mutually decided to part ways,” that statement said. “The Freddie Mac portfolio was only a small portion of the firm’s business, representing less than ten percent. Our firm will continue to work with Freddie Mac to ensure the transition of files is expedited and smooth. We are operating as normal with respect to all other clients and as always remain focused on providing superior service.”

Via Wall Street Journal:

David H. Stevens, the commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration who steered the agency through a critical stretch of the housing downturn, is expected to leave his post this spring, according to people familiar with the matter.

Officials wouldn’t confirm or deny the pending departure. Mr. Stevens declined to comment.

Mr. Stevens has played key roles shaping the Obama administration’s housing policies at the FHA, an agency that has occupied a vital role in healing housing markets by continuing to make low-down-payment mortgages available. He took the helm of the government loan insurer in July 2009 at a time that it faced rapidly rising losses from mortgage defaults and dwindling reserves, raising the prospect of a taxpayer rescue.

Continue reading WSJ

This according to an 8K filing on 3/7/2011:

DJSP Enterprises, Inc.’s (the “Company’s”) primary customer, the Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A., has announced that it will be ceasing the practice of law with respect to all pending foreclosure matters in the State of Florida as of March 31, 2011.  As a result, the Company does not expect to receive any further file referrals from this customer.

Forgive me, I must start by pointing out that three years after a horrific financial crisis caused by massive fraud, not a single financial executive has gone to jail and that’s wrong.” – Charles Ferguson 2011

From Academy Award® nominated filmmaker, Charles Ferguson (“No End In Sight”), comes INSIDE JOB, the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, INSIDE JOB traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.

Narrated by Academy Award® winner Matt Damon, INSIDE JOB was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China.

This will leave many, especially investors taking an interest as to why? In a press release Wells Fargo citing personal reasons.

Atkins’ retirement is unrelated to the company’s financial condition or financial reporting.

“We understand Howard’s decision to retire after having served Wells Fargo successfully for nearly ten years and after having had a financial services career that has spanned four decades. His tenure included Wells Fargo’s rise from a super-regional industry leader to the global company that it is today following its 2008 acquisition of Wachovia,” said John Stumpf, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “He leaves behind a Wells Fargo that remains financially strong and wholly committed to its strategy of helping all its customers succeed financially.

Other executive’s that left abruptly are Fidelity National Information Services Inc.’s Lee A Kennedy back in March 3, 2010. FIS announcement states, “in order to devote more time to outside interests.” and most recent this year on January 22,2011 came time for MERSCORP’S CEO R.K. Arnold departure.

They may have retired, but surely their names will be mentioned from time to time in the near future.

[read order below]

By David McLaughlin – Jan 25, 2011 7:19 PM ET

A Bank of America Corp. unit, ReconTrust Co. N.A., was ordered by a Nevada judge to temporarily stop foreclosures in the state that aren’t approved by a court order.

Judge Robert W. Lane in Nye County, Nevada, issued a preliminary ruling that blocks ReconTrust from conducting nonjudicial foreclosures until he holds a hearing Feb. 28 on whether to make the ban permanent, according to a Jan. 20 order provided by the court. The injunction was sought in a Nevada homeowner’s lawsuit against Bank of America and ReconTrust.

Stopping the foreclosures is necessary to prevent the “irreparable injury” that would result from “unlawful” seizure of the plaintiff’s home by ReconTrust Co., the judge wrote. The ruling applies to any real estate or personal property in Nevada.

[ipaper docId=47571185 access_key=key-j4eoz7isozrvszwyw6k height=600 width=600 /]

Posts by David Dayen Sunday January 16, 2011 7:00 am

In a major ruling Friday, a coalition of nonprofit defense lawyers and consumer protection advocates in Maryland successfully got over 10,000 foreclosure cases managed by GMAC Mortgage tossed out, because affidavits in the cases were signed by Jeffrey Stephan, the infamous GMAC “robo-signer” who attested to the authenticity of foreclosure documents without any knowledge about them, as well as signing other false statements.

The University of Maryland Consumer Protection Clinic and Civil Justice, Inc., a nonprofit, filed the class action lawsuit, arguing that any case using Jeffrey Stephan as a signer was illegitimate and must be dismissed. In court Friday, GMAC agreed to dismiss every case in Maryland relying on a Stephan affidavit. They can refile foreclosure actions on the close to 10,000 homes, but only at their own expense, and subject to new Maryland regulations which require mandatory mediation between borrower and lender before moving to foreclosure. Civil Justice and the Consumer Protection Clinic also want any cases with affidavits from Xee Moua of Wells Fargo, who has also admitted to robo-signing, thrown out, but that case has not yet been settled.

This was not the plan of GMAC and other banks caught using robo-signers last year. They hoped to undergo a pause in proceedings, run a quick “double-check” and then issue substitute documents in the same cases. That would have been a much more rapid solution for the banks and would have resulted in many more foreclosures. Now GMAC has to go back and basically file the entire case all over again, meaning they have to give notice of foreclosure to the borrower, engage the borrower in modification options, and basically run through the whole process from the beginning. They cannot use the shortcut solution, thanks to the class action suit filed. GMAC’s dismissal of every foreclosure in Maryland shows their doubts they would have won the class action.

By Rebecca Christie – Jan 6, 2011 5:10 PM ET

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and federal regulators need to fix the mortgage foreclosure process so that it doesn’t derail the economic recovery, Senator Jack Reed and 16 other senators wrote in a letter yesterday.

“Mortgage market issues point to an emerging threat to financial stability that should be forcefully addressed now,” wrote Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island. The letter, obtained by Bloomberg News, was also signed by Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent of Vermont, and 15 other Democrats including Senators John Kerry and Dick Durbin.

The letter shows increasing concern from lawmakers that the Obama administration hasn’t done enough to stem the housing crisis. Home prices may decline 5 percent this year as the housing market starts to stabilize, Jan Hatzius, chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs, said in a Dec. 31 Bloomberg Television interview.

Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 2, 2011

In the early 1990s, the biggest names in the mortgage industry hatched a plan for a new electronic clearinghouse that would transform the home loan business – and unlock billions of dollars of new investments and profits.

At the time, mortgage documents were moved almost exclusively by hand and mail, a throwback to an era in which people kept stock certificates, too. That made it hard for banks to bundle home loans and sell them to investors. By contrast, a central electronic clearinghouse would allow the companies to transfer thousands of mortgages instantaneously, greasing the wheels of a system in which loans could be bought and sold repeatedly and quickly.

“Assignments are creatures of 17th-century real property law; they do not coexist easily with high-volume, late 20th-century secondary mortgage market transactions,” Phyllis K. Slesinger, then senior director of investor relations for the Mortgage Bankers Association, wrote in paper explaining the system.

© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.

.

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today instructed its servicers to delay initiating foreclosure for at least nine months for financially troubled service members who are released from active duty through the end of 2011 and have Freddie Mac-owned mortgages. Freddie Mac is one of the nation’s largest investors in conforming, conventional mortgages.

News Facts

• Freddie Mac’s decision to extend the nine-month foreclosure stay will give lenders more time to work with service members that are having difficulty paying their mortgage.
• Freddie Mac is making this protection a requirement for servicing our mortgages although its original authorization in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) expires on December 31, 2010.
• The nine-month stay was originally authorized for service members under amendments to the Service members Civil Relief Act (SCRA) included in HERA.

News Quotes

“Our military make sacrifices every day to protect our homes and families,” said Anthony Renzi, Executive Vice President of Single Family Portfolio Management at Freddie Mac. “This small act will protect financially troubled service members when they return from active duty by giving them more time to work with their lender to stay in their home.”

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.

###