short sale - FORECLOSURE FRAUD

Tag Archive | "short sale"

REQUIRED READING | Gone, but not forgotten: Canceled debt

REQUIRED READING | Gone, but not forgotten: Canceled debt


The bleeding just does not stop.

FL REALTORS-

Like former lovers who send you friend requests on Facebook, old debts can come back to haunt you.

But while you can ignore old flames, you can’t dismiss past debts, even if your lender forgave them. Debts that were canceled or forgiven are considered taxable income – something many taxpayers don’t realize until they receive a 1099-C tax from their lenders.

During the Great Recession, lenders wrote off billions of dollars of credit card debts deemed uncollectible. Now, the tax bills on that debt are coming due. The IRS estimates that creditors will send taxpayers 6.4 million 1099-C tax forms this year, up from 3.9 million in 2010.

The appearance of an unexpected tax bill “creates a financial nightmare for people who have already been through financial hell,” says Gerri Detweiler, personal finance expert for Credit.com.

Fortunately, if unemployment or other financial calamities forced you to default on your debts, there’s a good chance you won’t have to pay the tax bill. You qualify for an exemption from taxes on forgiven debt if:

READ MORE [FLORIDA REALTORS]

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Title Issues? Defective Paperwork? Banks Pay Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures

Title Issues? Defective Paperwork? Banks Pay Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures


Cecala of Inside Mortgage Finance said he wonders whether lenders are making big payments on properties with underlying title problems. Evan Berlin, managing partner of Berlin Patten, a real estate law firm in Sarasota, Florida, said representatives of a large bank told him the incentives are primarily given to borrowers when it doesn’t have the proper paperwork needed to win its foreclosure case. He declined to name the bank for publication.

Prashant Gopal-

Banks, accelerating efforts to move troubled mortgages off their books, are offering as much as $35,000 or more in cash to delinquent homeowners to sell their properties for less than they owe.

Lenders have routinely delayed or blocked such transactions, known as short sales, in which they accept less from a buyer than the seller’s outstanding loan. Now banks have decided the deals are faster and less costly than foreclosures, which have slowed in response to regulatory probes of abusive practices. Banks are nudging potential sellers by pre-approving deals, streamlining the closing process, forgoing their right to pursue unpaid debt and in some cases providing large cash incentives, said Bill Fricke, senior credit officer for Moody’s Investors Service in New York.

Losses for lenders are about 15 percent lower on the sales than on foreclosures, which can take years to complete while taxes and legal, maintenance and other costs accumulate, according to Moody’s. The deals accounted for 33 percent of financially distressed transactions in November, up from 24 percent a year earlier, said CoreLogic Inc., a Santa Ana, California-based real estate information company.

Karen Farley hadn’t made a mortgage payment in a year when she got what looked like a form letter from her lender.

“You could sell your home, owe nothing more on your mortgage and get $30,000,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) said in the Aug. 17 letter obtained by Bloomberg News.

[BLOOMBERG]

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WA SB 6337: An act relating to protecting short sale sellers from payment of forgiven home loan debt if such debt forgiveness is reported to the IRS

WA SB 6337: An act relating to protecting short sale sellers from payment of forgiven home loan debt if such debt forgiveness is reported to the IRS


Title: An act relating to protecting short sale sellers from payment of forgiven home loan debt if
such debt forgiveness is reported to the internal revenue service.

Brief Description: Protecting short sale sellers from payment of forgiven home loan debt if
such debt forgiveness is reported to the internal revenue service.

Sponsors: Senators Frockt, Fain, Haugen and Litzow.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Financial Institutions, Housing & Insurance: 1/24/12.

 

[ipaper docId=79647844 access_key=key-5a06esia441diz3qqip height=600 width=600 /]

 

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You may owe federal income taxes in 2013 if you have a short sale, foreclosure

You may owe federal income taxes in 2013 if you have a short sale, foreclosure


I wonder why this hasn’t made any noise, but whatever you do make sure you do what’s right for you.


Sun-Sentinel-

Now is the time to make the hard decision: Are you going to walk away from your underwater home?

Uncle Sam is still giving homeowners until Dec. 31 to go through a short sale or foreclosure without tax consequences — as long as the lender officially releases the debt.

But on Jan. 1, 2013, the rules change: The amount a lender forgives, ether in a short sale or foreclosure, on a primary residence will be taxable on federal income taxes.

So if a house sold $50,000 short of what is owed on the mortgage, then the selling homeowners will owe federal income taxes on that $50,000. Homeowners would owe $12,500 in they’re in the 25 percent bracket; $7,500 if in the 15 percent tax section.

Homeowners would be on the hook even if the house sold but the bank had not formally forgiven the loan in a letter: The banks must officially sign off in writing before Dec. 31.

[SUN-SENTINEL]

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Federal Reserve White Paper: The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations

Federal Reserve White Paper: The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations


The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations

The ongoing problems in the U.S. housing market continue to impede the economic recovery.

House prices have fallen an average of about 33 percent from their 2006 peak, resulting in about $7 trillion in household wealth losses and an associated ratcheting down of aggregate consumption. At the same time, an unprecedented number of households have lost, or are on the verge of losing, their homes. The extraordinary problems plaguing the housing market reflect in part the effect of weak demand due to high unemployment and heightened uncertainty. But the problems also reflect three key forces originating from within the housing market itself: a persistent excess supply of vacant homes on the market, many of which stem from foreclosures; a marked and potentially long-term downshift in the supply of mortgage credit; and the costs that an often unwieldy and inefficient foreclosure process imposes on homeowners, lenders, and communities.

[…]

[ipaper docId=77283279 access_key=key-12cssfqb1xbg6ly4fahu height=600 width=600 /]

 

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H. R. 3566 – To ensure uniformity and fairness in deficiency judgments arising from foreclosures on mortgages for single family homes

H. R. 3566 – To ensure uniformity and fairness in deficiency judgments arising from foreclosures on mortgages for single family homes


WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (NY-10) introduced today H.R. 3566, the Fairness in Foreclosure Act, a bill which will standardize the length of time after a foreclosure that a mortgage company can bring a deficiency judgment against a homeowner. The bill will also prohibit lenders from bringing a deficiency judgment against low-income borrowers.

“At a time when so many Americans are out of work due to the excesses of the financial industry, we must protect those who are unable to protect themselves. I am fully committed to offering relief to struggling homeowners across the country,” Rep. Towns stated.  “That is why I have introduced the Fairness in Foreclosure Act.  A deficiency judgment after foreclosure seems to be one of the greatest injustices that occur to homeowners after they have gone through the arduous foreclosure process.  Not only are they behind by thousands of dollars on their mortgage payments and facing public auction of their houses, the ordeal may continue indefinitely. “

In some states lenders have the option to pursue borrowers for deficiency judgments up to six years after the date of the foreclosure sale.  If a borrower is sued for a deficiency judgment for the amount that the bank does not recover after a foreclosure sale, then they may have to pay tens of thousands of dollars years later for their one financial hardship. H.R. 3566, if enacted, would provide a fair and balanced process, while bringing relief to homeowners as they struggle to get back on their feet again post-foreclosure.

###

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 6, 2011

Mr. TOWNS (for himself and Mr. GUTIERREZ) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL
To ensure uniformity and fairness in deficiency judgments
arising from foreclosures on mortgages for single family
homes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fairness in Fore5
closures Act of 2011’’.
6 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR DEFICIENCY JUDGMENTS.
7 No action for a deficiency judgment arising from an
8 obligation under a residential mortgage may be brought
9 except in accordance with this Act.

[ipaper docId=75179071 access_key=key-1oua9dih8t888eevgqz6 height=600 width=600 /]

Source: http://towns.house.gov

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Bank Of America Foreclosure Over a Dollar

Bank Of America Foreclosure Over a Dollar


Bank tells Surprise couple they’re in foreclosure on home they sold in short sale nine months ago.

AZCENTRAL-

A Surprise couple sold their home in a short sale, and then were shocked when the bank told them the house was in foreclosure for an unpaid balance of just one dollar.

Like many other homeowners, Jose and Marcy Romero were upside down on their home. They felt the best decision was to put it up for a short sale. They owed $200,000, but it sold for $84,000. Marcy said, “(We) put it up on the market. Five minutes later it sold.”

Continue reading [AZCENTRAL]

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Foreclosure Fraud Settlement divides state attorneys general

Foreclosure Fraud Settlement divides state attorneys general


Lets not act surprised in this as we always knew there was something cooking behind the scenes and not everyone agreed and probably disappointed with the approach Tom Miller from Iowa was heading.

WaPO-

As state attorneys general continue their months-long settlement negotiations with the nation’s largest banks over widespread problems in foreclosure practices, they have yet to resolve differences within their own group on key issues.

Even within the 14-member “executive committee” of attorneys general who are leading the 50-state coalition, some have very different visions of what exactly a settlement should look like.

[…]

A handful of crucial states, including California, Illinois and New York, have undertaken their own investigations into mortgage industry practices, subpoenaing information about business practices and seeking meetings with executives about such things as securitization to faulty court affidavits. Other officials, such as in Oklahoma, have threatened to pursue their own settlements with mortgage servicers.


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Foreclosure Fraud Price Tag: $20 Billion

Foreclosure Fraud Price Tag: $20 Billion


HuffPO-

The nation’s largest mortgage companies are operating on the assumption that they will have to pay as much as $20 billion to resolve claims of widespread foreclosure abuse, an amount four times what they had originally proposed, the top federal official overseeing the discussions told state officials Monday, according to people who participated in the conversation.

Associate U.S. Attorney General Tom Perrelli told a bipartisan group of state attorneys general during a conference call that he believes the banks have accepted the realization that a wide-ranging settlement to the months-long probes will cost them much more than the $5 billion offer they floated last month, according to officials with direct knowledge of the call. Perrelli said he’s basing his belief on his recent conversations with representatives of the five targeted firms: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial.


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Banks Face $17 Billion in Suits Over Foreclosures

Banks Face $17 Billion in Suits Over Foreclosures


NOTE: We’ll take the $17 Billion over the AG’s “settlement”!

If settlement happens, they SHOULD prohibit any of them from coming at you with a deficiency!

WSJ-

State attorneys general told the nation’s five largest banks on Tuesday they face a potential liability of at least $17 billion in civil lawsuits if a settlement isn’t reached to address improper foreclosure practices, according to people familiar with the matter.

The figure doesn’t cover additional billions of dollars in potential claims from federal agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Justice Department. State and federal officials haven’t proposed a specific comprehensive settlement figure, but Tuesday’s …

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ADAM LEVITIN | The Servicing Fraud Settlement: the Real Game

ADAM LEVITIN | The Servicing Fraud Settlement: the Real Game


CreditSlips-

Warning: This is a long blog post. But if you follow mortgage servicing, I think you’ll find it worth reading. Despite lots and lots of media coverage of the servicing fraud settlement, nobody seems to understand the real story that’s going on. I think that this post will explain a lot.

Let’s start by recapping what we know.  Back in March we started hearing media reports of a proposed penalty for servicers in the $20-$30B range.  Then the American Banker published a 27-page term sheet from the AGs for servicing standards. Next, Huffington Post published a 7-page CFPB powerpoint presentation. Then came the draft C&D orders and then in April, the final C&D orders (which eliminated the ridiculous “single point of contact which need not be a single person” and replaced it with “single point of contact as hereinafter defined” and then failed—quite deliberately—to define it anywhere in the document).

Now there’s another round of activity and conflicting reporting. The American Banker reported that there was a new AG term sheet proposed and that principal reductions were off the table. That turns out to be incorrect, as Shahien Nasiripour reported in the Huffington Post. The new AG term sheet that the American Banker referenced deals only with servicing standards. The American Banker assumed that this mean that principal reductions were off the table because they weren’t referenced in the term sheet. In fact they are still very much in play. They’re just in a second, separate term sheet. So now there are two separate term sheets–one covering servicing standard and another covering monetary issues/principal reductions. (Recall that the original AG term sheet did not cover the monetary issues—that was clearly for a separate document.) We are also hearing news reports that the banks are offering to settle for $5B and won’t go above $10B.

So how do we make sense out of all of this?


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Leading Mortgage Firms May Be Forced To Reduce Loan Balances For Distressed Homeowners

Leading Mortgage Firms May Be Forced To Reduce Loan Balances For Distressed Homeowners


For those of you that disagree, please read this post to understand why this makes perfect sense…

HuffPo-

The nation’s five largest mortgage firms may be forced to reduce loan balances for distressed homeowners as part of an agreement with state attorneys general and the Obama administration to settle claims of faulty mortgage practices, a top state official involved in the negotiations said Tuesday.


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Why The Attorneys General Should Not Settle W/Out Principal Reductions

Why The Attorneys General Should Not Settle W/Out Principal Reductions


Why they should be FORCED.

Take this home for example. It was originally sold for $289,000.

Prior to Final Judgment, property had two (2) assignments of mortgage for two entities same robo-signer for both via MERS.

At auction it was sold for a MAJOR discount at approx. 75% off. to Indymac via LPS Minnesota address in 2010. We know Indymac has been shut down way before this time.

Why couldn’t they work a deal like this when this person whom I personally know tried over and over to get a modification AT THE TIME?

They had a good job then and still have a good job today.

So why do they not want to work with the borrowers and reduce the principal to reflect today’s REAL and TRUE appraisal of the property?

Make sure you follow the transactions to understand what happened and why it makes no sense where this goes.

Now Here comes more funny business:

Still following?

  • Property was Quit Claimed/Transferred To Freddie Mac for $100.00 (prepared by David Stern) but consideration shows only $10.00.
  • Property then sold for $3900.00 more 13 days later $78,000
  • SAME day flipped for $150,000
  • Previous records are all gone [compare both images]

Don’t forget…

IS LPS’s Aptitude Solutions Software In Your County Courts & Land Records???

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



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If you are buying a Bank of America Short Sale, WATCH THIS

If you are buying a Bank of America Short Sale, WATCH THIS


Via:

If you are buying a Bank of America short sale, you need to watch this to know what to guard against. They have a flaw in the system, they admit it, and they are rather nonplussed about it!!!

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Are Realtor Class Actions Against Servicers Next On The List?

Are Realtor Class Actions Against Servicers Next On The List?


“Even the processor at the lender – Flagstar Bank – she thought, ‘Hey, you got an offer full price, we’ll get the foreclosure stopped; we’ll make it go away; we’ll have a sale.’ She calls me back and says, ‘sorry.’”

Realtor, home seller baffled when bank rejects its own offer

By Dan Tilkin KATU News and KATU.com Staff

Story Published: Feb 5, 2011 at 12:57 AM PST Story Updated: Feb 5, 2011 at 1:21 AM PST

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Stacy Baker fought for two years to sell her father’s house and to keep it from being auctioned off, but lost the fight even after her real estate agent said an offer was made to the bank that met its own conditions.

Baker’s father was 61 when he succumbed to complications from a heart transplant, and she said her father probably realized “it was the wrong decision after he bought it.”

Baker’s real estate agent, Aaron Signor, first tried to sell the house for about what was owed, but at $179,000 it didn’t sell. Over the following months, they lowered the price and got an offer at $134,000.

But Flagstar Bank, which services the mortgage on the house, rejected the offer, saying the house was worth $150,000.

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DYLAN RATIGAN | A Mortgage Isn’t a Life Sentence

DYLAN RATIGAN | A Mortgage Isn’t a Life Sentence


That’s the segment I did with someone who walked away from his mortgage, his home, and his $120,000 down payment after wrestling with the bank for months.  It’s powerful, and it’s hopeful.

“It feels great,” Burton said without hesitation. “I’m starting again. I’ve still got my talent; I’ve got my intelligence. I’ve got my health. At least I’m free of the enormous amount of stress that I had and the frustration of doing the best I could and it wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t working. Ultimately, I made a decision that my physical and mental health was more valuable than this house and my investment in it.”

At this point in the housing crisis, if you’re having problems, it’s clear that no authority is coming to help you.  Not bank regulators.  Not Obama.  Not the Republicans or Democrats in Congress.  And especially not your bank.  But the good news is there is hope.  You have options.  Ryan Grim, Lucia Graves, and Arthur Delaney interviewed 50 people thinking of walking away from their mortgages, and then interviewed them a year later.  They wrote up what they found.  For those who were able to walk away, it was a profoundly liberating experience.

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



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What would happen if scores of people who had lost their homes to foreclosure somehow persuaded a judge to overturn the proceedings?

What would happen if scores of people who had lost their homes to foreclosure somehow persuaded a judge to overturn the proceedings?


Lets revisit this article from last October… After the ruling yesterday, I bet many Title Company executives are ____________________ fill in the blank…

After Foreclosure, a Focus on Title Insurance


By RON LIEBER
Published: October 8, 2010

When home buyers and people refinancing their mortgages first see the itemized estimate for all the closing costs and fees, the largest number is often for title insurance.

This moment is often profoundly irritating, mysterious and rushed — just like so much of the home-buying process. Lenders require buyers to have title insurance, but buyers are often not sure who picked the insurance company. And the buyers are so exhausted by the gauntlet they’ve already run that they’re not interested in spending any time learning more about the policies and shopping around for a better one.

Besides, does anyone actually know people who have had to collect on title insurance? It ultimately feels like a tax — an extortionate one at that — and not a protective measure.

But all of the sudden, the importance of title insurance is becoming crystal-clear. In recent weeks, big lenders like GMAC Mortgage, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have halted many or all of their foreclosure proceedings in the wake of allegations of sloppiness, shortcuts or worse. And a potential nightmare situation has emerged that has spooked not only homeowners but lawyers, title insurance companies and their investors.

What would happen if scores of people who had lost their homes to foreclosure somehow persuaded a judge to overturn the proceedings? Could they somehow win back the rights to their homes, free and clear of any mortgage? But they may not be able to simply move back into their home at that point. Banks, after all, have turned around and sold some of those foreclosed homes to nice young families reaching out for a bit of the American dream. Would they simply be put out on the street? And then what?

The answer to that last question may depend on whether those new homeowners have title insurance, because people who buy a home without a mortgage can choose to go without a policy.

Then there is a glimpse behind the scenes …

[ipaper docId=46466367 access_key=key-448g7r9wonwz1j4ufuq height=600 width=600 /]

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Stern’s foreclosure mistake leads two to buy same house

Stern’s foreclosure mistake leads two to buy same house


Paperwork error complicates home sale, raises questions about process

By Diane C. Lade and Doreen Hemlock, Sun Sentinel
5:00 p.m. EST, December 4, 2010

Real estate investor Marjorie Oster was pleased when she snagged what looked like a good deal through a Miami-Dade County foreclosure court auction: a four-bedroom house in Cutler Bay, with a swimming pool, for about $95,000.

But when her husband drove by the next day to check on the property, he saw “someone cleaning the pool, a lawn service cutting the grass and a note it was being tented for termites,” said Oster, a Miami resident who has been in real estate for 15 years.

It turns out the house she thought she had purchased had been sold in a short sale the week before to someone else — Osberto Jimenez, a 40-year-old Cuban-born truck driver. The law firm handling the foreclosure for the lender mishandled the paperwork and never canceled the auction sale.

“So we both own the same house and I’m frustrated as hell,” said Oster. “Someone screwed up.”

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



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WANTED: COUNTRYWIDE’S “I-PORTAL”,”C-SAD” INFORMATION

WANTED: COUNTRYWIDE’S “I-PORTAL”,”C-SAD” INFORMATION


Stop Foreclosure Fraud needs your help America in locating more information on any and all of the following tips received recently… We need to be educated on how it all works!

This is before the new BofA EQUATOR was put into place early 2010.

In no particular order:

  1. Any information on I-PORTAL SYSTEM “Partitions” this has to do with special levels of digitized files and documents. (This system  is where “original” loan files were scanned as soon as they arrived).
  2. Any Information on C-SAD, the database containing securitization information. CSAD database where the loss mitigation personnel would look up who the investor and master servicers were and what the level of delegation CW had for decision making on the modification or short sale requests, the credit file.
  3. The mainframe AS 400 system which was the ancient DOS database where the loan info, tax and insurance info, mortgage insurance info and foreclosure notes were kept.
  4. All “US Fax Numbers” that the borrowers are asked to fax in QWR, Short Sales, Loan Modification Departments BUT are redirected to INDIA.
  5. The Short Sale Process of 11 systems that one has to log into and out of independently.

As always your comments and email tips located on the header are appreciated.

*Keep in mind that the fax numbers go directly to INDIA and your fax is converted into a PDF, labeled and then uploaded into the I-Portal system from INDIA, giving access to CW employees in various locations to these files.

NO PAPER IS BEING SHUFFLED.


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



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After Foreclosure, a Focus on Title Insurance

After Foreclosure, a Focus on Title Insurance



By RON LIEBER
Published: October 8, 2010

When home buyers and people refinancing their mortgages first see the itemized estimate for all the closing costs and fees, the largest number is often for title insurance.

This moment is often profoundly irritating, mysterious and rushed — just like so much of the home-buying process. Lenders require buyers to have title insurance, but buyers are often not sure who picked the insurance company. And the buyers are so exhausted by the gauntlet they’ve already run that they’re not interested in spending any time learning more about the policies and shopping around for a better one.

Besides, does anyone actually know people who have had to collect on title insurance? It ultimately feels like a tax — an extortionate one at that — and not a protective measure.

But all of the sudden, the importance of title insurance is becoming crystal-clear. In recent weeks, big lenders like GMAC Mortgage, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have halted many or all of their foreclosure proceedings in the wake of allegations of sloppiness, shortcuts or worse. And a potential nightmare situation has emerged that has spooked not only homeowners but lawyers, title insurance companies and their investors.

What would happen if scores of people who had lost their homes to foreclosure somehow persuaded a judge to overturn the proceedings? Could they somehow win back the rights to their homes, free and clear of any mortgage? But they may not be able to simply move back into their home at that point. Banks, after all, have turned around and sold some of those foreclosed homes to nice young families reaching out for a bit of the American dream. Would they simply be put out on the street? And then what?

The answer to that last question may depend on whether those new homeowners have title insurance, because people who buy a home without a mortgage can choose to go without a policy.

Title insurance covers you in case people turn up months or years after you buy your home saying that they, in fact, are the rightful owners of the house or the land, or at least had a stake in the transaction. (The insurance may cover you in other instances as well, relating to easements and other matters, but we’ll leave those aside for now.)

Continue reading…NEW YORK TIMES

.

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



Posted in assignment of mortgage, foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, foreclosures, Old Republic Title, STOP FORECLOSURE FRAUD, title company, Title insuranceComments (2)

Moody’s Questions Feasibility of Fannie Mae’s Strategic Default Policy

Moody’s Questions Feasibility of Fannie Mae’s Strategic Default Policy


Edit: From a viewer who makes it clear.

The GSE rule is: A borrower is denied equal access to government supported financial markets for seven years unless the borrower “waives” rights to challenge servicer claims? This is a direct attempt to deprive an individual of access to the legal system in order to redress grievances. This is an unconstitutional exercise of power by these quaisi-govt authorities controlled by government. If the govt cannot do that in its own name–how can it be proper to do it under a nameplate of an entity owned and controlled by the government. Aside from implications in respect of civil liberties, it is not even good financial policy for servicers and lenders to be automatically released of liability for predatory lending and collection activities. This rule can have only one effect and that is to encourage more abuses. This is tantamount to abolishing judicial oversight of lending abuses.

By: Carrie Bay 07/26/2010 DSNEWS

Last month, Fannie Mae announced new policy changes intended to deter financially competent homeowners from walking away from their mortgage obligation by imposing stiffer penalties for strategic default – a phenomenon that has become increasingly more common as home prices have plummeted and more and more borrowers find that they owe more on their mortgage than the home is worth.

The GSE says borrowers who intentionally default when they had the capacity to pay or those who do not complete a workout alternative in good faith will be ineligible for a new Fannie Mae-backed mortgage for a period of seven years from the date of foreclosure.

Fannie Mae says the policy change is designed to encourage borrowers to work with their servicers and pursue alternatives to foreclosure. While a bold attempt at preventing unnecessary foreclosures, the analysts at Moody’s Investors Service argue that the GSE may encounter snags ahead since figuring out who to penalize for strategically walking away will be a significant challenge and implementing the policy could be difficult.

Previously, the GSE barred homeowners who’d been foreclosed on from obtaining a new mortgage for five years. However, Fannie Mae’s new policy extends the foreclosure-waiting period to seven years unless the borrower can prove that they faced extenuating circumstances when they defaulted on the loan.

For borrowers who can prove hardship or document that they attempted to contact their servicer to obtain a loan workout, the waiting period could be reduced to as little as three years. For borrowers who attempt to “gracefully exit” their mortgage obligation by means of a short sale or a deed in lieu may only have to wait two years to obtain a new Fannie Mae mortgage.

Continue reading… DSNEWS.com

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Posted in concealment, conspiracy, deed in lieu, fannie mae, fico, foreclosure, foreclosure mills, foreclosures, servicers, short sale, STOP FORECLOSURE FRAUD, walk awayComments (1)

Awwwe Man… OUR CREDIT SCORE SUCKS Y’ALL!!!

Awwwe Man… OUR CREDIT SCORE SUCKS Y’ALL!!!


DinSFLA here: Before you read into this *new* PR move and get all wound up…you MUST read the post I made FAIR ISAAC CORPORATION aka FICO: Now Worthless…

These banks knew all to well where we were heading and they could have stopped this a long time ago!

Don’t fall into their credit trap to make you think you are worth a stupid number! Just know how to survive and work around it. Yes places like employers and insurance companies now rate you by this but you know what? It is what it is. Your health and your mind will not suffer from this… They want you to live, breathe their credit!

More Americans’ credit scores sink to new lows

By EILEEN AJ CONNELLY (AP) –

NEW YORK — The credit scores of millions more Americans are sinking to new lows.

Figures provided by FICO Inc. show that 25.5 percent of consumers — nearly 43.4 million people — now have a credit score of 599 or below, marking them as poor risks for lenders. It’s unlikely they will be able to get credit cards, auto loans or mortgages under the tighter lending standards banks now use.

Because consumers relied so heavily on debt to fuel their spending in recent years, their restricted access to credit is one reason for the slow economic recovery.

“I don’t get paid for loan applications, I get paid for closings,” said Ritch Workman, a Melbourne, Fla., mortgage broker. “I have plenty of business, but I’m struggling to stay open.”

FICO’s latest analysis is based on consumer credit reports as of April. Its findings represent an increase of about 2.4 million people in the lowest credit score categories in the past two years. Before the Great Recession, scores on FICO’s 300-to-850 scale weren’t as volatile, said Andrew Jennings, chief research officer for FICO in Minneapolis. Historically, just 15 percent of the 170 million consumers with active credit accounts, or 25.5 million people, fell below 599, according to data posted on Myfico.com.

More are likely to join their ranks. It can take several months before payment missteps actually drive down a credit score. The Labor Department says about 26 million people are out of work or underemployed, and millions more face foreclosure, which alone can chop 150 points off an individual’s score. Once the damage is done, it could be years before this group can restore their scores, even if they had strong credit histories in the past.

On the positive side, the number of consumers who have a top score of 800 or above has increased in recent years. At least in part, this reflects that more individuals have cut spending and paid down debt in response to the recession. Their ranks now stand at 17.9 percent, which is notably above the historical average of 13 percent, though down from 18.7 percent in April 2008 before the market meltdown.

There’s also been a notable shift in the important range of people with moderate credit, those with scores between 650 and 699. The new data shows that this group comprised 11.9 percent of scores. This is down only marginally from 12 percent in 2008, but reflects a drop of roughly 5.3 million people from its historical average of 15 percent.

This group is significant because it may feel the effects of lenders’ tighter credit standards the most, said FICO’s Jennings. Consumers on the lowest end of the scale are less likely to try to borrow. However, people with mid-range scores that had been eligible for credit before the meltdown are looking to buy homes or cars but finding it hard to qualify for affordable loans.

Workman has seen this firsthand.

A customer with a score of 679 recently walked away from buying a house because he could not get the best interest rate on a $100,000 mortgage. Had his score been 680, the rate he was offered would have been a half-percent lower. The difference was only about $31 per month, but over a 30-year mortgage would have added up to more than $11,000.

“There was nothing derogatory on his credit report,” Workman said of the customer. He had, however, recently gotten an auto loan, which likely lowered his score.

Studies have shown FICO scores are generally reliable predictions of consumer payment behavior, but Workman’s experience points to one drawback of credit scoring: lenders can’t differentiate between two people with the same score. Another consumer might have a 679 score because of several late payments, which could indicate he or she is a bigger repayment risk.

On a broader scale, some of the spike in foreclosures came about because homeowners were financially irresponsible, while others lost their jobs and could no longer pay their mortgages. Yet both reasons for foreclosures have the same impact on a borrower’s FICO score.

In the past too much credit was handed out based on scores alone, without considering how much debt consumers could pay back, said Edmund Tribue, a senior vice president in the credit risk practice at MasterCard Advisors. Now the ability to repay the debt is a critical part of the lending decision.

Workman still thinks credit scores alone play too big a role. “The pendulum has swung too far,” he said. “We absolutely swung way too far in the liberal lending, but did we have to swing so far back the other way?”

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



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