Bank of America, which bought Countrywide Financial for $4 billion in stock in early 2008, has come under pressure from the Massachusetts Attorney General, as a result of Countrywide’s notorious lending practices. Bank of America’s move is part of an agreement to settle claims over certain high-risk loans made by Countrywide. See link to Wall … [Read more…]
University of Arizona College of Law Professor Brent T. White has stirred quite a bit of controversy over his recent article in the Arizona Legal Studies entitled "Underwater and Not Walking Away: Shame, Fear and the Social Management of the Housing Crisis." His basic thesis is that despite the increasing number of homeowners walking … [Read more…]
It seems that the small glimmer of hope that everyone is hoping for in the housing market is not likely to come anytime soon. Mathew Padilla has posted an excellent blog article discussing that the discussion of another wave of foreclosure implies that the current wave has already receded. Sam Khater, a senior economist with … [Read more…]
On May 20, 2009, President Obama signed into law Senate Bill 896, also known as the "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009." Section 702 of that Act – the "Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act" is very broad in scope and affects the ability of the new owner of certain foreclosure property (including Section … [Read more…]
When I hear the term "cram down" authority in the bankruptcy context, I keep picturing some poor mortgage lender warily stepping into a bankruptcy judge’s chambers only to have a long metal pipe shoved down his throat until the lender is willing to give in on a loan modification. Only a month ago it appeared that … [Read more…]
As the foreclosure wave has grown into a tsunami-like crisis, advocacy groups such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) have taken to the streets in campaigns to lobby legislators about implementing new regulations that will help stem the foreclosure crisis and curtail predatory lending. When I left the Pima County courthouse … [Read more…]
It is clear that that lending industry has been slow to confront the ever-widening foreclosure crisis that began to pick up steam in 2007. Indeed, Sandor E. Samuels, the former chief legal officer of Countrywide Financial was quoted as saying "We are going to keep making these loans [subprime teaser loans] until the last second … [Read more…]
RealtyTrac just released its 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which reported that there were a total of 3,157,806 foreclosure filings (default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions) on 2,330,483 properties during 2008. That was an 81 percent increase over 2007 and a 225 percent increase over 2006. To get a feel for the breadth … [Read more…]
So a borrower defaults under a promissory note and the deed of trust. Normally, the lender in that circumstance will exercise the power of sale clause in the deed of trust and begin the foreclosure process by noticing a trustee’s sale. However, the lender may also choose to call the note due and accelerate the … [Read more…]
What do the traditional Japanese Ninja and the the American Ninja have in common? Both destablize and cause social chaos. While traditional Ninjas allegedly intended to destabilize and cause social chaos in enemy territory or against opposing rules, the American Ninja never intended to do anything but make money. The American Ninja is actually an … [Read more…]