US Banks worse than Bernie Madoff is a post from: Troubled Property Solutions | Forensic Loan Audit| Class Action Lawsuites | Short Sales call 1-619-631-4546

Bank of America is going to kick you out is a post from: Troubled Property Solutions | Forensic Loan Audit| Class Action Lawsuites | Short Sales call 1-619-631-4546

This is a re-post of an article from Yahoo news:

Tens of thousands of Bank of America’s most distressed borrowers could be evicted and lose their homes more quickly as a result of a proposed settlement between the bank, which is the country’s largest mortgage servicer, and investors in its troubled mortgage securities.

For struggling borrowers in better financial shape, the outcome could be more positive: the deal would include incentives for mortgage servicers to help homeowners who have fallen behind on their payments and whose homes are worth less than they borrowed.

“The goal is to reinstate as many borrowers in a modification that performs well,” said Tony Meola, a servicing executive with Bank of America. “It also is likely to lead to faster resolution in those unfortunate situations where foreclosure is inevitable. While not a desirable outcome, the recovery of the housing markets depends on moving through the foreclosure process as quickly and fairly as possible.”

While powerful investors stand to benefit from the $8.5 billion settlement over the bank’s bundling of shoddy mortgages as securities, the fallout for the nearly 275,000 borrowers who took out those loans depends greatly on how deep they are in the foreclosure process and whether they earn enough money to dig themselves out.

While no exact income qualification has been set as part of the agreement, which was announced last month, many servicers use a formula in which borrowers can qualify for a modification as long as the new monthly payment does not exceed 31 percent of their monthly gross income. For borrowers who are unemployed or lack the income to cover even reduced mortgage payments, foreclosure and eviction could be much more immediate.

With 1.3 million borrowers at risk of foreclosure, Bank of America has been overwhelmed by the surge in defaults, and the accord has raised hopes that this logjam will finally begin to ease. But skeptics say that previous arrangements, like another multibillion-dollar settlement by Bank of America in 2008, have barely made a dent in the problem.

“The mortgage servicers have repeatedly promised to do things and then not done them,” said Michael S. Barr, a former assistant Treasury secretary who now teaches law at the University of Michigan. “I think it’s positive in general, but I don’t expect it to be transformative of what we’ve witnessed from the mortgage servicers over the last four years.”

Matthew Weidner, a Florida lawyer who represents borrowers facing foreclosure, said he was skeptical of promises by the deal’s architects that lower monthly payments would be easier to obtain.

“It’s like giving aspirin to someone with cancer,” he said of the proposed assistance. “You had all the big players at the top of the pyramid negotiating but nobody was speaking for the homeowners who have far more at stake at the ground level.”

Still, for some of the homeowners now facing foreclosure who took out loans with Countrywide, the subprime specialist bought by Bank of America in 2008, the deal could bring a few quick improvements.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bank of America must now start the process of transferring these borrowers to 10 smaller outside servicers, even without the deal being approved in court, which is not expected before November. The architects of the settlement say these subservicers will be far more efficient than Bank of America’s giant payment processing operation.

For example, an analysis of data by RBS prepared as part of the settlement found that Bank of America provided fewer modifications as a percentage of unpaid principal than JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Litton and other servicers. In addition, borrowers defaulted again within six months in nearly one in five cases when modifications were made by Bank of America, a higher rate than other servicers that were studied.

Officials at Bank of America contend the company has made nearly 875,000 modifications since 2008, more than any other servicer.

Under the new proposal, subservicers will have to provide an answer to homeowner modification requests within 60 days of receiving paperwork, and will get up to 1.5 percent of the unpaid principal balance as an incentive fee for each successful permanent modification.

“We wanted smaller, high-touch servicers who would consider every modification option at once, not try this and that,” said Kathy D. Patrick, a Houston lawyer who represented the 22 private investors in the settlement. “Servicers get more in fees for successful modifications than for any other kind of workout, including foreclosure.”

The first homeowners should be transferred out of Bank of America by early fall, with each of the 10 subservicers taking up to 30,000 cases. Borrowers with mortgages 60 days past due who have been delinquent more than once in the last 12 months will receive priority in the switch, followed by homeowners who are 90 days past due but not in foreclosure.

Homeowners already in foreclosure or who have been declared bankrupt will go to the back of the line, although they will also eventually be transferred, Ms. Patrick said. More than 75 percent of the nearly 275,000 delinquent homeowners have not made a payment in more than 120 days or are already in foreclosure.

One unintended consequence of the problems at Bank of America and other large servicers is that many borrowers have managed to remain in their homes despite being in default, and without the income to qualify for a modification. At the time of foreclosure, the typical Bank of America borrower has not made a payment in 18 months.

What is more, according to the analysis of RBS data, it takes 30 months on average for a subprime borrower’s property to move from foreclosure to a final sale with Bank of America, nearly a year longer than Wells Fargo, and 10 months longer than SPS, a smaller subservicer likely to be among the 10 selected to take over the former Countrywide loans.

“Countrywide made a lot of bad loans and borrowers with no money can’t afford a modification,” said Peter Swire, a former special assistant for housing policy in the Obama administration who helped oversee earlier federal efforts to promote modifications. He is now a professor at Ohio State University. “One discouraging problem is that only a small fraction of Countrywide borrowers will likely qualify,” Professor Swire said.

Delores Gosha hopes she will be one of the lucky ones.

It has been more than a year since she last made a mortgage payment to Bank of America, raising the risk that her bungalow in the Cleveland suburbs will end up in foreclosure. The bank, she says, has given varying answers as to whether she qualifies for a modification, telling her she did not at one point last week only to reverse course days later and say it was still under consideration. Ms. Gosha said she had had to deal with a multitude of representatives and submit the same documents over and over.

While a new servicer might not give her the answer she has been praying for, she said, at least she will get an answer.

“I’ve been up and down,” said Ms. Gosha, who is a clerk at a Cleveland hospital. “Can’t somebody tell me something?”

Don’t Buy A House In 2011 – Read This Article is a post from: Troubled Property Solutions | Forensic Loan Audit| Class Action Lawsuites | Short Sales call 1-619-631-4546

Unless you have been asleep or hiding under a rock for the past five years, you already know that we are experiencing the worst real estate crisis that the U.S. has ever seen.  Home prices in the United States have fallen 33 percent from the peak of the housing bubble, which is more than they fell during the Great Depression.  Those that decided to buy a house in 2005 or 2006 are really hurting right now.  Just think about it.  Could you imagine paying off a $400,000 mortgage on a home that is now only worth $250,000?  Millions of Americans are now living through that kind of financial hell.  Sadly, most analysts expect U.S. home prices to go down even further.  Despite the “best efforts” of those running our economy, unemployment is still rampant.  The number of middle class jobs continues to decline year after year, but it takes at least a middle class income to buy a decent home.  In addition, financial institutions have really tightened up lending standards and have made it much more difficult to get home loans.  Back during the wild days of the housing bubble, the family cat could get a zero-down mortgage, but today the pendulum has swung very far in the other direction and now it is really, really tough to get a home loan.  Meanwhile, the number of foreclosures and distressed properties continues to soar.  So with a ton of homes on the market and not a lot of buyers the power is firmly in the hands of those looking to buy a house.

So will home prices continue to go down?  Possibly.  But they won’t go down forever.  At some point the inflation that is already affecting many other segments of the economy will affect home prices as well.  That doesn’t mean that it will be middle class American families that will be buying up all the homes.  An increasing percentage of homes are being purchased by investors or by foreigners.  There are a lot of really beautiful homes in the United States, and wealthy people from all over the globe love to buy a house in America.

But because of the factors mentioned above, it is quite possible that U.S. home prices could go down another 10 or 20 percent, especially if the economy gets worse.

So what is the right time to buy a house?

Nobody really knows for sure.

Mortgage rates are near record lows right now and there are some great deals to be had in many areas of the country.  But that does not mean that you won’t be able to get the same home for even less 6 months or a year from now.

In any event, this truly has been a really trying time for the U.S. housing market.  Hordes of builders, construction workers, contractors, real estate agents and mortgage professionals have been put out of work by this downturn.  The housing industry is one of the core pillars of the economy, and so a recovery in home sales is desperately needed.

The following are 20 really wacky statistics about the U.S. real estate crisis….

#1 According to Zillow, 28.4 percent of all single-family homes with a mortgage in the United States are now underwater.

#2 Zillow has also announced that the average price of a home in the U.S. is about 8 percent lower than it was a year ago and that it continues to fall about 1 percent a month.

#3 U.S. home prices have now fallen a whopping 33% from where they were at during the peak of the housing bubble.

#4 During the first quarter of 2011, home values declined at the fastest ratesince late 2008.

#5 According to Zillow, more than 55 percent of all single-family homes with a mortgage in Atlanta have negative equity and more than 68 percent of all single-family homes with a mortgage in Phoenix have negative equity.

#6 U.S. home values have fallen an astounding 6.3 trillion dollars since the housing crisis first began.

#7 In February, U.S. housing starts experienced their largest decline in 27 years.

#8 New home sales in the United States are now down 80% from the peak in July 2005.

#9 Historically, the percentage of residential mortgages in foreclosure in the United States has tended to hover between 1 and 1.5 percent.  Today, it is up around 4.5 percent.

#10 According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings in the United States are projected to increase by another 20 percent in 2011.

#11 It is estimated that 25% of all mortgages in Miami-Dade County are “in serious distress and headed for either foreclosure or short sale“.

#12 Two years ago, the average U.S. homeowner that was being foreclosed upon had not made a mortgage payment in 11 months.  Today, the average U.S. homeowner that is being foreclosed upon has not made a mortgage payment in 17 months.

#13 Sales of foreclosed homes now represent an all-time record 23.7% of the market.

#14 4.5 million home loans are now either in some stage of foreclosure or are at least 90 days delinquent.

#15 According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, at least 8 million Americans are currently at least one month behind on their mortgage payments.

#16 In September 2008, 33 percent of Americans knew someone who had been foreclosed upon or who was facing the threat of foreclosure.  Today that number has risen to 48 percent.

#17 During the first quarter of 2011, less new homes were sold in the U.S. than in any three month period ever recorded.

#18 According to a recent census report, 13% of all homes in the United Statesare currently sitting empty.

#19 In 1996, 89 percent of Americans believed that it was better to own a home than to rent one.  Today that number has fallen to 63 percent.

#20 According to Zillow, the United States has been in a “housing recession” for57 straight months without an end in sight.

So should we be confident that the folks in charge are doing everything that they can to turn all of this around?

Sadly, the truth is that our “authorities” really do not know what they are doing.  The following is what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had to say about the housing market back in 2006….

“Housing markets are cooling a bit. Our expectation is that the decline in activity or the slowing in activity will be moderate, that house prices will probably continue to rise.”

Since that time U.S. housing prices have experienced their biggest decline ever.

At some point widespread inflation is going to reverse the trend we are experiencing right now, but that doesn’t mean that most American families will be able to afford to buy homes when that happens.

As I have written about previously, the middle class in America is shrinking.  The number of Americans on food stamps has increased by 18 million over the past four years and today 47 million Americans (a new all-time record) are living in poverty.

Millions of our jobs are being shipped overseas, the cost of living keeps going up and an increasing percentage of American families are losing faith in the economy.

More Americans than ever are talking about “the coming economic collapse” as if it is a foregone conclusion.  Our federal government is swamped with debt, our state and local governments are swamped with debt and our economic infrastructure is being ripped to shreds by globalization.

So sadly, no, there are not a whole lot of reasons to be optimistic at this point about a major economic turnaround.

The U.S. economy is going down the toilet and the coming collapse is going to be incredibly painful for all of us.

Hopefully when that collapse comes you will have somewhere warm and safe to call home.  If not, hopefully someone will have compassion on you.  In any event, we all need to buckle up because it is going to be a wild ride.

Class Action Moves Forward – Judges Give the Thumbs Up is a post from: Troubled Property Solutions | Forensic Loan Audit| Class Action Lawsuites | Short Sales call 1-619-631-4546

Class Action Lawsuit Evidence Has Been Established

Class Action to Move Forward and Judges Give the Thumbs Up

For those that have been following the building of the Class Action Lawsuit against the Lenders below is the latest update!  If you still own your property, have been given the run around from the bank (who hasn’t!), and had got a restidential mortgage loan between 2000 and 2010, then this may be the remedy you are looking for. 

Call (831) 621-1149 for details and reference Troubled Property Solutions.

•  60 Minutes has provided us with a informational documentary on the lender fraud.
• Inside Job Film Documentary – Academy Award Winning Film – the Film Makers Wonders Why No Bank Executive Has Yet to Go to Jail
• Foreclosure Fraud – A website dedicated to uncovering the dirty laundry of the lenders

After nearly two years of building evidence, and amassing the facts for the template for the cases the attorneys will be pursuing, the final template is complete. The first test file based on that template has been submitted to the court as an individual case.

This case has now been approved by the Federal Court for RICO FILING. What that means is that the court has reviewed the filing of the case and has found that it meets the test for bringing RICO FRAUD CHARGES against the defendants.

This is a complex and extensive test of the evidence which must meet the court standards to comply with Federal Rules of Evidence to be considered a valid RICO case. This is now completed.

Additionally, because of the massive amounts of evidence contained in the case, counsel has also expanded the case to include CRIMINAL CHARGES. This also has been accepted by the court.

Many attorneys will tell you that it is not possible to file criminal charges in a civil case; but this is not true.

Our message to you today is that our cases moving forward WILL contain RICO and CRIMINAL CHARGES. Additionally, we are telling you that the template upon which all the group cases will be based has been completed and the first case built on that template HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY FILED with BOTH RICO and CRIMINAL CHARGES.

That case is now filed and approved for motion forward in the Federal Court.

What does this mean to you?

First - it means the attorneys have accomplished the first major step in our process of bringing these issues to court in a Federal jurisdiction to achieve proper legal remedy for all of us.

Second – it means it’s now time to get off the fence and make a decision on whether you are going to participate or be left behind.  This is no ordinary Class Action – you assist in building further evidence and you will be receiving more of the benefits from the outcome of a successful case (unheard of for Class Actions).

Call (831) 621-1149 for details and reference Troubled Property Solutions.

Get the Latest Fraud News is a post from: Troubled Property Solutions | Forensic Loan Audit| Class Action Lawsuites | Short Sales call 1-619-631-4546

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Southern California Home Sales Down – Prices Remain Steady is a post from: Troubled Property Solutions | Forensic Loan Audit| Class Action Lawsuites | Short Sales call 1-619-631-4546

Southern California home sales are down, but San Diego real estate prices remain steady. 

Low San Diego real estate sales are attributable to the weak economy, tigher lending standards, lender loan fraud fears, and the ongoing foreclosures.  Foreclosure resales – homes that were foreclosed upon in the past year accounted for 35.1 percent of the resale market in November.  Fears of homeowners sueing their lender for faulty foreclosure process or an illegal foreclosure (servicer foreclosing not the actual lender) has kept resales of foreclosed homes slow. 

But homeowners still need to sell, due to job relocation, change in economic condition, or if they are too underwater (requiring a short sale).  Homes are still selling.  With the right agent and the right price, the home can be sold very quickly.  Get started today.  San Diego real estate market is surviving.

DQNew: Southland Home Sales Dip; Prices Change Little
December 15, 2010

La Jolla, CA—Southern California home sales fell in November to the second-lowest level for that month in 18 years, reflecting the weak economic recovery, a dormant new-home market and tight credit conditions. The median price paid for a home rose above a year earlier for the 12th consecutive month, though November’s gain was the tiniest yet, a real estate information service reported.

A total of 16,208 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 3.2 percent from 16,744 sales in October, and down 15.5 percent from 19,181 in November 2009, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.

A drop in sales from October to November is normal for the season, with the decline averaging 8.1 percent since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics begin. November’s sales were the lowest for that month since 2007, when 13,173 sold, and the second-lowest since 1992, when 15,446 sold. Last month’s sales fell 26.5 percent below the average November sales tally of 22,047.

In the new-home market, sales were the slowest for a November since at least 1988. In many growth areas the math for builders just doesn’t work: The cost to construct is higher than what buyers can afford or are willing to pay. Often builders can’t compete with the pricing of nearby resale homes, especially foreclosures and short sales.

“The great waiting game of 2010 continues. This is the year when the economy sputtered and a lot of potential home buyers opted to sit tight, especially once the government incentives dried up. Fundamentally home sales remain weak because the job market has been slow to mend and credit policies remain unusually tight,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president. “But with sales this low, for this long, you know there are a lot of people just waiting to jump into the market once they feel the time is right. For many the key signal will be a greater sense of job security. For others the cue could be evidence that home prices have bottomed for good, or that ultra-low mortgage rates are slipping away,” he said. The median price paid for a Southland home was $287,000 in November. That was up 1.4 percent from $283,000 in October, and up 0.7 percent from $285,000 in November 2009. The 0.7 percent annual gain was the lowest since the median began rising year-over-year each month since last December.

The median’s low point for the current real estate cycle was $247,000 in April 2009, while the high point was $505,000 in mid 2007. The peak-to-trough drop was due to a decline in home values as well as a shift in sales toward low-cost homes, especially inland foreclosures. Foreclosure resales – homes foreclosed on in the past year – accounted for 35.1 percent of the resale market last month, up from 34.7 percent in October but down from 39.0 percent a year ago. Foreclosure resales hit a low this year of 32.8 percent in June and, with the exception of a dip in September, have trended slightly higher ever since. The peak was in February 2009 at 56.7 percent, DataQuick reported.

Government-insured FHA loans, a popular low-down-payment choice among first-time buyers, accounted for 36.2 percent of all mortgages used to purchase homes in November, up from 35.8 percent in October but down slightly from 36.5 percent in November 2009. Two years ago FHA loans made up 34.3 percent of the purchase loan market, while three years ago it was just 2.6 percent.

Last month 20.7 percent of all sales were for $500,000 or more, about even with 20.8 percent in October and up from 19.8 percent a year earlier. The low point for $500,000-plus sales was in February last year, when 13.6 percent of sales crossed that threshold. Over the past decade, a monthly average of 26.8 percent of homes sold for $500,000 or more. Viewed differently, Southland zip codes in the top one-third of the housing market, based on historical prices, accounted for 35.6 percent of total sales last month. That was up from 34.7 percent in October and 34.1 percent a year ago. Over the last decade, however, those higher-end areas contributed a monthly average of 37.2 percent of regional sales. Their contribution to overall sales hit a low of 26.2 percent in January 2009.

High-end sales still suffer from tight credit policies. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) and so-called jumbo home loans have been relatively difficult to get ever since the credit crunch hit more than three years ago. Last month ARMs represented 5.6 percent of Southland purchase loans, up from 5.4 percent in October and 4.3 percent a year ago. However, over the past decade, a monthly average of 38.2 percent of purchase loans were ARMs. Jumbo loans, mortgages above the old conforming limit of $417,000, accounted for 17.8 percent of last month’s purchase lending, the same as in October and up from 15.1 percent a year earlier. But back in 2007, in the months leading up to the credit crisis that began in August that year, jumbos accounted for 40 percent of the market.

Absentee buyers – mostly investors and some second-home purchasers – bought 23.1 percent of the homes sold in November, paying a median $204,000. Over the last decade, absentee buyers purchased a monthly average of 16.0 percent of all homes, while the peak level was 23.2 percent this February. Buyers who appeared to have paid all cash – meaning there was no indication that a corresponding purchase loan was recorded – accounted for 28.0 percent of November sales, paying a median $205,000. In February this year, cash sales peaked at 30.1 percent. The 22-year monthly average for Southland homes purchased with cash is 14.3 percent.

The “flipping” of homes has generally trended higher over the past year. Last month the percentage of Southland homes bought and re-sold within a six-month period was 3.6 percent, down from 3.7 percent in October but up from 3.0 percent a year earlier. Last month’s flipping rates varied from as little as 3.4 percent in Orange and Ventura counties to as much as 4.2 percent in San Bernardino County.  MDA DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.  The typical monthly mortgage payment that Southland buyers committed themselves to paying was $1,136 last month, up from $1,111 in October but down from $1,207 in November 2009. Adjusted for inflation, current payments are 49.3 percent below typical payments in the spring of 1989, the peak of the prior real estate cycle. They are 58.5 percent below the current cycle’s peak in July 2007.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity remains high by historical standards but is lower than peak levels reached over the last two years. Financing with multiple mortgages is very low, and down payment sizes are stable, MDA DataQuick reported.  To get away from it all – go cross country skiing.

Bank of America to Pay $3 Billion in Mortgage Settlement is a post from: Troubled Property Solutions | Forensic Loan Audit| Class Action Lawsuites | Short Sales call 1-619-631-4546

 B of A – Bank of America Settles Lawsuit Worth $3 Billion in Mortgage Settlement

Bank of America Settles Lawsuit

While this does not directly benefit struggling homeowners, it is proof that banks can be held accountable for faulty mortgages.  It is also evidence that Bank of America has not been acting honestly or ethically with the parties of interest – and this includes the homeowners.  Recent conversation with a third party expert on forensic loan audits, stated that Bank of America or BofA pay option arm loans originated by Countrywide are some of the worst they have seen.  Thousands of dollars were overcharged to homeowners.   Join the Class Action Lawsuit against B of A – Bank of America and Countrywide.  Class Action Lawsuit Video.

By Aaron Smith, staff writerJanuary 3, 2011: 11:42 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Bank of America has reached a $3 billion agreement with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to resolve a faulty mortgage loan dispute involving Countrywide Financial Corp.

Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) said that it paid nearly $1.3 billion to Freddie Mac and more than $1.3 billion to Fannie Mae on Dec. 31.

The purpose of this agreement is to settle an issue of bad mortgages sold by Countrywide to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac related to the housing crisis of 2008. The $2.6 billion worth of payments to Freddie and Fannie, combined with potential losses on future repurchases from government-sponsored enterprises, adds up to $3 billion in expenses, according to BofA. A Bank of America spokesman also said it expects to take an additional $2 billion charge to fourth-quarter results from the decline in the mortgage business, bringing the total impact to the company to $5 billion.  “Our goals remain the same: put these issues behind us; focus on serving customers and clients; and continue to help distressed homeowners facing difficult times,” said Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan.

TARP Funds Used to Help Banks Rather Than Homeowners Revealed is a post from: Troubled Property Solutions | Forensic Loan Audit| Class Action Lawsuites | Short Sales call 1-619-631-4546

TARP Funds and Homeowners

If you ever thought the government was on our side – out to help us as homeowners, think again.  Recent information revealed that TARP money requested to be used for homeowner assistance was not allowed to be used to help homeowners.  Basically our treasury barred the use of TARP funds – and we set aside to help only banks out.  If that TARP money had been applied to only helping homeowners, where would we be today?  Probably in a lot better shape. 

It just goes to say we cannot expect the government to help us – we need to help ourselves.  Data shows that you are unlikely to get a loan modification, so your choices are either get out of the house using a short sale, or file a lawsuit against your lender for fraud (almost every loan since 2000 has fraud in it – but that’s another topic).  Many are choosing a class action lawsuit - to sue your lender – rather than an individual lawsuit. 

For assistance with your bad loan, give us a call at (619) 631-4545.

From NakedCapitalism:Thursday, December 9, 2010

Treasury Bars Use of TARP Funds to Help Borrowers Facing Foreclosure

 If you had any doubts about whose side the Administration is on, this story should settle all doubts.

From the Nation:

Consider this: the recent Fed audit revealed over $3.3 trillion in emergency assistance to the banks and other corporate behemoths during the financial crisis–no strings attached…. Then consider the 19 states which are recipients of the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF)–a portion of TARP money set aside to help homeowners in states struggling with the highest unemployment rates and steepest declines in the housing market.

Some of those states, including Ohio, let Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner know as far back as this past spring that they wanted to use some of those funds to assist legal aid groups that help individual homeowners…. Treasury solicited the opinion of an outside law firm, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. Never mind that the firm’s clients include BB&T Corporation and payday lender CNG Financial Corp. The firm said, in essence–sorry, no can do on the legal aid. Not permitted under the TARP. Huh? Hold on a sec–is this the same TARP that granted the Treasury Secretary all those “extraordinary powers” to protect people’s home values, preserve home ownership, promote economic growth, etc.?

Yves here. The skepticism is well warranted. This isn’t an area in which a law firm would have much (any) liability on an opinion. Ergo, a combination of Treasury body language and selection of the firm would have determined the outcome. Besides, the TARP explicitly put the Treasury secretary above the law. So why is Treasury even getting an opinion? This is clearly an exercise in creating an excuse for an action it wanted to take.

The article also details actions by Rep. Marcy Kaptur and Sen. Sherrod Brown to reverse the Treasury action. Kaptur has introduced a bill (HR 5510) to amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to enable nonprofits, both counseling firms and law firms, to receive TARP funds to help single family homeowners to prevent foreclosures. Brown introduced a parallel measure (S 3979) in the Senate. Please contact your Senators and Representative and ask them to cosponsor these measures. And annoy Treasury by calling or e-mailing them (try the Domestic Finance and Economic Policy contacts) to tell them they are on the wrong side of this issue.

San Diego Homes Worth Less – Nationwide Home Inventory Up is a post from: Troubled Property Solutions | Forensic Loan Audit| Class Action Lawsuites | Short Sales call 1-619-631-4546

 San Diego Home prices continue to fall as a double dip recession is predicted. San Diego Short Sales on the Rise.

Unfortunately 2011 may not look any more promising for San Diego homeowners looking to sell their home.  Seeing you equity drop to a point where there is negative equity means that you will need to short sale your home if you are in San Diego, or in other parts of California. For those having to move, or lost their income a San Diego short sale may be a good move for many.  It allows the homeowner to get out from the debt, partcularly as home prices continue to fall, and move on with you life. 

For those that have discovered that the lender/servicer has not been playing fair purusing legal means may be a good solution.  Many homeowners are turning toward a class action lawsuit against their lender to save their home.   A forensic loan audit may reveal fraud in your loan.   Call (619) 631-4546 today.

By Les Christie, staff writerDecember 28, 2010: 11:24 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Home prices took a shockingly steep plunge on a monthly basis, an indication that the housing market could be on the verge of — if it’s not already in — a double-dip slump.

Prices in 20 key cities fell 1.3% in October from a month earlier, an annualized decline of 15%, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday. Prices were down 0.8% from 12 months earlier.

Month-over-month prices dropped in all 20 metro areas covered by the index. Six markets reached their lowest levels since the housing bust first began in 2006 and 2007. They were Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Miami, Portland, Ore., Seattle and Tampa, Fla.

“The double-dip is almost here,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. “There is no good news in October’s report. Home prices across the country continue to fall.”

The report was far more dire than anticipated by industry experts, who had forecast an almost flat market in October. It followed weak September numbers.

“It was a bit of a surprise,” said real estate analyst Pat Newport of IHS Global Research. “I wasn’t expecting it to lag so badly in all 20 cities.”

He, along with many other experts, has been forecasting further price erosion over the next few months of 5% to 7%, but didn’t expect the price drop to hit so fast and so hard. It’s mostly attributable to the end of the tax credit for homebuyers, the effects of which started to vanish beginning in June.

“The trends we have seen over the past few months have not changed,” said Blitzer. “The tax incentives are over and the national economy remained lackluster in October, the month covered by these data.”

Sales volume continues to lag, off 25% even from last October, when markets could hardly be described as robust.

Why the housing bulls are wrong

The inventory of homes on the market is up about 50% compared with last year at this time, and there are millions of potential homes for sale waiting on the sideline for markets to improve.

Much of that “shadow inventory” is held as repossessed properties by banks, who will eventually have to release them back on the market.

Most (and least) affordable cities

Prices in Atlanta, down 2.9%, and Detroit, off 2.5%, took a particular beating in October. Las Vegas and Washington came out of the month only slightly bruised, down just 0.2%.

The report ran counter to what have been generally positive signs of economic recovery, according to Richard DeKaser, an independent housing market analyst and founder of Woodley Park Research.

“The market is not showing much improvement after the summer slump,” he said. “Housing is acting as a drag on recovery.”

The coming of the second of the double dip is icing on the cake for homebuyers, who already have benefited from prices not seen in years in most markets.

“Prices have already adjusted, and are probably undervalued in most cities,” said Newport. “This will make them even more undervalued.”

Home price plunge is widespread

Record plunge in foreclosures, thanks to robo-signers

Obama’s mortgage mod plan is still lacking

Bank of America to resume foreclosures

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