The Future of the Foreclosure Market - "Are we there yet"
As goofy as these guys can sometimes be, this one makes a lot of sense to me.
http://tbwsdailyshow.com/2011/05/04/department-of-justice-sues-major-bank-for...North Coast San Diego Real Estate
The Taylors - Prudential California Realty - Carlsbad
Filed undershort sales process
Do you know what to do when an Earthquake Hits, this is a very interesting article. This one is a "Game Changer"
Where to Go During an Earthquake
Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway? Well, forget it! This is a real eye opener. It could save your life someday.
EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON 'THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE'
My name is Doug Copp I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI ), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.
I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years, and have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.
The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene -- unnecessary.
Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them - NOT under them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.
TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when building collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a bed, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.
6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
8) Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible - it is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.
10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.
Spread the word and save someone's life...
Nooshin Khosh
Message from California Association of Realtors President with regards to Short Sales
March 10, 2011
An important message from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®:
I write on behalf of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, whose 170,000 members continue to witness the devastating consequences the home foreclosure crisis is having on California’s families, neighborhoods, and communities on a daily basis.
The number of families affected by foreclosure is staggering. During the past three years, more than 640,000 Californians have lost their homes. With the number of homeowners who owe more than their home is worth hovering at 30 percent, experts predict there will be many more foreclosures in 2011 and 2012. Unless we take immediate, aggressive action to assist these homeowners, any meaningful recovery in the housing market and overall economy will continue to be delayed.
Tragically, only a fraction of those who face foreclosure will remain in their homes when all is said and done. Those whose incomes and financial circumstances meet strict guidelines may qualify for a loan modification that will reduce their monthly payment to more affordable levels. Yet the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is expected to prevent only 700,000 to 800,000 foreclosures nationwide before it expires at the end of 2012, and the program does little to help those homeowners who are unemployed or otherwise no longer able to meet their financial commitments. Their last hope is to sell their home, which often means convincing their lender or the investor who “owns” the loan (and, in many cases, the holder of a second mortgage lien and the mortgage insurer) to accept a “short sale.”
With a short sale, homeowners with a proven hardship negotiate an agreement to sell their home for less than the balance owed. Although not every homeowner or mortgage is eligible, those who are able to finalize a short sale avoid a foreclosure on their credit record and can move on with their lives. Last year, 20 percent of home sales in our state involved short sales.
Short sales can play an important role in our state’s economic recovery by accelerating the pace of home sales and reducing the inventory of bank-owned homes on the market. There are other benefits as well. Homebuyers who can qualify for a mortgage at today’s low interest rates also are able to purchase a home at below-market prices. Banks get a nonperforming asset off their books and avoid the headaches associated with disposing of assets they don’t want to own in the first place. Neighborhoods have fewer abandoned homes, and local businesses have more customers with money to spend.
Unfortunately, many homeowners are unable to successfully negotiate a short sale. According to a recent survey of 2,150 California REALTORS® who have assisted clients with a short sale, only three out of five transactions closed – even when there was an interested and qualified buyer.
What’s the problem? For one, no two mortgage agreements are the same, so it can be difficult to standardize short sale processes and procedures. Many homeowners have second mortgages, which further complicate matters. Then there’s the challenge of convincing multiple parties to take a financial loss or, in the case of loan servicers, to forego fees they otherwise might earn during the course of the foreclosure process. Poor and slow service by many banks and servicers has only exacerbated the problem. Horror stories abound from potential homebuyers and REALTORS® forced to wait 90 or more days for a response to a purchase offer or being required to fax short sale applications or other paperwork as many as 50 times. These delays discourage potential homebuyers from considering a short sale purchase and undermine the process for those who short sales are intended to benefit – the hundreds of thousands of families facing foreclosure.
Increasing the number of closed short sales by speeding up and streamlining the short sale process is one important way we can help California families avoid foreclosure and move our economy closer to recovery. That’s why the California Association of REALTORS® is taking steps to enable more families to arrange a short sale. Recently, we advocated for improvements to short sale guidelines established under the federal Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program. We’re meeting with major banks, U.S. Treasury officials, government-sponsored entities (including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), and others to urge them to standardize processes, comply with federal guidelines, improve communication with other stakeholders and increase staffing with the goal of eliminating service issues. We’ve also offered our members training in every aspect of the short sale process so they can assist their clients.
But we can’t do it alone. That’s why we’re focusing the spotlight on short sales and calling on regulators, elected officials, nonprofits, business organizations, companies, and individuals with a stake in California’s economic future to resolve this issue and others that get in the way of a recovery. It won’t be easy, and some compromises will be required. The important thing is that we need to act today. Our families and our communities can’t wait any longer.
Sincerely,
Beth L. Peerce
President
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
original URL: http://www.car.org/newsstand/news/openletter/#
What You Can Do to Protect Yourself from Getting Ripped Off in Real Estate and Home Loan Relief Scams
The New Year has unfortunately not brought about the end to real estate and mortgage
relief scams. While a deep recession continues to affect the national and California economies, the business for swindlers is very good. They continue to sell false hope to and prey on vulnerable and unsophisticated consumers, and the bad players far outnumber those of us in the government who prosecute them. They advertise and cast their nets widely, using the Internet, newspapers, magazines, mail pieces, and radio and television,
This alert is written to remind you to be continually cautious and vigilant, and to give you
some important tools and red “warning” flags so that you do not fall victim to real estate
and home loan relief scammers.
The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) has issued prior topical warnings and
alerts to consumers about the rise of fraud in connection with pre-foreclosure and
foreclosure-related rescue, forbearance and forgiveness services, including loan
modifications, forensic loan audits, and short sales.
This is very informative, pass it on so others do not fall victim to the scams
Case-Shiller as interpreted by Piggington.com
FTC clamps down on mortgage modification scammers - LA Times
The agency plans to ban almost all upfront payments, institute mandatory disclosure rules and place new restrictions on lawyers.
Reporting from Washington —
You've probably seen the pitches on TV and the Internet or found them stuffed in your mail: official-looking communications complete with logos and letterheads that look vaguely like those used by the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies.
They are instead criminal enterprises posing as do-gooders who promise to get you out of the mortgage jam you're in. They claim they can persuade your lender to cut your monthly payments, forgive all penalties, slash your interest rate and even get your loan balance reduced. If your lender won't cooperate, they say they'll perform "forensic audits" on your mortgage and convince a court that your entire loan transaction should be canceled because of technical mistakes in the paperwork.
Bogus firms always insist on getting your money upfront — often thousands of dollars — and then do little or nothing. But now the Federal Trade Commission is cutting off the main fuel supply for mortgage modification scammers: Under new rules outlined Nov. 19, the agency plans to ban virtually all upfront payments, institute mandatory disclosure rules and clamp new federal restrictions on lawyers who participate in mortgage modification schemes.
Under these rules, companies that offer mortgage relief will have to contact your lender or servicer and give you a written proposal describing the key changes to your mortgage terms that the note holder is willing to make before any money can be collected in advance.
Modification companies also will be required to make clear that they have no connection with any government agencies or program, and that you're free to reject any offer from the lender, with no requirement to pay a fee.
The rule also prohibits modification firms from using one of their most commonplace and destructive ploys: They can no longer instruct clients to stop communicating with their lender or servicer. Many scammers not only urge unwary consumers to let them handle all negotiations but also direct them to stop sending in payments — or worse, to send all payments to the modification company. Typically that has the effect of rendering any modification with the lender or servicer even less likely.
The FTC estimates that bogus modification companies have stolen millions from unwary homeowners in the last two years. Ironically, there's been a huge increase in the number of abusive schemes in the wake of the federal government's efforts to create legitimate foreclosure relief programs. The FTC has brought more than 30 cases against these operations, but the agency has had no way to control the pervasive advance-fee requirements that are so costly to consumers.
Now, when that portion of the new rule takes effect Jan. 31, the FTC will be able to proceed against any firm that collects upfront fees without obtaining the required written proposals at no charge from lenders. It will be a litmus test: If a firm seeks to charge you anything or collects money upfront, it will be in violation of federal law and subject to harsh civil penalties.
The only exception will be for lawyers, who typically require retainers before they begin negotiating on a client's behalf. They will be permitted to collect retainer fees for modification efforts but only if they deposit the money into "client trust accounts" under state bar regulations. Lawyers who charge advance fees also must be licensed by state authorities and be in compliance with state laws and regulations governing professional conduct.
Joel Winston, the FTC's associate director of financial practices and a lawyer himself, said in an interview that "a disappointingly high percentage of fraudsters [in FTC loan modification cases] have been lawyers — they're just fraudsters with law degrees."
Nonetheless, Winston said, the agency recognizes that "legitimate practitioners" can play a valuable role in negotiating modifications for consumers, and the FTC doesn't want to cut this off by banning upfront retainer payments outright.
Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.
Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Washington —
You've probably seen the pitches on TV and the Internet or found them stuffed in your mail: official-looking communications complete with logos and letterheads that look vaguely like those used by the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies.
They are instead criminal enterprises posing as do-gooders who promise to get you out of the mortgage jam you're in. They claim they can persuade your lender to cut your monthly payments, forgive all penalties, slash your interest rate and even get your loan balance reduced. If your lender won't cooperate, they say they'll perform "forensic audits" on your mortgage and convince a court that your entire loan transaction should be canceled because of technical mistakes in the paperwork.
Bogus firms always insist on getting your money upfront — often thousands of dollars — and then do little or nothing. But now the Federal Trade Commission is cutting off the main fuel supply for mortgage modification scammers: Under new rules outlined Nov. 19, the agency plans to ban virtually all upfront payments, institute mandatory disclosure rules and clamp new federal restrictions on lawyers who participate in mortgage modification schemes.
Under these rules, companies that offer mortgage relief will have to contact your lender or servicer and give you a written proposal describing the key changes to your mortgage terms that the note holder is willing to make before any money can be collected in advance.
Modification companies also will be required to make clear that they have no connection with any government agencies or program, and that you're free to reject any offer from the lender, with no requirement to pay a fee.
The rule also prohibits modification firms from using one of their most commonplace and destructive ploys: They can no longer instruct clients to stop communicating with their lender or servicer. Many scammers not only urge unwary consumers to let them handle all negotiations but also direct them to stop sending in payments — or worse, to send all payments to the modification company. Typically that has the effect of rendering any modification with the lender or servicer even less likely.
The FTC estimates that bogus modification companies have stolen millions from unwary homeowners in the last two years. Ironically, there's been a huge increase in the number of abusive schemes in the wake of the federal government's efforts to create legitimate foreclosure relief programs. The FTC has brought more than 30 cases against these operations, but the agency has had no way to control the pervasive advance-fee requirements that are so costly to consumers.
Now, when that portion of the new rule takes effect Jan. 31, the FTC will be able to proceed against any firm that collects upfront fees without obtaining the required written proposals at no charge from lenders. It will be a litmus test: If a firm seeks to charge you anything or collects money upfront, it will be in violation of federal law and subject to harsh civil penalties.
The only exception will be for lawyers, who typically require retainers before they begin negotiating on a client's behalf. They will be permitted to collect retainer fees for modification efforts but only if they deposit the money into "client trust accounts" under state bar regulations. Lawyers who charge advance fees also must be licensed by state authorities and be in compliance with state laws and regulations governing professional conduct.
Joel Winston, the FTC's associate director of financial practices and a lawyer himself, said in an interview that "a disappointingly high percentage of fraudsters [in FTC loan modification cases] have been lawyers — they're just fraudsters with law degrees."
Nonetheless, Winston said, the agency recognizes that "legitimate practitioners" can play a valuable role in negotiating modifications for consumers, and the FTC doesn't want to cut this off by banning upfront retainer payments outright.
Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.
Second-Mortgage Standoffs Stand in Way of Short Sales - WSJ article
By NICK TIMIRAOS
Sergio Trujillo thought he could avoid foreclosure when an investor made an all-cash offer last month to buy his one-bedroom condominium in La Jolla, Calif., for less than the amount he owes on his mortgage.
But a standoff between Mr. Trujillo's lenders over a few thousand dollars threatens to derail the deal, known as a short sale.
Like many heavily indebted borrowers, Mr. Trujillo has two mortgages: a first mortgage in the amount of $260,000, which is held by Freddie Mac; and a $50,000 second mortgage, handled by Specialized Loan Servicing LLC. Freddie Mac will allow no more than $3,000 in sale proceeds to go toward the second mortgage. But SLS says it will scotch any deal if it doesn't get at least $7,000.
"This is an all-parties-lose scenario," said Brian Flock, Mr. Trujillo's real-estate agent. "There is no housing recovery when this happens."
![[SHORTSALES]](http://sg.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-BJ172_SHORTS_NS_20101126184421.gif)
Over the past year, real-estate agents, lenders and federal policy makers have pointed to short sales as one way to revive moribund housing markets while helping troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure. But for homeowners that took out second mortgages during the boom, getting a short sale approved is proving to be a nightmare.
Most first mortgages, like Mr. Trujillo's, are guaranteed by government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or held by other investors in mortgage securities. Second mortgages and other junior liens are typically owned by banks and credit unions.
Banks are reluctant to write down second mortgages because many are still current, even if the borrowers owe more than the value of their homes. They may also be able to pursue borrowers' assets after foreclosure.
"If I'm the second-lien holder, I may say, 'You know what, I want to see if I can hold out for a better deal,' " said Greg Hebner, president of MOS Group Inc., an Irvine, Calif., company that contacts troubled borrowers on behalf of lenders and servicers.
The result is a "chicken game" between investors that leads to unnecessary foreclosures, said Jon Goodman, a real-estate lawyer and investor in Boulder, Colo.
As of June 30, 11 million homeowners owe more than their homes are worth and an additional 2.5 million have just 5% equity, according to real-estate research firm CoreLogic. To sell, those homeowners must cover the shortfall or, more commonly, ask the bank to take a loss via a short sale. The short-sale process remains full of land mines. Loan servicers were never designed to handle large volumes of customized workouts and it can take months to bring loan servicers, investors and mortgage insurers to agree on a price. Softening home prices create greater potential for disputes over values. And lenders are wary of fraud.
Second mortgages, however, have become one of the biggest roadblocks. More than a third of about 1.33 million properties in some stage of the foreclosure process have at least one junior lien, according to publicly available data tracked by CoreLogic.
Many seconds and home-equity lines are worth little in a foreclosure because home prices have fallen so sharply. That gives the second-lien holder "nothing-left-to-lose leverage," said Mr. Goodman. Banks say they are approving deals where they can, but borrowers must agree to some form of debt repayment.
About three-quarters of the $1 trillion in seconds outstanding as of June 30 were held by commercial banks, and of those, more than $430 billion belong to the nation's four largest banks—Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, and Citigroup Inc. Forcing write-downs on large numbers of those loans could significantly erode their capital.
Real-estate agents say some banks are getting better at cutting deals. Wells Fargo & Co. now dispatches employees in some markets to appraise homes even before a short-sale offer has been received to help speed potential sales. Bank of America doubled its staff dedicated to handling short sales to around 2,700 over the past year and began using an online platform to allow for paperless applications and approvals. The bank says it has approved 70,000 short sales through September, double the year-earlier total.
In Mr. Trujillo's case, SLS requested far more than the lien was worth on the secondary market, said Mark Johnson, who oversees short sales for Freddie Mac. "That's always been our challenge—participation from second-lien holders," he said. "It's ultimately their decision about whether they want to help us save borrowers in foreclosure." Freddie says it hopes to negotiate a deal for Mr. Trujillo. SLS declined to comment.
Jeff Gray waited months to complete the purchase of a home in Litchfield Park, Ariz., as part of a short sale, only to see it fall apart days before closing. Chase, which serviced the first mortgage for Freddie Mac, approved the sale but wouldn't forgive the second mortgage, which it owned. Chase says it has completed 83,000 short sales since 2009.
Mr. Gray eventually bought another home in the same neighborhood; meanwhile, the short sale was listed for sale by Freddie Mac earlier this month for $30,000 less than what Mr. Gray had offered.
"It's sad," he said. "The grapefruit tree in front is dead, the grass has turned brown, and the shutters are starting to fall."
Write to Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com
link to story: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704526504575634950022011416.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews
Short Sales Process
This message was sent via a webform by thetaylors@prusd.com.
It is an education process for the buyers and sellers of how a short sale process works.This is my opinion but it seems the banks have this whole process backwards. Why wouldn't the banks approve the hardship first, determine the sales price, then place the home on the market for sale. The transaction would close in the typical 30-45 days. This would make it a better experience for everyone involved.
Why do the banks continue to make the process so difficult to navigate? http://rismedia.com/lowes/8355/10032