I WANT TO HELP YOU AVOID FORECLOSURE!

Part of my business in helping people avoid foreclosure is calling homeowners who have received Notices of Default ("N.O.D.s") or Notices of Trustee Sales ("N.O.T.s") and try my best to explain to them what I can do for them, often completely free of charge. Often I hear the response, "ok, I'll get back to you." I stress the importance of taking care of the problem as soon as possible- the relief one feels knowing the problem is being worked on by someone else on your behalf is SO POWERFUL, my clients have told me.

And yet I still hear it- people think that by avoiding the problem it will go away. IT WON'T GO AWAY. Going through my list last night I noticed another person I have spoken to and who told me, "ok, I'll get back to you" had been foreclosed on. The bank had sold their home to an investor, who promptly told them to leave, put their house for sale, and is selling it at a decent profit. The homeowner now has a foreclosure on her credit score, and was probably kicked to the curb with nothing. If she allowed me to assist her, not only could I have enabled her to stay in her home many more months (because the banks take so long with the short sale approval process), I could have also probably negotiated her to be PAID by her bank! My recent clients have received $3000, $5000 and over $7000 to short sale their homes through me. I have been able to also keep them in their homes an additional 8 months, 6 months and 11 months! So, please, with all sincerity, PLEASE let me discuss with you your options. I can probably help you in your current situation. I have spoken to hundreds of homeowners, and only a few didn't qualify for a short sale. I can short sale any home in California. The most important factor in successfully selling a short sale is an agent who is strong and experienced in negotiating with banks. We know what it takes to deal with Bank of America, Countrywide (now BofA also), Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual/Wachovia (now Wells Fargo also), Chase, Citi, GMAC, Credit Unions, Ocwen, Quality Loan and dozens of others. We know what is expected and how to talk to the negotiators, so you don't have to! Keep in touch with your bank if you like, but let ME deal with the talks that cause headaches.

IF YOU ARE IN CALIFORNIA, I CAN HELP YOU! IF YOU ARE IN ANOTHER STATE, WE CAN REFER YOU TO ANOTHER POWERFUL SHORT SALE AGENT THROUGH OUR NETWORK! LET TODAY BE THE DAY! LET ME HELP YOU!

I strongly believe that a SHORT SALE is your best possible option if you are dealing with a frustrating mortgage! I have seen it liberate so many people and set them on the path for better home ownership, conquering debt and relieving much of the stress that was in their life! For a FREE consultation to see if a SHORT SALE or a LOAN MODIFICATION is right for you, do not hesitate to CALL ME at 661-706-6922!

Treasury Withholds HAMP Funds From BofA, Chase AGAIN

Comment from Mike: I can attest that Bank of America SUCKS at doing loan modifications! They are one of the WORST. They are always losing people's paperwork, asking them to send it in again and again.

 

A slight rise in July mortgage delinquencies underscores ongoing fragility in the nation's housing market, the Obama administration said Thursday in its August Housing Scorecard Report.
The Treasury Department said economic data is mixed with the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index rising for a third consecutive month in July, while mortgage delinquencies grew slightly, suggesting a weak foundation for significant growth.
During July, 404,000 distressed borrowers received some type of counseling, with 10.9 million borrowers underwater, or owing more than the property is worth, nationwide, according to August scorecard. Furthermore, the government cited statistics showing prime mortgages have a delinquency rate of 4.5%, compared to 33.2% among subprime loans and 12.2% for FHA loans. About 3.65 million existing homes were on the sales block. Mortgage rates during the period averaged 4.22%, down from 4.36% a year earlier.
While mortgage aid programs pushed the number of foreclosure starts and completions down, the administration's housing scorecard said declining foreclosure activity is partly tied to lender processing issues slowing the default process down.
The report said while federal efforts have improved the performances of mortgage servicers, the administration recognizes a need to keep pressure on servicers to reach solutions for troubled borrowers.
"These assessments provide an unprecedented level of information about servicer performance and are designed to help more eligible homeowners walk away from this process with better results," said Tim Massad, assistant secretary for financial stability at the Treasury.
In July, more than 28,000 homeowners received a permanent loan modification through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program. To date, about 790,000 homeowners have received a HAMP modification with the medium payment reduction in the range of 37%.
Write to: Kerri Panchuk.

Full article here.

Bank of America Sells Part of Upside Down Portfolio to Fannie Mae

Mike's Comments: I thought Fannie needed MORE money and had too many toxic loans to deal with? Hmmm....

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to sell part of its home-loan portfolio to government-controlled housing giant Fannie Mae, as the bank looks to shed assets and pare its exposure to an array of mortgage woes.
The deal, finalized last Friday, will deliver the rights to process and collect payments on a pool of 400,000 loans with an unpaid principal balance of $73 billion, people familiar with the deal said.

Access to full story here.

WARNING! Bank of America's Foreclosure Freeze Does NOT Mean What You May Think!

Just a quick note to clarify this past Friday's news about Bank of America halting foreclosures, effective today, in all 50 states, (obviously) including Califorina.
PLEASE NOTE- The foreclosure world has a jargon all its own. REMEMBER there are TWO meanings to the word "foreclosure."

The foreclosure, also known as the trustee sale, is when the bank sells your home, usually at the court steps in your city or area to a cash wielding investor, or "sells it back to itself" (translation: when an investor doesn't buy it).

However, the foreclosure process, also known as the default process, or "being in default," is when the bank is going through the necessary steps to foreclose on your home.

Bank of America is halting their FORECLOSURES in all 50 states. That does NOT mean they are halting their FORECLOSURE PROCESS. If this moratorium on foreclosing homes lasts for 30 days, then everyone will be one month further in to the foreclosure process, and thus one month closer to being foreclosed on.

Could it be there may be a drastic increase on foreclosures when this moratorium is over, because all these distressed mortgages had time to continue closer to an inevitable foreclosure when the homeowners thought they were safe?

Bank of America Extending Foreclosure Freeze to ALL 50 States

by Michael Moore, Bloomberg
Article here

Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender, extended a freeze on foreclosures to all 50 states as concern spread among federal and local officials that homes are being seized based on false data.

“We just want to clear the air,” Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan said today in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ally Financial Inc. already froze foreclosures in 23 states where courts supervise home seizures amid allegations that employees used unverified or false data to speed the process. Bank of America’s new policy extends its moratorium to the entire nation, and the announcement spurred more demands from public officials and community groups for other banks to follow suit.

“All mortgage providers should follow the example of Bank of America and review their practices to ensure that they are not unfairly targeting homeowners in Nevada and across the nation,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, said today in a statement.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. halted sales of foreclosed homes for a month to review documents in its mortgage servicing procedures, according to an Oct. 4 memo the Pittsburgh-based bank sent to lawyers handling the lender’s foreclosures.

Bank of America fell 13 cents, or 1 percent, to $13.18 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have lost 12 percent this year.

States Investigating

“We will stop foreclosure sales until our assessment has been satisfactorily completed,” the Charlotte, North Carolina- based company said today in a statement. “Our ongoing assessment shows the basis for foreclosure decisions is accurate.”

At least seven states are investigating claims that home lenders and loan servicers took shortcuts to speed foreclosures. Attorneys general in Ohio and Connecticut have said some of the practices used by banks to take away homes may amount to fraud. Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh last week asked the nation’s seven biggest lenders to review foreclosures for defective documents, spokesman Bryan Hubbard said.

“Bank of America has done the right thing by stopping foreclosures in all 50 states,” North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said today in a statement. “Other banks that have questionable procedures should do the same while the investigation continues.”

President Barack Obama’s administration didn’t pressure the bank to enact the freeze, Moynihan said.

Record Foreclosures

Lenders took possession of a record 95,364 homes in August and issued foreclosure filings to 338,836 homeowners, or one of every 381 U.S. households, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, California-based data vendor.

Wells Fargo spokeswoman Vickee Adams said the lender is still processing foreclosures and referred to a statement the bank put out earlier this week, saying “our affidavit procedures and daily auditing demonstrate that our foreclosure affidavits are accurate.”

Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for New York-based JPMorgan, and Gina Proia, spokeswoman for Detroit-based Ally, declined to comment.

“Bank of America has made the right choice given the circumstances of this scandal,” said Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition in San Francisco. “The primary concern for all of these banks should be to figure out where they are handling foreclosures illegally before they erroneously and unfairly take another family’s home.”

Lawmakers React

In Washington, dozens of lawmakers in Congress have called for a freeze on foreclosures and are seeking investigations. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns yesterday demanded a moratorium and asked New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate allegations of fraud. Towns, a New York Democrat, led hearings last year into Bank of America’s federal bailouts.

“The implications of ignoring the foreclosure problems are far too great to be ignored,” Towns said in a statement. “Bank of America did the right thing today and I expect to see every other responsible banking institution follow their lead.”

On Wednesday, two members of the House Financial Services Committee, Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and Dennis Moore of Kansas, asked the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program to investigate foreclosure practices.

‘Unwarranted Foreclosures’

“There is already enough evidence of unwarranted foreclosures and irregularities by lenders and servicers to warrant full investigations into the practices of these financial institutions,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter.

A coalition of community organizer groups and labor unions, including the National People’s Action and the Service Employees International Union, called for a national freeze on foreclosures.

“It is unconscionable that Wall Street banks continue to use a corrupt and fraudulent procedure to flood the housing market with illegal foreclosures that are throwing millions of American families out of their homes,” the groups said in a statement today. “It’s the latest example of a predatory industry.”

Bank of America Halting Foreclosures in 23 States - CALIFORNIA IS NOT ONE OF THEM!

(Of all the articles on this topic I found, this is the only one that shares the states included.)

Alan Zibel, Associated Press
Article link here

WASHINGTON — Bank of America is delaying foreclosures in 23 states as it examines whether it rushed the foreclosure process for thousands of homeowners without reading the documents.

The move adds the nation's largest bank to a growing list of mortgage companies whose employees signed documents in foreclosure cases without verifying the information in them.

Bank of America isn't able to estimate how many homeowners' cases will be affected, Dan Frahm, a spokesman for the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank, said Friday. He said the bank plans to resubmit corrected documents within several weeks.

Two other companies, Ally Financial Inc.'s GMAC Mortgage unit and JPMorgan Chase, have halted tens of thousands of foreclosure cases after similar problems became public.

The document problems could cause thousands of homeowners to contest foreclosures that are in the works or have been completed. If the problems turn up at other lenders, a foreclosure crisis that's already likely to drag on for several more years could persist even longer. Analysts caution that most homeowners facing foreclosure are still likely to lose their homes.

State attorneys general, who enforce foreclosure laws, are stepping up pressure on the industry.

On Friday, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked a state court to freeze all home foreclosures for 60 days. Doing so "should stop a foreclosure steamroller based on defective documents," he said.

And California Attorney General Jerry Brown called on JPMorgan to suspend foreclosures unless it could show it complied with a state consumer protection law. The law requires lenders to contact borrowers at risk of foreclosure to determine whether they qualify for mortgage assistance.

In Florida, the state attorney general is investigating four law firms, two with ties to GMAC, for allegedly providing fraudulent documents in foreclosure cases. The Ohio attorney general asked judges this week to review GMAC foreclosure cases.

Mark Paustenbach, a Treasury Department spokesman, said the Treasury has asked federal regulators "to look into these troubling developments." And the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates national banks, has asked seven big banks to examine their foreclosure processes.

"We both want to see that they fix the processing problems, but also to look to see whether there is specific harm" to homeowners, John Walsh, the agency's acting director told lawmakers Thursday.

A document obtained Friday by the Associated Press showed a Bank of America official acknowledging in a legal proceeding that she signed up to 8,000 foreclosure documents a month and typically didn't read them.

The official, Renee Hertzler, said in a February deposition that she signed 7,000 to 8,000 foreclosure documents a month.

"I typically don't read them because of the volume that we sign," Hertzler said.

She also acknowledged identifying herself as a representative of a different bank, Bank of New York Mellon, that she didn't work for. Bank of New York Mellon served as a trustee for the investors holding the homeowner's loan.

Hertzler could not be reached for comment.

A lawyer for the homeowner in the case, James O'Connor of Fitchburg, Mass., said such problems are rampant throughout the industry.

"We have had thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of foreclosures around the country by entities that did not have the right to foreclose," O'Connor said.

The disclosure comes two days after JPMorgan said it would temporarily stop foreclosing on more than 50,000 homes so it could review documents that might contain errors. Last week, GMAC halted certain evictions and sales of foreclosed homes in 23 states to review those cases after finding procedural errors in some foreclosure affidavits.

Consumer advocates say the problems are widespread across the lending industry.

"The general level of sloppiness is pervasive around the industry," said Diane Thompson, counsel at the National Consumer Law Center.

Vickee Adams, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo & Co., said Wells' "policies, procedures and practices satisfy us that the affidavits we sign are accurate."

Mark Rodgers, a spokesman for Citigroup Inc., said the bank "reviews document handling processes in our foreclosure group on an ongoing basis, and we have strong training to ensure that appropriate employees are fully aware of the proper procedures."

Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Friday they're directing companies they work with that collect loan payments to follow proper procedures.

In some states, lenders can foreclose quickly on delinquent mortgage borrowers. By contrast, the 23 states in which Bank of America is delaying foreclosures use a lengthy court process. They require documents to verify information on the mortgage, including who owns it.

Those states are:

Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.

__

AP Business Writer Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.

Short Sale Testimony

"Mike sold our home for us as we needed to do a short sale. His system for short sales helped us to get a buyer quickly. Thanks to Mike, the bank approved the sale of our home, and he even negotiated on our behalf when the bank asked us to pay out of pocket to accept the deal, making sure we didn't have to pay anything to the bank! We are grateful for Mike's hard work."

-Mr. & Mrs. B.