tagged w/ Mortgage Crisis
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There is no independent auditor overseeing the federal agency responsible for some $6 trillion in home mortgages, because the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel ruled that the agency's inspector general didn't have authority to operate, according to internal memos obtained by the Huffington Post.
The ruling came in response to a request from the Federal Housing Finance Agency itself -- which means that a federal agency essentially succeeded in getting rid of its own inspector general.
The FHFA is home to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, which are jointly responsible for purchasing or guaranteeing more than 80 percent of new mortgages issued since the middle of 2008, according to FHFA numbers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/10/fannie-and-freddie-fire-t_n_353018.htmlThere is no independent auditor overseeing the federal agency responsible for some $6... more
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Goldman's reputation is suddenly as toxic as the credit default swaps and other inexplicably exotic financial instruments it used to buy with glee. That's bad for the one thing it values more than anything else: business. Being the prime target for popular and political outrage could put Goldman first in line for draconian new regulation. So it has, reluctantly, decided that the time has come to speak out, to fight its corner. That's how, on one of those bright autumnal New York mornings when anything seems possible -- even an invitation to break bread with the masters of the universe -- I find myself walking past the security guard who held up Michael Moore and into the building with no name.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6907681.eceGoldman's reputation is suddenly as toxic as the credit default swaps and other... more
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Wed Oct 7, 2:00 pm ET
Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's Las Vegas Save the Dream event provides free same day solutions to thousands of homeowners, helping to avoid foreclosure, restructure mortgages, and reduce interest rates to as low as 2%
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) October 7, 2009 -- Las Vegas is the next stop of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's (NACA) nationwide Save the Dream tour. It is coming to the Las Vegas Convention Center on Friday, October 9, through Monday, October 12, 2009.
What: Press conference to launch the Las Vegas event
When: Thursday, October 8, 1 p.m.
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall 3 and 4
This is the third city in the Western U.S. leg of the NACA tour. Los Angeles, the first city on the Western U.S. tour, drew more than 50,000 homeowners looking for mortgage restructuring relief, and the second city, Phoenix, drew approximately 40,000 homeowners.
Click for full article......
P.S. My boss went to this event and got her monthly payment reduced by 2/3 of it original and now it includes taxes and insurance! Her son found out that BofA defrauded him and NACA is helping him get ready to sue for his house. His friend went to the conference in L.A. the last day she was to loose her house and they saved it! She is still there now and doesn't start making payments till 01/10! This is real and happening now! My boss was telling me how mind boggling it was to see NACA demand the banks makes efforts to help the Humans there fighting for their shelter, and the banks obey. THIS IS REAL! My boss told me in amazement as she realized how much this helped her and the 1000s of others in Vegas, "Tim, no one has to be afraid to loose their house anymore." I thought that was profound. Everyone she met got more than they ever imagined possible. Too good to be true, maybe? If you miss it it is, thats for sure.Wed Oct 7, 2:00 pm ET
Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's Las Vegas... more
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Want a movie that tells the true story of the financial crisis? Forget that documentary by Michael Moore. Try "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs."
It’s the movie everyone’s talking about: the story of a nation sucked in by a deal too good to be true. Huge short-term gains followed by a stunning fall. And a solution that requires the architects of the disaster to step back in and pick up the pieces.
No, not Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story, which skewers Wall Street and the free market economy for creating an epic real estate boom and bust.
It's the animated surprise hit Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs (in 3-D!) whose cartoon characters – coming to the big screen one year after the fall of Lehman — end up telling us more about the perils of unchecked economic growth than do all the real people in Moore’s documentary.Want a movie that tells the true story of the financial crisis? Forget that... more
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Remember those playground words "prove it!"?
As the foreclosure rate continues to set new highs, a little-noticed legal provision that requires bankers, if challenged, to prove they hold the original mortgage documents before getting possession has spawned a minor homeowner rebellion, alternately called "produce the note" or "show me the note". For homeowners trying desperately to keep their homes, the tactic is one way to buy some time -- and maybe even get the upper hand on the lender.
Click the link for the article in it's entirety.Remember those playground words "prove it!"?
As the foreclosure rate continues to... more
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The rates remain good for now.
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Time to buy !! Things are better now then most times historically
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Taylor Bean & Whitaker was raided by FBI, First Guaranteed Mortgage is under investigation, Also Advanced Mortgage Solutions in Florida has a few bad apples. For more on the mortgage meltdown please visit www.hotchicksstockpicks.comTaylor Bean & Whitaker was raided by FBI, First Guaranteed Mortgage is under... more
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Don't take this video seriously. I just think that America should escape from crisis as soon as possible. Many countries depend on economic stability of America. Keep going America, I am praying for you.Don't take this video seriously. I just think that America should escape from crisis... more
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators closed seven small banks on Friday, a pace matching a one-day total seen earlier in July and bringing the number of failures so far this year to 64.
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The number of bank failures has increased dramatically this year as the struggling economy and loan delinquencies have taken a severe toll on financial institutions.
In contrast to the 64 failures so far this year, there were just 25 banks seized in all of 2008, and only three in 2007.
In July alone, there have been 19 bank failures.
The failures have been draining the FDIC's deposit insurance fund, and the agency has taken steps -- including an emergency assessment on banks -- to replenish the fund.
The agency keeps a running tally of problem banks that its examiners closely monitor. At the end of the first quarter, 305 undisclosed institutions were on that list. An update on the second quarter is likely next month.
Guaranty Financial Group Inc, the second-largest publicly traded bank in Texas, has said it will probably fail after loan losses and writedowns left it "critically" short of capital.
The Austin-based lender has about $16 billion of assets and more than 150 branches in Texas and California, according to its website.
If it were to fail, it would be the largest U.S. bank to collapse in 2009.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators closed seven small banks on Friday, a pace... more
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Industry experts concur that there is a strong correlation between increased fraud and distressed real estate markets. The 2008 current housing market, suffering from an increase in inventory, lack of sales, and a high foreclosure rate, provided an attractive environment for mortgage fraud perpetrators who discovered methods to circumvent loopholes and gaps in the mortgage lending market. Lenders, builders, sellers, borrowers, and other market participants employed and modified old schemes, including:
Property flipping
Builder-bailouts
Seller assistance
Short sales
Air loans
Foreclosure rescues
Identity theft
New mortgage fraud scams, which have surfaced due to tighter lending practices include:
Reverse mortgage fraud
Credit enhancements
Condo conversions
Loan modifications
Pump and pay
To get more details on the FBI report, go to the FBI websiteIndustry experts concur that there is a strong correlation between increased fraud and... more
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From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression - and they're about to do it again.
The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. In fact, the history of the recent financial crisis, which doubles as a history of the rapid decline and fall of the suddenly swindleddry American empire, reads like a Who's Who of Goldman Sachs graduates.
[more of the excellent peice of reporting by Matt Taibbi at the link]From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market... more
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asherp
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4 months ago
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Just when you thought you’d heard it all. Here comes another crazy, mixed up move by a mortgage lender contributing to the foreclosure crisis. Wells Fargo is apparently suing itself in order to foreclose on a property in Tampa, Florida. That's right. Wells Fargo vs. Wells Fargo. Watch video for the story.Just when you thought you’d heard it all. Here comes another crazy, mixed up move by... more
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From MY investment gurus...
Carbon tax, value-added tax, foreign tax credit loopholes—the government is full of ideas lately on how to beef up tax revenue to service that deficit we’re running up. But just when it seems inevitable we’re due for a storm of new taxes, there’s a major tax repellent tax-loving politicians have to contend with: Globalization.
and...
Last year, for instance, as the push for expected legislation targeting tax havens intensified in the US, several large firms reincorporated to Switzerland. Among them were industrial conglomerate Tyco International, oil industry contractor Foster Wheeler, and offshore driller Transocean. Collectively, these firms generate around $40 billion in revenue. Now they’re playing for another team. They embraced Switzerland because the country’s tax treaty with the US shields them from possible adverse US legislation.
If the US becomes more punitive in its corporate tax policy (already the second highest in the developed world), there’s no doubt we’ll see another wave of companies re-domiciling. Similar to how California is losing citizens and businesses to Washington and Nevada—states with favorable tax structures—the US, France, and Germany could lose tax revenue to competing countries. If you think only as a US citizen, this shift has potentially negative consequences. However, if you think globally, there are winners and losers on both sides. "
i suggested to the author that he take a look at http://www.plusaf.com/falklaws.htm#34th ...
:)))))
and maybe the Governator should, too. what next? pass a law that no California or US corporations can leave?
LOL!From MY investment gurus...
Carbon tax, value-added tax, foreign tax credit... more
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plusaf
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5 months ago
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This video clearly shows that George Bush warned
Congress starting in 2001 that this economic crisis was
coming if something was not done. But Congress refused to
listen, along with the arrogant Congressman, Barney Frank.
The liberal media reportedly did not want this video on You Tube; it was taken off.
This link is of the same video, but is routed through
Canada.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1This video clearly shows that George Bush warned
Congress starting in 2001 that this... more
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plusaf
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5 months ago
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In late April, the U.S. Senate rejected an amendment to the housing bill that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to provide relief for troubled homeowners by modifying mortgage payments. Among those who opposed the measure, which was known as "cramdown," was Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee.
"It will cause interest rates to go up and will make it more difficult for people to get a mortgage," the Iowa Republican said at the time.
Two months later, the people who benefited from Grassley's vote are poised to shower him with campaign donations. The senator is hosting a fundraiser on Monday evening with lobbyists and a political action committee representing, among others, key players in the mortgage and private equity industries.
The event will take place at the swank Capitol Hill restaurant, The Monocle, steps away from the U.S. Senate, and is soliciting donations of $2,500 to "host" or $1,000 for PAC or personal contributions.
Follow link for the rest of the story By Sam Stein at the Huffington Post.In late April, the U.S. Senate rejected an amendment to the housing bill that would... more
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More mortgage madness. Millions of Americans still face foreclosure. But there’s no guarantee that the Mortgage Reform and Anti-predatory Lending act will make it through the senate. In fact, every proposal put forward thus far has hardly forced industry's hand.
Writing in the Nation magazine, Kai Wright says that Obama’s plan doesn’t address the larger question: “can any solution work if it doesn't strengthen the negotiating hand of overwhelmed borrowers? Like all previous initiatives, industry participation in the president's plan is largely voluntary, if heavily subsidized.”
Today, we speak to Wright the author most recently of More Mortgage Madness in the The Nation Magazine, Sarah Ludwig Executive Director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, Mark Winston Griffith Executive Director of the Drum Major Institute, and George Goehl Executive Director of National People’s Action.More mortgage madness. Millions of Americans still face foreclosure. But there’s no... more
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GRITtv
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6 months ago
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Brett Ellis, a real estate agent in Fort Myers, Fla., was thrilled when he got an offer for a property in Bell Tower Park in May 2008.
"It was a gorgeous property on the corner lot," Ellis told the Huffington Post. The owner, who had lost his job, wanted to sell the apartment for a loss rather than go into foreclosure, a strategy known as a short sale.
The offer was for $350,000, and Ellis, who is a certified distressed property expert trained in executing such sales, knew it was as good an offer as he was going to get in this market. He immediately sent the paperwork into the bank.
He waited for four months. The bank finally told him it wouldn't take anything less than $400,000 -- a price Ellis was sure he could never get. In September, the buyer's agent called to say, "You know what, we gotta move on, we gotta buy something else."
Now the property is sitting vacant as it slides into foreclosure. Its former owner's credit is destroyed, and the house is losing value every day. "God knows what the condition is today," Ellis said, adding he'd be surprised if the property is worth more than $290,000 when it resurfaces on the market. Add in the legal expenses involved in a foreclosure, and the bank cost itself a hundred thousand dollars more that it otherwise would have.
It's a scenario that plays out constantly, everywhere in the United States. In a time of collapsing real estate values, where one in five homes are now under water, a short sale is increasingly the only option before foreclosure. It is less damaging to credit scores and spares the homeowner the shame of foreclosure.
It is also a better option for banks: According to one analysis, short sales resulted in loan losses of only 19 percent, compared with an average loss of 40 percent on homes sold after foreclosure.
So why aren't these sales more widely used?
....Banks have little incentive to untie those bundles. Since mortgages are listed on the banks' balance sheets at the value of the original loan, if they complete a short sale they must record a loss on their balance sheets. That would explain why banks drag the process out as long as possible. In Ellis' case, the property is sitting vacant a year after the first offer, allowing the bank to list the original value on its balance sheet all along.Brett Ellis, a real estate agent in Fort Myers, Fla., was thrilled when he got an... more
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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Senate voted Tuesday to give federal investigators more tools to combat mortgage fraud and other scams.
The bipartisan legislation would authorize $490 million over two years to hire fraud prosecutors, increase enforcement actions, improve the secret service and add funds to the Secret Service and Housing and Urban Development Inspector General. It also allocates funds to the Postal Inspection Service. It also sets up a commission of outside experts with subpoena power to examine the financial crisis and make recommendations.
"Only by reinvigorating our anti-fraud measures and giving law enforcement agencies the tools and resources they need to root out fraud can we ensure that fraud can never again place our financial system at risk and victimize so many Americans," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., a lead sponsor of the legislation.
Of those funds, $165 million is being allocated to hire fraud prosecutors and investigators at the Justice Departmen and $140 million goes to increase the number of Federal Bureau of Investigation officials for the agency's mortgage-fraud task forces. It also provides $50 million a year to expand the staff of the U.S. Attorney's office and $40 million to expand the Justice Department's criminal, civil, and tax divisions.
The legislation, known as the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, extends federal fraud laws to include mortgage loan companies that are not regulated or insured by the government. This expanded fraud statute would only have an impact on future crimes.
"These companies remain outside the scope of traditional fraud statutes," said Sen. Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who said Tuesday he planned to seek reelection as a Democrat.
"This bill corrects that," said Specter, who supports the bill.
The legislation, S. 386, was introduced by Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa and Ted Kaufman, D-Del., on Feb. 5. It was approved by the committee on March 5.
Kaufman said the bill would help prosecutors expand their efforts to combat financial fraud and restore the public's faith in the financial systems.
"The public needs to know that when mortgage brokers, or credit raters, or Wall Street bankers break the law, they'll be treated like the criminals they are. We can't have one set of rules for people who rob banks and another set of rules for banks who rob people," Kaufman said.
Specter said he supported the legislation because he felt it would help prosecutors go after fraud associated with mortgage securities, considered to be at the center of the economic crisis.WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Senate voted Tuesday to give federal investigators more... more
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted Tuesday to hire hundreds more FBI agents and prosecutors to pursue after mortgage fraud, which lawmakers say is needed to investigate the estimated 5,000 allegations reported each month.
The 92-4 bipartisan vote came as a House panel considered an anti-predatory lending bill that attempts to ban the type of subprime mortgage loans that contributed to the nation's economic slide.
"As foreclosures menace more and more hardworking homeowners, they become more desperate for help," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Unfortunately, schemers, swindlers and scam artists are all too happy to pounce."
The Senate bill, sponsored by Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is estimated to cost more than $265 million a year for the next two years. Supporters, including President Barack Obama, say the legislation would more than pay for itself because of the fines and penalties that would result from more aggressive government investigations.
Bill supporters anticipate that the money would hire another 160 special FBI agents and more than 200 support staff, including forensic analysts. Currently, the FBI has fewer than 250 special agents assigned to financial fraud cases, despite caseloads increasing more than doubling in the past three years.
Under the bill, the Justice Department would hire 200 more prosecutors and civil enforcement attorneys, along with 100 support staff.
Other government entities in line to receive money include the Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service and the inspector general for the Housing and Urban Development Department.
An amendment by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala., added $21 million to the bill's original $245 million-a-year total for the Securities and Exchange Commission to boost its enforcement capabilities.WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted Tuesday to hire hundreds more FBI agents and... more
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