Legal Debt Solutions Blog
July 23, 2010
Three Failures That Lead To Foreclosure
In an effort to better understand clients’ behavior in foreclosure, I asked my staff to draw a sample of our clients’ files and study common patterns. The staff drew a sample of 142 files representing the major metropolitan areas served by my firm. Hardship letters, intake interview and supporting documents were included in addition to financial documents to verify patterns involved. read more
July 23, 2010
Physics taught humanity a very basic principle: for every action, there is a reaction of equal proportion. The same principle applies in the recent economic recession, particularly when examining residential foreclosure. For every home lost to foreclosure, some entity had acquired profit of equal proportion. read more
July 22, 2010
Home Sales Down 5.1% Since May
New data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is showing that home sales are down 5.1% since May. Home construction and housing permits are down and mortgage rates are at record lows. What's to blame? Some real estate agents believe that the first-time tax credit given by the government that expired the 1st of May, could have signaled the beginning of the end. Although some buyers are hoping and waiting for another tax credit before buying, the NAR said they are not lobbying for another one. read more
July 21, 2010
Since the 2008 financial crisis, many malevolent characters sought new income opportunities. This group of people entered the real estate market earlier as loan officers. After the subprime mortgage meltdown, they changed their masks towards consumer protection through offering modification services. Quickly, state government acted in favor of distressed homeowners by advising against hiring such characters through limiting such work to licensed professionals – mainly real estate brokers and attorneys. read more
July 20, 2010
Deficient Spending & Economic Rebound
In recent months, news from Europe had mainly covered economic downturn of the Euro – official currency of the European Union. Following the subprime melt down in 2008, the United States enacted stimulus packages to entice the general economic cycle. Many other industrial nations enacted similar legislation to protect their economy and deter economic recession. read more
July 14, 2010
In my many years defending distressed borrowers, I witnessed common trends between homeowners who face foreclosure. Ironically, most distressed homeowners produce conditions that lower their chances of keeping their property once an economic recession starts revealing its teeth. From debt management to payment planning, homeowners must take a variety of steps to protect the ultimate investment, their home. read more
July 8, 2010
Currently, law provides three venues of action against lenders. Each venue has its limitation and affects in reflection to the legal problem being questioned. Moreover, the cost and the amount of legal work attached to each venue are different as cases are normally very different from one another. read more
July 6, 2010
Legal Counseling = The Only Viable Alternative To Foreclosure
Since the beginning of the foreclosure crisis in 2008, many distressed home owners came to realize how lenders held a higher hand over their housing certainties. Through a foreclosure action, lenders can evict owners out of their homes while forcing the same owners to still be liable for foreclosure fees. On the other hand, the majority of distressed homeowners lack access to basic social tools to better their chances, such as lobbying groups and major funders. read more
April 26, 2010
Fannie Mae Reduces Wait Time for Post Short Sale Buyers
In the past, people that have lost their homes during the financial crisis and managed to do a short sale to avoid foreclosure have had to wait four to five years to qualify for financing again to buy another house. Now, Fannie Mae is loosening its grip on its previous rules and allowing buyers to apply again in as little as two years. read more
April 15, 2010
The more money you make, the more the government takes from you. Families earning more than $250,000 are considered well off and are in the 35% tax bracket. Soon the bracket is expected to increase to 39%. Somebody has to pay for all the debt our country is in; apparently government has decided that somebody is a family making more than $250,000 a year. read more
April 14, 2010
Washington Mutual: Largest Bank Failure in U.S. History
Former WaMu executives are scheduled to testify in a hearing regarding the banks 2008 failure. Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is considered at fault for the lack of supervision over the bank. read more
April 13, 2010
Homeowners beware of your second mortgages haunting you after you lose your home. A similar case has occurred to a woman in San Diego when she lost her condo and Wells Fargo & Co. has decided to sue her for the $72,000 she owed on her second mortgage. read more
April 9, 2010
Borrowers in foreclosures or short sales will qualify for a new tax break. On April 8, 2010 California Legislature approved a tax break to further assist distressed homeowners. The bill is expected to waive state taxes on mortgage debt that was forgiven in a foreclosure or short sale. About 34,000 taxpayers are expected to benefit from the tax relief. read more
April 8, 2010
Increase In Mortgage Rates After Federal Involvement
The first week the Federal Reserve was no longer buying mortgage-backed securities interest rates increase to 5.32% from 5.08% for a 30-year fixed mortgage. They had purchased $1.25 trillion debt and this has kept mortgage rates below 5%. The increase is said to be due to signs of the economy slowly recovering rather than the lack of Fed support. read more
April 1, 2010
Homeowners are in distress and are confused about which option would be beneficial to them and their families. These are the homeowners who have lost their jobs and are facing economic hardship, which eventually fall into default with their mortgage. read more
March 30, 2010
After trillions of dollars spent in the mortgage market, the government has decided to take a step back. read more
March 29, 2010
Short sale process takes place when a borrower is no longer able to make payment on the property, due to hardship and many other financial draining situations. read more
March 26, 2010
Obama Adminstration Ramps Up Efforts To Aid Struggling Homeowners
While unemployed homeowners look for jobs, the government might qualify for 3-6 months of reduced mortgage payments. read more
On March 25, 2010 our Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new bill, the tax credit bill, Assembly Bill 183, which will go into effect on May 1, 2010. Up to $10,000 tax credit will be available to about 32,000 homeowners in California. read more
March 25, 2010
More Changes to Modification Programs
On June 1st we expect more changes to the modifications programs available to most consumers. The original plan was to modify over 3 to 4 million loans by 2010, due to the strenuous process, multiple requests of the same documentation and certain qualifications this set goal may not follow through. read more
March 22, 2010
Option-ARM Loans
An adjustable-rate mortgage allows borrowers to make a minimum payment on their mortgages which barely covers the interest payments. read more
March 19, 2010
Supply of Foreclosed Homes
Reports show an increase in the supply of foreclosed home. read more
March 16, 2010
Tax Relief: debt-forgiveness exemption
While lenders are working to write off debt, the IRS has introduced a tax relief that many will be able to apply to their own taxes. This exemption will not be around for long. The set expiration is at the end of 2012. read more
March 8, 2010
More Pressure on 4 Major U.S. Banks
Chief executives of Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. received a letter from Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. This letter was requesting more action from these lenders be done to assist homeowners in who owed way more on their mortgages than what the mortgages are worth. Second-lien mortgages were emphasized in this letter as well. read more
March 3, 2010
What Borrowers Need to Know
With all time low interest rates made available, you would think that more homeowners would take advantage and refinance. Some do not qualify and others do not want to take on the risk of a new loan. With home prices declining most borrows are left with almost no equity in their homes and will not benefit from refinancing. read more
February 25, 2010
Chase Known as the Worst Lender For Modifying Loans
The loan modification process has become dreadful for most homeowners. On Wednesday, reports show that trial modifications that are supposed to last only three months are passing the six month mark. About 97,000 homeowners have been on these types of extended trial modifications. More than 62% of the 97,000 homeowners have their loan with JPMorgan Chase & Co.. read more
February 24, 2010
Interest Rates, Housing Market and The Economy
We have been on a crazy ride with the housing market, fluctuating interest rates and the economy. read more
February 22, 2010
New Guidelines: Home Buyer Tax Credits
The two home buyer tax credits have helped many first time home owners. The IRS has found that more information is needed to prevent any type of fraud in the program. In 2009 people had claimed and received $8,000 checks for transaction that never occurred. read more
February 18, 2010
Are Fewer People Facing Foreclosure?
According to the U.S. Treasury mortgage payments have been modified and fewer individuals would face foreclosure proceedings. read more
February 17, 2010
What To Look Out For When Filing Your Taxes
Criteria you must meet in order for the points to be deducted the same year you pay them. read more
February 15, 2010
Loan Modification Success Case
With lenders finding every reason not to modify loans, we found a way to make sure this client received the best possible modification available. read more
February 12, 2010
Unemployment Rate
Unemployment rate has been in the double digits for about four months. Final report released from the Labor department stated that the unemployment rate was down to 9.7%. read more
With individuals not being able to pay their mortgages, lenders step in and foreclose on their homes. read moreFebruary 11, 2010
The Extent Lenders Are Willing To Go
Lenders and borrowers have been going through a though battle over loan modifications. Some lenders are willing to help, while others are not as cooperative. read more
February 10, 2010
What's Going On With Home Builders?
In the real estate market all the focus has been on existing homes sales. Home builders and contractors have also had major concerns over the past few years about their cancellation rates and whether or not new projects would be proposed to them. read more
February 8, 2010
Those With Jumbo Loans Are Struggling
• A jumbo loan allows for individuals to borrow over a certain amount.
• Amount: $417,000 from 2006 to 2008.
• Then the amount was increased in the beginning of 2008 to $729,750.
• Now back down to $417,000.
February 5, 2010
Pricey Home Sales Down for 2009
Properties that pass the one million dollar mark are seeing a decrease in sales. There has been a decline in sales for the past four years. About 18,621 homes over the million dollar mark were sold last year and 24,436 were sold in 2008. In 2005 a total of 54,773 homes priced over a million dollars sold. read more
Every week in January we saw a gradual decline in the mortgage rates. The first week of February broke the cycle. The first week of January we started with an interest rate of 5.09% for a 30 year fixed and 4.50% for a 15 year fixed. Three weeks later the rate for a 30 year fixed was at 4.98% and for a 15 year fixed the rate was down to 4.39. read more
February 3, 2010
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
As long as the government is in control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they will not be able to introduce any new loan products. Fannie and Freddie were working on new loan products that would have to pass through the federal regulator of the company. On Tuesday the federal regulator had denied introduction of any new loan products due to the extreme losses in the company and greater issues that need to be addressed. read more
February 1, 2010
Get Ahead of the Slow Moving Loan-Mod Train
Job instability and cut salaries are causing most individuals hardship. Giving up traveling and shopping, cutting back on groceries and spending overall might help some get through these tough economic times. What do you do about finances that you do not have the same control over, such as your mortgage payment? read more
