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In Cook County About 1,900 Foreclosure Victims are Due Dollars

Julie Parker — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:00:02 +0000

In Cook County about 1,900 foreclosure victims are due dollars. There is $16 million kept in limbo with the clerk of the count. If disbursed it would be of great help to some – badly affected by the crisis.

These dollars are extra money created after the house owners suffered foreclosure and the house was sold off. If the sale amount is more than the due amount then the money rightly should go back to the previous owner. Dorothy Brown, the county clerk said, “We have an individual that’s due 13 cents. We have someone that’s due $400.00.”

As per the laws of Illinois this surplus amount has to be kept deposited with the court clerk where it goes into hibernation with interest piling up till the rightful owner puts in a claim.

But the problem is tracing and finding these people. Many do not know or have any inkling that money is due to them; a good number having passed through the jaws of foreclosure have never thought any purpose in leaving behind a forwarding address.

Brown said, “It’s hard to find them because many times when people lose their properties to mortgage foreclosure they have also have a lot of credit card debt and a lot other kinds of debts, and they’re probably actually running from those creditors. As a result when they leave their property, they don’t leave a forwarding address”.

To address the problem and reduce the long name list as well as the bag of money the office of Brown has set up a website with a search section to help trace the owners of the fund. Those who want to know if anything is due to them can click on to www.CookCountyClerkofCourt.org and then fill in the necessary details – first initial, last name and their phone numbers. Brown took this step thinking that something should be done for these people.

For those who are currently going through the foreclosure trauma the clerk has sent out a message telling them to keep in touch with the related office. The office of the clerk can chip in to oversee the sale of the property and alert the previous owner if any extra money is due to them.

Photo by Ddpavumba

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Foreclosure Law Firm in New York Closing Down

Julie Parker — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:01:58 +0000

Photo by The-Lane-Team

The foreclosure law firm of Baum in New York, otherwise notorious for being one of the big foreclosure mills is closing down. The step was taken after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac gave instructions to its servicers and lenders not to have any further dealings with it. The firm had hit the headlines after photographs flashed a Halloween Party held last year in which foreclosure victims were mocked.

Baum’s firm is also embroiled in robo-signing scandal. The allegation is that it used dubious means and forged paperwork to foreclose upon borrowers

According to Buffalo News the firm dealt with 40% of all the foreclosure cases in New York State. On Monday 21st November it announced its decision to shut down. Consumers and consumer advocates have denounced the firm even prior to the surfacing of the robo-signing scandal over the illegality of many foreclosures and the indiscriminate signing of foreclosure paperwork.

ABC News was directed by the legal firm to Earl Wells its spokesperson; Wells did not make any comments. In a statement Baum, the owner of the firm said, “Disrupting the livelihoods of so many dedicated and hardworking people is extremely painful, but the loss of so much business left us no choice but to file these notices”.

Last October the company had agreed to pay as penalty $2 million in settling an investigation of the federal government. It had also promised to change the processing of its foreclosure cases. According to the Justice Department of USA, the firm had submitted legal papers that were misleading only to hasten up seizure of homes.

Manhattan attorney Preet S. Bharara said, “In mortgage foreclosure proceedings, there are no excuses for slopping practices that could lead to someone mistakenly losing their home. Homeowners facing foreclosure cannot afford to have faulty paperwork or inadequate evidence submitted, and today’s agreement will help minimize that risk”.

Investigation against Baum’s firm had been started by Rep. Elijah Cummings (Democrat/ Maryland) a top figure in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He had communicated with the bank asking for documents.

Daren Blomquist of RealtyTrac observed that the shutting of this firm and some others had caused the focus to be on the dubitable practices and lack of any transparency in the foreclosure operations that had become an industry.

He felt that now the headlights were on people will become aware. He added that the industry had put itself in the position it is now in today. The problem however is the slowing down of foreclosures and the recovery of the housing market.

The Foreclosure Prevention Measures of Obama Are Facing Difficulties

Julie Parker — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:04:00 +0000

The foreclosure prevention measures of Obama that has been announced are facing difficulties. It will help nearly 9 million mortgage borrowers to keep their houses. The plan is facing implementation problems. This will make it less effective contradicting the high expectations of the Obama administration. On 18th February this year President Obama outlined the plan and said it would help nearly 7 million to 9 million house owners who are struggling with the threat of foreclosures.

The measures will help the foreclosure victims to refinance their loans to something more affordable and within their capabilities. This could be done with the joint cooperation of both the lenders and investors agreeing to lower the interest payments and bringing down the principal amount and or to make other changes.

Shaun Donovan the secretary of HUD said, “This step forward represents a tremendous coordinated effort between major government and regulatory agencies to help bring relief to America’s housing market and homeowners. This plan will… help to stop the damaging impact that declining home prices have on all Americans.”

The Treasury Department announced guidelines to assist the lenders to have knowledge about the process of enrolment.

But there are doubts if the ambitious but complicated measure will finally be able to help many borrowers because of the restrictions about eligibility. There are likely to be delays in its execution. The possibility of legal challenges cannot be ruled out.

The plan would offer the servicers and investors fees and subsidies. For this an amount of $75 billion has been allotted. This will be taken from the TARP funds.

The second stage of the measure would permit the homeowners of certain categories to refinance their loans with decreased interest rates via the mortgage houses of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two giants own about half the mortgages of the country. The other half, is held by pension funds, insurance companies, hedge funds and various other private investors.

The plan focuses on the delinquent borrowers so as to allow for a streamlined modification method. Those facing immediate default would greatly benefit. The plan also reaches out to those who have a good solid record of continuing with mortgage payments on their current mortgages. They too could get their monthly payments reduced. It is made clear that the measure is not meant to address the problems of each and every instance of foreclosure.

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Banks Are Being Questioned the Right to Sue Foreclosure Victims

Julie Parker — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:04:24 +0000

Banks are being more and more questioned about their right to sue foreclosure victims because of lack of proper documents. The real estate law prevalent in Ohio states clearly that any person bringing a foreclosure suit must at the very onset attach all the relevant documents showing that the plaintiff has the right to collect. At the least some explanation has to be given for not having the documents right then. If this is not done then the judge has the right to dismiss the case summarily.

Federal bankruptcy judge Samuel L. Bufford together with former judge R. Glen Ayers has recently written an article pointing out that the Uniform Commercial Code that has been introduced in each state is very vague. The article read, “Enforcement of a note always requires that the person seeking to collect show that it is the holder. A holder is an entity that has acquired the note either as the original payor or transfer by endorsement of order paper or physical possession of bearer paper.”

Dennis Harrington of Southeastern Ohio Legal Services in Marietta said that somebody trying to take foreclosure action without papers is like someone attempting to encash blank cheque. He asked, “If you have a check that’s not made out to you, what gives you the right to go to court and demand that the people pay?”

He and his lawyer colleague Peggy Lee said that SEOL is representing people with low income involved in civil cases. They have been lately seeing a rise in foreclosure suits in which this particular issue is repeatedly coming up. The last few years of insanity in the market has resulted in this mayhem that has ultimately caused the nation to slump into recession.

Another related article in the New York Times highlighted that during the time of the housing boom, millions of mortgages were make into parcels, sliced and sold to investors across the world. These securitized trusts were sold repeatedly causing chaos. Lee says that three out of every four cases she handles raises this point about original papers and documentation to establish the plaintiffs right to sue. At the time of selling and re-selling the mortgages the forms were not properly filled up. The concerned parties were in such a hurry that they neglected this important point. Sometimes even computerized records cannot be shown.

It seems that the banks were so busy making money that they did not give priority to the task of keeping track of the loans that were changing hands.

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Options for Foreclosure Victims

Julie Parker — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:14:17 +0000

The corridors of power at the White House and the Senate have spent numerous months in experimenting with measures that will contain the foreclosure crisis. But to the ordinary man overwhelmed with loan the very process of trying to get assistance may seem confusing. But there are many options for foreclosure victims.

Last July, a help scheme was launched that was for those who had gone “upside down”. It meant that the value of the house had become less than the amount of the loan due. By the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was born the work out plan of Hope for Homeowners. By it the FHA (Federal Housing Agency) provided insurance so has to help foreclosure victims who were in occupancy of their houses qualify for a long term traditional mortgage with lower interest rate. The modified loan would cover 90% of the current appraised value of the house up to a limit of $550,440. The insurance coverage by FHA would make it possible for the borrower to avail of low interest.

The government initiated this three-year plan with a fund of $300 billion. The scheme is voluntary on the part of the lenders who may refuse to alter the terms of the previous mortgage. There are a good number of lenders who want to modify the loan and thus avoid the hassle of foreclosure. There is also a fear that too much stubbornness might cause the Congress to come down ever more harshly on the lenders.

Hope for Homeowners are for those who mortgages have gone underwater, contracted before January 2008 and have a monthly payment responsibility that is more than 331% of their earnings.

Borrowers should also try their level best to contact respective lenders. However it will be wrong to entertain high hopes about immediate assistance. The programme has only recently been launched and many lenders are still mulling over the process.

On 1st December Countrywide (now under Bank of America) is planning to introduce a “home retention” comprehensive plan to steer foreclosure victims towards Hope for Homeowners rescue scheme or any other similar programme. Those who are in default for over 60 days are advised to call up the lender and open communications for workouts. From 1st December they will be able to move on a fast track regarding new loans.
Filing of bankruptcy will not help in saving the house until the bankruptcy judges are allocated the power to relax the mortgage terms. This is a bone of contention between the two political parties.

Course Being Offered For Foreclosure Victims

Julie Parker — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:37:22 +0000

Oakdale Neighbours is a group working in tandem with Macatawa Bank. It has organized a twelve week course for those who are facing foreclosures. The Oakdale area is losing houses and house owners to foreclosures much faster than any other city A recent survey conducted by Community Research Institute of Grand Valley State University show that Oakdale together with two adjacent regions in Grand Rapids had foreclosure rates hovering around 16.2% during the years 2004 to 2007. To tackle the menace the group is joining up with Macatawa Bank to initiate a 12 week course dealing with finance. It has been termed The Money Map. The free sessions scheduled to operate from 20th February will include in its curriculum many facets of personal money matters like budgeting, borrowing, banking, purchasing money to buy a house, dangers of predatory lending and the like. Macatawa Bank is sending out invitations to the participants to open savings account by offering to match savings by 50% – going up to $150. Tom Bulten is the executive director of Oakdale Neighbours. He explains that by joining the course the participants will get first hand knowledge about how to budget income with expenses as well as get to know about the financial system. This will be their armour in times of financial crisis.

One strong view about the causes of the foreclosure crisis is that the borrowers who took the risky sub-prime loans did not know and were not aware of the implications of such deals. The lenders took advantage of this ignorance and peddled the loans to these gullible borrowers. Now that foreclosures are knocking at their door it is ignorance that is again letting them down. They do not know how to face the foreclosure tornado and plug the leaks. Organizations like Oakdale Neighbours are trying to fill the gap and make the people more aware – more financially literate. Statistics say that the foreclosures are most rampant in localities where the residents have modest income and are not fluent in English. Senior citizens and the handicapped too have been easy victims. Foreclosures are vitiating neighbourhoods by spreading crime and disease. Taxes too are falling crippling the power of the state to enforce law and order as well as fight fires. Vagrants are having a field day to the horror of all. The general economy is beginning to creak with ominous pointers towards recession.

Local Help For Foreclosure Victims

Julie Parker — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:30:51 +0000

In September 2007 50,000 or more residents of Maryland were lagging behind in mortgage payments. Experts opine that this year the numbers will increase with adjustable mortgage rates ready to reset to higher levels. However there is no point in negative worry. Help is available.
The first thing is to contact the lender. Today lenders are more amenable to a rapprochement than before considering how badly they are themselves affected by the rising tide of foreclosures. Adverse criticism too has played its role in making the lenders softer in their approach. Foreclosures are affecting collection of revenue and taxes. Law and order problems are antagonizing communities facing health problems and criminal activities stemming from abandoned houses. Thus the lenders might freeze for the time being the interest rate or forgive payments for a certain period. So borrowers are advised to contact immediately the loss-mitigation department of the lenders. The best option would be contact a housing counselor belonging to any non-profit organization. They will broker the agreement between the lender and the borrower. In Maryland there are many HUD approved help agencies having their own websites and hot line numbers. HOPE is another port of call. The borrower could suggest short sale. If the loan amount and house value are at par the lender will readily agree to it as both the parties gain by avoiding foreclosures. While going about the work the borrower should be on the alert for foreclosure scam artists who come forward with unsolicited help. They will cause further damage. The basic point is that borrowers must not sit idle simply fretting and worrying. By it nothing will be done. If immediate action is taken there is hope of help.

The government, mortgage giants and the local help agencies are working together to save the country from recession. As yet no positive results can be seen. The number of foreclosures continues to rise. The intensity varies from one locality to another. Many analyze that the modest income groups and the minorities are the worst sufferers. Another view is that places like Florida and California are the worst affected because these places were happy hunting grounds for construction activity during the zooming period of house building. Here speculators made hay. Now they have just walked off. Another view is that the sluggish economy combining with rising medical bills and divorces are responsible for the foreclosure scenario being witnessed today.

Foreclosures And Animal Life

Kevin Simpson — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 12:59:20 +0000

In the lonely neighbourhood two large turtles were rescued from an abandoned foreclosed house in Discovery Bay. The turtles were lucky to be adopted by some school children. But one pit bull puppy was unlucky – it died tied to a fence in a backyard of Pittsburg. If people cannot survive the foreclosure attack what of the fate of the animals who are their pets?

Cecily Tippery specializes in foreclosed units is now busy rescuing abandoned pets from deserted houses. Right now they have their hands full taking care of a generous number of pets – all hit by the foreclosure wave. In a house in Antioch the group found a dachshund, beagle and Chihuahua huddled together with a dead turtle. In an Oakley house the only occupant was a Calico cat. Another house was crawling with a litter of kittens.

Abandoned pets are another grim aspect of the foreclosure crisis. More stories pet and foreclosure related stories are coming up from across the country.

In Ohio the animal welfare groups are in a huddle trying to find space for an increasing number of abandoned pets. In Arizona concerned pet lovers have set up an e-mail network to find homes for the foreclosed-pets. Stockton is at the centre of the foreclosure and Michael Parker an officer in animal services is a worried man. Thousands of evicted families have temporarily forgotten their pets.

So far there has been no detailing of the abandoned pets – unfortunate victims of the foreclosure fiasco. Stray news are pouring in but the problem is beginning to get attention says Paul Bruce of Humane Society of US. The problem can be understood. New landlords taking in tenants are often averse to pets. Many of the pets left behind by the foreclosure wave are too old or sick. They do not have veterinary records. Tippery falls within a ‘no-kill’ zone that makes the problem difficult to solve.

Contra Costa and Antioch do not have no-kill pet shelters. Agents are not happy about sending them there. The local rescue bodies do not have the funds to finance vet care for the abandoned pets. But work is underway by animal lovers. Individuals have paid for health checks of these foreclosure victims and they are hunting for adopters in an organized manner. It is heart wrenching to see not just toys left behind but living animals in houses that were once homes.

Foreclosure Hotline Never Stops Ringing

Julie Parker — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:29:27 +0000

The foreclosure crisis has been slipping from bad to worse. It started off with the laudable aims of helping those who wanted to own a house but could not qualify for the prime loans. The sub-prime mortgage was tailor made for them. Unfortunately the scheme went awry with predatory lending and reckless borrowing. The borrowers were unaware of what they were walking into.

Only when interest rates began to rise that they woke up with a shudder to succumb to foreclosures. The sheer number of foreclosures raging across the country has made sociologists, economists, legal fraternities and even the politicians sit up. All were affected. Bush made an announcement on Thursday regarding help for foreclosure victims.

On an average day the number of calls was 1,500. But since the foreclosure crisis the number has shot up to 5,800 said Tracy Morgan, vice president of communications and business development for the Homeownership Preservation Foundation. This is the story ever since Bush announced plans to soften the foreclosure crisis. Borrowers were asked to call 888-995-HOPE. The calls on Thursday were three to five times higher than those received on Monday. There was a sense of high alert following the President’s declaration.

The Homeownership Preservation Foundation works in tandem wit six other credit counseling bodies across the country. One in Greater Atlanta, Consumer Credit Counseling Service took 920 calls within four hours. The average is 75 to 80. The pressure is compelling them to engage extra personnel to attend to the calls. Many are working overtime. Whatever the odds they have been able to manage the workload. Calls are kept on hold to talk to counselors.

In New Jersey Novadebt handles hotlines. They received 1,600 calls on Thursday. Through the year the number of calls have been steadily rising corresponding to the rise in foreclosures. It is also due to the publicity these hotlines are being given. The calls have increased by 100% from the first to the second quarter and 94% from the second to the third quarter.

Homeownership Preservation Foundation has increased its strength of counselors receiving the hotline calls. By the end of the year 70 more will be added to their team bringing the total to 250. It is a non-profit organization funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in partnership with mortgage lenders and servicers as well as charitable bodies.

Foreclosure Scammers Licking Chops – Beware!

Julie Parker — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:13:41 +0000

In the raw the jackals and vultures move in when the big predators have had their fill. It seems to be the same today in human society – and that too in America. Victims facing foreclosures are in a traumatized state – ready to clutch at any straw of hope. They cannot think rationally and calmly. This is the ideal scene for the scammers to enter the stage and pick the bones. With foreclosures on the rise it is a party out there for those who have a taste for rotten carcass. The foreclosure scammers are gorging and belching. Beware!

The wolf in sheep’s clothing comes knocking with sweet words of help. They promise the sky. But instead of succour the foreclosure victims find themselves not only without their foreclosed homes but also with slimmer purses – notes and coins they could have ill afforded to have lost during this severe weather.

Reports about sham rescue schemes from about all the 50 states have been pouring it – reports BBB. The number of foreclosure scams complaints rises in proportion to the number of foreclosures. Thus the maximum number is reported in the worst affected places like Georgia, Colorado and Ohio.

The line of action follows the route of email and posting of printed offers. It seems to be the same story repeated everywhere. There are even eye-catching web sites to trap the unwary. Treat personal approach with extreme caution. Usually hand written notes are pushed inside mailboxes overflowing with messages of concern for the foreclosure victim’s plight. No documents should be signed that writes away the title deed. Get the documents scrutinized by someone who knows and can be trusted – preferably a legal advisor. The helpers offer to negotiate satisfactory terms to stop foreclosures. The assurance is that if the process fails then the fees will be refunded. Some have been desperate enough to pay $1,300. Neither was action taken nor was the money returned – only precious time was lost.

The general advice to mortgage victims, from all responsible quarters, is to contact BBB – which is available on the web. A reliability-report is available for free. It is also relevant to remember that those who offer help should have a license from the state’s Department of Finance. A license from Real Estate Commission is required for those trading in property. The bottom line however is – contact the lender directly and immediately.