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Dennis Norman The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced yet another new plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. This plan targets homeowners that are struggling with unemployment and offers two foreclosure-prevention programs to help them. The first program will be through the existing Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Continue reading… Help for unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure Dennis Norman Just as we are talking more about home prices “stabilizing” there is yet another cause for concern as to just where the market is headed. Last week Celia Chen, senior director of the Moody’s Economy.com research staff, issued a report stating that the odds of a near-term “double-dip recession” have increased from about Continue reading… Is the housing market headed toward a ‘double-dip’? Jennifer Gorton In 2008, the Subprime Mortgage Crisis threatened to undermine the entire global financial system. What began as a normal recession quickly turned into an economic tsunami as banks around the world began to realize to what extent their books were exposed to subprime mortgages. Central banks and world financial leaders around the globe Continue reading… The Essential Linchpin of the U.S. Economic Recovery: The Housing Sector Ever wonder why one home will sell for more than a similar home in the same neighborhood? You’ll hear all sorts of reasons. One house has this feature or that feature while the other one doesn’t. That’s part of it but certainly not all. Tweet This Post The Justice Department filed a lawsuit yesterday against the owners, developers, architects and civil engineers of Park Place Apartments, a 276-unit complex in Louisville, Ky., for failing to provide accessible features required by the Fair Housing Act. Tweet This Post Dennis Norman A report just released by CoreLogic estimate the financial impact of short-sale fraud to be $310 million annually. It is estimated there is fraud in one in every 53 short sale transactions resulting in an unnecessary loss to the lender of $41,000 per transaction on average. Tweet This Post
Dennis Norman Fannie Mae, after losing $59.8 Billion in 2008 and then $74.4 Billion in 2009, reported yesterday that things are looking up and they lost only $1.2 Billion in the 2nd quarter of this year. This “good” news comes on the heels of documents being released two weeks ago showing that Countrywide made, Continue reading… Countrywide VIP Loans To Fannie Mae Execs Are Under Investigation Dennis Norman The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, released their 2009 Mortgage Loan Fraud (MLF) study which found the number of mortgage fraud suspicious activity reports (SAR’s) filed in 2009 grew 4 percent compared to 2008. Tweet This Post Dennis Norman Asking this question now is about like asking a newly divorced person their thoughts on marriage….nonetheless in challenging times many of us reflect upon our past investment decisions, investment philosophy, etc and see what can be learned from our past to help us in the future. Tweet This Post Landlord attempted to evict single mother for filing fair housing complaint The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Friday that a HUD Administrative Law Judge has ordered an Iowa landlord to pay $52,150 in damages and civil penalties for retaliating against a single mother of three by threatening to evict her because she Continue reading… Judge Orders Iowa Landlord to Pay $52,150 To Resolve Discrimination Case The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner, management company and former manager of Summerhill Place Apartments, a 268-unit apartment complex in Renton, Wash., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin and familial status in the rental of apartments. The Continue reading… DOJ Files Fair Housing Lawsuit Against Apartment Complex in Renton, Washington Dennis Norman UPDATE -July 2 – The President has signed the bill into law….It’s official, the deadline is September 30th to close.. UPDATE-July 1- GOOD NEWS! I Stand Corrected! Yesterday, before ending session, the Senate did PASS H.R. 5623 by Unanimous Consent…the bill now goes to the President for his signature and then will Continue reading… House Passes Bill To Extend Closing Deadline For Home-Buyer Tax Credits Dennis Norman While there are many factors that go into what makes for a good or bad housing market and ultimately how well an investment in real estate will do in a market, two things in my book are key; population growth and job growth. Actually job growth brings population growth so perhaps it Continue reading… Population Growth Equals Housing Demand; Which States are Growing? Dennis Norman Last week both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced relief for homeowners with a mortgage insured by either agency (which accounts for over 90 percent of the home loans in the U.S.) that either have drywall problems (the Chinese drywall issue) or are in the Gulf coast area and are affected by the Continue reading… Relief Available For Homeowners with Drywall Issues or Affected by Gulf Oil Spill UPDATE- June 2, 2010: The National Association of REALTORS obtained answers from the Treasury Department on 3 common questions about HAFA: agents are not permitted to rebate a portion of their commission to the buyer, Continue reading… Fannie Mae Issues Guidelines For HAFA Short-Sales and Deed-in-Lieu Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that two more defendants have pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to mortgage fraud schemes, including a $12.6 million conspiracy that involved 25 upscale residential properties in Lee’s Summit, Missouri and Raymore, Missouri and a Continue reading… Former Mortgage Broker, California Woman Plead Guilty to Mortgage Fraud A 10-count indictment has been unsealed charging six individuals with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt. The defendants are charged with submitting false and fraudulent mortgage loan applications and related documents to banks and other lending institutions, thereby inducing the institutions to make Continue reading… Six Charged with Wire Fraud Based on $20 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme The founder and head of Chicago Development and Planning was sentenced yesterday to 15 years and eight months in prison, and ordered to pay more than $9 million in restitution for wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. Patricia Morgen pleaded guilty on Dec. 16, 2009. According Continue reading… Ponzi Scheme and Mortgage Fraud Mastermind Sentenced to 15 Years, Eight Months First Amendment Versus Ballwin City Hall Dennis Norman “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This Continue reading… Property Owner Gets Jail Time over Yard Art Dennis Norman As the real estate market and industry continues to struggle to try to pull out of the dumps, another blow could come soon from Congress in the form of new tax burdens on real estate. Congress is proposing that all owners of rental properties be required to complete and file 1099 forms for all Continue reading… Congress Considering New Tax Burdens on Real Estate Dennis Norman Homeowners looking to upgrade or sell their home this spring should realize that not all remodeling and renovation projects will yield a full return on their investment, the president of the Appraisal Institute said today. “When it comes to home improvement projects, especially in today’s economy, not every renovation or Continue reading… Not All Home Improvements Lead to Higher Value Dennis Norman No doubt over the next couple of years you will have clients that were forced to do a short sale or deed-in-lieu in the past, but are ready to buy again. Fannie Mae has made changes to their policy that are going to help these buyers by easing their policies with regard to Continue reading… Can your buyers obtain a mortgage if they have done a short sale or deed-in-lieu? Three North Providence town councilmen, including the President of the Town Council, were arrested by federal agents today on criminal complaints charging them with extortion and accepting a bribe. It is alleged the councilmen accepted a $25,000 bribe in return for favorable votes on a zoning change for a retail development Continue reading… Three North-Providence Councilmen Charged with Taking Bribe from Developer A Baltimore attorney was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to serve one year and one day in jail and to pay an $800,000 criminal fine for rigging bids at various Maryland tax lien auctions, the Department of Justice announced today. Harvey M. Nusbaum pleaded guilty to a one-count charge of Continue reading… Baltimore Attorney Sentenced to One Year in Jail For Bid Rigging at Maryland Tax Lien Auctions A 41-year-old Prior Lake man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in St. Paul on charges connected to an equity-skimming scheme that targeted vulnerable homeowners. United States District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced Michael Fiorito to 270 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and six counts of mail Continue reading… Former Mortgage Broker Sentenced to Nearly 23 Years in Prison For Defrauding Vulnerable Homeowners Dennis Norman According to a report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau earlier this week, the percentage of Americans that own a home in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2010 dropped to 67.1 percent, the lowest rate of homeownership since the same quarter of 2000. The homeownership rate for 4th quarter 2009 was Continue reading… Homeownership Rate in U.S. Hits 10 Year Low Incidents of Mortgage Fraud Increase 7 Percent from 2008 to 2009 – Florida, New York and California Top List of States with Highest Mortgage Fraud and Misrepresentation Rates Dennis Norman Reported incidents of mortgage fraud and misrepresentation by professionals in the mortgage industry in the U.S. are continuing to climb and increased Continue reading… Mortgage Fraud Continues to Climb Backdating of Stock Options Allowed CEO of KB Homes to Award Himself Millions of Dollars in Compensation Bruce E. Karatz, a former CEO and chairman of the board of KB Home, was convicted today of four felony counts related to a stock option backdating scheme in which he awarded himself and other KB executives millions of Continue reading… Former CEO of KB Home Convicted of Federal Fraud Charges Related to Stock Option Backdating
Dennis Norman Bear with me, I’m really not an ego-maniac, it’s just so infrequently that anyone of any real authority, or with “PhD” behind their name, agrees with me, so when it does happen I have to sound the horns and bask in the glory while it lasts! If you have read any of my articles Continue reading… I told you so!
Dennis Norman This past Thursday Congress passed H.R. 4851 and President Obama signed it into law the same day extending the National Flood Insurance Program, which had expired on March 28th, through May 31, 2010. The National Association of REALTORS, which lobbied hard for this extension, now says they are working with Congress to get Continue reading… Congress Extends Flood Insurance Program Through May 31 |
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