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Last week I got to hear a presentation by Brendan Lowney of Economic Advisors, aptly titled “Groping Toward a Housing Recovery“, which I think is a perfect way of describing our current housing market, so perfect, I borrowed it for the title of this article. Mr. Lowney began his presentation with a very sobering statement, Continue reading… Groping Toward a Housing Recovery This week, in response to the House Appropriations committee voting to slash funding for the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and to subject the new agency to a “politically-charged” funding process, Mike Calhoun, President of the Center for Responsible Lending, made the following comment: “the House Appropriations Committee yesterday voted for Continue reading… Consumer organization blasts House Appropriations Committee on recent vote; fear return to policies that allowed predatory lending PHOENIX—Brett Matheson, 46, pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme based in Phoenix. Two others have also entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing. WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced late this week that it has filed a lawsuit against the city of New Berlin, Wis., alleging that the city violated the Fair Housing Act by repeatedly taking action to prevent the construction of an affordable housing development by a private developer, MSP Real Continue reading… Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against City of New Berlin, Wisconsin, for Blocking Affordable Housing WASHINGTON – A former senior vice president and head of Colonial Bank’s Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division was sentenced today to eight years in prison for her role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW). Colonial Bank was one Continue reading… Former Colonial Bank Senior Vice President Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Fraud Scheme Simple economics tells us that when supply exceeds demand prices suffer, just as we have seen in the housing market over the past three-plus years. A report by Brendan Lowney, a macroeconomist with Forest Economic Advisors (FEA) estimates that an excess home inventory of 2.5 million homes exist at this time. He says Continue reading… Industry expert says it will take five years to absorb existing home inventory The headline today on a CNBC article was “US Housing Crisis is Now Worse than Great Depression” and there are many similar articles in other publications as well…in fact, if you Google “Housing Crisis Worse Than Great Depression” there are over 100 exact matches just in the past month. The writer’s all seem to Continue reading… Current Housing Market Bust Worse Than Depression? I Don’t Think So.. Robert Shiller I’m doing this article as I attend a presentation by Robert Shiller, Yale Economics Professor and Co-Founder of the S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Indices at the S&P Housing Summit 2011, as he discussed “Unusual Factors Influencing the Outlook for the U.S. Housing Market. So it may be a little choppy, but here are Continue reading… Robert Shiller on the Housing Boom and Bust and where home prices are headed The “State of the Nation’s Housing“ Report for 2011 by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University does not paint a very pretty picture of the housing market, nor does it give us a whole lot to look forward to with regard to the near-term future of the U.S. housing market. Real estate agents, are you tired of those paltry commissions? Tired of spending more on gas than the commission on the sale? Worry no more my friend, here is the answer! Just land a listing on one of these baby’s and your worries are over. Courtesy of “Unique Homes”, a luxury real estate magazine, below Continue reading… The 10 Most Expensive U.S. Homes For Sale There is a lot of talk in the media today about the poor housing market and how an increase in employment would help bring the housing market back. However, the question is, will a recovery in the job market bring the housing market back, or will a recovery in the housing market bring the Continue reading… Will jobs fix the housing market or will housing fix the job market? Ronald Johannes Sneijder, 48, a former owner of a title and escrow company based in the District of Columbia, pled guilty last week to the lead count in a recently filed indictment, bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the Continue reading… Former Title and Escrow Agent Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Last week, a loan originator, the 12th and final defendant in a large-scale mortgage fraud ring, was sentenced in federal court for his role in fraudulent property transactions that were part of a larger mortgage fraud conspiracy involving 21 property deals and more than $10.6 Continue reading… Final Defendant Sentenced to 70 Months for Involvement in Large-Scale Mortgage Fraud Ring This week, in federal court in St. Paul, a jury convicted a 44-year-old Burnsville man of conspiring with others to bilk mortgage lenders out of more than $43 million. Following a six-day trial, the jury found Troy David Chaika guilty on seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, Continue reading… Federal Jury Convicts Burnsville Man of Bilking Mortgage Lenders Out of More Than $43 Million Where do you begin? Moisture can come from several sources. However, the most frequent sources of moisture inside the home are the plumbing, roofing, basement seepage and condensation. No matter where the source is it must be found and eliminated. Moisture damage in some cases may take some time to become obvious. It is easy to see Continue reading… What to do when moisture gets inside your home The newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), one of the newest agencies under the Federal Government, created “to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans”. Hmm, sounds good, but as usual, I was skeptical. However, thus far, I’m pretty impressed with the CFPB’s approach to changing mortgage disclosure Continue reading… New disclosure form aims to make home mortgage terms easier to understand According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Trulia and RealtyTrac, 45 percent of American adults say the government is not doing enough to prevent foreclosures. Only 17 percent think the government is doing too much and 16 percent say just the right amount is being done. Ronald Johannes Sneijder, 48, a former owner of a title and escrow company based in the District of Columbia, has been indicted on federal charges relating to mortgage fraud. The total amount of loans was approximately $1,829,000. The indictment, which was unsealed today, was returned May 13, 2011 in the U.S. District Continue reading… Former Title and Escrow Agent Indicted for Mortgage Fraud UGH… According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Trulia and RealtyTrac, 54 percent of American adults believe that recovery in the housing market will not happen until 2014 or later. In a previous survey, six months ago, 42 percent of American adults said they thought the market would turn around by Continue reading… Survey shows over half American adults think housing recovery is years away Spring storms in April caused 8 areas of the U.S. to be declared a National Disaster area, and another 9 more so far in May. Damage from tornadoes and wind from these storms as well as flooding has caused thousands of homeowners financial hardship. For those affected borrowers in these areas that have FHA loans, Continue reading… HUD Issues 90-day Moratorium on Foreclosures for Homeowners in Disaster Areas Do you want to know which real estate markets are predicted to be the best and worst in 2011? If so, watch the short slide show below to find out. The Five Best and Five Worst U.S. Housing Markets in 2011 Settlement Provides $3.6 Million to Ensure Equal Lending Services to African-American Community Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. (CRBC) and Citizens Bank of Flint, Mich., will open a loan production office in an African-American neighborhood in Detroit, invest approximately $3.6 million in Wayne County, Mich., and take other steps as part of a settlement to Continue reading… Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. and Citizens Bank Regarding Alleged Lending Discrimination in Detroit The United States has filed a civil mortgage fraud lawsuit against Deutsche Bank AG and its wholly owned subsidiary, MortgageIT Inc. The government’s complaint seeks damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act for repeated false certifications made to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Continue reading… United States Sues Deutsche Bank and Subsidiary MortgageIT for Years of Reckless Lending Practices Basement seepage, in most cases relates to poor management of surface and roof water. Water causing basement seepage can come from three basic sources. First surface water can be directed to, rather than away from the foundation. Second water collected in gutters and downspouts is not routed away from the foundation. Although rare, the third Continue reading… Spring Showers-It is time to Improve the Odds to Limit Basement Seepage A report released this morning by Trulia shows that when it comes to the question “should I rent or buy” the answer is to buy in 80 percent of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Trulia’s “Rent vs. Buy Index” compares the cost of buying and renting a two-bedroom apartment, condominium or townhouse and for Continue reading… Buying a home more affordable than renting in four out of five major cities The Mortgage Fraud Index from MortgageDaily.com has fallen 69 percent over the past year to the lowest level since early 2008. For the fourth quarter of 2010 the Mortgage Fraud Index was 814, which is down from 2634 the year before and is the lowest level the index has been at since the first Continue reading… Mortgage Fraud Index Falls to Lowest Level in almost 3 Years Over the past year or so there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of stories questioning the manner in which lenders were handling the servicing of their loans, particularly those of underwater borrowers, as well as the foreclosure practices of many including “robo-signing” of foreclosure affidavits. Next came the lawsuits and now, this week, the Continue reading… Feds Take Action Against Banks for Misconduct and Negligence Related to Mortgage Loan Servicing and Foreclosure Practices Forty three years ago today, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which included Title VIII, the Fair Housing Act which, as described on HUD’s website, “prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, Continue reading… Undercover Investigation Reveals Possible Discriminatory Treatment of REO’s by Lenders According to a study, the Community Preference Survey, conducted for the National Association of Realtors®, Americans favor walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, with 56 percent of respondents preferring smart growth neighborhoods over neighborhoods that require more driving between home, work and recreation. A real estate investor pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif., to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, Calif., Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, and Benjamin Continue reading… Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid-Rigging at Foreclosure Auctions |
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