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Archive for the ‘Foreclosure’ Category

Here is an article that appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about the increasing number of homeowners that are facing foreclosure who have decided to file for bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy in Georgia and in many states will effectively delay foreclosure and allow the homeowner time to review their options.  Georgia has one of the speediest foreclosure processes in the country. Often, a homeowner will learn that his/her house is up for sale just weeks before the auction is set to proceed.

“Bankruptcy courts have become the forum of choice to stop foreclosures, not only in Georgia but throughout the country, because the injunction to stop foreclosures in bankruptcy court is automatic,” said Howard Rothbloom, an Atlanta bankruptcy attorney told the AJC.  Read the full article.

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Despite the bona fide assistance out there, it’s harder than ever for many consumers to separate trustworthy foreclosure assistance companies from the bogus ones. And with unemployment and mortgage delinquencies remaining stubbornly high, con artists from coast to coast are increasingly preying upon Americans going through hard economic times.

This year, for instance, officials in California indicted two San Diego men on charges of illegally collecting $900,000 from desperate homeowners looking to avoid foreclosure. Authorities said the men billed people $2,500 to $3,000 for loan modification services, then did nothing.

The duo made their operation appear official by pretending that their offices were located near the White House, and sending out letters marked with the seal of the U.S. Capitol. They also claimed that they had forensic accountants and lawyers on staff. In reality, the two men worked out of Southern California and had no accountants or attorneys on the payroll.

Meanwhile, in New York, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo recently sued two loan modification companies, and shut down two other foreclosure rescue firms for alleged illegal practices.

Red Flags on a Foreclosure Rescue Scam

As mentioned, there are some surefire ways to spot a fraudulent – or potentially bogus – mortgage modification or foreclosure rescue offer.

According to Loan Scam Alert (a national program from NeighborWorks which is designed to help homeowners avoid scams and report them), here are six red flags that indicate you may be dealing with a scammer. Read the rest of this article on Housingwatch

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America’s foreclosure crisis got especially ugly last month.

According to RealtyTrac, lenders repossessed more homes in August 2010 than in any other month since the housing meltdown and recession began back in December 2007.

All told, banks took back 95,364 properties in August, a 3% rise over July figures, and a 25% increase over year-ago levels.

Unfortunately, we’re on track to see more than four million homeowners get a foreclosure notice in 2010. Of those, an estimated one million property owners will actually lose their homes.

All this stepped up foreclosure activity suggests that banks are accelerating their foreclosure proceedings and getting more aggressive about evicting past-due homeowners.

One possible reason for this is that no bank wants to look like a scrooge by putting individuals and families on the street during the November and December holiday season. So I expect that lenders will likely try to get a lot more foreclosures done this fall, especially in September and October.

Facing foreclosure? Read these tips to see if you can save your home.

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Image by zoonabar via Flickr

Carl Greene, the executive director of the Philadelphia Housing Agency, has found himself like millions of other cash-strapped Americans: he is facing foreclosure.

Greene’s salary last year was $306,000, plus a $44,000 bonus. But he is still several months behind on his payments to Wells Fargo on his $615,000 condo.

The irony is that the Philadelphia Housing Agency is supposed to help people become homeowners, successful ones at that. But the head of this organization can’t even hang on to his own residence.

“My lack of attention to my personal financial dealings is a failure on my part,” Green said in a press release.

Hmmm. Somehow I doubt that mere inattention to his finances are behind Greene’s money woes. How do you not pay attention to the fact that your mortgage has to be paid every month? That’s not particularly complex.

Just goes to show you that anyone can wind up in a financial mess.

Related articles by Zemanta

• APNewsBreak: Philly housing director suing board (sfgate.com)
• Ex-mayor: Philly housing czar given too much power (seattletimes.nwsource.com)