Loan Deals: News

The Oregon Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Task Force this week indicted a Salem mortgage broker on charges of mortgage fraud, aggravated theft, forgery and identity theft.

Julian James Ruiz III, 38, is the manager and owner of American Home Modifications, a Salem-based loan modification company. He faces 17 counts of first degree aggravated theft, mortgage fraud, identity theft, aggravated identity theft, forgery in the first degree and criminal possession of a forged instrument in the first degree.

“We intend to prosecute mortgage fraud aggressively. If you cheat vulnerable Oregonians facing foreclosure, we will hold you accountable,” said Attorney General John Kroger in his announcement of the indictment.

Kroger said this was the first indictment by his office’s task force.

He added that Ruiz will not be able to complete the loan projects with his customers, who are advised to talk with a HUD-approved counselor to avoid pending foreclosure or defaults. Consumers can call 800-SAFENET or 800-723-3638 to find a counselor, including Spanish-speaking counselors, at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm?webListAction=search&searchstate=OR.

Loan Modification, Scams Loan Modification

I don’t know why common sense is lacked by most people these days. Guys, because Obama is on TV saying he will help doesn’t mean the mom pop loan modification company will. In fact, I am willing to bet that less than 10% of the Loan Modification Companies in California are operating legally. Let’s forget my opinion for a minute, I know 9 loan modification companies here in Orange County - and not one of them is operating legally. 100% of all the companies I know personally are operating illegally. Don’t be surprised.

From ABC:

Foreclosures are at an all-time high, especially here in California, so it’s no surprise that loan-modification businesses are booming. The only problem is that a number of those companies are considered scams. Now ACORN, a non-profit organization helping people get out of loan trouble, claims that one of those businesses is in Buena Park. ACORN alleges that business is one of those scams.

Wednesday afternoon, about 30 protestors, mostly loan-modification clients of Center Legal, a loan modification company in Buena Park, gathered in the parking lot. Then they headed to the offices of Center Legal to accuse the company of fraudulently charging them thousands of dollars for services not performed. The protestors wanted to demand their money back.

But along the way, about 15 of the protestors, including members of ACORN who organized the event, and an ABC7 photographer, got trapped in a building elevator for more than half an hour.

To read the full article click here

Loan Modification, Scams Loan Modification

From the article:

Named in the suit filed Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court are: Mortgage Crisis Solutions Association, Property Solutions Specialists, One Source Communications and Nationwide Financial Partners. Principals Donald R. Gillette and Flynn McCarthy also were sued.

The defendants are accused of charging homeowners in foreclosure as much as $2,995 for loan-modification services but not providing any services. The attorney general’s office also accuses the defendants of offering legal services to customers, which it says constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.

The state obtained an injunction freezing the assets of Mortgage Crisis Solutions and Gillette, identified as the company’s owner.

Click here to read the full article

Loan Modification, Scams Loan Modification

From the article:

“Question 1 What is a loan modification?

A loan modification involves changing the terms on a mortgage to make the monthly payments more affordable.  This may include lowering the interest rate on the loan, extending the length of the loan, or in some cases principle forgiveness.  The goal is to help make the monthly mortgage payments more affordable for a homeowner facing financial hardship.

Question 2 How do I know if I am eligible for a loan modification?

The main thing you will need to demonstrate to your lender is that you have the ability to make the new modified payments according to the terms of a loan modification.  You will need to provide proof of your income and a financial statement that outlines your income and expenses that shows that you will be able to meet the revised monthly mortgage payments.”"

for more information please visit activerain by clicking here

Loan Modification, Mortgage, Uncategorized Loan Modification, modification questions

Should You Hire A Loan Modification Attorney?

If you are considering a loan modification to help lower your monthly mortgage payments you may be confused by all the loan modification services that are available.  New loan modification services and companies continue to crop up every day.  It can be confusing for the financially strapped homeowner to make a decision on how to proceed with a loan modification.  Many homeowners contact their lenders directly and complete the loan modification application on their own.  Others hire a loan modification company and still others hire a loan modification attorney.

Do you need to hire a loan modification attorney to represent you in your loan modification process?  There are times when an attorney can be a tremendous help in the loan modification process.  If your lender is not cooperating or is difficult to contact, a loan modification attorney may be able to provide the leverage you need to get through.  Other circumstances where a loan modification attorney can be helpful are when you feel you may have be a victim or fraud or predatory lending.  Finally, if you have tried to get a loan modification on your own and have been denied, a loan modification attorney may be able to help.  There are laws in place regarding unfair lending and an attorney that has experience with loss mitigation can help you in this area.

If you feel you may be the victim of fraud or unfair lending practices you should definitely seek the help of a loan modification attorney.  This can be used as leverage to get a loan modification approved or further legal action if that is necessary.

The disadvantage to hiring a loan modification attorney is the cost.  Attorneys usually require a large upfront fee for their services.  These fees are usually non-refundable.  It can be very difficult for financially strapped homeowners to come up with the money to pursue this type of legal action.

If you do not think you are the victim of unfair lending practice, fraud, or the denial of your loan modification application, a loan modification attorney might not be necessary.  You may be able to hire a loan modification company to represent you or even contact your lender directly and request a loan modification on your own.

With all the unsavory lending practices in recent years, it is good to know that a loan modification attorney is available if you should need one.  However, for routine loan modification requests, it probably isn’t necessary.

Loan Modification attorney, Loan Modification

In recent years millions of homeowners have faced the prospect of foreclosure.    With foreclosure not only does the homeowner lose their home but the lender loses as well.  One alternative to foreclosure is a loan modification.  With a loan modification, the terms of the loan are changed to make the monthly payments more affordable for the struggling borrower.  Here are five loan modification tips to help you through the process.

Tip #1 Call your lender and ask to speak to the loss mitigation department

If you find yourself falling behind on your mortgage payments you need to act quickly.  Call your lender and ask for the loss mitigation department.  They are the ones who handle loan modifications.  Ask for a loan modification application and get the process started.

Tip #2 Hiring someone to help you with your loan modification request is not necessary

It is not necessary to pay a loan modification company to help you.  You can deal directly with your lender and request a loan modification yourself if you are willing to do the upfront research to understand the process.  You may want to have an attorney look over the loan modification offer before you agree to it.

Tip #3 If you do decide to hire a loan modification company check their credentials.

If you do decide you would like help with your loan modification request be sure to thoroughly research the loan modification company.  Check to make sure that they have the proper license, contact the Better Business Bureau to see if there have been any complaints filed against them, ask for references, and find out what their experience is in handling loan modifications.

Tip #4 Have your house professionally appraised

All around the country home values have dropped.  You should have your house professionally appraised and use that as a point of negotiation with your lender when seeking your loan modification, particularly if the value of your home as dropped.

Tip #5.Start with a low offer

Your initial proposal for a loan modification should be for a low rate of interest or low payment plan.  You should anticipate that your lender will come back with a counter offer so you should start low.  Before you can do this you will need to figure out what you can truly afford to pay each month and what the lender’s criteria are for a loan modification.

Loan Modification Loan Modification, tips

The sub prime mortgage industry has done a lot to contribute to the current economy, from shady un-licensed loan officers who would lie and forge documents, to brokers who were trying to get rich quick and cutting corners. Now lets welcome the Loan Modification companies.

According to MSNBC, NBC, CNN, LA TIMES, and a countless number of other reputable sources, foreclosures were up by as much as 75% in 2007 and it continues to be a problem in late 2008.

News reports are flooded with foreclosures, and pending economic rescission. This has given all of the old sub prime loan officers and brokers a new way to rip consumers off.

MSNBC: FBI: Beware of Loan Modification Scams , Feds probe foreclosure scams and Foreclosure Scam Ring Busted are just a few of the many articles in todays papers regarding this.

Loan Modification is nothing new. Banks have been doing it for some time now, but with foreclosures being the reality that it is these days, lots of people are trying to make money from those facing a legitimate hardship.

What these companies are doing is collecting advanced payment for a service that may or may not be completed. A payment which is non refundable according to the companies (which is illegal), unless of course you have the time and the energy to create a big enough headache to the broker.

SelfLoanMods.com is offering services for thoes looking to complete their own loan modification to resolve their home problems on their own, legally, without spending every last penny in their bank account. They offer a package which includes sample letters, loan forms, a step by step booklet, phone numbers, and a step by step guide designed to walk you through the entire process.

Chris from Selfloanmods.com recently in an interview pointed out that while the other companies charge for general loan modification services, they provide all this for free on their website www.selfloanmods.com. Things like phone numbers to your lenders loss mitigation department, and HUD resources.

In this day and age, its very easy to be fooled by scams that promise to help save your home. Its always better to take a few minutes of your own time and do the work yourself. Especially since most of the companies that promise to help you were the ones that got you into this problem in the first place.

Note: we have added the selfloanmods.com hardship letter section to the external links on this website.

Mortgage foreclosure, Loan Modification, Mortgage, MSNBC, Scams

The battle over the mass modifications of troubled mortgages has begun in earnest. On Dec. 1, William Frey, a private investor in mortgage-backed securities, filed an unprecedented lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York alleging that the proposed modification of some 400,000 home loans originally underwritten by the defunct lender Countrywide Financial is illegal.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed against Bank of America (BAC), which bought Countrywide in late 2007. It argues that most of the Countrywide loans are not Countrywide’s or Bank of America’s to modify, but rather are owned by trusts that bought them through securitization—the process of financing home loans through the public markets by parceling them out to investors.

Frey says that BofA’s modifications (BusinessWeek.com, 10/23/07) will short bondholders $8.4 billion by reducing borrower payments. While those loan adjustments may help to keep struggling borrowers in their homes today, Frey says those alterations run the risk of permanently damaging the secondary market for housing finance.

“I am an advocate for investors’ contractual rights,” says Frey, 50, in an interview. He has publicly argued since March that loan modifications (BusinessWeek, 11/26/08) are against contract law, and has threatened to sue banks—despite, he says, receiving pressure to back down from Washington. “Investors’ voices have been muted in this debate because they speak of an inconvenient truth: Current solutions sacrifice the long-term viability of this nation’s housing finance system for short-term political gain. No matter how noble the intent, it is not in the interest of the United States now, or in the future, to tell its citizens and the world at large that U.S. contract rights may be bent with the political winds.”

Bank of America Response
In response, Bank of America spokeswoman Shirley Norton says: “We have not yet received a filing and, therefore, we cannot comment on specific claims. We are, however, disappointed in this attempt to halt a program intended to keep as many as 400,000 at-risk families in their homes and, together with similar programs across the industry, stabilize the nation’s housing market. We are confident that together with the attorneys general we have built a program that benefits both consumers and investors, whose interests we carefully considered in developing our program.”

Read the entire article (2 pages) here: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2008/db2008121_173068.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

Loan Modification Help www.selfloanmods.com

Hardship Letter Examples

Mortgage Bofa, countrywide, Loan Modification