Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Monday, July 30, 2012
More On Trouble With Land Titles Arising Out Of Wrongful Foreclosures
Albany Law School Professor Elizabeth Renuart writes in Public Citizen's Consumer Law & Policy Blog:
[T]here is growing evidence that the parties to securitization deals handle and transfer the legally important documents that secure the resulting investments — the loan notes and mortgages — in a careless and, at times, fraudulent manner.
Consequently, the foreclosing parties frequently do not possess the right to foreclose and the resulting sales may be unlawful. Defective sales harm homeowners when they lose their homes to the wrong party. Moreover, they could use the extra time afforded by a delayed or jettisoned foreclosure to find another solution, such as a loan modification or short sale.
Wrongful foreclosures affect another important group, the purchasers. If title to the property is flawed as a result, those parties potentially buy nothing and can transfer nothing. Clear title to real property in the United States may be in jeopardy. The problem is most acute in non-judicial foreclosure states because doctrines of finality do not apply and state law may permit post-sale challenges.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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