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.
Thursday, September 06, 2012
"Legal, Non-Conforming Use" Zoning Status Throws Monkey Wrench Into Couple's Effort To Sell Home
In Deltona, Florida, The Daytona Beach News Journal reports:
The moving boxes speak to Lynne and Earl Hoisington's intentions.
But two closings this week -- the one where they planned to buy a new house in DeLand and the one where they would turn in the keys to their three-bedroom, two-bath Deltona home -- are off.
The Hoisingtons and the real-estate agents involved in their deal say a city ordinance, an eagle-eyed appraiser and the square-footage of the Deltona house are to blame. They suggest the city's rules, if not changed, could slow the sale of homes in a city that continues to be in the throes of the foreclosure crisis.
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[A]n appraiser reviewing their Giovanni Street home found its dimensions, 1,068 square feet, fell short of the Deltona requirement for single-family homes in its residential zoning. He checked a box marked "legal nonconforming (grandfathered use)."
The nonconforming tag means if the home were to be destroyed by fire or a natural disaster, it would have to be rebuilt at the current standard, 1,200 square feet, or more. That clause meant the buyer could not obtain financing, according to Matt Gurnow, a loan originator with Watson Mortgage Corp., DeLand.
Gurnow wrote Deltona Mayor John Masiarczyk last week explaining that the loan for a nonconforming house is "not sellable on the secondary market and therefore not a loan we can close and fund. ... Our investors (JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, B&T) will not purchase a loan on a home that is nonconforming, knowing that if their collateral for the loan is destroyed, it cannot be rebuilt as it sits."
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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