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, May 29, 2017
Fannie Mae Joins Battle Against Rent-To-Own, Contract For Deed/Land Contract Rackets; Says It No Longer Sells Foreclosed REOs To Nationwide Outfit Accused Of Using Abusive Deals To Dupe Naive Aspiring Homeowners Into Buying Dilapidated Money Pits
The New York Times reports:
One of the biggest firms in the rent-to-own home business is now on the federal government’s do-not-sell list.
Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage finance giant, said on Tuesday [May 23] that it had stopped selling properties to the firm, Vision Property Management, after conducting a review of the firm’s rent-to-own program, which operates in more than a dozen states.
The mortgage finance company will also impose restrictions on future sales of foreclosed homes to firms that engage in abusive forms of seller financing — which includes selling homes on either rent-to-own leases or in long-term installment agreements known as contract for deed.
The policy change by Fannie could put a big crimp in the business model of certain investment firms that have sprouted up since the financial crisis. These firms buy foreclosed homes on the cheap and sell them to people unable to qualify for a conventional mortgage.
A series of articles in The New York Times last year detailed abuses with rent-to-own leases and contract for deed sales. The articles illustrated how people across the country were being duped by the promise of owning a home without realizing the hidden cost of repairs and sometimes overdue fines owed to municipalities.
Housing advocates have criticized the seller-financed business for fostering abusive practices that take advantage of poor people and contribute to neighborhood blight.
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Vision has come under scrutiny in recent months for what regulators and senators have called its predatory lending practices in real estate. The South Carolina firm bought thousands of foreclosed homes from the government, turning around and reselling these often rundown homes “as is” to aspiring homeowners.
In a pattern first reported in The Times, Vision and other firms often spend no money on renovating the foreclosed homes, putting the onus on the tenants to bring the property up to code or lose their contract. In several cases where lead paint was present in a property, Vision failed to disclose the hazard, [...].
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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