The Huffington Post Investigative Fund website (the first I’ve heard of it) has a lengthy article on a new way that big banks are driving foreclosures. Apparently local governments do not have the resources to pursue property tax collection themselves so they bundle up past due liens and sell them off to investors that can then collect or foreclose. I hadn’t heard of this practice but the article makes it sound like it has been long standing. What it says is new in the arena is the activity of major banks and hedge funds that buy the debts and then tack on massive “legal fees.”
For example:
In May, the Investigative Fund reported how an unemployed former mental health counselor with four children named Vicki Valentine lost her home even though the mortgage had been paid in full. She had owed $362 on an overdue water bill when investors took over and added thousands of dollars in legal fees she couldn’t afford…
D.C. Attorney General Nickles criticizes Aeon Financial, LLC, a bank-financed investment group from Chicago that buys tax liens in some 10 states. Nickles asserts that Aeon has slammed homeowners, who sometimes owed just a few hundred dollars in back taxes, with $7,000 or more in legal fees.
This is in addition to upwards of 18% interest. When people can’t pay then the homes are taken to foreclosure. What is particularly egregious about this process is that everything is done through front companies that are sometimes not even registered in the country. Not even the governments know who they are dealing with:
Banks and hedge funds usually buy the liens through online auctions that permit them to bid in bulk, and they can use any name they want.
The giant Bank of America, for instance, has bid in Florida tax lien sales using colorful names such as Bennu, LLC, named after a mythical bird said to be the soul of the ancient Egyptian sun god. It also has bid as Osprey, LLC, and Ecru, LLC, named after the French word for a pale brown color…
Tax collectors in Florida don’t always know who they’re doing business with, either. Officials in Pinellas County want to know who exactly is behind a company called GL Funding Limited. Sales records show that GL Funding spent more than $10 million and dominated the tax sale in at least 10 Florida counties, most of them rural or smaller cities where interest rates tended to be much higher than in urban and resort areas.
GL Funding registered with several Florida tax collectors as a company with offices in the Cayman Islands. But other counties list a post office box in Philadelphia as its address. The person who registered GL Funding in Pinellas County’s tax sale provided Pinellas with a telephone number in Dallas, Tex. At that number, a man named Jess Weir declined to tell the Investigative Fund who is investing through the name GL Funding.
Said Sam McClelland, deputy tax collector in Pinellas County, Fla., where GL Funding acquired hundreds of liens earlier this year: “We’re still trying to sort this out.”
Yes, banks that are backed explicitly and implicitly by hundreds of billions of dollars from the government each year are tacking on thousands of dollars of fees and then foreclosing on people that owed a few hundred bucks…from the shadows. Ecru, indeed.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency statement on the foreclosure fraud crisis is a whitewash. Basically, Acting Director Ed DeMarco wants the banks to solve this problem on their own, and quickly. Let me boil down the four-point policy “framework” they released:
1) “Verify Process” – Hey servicers, look at what you’re doing! If you want a shorter version than that, how about “follow the law.”
2) “Remediate Actual Problems” – if you find something wrong, um, do something about it.
a) Pre-judgment foreclosure actions – um, file another affidavit, and mean it this time.
b) Post-judgment foreclosure actions – Wow, you’re kind of screwed, but see if you can get the judge to forget the fraud and file a replacement affidavit.
c) Post-foreclosure sale – Now you’re REALLY screwed. You sold a house based on false documents! See what you can do.
(For Real Estate Owned, or REO properties: make sure you get some title insurance! You’re going to need it!)
d) Bankruptcy Cases: Good luck.
3) Refer Suspicion of Fraudulent Activity – Probably would be a good idea to follow the law. If you didn’t, be a good servicer and turn yourself in.
4) Avoid Delay – Now get those foreclosures done! We have records to break, people!
That’s really it. My favorite two lines: “In developing this framework, FHFA has benefited from close consultation with the Administration and other federal financial regulators,” (it took more than one regulator to come up with this?) and “FHFA will provide additional guidance should it become necessary.” (They didn’t provide any guidance here!)
Now, Fannie and Freddie, who FHFA oversees, have taken some legitimate action. They fired the foreclosure mill law firm they were using to handle foreclosures in judicial states.
bench craft companyKarl Frisch: Fox <b>News</b> Wins the 2010 Election
Fox News did more than just about anyone to weaken President Obama, peel off Senate seats and wrestle control of the House from Democrats.
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: November 4, 2010 <b>...</b>
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Jan.-to-Oct. 2010 tied for hottest in satellite record; Pakistan's emergency rations to run out in 30 days; Halliburton may be shielded from liability in BP Oil Disaster; Can SCOTUS whale ruling ...
bench craft companyThe Huffington Post Investigative Fund website (the first I’ve heard of it) has a lengthy article on a new way that big banks are driving foreclosures. Apparently local governments do not have the resources to pursue property tax collection themselves so they bundle up past due liens and sell them off to investors that can then collect or foreclose. I hadn’t heard of this practice but the article makes it sound like it has been long standing. What it says is new in the arena is the activity of major banks and hedge funds that buy the debts and then tack on massive “legal fees.”
For example:
In May, the Investigative Fund reported how an unemployed former mental health counselor with four children named Vicki Valentine lost her home even though the mortgage had been paid in full. She had owed $362 on an overdue water bill when investors took over and added thousands of dollars in legal fees she couldn’t afford…
D.C. Attorney General Nickles criticizes Aeon Financial, LLC, a bank-financed investment group from Chicago that buys tax liens in some 10 states. Nickles asserts that Aeon has slammed homeowners, who sometimes owed just a few hundred dollars in back taxes, with $7,000 or more in legal fees.
This is in addition to upwards of 18% interest. When people can’t pay then the homes are taken to foreclosure. What is particularly egregious about this process is that everything is done through front companies that are sometimes not even registered in the country. Not even the governments know who they are dealing with:
Banks and hedge funds usually buy the liens through online auctions that permit them to bid in bulk, and they can use any name they want.
The giant Bank of America, for instance, has bid in Florida tax lien sales using colorful names such as Bennu, LLC, named after a mythical bird said to be the soul of the ancient Egyptian sun god. It also has bid as Osprey, LLC, and Ecru, LLC, named after the French word for a pale brown color…
Tax collectors in Florida don’t always know who they’re doing business with, either. Officials in Pinellas County want to know who exactly is behind a company called GL Funding Limited. Sales records show that GL Funding spent more than $10 million and dominated the tax sale in at least 10 Florida counties, most of them rural or smaller cities where interest rates tended to be much higher than in urban and resort areas.
GL Funding registered with several Florida tax collectors as a company with offices in the Cayman Islands. But other counties list a post office box in Philadelphia as its address. The person who registered GL Funding in Pinellas County’s tax sale provided Pinellas with a telephone number in Dallas, Tex. At that number, a man named Jess Weir declined to tell the Investigative Fund who is investing through the name GL Funding.
Said Sam McClelland, deputy tax collector in Pinellas County, Fla., where GL Funding acquired hundreds of liens earlier this year: “We’re still trying to sort this out.”
Yes, banks that are backed explicitly and implicitly by hundreds of billions of dollars from the government each year are tacking on thousands of dollars of fees and then foreclosing on people that owed a few hundred bucks…from the shadows. Ecru, indeed.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency statement on the foreclosure fraud crisis is a whitewash. Basically, Acting Director Ed DeMarco wants the banks to solve this problem on their own, and quickly. Let me boil down the four-point policy “framework” they released:
1) “Verify Process” – Hey servicers, look at what you’re doing! If you want a shorter version than that, how about “follow the law.”
2) “Remediate Actual Problems” – if you find something wrong, um, do something about it.
a) Pre-judgment foreclosure actions – um, file another affidavit, and mean it this time.
b) Post-judgment foreclosure actions – Wow, you’re kind of screwed, but see if you can get the judge to forget the fraud and file a replacement affidavit.
c) Post-foreclosure sale – Now you’re REALLY screwed. You sold a house based on false documents! See what you can do.
(For Real Estate Owned, or REO properties: make sure you get some title insurance! You’re going to need it!)
d) Bankruptcy Cases: Good luck.3) Refer Suspicion of Fraudulent Activity – Probably would be a good idea to follow the law. If you didn’t, be a good servicer and turn yourself in.
4) Avoid Delay – Now get those foreclosures done! We have records to break, people!
That’s really it. My favorite two lines: “In developing this framework, FHFA has benefited from close consultation with the Administration and other federal financial regulators,” (it took more than one regulator to come up with this?) and “FHFA will provide additional guidance should it become necessary.” (They didn’t provide any guidance here!)
Now, Fannie and Freddie, who FHFA oversees, have taken some legitimate action. They fired the foreclosure mill law firm they were using to handle foreclosures in judicial states.
bench craft companyKarl Frisch: Fox <b>News</b> Wins the 2010 Election
Fox News did more than just about anyone to weaken President Obama, peel off Senate seats and wrestle control of the House from Democrats.
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: November 4, 2010 <b>...</b>
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Jan.-to-Oct. 2010 tied for hottest in satellite record; Pakistan's emergency rations to run out in 30 days; Halliburton may be shielded from liability in BP Oil Disaster; Can SCOTUS whale ruling ...
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bench craft company
bench craft companyKarl Frisch: Fox <b>News</b> Wins the 2010 Election
Fox News did more than just about anyone to weaken President Obama, peel off Senate seats and wrestle control of the House from Democrats.
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: November 4, 2010 <b>...</b>
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Jan.-to-Oct. 2010 tied for hottest in satellite record; Pakistan's emergency rations to run out in 30 days; Halliburton may be shielded from liability in BP Oil Disaster; Can SCOTUS whale ruling ...
bench craft companyThe Huffington Post Investigative Fund website (the first I’ve heard of it) has a lengthy article on a new way that big banks are driving foreclosures. Apparently local governments do not have the resources to pursue property tax collection themselves so they bundle up past due liens and sell them off to investors that can then collect or foreclose. I hadn’t heard of this practice but the article makes it sound like it has been long standing. What it says is new in the arena is the activity of major banks and hedge funds that buy the debts and then tack on massive “legal fees.”
For example:
In May, the Investigative Fund reported how an unemployed former mental health counselor with four children named Vicki Valentine lost her home even though the mortgage had been paid in full. She had owed $362 on an overdue water bill when investors took over and added thousands of dollars in legal fees she couldn’t afford…
D.C. Attorney General Nickles criticizes Aeon Financial, LLC, a bank-financed investment group from Chicago that buys tax liens in some 10 states. Nickles asserts that Aeon has slammed homeowners, who sometimes owed just a few hundred dollars in back taxes, with $7,000 or more in legal fees.
This is in addition to upwards of 18% interest. When people can’t pay then the homes are taken to foreclosure. What is particularly egregious about this process is that everything is done through front companies that are sometimes not even registered in the country. Not even the governments know who they are dealing with:
Banks and hedge funds usually buy the liens through online auctions that permit them to bid in bulk, and they can use any name they want.
The giant Bank of America, for instance, has bid in Florida tax lien sales using colorful names such as Bennu, LLC, named after a mythical bird said to be the soul of the ancient Egyptian sun god. It also has bid as Osprey, LLC, and Ecru, LLC, named after the French word for a pale brown color…
Tax collectors in Florida don’t always know who they’re doing business with, either. Officials in Pinellas County want to know who exactly is behind a company called GL Funding Limited. Sales records show that GL Funding spent more than $10 million and dominated the tax sale in at least 10 Florida counties, most of them rural or smaller cities where interest rates tended to be much higher than in urban and resort areas.
GL Funding registered with several Florida tax collectors as a company with offices in the Cayman Islands. But other counties list a post office box in Philadelphia as its address. The person who registered GL Funding in Pinellas County’s tax sale provided Pinellas with a telephone number in Dallas, Tex. At that number, a man named Jess Weir declined to tell the Investigative Fund who is investing through the name GL Funding.
Said Sam McClelland, deputy tax collector in Pinellas County, Fla., where GL Funding acquired hundreds of liens earlier this year: “We’re still trying to sort this out.”
Yes, banks that are backed explicitly and implicitly by hundreds of billions of dollars from the government each year are tacking on thousands of dollars of fees and then foreclosing on people that owed a few hundred bucks…from the shadows. Ecru, indeed.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency statement on the foreclosure fraud crisis is a whitewash. Basically, Acting Director Ed DeMarco wants the banks to solve this problem on their own, and quickly. Let me boil down the four-point policy “framework” they released:
1) “Verify Process” – Hey servicers, look at what you’re doing! If you want a shorter version than that, how about “follow the law.”
2) “Remediate Actual Problems” – if you find something wrong, um, do something about it.
a) Pre-judgment foreclosure actions – um, file another affidavit, and mean it this time.
b) Post-judgment foreclosure actions – Wow, you’re kind of screwed, but see if you can get the judge to forget the fraud and file a replacement affidavit.
c) Post-foreclosure sale – Now you’re REALLY screwed. You sold a house based on false documents! See what you can do.
(For Real Estate Owned, or REO properties: make sure you get some title insurance! You’re going to need it!)
d) Bankruptcy Cases: Good luck.3) Refer Suspicion of Fraudulent Activity – Probably would be a good idea to follow the law. If you didn’t, be a good servicer and turn yourself in.
4) Avoid Delay – Now get those foreclosures done! We have records to break, people!
That’s really it. My favorite two lines: “In developing this framework, FHFA has benefited from close consultation with the Administration and other federal financial regulators,” (it took more than one regulator to come up with this?) and “FHFA will provide additional guidance should it become necessary.” (They didn’t provide any guidance here!)
Now, Fannie and Freddie, who FHFA oversees, have taken some legitimate action. They fired the foreclosure mill law firm they were using to handle foreclosures in judicial states.
bench craft company
bench craft companyKarl Frisch: Fox <b>News</b> Wins the 2010 Election
Fox News did more than just about anyone to weaken President Obama, peel off Senate seats and wrestle control of the House from Democrats.
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: November 4, 2010 <b>...</b>
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Jan.-to-Oct. 2010 tied for hottest in satellite record; Pakistan's emergency rations to run out in 30 days; Halliburton may be shielded from liability in BP Oil Disaster; Can SCOTUS whale ruling ...
bench craft company
bench craft companyKarl Frisch: Fox <b>News</b> Wins the 2010 Election
Fox News did more than just about anyone to weaken President Obama, peel off Senate seats and wrestle control of the House from Democrats.
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: November 4, 2010 <b>...</b>
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Jan.-to-Oct. 2010 tied for hottest in satellite record; Pakistan's emergency rations to run out in 30 days; Halliburton may be shielded from liability in BP Oil Disaster; Can SCOTUS whale ruling ...
bench craft companyKarl Frisch: Fox <b>News</b> Wins the 2010 Election
Fox News did more than just about anyone to weaken President Obama, peel off Senate seats and wrestle control of the House from Democrats.
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: November 4, 2010 <b>...</b>
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Jan.-to-Oct. 2010 tied for hottest in satellite record; Pakistan's emergency rations to run out in 30 days; Halliburton may be shielded from liability in BP Oil Disaster; Can SCOTUS whale ruling ...
bench craft companyKarl Frisch: Fox <b>News</b> Wins the 2010 Election
Fox News did more than just about anyone to weaken President Obama, peel off Senate seats and wrestle control of the House from Democrats.
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: November 4, 2010 <b>...</b>
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Jan.-to-Oct. 2010 tied for hottest in satellite record; Pakistan's emergency rations to run out in 30 days; Halliburton may be shielded from liability in BP Oil Disaster; Can SCOTUS whale ruling ...
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bench craft companyKarl Frisch: Fox <b>News</b> Wins the 2010 Election
Fox News did more than just about anyone to weaken President Obama, peel off Senate seats and wrestle control of the House from Democrats.
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: November 4, 2010 <b>...</b>
IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): Jan.-to-Oct. 2010 tied for hottest in satellite record; Pakistan's emergency rations to run out in 30 days; Halliburton may be shielded from liability in BP Oil Disaster; Can SCOTUS whale ruling ...
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If you are planning on buying a home in the near future and you are concerned that you won’t have the money to buy the home of your dream then you may want to consider buying a home that is in foreclosure. When you buy a home that is in foreclosure you can often times purchase it for a below-market-value price. This can save you thousands of dollars. However, before you jump into buying a home in foreclosure there are certain steps that you should take to prepare yourself.
How to Prepare Yourself for Buying a Home in Foreclosure
The first thing that you need to do is to learn what properties your county will be putting up for auction. To do this you should go down to your county courthouse and check out the Registry of Impending Foreclosure Sales. You can also subscribe to a third party foreclosure listing service. You may have seen advertisements for this type of company on TV or in the newspaper. The price of a subscription to a foreclosure listing service is generally between $150 and $450 per year.
After you have a list of homes that will be going up for auction your next step is to research the property to determine if it is right for you. This can be a tricky process because many foreclosure auctions won’t let you see the inside of the property before you place your bid. To get an idea of the properties value use the information provided on the home including the number of bedrooms and baths, the property’s general exterior condition, which you can judge by driving by the property, and by retrieving the most recent property tax assessments on the property. Use all of this information to compare the property against other properties in the area and compare prices. You can talk to a local realtor or you can use a home valuation service like HouseValues.com.
When you select a home that you would like to bid on your next step will be to determine how much you want to spend on the house. Usually a good deal on a foreclosed home will be priced at between 70 and 75 percent of a comparable home in the same neighborhood. Use your comparison home prices, your general assessment of the home’s value, the 70-75 percent rule, and your own personal financial capabilities to determine a top price that you would be willing to pay for this property.
Before the auction starts you will also want to make sure that you have your financing in place and ready to go upon the conclusion of the auction. To do this you will want to get pre-approved and pre-qualified for your home loan based on the anticipated amount of money you plan on spending on the house’s purchase plus a 10 percent addition for expenses you may incur to make necessary repairs inside the house. By having your financing in place you will be a stronger bidder and you will ensure that you don’t lose the house you put so much effort into winning.
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