foreclosure homes

Only the banksters could get away with this:

TRUCKEE, Calif. — When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend ski trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks....

The culprit, Ms. Ash soon learned, was not a burglar but her bank. According to a federal lawsuit filed in October by Ms. Ash, Bank of America had wrongfully foreclosed on her house and thrown out her belongings, without alerting Ms. Ash beforehand.

Ash was in the process of loan modification with Bank of America at the time. And they didn't just break in, they completely emptied the home, even taking "a wooden box, its top inscribed with the words 'Together Forever,' that contained the ashes of her late husband, Robert."

In Florida, contractors working for Chase Bank used a screwdriver to enter Debra Fischer’s house in Punta Gorda and helped themselves to a laptop, an iPod, a cordless drill, six bottles of wine and a frosty beer, left half-empty on the counter, according to assertions in a lawsuit filed in August. Ms. Fisher was facing foreclosure, but Chase had not yet obtained a court order, her lawyer says.

The break-in was discovered when a Canadian couple renting the house returned from the beach.

Turns out these and countless other Americans have become victims again. They're victims of the deficit peacocks.

WASHINGTON -- Despite mounting evidence of big banks committing serious fraud in the foreclosure process, the U.S. Senate eliminated $35 million in legal aid to homeowners trying to keep their homes.

The fund was wiped out in order to meet government spending caps advocated by Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), but will likely end up costing taxpayers much more in the long run, as wrongful foreclosures burn through the balance sheets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The slashing of the foreclosure-assistance fund is just one casualty of Washington's increasing bipartisan push to cut spending across the board....

Recent reports suggest severe, nationwide problems with the mortgage system. A survey of 96 attorneys found that banks started foreclosure proceedings on 2,500 borrowers who were negotiating a loan modification. The survey was conducted by the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the National Consumer Law Center.

There's no relief in sight from the administration, either. Treasury has refused to use any of the funds for the Wall Street bailout for homeowner legal aid. Much worse, the Federal Reserve is actually blocking new foreclosure regulations that would homeowners.

WASHINGTON -- Top policymakers at the Federal Reserve are fighting efforts to rein in widely reported bank abuses, sparking an inter-agency feud with the FDIC and the Treasury Department. The Fed, along with the more bank-friendly Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, is resisting moves to craft rules cracking down on banks that charge illegal fees and carry out improper foreclosures. The FDIC supports such rules, according to an FDIC official involved in the dispute.

The new regulations would rein in debt collection, loan modification and foreclosure proceedings at bank divisions called "mortgage servicers." Servicers have committed widespread fraud in the foreclosure process. While the recent robo-signing of fraudulent documents has received the most attention, consumer advocates have complained about improper fees and servicer mistakes that lead to foreclosure for years.

It's the banksters' world, and we're apparently to be considered lucky if we get to live in one of their houses, which is what they and the government consider them. It's hard to arrive at any other conclusion than dday does when it comes to the Fed, "They don’t want to stop the banks from breaking into your house." And your representatives in the Senate are fine with that.

Mortgage Bankers Association Takes Stand Against Successful Foreclosure Prevention Programs

With foreclosures on pace to top one million this year, and federal programs designed to help troubled borrowers falling woefully short of their goals, a few states have stepped up and implemented their own programs aimed at stemming the foreclosure tide. Twenty states across the country are now offering what are known as mortgage mediation programs, which facilitate negotiations between lenders and borrowers before a foreclosure is finalized. In three states and two cities, these mediation sessions are required.

Such programs have been incredibly successful in keeping troubled borrowers in their homes, as the sessions require lenders to actively negotiate, instead of giving borrowers the run-around to which so many have been subjected. As Christopher Brecciano, a Connecticut attorney who represents borrowers in foreclosure, explained, mediation “requires the borrower to sit eye to eye with the bank’s attorney and means there is someone to hold accountable rather than just some service person on the telephone.” In Connecticut, which has an automatic mediation program, 62 percent of those entering mediation received a permanent loan modification. In Nevada, where the program is voluntary, the number is 74 percent.

But the mortgage lending industry is having a hard time getting on board with these successful efforts. In fact, the Mortgage Bankers Association, which represents many large mortgage lenders, opposes all such efforts to push banks into negotiating with borrowers:

John Mechem, a spokesman for the Mortgage Bankers Association, which represents the largest mortgage lenders, said the group is opposed to both mandatory and voluntary mediation programs. He argued that the programs are expensive and are often used by borrowers as a tactic to stall foreclosure. Mr. Mechem said the industry on its own has done almost 1.5 million mortgage modifications this year outside of mediation programs. If such programs must be implemented, he said, the MBA favors a voluntary system over mandatory meetings.

Of course, opposing smart efforts to help homeowners is nothing new for the MBA. Back in 2009, the MBA — with the help of Congressional Republicans — successfully lobbied against the adoption of mortgage cram-down legislation, which would have allowed judges to modify mortgages in bankruptcy court.

That legislation’s defeat, and the MBA’s subsequent celebrations, led Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to say that when it comes to the Senate, the banks, “frankly, own the place.” And now that a moderately successful alternative has been found, which is allowing borrowers to stay in their homes and prevent all the negative effects of a foreclosure for both the borrower and the wider community, the MBA is standing in opposition once again.

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