“One robo-signer, Jeffrey Stephan, has signed off on as many as 10,000 foreclosures a month, according to court records. The foreclosure affidavits, which established basic facts such as a bank’s ownership of a mortgage, were also required to be signed in the presence of a notary public. That didn’t always happen, either. “
Archive for September, 2010
“We predict that within a week, all banks will halt every foreclosure currently in process. Within a month, all foreclosures executed within the past 2-3 years will be retried, and millions of existing home sales will be put in jeopardy.”
“ The New York bank’s decision to temporarily suspend current foreclosure proceedings follows a similar move by Ally Financial last week, after that company found some of its employees had not personally checked information in foreclosure documents filed to court… JPMorgan’s move comes after a Florida law firm earlier this week said it planned to question the bank about its foreclosure practices at a hearing next month.”
This is Tom Hoenig’s moment, and it’s a strange one. In Washington, he is the burr in Fed Chairman Bernanke’s saddle: the rogue heartland banker who keeps dissenting alone — for the sixth straight time on Sept. 21 — to protest the Fed’s rock- bottom interest-rate policy. Hoenig warns that the Bernanke majority is setting the country up for an as-yet-unknown asset bubble: the next dot-com or subprime craze. He can’t tell yet where the boom-and-bust will materialize, but he can feel it coming, like a Missouri wheat farmer senses in his bones the storm that’s just over the horizon.
Short and to the point. A powerful missive. There is less than one ounce of gold per person on the planet, less than 1/4 ounce of silver. As the screw tightens, every scrap of paper will be thrown at gold and silver. But most of the gold and silver will be off of the market. No one will want bonds, so the central banks will print trillions to buy them all. But the bond market is just the tip of the spear. Paper money will be destroyed when people insist on payment in gold and silver. Only the demand for goods and services will bring gold and silver out of hiding. The price that I project, an ounce of gold for a year’s wage, is near the all time historical high. These are unreasonably high prices if there is a functional credit system, but not in the absence of a credit system.
Bank of America saw an increase in the number of permanent home loan modifications they have made through August 2010. The Making Home Affordable servicer report for the month of August indicated that Bank of America’s participation in the modification program continues to see success but there were trial modifications which were canceled for various reasons and have left homeowners seeking alternative assistance plans.
According to the August 2010 Making Home Affordable servicer report, Bank of America as of July 2010, saw a total of 148,129 trial modification cancellations. While this can be troublesome for many homeowners, there have been options available to homeowners who did not receive the mortgage assistance they needed through the Making Home Affordable modification program.
Sadly, there were some homeowners who did face foreclosure or bankruptcy, but there have also been foreclosure alternative programs offered, like short sale and deed in lieu of foreclosure plans, and alternative modifications directly from mortgage servicers. It has been reported that alternative modifications have actually helped more homeowners than the Making Home Affordable Program, so homeowners who have their trial modification canceled may have alternative options.
Bank of America is reported to have worked with numerous homeowners who had their trial modification canceled to find alternative mortgage assistance plans, but there were some homeowners that faced foreclosure since they were unable to find an affordable mortgage solution. While trouble still remains between mortgage servicers and homeowners, it’s hoped that homeowners who may be unable to obtain a modification from the Making Home Affordable Program will be able to avoid foreclosure through these alternative modification programs.
Despite home loan modifications, alternative mortgage assistance through in-house modifications, and other foreclosure prevention initiatives by the Making Home Affordable Program and mortgage servicers, homeowners still continued to struggle with their mortgage payment in certain cases. Yet, there have been many suggestions made by a variety of sources that range from mortgage servicers to governmental representatives who are in favor of homeowners seeking assistance from home loan counselors.
While there are warnings about scams perpetrated against homeowners by fraudulent companies, there are housing counselors available to help homeowners who may be struggling with the possibility of foreclosure or who might be in the modification program, attempting to get an affordable monthly mortgage payment.
Homeowners can consult resources like the Making Home Affordable website, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other governmental resources to find HUD-approved housing counselors or reputable counselors they can help homeowners avoid foreclosure and find an affordable solution to their mortgage difficulties.
Housing counselors, while they can be quite beneficial, are no guarantee for a homeowner who may face foreclosure but rather they are simply being suggested by officials to assist homeowners in finding the mortgage aid they seek or at least getting the best mortgage assistance plan for their situation.
Again, HUD housing counselors and the HOPE Hotline and website are some of the safe resources that have been consulted by homeowners over the past months when they have found foreclosure to be a real possibility in their financial life. Understandably, some homeowners may be unable to benefit from these housing counseling opportunities, but for many, this type of assistance has helped guide them through the modification process or as aided them in their pursuit of a more affordable home loan payment.
Homeowners who are facing unemployment have been seeking ways to make their mortgage more affordable. Typically, home loan modification plans have been sought out by those who have either lost their job or have seen a reduction in their income due to cutbacks at their place of employment. Yet, unemployment mortgage assistance programs were made available to certain homeowners which offered mortgage payment reductions and forbearance programs.
However, there has been concern over whether these programs will be helpful to long-term unemployed homeowners if a tier 5 benefits extension wasn’t passed. Those who have been out of work for 99 weeks or more have called for an unemployment benefits extension to go beyond the current extensions and many were using unemployment mortgage assistance plans as reason for the tier 5 extension.
Previously, homeowners who were seeking an unemployment mortgage assistance plan were asked to show they had some income, and many used unemployment insurance for these mortgage assistance requirements. Yet, there have been some changes from Fannie Mae which state that unemployment benefits can no longer be used as proof of income.
While this may cause concern for some homeowners who were attempting to get mortgage modification assistance, there may be forbearance options still available to unemployed homeowners through programs like the Home Affordable Unemployment Program. Forbearance options may be helpful for homeowners whose only income is from unemployment benefits, but obviously it is not a long-term solution.
Yet, one reason unemployment benefits are no longer allowed to be claimed in some cases is because there is no sustainability for homeowners in the long run. While modification plans and other mortgage assistance initiatives continue, frustrated homeowners continue to cry out that more be done in the area of job creation since home loan troubles will only truly be solved when there are stable jobs available.
While J.P. Morgan Chase has seen increases in the number of permanent home loan modifications they have made in the Making Home Affordable Program, there are still difficulties that arise concerning trial modifications. There are homeowners who have been successful in the modification program, but there are homeowners with J.P. Morgan Chase who have seen their trial modification canceled for various reasons.
According to the August 2010 Making Home Affordable servicer report, as of July 2010 Chase and canceled 100,142 trial modifications within the Obama modification program. While many would say this is troubling, there are options for homeowners who may be unsuccessful at obtaining a modification and, for these individuals, an affordable mortgage assistance plan may still be offered.
While there were homeowners who did face foreclosure or bankruptcy, others were able to take advantage of foreclosure alternative plans in the form of short sales or deed in lieu of foreclosure programs. Understandably, no homeowner wants to lose their house, but in cases where trial modifications were canceled and homeowners were still able to find a modification for their financial situation, alternative mortgage modifications were also available.
Not every homeowner who failed to be granted a modification from the Making Home Affordable Program found an assistance plan through alternate modification programs, but reports indicate that more homeowners have been helped through in-house modification plans than from modifications made within HAMP. There are still homeowners who are angry with services like J.P. Morgan Chase, but it’s hoped that with continued increases in home loan modification programs and alternative modification plans available, more homeowners can find the help they need to save their home from foreclosure.
Federal student loan opportunities have been made available to students who may be entering college for the first time or those who are attending college later in life at a time when they are being followed by a bad credit score. While these types of students may differ in some ways concerning their financial life, but there can also be similarities since new students who are out of high school typically have little or no credit history, which can be likened to being a bad credit borrower.
Yet, students who are in need of student loan opportunities but may have no credit history or a bad credit score can find the financial assistance they need through federal student loans. Typically, federal student loans do not consider one’s credit history or score when lending, but rather, puts a cap on the amount one can borrow depending upon their class rank in college.
While federal student loans can be helpful in meeting college tuition costs and have affordable repayment options for anyone who may have trouble erasing this debt after college, many financial advisers often suggest students seek out financial assistance from sources like scholarships or grants. The rising cost of college is requiring that more financial assistance be sought out by students, but there are scholarships and grant opportunities that can help meet the entire costs of college or at least drastically reduce the amount one must borrow in student loans.
While the students may benefit from student loan opportunities, if they are necessary, since repaying these loans could reflect well on a student’s credit history, bad credit borrowers are often cautioned against obtaining student loans. Any student who may have been associated with a bad credit score is usually advised to avoid student loans since adding debt to a bad credit situation is a bad idea. However, if a bad credit borrower’s financial situation isn’t wrought with debt, student loans have been a way for these individuals to meet college cost demands and earn their college degree.