Category : Foreclosure
Litigation related to mortgages hit a three-year high during the first quarter of 2010, according to a joint study issued jointly by Patton Boggs and MortgageDaily.com.
According to Patrick McManemin, a partner in Patton Boggs’ Dallas office, the early cases from a few years ago when the subprime mortgage crisis began involved borrowers and the lenders who held those loans. Now, it’s the institutions that purchased loans from originating lenders who are involved in litigation.
Patrick McManemin is one of the partners in Patton Boggs’ Dallas office.
The current loan-holding institutions are trying to figure out how they can obligate the sellers to repurchase the loans.
According to Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, Morgan Stanley financed mortgages in Massachusetts issued by the defunct subprime lender New Century Financial Corp., and that Morgan Stanley “knew or should have known (they) were destined to fail.”
Coakley just announced that Morgan Stanley would pay a $102 million settlement for its “role in the securitization and financing of Massachusetts subprime loans.”
Has a home foreclosure scam saddled you with a worse loan or swindled you out of the title to your property? As bank foreclosure rates rise, so do the number of criminals taking advantage of homeowners. If you suspect a bogus offer to refinance your home or make a loan adjustment, report it to comptroller of currency’s office (OCC). If you signed a questionable mortgage agreement or transferred your home title, contact a real estate attorney immediately.
A real estate lawyer can detect any unlawful language and determine whether your loan or title arrangement is valid. If you act within three days of an agreement, your right to rescind the contract may free you from obligation.
Whocanisue.com can help you find an experienced real estate lawyer in your area.
Home mortgages in danger of bank foreclosure may or may not be eligible for new federal loan modification programs. Criteria include date of the loan, principal balances under $729,750, and mortgagee financial hardship, such as job loss. If none of these details match your circumstances but you are still having trouble making monthly mortgage payments, review your current loan documents with a real estate lawyer.
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By Truth in Lending law, mortgage information must be presented in a certain format. Any slight deviation, omission or misstatement can invalidate the loan agreement. A real estate attorney can file a mortgage fraud claim with the court to save you from home foreclosure.
Because real estate law is complicated and often varies from state to state, it is important to speak with an attorney who specializes in real estate law before making any decisions. Whocanisue.com can help you find an experienced lawyer in your area.
TransUnion.com, a national credit reporting agency, recently revealed its first-quarter numbers on the national mortgage delinquency rate. The findings indicate that the number of homeowners that will default on their loans will be nearly three times the levels experienced during a stable economy.
National mortgage delinquency rates at a glance:
- Nevada (11.61%) and Florida (11.01%) have the highest number of defaulted mortgages
- Less populated states like North Dakota, South Dakota and Alaska had the lowest rates.
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These numbers indicate a strong need for homeowners to seek expert advice early in the foreclosure process in order to prevent losing their homes. A qualified real estate attorney can be an important asset in the fight against home foreclosure.
Visit our library to learn more about home foreclosure options and what you can do if you are in danger of losing your home.
Real Estate laws vary from state to state. It is important to speak with an attorney who specializes in real estate law before making any decisions. Whether you are a homeowner, landlord, or tenant, Whocanisue.com can help you find an experienced real estate lawyer or bankruptcy attorney in your area.
Given the perilous housing market and financial situation, foreclosures are occurring everywhere you look. In some areas of the country, whole towns are upside-down on their mortgages. Banks, lenders and mortgage companies are completing foreclosures and evictions daily.
But what does that mean for the renters of those properties?
A new trend is beginning in certain areas where a potential tenant will run a credit check on their potential landlord. The credit report would perhaps foreshadow if a foreclosure is in the immediate future for the landlord or if they have a history as a reliable property owner. If the landlord’s credit report is bad or shows the possibility of a foreclosure, the prospective tenant could decide to look elsewhere for residence.
Before deciding to run a credit check on your potential landlord it is important to find out if it is a legal option in your area.
Visit the real estate section of our library for more information about evictions.
Mortgage rates can vary depending on your location, your credit score, the location of the property, whether or not it is a primary residence, how much money you are putting down, and so much more.
A fixed rate mortgage loan allows for the loan payment to be the same each month since the interest rate is the same for the life of the loan. This is an awesome deal when interest rates are really low.
If you have an adjustable rate mortgage or are facing bank foreclosure, you might be looking to stabilize your payment with a fixed rate mortgage. You can search for current mortgage interest rates online at various websites, one such site, Bank Rate, offers free searching throughout the country.
To learn more about the different types of home mortgages available to homeowners, read Home Mortgage Types.
For many homeowners looking to buy a house, the interest only home mortgage loan option sounds like a great deal. The payments are usually quite a bit lower since the purchaser is only paying interest and nothing is going towards the principal.
Current practice for this type of mortgage doesn’t allow for the payment of interest only forever, instead the mortgage is amortized after five to ten years depending on the mortgage agreement. At that point the homeowner then begins to make higher payments that include money that is directed towards the principal of the loan.
Depending on a person’s financial situation and responsibility levels, this type of home mortgage can either be a good or bad thing. If money management and planning is not the borrower’s forte, they could end up in a bank foreclosure.
To learn more about what types of home mortgage loans are available to homeowners, read Home Mortgage Types.
Are there bank foreclosure loopholes that might let you keep your home?
Ask a real estate attorney they are trained to spot errors on your loan documents, specifically violations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). With so much competition for consumers credit dollars, many home mortgage companies pay less than strict attention to U.S. TILA requirements.
TILA requires full and uniform disclosure of the:
- Amount financed
- Finance charge
- Total payments
- Annual percentage interest rate
For tips on how to avoid foreclosure visit the real estate section of our library.
America’s Truth in Lending Act first required home mortgage lenders to disclose certain information in 1968. Homeowners facing bank foreclosure today benefit from lenders’ duty to provide home loan numbers that are comparable across all types of available credit. Real estate attorneys review loan documents for errors or missing information, such as finance charges.
The finance charge is the price tag for the credit purchase of your home. It is calculated in total dollars of interest that you’ll pay over the 30- or 40-year period of your loan. Your real estate lawyer can determine whether the finance charge duplicates any pre-paid finance charges that you issued when signing the mortgage agreement.
Learn more about how to avoid foreclosure — read our article What Truth in Lending Means to Homeowners.
Key provisions of the Truth in Lending Act offer home mortgage consumers protection from predatory lending. One of the basic elements that banks are required to disclose is the “amount financed.” Whether or not you are in foreclosure, the amount financed remains the same. It excludes any up-front finance charge that you paid at signing.
The remaining net amount can be compared against other loan offers as a stand-alone figure. The amount financed will be the credit you applied for minus pre-paid fees, which weren’t financed.
Visit our library for more information on avoiding foreclosure.
