Mortgage Debt & Home Equity

Securitization Fail-Litigation Update

06/21/12

The wheels of litigation move slowly, but there are a couple of recent securitization fail litigation decisions that are worthy of note. First, in the Congress case, a wrongful foreclosure action in Alabama (see my previous blogging on it here), the Alabama appellate court reversed and remanded, a victory for the homeowner.

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Fannie and Freddie Charitable Donations?

03/30/12

I'm generally skeptical about corporate charitable donations.  My sense is that they are primarily a transfer of value from shareholders to managers, rather than a value-enhancing investment in goodwill.  So on the DC Metro, what did I see today, but a poster advertising the 2012 DC Servathon that featured the logos of a variety of corporate sponsors, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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Marketing $25 Billion AG Settlement to Consumers is Key to Getting Money

03/27/12

Our local AG's office just held a meeting for people who serve homeowners in foreclosure, to explain what the settlement means to consumers.

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Principal Reduction and Strategic Default

03/26/12

Moral hazard, moral hazard, moral hazard....  How often have we heard that as a reason for why principal reductions can't be done.  As if it were the worst thing in the world.  

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Calling DeMarco's Bluff? Use the GSEs' Market Power to Force 2d Lien Write Downs

03/26/12

There's been mounting pressure on the acting head of the FHFA, Ed DeMarco to order Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to undertake principal reductions.

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United States Sued and Settled Suit Against Major Mortgage Servicers for Unfair and Deceptive Practices

03/13/12

To add to Jean's post on the National AG's mortgage settlement, we now have a copy of a complaint that formed the basis for the AG settlement, in which the United States of America (along with all the states but Oklahoma) sued most of the major  servicers for committing misconduct in connection with the origination and servicing of single family mortgages.

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National Mortgage Settlement Details Posted on the Web

03/12/12

So maybe there is a settlement after all. Details have been posted on the National Mortgage Settlement web page today. http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/ I won't try to summarize all this here immediately, but stay tuned for analysis of the good, the bad and the ugly. News outlets are reporting that these documents were also filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., today.

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No Mortgage Deal but Banks get Free Pass

03/05/12

The national mortgage settlement among federal and state regulators and major banks, announced with much fanfare on February 8, still has not produced an actual written settlement agreement, judging by the dead link on the settlement web page.  That hasn't stopped the Treasury Department from announcing that Chase and BankofAmerica will receive millions in HAMP payments previously

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