02.27.07
Posted in Industry News, Money and Finance, Mortgage and title Fraud at 9:21 pm by Jeanne
“As most people know I have agreed to shut down Eagle First Mortgage. The Department of Financial Institutions was gracious in allowing loans not yet closed to continue closing so as to not hurt the borrowers. We will be officially closed on March 14, 2007. I want to thank the thousands of clients that have done business with Eagle First Mortgage over the years.
Sincerely, David Sanchez, CEO Eagle First Mortgage”
Sanchez started Eagle First in 2003, quickly growing the company to 75 offices.
The company franchised itself out to the point that “there was no control over the branches,” said Felecia Rotellini, superintendent of the state financial institutions department. “That’s a recipe for loan officers being tempted to engage in mortgage fraud,” she said. Regulators described more than 100 illegal money transactions, loan activities and hiring practices. See full article at Eagle First.
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02.24.07
Posted in Industry News, Money and Finance, Mortgage and title Fraud at 6:17 pm by Jeanne
Shares of NovaStar Financial, which makes loans to people with weak credit, fell almost 43 percent yesterday after the company announced a surprise loss of $14.4 million for the fourth quarter and told investors that it might not make enough money to pay dividends for the next four years. Subprime lenders are not obligated to follow the tougher regulations that apply to commercial banks and as a result loans are available to virtually anyone – creditworthy or not. Is this a sample of what is to come?
See the NY times full article here.
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02.02.07
Posted in Mortgage and title Fraud, Regulation of Insurers and Banks, Value of a title searcher at 10:36 am by Jeanne
Are you better off today than you were ten years ago?
Whose fault is it. Let’s blame all errors, poor judgment, misconduct, wrongdoing, transgressions, egregious behavior and crimes on someone else. It’s easier to point the finger than to take responsibility. Sub-prime Mortgages, Predatory Lending, or One in Three closings with Title Problems? Our actions damage the Public and their perception of the mortgage and title industries.
Cases in point:
President of Mortgage Banking Company
The NY Times sites a mortgage banker who “acknowledges that standards were lowered, but he placed the blame at the feet of investors and Wall Street, saying they encouraged Ownit and other subprime lenders to make riskier loans to keep the pipeline of mortgage securities well supplied. “The market is paying me to do a no-income-verification loan more than it is paying me to do the full documentation loans,” he said. “What would you do?”
See NY Times article
Mayor of New Orleans
Mayor Nagin blames race, class, and President Bush for the devastation caused by Katrina.
Baltimore Sun article
Global Warming
Beijing shifts the blame for Global Warming on developed countries.
Sydney Morning Herald
When will we, as individuals in the mortgage and title industries, begin to take personal responsibility for the outcome of our actions? We need to enlighten the public and the media that subprime lending and fast-and-cheap titlework is NOT okay. Just because someone suggests you do something unethical (give the borrower a mortgage that doesn’t fit but makes you money, or do a last-deed-of-record only title search) doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. We will all pay the price.
Take individual responsibility for your actions, and quit pointing at everyone else. Take a good look at your situation. Are you better off today than you were ten years ago?
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11.24.06
Posted in Mortgage and title Fraud at 5:33 pm by Jeanne
Please read below and help get correct information to this reporter for your community. At the least, please access a list of recent foreclosure filings and deeds in lieu in your jurisdiction and forward them on to Mara:Mara Der Hovanesian, a writer for BusinessWeek, is looking for Habitat for Humanity homeowners who have been targeted by lenders and brokers to flip their zero-percent interest loans into other products that have proved unfit and even potentially predatory. Many of these homeowners are in the process or are in jeopardy of losing their homes. If you have any information about this, please contact: Mara Der Hovanesian
Banking and finance editor
BusinessWeek
(212) 512-4035
mara_derhovanesian@…
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09.23.06
Posted in Mortgage and title Fraud at 5:39 am by Jeanne
RISMEDIA, September 21, 2006—The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced an increase in calls coming into its toll-free fair housing complaint line, 800-669-9777, showing …more individuals are reporting housing discrimination to its Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO).About 13,000 calls a month come into the hotline, up 8% over previous months. The calls identify 64 recently created area codes in the hotline’s automated program, which refer callers to intake specialists at HUD’s regional offices based on area-code recognition.Kim Kendrick, HUD’s assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity said “If we discover we are receiving more calls of discrimination from a particular city, we can step up our enforcement efforts in that area,” said Kendrick. “The system is allowing us to utilize our resources better.” Similarly, if HUD receives few complaints from some areas of the country, the Department can explore whether its education-and-outreach efforts in those communities are adequate. The system allows HUD also to monitor how the public responds to targeted initiatives.
For all calls coming into the discrimination hotline, HUD can track the city and state the call is coming from, as well as the time of day of the call and the duration of the call. This information helps hotline phone representatives to be more responsive to callers. In addition to calling HUD’s toll-free Fair Housing complaint number at 800-669-9777, individuals who believe they have experienced discrimination can also file a complaint by using HUD’s online form at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.
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08.05.06
Posted in Mortgage and title Fraud at 1:15 pm by Jeanne
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2006/07/28/70859.htm
Insurance Journal - July 28, 2006
At a rate of about three a day, state Commerce Department regulators have been posting enforcement actions against insurance agencies and companies, real estate agents, mortgage originators, security brokers and others. In response the Minnesota Department of Commerce is planning a major outreach to warn consumers when insurance agents in their area have run afoul of the law.
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