Holder starts 90-day clock on potential prosecution of bankers US Attorney General Eric Holder says that the Justice Department will decide within the next 90 days whether to charge individual Wall Street Executives with crimes related to the 2008 financial crisis. Holder asked prosecutors who have been investigating the big banks to recommend whether to […]
America Needs Bank Regulation More Than Ever! At a time when Congress seems dedicated to rolling back as much of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as possible, it gets clearer every day that America, as a nation, and all Americans as individuals need reform of the too-big-to-fail Wall Street banks more […]
Wall Street’s Revenge “Whiners with Warchests” Dodd-Frank Damaged in the Budget Bill ~ Last week, Nobel-Prize winning economist Paul Krugman coined the term “Obama rage,” to explain the ju-jitsu like turns in which the banking oligarchs engage to evade responsibility for their historic crime in destabilizing the world economy through reckless banking practices. “On Wall […]
HURRICANE READINESS AND SURVIVAL When comparing properties, it is obvious that masonry, especially cement block (or even solid concrete) construction is more resistant to hurricane-strength winds and other storm effects than frame houses. No matter how sturdy a home may appear, if the roof blows off in a storm, the likelihood that the structure will […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) turned three years old this month, and every American consumer should celebrate! For those who don’t know, the CFPB was originally proposed by (now Senator) Elizabeth Warren in 2007, and was passed as part of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In the wake of the […]
Wells Fargo foreclosure manual under fire By Danielle Douglas, The Washington Post Robo-Signing Revisited? In the course of defending a New York homeowner attorney Linda Tirelli says she found a 150-page manual instructing Wells Fargo lawyers how to process foreclosures when the endorsement to the note is missing. Lenders need endorsements to prove that they […]
In explaining the labyrinthine world of foreclosures to new clients, I always find myself explaining that “Under every rock you turn over (in mortgage foreclosures), you will find a snake.” And just about everyone (on the plaintiff’s side of foreclosures) gets to play the part of the snake. The big Wall Street bankers played that […]
Equity Stripping Another Common Rescue Scheme Equity stripping or equity skimming is a variation on lease-buyback and is one of the most common types of foreclosure rescue schemes. In it, the perpetrator assumes ownership of the house while allowing the former owner to continue living there, provided that he or she pays rent to the perpetrator, who is the […]
Lease-Buyback Schemes A Classic and Widespread Scheme A lease-buyback scheme starts with an offer where the owner can turn the lease over to another, with an option to buy it back later. The owner is promised to be able to rent the property back, which will be counted toward an eventual buyback. These will almost […]
We’re Suckers for a Cute Dog! We spend a lot of time thinking about such heavy, complicated subjects as mortgage securitization, credit-default swaps, and advanced strategies for keeping people in their homes. Once in a while, though, you just need to relax and enjoy a little simple humor. In that spirit, meet Clark!