TOP
STORIES:
4
Plead Guilty to Selling Homes They Did Not Own - (www.mortgagefraudblog.com) Jamaul Roberts, 25, College Park, Maryland, Patricia
Mantilla, 35, Lorton, Virginia, Melissa McWilliams, 35, Chantilly,
Virginia, and Michael Brown, 41, Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty to
conspiring to fraudulently taking over the titles of homes in Washington, D.C.,
without the real property owners' knowledge, selling those homes, and keeping
the profit. According to court records, Roberts conspired with others
to visit the D.C. tax courts to identify properties with overdue property tax
bills. They would use sources such as Ancestry.com and the D.C. property tax
database to locate vulnerable properties where they could take over a home's
title without the real owners' knowledge. These homes included those left
vacant, passed on to heirs after the owner's death, or owned by the elderly in
nursing homes who did not understand the transactions taking place.
WOW!
Getting foreclosed on has consequences? - (money.cnn.com) Borrowers are discovering
that their foreclosed homes are coming back to haunt them -- long after
they have moved out. In these "zombie foreclosures," borrowers move
out after their bank schedules a foreclosure auction only to learn months or
years later that the auction never took place or the bank never transferred the
deed. That means the borrower still technically owns the house and is on the
hook for property taxes, fees and homeowners' association dues. Since the
housing bubble burst seven years ago, almost two million properties have
started but never completed the foreclosure process, according to RealtyTrac.
While no one knows the exact number, it's estimated that tens of thousands
could be zombie foreclosures.
Manufacturing in the Philadelphia Region Unexpectedly Shrinks
- (www.bloomberg.com) Manufacturing in the
Philadelphia region unexpectedly contracted in February for a second month. The
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index dropped to minus 12.5, the
lowest reading since June, from minus 5.8 in January. Readings lower than zero
signal contraction in the area covering eastern Pennsylvania,
southern New Jersey and Delaware. The median forecast of 58
economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected an increase to 1. The reading
follows New York Fed data released last week that showed factory activity
rebounded after six months of contraction, raising prospects that factories
could contribute to expansion this year. At the same time, unresolved fiscal
policy negotiations and the January increase in payroll taxes may convince
companies to hold the line on stockpiles, trimming orders to manufacturers.
Federal Reserve unlikely to end stimulus efforts soon, minutes
signal - (www.washingtonpost.com)
Fears that the Federal
Reserve will withdraw its massive stimulus have been hanging over financial
markets for months. Stocks on Wednesday tumbled on those
concerns after minutes of a recent meeting showed growing debate about the
initiative within the central bank. But the prevailing sentiment at the Fed, as
conveyed by the minutes as well as recent remarks, is that the central bank’s
efforts to pump tens of billions of dollars into the economy every month should
not end anytime soon. Central bank officials want to give bond-buying more time
to benefit consumers, minutes signal. Consumers are just beginning to reap the
benefits of ultra-low interest rates and increased credit. Cutting off the
program now could harm that fledgling progress before it is fully realized, Fed
officials said in a meeting in January.
Chasm opening between weak French and strong German economies
- (www.reuters.com) The schism dividing the euro
zone's strong and weak economies deepened to include its core pairing in
February as French firms suffered their worst month in four years in stark
contrast to prospering Germany.
The gap between the two biggest economies in the euro zone is
now at its widest since purchasing manager surveys (PMIs) started in 1998, the
latest sounding showed. It dealt a blow to hopes the euro zone might emerge
from recession soon, showing the downturn across the region's businesses
worsened unexpectedly this month.
No comments:
Post a Comment