KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Sunday October 24 Housing and Economic stories

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TOP STORIES:

Robosigned? That'll Be $25,000 - Each - (www.market-ticker.org) I just got off a conference call with Richard Cordray, the Attorney General for the state of Ohio. He has filed a lawsuit in Lucas County (Toledo) Common Pleas Court against GMAC Mortgage and their parent company Ally Financial, in a suit which names Jeffrey Stephan, the infamous “robo-signer” who signed off on up to 10,000 foreclosures a month across the country with affidavits, without verifying the information in the foreclosure documents. The lawsuit alleges fraud on the part of GMAC, along with violations of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, in filing false affidavits to mislead the courts in what they describe as “hundreds” of Ohio foreclosure cases. And, the Attorney General is treating every single false affidavit filed in an Ohio court as a separate violation, with a fine of up to $25,000, plus additional restitution for the homeowner of an unspecified amount. That's because it is a separate violation. That's north of $10 billion dollars, potentially, for GMAC/Ally alone. In one state. And by the way, he's also calling it what it is: fraud upon the court. That is, a crime.

Our Future In Chains: The For-Profit Debtors' Prison System - (www.activistpost.com) Debtors' prisons have a sordid history that was thought to be best left behind in Medieval Europe and in Charles Dickens' fictionalized accounts of the 19th-century hellholes of Victorian England. America was not to be outdone, debtors’ prisons were widespread in the United States as well, and stories of the conditions in New York's debtors’ prisons could make one question if repayment of debts was really the purpose; violent criminals were much better clothed and fed. In fact, history shows that terror and slavery have always had a close relationship with debt, and it follows a path from the Romans right through to 17th century England, and into America from English common law. However, America chose to abolish her debtors’ prisons a full 36 years before England; first in New York in 1831, and by 1833 the rest of the America had followed.(1) Now, debtors' prisons seem to be making a comeback in America. A recent article in the Star Tribune in Minnesota titled, "In jail for being in debt," exposes the growing number of citizens going to jail at the behest of banks and a welcoming judicial system.

Paradise Valley, AZ targets owners of abandoned luxury houses - (www.azcentral.com) The struggling real-estate market is not only hurting Paradise Valley's budget, it's threatening to tarnish the town's image as one of the toniest places to live in Arizona. In May, officials identified 19 homes that were violating town property codes. They included abandoned or foreclosed residences with weeds in the yards and green swimming pools, and existing and new homes with unfinished construction and expired building permits. The effort by the town to take action against property-code violators comes as the median home price in Paradise Valley's ZIP code of 85253 has dropped 19 percent since 2009 to $1.68 million. Earlier this month, the town ranked 78th on a Forbes magazine list of America's most expensive ZIP codes. Two years ago, 85253 was No. 34; last year it was No. 60. The town has an expected $2.5 million budget shortfall, and with construction sales-tax revenue down, officials are looking for ways to raise revenue. Paradise Valley has 283 homes listed for sale at more than $1 million, and 34 of them are distressed properties such as pre-foreclosures and short sales, real-estate agents say.

Foreclosure freeze slows South Florida's residential real estate sales - (www.miamiherald.com) The decision by three major banks to freeze foreclosures will buy distressed homeowners months of extra time and temporarily block lenders from reclaiming homes. But it also threatens to buckle South Florida's home sales. Bank-owned properties make up about 40 percent of home sales in South Florida, and suspensions by JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and GMAC could deliver a debilitating blow to that crucial segment of the embattled real estate market. ``People don't realize that this is our market,'' said Matthew Murray, a Realtor with Pat Dahne Realty Group who specializes in bank-owned sales. ``It's what's selling. If you delay the process, it's going to delay the recovery.'' There are mounting reports of approved foreclosure sales being stopped pre-closing, and buyers being left in limbo as banks try to deal with exposed ``robo-signers'' and unverified affidavits. As the foreclosure moratoriums play out, a slowdown in low-priced, bank-owned properties coming through the pipeline could further hamper sales in South Florida, which depends on foreclosures more than most parts of the country.

The Freddie and Fannie Scam - (greatdepression2006.blogspot.com) Say you want to sell your home, the question arises, “sell it to whom?” There is no bank financing out there. What bank is going to do a home loan at 4 percent for 30 years when they can do a car loan for 7 to 9 percent for 5 years? Home loans are a lost cause. Of course, the car market isn’t on fire either, but on the other hand, Freddie and Fannie are obligated to guarantee new home loans. But wait one moment; it is different if you want to buy a home. Fannie and Freddie have a home for you with financing. Now how is that possible? They offer very low interest rates, with little or nothing down. The only catch, you have to buy one of their homes. The Federal government doesn’t have to write any new paper, they already own the homes, they guaranteed the loans. The government people in charge of selling these Freddie and Fannie homes are unloading them onto anyone that can “qualify.” Remember way back in 2006, everyone was fogging a mirror, I guess this time it’s different. They even get to take it off their books once a payment is received. Of course, you have to remind yourself, all they’ve done is gotten someone else to take over the payments on a non-performing loan. Notice each sale reduces Fannie and Freddie's inventory. It’s kind of like selling life insurance in the suicide ward of a mental hospital—there is no problem with sales, but can you afford to stay in business?