KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Thursday May 19 Housing and Economic stories

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TOP STORIES:

A $458K public exec gets $1.2 million housing loan - (www.taxdollars.ocregister.com) When we at The Watchdog learned that Will Kempton, CEO of the Orange County Transportation Authority, had a $75,000 housing loan built into his contract, we wondered why. Kempton’s total compensation is just shy of $384,000. Couldn’t he afford to go to a bank and get his own loan to buy a house? When we started asking questions, we were urged to examine the contracts of other top local transit executives in the state. It took a very long time to gather them up — much longer than it should have. But it turns out that housing loans are pretty much par for the course — and one can argue that Kempton’s employment package pales in comparison to the perks bestowed upon other top local transit executives. HOUSING HEAVEN: South of San Francisco you’ll find the San Mateo County Transit District. Its CEO, Michael Scanlon, is one of the longer-serving local transit CEOs in the state, and has the highest total compensation, at $458,358. Scanlon also has a $1.2 million housing assistance loan from the transit district, at a rather attractive 2.5 percent interest rate. And that’s not all. Starting in 2002, the San Mateo district began “forgiving” $40,000 a year on the loan — which adds up to $360,000 so far that Scanlon won’t have to repay to the district (the amount forgiven will continue at $40K per year, so long as the board agrees).

Walk away..and lose $116k to boot! - (www.realestate.aol.com) Walking away from your underwater home, even temporarily, can have serious consequences. Just ask Willard and Holly Brown, who lost $116,000 by walking away from their house in Clarkston, Wash. The Browns, who owned a home with a filed homestead exemption -- which protects a home from creditors in certain circumstances -- fell into some financial troubles with their company WW Cedar, based in Idaho. Unable to pay back a $200,000 small business loan from Wells Fargo secured by their home, they figured they were underwater between that debt and their mortgage with Alaska USA Mortgage Company, so they walked away. Although they claimed they left temporarily, the court ruled otherwise based on a contested series of events.

Deficiency judgments let creditors haunt borrowers for up to 20 years - (foreclosuregate.prosepoint.com) Unlike a foreclosure, which homeowners dread but expect once they stop making payments, deficiency actions can sneak up on people who thought their problems were behind them when they handed over the house keys. "People have no idea of all the trouble that's coming," said Margery Golant, a lawyer in Broward County who is handling a growing number of deficiency defense cases. Here's how foreclosures can turn into a double whammy for homeowners: If, for instance, the mortgage balance was $200,000, but the house was appraised at $100,000 at the time of the court-ordered sale, the bank can ask a judge for permission to go after the borrower for the difference, or "deficiency," of $100,000. The deficiency action can be brought by the primary lender, a second mortgage holder, a mortgage insurance company or a government entity like Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. In Florida, lenders have up to five years to file a deficiency action, so borrowers can be lulled into a false sense of security. Once a judge grants the deficiency, creditors have up to 20 years to collect the debt and the claim can be pursued even if the borrower moves to states with more restrictive collection laws. Borrowers might be broke now, but creditors could come after them 20 years later when they have some money saved or a better-paying job.

To keep house, South Floridians signed over deeds, lost properties anyway - (www.sun-sentinel.com) Home Rescue Foundation's founder says disgruntled clients have only themselves, poor real estate market to blame. In danger of losing her home, Robin Klein one day found a flier in her mailbox that promised solutions to her loan-default troubles. "It sounded so romantic: 'Home Rescue,'" the Cooper City woman recalled. "It was an impression I got that they were being altruistic and kind, and helping people." Thinking they were staving off foreclosure, Klein and her husband signed a stack of documents furnished by Home Rescue Foundation associates. Among them was a deed transferring ownership of their house, valued at $650,000, to a trust controlled by the foundation's founder, Bradley L. Hertz. Robin Klein alleged in a lawsuit against Hertz that the true implications of the deal were never explained to her. Hertz says all clients were dealt with fairly and honestly. "Nobody was fooled. Nobody was coerced," Hertz said in an interview. "The only place they were probably fooled was in their mind. We had full disclosure." A Sun Sentinel investigation found that after promising to help save people's homes, Hertz gained control of dozens of South Florida properties whose owners had become financially overextended and fallen behind on their mortgage payments.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke wrong 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 ,2010 - (www.youtube.com) Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is good at one thing, being WRONG! Never have I seen a person be wrong so often and then get elected to one of the most criminal institutions to ever exist, THE CENTRAL BANK. If this man can be wrong any more times, then he could very well be the best contrarian indicator with 100% accuracy.