War on the Home Front

Obama Moves Closer to Principal Reduction Mandate

Lane Houk — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:32:20 +0000

Editor’s note: This is red meat for investors and borrowers seeking restitution for losses caused by improper appraisals, ratings and representations concerning loan and property values, loan viability, securities fraud, deceptive lending practices, TILA violations etc. Obama Bank Policy Signals $1 Trillion in Writedowns April 3 (Bloomberg) — U.S. regulators may force Bank of America Corp., Citigroup [...]

What do I do now?

Lane Houk — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:21:57 +0000

A majority of the questions asked on this blog boil down to “what do I do now?” While there are several emergency situations where the suggested steps must be taken out of order, I thought I would post the most common answer I give to people who are angry and ready to fight. Your situation is [...]

Arming Attorneys with the Ammo to Win

Lane Houk — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:25:53 +0000

Forensic Mortgage Analysis Workshop Hosted By Brad Keiser Of Foreclosure Defense Group CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION Winning Strategies Require Attorneys Have: Leverage of a credible threat Issues of fact that shift or heighten the burden of proof to the foreclosing party Evidence vs Allegations Understanding of your Opponent – Right hand isn’t often talking to the Left hand Guns with only one [...]

How to Find “Who Owns The Note” – Who has an “Insurable Interest” !!!!

Lane Houk — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:24:48 +0000

How to Find “Who Owns The Note” – Who has an “Insurable Interest” !!!! It is basic insurance law that in order to become named as a loss payee – that is, to get an insurance policy issued to you to indemnify you against loss – you have to have an “insurable [...]

Order Homeowner Layman DVD Set Now

Lane Houk — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:08:54 +0000

The entire seminar is on DVD. Watch at your own pace. Research your own documents as you follow along. Click here to Order LAYMAN DVD SET Recommended: Click Here to Order LAYMAN\’S WORKBOOK VISIT LIVINGLIES STORE FOR FREE VIDEOS Filed under: foreclosure

Trust, Trustees, Constructive Trust, Fiduciary Duties

Lane Houk — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:07:40 +0000

Editor’s Note: I am currently working on the issue of fiduciary duty, so I would appreciate receiving material from any of you that have submissions on the subject. There is an article in the Florida Bar Journal this month on this topic. “If a fiduciary has special skills or becomes a fiduciary on the basis of [...]

Swaps as Breach of Fiduciary Duties

Lane Houk — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:38:25 +0000

“That’s right. Issuers are essentially paying twice for flawed deals that bestowed great riches on the bankers and advisers who sold them. Taxpayers should be outraged, but to be angry you have to be informed — and few taxpayers may even know that the complicated arrangements exist.” Editor’s Note: At some point, it will become obvious [...]

Forensic Mortgage Analysis Workshop

Lane Houk — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:36:45 +0000

FORENSIC MORTGAGE ANALYSIS WORKSHOP HOSTED BY BRAD KEISER March 22-24, 2010 Phoenix AZ For Lawyers, Paralegals and other litigation support personnel, expert witnesses, accountants (send a CPA a link to this post), loss mitigation personnel, and TILA (Compliance) Auditors Register Today – Seating is Limited Download ==> FMA Workshop March 22-24, 2010 Registration form The purpose of the workshop [...]

Ten cities managing to weather the recession

Lane Houk — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:00:13 +0000

Jobs in Washington D.C. are growing quickly, and in 2008 the city produced more in goods and services than almost anywhere in the country.

Washington DC - Weather - Recession - United States - Washington

NYT: Plan to pay homeowners to sell at loss

Lane Houk — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:41:09 +0000

NYT: The Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave.

Presidency of Barack Obama - New York Times - President - United States - Barack Obama

Why Show Me the Note Isn’t Enough

Lane Houk — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:17:08 +0000

see no-silver-bullet The reason lawyers should attend the forensics workshop is not so they can do forensic analysis (although they certainly would be in a better position to do so), but rather because they need to know what to do with the information once they get a report of results from a forensic review and analysis. [...]

MERS Cover-Up of REAL INVESTOR

Lane Houk — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:41:27 +0000

More and more authorities are holding that in order for a claimant to prove itself to be the real party in interest to support a proof of claim or motion for relief from stay in bankruptcy, as well as to prove itself to be a holder in due course, they have to prove the entire [...]

False recovery?

Lane Houk — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:10:09 +0000

Doesn’t anyone see that if “financial services” accounts for 40% of our GDP that it means we are kidding ourselves? THAT only means we are trading from the left pocket into the right pocket into the back pocket and around again — and counting it as GDP. Our real GDP is far lower than anything [...]

Goldman analysis: Thumbs Up for Health Insurance Companies

Lane Houk — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:25:41 +0000

Maybe the fact that it came from Goldman will motivate some people to take a second look at where we are on health care. Goldman likes the two biggest health insurance companies because it says profits are going up due to lack of competition and lack of regulation. Like the foreclosure mess, the fact that [...]

Local News Stories Provide Real Data on Increasing Foreclosures

Lane Houk — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:57:13 +0000

You Just Can’t Hide It: Until the market and the judiciary gets real about these mortgages, foreclosures will continue to skyrocket, people will walk away from their homes, and the demand for alternative housing needs will skyrocket as well — which might be the underlying reason why nobody wants to do principal reduction and solve [...]

Foreclosures now are just ‘tip of the iceberg’

Lane Houk — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:15:59 +0000

Foreclosures now are just ‘tip of the iceberg’ March 1st, 2010, 7:36 am · 108 Comments · posted by Marilyn Kalfus, real estate reporter Despite some reports that suggest the housing crisis may be hitting bottom, foreclosures so far represent the “tip of the iceberg,” real estate analyst, investor and lender Bruce Norris says. Norris told hundreds of investors attending [...]

Why We Do What We Do

Lane Houk — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:16:51 +0000

“Without your blog I would not have found the right lawyer in my state.” - Meghan in RI “Some of the most rewarding work of my career.” – Chris Brown Esq. While we understand the many reasons borrowers pursue their cause on a ProSe or ProPer basis, it has been our position since the beginning that people need [...]

Securitization and TILA Audits: You Can’t Do One without the Other

Lane Houk — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:15:14 +0000

Article below submitted From the desk of Brad Keiser: Editor’s note: This is a perfect example of why ignoring the complexities of securitization leaves all the red meat on the table. The commingling of funds that is cited in the article below is exactly what I have I have been talking about , exactly why the [...]

Slide show: Slideshow: Mystery of a reclusive heiress

Lane Houk — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:18:40 +0000

Why are the mansions of one of America’s richest women sitting vacant? Click to follow this photo narrative of the reclusive Huguette Clark and her father, William Andrews Clark, the "Paris millionaire senator." Where is Huguette Clark? And what will become of her fortune?

United States - Wealth - Narrative - Government - Politics

Bear Stearns and EMC Mortgage to Pay $28 Million to Settle FTC Charges

Lane Houk — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:51:18 +0000

Resubmitted by Dan Edstrom. Good Question where is the FTC now? Bear Stearns and EMC Mortgage to Pay $28 Million to Settle FTC Charges of Unlawful Mortgage Servicing and Debt Collection Practices The Bear Stearns Companies, LLC and its subsidiary, EMC Mortgage Corporation, have agreed to pay $28 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they [...]

Mortgage rates fall below the 5 percent mark

Lane Houk — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:57:53 +0000

Mortgages rates have dipped below 5 percent again, four weeks before a government program that is helping keep rates low is scheduled to run out.

Answer, Affirmative Defenses and Counterclaim by April Charney

Lane Houk — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:16:18 +0000

2010/03/03 at 12:34pm IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR DUVAL COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.:16-2007-CA-00852-XXXX-MA DIVISION: CV-D DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY Plaintiff, vs. ERICO LOGAN, ET AL, Defendant. ______________________________/ DEFENDANTS ERICO LOGAN AND GLORIA BROOK’S ANSWER AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES; COUNTERCLAIMS AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL COME NOW, the separate Defendants and for their answer, affirmative defenses, counterclaims and demand for jury trial [...]

Keiser’s Forensic Analysis Workshop

Lane Houk — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:36:27 +0000

You must remember the judiciary moves slowly is assimilating new facts or patterns in the marketplace. In order to break through a Judge’s preconception of the mortgage origination process, you need to have something that is clear in is presentation of facts, and obvious in its impact. The reasons for having analysis performed by an independent [...]

Pending home sales tumble amid winter woes

Lane Houk — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:20:37 +0000

The number of buyers who agreed to purchase a home fell sharply in January, a sign that demand for housing is sinking this winter as stormy weather slammed Eastern states.

Business - Construction and Maintenance - Residential Housing - Real estate - Thomson Reuters

Click here to read the complete story at msnbc.com: Real estate.

Accounting for Damages: Madoff Ruling May Affect Homeowner Claims

Lane Houk — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:44:34 +0000

Editor’s Note: Looking further down the road, when the Ponzi aspect of the Mortgage Meltdown is fully revealed, it will become obvious that both yield spread premiums and the proceeds of credit default swaps, insurance and federal bailout are subject to claims by homeowners. The Trustee’s conclusion as affirmed by the Judge’s ruling in the [...]

Credit Default Swaps Defined and Explained

Lane Houk — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:44:06 +0000

Editor’s Comments: Everyone now has heard of credit default swaps but very few people understand what they mean and fewer still understand their importance in connection with the securitization of residential mortgage loans and other types of loans.The importance of understanding the operation of a CDS contract in the context of foreclosure defense cannot be [...]

New York Judges Slam Baum Law Firm and JP Morgan Chase Citing Questionable Legal Work

Lane Houk — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:56:53 +0000

Liening on NY homeowners TRUSTEE SAYS “Chase filed documents that appear to be patently false or misleading” As pointed out in this article, 95% of foreclosures are NOT scrutinized. This is why homeowners need to go to forensic analysts, experts and lawyers. Most people are walking away from homes they still own on the basis [...]

Credit Default Swaps as Insider Trading Violation

Lane Houk — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:28:58 +0000

“Yet on a wholesale basis, Goldman Sachs and others not only had the inside information, they had created it. That is why Goldman started trading against the the interests of its clients to whom it was selling mortgage backed securities that were designed to fail” “Both the investor and the borrower would have understood that [...]

Credit Default Swaps Must Go

Lane Houk — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:57:32 +0000

The fact is that credit default swaps and other complex derivatives that have proved to be instruments of mass destruction still remain entrenched in our financial system three years after our economy was almost brought to its knees. Editor’s Note: Credit default swaps were the glue that held the mortgage meltdown scheme together. If there had [...]

Government extends refinance program a year

Lane Houk — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:30:13 +0000

The government is giving homeowners another year to refinance their loans under a little-used program designed to help borrowers whose homes have plummeted in value.

Loan - Refinancing - Government - Mortgage - United States

Click here to read the complete story at msnbc.com: Real estate.