Hope Now Servicers Still Looking for Counseling Fee Solution

Delinquent homeowners continue to tune out their mortgage servicers while banks struggle with mortgage counseling compensation issues.

 

During the first half of this year a staggering 5.5 million homeowners 60 days or more delinquent had never contacted their bank prompting servicers to send out over 5.5 million Hope Now letters designed to help minimize foreclosure risk.

 

Hope Now data indicate counseling availability, the quality of the message delivered coupled with the high stress level of an economy in crisis are some of the reasons getting into the way of a faster housing market recovery.

The alliance—which includes 15 mortgage servicers who represent over 80% of all loans serviced in the United States—is now advocating a “Fee for Service” model for housing counselors. The challenge is in finding ways to make counseling so efficient it can maximize the effect of both federal and non-federal funds designated for free counseling.

Property preservation firm sues Bank of America

A property preservation company with business in Texas charges Bank of America with fraud and deceit, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment in a civil suit in California. Diversified Field Services of Tustin, California — which maintains foreclosed properties for banks — says in the lawsuit that Bank of America signed DFS to a contract to maintain repossessed homes in 14 states last year. The company says it spent nearly $2 million preparing for the work, but that the work never came. "Homeowners are not the only victims of this [mortgage] crisis; it extends to firms like DFS and onward to the mom-and-pop businesses who actually mow the lawns and clean the countless homes that now sit empty," said DFS attorney Eric Goodman. DFS also alleges B of A publicly misrepresented the quality of the work DFS did, destroying its business and ruining its reputation. DFS also alleges the bank never paid it for nearly $400,000 in work that it did do. The suit seeks unspecified damages. Bank of America says it has not seen the civil suit, filed in Orange County, and cannot comment on it.

Buying REO property, for Real Estate Investors

As the credit crunch tightens and real estate inventory piles up, opportunities abound for savvy investors who are prepared and have cash.

Here’s how to find em and close em. REO – Real Estate Owned, term used for homes and properties taken back by banks and lenders after foreclosure. Banks & Lenders take back properties by foreclosure and usually list them with several local real estate brokers. They can be found on your local MLS and as well as the lenders REO online database.

As the credit crunch tightens and real estate inventory piles up, opportunities abound for savvy investors who are prepared and have cash.

Here’s how to find em and close em. REO – Real Estate Owned, term used for homes and properties taken back by banks and lenders after foreclosure. Banks & Lenders take back properties by foreclosure and usually list them with several local real estate brokers. They can be found on your local MLS and as well as the lenders REO online database.

As the credit crunch tightens and real estate inventory piles up, opportunities abound for savvy investors who are prepared and have cash.

Here’s how to find em and close em. REO – Real Estate Owned, term used for homes and properties taken back by banks and lenders after foreclosure. Banks & Lenders take back properties by foreclosure and usually list them with several local real estate brokers. They can be found on your local MLS and as well as the lenders REO online database.

There will be no double dip…..

No, there will be no double dip. It will be a lot worse. The world economy will soon go into an accelerated and precipitous decline which will make the 2007 to early 2009 downturn seem like a walk in the park. The world financial system has temporarily been on life support by trillions of printed dollars that governments call money. But the effect of this massive money printing is ephemeral since it is not possible to save a world economy built on worthless paper by creating more of the same. Nevertheless, governments will continue to print since this is the only remedy they know. Therefore, we are soon likely to enter a phase of money printing of a magnitude that the world has never experienced. But his will not save the Western World which is likely to go in to a decline lasting at least 20 years but most probably a lot longer.