Brooklyn Judge Takes on the Big Bad Lenders

The New York Times reports today on Judge Arthur M. Schack who has taken the time to review mortgage foreclosure complaints and discovered that many of them are plain wrong.
He

"fashions himself a judicial Don Quixote, tilting at the phalanxes of bankers, fore- closure facilitators and lawyers who file motions by the bale. While national debate focuses on bank bailouts and federal aid for homeowners that has been slow in coming, the hard reckonings of the foreclosure crisis are being made in courts like his, and Justice Schack’s sympathies are clear.

"He has tossed out 46 of the 102 foreclosure motions that have come before him in the last two years."

I understand the judge's pique at sloppily presented papers, but I think he overeaches a bit when he puts the blame solely on lenders who made sub-prime loans. Don't borrowers who pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in cash-out refinances deserve part of the blame for gambling with their residence?

Read the full article, A ‘Little Judge’ Who Rejects Foreclosures, Brooklyn Style

What do you think?

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or if you have questions about what you see here,
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648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506
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Rebate Filing Date Extended

New Jersey's Governor Jon S. Corzine has announced today that the deadline for filing 2008 "Senior Freeze" (Property Tax Reimbursement Program) and Homestead Rebate applications has been extended until November 2, 2009.

"With the deadlines for these programs approaching, many potential applicants still need time to file," said Governor Corzine. "This extension will help to ensure that everyone who is eligible gets the chance to participate," he said.

According to the Governor's press release, rebate checks are already on the way to eligible senior and disabled residents who applied for property tax relief benefits under the Senior Freeze and Homestead Rebate Programs. Checks for those who filed after the original deadline "will be processed and issued as quickly as possible."

"Homestead Rebate checks for nonsenior and nondisabled homeowners are scheduled to be issued in October. "

"Information about the Homestead Rebate Program is available by calling the Homestead Rebate Hotline (1-888-238-1233 for homeowners or 1-888-213-8623 for tenants) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"Status of rebate checks can be found by calling 1‑877‑658‑2972, or online at www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/homestead/hrintro.shtml. Rebate check information for homeowners who are under 65 and not disabled will not be available either online or by phone until October.

"Homeowners who still have not filed their Homestead Rebate applications can do so by phone (1‑877‑658‑2972) or online at www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/. The automated telephone filing system and Internet filing application are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The tenant rebate application and instructions are available on the Division of Taxation's Web site for those senior and disabled tenants who have not yet filed.

"For more information on the Senior Freeze (Property Tax Reimbursement) Program, to obtain an application, or to check the status of a reimbursement check, contact the Property Tax Reimbursement Hotline at 1-800-882-6597 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Information about the Program is also available on the Division of Taxation's Web site at www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/propfrez.shtml. "

For your next title order
or if you have questions about what you see here,

contact Stephen M. Flatow
Vested Title Inc.
648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506
E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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Changes coming to Durable Powers of Attorney?

Following on the heels of changes in New York's law regarding powers of attorney, the New Jersey Law Revision Commission was scheduled to discuss at its July meeting a memorandum comparing New Jersey's existing law on durable powers of attorney with New York's changes to its law.

The memo, available here, compares the new law in New York and current law in New Jersey.

Among the changes adopted in New York outlined in the memo-- the new form of power of attorney

"is not valid until it is signed by both the principal and agent, whose signatures are duly acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgement of a conveyance of real property. The effective date of the power of attorney as to a given agent is the date on which that agent’s signature is acknowledged. If two or more agents are designated to act together, the power of attorney takes effect when all the agents so designated have signed the power of attorney and their signatures have been acknowledged."

"A grant of authority to make major gifts and other asset transfers must be set out in a separate rider which contains the principal’s signature, duly notarized and witnessed by two persons not named in the instrument as permissible recipients of gifts or other transfers, in the same manner as a will. In the alternative, the principal may grant such authority to the agent in a nonstatutory power of attorney executed in the same manner as a major gifts rider. An agent acting pursuant to the authority granted by this rider or nonstatutory power of attorney must act in accordance with the instructions of the principal or, in the absence of such instructions, in the principal’s best interests."

"The agent must sign the power of attorney as an acknowledgment of the agent’s
fiduciary obligations if the agent intends to accept the appointment. In transactions on behalf of the principal, the agent’s legal relationship to the principal must be disclosed where a handwritten signature is required."

The minutes of the Commission's July meeting have not yet been released and an inquiry seeking more information has not yet received a response.

We'll keep you posted.

A tip of the hat to Nickolas Nasuta, Esq. for pointing us to these developments.

For your next title order,
or if you have questions about what you see here,

contact Stephen M. Flatow
Vested Title Inc.
648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506
E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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The Next Fannie Mae

From the Wall Street Journal:

Much to their dismay, Americans learned last year that they “owned” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Well, meet their cousin, Ginnie Mae or the Government National Mortgage Association, which will soon join them as a trillion-dollar packager of subprime mortgages. Taxpayers own Ginnie too.

Ginnie Mae, has seen this spectacular growth due to the swelling of FHA insured loans. Today, "nearly nine of every 10 new mortgages in America now carry a federal taxpayer guarantee."

Herein lies the problem. The FHA’s standard insurance program today is notoriously lax. It backs low downpayment loans, to buyers who often have below-average to poor credit ratings, and with almost no oversight to protect against fraud. Sound familiar? This is called subprime lending—the same financial roulette that busted Fannie, Freddie and large mortgage houses like Countrywide Financial.

While HUD's Inspector General is sounding alarm bells about new trends in FHA lending that could lead to the need for a Congressional appropriation to cover a short fall in reserves, folks at the top are turning a deaf ear.

Read the full editorial, here.

For your next title order
or if you have questions about what you see here,

contact Stephen M. Flatow
Vested Title Inc.
648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506
E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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NY Times- Fees deter loan modification effort

The New York Times reports on the impact that servicing fees have on a lender's willingness to modify a mortgage or otherwise assist a homeowner facing foreclosure.

Although the White House is calling on lenders to assist borrowers,

"industry insiders and legal experts say the limited capacity of mortgage companies is not the primary factor impeding the government’s $75 billion program to prevent foreclosures. Instead, it is that many mortgage companies are reluctant to give strapped homeowners a break because the companies collect lucrative fees on delinquent loans."

What's going on?

Legal experts say the opportunities for additional revenue in delinquency are considerable, confronting mortgage companies with a conflict between their own financial interest in collecting fees and their responsibility to recoup money for investors who own most mortgages.

“The rules by which servicers are reimbursed for expenses may provide a perverse incentive to foreclose rather than modify,” concluded a recent paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

It's not a pleasant self- portrait that the mortgage industry is painting. But it goes hand in hand with the comments we get from potential borrowers that they can't modify their loans or get a new mortgage to replace the old when market values have declined. No one ever accused the mortgage industry of being altruistic, but good business sometimes requires that you protect your customer base, too.

One thing seems to be clear-- until home values begin to rise and people go back to work, we're go to see more mortgage defaults.

Read the full article Lucrative Fees May Deter Efforts to Alter Loans

For your next title order
or if you have questions about what you see here, contact Stephen M. Flatow
Vested Title Inc.
648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506
E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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