Three of the five big banks who settled charges of mortgage lending abuse have failed to live up to their settlement commitments. Who’s surprised that Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup were each found wanting by the watchdog appointed to monitor their compliance? Monitor Joseph Smith reported that these banks flunked 7 of the […]
Easy Ways To Avoid HOA Fees After Bankruptcy
After a bankruptcy discharge, your ongoing liability to your home owners association lives on. It’s the debt that won’t die. Bankruptcy discharge and HOA dues The bankruptcy discharge wipes out your personal exposure to unpaid, unsecured HOA dues owing when you filed your bankruptcy. If the HOA had a perfected lien, the lien for […]
Lost Homes, Cut Off Creditors & Whack A Mole
Those who lost homes in the Great Recession may not be home free yet. Two kinds of creditors have claims that can be expected to pop up like figures in Whack a Mole: home equity lenders whose liens were cut off or released in foreclosure or short sale unpaid homeowners associations Let’s look at the […]
Borrowers Beat Wells Fargo In Trial Modification Case
The mortgage modification process has long felt like a match between David and Goliath. Homeowners have visions of negotiating with their lenders only to find that it’s a take-it-or-leave it proposition. All of the cards, and all of the choices, seemed to lie with the lender. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals just evened the […]
Does Foreclosure Forever Keep Me From Homeownership
If I lose this house, will I ever be able to buy a house again? That, in a nutshell, is the central worry of Bay Area homeowners who face foreclosure or short sale of their homes. That worry drives lots of homeowners to cling irrationally to a too-expensive house. Fall out of home ownership and […]
Debt Buyer Gets Less Than It Bargained For
No way, said the court. A debt buyer who sued a foreclosed borrower, not for money owed, but for fraud in obtaining the loan, was slapped down by a California appeals court. Because the loan it bought was used to buy a home, California’s anti deficiency statute prevented the lender or the debt buyer from […]
When Foreclosure Requires You Move
When you’ve decided to walk away from a house you can no longer afford, don’t overlook the opportunity to be paid to move out. The foreclosure crisis of 2008 brought with it a new phenomenon: cash for keys. The banks who bought the house at foreclosure realized that it is cheaper and more orderly to […]
Why Rising Home Prices Will Sink Some Homeowners
The median home price in the Bay Area has risen to over $500,000 for the first time in five years, the Mercury News reported this week. For lots of home owners, that says the window of opportunity is closing. What? The usual thinking is that rising values are good for homeowners and bad for […]
Bankruptcy Exemption Bill Changes More Than Dollar Amounts
An odd quirk in California’s bankruptcy exemptions was eliminated when the exclusion for pain and suffering damages was deleted by the legislature. Before January, 2013, someone filing bankruptcy could exempt money recovered for a personal injury up to $17,425. But no part of any recovery for pain and suffering associated with that injury was exempt. […]
Lien Strips Live in Chapter 20
Twenty is my favorite number these days. The Oakland bankruptcy judges have ruled consistent with one another that lien stipping in Chapter 13 is allowed in a case where the debtor isn’t eligible for a discharge. Chapter 20 lives and thrives!! Before you run off to the law library looking for Chapter 20, I confess […]
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