You're a liar, Wells Fargo. Either you knew you weren't going to approve their loan modification, or you're the most incompetent financial institution in the history of the world. And you don't just do this sometimes, you do... (Continue reading)
I decided that I had to do more to help stop homeowners from getting ripped off, by providing the state specific information homeowners need to make the right decisions for their individual goals and circumstances. Moving forward on the... (Continue reading)
I for one am glad to see that this country is finally taking the foreclosure crisis seriously and that my tax dollars are being put to good use, and I really do hope that everyone take advantage of the new... (Continue reading)
Oh, good Lord. We're still doing this sort of thing, huh? Some guy at JPMorgan Chase in London was gambling with credit default swaps, no one was watching, and next thing you know the bank was down $2... (Continue reading)
I'm not sure why, but meeting with a "Home Save Counselor" doesn't make me feel like I'll be talking with a commissioned salesperson who will be potentially making up to $1,000 on my loan modification case? A "Home Save... (Continue reading)
AP reported that the powder in the envelopes caused evacuations at bank branches, but no injuries, as if that last part mattered in the least. Idiots appear to be happy that the powder was found to be cornstarch... as... (Continue reading)
Zanides estimates that the bank has spent a significant amount already on legal fees and now is certain to spend a whole lot more. Patricia Martin's home is worth no more than $275,000. How can it be worth... (Continue reading)
The European bankers are no different than is the FHFA, which is led by Ed DeMarco, the guy stopping Fannie and Freddie from reducing principal balances of mortgages. He says he won't do it because his job is to... (Continue reading)
Doesn't it just figure that in this country, where we have so much food we that throw away inconceivable amounts on an hourly basis and literally pay farmers millions of dollars not to grow stuff... that we'd have trendy intellectuals... (Continue reading)
I can tell you that I receive more complaints about Wells Fargo refusing to approve loan modifications than any three other mortgage servicers combined. But then, Wells did modify one of the homeowners I wrote about a few months... (Continue reading)
Decisions made by Larry Summers have been disastrous for this nation... that much is abundantly clear. Tim Geithner's been no peach either. Together their folly has cost our country incalculable amounts of money, but further, they have caused... (Continue reading)
First of all, I realize that I wasn't there. And I understand that the guy had a beer in one hand and a gun in the other. But he was obviously thinking pretty clearly... after all, a couple... (Continue reading)
Some are saying the case may set a precedent for the packagers of CDOs, making their only responsibility to disclose risks and conflicts of interest involved. A lawyer said to be "deeply involved" in the case, was quoted as... (Continue reading)
What follows below are slides from an actual presentation of a Residential Mortgage-backed Securities - RMBS/REMIC deal... but NOT the slides from a "road show" presentation to potential investors... what you're about to see are slides from an INTERNAL meeting... (Continue reading)
The video below puts you in the courtroom to watch as both sides of the debate present oral arguments related to MERS' involvement in the foreclosure process in front of the nine justices of the Washington State Supreme Court.... (Continue reading)
To really understand what happens when trying to determine the present and future value of a pool of loans within a mortgage-backed security, let's put ourselves in the place of the investors... we'll be investors together... and we'll want to... (Continue reading)
Clearly, today's news from Spain shows that when it comes to protesting, Americans have lost some of our creativity and are simply not up for it as often as we once were. Frankly, many have expressed concern about... (Continue reading)
If you're not already familiar with Ellen Brown, then I might as well just go ahead and say: "Your welcome," because I can't imagine anyone not liking this prolific blogger, author of 11 books, attorney, and President and Chairman of... (Continue reading)
Having Nye Lavalle and Max Gardner together is a rare event. Together, they would have to be considered the founding fathers of today's foreclosure defense movement, so this is an opportunity to learn how it all began and where... (Continue reading)
Also, I'm wondering something... when you say that, "foreclosures are a necessary ingredient to the housing market's recovery," how many do you figure we're going to need in order to "recover?" ... (Continue reading)
Ireland journalist won't give up. Why do our journalists fail to get started?... (Continue reading)
Negative public opinion could result from our actual or alleged conduct in any number of activities, including mortgage lending practices, servicing and foreclosure activities, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and disclosure, sharing or inadequate protection of customer... (Continue reading)
Why is there no effort to hold the administration and member of Congress accountable for what has clearly been their failure related to the federal government's loan modification initiative? Why are we accepting such utter failure and holding them... (Continue reading)
Actually, I don't even know if she can pull off that angry black woman thing, but that's exactly what we need at a time like this. You think Weezy Jefferson would be putting up with some nerdy pasty white... (Continue reading)
Heidi Cuda, a producer from Fox 11 News in Los Angeles produced a week long series on the foreclosure crisis for the Channel 11 news and asked to interview me. I didn't like Part 1, but Part 2 was... (Continue reading)
So... housing is not, not, not at bottom, "“ check. Unemployment not improving "“ check. And does the stock market at 13,000 mean something to the economy? Nothing good "“ check.You might want to bookmark this page, so... (Continue reading)
So, why did I write this? Because it makes just as much sense as everything else that's going on in this country, and at least it made me smile. ... (Continue reading)
The foreclosure crisis is seeping into our society everywhere. Or, at least it soon will be... ... (Continue reading)
What follows is a podcast featuring the "whistle blower"... the anonymous independent file reviewer working for Promontory on the Wells Fargo Bank account that reached out to us because he was fed up. I verified his identity and spoke... (Continue reading)
The bottom-line is, as anyone should be able to clearly see... Patricia Martin should NOT have lost her home and Wells Fargo SHOULD help her get it back with a modified payment so she can continue to live in the... (Continue reading)
Lately, Gretchen has been really going strong on foreclosure-related topics... the fraudulent document scandal, the Fannie report, DocX, the AG settlement, so I thought now would be a good time to have her on a Mandelman Matters Podcast.... (Continue reading)
Wells Fargo... let me be clear about this because time is short. Particia Martin is scheduled for UD Court tomorrow. So, you have some law firm, some unsuspecting foreclosure mill, no doubt... and you should call and cancel... (Continue reading)
The monetary terms aspect of the mortgage settlement agreement is completely worthless to everyone. Three billion to provide refinancing for underwater mortgages? If that was executed perfectly, it MIGHT refinance 15,000 homes nationwide. Why even bother doing... (Continue reading)
The settlement agreement is supposed to help one million households by reducing their loan balance reduced. There's no way is there enough money in this settlement to do all that much for anyone. But Obama has said it's... (Continue reading)
I haven't actually seen any of them, but I've gone ahead and described them, so you can see the candidates through my somewhat jaded perspective... and my list is likely a little different than the others you'll run across... I... (Continue reading)
This Mandelman Matters Podcast with Professor David Coates is not the same thing you've heard before, as he covers the foreclosure crisis both here in the U.S and in the UK. He also talks about the global financial crisis... (Continue reading)
Ooops, you did it again! Yes, it's true... Wells Fargo contacted Tom and Jeneane up in Granite Bay, California mid-day today to let them know that their SALE DATE of February 3, 2012 HAS BEEN POSTPONED. ... (Continue reading)
ProPublica is reporting that Freddie Mac has been placing "multi-billion dollar bets designed to only pay off when homeowners remain "trapped" in high interest rate loans, and that the government-owned mortgage monster began increasing such bets late in 2010, which... (Continue reading)
Because I just can't believe that anyone would intentionally do this to the parents of an autistic 12 year-old girl... invite them to apply for a loan modification, and then after six months, leave them over a weekend with the... (Continue reading)
By mid-day on Tuesday, Bank of America had responded to say they were looking into it... and by 4:30 PM that same day Bank of America DID THE WRIGHT THING, and gave Mr. Dale Wright his home back... from a... (Continue reading)
If Mickey Mouse is going to sign it, and Donald Duck is going to notarize it... THEN DON'T SIGN IT... because we don't need it signed. BUT... if we DO need it signed, then don't forge it and file... (Continue reading)
The man's wife passed away in 2006. They were married for 53 years. Your bank explained that a request for postponement went in on the 23rd of December 2011 on a loan which Bank of America agreed to... (Continue reading)
Reducing mortgage balances is a risky idea that hasn't been shown to keep borrowers who owe more than their property's worth in their homes, according to Credit Suisse Group AG. (CSGN). Suspending accounting rules is a risky idea that hasn't been... (Continue reading)
Consider this... bankers say that they've been overwhelmed by the millions of homeowners unexpectedly seeking loan modifications and that's why applying for a loan modification has been such a nightmare. But, what about the number of foreclosures occurring in... (Continue reading)
How does the Fed write a white paper and present it to the United State Congress that is packed with proof positive of an entirely inadequate level of knowledge, understanding... education, even? Am I going to find out that... (Continue reading)
Look... are you feeling me here? Do you see what I'm saying? What's the deal? Are they lying or are they stupid, because there's no way in the world we should be talking about whether the FOMC... (Continue reading)
Utah Attorney Walter Keene is the lawyer that filed four quiet title claims last year, which means he was seeking to obtain a court order granting clear title to the properties in question. And all four were granted by... (Continue reading)
If that is going to be allowed to happen, we... and I mean WE, as in ALL OF US... should demand that we stop signing such things altogether. If a Linda Green look-a-like is going to sign a fraudulent... (Continue reading)
I don't usually do this, but with Holly's permission, I've posted the three emails I received from her today. I get a lot of very flattering emails from homeowners across the country, and I appreciate them all very much...... (Continue reading)
Doug and Holly were excellent customers of your bank for over 16 years, and then they hit a rough patch. They needed the bank's help... some guidance to get them through difficult times. You had a chance to... (Continue reading)
So, below is a video that Marco just put together. It's dramatic... disturbing even. It includes footage of the sheriff coming to evict a family, obviously without notice... or at least without adequate notice. Marco put the... (Continue reading)
ALJAZEERA: "If you want to find out about this story of the year and years past, in all of its disgusting detail, you can't just trust major media. You have to read Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone, a music magazine,... (Continue reading)
I decided that the best person to ask about what's going on with these positively inane negotiations would be a former State Attorney General, so I called Ohio's former AG, Marc Dann. Marc knows these people, he understands the... (Continue reading)
Every year I take a whole week off at Christmastime. Of course, it wasn't always that way. When I started working for my Uncle Scrooge years ago, he never would have allowed that. In fact, back then,... (Continue reading)
And to the homeowners who feel ashamed... who have suffered the indignity of losing a home in silence... this wasn't your fault. You didn't break the bond market and send housing prices into a free fall. You didn't... (Continue reading)
FIRST UP: A favorable ruling from Florida's Supreme Court in the Pino Case... I ask attorney Matt Weidner and Foreclosure Hamlet's Lisa Epstein to tell us what it means to homeowners. SECOND STORY: A blogger in Ohio teams up with... (Continue reading)
And, since it is the holidays, it's also time for my annual year-in-review-in-rhyme, read to the famous holiday poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. I started writing my 'Twas the Night year-in-review in 2007, or at least that's the year... (Continue reading)
I was a guest on the News Dissector radio show with Danny Schechter out of NYC. And I was joined by one of the Occupy Wall Street organizers and Capt. (Ret.) Ray Lewis. Check it out... given the... (Continue reading)
A Mandelman Matters Podcast - Washington State attorney, Shawn Newman is fighting to protect the rights of homeowners. His legal theories and experiences in court related to Fannie and Freddie "owned" loans are interesting, to say the least, and... (Continue reading)
No one helps those who don't help themselves. We need to be WE... and now. Because as long as the country believes that irresponsible borrowers are the problem, nothing will change for borrowers... not enough lawyers will join... (Continue reading)
Fannie and Freddie actually had a policy stating that they didn't want to receive the physical "notes?" This "policy" was created by Freddie and Fannie and clouds who actually has legal title to the property (i.e. mortgagee) and who... (Continue reading)
Well, I caught up with Jeff after receiving a "friend request" from him on Facebook... I recognized the name right away and sent him a note asking him to join me for a podcast... and he said yes, of course.... (Continue reading)
Here's something you can't do anywhere else... listen to author Michael Hudson not only talk with me about his book, but listen to how he applies his vast knowledge of the subject matter to what's going on today in our... (Continue reading)
So, I'm bringing all of this up because Mr. Edward DeMarco, who is just the "acting" director of the independent federal agency that placed both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship in the fall of 2008, has actually become... (Continue reading)
In this edition you'll find: 1. Robo-signing KILLS... 2. OCC proposes credit rating duties go to banks - A real conversation with a banker-friend of mine. 3. PMI Files Bankruptcy - Regulators step in and take over yet another mortgage... (Continue reading)
What you are about to read has not been smoothed out or otherwise homogenized, it's just the news as it's coming at me... and you. Go ahead... read it and then tell me everything's just fine. ... (Continue reading)
Obviously, either Neal has the cognitive abilities of a fruit loop soaked in milk, or he's just disturbed. What do you suppose he thinks "spread" to Europe and its banks? I mean, I don't think loans can spread...... (Continue reading)
I wanted to have Matt on a podcast so both homeowners and other lawyers would have an opportunity to hear his views on the crisis today, and specifically what he's seeing in the Florida courts. And sure enough, Matt... (Continue reading)
So, whether you're a homeowner fighting to keep your home... or a lawyer who represents homeowners in foreclosure, here's an opportunity to hear what April has to say about where we've been, where we are today, and where she thinks... (Continue reading)
Why? Well, according to the Realtors, it's credit scores and appraisals coming in too low. Well shave my head and call me Baldy... what do you know about that? I certainly do declare, how can such a... (Continue reading)
... Faster than a NINJA loan originating at Wamu... More powerful than an unlimited warehouse line at Lehman Bros... able to see swaps and synthetics even when inside an SPE... Look, up in the sky... It's a bird... It's a... (Continue reading)
MEMO TO BANK OF AMERICA... Why do you do these things to me? I was just sitting here minding my own business, perfectly content to write about Chase or Wells or anything else for that matter... but no, you... (Continue reading)
We need, as perhaps the late, great Steve Jobs might have said... to think differently, to fight differently. We need to scare them by making them realize that we are their source of power and just as we bestow... (Continue reading)
You know the stereotype... we all do... reckless and greedy people who bought homes they could never hope to afford by signing their names on nothing down, 80/20 "liar loans" with negative amortization and teaser rates of 1%. And... (Continue reading)
Two movies I really want to see, and I think you will want to see them as well. One is Bailout, and it looks funny and great. The other is Margin Call, and it look dramatic and really... (Continue reading)
The bottom-line... much of what the government is reporting is nothing more than a mirage, with the rest either easily explained or not indicative of a growing economy, but rather a shrinking one. ... (Continue reading)
Tom's going to share some things that are very disturbing... things he's discovered are going on behind closed doors in the mortgage banking industry... thinks you probably haven't heard about before... things we all need to know. Don't even... (Continue reading)
The bottom-line is that this does appear to be a chance for people who were treated unfairly as part of the foreclosure process (and Lord knows there are plenty who fall into that category) to get a shot at some... (Continue reading)
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH INVESTORS? WHO ARE THEY? ARE THEY LOSING MONEY ON FORECLOSURES? What do the investors think about all these foreclosures? What's the relationship like between investors and servicers? Do investors want to modify loans? Do... (Continue reading)
Quoth the Craven, "Nevermore."... (Continue reading)
Our country is in crisis, and we can't expect the banks to act for the overall good of our society... that's not their role... that's the role of the elected representatives who serve in our government. No surprises there,... (Continue reading)
What shall we tell the children, Mr. President? How can we tell them the truth? How can we tell them we've lost faith in America... that our government has abandoned us... that we no longer feel like a... (Continue reading)
Max basically gives attorneys his thirty-year law practice in a box with easy to follow assembly instructions and ongoing support. And there's nothing theoretical about what Max teaches attorneys at his workshops and seminars. In fact, I've seen... (Continue reading)
I'm not sure what to say to that, now that I've read Zach's article and been shown more of what went on behind closed doors at the Obama White House. That mistakes were made is abundantly clear, but even... (Continue reading)
State budgets have to be suffering from reduced income and sales taxes, don't they? Higher unemployment obviously means fewer people working and those that are still working... are making less money, so it stands to reason that income tax... (Continue reading)
Even Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the independent Federal Housing Finance Agency says his fix will be more of a tune-up than an overhaul, with reduced "frictions" and "enhancements."... (Continue reading)
As shocking as it may be to some, apparently if you start with MERS, mix in some robo-signing, have total disregard for the PSA, and entirely ignore each and every law along the way, well... you end up destroying the... (Continue reading)
I think the nice folks at the New York Times have been spending too much time at Zabars? Because I'm pretty sure it's not a confidence deficiency... I think it's money we're missing... as in income, and the lack... (Continue reading)
Homeowners who have been forced into litigation in an attempt to save their homes, whether choosing to represent themselves, or hire an attorney, are battling against the largest financial institutions in the world in a court system that's anything but... (Continue reading)
"This case asks court very directly whether the MERS system complies with state law. If it doesn't then I'm going to go back and reopen all of the foreclosures alleging that the transfers were invalid," says Dann without hesitation. ... (Continue reading)
I mean, here we had our "smart" president, and the first thing he does upon taking the reins of a nation in real economic peril, is throw together a spending bill whose numbers were pulled directly from the hindquarters of... (Continue reading)
Apparently, this past week, the sound of the economy's ship going down must have awoken the majority of House Democrats from California who then just jumped all over the Obama Administration for "failing to deliver on promises to curb foreclosures."... (Continue reading)
Klein seems to think that it's important to understand how the administration got it so wrong... but I could care less. I think the salient point is that they knew they had gotten it wrong soon enough, and yet... (Continue reading)
Look people... don't get bummed out about this study, because a few years from now the NBER is probably going to refer to today as having been a peak. ... (Continue reading)
Since then, we've been bubbled into financial ruin. We bought high and sold low, until our 401(k)s turned into 201(k)s, and then we doubled down on shares of Pets.com, never bothering to question how the company planned to deliver... (Continue reading)
Brancaccio asked about whether these Wall Street types recognized that bonuses are usually paid on profits, but that profits are "radically down," and Bethany replied that they don't. She said that there's a widespread belief that "it wasn't my fault,... (Continue reading)
It's no secret to anyone close to the crisis that homeowners in distress are routinely lied to by servicers... often homes are lost as a result of those lies... and what's even more shocking than that is how so... (Continue reading)
Basically, the architects of the sub-prime lending that caused the greatest financial crisis in the history of mankind, are now going to profit from the crisis they caused by buying and selling the very sub-prime loans they couldn't sell before,... (Continue reading)
I wonder what will happen in the next few years as more loans default and the condition of Spain's banks deteriorates further. You don't suppose that will mean fewer loans and tighter credit, which will reduce the demand for... (Continue reading)
1. Obama Administration Leaps Into Action on the Foreclosure Crisis. 2. Nation's poverty rate climbs to 15.1%, highest in 18 years. 3. Obama Says Government to Help More People Refinance... Again. 4. Mortgage Defaults Skyrocket 33% Nationwide in... (Continue reading)