Experts Say Atlanta Is In A Housing Depression

post from The Real Estate Bloggers on 10 December 2008 10:38:11 PM. © The Real Estate Bloggers

Reading the local paper, or at least their website, made it hard to sleep tonight. According to hearings at the Georgia State House the housing industry has passed recession and Atlanta is in a full fledged housing depression. According to the speakers, nearly every small builder are behind on their bank loans and could be [...]Related posts:

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Rental Update for the coming 2009 year

post from Barnett Associates Real Estate, LLC on 10 December 2008 07:05:39 PM. © Barnett Associates Real Estate, LLC

Season greetings everyone in internet land. As you may have noticed Our Featured Rentals section contains no information and the link is removed from the Navigation. Unfortunately, our property manager decided that transferring brokerages was in here[...]

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Texas AG proposes legislation to help fight
foreclosure fraud

post from Daily Mortgage Fraud News on 10 December 2008 06:15:00 PM. © Daily Mortgage Fraud News

In the following press release Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and state Sen. Craig Estes (Wichita Falls) announced a legislative initiative that will help protect Texas homeowners from foreclosure rescue scams. If enacted, the proposal would enhance the Attorney General’s enforcement authority, provide new protections for homeowners, and place new restrictions on foreclosure prevention consultants.

“At a time when regulators, policy makers and stakeholders are working to help struggling families, unscrupulous operators are scheming to profiteer at homeowners’ expense,” Attorney General Abbott said. “Too many scam artists attempt to target homeowners with large fees and the false promise that they could help Texans avoid foreclosure on their homes. The legislation that Senator Estes and I encourage the Legislature to pass would give the Office of the Attorney General increased authority to crack down on these unlawful foreclosure rescue scams.”

Media links

View Video of News Conference

Final judgment against Abell Mediation, Inc.

The Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act would require foreclosure prevention consultants to provide customers a written, plain language contract memorializing their services agreement. It would also require that these consultants obtain their customers’ written consent, in the form of a signature, before beginning any services or accepting any fees. An additional requirement mandates a written disclosure statement instructing homeowners to contact an attorney or a housing counselor before signing mortgage rescue agreements.

“While most homeowners may never feel the threat of home foreclosure, it is an issue that can impact all of us when it strikes our neighbors, friends, and family,” Sen. Estes said. “This morning I filed the Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act, which was drafted in coordination with the Attorney General’s office. This issue has impacted constituents in my district and across the state, we are here today to send a very clear signal that these actions by unscrupulous mortgage foreclosure consultants will not be tolerated.”

The written agreements mandated by the proposed law would apply to both foreclosure prevention consulting and equity purchase contracts. Both types of agreements would have to include plain language cancellation procedures.

In addition to new disclosure requirements, the proposal would place new limits on equity purchase agreements. To protect Texans’ interest in their homes, the law would require equity purchase agreement buyers to pay at least 82 percent of the property’s fair market value.

The Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act would give the OAG expanded authority to crack down on mortgage rescue fraud scams under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Foreclosure rescue scams prey upon people who have fallen behind on their mortgages and face foreclosure. Using notices that mortgage lenders publish before foreclosing on homes, the scam identifies potential victims who are promised help avoiding foreclosure. These scams are often marketed as “foreclosure consultants” or “mortgage consultants,” and their businesses as a “foreclosure service” or “foreclosure rescue agency.” But, instead of providing the services promised, the scams take homeowners’ money, ruin their credit record, and wipe out the hard-earned equity victims built up in their homes.

When announcing today’s legislative proposal, Attorney General Abbott revealed the results of a recent enforcement action against a mortgage rescue fraud scheme.

Arizona-based Abell Mediation, Inc., and its president and vice-president, Elizabeth Cory and Michael Cory, respectively, were charged with fraudulently claiming that their company could save homeowners from imminent foreclosure. Homeowners who were delinquent on mortgage payments responded to the defendants’ solicitation cards and Web site. The defendants’ cards claimed that “Abell Mediation, Inc. has saved over 7,000 homes from foreclosure,” boasted about a “staff of highly trained loss mitigation specialists” with established relationships with mortgage lenders and banks nationwide and promised to “achieve results that no one else can.”

Under an agreement secured by the Attorney General, the defendants are permanently enjoined from conducting a foreclosure mitigation business in the future. The defendant is also required to pay a total of $1.55 million in fines, restitution and attorneys’ fees.

Texas homeowners who believe they have been targeted by a mortgage-related scam should contact the Office of the Attorney General at (800) 252-8011 or file a complaint online at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.

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Pasadena Homes, Key Housing Stats

post from Up2Date on 10 December 2008 05:16:31 PM. © Up2Date

The month of December has historically been a slow month for the housing market. Holiday parties, shopping and decorating keep many people at home instead of previewing houses for sale or even listing their house during this time of year. For those of you who have decided to put conventional aside, you may find home [...]

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Feds Outline Plan to Help Credit Unions

post from Housing Wire on 10 December 2008 03:35:57 PM. © Housing Wire

A version of the ever-widening net for a federal bailout was extended Tuesday afternoon to the nation’s credit unions, who have been lobbying for government help alongside their more traditional banking brethren. A plan detailed yesterday by the National Credit Union Administration, the independent federal agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions, shows that [...]

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Ginnie Mae Issuance Surpasses GSEs, Again

post from Housing Wire on 10 December 2008 03:31:00 PM. © Housing Wire

Total issuance at Ginnie Mae reached $27.1 billion in November, the government agency said earlier this week, bringing the 2008 total to $246 billion, and marking the second straight month that Ginnie Mae-issued MBS deals outpaced similar issuances at Fannie Mae (FNM: 0.71 -10.13%) and Freddie Mac (FRE: 0.74 -6.33%).The government agency has seen issuance [...]

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Treasury Cites Appraisal Deficiencies Identified
by OCC in Bank Failure

post from S.C. Real Estate News on 10 December 2008 03:23:00 PM. © S.C. Real Estate News

- Appraisal InstituteAn audit report issued on November 25 by the Department of the Treasury has found that appraisal deficiencies were partially responsible for the recent failure of ANB...

This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, market data, and more!

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BiggerPockets Hits the 25,000 Member Milestone!

post from Real Estate Investing For Real | A BiggerPockets Investment Property Blog on 10 December 2008 02:02:27 PM. © Real Estate Investing For Real | A BiggerPockets Investment Property Blog

I love milestones, and in particular, I really love the milestone that BiggerPockets just accomplished.

A few hours ago, BiggerPockets.com registered its 25,000th Member

When I announced our 20,000th member back in August, I didn’t expect to hit the 25k mark so soon thereafter.

What can I say . . .

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR MEMBERS AND VISITORS

This has been quite a year for BiggerPockets! We started ‘08 with a brand new social networking engine to add to our forum-based website, and close to a year later we’re growing like a steroid infused muscle! The vast amount of sheer knowledge shared on our site is beyond compare. Couple that with the deals happening here, the marketing and networking opportunities, and it is easy to see why people are really starting to jump on board. Our new front page says it all, “25,014 people are currently networking their way to real estate success… Are you?”

As I do each time we hit a landmark, I like to take a minute to point out some key people who make it all happen. Thanks to Julie, Edd & Rob (my saviors), Charles & Joe (my brain trust), NDC (my diligent server team), all the people on the back end of things (the lawyers, accountants, Sparky, etc.), my AWESOME moderation team headed up by Jon Holdman (the man!), my kick ass bloggers (check out all those cool people in the blog’s sidebar), my donors, and to everyone else who’se help to spread the word about BiggerPockets in the media, Twitterverse, and blogosphere! You guys make this place work!

What Now?

Now that we’ve successfully crossed that threshold, we’re on to bigger and better things, as always. We’ve got HUGE plans for 2009 and we’re sure that our membership at this time next year will dwarf the current number. We’ll continue doing what we do and bust our humps bringing you the best site imaginable for real estate networking, knowledge sharing, deal making, and marketing.

I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got a site to improve!

Advertisement: Tennessee Rental Property Memphis, TN Foreclosures For Sale 901-725-6825

BiggerPockets Hits the 25,000 Member Milestone!

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Kashkari: No Collapse Means Bailout is Working

Interim U.S. Treasury assistant secretary for financial stability Neel Kashkari on Wednesday defended actions taken by regulators thus far on the Troubled Asset Relief Program, reiterating that officials were moving as fast as they could to put required oversight and processes in place — and suggesting that the Treasury has been following a defined plan [...]

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