Foreclosure in the News

Two stories of interest on the wires today:

June Reyno of San Diego, California, has chained herself to her house to prevent a pending foreclosure. Yes, you read that correctly. Desperate times, etc.
“Good Samaritan” Marilyn Mock saved a total stranger’s home for her at a recent foreclosure sale in Pottsboro, Texas. The homeowner, Tracey Orr, had [...]

Thomas Dart Speaks

I wrote here about Tom Dart earlier - the Cook County sheriff who refused to carry out foreclosure evictions against tenants because the owners of the notes being foreclosed were not consistently complying with the required notice provision in Illinois law. These tenants would come home and find their belongings on the front yard, apparently [...]

Sheriff Thomas Dart of Cook County, Illinois - Consumer Advocate Hero

“My job here as sheriff is not just to follow orders … it is to make sure justice is done.  We shouldn’t be going about destroying people’s lives by winging it. ” - Sheriff Tom Dart
Sheriff Tom Dart of Cook County, Illinois is making headlines this week with his refusal to evict innocent tenants [...]

Bailout Deal Reached; No Help For Foreclosure Victims

UPDATE: From The Huffington Post comes this article by Dean Baker: Why Bail? - arguing there is no good reason to bail out Wall Street and several good reasons not to lift a finger.
In the immortal words of Little Richard: Good Golly, Miss Molly.  What the bejeebers is going on with this economy?!
Well, we pick [...]

Is Bankruptcy Reform On Its Way Out?

Maybe, if we don’t act now.
News isn’t encouraging this morning. After Senator Obama sold us out changed his mind and stated his belief that the mortgage reform angle was “probably something we shouldn’t try to do in this piece of legislation” predictably the rest of the party followed suit and declared the issue a “nonstarter.” [...]

URGENT Call to Action: Timing May Be Right for Bankruptcy Reform

UPDATE: There’s an even better letter you can copy and edit to send to your representatives about this issue in a more recent post I wrote about the need for bankruptcy reform as part of the legislative fix for the economy.
The Story So Far: Bailout Pending for the Big Guys Only
I read today in my [...]

SC Has a Mortgage Fraud Hotline

The following announcement just popped into my email inbox, courtesy of the state bar association:
The S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs along with the S.C. Attorney General’s Office announced a new mortgage hotline on Monday. The hotline is expected to reduce mortgage fraud of all types. Anyone who suspects mortgage fraud or simply wants more information [...]

Inside the Subprime Mess, By An Insider

Richard Bitner has written a book about his experiences as a subprime lender, and he’s making the rounds now talking about that book, and those experiences, as evidenced by a Newsweek article (”Confessions of a Subprime Broker“). Bitner’s portrayed as a do-gooder, who wanted to help the less fortunate achieve the dream of homeownership but [...]

Countrywide Under Investigation For Fraudulent Lending

CNN reports that the Wall Street Journal is confirming that the “troubled” home lender Countrywide is now under FBI investigation for its lending practices:
The mortgage company is suspected of widespread fraud, the paper said, which may have contributed to the subprime mortgage crisis that has rocked the U.S. economy.
The probe will examine underwriting and mortgage [...]

Who’s Really to Blame for the Subprime Mess?

As the word “bailout” becomes the banking and credit lobby’s favorite two syllables ever (but only whispered behind closed doors, apparently), it’s a good time to ask the question that the New York Times asks in this article, “A ‘Moral Hazard’ for a Housing Bailout: Sorting the Victims from Those who Volunteered“: who’s really to [...]