How this affects Arizona, time will tell. Arizona is not a judicial state and though foreclosure filings i.e. recording Notices of Trustee Sale have risen, the speed of which homes are going to foreclosure slowed.

There are still rampant problems with the foreclosure process and properly noticing the foreclosures and internal reviews by lenders of their foreclosure process as well as holiday moratoriums just create a larger foreclosure backlog.

If you are facing a point today where you owe more than your home is worth, you may have rights. Being underwater in your home is a hardship and their are options. If you own property in Arizona and would like a consult with our law firm please call today, 888-909-1030 and schedule today. Don’t modify, short sale or walk away from you home till you understand Arizona’s unique laws that can affect a mortgage deficiency and taxation.

2011: A year of foreclosure litigation and strategic default. Can I get a No Duh! Bottom line, we can expect Short Sales to play a huge roll in 2012. Are you ready?

http://www.housingwire.com/2011/12/28/2011-a-year-of-foreclosure-litigation-and-strategic-default

Great article. Master of the obvious. We would all love for their to be fewer short sales, but we don’t need higher rates of foreclosures so you take the better of the bad options. It is more important than ever that homeowners seek legal counsel before beginning steps to remedy their underwater home situation. You need a competent Short Sale Attorney to guide you through the maze of issues to better understand your mortgage rights and obligations.

Fannie Mae Removes ‘Ability to Repay’ from HARP 2.0 Guidelines

original article here

Stated Income / No Doc comes back to lending. huh? I really want people to make good decisions, but this is nutts. Didn’t we already make this mistake in the recent past? Harp 2.0 is starting to look allot like good old No Doc refinance.

Sure it is good for the originator to get additional business, but he/she are not going to be advising the borrower as to whether it is a good idea to even stay in the significantly underwater home. If those homeowners had received some legal counseling prior, and after proper legal advisement, made an informed decision to remain in the home in a “Tax Deductible Rental Status”, then I might buy it.

This has the potential to churn a large volume of loans that otherwise are destined to be or should be headed to strategic default or short sale. That seems like a good idea from a point of view of heading off foreclosures, but it that really our goal? This is kind of like having your head frozen when you die with the hope they can find a cure or transplant your brain in the future. They are just going to wake up later with a headache and no solution. If at all.

We already are investigating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for “contributing” to the housing bubble by way of subprime loans they allegedly purchased. Those loans were No Doc or Stated Income Loans. The article directly addresses that Fannie and Freddie still have an approval standard under Harp 2.0 that requires no documentation of the borrower’s ability to repay.

We talk of shutting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac down. So who is going to be around to deal with this in 5 to 10 years when these homeowners realize in their later years, they are still upside down or underwater in their homes? The homeowner will not be able to sell. The are not going to invest large amounts of money or secure credit lines to do any home improvement. We are going to have some real dogs to sell over the next decade. These homes will become even harder to sell.

I don’t see a real long term benefit here. I see us kicking the can down the road. Under conservatorship, the US government via Treasury a.k.a. us the tax payer, will be covering these losses down the road. I mean, they are now going to be securitizing loans under Harp 2.0 that are going to be OVER 125% LTV. Of course we will find investors for them, these security issues will have the full faith and credit of the United States.

Bottom line. The homeowner is still underwater in their home. They might be able to afford the new loan under HARP 2.0, but they are have really accomplished nothing but buying their credit report and keeping a tax deduction. They are now renters in their own home.

The Treasury Department will withhold Home Affordable Modification Program HAMP payments from JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 33.95 +2.17%) and Bank of America (BAC: 5.88 +1.73%) for the third straight quarter.

With so many homeowners facing foreclosure for so long you would think Chase would get it? On the other hand, maybe they do. It has been several quarters that Treasury has been warning them to get their act together and still no result. Now they are holding back money. I read the article with great interest till I noticed the part about how much money Chase has received to date from Treasury. Putting aside what I think I know and what I KNOW I know about HAMP, the numbers quoted make no sense.

“Both Chase and BofA combined to start 315,000 permanent HAMP modifications and extended more than 800,000 three-month HAMP trials.” Ok, so that is our basis of numbers. Then we get this quote, “The Treasury uses Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to pay servicers $1,000 for every permanent modification and another $1,000 every year the new loan is current.” Wow, only $1000 per mod plus another $1,000 per year as long as the loan is current. Well let’s see, if we then assume every mod lasts for only one year and is current, putting aside the fact that we know the default rate on them runs between 30% and 65% depending on whoever is tracking and reporting the numbers, then that is $2,000 per loan mod. As the article did not tell us how much of the 315,000 perms were done by each, I will split it in half with BofA. That leaves us 157,500 laon mods done by Chase. 157,400 mods times $2,000 per mod equals $315,000,000 dollars for Chase. For both of them that is $630,000,000, Six hundred Thirty Million Dollars. Over half a Billion Dollars of payments possibly due to or paid by Treasury to these two lenders.

Now, putting aside the fact that this is allot of money. Here is the quote that my eyebrows really raised on, “According to Treasury data, more than $87 million in HAMP payments went to Chase so far, and another $80 million went to BofA.” That is $167,000,000 million dollars actually paid. Now, I am confused. If BofA and Chase are due $630,000,000 and have only been paid $167,000,000 that means that $463,000,000 is in arrears and being held by Treasury to be paid when they get their act together. You are a lender or lenders that are owed almost half a Billion Dollars and all you do is pull your head out of your ass and get paid and you still cannot figure it out?

I understand why in law school my Commercial Law lecture professor (Douglas Whaley) always used Octopus National Bank to stand in for the bank. They are in fact a Blind Octopus that cannot find it’s ass with all hands, a bright light and Google Maps. Of course the real joke is that an octopus has no ass!

“Remember, if you are or know someone that is facing a point today or in the near future where the home is no longer affordable or it no longer makes sense to keep paying and the home is underwater, please call us to learn what legal obligations and rights exist before the home is short sold, foreclosed or walked away from.”

Simply put, strategic default is when you can afford your mortgage payment, but you elect to stop making it.

Many times when the topic of strategic default is brought up, there will be a heated debate regarding the morality, the technicalities or the options surrounding strategic default – but regardless of which side of the fence you are on, here is some very important information that we want you to know regarding strategic defaults.

Strategic Default: Is It Walking Away? Is It Immoral?

In this video, Kevin Hardin discusses things such as “is strategic default immoral” and “is strategic default considered walking away”? Not only can you get answers to these two questions, but also learn how many months the average homeowner in Arizona stays in their house after stopping to make their mortgage payments.

Strategic Default: Is It Fraud? What Will Happen In Foreclosure?

In this video, Kevin Hardin discusses strategic default not being fraud and in what situations you could commit fraud such as lying about renting your old home. Kevin also discusses the process of going to foreclosure and what the foreclosure timelines are.

Strategic Default: What You Need To Know

If you are situation where you can no longer afford your mortgage payment or owe more on your home than it is now worth, be sure to consult a legal expert regarding your rights, obligations and options. We are experts and have helped hundreds of Arizona residents with the legal opinions and protection they need regarding their Arizona loan modification, short sale and strategic default options.

Many people who are in this situation hear in the media how it is possible to get a loan modification done and how getting a loan modification is the solution to the problem of owing more than their home is worth or making their home more affordable. Combine what the media is saying with the various government programs that are “available” to help homeowners and it ends up leaving many homeowners confused and looking for answers.

Recently, I sat down and shared 7 secrets to loan modification that every homeowner who is considering a loan modification should know. These 7 secrets are things that are “real information” that many experts know but won’t tell many homeowners for one reason or another.

I am sharing these 7 secrets for free – and yes, I am also available to answer any questions that you may have about the process of getting a loan modification done or what to expect.

Arizona Loan Modification: 7 Things To Know

• Who really “owns” your loan? It may not be who you think
• Your permanent loan modification isn’t permanent?
• A forbearance is not the same as a principal reduction
• Once you are underwater in your mortgage, it is virtually impossible to no longer be underwater
• Are loan modification payments current payments?
• Does a loan modification save your home?
• How long before you can become a homeowner again?

If you are a homeowner in Arizona and find yourself weighing your options when it comes to loan modification, knowing these 7 secrets to loan modification can help save you time, money and grief.

There is simply too much mis-information in the media about what the realities of loan modification are, and knowing these 7 secrets can help you make an informed decision as to what the best options are for your situation.

Get started learning more about the 7 secrets by simply entering your information below.  This information is completely free and there is no obligation in any way.

You are not alone.

One of the more common questions regarding Real Estate Agents and short sales is:

Is a real estate broker/salesperson acting outside the scope of their real estate license by assisting a seller in negotiations with the lender to facilitate a short sale?

And the answer is: No.

The scope of a real estate license encompasses assisting in the “negotiation of any transaction calculated or intended to result in the sale . . . of real estate.” A.R.S. § 32-2101(48)(j).

But this is where it pays to be more informed about the law.

The follow-up question that many Real Estate Agents need to ask is:

May a real estate broker/salesperson without a loan originator license be compensated as a third-party short sale negotiator in a transaction?

And the answer is: No.

A real estate licensee may not receive compensation for negotiating a short sale, unless the real estate licensee is also licensed as a loan originator by the DFI.

Given the this answer, it would seem clear that AZ DRE has answered the previous question with clarity. Namely, a real estate broker/sales person who is negotiating a short sale as a third party (and not as a customer service) would in fact have to be licensed under AZ Department of Financial Institutions.

In addition, DRE has answered the following question:

Must a third-party short sale negotiator be licensed in Arizona to negotiate a short sale for compensation on behalf of an Arizona seller?

Yes. A loan originator license issued by the DFI is required to be compensated as a short sale negotiator.

We’re Here To Help
Being a Real Estate Agent has never been tougher – and when you combine the market forces with the regulatory environment, it is more important than ever before that you have the right legal partner standing behind you.

We are not here to tell Real Estate Agents not to negotiate short sales. We are not here to tell them a law firm needs to do that. We are here to be your partner and become part of your team. If you have a client who is underwater in their home we would love to talk to them. Discuss all of their legal options and as most homeowners learn, short sale is a great solution.

Find out more about working with Arboleda Brechner by completing your information below and one of our legal experts will be in touch with you.

Many times homeowners see the various government programs available to prevent foreclosure like loan modification, short sale or foreclosure help only to find out that they are not all that simple when it comes to real-life-answers. You are underwater and you need real help from an Arizona Short Sale Attorney.

Short Selling your home or getting a loan modification is possible, but it is very difficult to do without an Arizona Short Sale Attorney who knows exactly how the banks work.

If you are:

• Behind on your mortgage and facing foreclosure
• Underwater in your home
• Tired of fighting the banks for a short sale approval or loan modification with no end in site
• Looking for a reputable law firm recommended by consumer advocates right here in Arizona
• Wanting to know the difference between a loan modification, short sale and walking away?
• Wanting to know more about government programs such as HAMP, HARP 2.0 and more

Then you need an Arizona Short Sale Attorney or Arizona Foreclosure Attorney here at Arboleda Brechner that  can easily answer your questions and help you navigate the options that are available to you.

The process of getting a loan modified will take effort, time and money – but it’s a small price to pay for saving your home. If after our consultation you realize that keeping your home is not the best decision, then we can recommend an exit that will work for you.

Be careful of non attorneys out there who claim to be experts. Yes, there are knowledgeable professionals out there, but they are not licensed for the advice they are giving. If they are wrong, you have no where to go.

Arizona has very unique anti deficiency regulations. We will help you understand them.

Get legal foreclosure prevention assistance from the most trusted Arizona short sale, Foreclosure and  Loan Modification attorney, and you’ll be on your way to finding the best solution for your own personal housing crisis.