The Poinciana Crane

Due Diligence Extends to Pre-Foreclosures

During the cramdown talks last month, senate majority whip Dick Durbin of Illinois pronounced Wall Street the winner over homeowners. 

“The banks that are too big to fail are saying that 8 million Americans facing foreclosure are too little to count in this economy.”

We've been saying something like that for months now.  Yet, it appears that it took the recently expired, two-month moratorium on foreclosures to instill some sense into the financial industry.  In a recently completed survey on the industry by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, better known as ACORN, they found that:

Banning Banks from Real Estate

Victory was recently declared in a federal campaign to keep banks out of real estate.  The "banks-in-real-estate" ban is now part of the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill, the one president Barack Obama signed. 

With this legislation, it is evident that the real estate is not a financial activity.   It is a property activity.  The other side of this coin is that financing real estate is a financial activity.

Doubly Dipped Sales

If you lost your home to foreclosure, listen up.  Referring to a new bill that would restore the $50,000-per-person fund to compensate victims of mortgage fraud, Terry Straub, finance director for the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, called upcoming rules before legislators “the equitable thing to do.”  If you are a victim of mortgage fraud, come back here for more information as this funding is discussed.  Keep in mind that while this funding might help, just as last year's action in Florida eliminating the licenses of 10,000 mortgage brokers, it is still not enough.  What needs to happen in Florida is the disallowance of transaction double-dipping, that is, mortgage brokers who are also real estate agents within a single property transaction.  That would ensure the elimination of mortgage fraud far more effectively than anything the state has done to date.  Read the full story.

 

FL #1 in Fraud?

Now more than ever, it's critically important to make sure that, when you work with professionals in the real estate industry, beware!  According to The Impact of Mortgage Fraud On Florida, a report compiled by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Florida ranks top 10, nationally, in per capita mortgage fraud.

The report included "falsely inflating the value of a property" as a method used to de-fraud homeowners.  This was a technique popular in the Poinciana area between the years 2004 and 2007 and the primary reasons we have a housing crisis in southwest Kissimmee.  How was it done?

• Real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and appraisers aligned themselves to sell a properties.  Many times, the agent and the broker were the same person.  The weird thing is Florida allows this dual agency and pretend that no conflict of interest could possibly exist.  (The conflict being obvious to honest agents, like Darhlene!)

• Some agents back then even required buyers to use a specific mortgage broker, who would use a specific appraiser, who would, in turn, use a specific et cetera.  While mostly gone with the bubble, too many real estate agents still partake of this activity but are more likely to be aligning with banks these days.

The Recovery's Landed

Long before many realized that the housing bubble had burst in 2006, I had asked my broker at RE/MAX Executive Group, "What happened to home buyers?"  Buyers were cooling and far too many homeowners were suddenly asking about short sales.  To serve these owners I asked RE/MAX leadership, "When are you going to schedule a short sale training for staff?"

But apparently business leaders had no clue of what was about to burst by 2007 and refused to offer training ... at first.  About six months later, they closed their Kissimmee doors without warning. 

That's about the time I began keeping statistics on Poinciana's housing demographics through the MidFlorida Regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  Today, after years of keeping track of Poinciana's MLS sales, inventory, and, now, foreclosures, I say with great relief that I've got good news.

We are at the beginning of a recovery!

Osceola 4 Homeowners

The Osceola County human services department has a new program that is designed to assist residents behind on mortgage payments. It's called the Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program.  Apply online now.

DC's Mad Men

How have you been feeling about what’s happening in DC lately with the Wall Street versus Main Street catastrophe in leadership?  Did you know that more than 38% of homes on the market in Poinciana, Florida, are in some state of foreclosure? If a bailout happens, it could mean significant improvements in the housing market here. Do you agree? Tell us what do you think.

No Help for the Defrauded

Sept. 16, 2008 | Now burdened with the nation’s highest level of mortgage fraud, Florida residents are now just finding out that a program -- that at one time reimbursed people scammed by mortgage brokers -– no longer exists -- at least not for them.

State regulators killed a victim assistance program with no public debate more than a decade ago, even when it was warned that mortgage fraud was on the rise in Florida. While 47 states have protections for people who are scammed, including guaranty funds and insurance that covers fraud, Florida has nothing in comparison.

Debt is not a Crime

Debt is not a crime. That's why there are laws against debt collectors who harass.  If you're feeling intimidated, checkup on the rules.  The Fair Debt Collection Practice Actis a federal law. It applies to debt collection companies which are hired by the lenders.  This law allows debtors to go to court if there is violation to any term of the law.

10,000 Fewer Felons

It has always been a long-standing belief that mortgage lenders and real estate agents should never be the same person in a property transaction. Unfortuntately, Florida's governor Charlie Crist still does not think so, even after his administration was slapped with the reality of over 10,000 felonious mortgage brokers with Florida licenses to operate.

Crist's cabinet recently barred white-collar convicts from becoming mortgage brokers in Florida. Office of Financial Regulation chief Don Saxon, the state's top mortgage regulator, resigned under pressure from this scandal.

Putnam Votes Against Poinciana

For the second time in a row, local U.S. House Representative Adam Putnam (R) voted against extending unemployment benefits for his constituents in the Poinciana area.

With over 1,700 in this area who have lost their homes to foreclosure, inflation in gas and food prices, and well-paying jobs located in such remote areas as Orlando, Poincianans are feeling the heat of an elected official who appears to vote primarily for self-interest and not in the best interest of those he claims to represent.

In his self-defense, Putnam said, "not all ... have joblessness problems." Certainly he doesn't, at least not for now; however it is an election year.

Running Opposed to Putnam - Doug Tudor (D) (Photo at right.)

OpenCongress

Countrywide Becomes PRwide

Long before the housing crisis hit Poinciana, Countrywide led the community, not in home loans, but in foreclosures.  Shortly after saving face, via Bank of America, it threw out another in the amount of $25,000 to LULAC, a non-profit which leads the way to saving homeowners from foreclosure.  But that didn't amount to a hill of beans for Countrywide, which according to the Florida Association of Realtors, reported increased delinquencies again in January 2008.*

That report was subsequent to its announcement that it was widening its community service effort.  This time, according to Kissimmee blogger Mark Horan, Countrywide is reaching out to ACORN. Like LULAC, ACORN is a non-profit. ACORN is primarily known for its leadership in improving worker pay in the U.S.

For the complete list of agencies working to help homeowners in the Poinciana area, which doesn't include Countrywide, see The Poinciana Crane™ Sellers' Directory.

*Reference: LOS ANGELES – Feb. 18, 2008 – Countrywide Financial Corp. said Friday home loan delinquencies and foreclosures rose in January as more borrowers struggled to make their mortgage payments.  Reference: http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/n4-021808.cfm.

Fifth-Third of Poinciana

Now for another You-Heard-It-First-Here by Poinciana @ Home . . . . Fifth-Third Bank is planning a new location convenient to residents of Poinciana. Plans are to locate the new bank near Pleasant Hill and Reeves Road.

Number One Forecloser Bought

Long before the housing crisis hit Poinciana, Countrywide led the community – not in home loans, but – as its number one entity foreclosing on area homes. Today, after months of bankruptcy rumors, Countrywide was bought by Bank of America. Coincidentally, Countrywide also recently donated $25,000 to LULAC, the agency leading the way to saving homeowners from foreclosure.