Posted by administrator on February 15, 2009
Freehold NJ House Democrats seek timeout on new foreclosure filings
Freehold House Dems propose 6-month halt
Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens
Columbus- Ohio House Democrats want to reach back to the Great Depression for a tool to stop foreclosures and keep people in their homes.
The Democratic lawmakers on Monday Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens said they will push legislation putting a six-month moratorium on foreclosures and giving judges leeway to reduce the amount owed in a foreclosure case down to the home’s appraised value.
The timeout on new foreclosure filings would also apply to the hundreds of thousands of cases already in Ohio’s foreclosure system – essentially freezing the system for 180 days. House Democrats outlined the proposal at a Statehouse news conference Monday where House Speaker Armond Budish announced the majority party’s priorities for this session. The only exception to the moratorium Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens would be foreclosures on vacant properties, which would be allowed to proceed.
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Rep. Mike Foley, a Cleveland Democrat who crafted the Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens bill, said it is aimed at giving homeowners a break until other new rules sought by lawmakers in the bill can take effect. An added bonus: possible federal bailout money for distressed properties, he said.
“We’ve got vacant properties all over the place in this Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens state that are killing neighborhoods,” Foley said. “The longer we can keep people in their homes and give them a chance to take advantage of recovery dollars that may be coming in seems like a good thing to me.”
Under the bill, judges would get more leeway to write Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens down mortgages for homeowners who owe more on homes than they are worth.
Foley said that the appraisal – now done at the end of the foreclosure process – would be done first and that judges would be able to knock down the mortgage value to the appraised value.
Other key provisions in the bill would triple the filing fee for a foreclosure action, grant homeowners more notification when lenders are considering filing for foreclosure and set up a database to track who holds the paper on a mortgage. Additionally, lawyers who file foreclosure actions would have to have the ability to negotiate on behalf of the lender with the homeowner – often not the case nowadays with Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens the complicated way that mortgages are packaged and sold off to investors around the globe.
Any House Democratic revamping of the foreclosure system would have to gain support in the Republican-controlled Senate, where the GOP holds a decisive 21-12 edge. At least one prominent Senate Republican has serious problems with the Democratic proposal.
Sen. Tim Grendell, a Chester Township Republican and a Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens lawyer, said imposing a moratorium and allowing judges to alter mortgages would set a “dangerous precedent.” Ohio House Democrats seek timeout on new foreclosure filings – Page 2
Ohio House Dems propose 6-month halt
“I would be greatly concerned with the effect of rewriting private contracts after the fact,” Grendell said. “I don’t think it’s government’s role to force the lender to essentially renegotiate the loan because the market has changed.”
He added: “The Ohio House Democrats need to think about something: when you reach out to those facing foreclosure, then somebody else who invested is going to pay the price for that. Are you going to make those people whole?”
There is precedent in Ohio legislative history for such a moratorium. From May 1933 to April 1939, Ohio lawmakers enacted a series of amendments that effectively blocked Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens the sale of foreclosed property across the state.
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Bill Faith, head of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, a housing advocacy group, said a moratorium alone won’t help, but that the fixes being floated by Democrats held promise. In particular, Faith found merit in the idea that an impartial party such as a judge would be able Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens to write down mortgages.
“I think it makes a lot of sense to make more clear the value of the property for somebody in the referee role,” Faith said. “The issue is the paper value is way off-kilter for what these homes are worth.”
He said recent statistics from the mortgage industry suggest that nearly a quarter of the homeowners in Ohio owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
Amanda Wurst, a spokesman for Gov. Ted Strickland, praised Democratic lawmakers for making the legislation a priority but stopped short of saying the governor would Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens support a moratorium.
“We’re interested in exploring more about this legislation with the speaker and the other members of the legislature,” she said.
Ohio’s final foreclosure tally for 2008 isn’t official, but preliminary numbers indicate that it will pass the record-setting total of 83,230 set in 2007.
“We will break that record when the 2008 numbers are Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens released; we’re just waiting for a few courts to report their final numbers,” said Chris Davey, a spokesman for the Ohio Supreme Court, which maintains records for new foreclosure filings from each of the 88 counties.
Cuyahoga County will be one of the few small bright spots when the figures are officially released, even though the county still has a huge number of cases. The county reported 13,858 new foreclosure filings in 2008, a decrease of 2.9 percent from 2007. Summit County reported 4,113 new Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens filings last year, a 14.5 percent drop. But other Northeast Ohio counties – Lake, Medina, Portage, Lorain, Ashtabula and Geauga – all reported increases in foreclosure filings last year over 2007.
Plain Dealer Columbus Bureau Chief Reginald Fields and Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens News Researcher JoEllen Corrigan contributed to this story. No sign of bottom yet in worst-hit sectors
Upcoming housing, factory, layoff data could be as bad as any, economists say
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
Last update: 10:08 a.m. EST Feb. 15, 2009
Comments: 47
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — You know things are bad Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens when the best economic news over the coming week is likely to be a report showing that consumers paid higher prices for goods and services.
Any hopes that the economy is beginning to bottom will probably be quashed by the data due in the coming week, which are likely to show further worsening in the housing industry, manufacturing and employment, economists say.
The most meaningful news could come at mid-week, when President Barack Obama outlines his government’s plans to reduce home foreclosures, and possibly in the process, put a Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens floor under the economy.
As for the regularly scheduled releases for the week, “the data flow suggests no let-up in the recession,” wrote Ethan Harris, co-head of domestic economics for Barclays Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens Capital.
“Economic releases will be generally tilted on the downside,” agreed Brian Bethune and Nigel Gault, U.S. economists for IHS Global Insight.
The major releases — housing starts, industrial Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens production and jobless claims — should be as bad as any in the past 25 years.
Housing
The home building industry is still collapsing, Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens according to two major indicators. Home builders are still as pessimistic as ever. Construction on new homes has fallen to the lowest levels since just after World War II, and is likely to weaken further in January, economists said.
After falling to a record-low of 550,000 annualized in Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens December, housing starts are expected to fall another 5% to 525,000 in January, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The figures will be released on Wednesday. Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens See Economic Calendar.
On Tuesday, the National Association of Home Builders will release its monthly sentiment survey, which has fallen to record low levels, with fewer than one in 10 builders Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens confident about the business.
A couple of economists are looking for an increase in housing Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens starts because they think the reported 44% decline in starts of apartments and condos over the past three months overstates the reality.
However, “we do not believe there has been any Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens fundamental improvement in the housing market,” said Peter D’Antonio, an economist for Citigroup Global Markets.
Builders are trying to reduce the supply of new homes, but can’t seem to stay ahead of the glut of older homes coming on the market because of foreclosures.
Some of the major lenders have announced they’ll Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens forgo any foreclosures for the next month or so to give the government a chance to a plan in place to prevent some of the millions of foreclosures still expected. See full story on foreclosure moratorium.
Manufacturing
Industrial production is expected to have plunged Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens again in January after falling 7% in the past six months. The automakers essentially took half the month off, and assemblies of new vehicles probably skidded to the lowest level in 32 years, according to Global Insight.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were looking for a decline of 1.7%, following a 2% drop in December. The figures will be released Wednesday.
It will “only get worse over the coming months as the global recession squeezes demand both at home and abroad,” wrote Meny Grauman, an economist for CIBC World Markets.
Total hours worked in the manufacturing sector is seen Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens falling 2.1% in January, with the number of jobs down in almost every industrial sector.
The capacity utilization rate in the factory sector probably fell to the lowest level since 1982, and close to the lowest ever in the 60-year history of the industrial Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens production report, said Citigroup’s D’Antonio.
No sign of bottom yet in worst-hit sectors
Layoffs
The weekly jobless claims figures should Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens command slightly more attention than usual, with the report covering the same week that the Bureau of Labor Statistics canvasses hundreds of thousands of households and businesses for its monthly employment report for February.
MarketWatch doesn’t survey economists for their predictions of the claims data, but continuing claims have been at record high levels — at nearly 5 million — Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens while initial claims have settled above 600,000 per week.
Inflation
Energy prices have stopped falling, which Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens means the consumer price index and the producer price index could show increases for the first time in months.
The CPI is expected to rise 0.3%, and the PPI 0.4%, according to economists.
Core inflation — which looks at the underlying inflation rate by stripping out food and energy prices — should be relatively tame, rising just 0.1% for both the core CPI and core PPI, the survey says.
Consumer prices in January were likely 0.1% lower than they were a year before, the first year-over-year decline since 1955. Core prices haven’t fallen, but the increases have been slowing.
“We project that the core inflation rate will slip below 1% this year, with a considerable risk that the rate will approach zero,” D’Antonio wrote.
The Federal Reserve has warned it sees a risk of Freehold NJ Foreclosures lis pendens near-term deflation, but there’s not much more they can do about that risk. The danger in the medium- and longer-term, of course, is that massive increases in the money supply and in the federal deficit will be inflationary.
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White House may push to buy bad mortgages
The White House is considering a proposal to head off potentially millions more home foreclosures by using federal funds to buy up at-risk loans and then refinance them with more affordable terms Foreclosures in Freehold NJ – Lis Pendens.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other Obama administration officials met Wednesday with a group of top bankers, community groups and financial industry representatives to discuss the Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens plan.
So far, government efforts to prevent foreclosures have focused on pressing the lending industry to work with at-risk homeowners voluntarily and provide them with more affordable payment terms. But the new proposal signals a shift to a more direct government Foreclosures in Freehold NJ – Lis Pendens approach, according to John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, who attended the meeting with Geithner, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and other Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens Obama administration officials.
“What they heard from all segments of the industry is nearly universal support for going in and purchasing these loans,” said Taylor.
The proposal is one of several being discussed as the White House completes the details of its comprehensive plan to stabilize the financial system and limit a wave of new foreclosures expected over the next few years. Others include legislation to speed up loan modifications and efforts to make new mortgages more affordable.
Under the proposal, the government would draw on $50 billion in funds already approved for the financial bailout to buy up millions of mortgages at a discount. A $300,000 mortgage on a house Foreclosures in Freehold NJ – Lis Pendens now worth $200,000, for example, might be Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens bought at a 30 percent discount.
The homeowner then would be able to refinance the smaller mortgage with lower monthly payments. The government could then sell the loan back to investors, freeing money to buy more loans.
The new approach could eliminate one of the biggest roadblocks Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens that has stymied the government efforts to buy up so-called “toxic assets” that are clogging the financial system. Trading in these securities — backed by thousands of loans — has all but shut down because banks, investors and potential buyers are unable to predict their future value. But individual loans are much easier to value, making government purchases more practical, according to the plan’s proponents.
Taylor estimates that of the roughly 10 million to 12 million households Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens facing foreclosure over the four years, about 4 million to 5 million would be able to keep their homes. The plan would also help clear distressed mortgages from the financial system and free up more lending, said Taylor.
“These investors have suffered this loss — they just haven’t realized it yet,” he said. “It’s an unrealized loss that the government takes and then converts it into a gain for millions of homeowners.”
White House officials this week stressed the urgency of acting to shore up Foreclosures in Freehold NJ – Lis Pendens the nation’s banking system to avert a potential “catastrophe.” But slowing the pace of foreclosures is essential to reducing the glut of homes on the market and resolving the crisis Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens , according to Columbia University economics professor Christopher Mayer.
“We’ve got to deal with housing,” he said, ”because, look, if housing drops another 20 to 25 percent Foreclosures in Freehold NJ – Lis Pendens, I can promise you a lot more of these mortgages are going bad, and we’re going to have a much bigger problem.”
Some 275,000 foreclosure filings were reported in January Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens — or about one in 466 households — an 18 percent increase over January 2008, according to data released by RealtyTrac Thursday. The pace slowed 10 percent from December, largely because of a temporary freeze on new foreclosure filings by several states and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens reported.
On Wednesday, the Office of Thrift Supervision urged lenders under its regulation to suspend foreclosures on owner-occupied homes until the White House completes its mortgage relief program Foreclosures in Freehold NJ – Lis Pendens. As of the third quarter of 2008, the roughly 800 lenders regulated by the office had an outstanding mortgage portfolio of more than a half-trillion dollars.
To date, industry efforts to halt the pace of foreclosures have proved inadequate Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens . In congressional testimony Wednesday, CEOs of the nation’s top banks told of hundreds of thousands of loans modified to date.
But according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, more than half of the 287,755 mortgage workouts in the third quarter of 2008 involved repayment plans that, in many cases, increased the monthly cost of the loan to make up for missed payments Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens. That’s one reason more than half of borrowers who had worked out new mortgage terms redefault within six months, according to the OCC, which regulates nationally charted banks.
As the housing market has collapsed, roughly one in five homeowners now owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth. That’s created one of the thorniest problems in the debate over foreclosure relief: Who should bear the loss when a mortgage is bigger than a home’s value? Various proposals have been floated, including having the government share some of the loss in return for a stake in the possible appreciation of the home after it’s refinanced.
Until recently, the hardest-hit were borrowers who were sold loans with Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens low “teaser” interest rates that later reset to unaffordable levels. As the recession has deepened, the rapid pace of job losses has put millions more homeowners at risk.
Submitted by Bill Dalton on February 12, 2009 – 8:47am.
President Obama | login or register to post comments | 732 reads
Another Bold Move By Obama
Submitted by LadyDem on February 12, 2009 – 10:57am.
I am not surprised at President Obama’s brilliant move to support those home owners facing foreclosure. From the beginning I thought Obama had the potential to be an outstanding leader. Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens And after seeing him in action over the past few months, I am convinced historians will rate him as one of our greatest leaders. Easily the best since FDR. Having the government buy up “bad” mortgages is good for America Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens. It will help stabilize our economy stable by keeping the housing industry viable. And for those who worry about a rising national debt, its not a problem as long as we maintain hope and confidence. I agree with those economists who believe that America’s financial future is strongly influenced by people having enough confidence to keep on spending. Hope is an amazing thing.
White House Push to Buy Bad Mortgages. Great Idea…but…
Submitted by Prof Samuel D B… on February 12, 2009 – 11:23am.
Geithner’s Plan: Lowering the Default Risk will Lower the Loss Potential
Treasury Secretary Geithner’s plan is to directly or indirectly have the US Taxpayers bear the loss Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens on the troubled assets that have been clogging the balance sheets of the banking community. I would like to suggest an approach that will mitigate the expected losses on the “Toxic” Mortgages which are the underlying assets of these troubled assets. The key to a solution of this crisis is the Borrower. We need to enhance his ability to avoid default and make the monthly mortgages payment.
The risk of default is always considered in the determination of asset value. Freehold NJ Foreclosures Lis Pendens Geithner’s plan may be enhanced with the addition of a program that will lower the risk of loss. Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens This program will function similar to the safe driving education courses that high school students take in order to lower their auto insurance premiums. A program of Financial Guidance will lower the rate of failure and thereby lower the loss potential. In fact, the program may actually turn this crisis all- around by increasing the valuations of the “troubled assets”.
We should acknowledge the simple fact that the Borrower is the key to the valuation of these mortgages and he requires financial guidance to avoid default or re-default after any loan modification. The Borrower’s financial ignorance contributed to this economic crisis. Without an awareness of how to handle and manage money, we can expect a repeat. This lack of understanding of money is the “2 Ton Elephant in the Room” which it seems we are ignoring. We know it is there, but we don’t know how to deal with it Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens.
The Borrower is in desperate need of “Financial Guidance” in this complex economic environment that requires “informed” financial decision-making. The Subprime Mortgage Crisis, out-of-control consumer spending and credit card usage, and the spike in foreclosures and bankruptcies provide evidence of that fact. Freehold NJ Foreclosures Lis Pendens
We must develop a program of “Immediate and Specific Financial Guidance” that will help the Borrower “naturally” be able to make the monthly mortgage payment. This program is NOT the so-called Financial Literacy initiative that simply disseminates “information” and takes forever to complete, but rather it is a program that will help the Borrower “understand” how to manage money in the shortest possible time and avoid the pitfalls that have previously caused financial distress Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens.
As the Borrower is successfully guided to avoid default, the financial and housing markets will respond favorably. The result will be a reversal of the downward trend in the valuation of the “troubled assets”.
If we are successful, we can turn this crisis “all around” and Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens stimulate the economy “naturally” rather than by “bailout” which does not guarantee success.
Instead of the expected losses, the US government (taxpayers) will benefit from the unexpected gains that will result as these investments grow in value.
Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens
Professor of Accounting & Taxation
Mr. Bornstein’s plan has merit. Namely, the reduced cost to taxpayers. But he makes some assumptions which may not be correct. Bornstein refers to “financial ignorance” on the part of borrowers as one of the reasons the housing market collasped. He recommends “financial guidance” as the fix. I think these borrowers suffer not so much from “financial ignorance” as they do from a sense of entitlement. Freehold NJ Foreclosures Lis Pendens Many people in this country seem to think a high standard of living and home ownership is a right, and doesn’t have to be earned the old fashioned way. We want it all, and we want it now – knowing full well our ability to pay is suspect. How can we change this attitude of entitlement? Certainly not with financial guidance training. I’m thinking this will require some strong medicine – financial pain and suffering.
Prof. Bornstein…
Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens
Thank you for offering an intelligent suggestion with regard to the economic crisis we face.
Embedded within your interesting plan is the notion that ultimately we’ve got to get back to holding the borrower accountable for his/her actions.
Your plan is to use education as a means of assisting these people to understand how to manage their money.
I like the notion of that…however I am concerned by two aspects.
First, the idea that the crisis we now suffer is the result of ignorance…lack of knowledge. I contend it was more than that. It was greed. It was character flaws that fail to register lies on a mortagage application is wrong.
All the education in the world won’t effect character flaws that are wider than the Grand Canyon.
Second, if you’ve been following the discussion about the Freehold NJ Foreclosures Lis Pendens stimulus package, many of us are furious about the lack of transparency and most importantly accountability associated with this package. TARP I was a disaster. And many of us feel the rest of the package may be the same.
I beieve that is setting up a real economic crisis from which we will not survive. I see this as a true and immediate threat to the American way of life that exceeds Al Queda’s fondest hopes Foreclosures in Freehold NJ and Lis Pendens.
Education is great. But, we need to put accountability into your plan to make it have the teeth necessary to really help.
Again, thanks for offering an intelligent and well thought out option.
Posted by administrator on February 12, 2009
Freehold N.J. Foreclosures renters have rights
The foreclosure tidal wave sweeping the nation has arrived in Freehold New Jersey and is taking some unexpected — and unnecessary — victims.
At the Department of the Public Advocate, we have learned that tenants who rent properties that are subject to foreclosure are being kicked out of their homes when the bank takes over the property.
freehold NJ Lis Pendens Foreclosures
Make no mistake: This practice is almost always illegal in Freehold New Jersey.
In 1994, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the New Jersey Anti-Eviction Act protects most tenants from eviction even when the property where they live is in foreclosure or has been foreclosed.
In other words, under Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens New Jersey law, a tenant in good standing comes with the property when the property changes hands because of a foreclosure through lis pendens.
Moreover, the Unlawful Eviction Act of 2006 NJ Lis Pendens Foreclosures makes it an offense under the criminal justice code for a person who has been forewarned by a public official even to attempt to evict a tenant except by lawful court proceedings. This law prohibits not only threats and violence freehold NJ Lis Pendens Foreclosures, but also the use of words or actions that have the clear intent to incite fear of danger in the tenants; removal from the premises of the tenant’s personal property; padlocking or changing the locks on the property; or shutting off utilities, such as heat, electricity or water.
Despite these legal protections, I have recently seen copies of notices and letters sent to tenants that imply or state outright that they must leave because of a pending or completed foreclosure. These notices warn that the locks will soon be changed or that the tenants’ possessions may be removed NJ Lis Pendens Foreclosures. Universally, the notices demand that the freehold NJ Lis Pendens Foreclosures tenants make immediate contact with the lender’s Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens representative to discuss possible relocation assistance or eligibility for a “cash for keys” program — all predicated on the tenants’ vacating within a very short time frame lis pendens.
With the number of foreclosures expected to reach as high as 60,000 in the coming year, triple the number processed in 2005, thousands of New Jersey renters could be coerced into leaving their homes even though they are protected by New Jersey’s tenants’ rights laws NJ Lis Pendens Foreclosures.
In Mercer County, foreclosure filings more than doubled over the last two years, from 889 received in 2006, to 1,942 filed last year, according to figures compiled by the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts lis pendens.
Unfortunately, many tenants are not aware that they have a right to stay in a property that is changing hands as a result of foreclosure in Freehold NJ.
That is why the Department of the Public Advocate, Freehold NJ Foreclosures – Lis Pendens working in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, Legal Services of New Jersey, the New Jersey Tenants’ Rights Organization, New Jersey Citizen Action, and local officials, has launched an education campaign to inform tenants of their rights and to make sure that the professionals dealing with this issue — from local police to real-estate professionals to attorneys — don’t coerce tenants into leaving properties they are lawfully occupying lis pendens.
As part of this outreach campaign, the Department of Banking and Insurance, which licenses real-estate professionals through the New Jersey Real Estate Commission, sent a bulletin to all real-estate licensees reminding them of their obligation to fully explain protections included in New Jersey law lis pendens.
I have also sent letters to real-estate firms and asset management companies, putting them on notice that their activities may be illegal and that their licenses to work in New Jersey could be put at risk if they continue to pressure tenants to leave properties solely because they are in foreclosure in NJ.
Finally, I urge people who believe they are being forced from their rental property to contact the Department of the Public Advocate, Office of Citizen Relations at lis pendens so that we can investigate their situation to see if there is relief available to them.
Additional information on the issue is available at the New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate website: at njpublicadvocate.gov.
lis pendens is Freehold NJ New Jersey public advocate.