Preventing Foreclosure on Military Personel

Mortgage Foreclosures

Section 302

(50 U.S.C. App. § 532)

(1) The provisions of this section shall apply only to obligations secured by mortgage, trust deed, or other security in the nature of a mortgage upon real or personal property owned by a person in military service at the commencement of the period of the military service and still owned by him which obligations originated prior to such person's period of military service.

(2) In any proceeding commenced in any court during the period of military service to enforce such obligation arising out of nonpayment of any sum thereunder due or out of any other breach of the terms thereof occurring prior to or during the period of such service the court may, after hearing, in its discretion, on its own motion, and shall, on application to it by such person in military service or some person on his behalf, unless in the opinion of the court the ability of the defendant to comply with the terms of the obligation is not materially affected by reason of his military service--

(a) stay the proceedings as provided in this Act; or

(b) make such other disposition of the case as may be equitable to conserve the interests of all parties.

(3) No sale, foreclosure, or seizure of property for nonpayment of any sum due under any such obligation, or for any other breach of the terms thereof, whether under a power of sale, under a judgment entered upon warrant of attorney to confess judgment contained therein, or otherwise, shall be valid if made during the period of military service or within three months thereafter, except pursuant to an agreement as provided in section 107 [App. § 517], unless upon order previously granted by the court and a return thereto made and approved by the court.

(4) Any person who shall knowingly make or cause to be made any sale, foreclosure, or seizure of property, defined as invalid by subsection (3) hereof, or attempts so to do, shall be fined as provided in title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not to exceed one year, or both.

Loan Modification - upfront fees

According to the California Department of Real Estate, Real Estate Brokers may no longer take up front fees, even if they were operating under a no opinion letter.


ADVANCE FEES FOR LOAN MODIFICATIONS NOW PROHIBITED
On October 11, 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 94 (Calderon), and the legislation took effect immediately upon his signature. Thus, California law now prohibits any person, including real estate licensees and attorneys, from demanding or collecting an advance fee from a consumer for loan modification or mortgage loan forbearance services affecting 1 – 4 unit residential dwellings.
IF YOU ARE A REAL ESTATE BROKER, OR THE DESIGNATED OFFICER OF A LICENSED CORPORATION, WHO HAS BEEN ISSUED A “NO OBJECTION” LETTER BY THE DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE FOR LOAN MODIFICATION OR OTHER MORTGAGE LOAN FORBEARANCE SERVICES, YOU CAN NO LONGER ENTER INTO THESE AGREEMENTS EFFECTIVE AS OF OCTOBER 11, 2009, NOR CAN YOU COLLECT ANY ADVANCE FEES FOR SUCH SERVICES.
Agreements entered into and advance fees collected prior to October 11, 2009 are not affected. Advance fees inadvertently collected after October 11, 2009 must be fully refunded.
All real estate licensees should become familiar with the provisions of SB94 as there are substantial administrative and criminal penalties for violations. For full details on Senate Bill 94, CLICK HERE.
View Frequently Asked Questions and Answers from the California Department of Real Estate regarding California Senate Bill 94.

California loan modification and walkaway information

Making Home Affordable - Look Up Your Loan

Making Home Affordable - Look Up Your Loan

Commercial real estate workouts

This is a very optimistic article. 
I wonder why they would ignore the fact that many of these upside down properties loans are coming due this year and that there is no way they can refinance? 

Commercial real estate recovery not seen until 2011 - JSOnline

The commercial real estate industry, faced with filling empty offices and stores while the nation's unemployment rate hovers above 10%, won't begin its recovery until 2011, according to a forecast released Monday.

But, at least the industry's decline in 2010 will be less severe than its drop in 2009, according to the forecast by Grubb & Ellis Co., a national real estate services firm that includes Brookfield-based Apex Commercial Inc. among its affiliates.

"The national economy has begun a slow and cautious recovery, but the labor market, which often lags the broader economy, will turn around only gradually with sustained improvement unlikely before the second half of 2010. Because commercial real estate lags the labor market, it still has a ways to go before reaching its own low point," said Bob Bach, the firm's senior vice president and chief economist.

"The good news is that the freefall we saw in 2009 is over and the future is more certain, giving owners and users of real estate the confidence to begin making decisions again," Bach said in a statement.

The national office market's vacancy rate is expected to reach 18.5% to 19% by the end of 2010, the highest since Grubb & Ellis began tracking the national market in 1986. Slow job growth will delay improvement in the office market, Bach said.

Sell a Short Sale Buy a Home

The Washington Report: "FHA Announces Rules for Short Sales and Short Pay Offs

On December 16, 2009, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) released Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2009-52, providing guidance to lenders and underwriters on short sales and short pay offs. The guidance is effective immediately and impacts FHA Handbook 4155.1, Mortgage Credit Analysis for Mortgage Insurance on One- to Four-Unit Mortgage Loans.

The ML provides guidance to lenders for borrowers: 1) taking advantage of market conditions, 2) eligible for a new FHA mortgage, and 3) in default at the time of the short sale. According to the guidance, borrowers who enter into a short sale agreement to take advantage of a declining market to purchase, at a reduced price, a similar or superior property will not be eligible for a new FHA mortgage. Borrowers may be eligible for a new FHA mortgage if they were current on their mortgage when entering into a short sale agreement and the proceeds from the short sale serve as payment in full. Borrowers who are in default on their mortgage at the time they enter into a short sale agreement are not eligible for a FHA mortgage for three years.

ML 2009-52: Short Sales and Short Pay Offs
FHA Handbook 4155.1: Mortgage Credit Analysis for Mortgage Insurance on One- to Four-Unit"

short sales and foreclosures

Foreclosure Scam Warning

Would-be homebuyers find themselves in ownership limbo | Real Estate | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California: "Recording Deeds

However, 10 deeds were recorded in Riverside County between July 24 and Oct. 8 that purport to transfer ownership of houses to 'Sovereign Solomon Brothers Archbishop Corp. Sole.' The houses were in the cities of Corona, Murrieta and Palm Springs and in the unincorporated communities of Romoland and Victoria Grove.

As of Nov. 3, RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure research firm, found that six of those houses had been repossessed by banks and the legal owner of a seventh house was an individual in default.

King Solomon II did not answer a letter asking for an interview that was sent to the mailing address of Sovereign Solomon Brothers at 160 W. Foothill Parkway, a mail box center in Corona. He also could not be reached at a house in Fallbrook that is described in court records as the home of Terry Lee Herron, also known as King Solomon II, a 42-year-old with a previous felony conviction for auto theft who was charged earlier this year for illegal possession of a firearm.

The Fallbrook house was posted with the same kind of signs saying 'spiritual sanctuary' and 'no trespass' that can be found on other houses deeded over to Sovereign Solomon Brothers.

By filing deeds that cloud title to a house, someone can get free shelter and 'hold a house ransom' by demanding cash from banks that want to avoid the delay and expense of an eviction process, which can take 60 days or longer, said Pete Nyiri, owner of Top Producers Realty & REO, which specializes in selling bank repossessed houses."

Upside Down Homeowner stats

"Roughly one in every seven mortgages either was past due or in foreclosure by the end of the third quarter—the highest delinquency rate in the 37-year history of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey. Two factors are expected to drive delinquencies even higher next year: Underwater homeowners and unemployment. Nearly one in four homeowners currently owes more on their mortgage than their home currently is worth, and additional job losses could mean more borrowers will be unable to meet their mortgage obligations."

from the California Association of Realtors weekly email