One of the most commonly asked questions about a short sale is how it will impact credit and the ability to purchase a home in the future. Whether you are a buyer, seller or investor, it’s imperative to educate yourself on this all important aspect of credit to become fully informed before making a final decision or in order to assist sellers in determining the right course of action for their financial future.

Here to help sort through the confusion is a quick primer on credit after a short sale vs. foreclosure. Remember, every situation is distinctive so these estimates represent the average experience of most individuals.

Note: Depending on the situation, circumstances may vary.

Average Time to Rebuild Credit to Purchase a Home

• After a foreclosure: 5 - 7 years
• After a foreclosure with extenuating circumstances such as, but not limited to: disability, death of a spouse, etc: 3 - 7 years
• After a Deed in Lieu (DIL) of foreclosure: 4 - 7 years
• After a Short Sale: 0 - 2 years

Other Alternatives

The above averages represent typical buying patterns for those using regular lenders to obtain a conventional loan or government backed loans; private investors are still viable options that enable many people to purchase another home immediately after any type of financial fiasco, including foreclosure. However, mortgage rates tend to be less favorable and requirements more stringent than ever. Just a few years ago it was quite easy to obtain a sub-prime mortgage for a relatively low rate above the preferred status, but today, much of that has changed. While it is still possible to obtain the equivalent of a sub-prime mortgage, be prepared to come up with a much larger down payment and higher overall rates.

Short Sales Win Hands Down

Sellers wishing to minimize damage to their financial future clearly come out ahead when using a short sale but it’s still possible to further decrease the downside by avoiding a 60-day late payment, working closely with the lender to achieve a quick price agreement, and setting aside as much funds as possible for a new loan. In fact, homeowners that maintain a solid payment history and work-out an agreeable short sale deal early may find it desirable to downsize to a new home by setting aside additional funds equal to 20% down. With Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) and a reduced debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, sellers are finding it possible to take advantage of lowered property values to immediately purchase another home for a fraction of the cost (and debt burden). 

Conclusion: It’s a win-win for all involved but, only if you understand the benefits and work aggressively to seal the deal.

*This post has been adapted from Real Estate News & Commentary by Chris McLaughlin

EDITOR’S NOTE: Earth,the final frontier. Somewhere there are people who grasp the concept of reality. But to give credit where credit is due Floyd gives primary print space to contrary points of view. Even better, he shows his professionalism by asking the two questions (1) why would banks lose the note and (2) “what am I missing here?”

So here is my response and I invite you all to forward the article toFloyd and see what he says in response.

A note is cash equivalent. So why would anyone rip up cash? His question is not so far-fetched. It turns everything on its head to think of banks ripping up money. You have a $10 bill in your hand. Later when things are looking litigious, you rip it up. Why?

The answer Floyd — the only possible answer — is that there is greater risk in having the $10 bill than in keeping it. What circumstances would make the banks believe there wass more risk in cash equivalents than in throwing them out and pretending they had them?

Well, here’s a simple example. Suppose you took a Loan for $1000 after certifying through third parties (whom you control) and your own warraqnty that you had a $1,000 bill in your pocket. Yes, that would be the $10 bill in our example. Now the loan goes bad or the lender wants to actually see the bill. Which would you rather do (1) show the $10 bill and go to jail or (2) say you lost it or it was accidentally destroyed?

The THIING you are missing Floyd is that this was all based upon representations and not the real thing. Fraud was committed on BOTH the investors and the borowers who both purchased financial products predicated on the same assets which were intentionally   viability (investment grade, remember?) at an unsustainable value and which were represented to be of the highest quality when in fact the securitization chain all the way from investor to borrower was predominantly toxic.

What you are missing is that there were two HUGE financial incentives to perform in what appears to you and others as erratic: (1) the huge yield spread premium between the aggregating pool and the SPV pool (that’s right there are ALWAYS TWO POOLS NOT ONE) and (2) the geometric steroidal profit rained on the investment banks who created these pools by leveraging insurance 30-70 times over. In simple terms the investment banks (NOT THE INVESTORS) received $30-$70 for each $1 in the promissory note that was funded for the benefit of the homeowner.

In other words, it was ONLY through failure of the pool that a $300,000 note could (a) be paid off with over $9 million (even if it wasn’t in default) through credit default swaps that are insusrance but specifically excluded from official definitions of insurance or securities.

Borrowers are right when they demand the documents becuase it will lead to collapse of the “lender” side (actually pretender lender” because they simply steal the identity of the investor the same way the stole the identity of many borrowers in order to make the pool look good. They are looking for low-hanging fruit not cases where the deceit will be exposed. Or it will lead to a reasonable settlement that reflects true value and affordability wth normal underwriting standards applied.

Floyd this is not legalmumbo jumbo or some technical sleight of hand trick. NONE of these foreclosures are initiated by the creditor. All of these foreclosures are blatent in that they seek to steal the home wihtout having advanced ONE PENNY to anyone for funding or buying the obligation. 

Salah satu penyebab krisis keuangan Amerika Serikat yang kemudian menjalar ke Negara-negara lain adalah transaksi produk derivatif yang dilaksanakan oleh perusahaan atau individu. Perusahaan-perusahaan di Indonesia termasuk BUMN juga melaksanakan transaksi tersebut dan akhirnya mengalami kesulitan keuangan karena adanya perubahan pasar yang berlawanan dengan harapan atau prediksinya. Berbagai media telah mengulas transaksi tersebut, bahkan salah satu koran nasional, Investor Daily, menurunkan tulisan tentang produk derivatif dalam 4 (empat) tulisan berturut-turut mulai tanggal 17 Februari 2009 yang lalu. Tulisan ini dimaksudkan untuk menjelaskan apa dan bagaimana sebenarnya produk derivatif tersebut serta bagaimana islam melihatnya dan memberikan solusinya.

Transaksi derivatif didunia dalam waktu 7 tahun telah meningkat sebanyak lebih dari 3 kali lipat, yaitu dari USD100 triliun pada tahun 1998 menjadi USD330 triliun pada tahun 2006. Sudah banyak korban yang disebabkan oleh transaksi ini baik diluar negeri, seperti Barings, LTCM, Madoff’s, maupun di Indonesia seperti PT Elnusa (Tbk) dan lainnya.

Salah satu investor ulung kelas dunia, Warrant Buffett, bahkan mengatakan bahwa transaksi derivatif sebagai senjata keuangan pemusnah missal, yang artinya traksaksi tersebut dapat menghancurkan ekonomi dunia dalam waktu singkat sebagaimana telah terbukti dengan apa yang dialami oleh Amerika Serikat saat ini. Pemerintah Amerika akhirnya juga sempat melarang transaksi derivatif tersebut dipasar modal. Paul Krugman juga mengatakan bahwa ekonomi dunia telah menjadi tempat yang sangat berbahaya dari yang kita bias bayangkan sebagai akibat dari praktek transaksi derivatif.

Secara teori, transaksi derivatif ibarat sebuah mata uang yang memiliki dua sisi. Satu sisi berfungsi sebagai alat lindung atau penjaminan agar suatu usaha dapat produktif dan efisien. Disisi lain, transaksi derivatif juga merupakan alat spekulasi yang bertujuan mendapatkan keuntungan dari transaksi itu sendiri. Banyak sekali jenis transaksi derivatif yang ada dipasar dan pada kesempatan ini hanya dikemukakan beberapa jenis transaksi derivatif yang utama yaitu: forward, option dan futures.

1. Forward: Produk derivatif adalah suatu aset keuangan yang nilainya ditentukan dari nilai suatu asset yang lain. Forward adalah jenis produk derivatif yang pertama dan sederhana. Dalam kontrak forward, dua pihak mengadakan perjanjian penyerahan suatu barang pada waktu yang akan datang dengan harga yg sudah ditentukan lebih dahulu pada saat perjanjian dibuat. Misalnya, perusahaan minyak sebagai penjual (Pn) dan pedagang minyak sebagai pembeli (Pm). Keduanya dihadapkan pada resiko usaha seperti naik turunnya harga minyak. Pn menghadapi resiko turunnya harga sementara Pm sebaliknya. Karena perbedaan resiko yang berlawanan itulah, maka keduanya dapat mengadakan kontrak forward untuk menghindari resiko harga, misalnya untuk jangka waktu 3 bulan. Dengan kontrak forward tersebut, Pn dan Pm dapat melaksanakan dan mengambil keputusan bisnisnya dengan baik, terutama selama jangka waktu kontrak forward karena keduanya sudah tahu harganya saat ini dan terbebas dari resiko naik turunnya harga pada saat penyerahan/ pembayaran barang 3 bulan kemudian.
2. Futures: Kontrak forward memiliki beberapa kendala dalam pelaksanaannya, antara lain: masing-masing pihak (Pn dan Pm) tidak mudah mendapatkan counterpart atan lawan berkontrak yang memiliki kebutuhan yang sama dalam hal jumlah, kualitas dan waktu penyerahan barang. Keduanya juga belum tentu memiliki informasi yang sama (asymmetric information) sehingga satu pihak memiliki posisi yang lemah dan terpaksa menerima kondisi yang ditentukan pihak lain. Disamping itu, masing-masing pihak menghadapi apa yang disebut dengan counterparty risk atau risiko lawan berkontrak, yaitu kemungkinan pihak lain tidak dapat melaksanakan kewajibannya pada saat jatuh tempo kontrak forward. Karena itulah maka dibutuhkan produk lain yang disebut “futures”. Kontrak futures adalah kontrak forward yang distandarisasi dalam hal jumlah, kualitas, waktu dan tempat penyerahan barang. Pada dasarnya, standarisasi ini dimaksudkan untuk menghilangkan kendala atau kelemahan yang ada pada forward. Namun demikian, dalam perkembangannya, futures juga masih memiliki beberapa kelemahan terutama dalam rangka memenuhi kebutuhan perusahaan untuk: a). mengatasi masalah kewajiban/klaim kontinjen dan b). memanfaatkan pergerakan harga untuk mendapatkan keuntungan karena dalam futures harga telah dikunci atau ditetapkan diawal. Untuk itulah, maka muncul produk derivatif bernama “options”
3. Options: Kontrak options pada dasarnya memberikan hak, tetapi bukan kewajiban, kepada pembeli option. Option ada 2 macam yaitu put option dan call option. Put option dimaksudkan untuk melindungi resiko harga turun tetapi sekaligus memiliki peluang untung bilamana harga naik. Call option adalah sebaliknya, yaitu untuk melindungi resiko harga naik tetapi sekaligus memiliki peluang untung bilamana harga turun.

Semua transaksi derivatif bukanlah merupakan transaksi riil karena tidak ada hubungannya dengan barang secara fisik tetapi hanya semata-mata transaksi finansial. Walaupun transaksi tersebut melibatkan penyerahan barang dimasa yang akan datang, seperti yang terdapat pada kontrak “futures”, tetapi dalam prakteknya juga menjadi alat spekulatif karena kontrak derivatif yang dibuat pada umumnya diselesaikan sebelum jatuh temponya sehingga menggugurkan kewajiban penyerahan barang tersebut. Dalam kontrak futures tersebut, pelaku pasar hanya memanfaatkan volatilitas harga barang selama masa kontrak untuk mendapatkan keuntungan financial dan tidak berniat untuk merealisasikan kontrak itu sendiri pada waktu jatuh temponya. Hal ini terjadi terutama karena faktor “risiko” yang seharusnya dilindungi telah dijadikan sebagai komoditas yang diperjual belikan dipasar keuangan.

Pelaku Transaksi Derivatif:

Pada dasarnya pelaku transaksi derivatif meliputi bank, lembaga keuangan non bank, perusahaan dan perseorangan yang kesemuanya dapat kelompokkan kedalam tiga macam, yaitu: Hedger, Arbitrator dan spekulator. Hedger melaksanakan transaksi derivatif semata-mata untuk melakukan lindung nilai atau mengatasi resiko finansial yang timbul sebagai akibat dari aktivitas bisnisnya. Arbitrator melakukannya untuk mendapatkan keuntungan dengan memanfaatkan selisih harga suatu produk yang terjadi disatu pasar dengan pasar yang lain. Bilamana selisih harga yang terjadi cukup untuk mendapatkan keuntungan, maka arbitrator akan membeli produk tersebut dengan harga yang lebih rendah disatu pasar dan menjualnya dipasar yang lain yang harganya lebih tinggi. Arbitrator dapat pula memanfaatkan selisih harga pada produk dan pasar yang berbeda seperti antara future dengan option. Spekulator melaksanakan transaksi derivatif untuk mendapatkan keuntungan dengan mengambil resiko tanpa melindungi resiko itu sendiri. Dalam kenyataannya, spekulator telah mendominasi pasar keuangan dunia sehingga menjadi salah satu penyebab dari krisis keuangan global saat ini.

Transaksi Derivatif menurut Islam:

Banyak ulama dan pemikir islam memberikan pendapatnya secara beragam terhadap transaksi derivatif. Dalam transaksi forward dan futures, pada dasarnya secara teknikal tidak ada keberatan dari sudut pandang islam selama transaksi tersebut semata-mata untuk melindungi kemungkinan resiko yang terjadi dan transaksi tersebut benar-benar direalisasikan pada waktu jatuh temponya. Konsep dasar transaksi tersebut sebenarnya sama dengan apa yang sabdakan oleh gNabi Muhammad SAW yaitu bahwa siapa yang melaksanakan salaf (forward trading) harus melaksanakannya dengan jumlah, berat dan periode waktu yang tertentu/spesifik. Dengan transaksi tersebut, perusahaan dapat menjalankan bisnisnya dengan lebih produktif dan efisien dan memberikan manfaat bagi masyarakat berupa harga yang relatif rendah dari produk yang dihasilkan oleh perusahaan tersebut. Tetapi jika transaksi derivatif tersebut digunakan untuk tujuan spekulatif, misalnya menyelesaikan transaksi sebelum jatuh temponya dengan melakukan set-off terhadap selisih harga, sebagaimana yang terjadi saat ini, maka islam jelas melarangnya. Mufti Taqi Usmani juga mengatakan bahwa transaksi futures yang ada saat ini tidak sesuai syariah karena dua hal: Pertama, transaksi tersebut tidak dilaksanakan efektif pada waktu jatuh temponya. Kedua, pada saat kontrak dibuat, transaksi tersebut tidak dimaksudkan untuk direalisasikan. Disamping itu, menurut hemat penulis, transaksi futures tersebut juga tidak sesuai syariah karena dalam prakteknya saat ini transaksi futures tidak berhubungan langsung dengan fisik barang sehingga tidak memberikan nilai tambah kepada sektor produktif/riil dan semata-mata digunakan untuk tujuan spekulasi. Transaksi derivatif saat ini termasuk dalam kategori zero-sum game karena selisih harga yang harus dibayar/diselesaikan antara harga saat kontrak dibuat dengan harga saat jatuh temponya didebetkan ke rekening satu pihak dan dikreditkan kepihak lainnya. Oleh karenanya, transaksi derivatif disebut juga contract of differences.

Solusi Islam:

Sebagaiamana diuraikan diatas, transaksi derivatif yang pada awalnya dimaksudkan untuk mengelola dan mengendalikan risiko tetapi dalam perkembangannya telah menjadikan risiko itu sendiri sebagai komoditas dan oleh karenanya dianggap memiliki nilai dan dapat diperdagangkan. Resiko itu sendiri adalah sesuatu yang abstrak, tidak berwujud dan tidak merepresentasikan nilai sehingga oleh karenanya tidak dapat diperdagangkan. Ibnu Taymiah 670 tahun yang lalu telah membedakan risiko kedalam dua kategori. Pertama, risiko yg berhubungan dengan aktivitas ekonomi riil, yang dapat menghasilkan kekayaan atau nilai tambah. Kedua, risiko yang tidak berhubungan dengan aktifitas ekonomi riil, zero-sum activities dan tidak menciptakan nilai tambah. Jenis risiko yang pertama adalah sah dan justru diperlukan dalam kegiatan ekonomi untuk mendorong spirit dan inovasi yang pada gilirannya meningkatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi, menciptakan lapangan kerja dan kesejahteraan masyarakat. Namun demikian, adalah menjadi kewajiban kita untuk mengelola dan mengendalikan risiko tersebut sehingga daya dorongnya terhadap pertumbuhan ekonomi riil tetap positif. Untuk itu diperlukan upaya yang meliputi strategi, proses, produk dan instrument untuk mengelola dan mengendalikan risiko, yang didalam bahasa sekarang disebut dengan rekayasa keuangan (financial engineering) tetapi dengan tujuan dan cara-cara yang sesuai dengan prinsip-prinsip syariah. Kata kunci dalam rekayasa keuangan ini adalah inovasi dan kreatifitas dalam penciptaan produk dan instrumen yang sesuai syariah dengan tujuan untuk memberikan solusi terhadap berbagai masalah keuangan.

Setiap inovasi akan menghasilkan perubahan, tetapi hanya perubahan yang memberikan value atau nilai tambah yang dapat diterima sedangkan perubahan yang justru mengakibatkan kerusakan haruslah ditolak. Begitu pula halnya dengan kreatifitas yang pada dasarnya timbul karena adanya berbagai keterbatasan. Keterbatasan yang kita hadapi atau miliki saat ini, seperti lingkungan bisnis dan peraturan yang belum mendukung, kuantitas dan kualitas sumber daya insani yang belum memadai serta keterbatasan lainnya, haruslah menjadi stimulant bagi timbulnya kreatifitas yang memberikan nilai tambah bagi kemajuan industri keuangan.

Prinsip Islam:

Dalam melakukan upaya-upaya inovatif dan kreatif tersebut, islam memberikan berbagai pedoman atau prinsip yang harus diperhatikan, yaitu antara lain: keseimbangan, interdependensi, akseptabilitas, dan integrasi.

1). Keseimbangan: ini merupakan prinsip islam secara umum dan tentunya berlaku bagi setiap kegiatan ekonomi dan keuangan islam, termasuk kegiatan kreatif dan inovatif dalam penciptaan proses, instrument dan produk keuangan. Ekonomi islam tidak semata-mata berorientasi kepada keuntungan finansial untuk pelaku individu tetapi juga keuntungan sosial untuk masyarakat dan alam sekitar. Bukan hanya untuk kepentingan dunia tetapi juga kepentingan akhirat. Konsekwensinya, setiap proses, instrument dan produk keuangan yang dihasilkan harus memenuhi kedua kepentingan tersebut.

2). Kerjasama dan Interdependensi: Untuk dapat menerapkan prinsip keseimbangan tersebut, cara-cara yang dilakukan haruslah bersifat kerjasama dan saling ketergantungan, bukan persaingan, seperti semakin banyaknya usaha bersama secara terbuka dibidang teknologi informasi, yang salah satunya lazim dikenal dengan sebutan “open sources”. Bisnis dotcom seperti yahoo, google dan facebook berkembang pesat karena juga menerapkan prinsip kebersamaan dan ketergantungan sesama penggunanya. Bisnis tersebut memadukan atau menyeimbangkan antar kepentingan mendapatkan keuntungan dengan kepentingan sosial. Dengan cara ini, maka pengembangan proses, instrumen dan produk keuangan dapat dilakukan secara produktif, optimal dan efisien.

3). Akseptabilitas: Dalam dunia muamalah atau bisnis, islam mengajarkan bahwa segala sesuatu itu boleh kecuali secara tegas dilarang. Artinya, kesempatan sangat terbuka luas bahkan nyaris tanpa batas untuk melakukan kreasi dan inovasi sepanjang hasilnya lebih memberikan manfaat daripada mudharat. Batasan atau larangan yang ada terutama terhadap kegiatan yang tidak berkeadilan seperti riba dan gharar. Riba memisahkan kegiatan disektor keuangan/moneter dengan kegiatan disektor riil atau produktif. Riba telah mengakibatkan kegiatan keuangan jauh melampaui kegiatan riil sehingga menimbulkan ekonomi gelembung dan akhirnya terjadi krisis ekonomi karena prinsip keseimbangan dan interdepensi antara kegiatan di kedua sektor ekonomi tersebut dilanggar. Gharar dilarang karena didalamnya terdapat unsur-unsur yang meragukan atau tidak jelas yang mengakibatkan timbulnya risiko. Transaksi gharar adalah transaksi yang hanya mendasarkan pada risiko tersebut dan bukan pada barang atau obyek yang nyata. Oleh karenanya gharar disebut sebagai “trading in risk”. Keragu-raguan atau ketidak jelasan dalam transaksi tersebut menghambat kegiatan ekonomi menjadi produktif dan efisien.

4). Integrasi: Untuk mendapatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi yang berimbang dan berkelanjutan, islam mengharuskan adanya interaksi dan integrasi antara sektor moneter/keuangan dan sektor riil. Setiap pertambahan nilai uang sebesar satu rupiah harus diimbangi dengan pertambahan barang dan jasa disektor riil dengan nilai yang sama. Faktor waktu (masa) dan risiko merupakan prasyarat dan harus pula saling berinteraksi dan berintegrasi bagi upaya pertumbuhan dikedua sektor ekonomi tersebut secara seimbang. Faktor waktu merupakan variabel dari riba dan faktor risiko merupakan variabel dari gharar. Dengan menjaga keduanya tetap berinteraksi dan berintegrasi, baik antar keduanya maupun dengan kegiatan ekonomi riil, maka riba dan gharar dapat dihindari, dan pertumbuhan ekonomi melalui kegiatan disektor moneter dan sektor riil secara terintegrasi akan efisien dan berkesinambungan.

Instrumen islam untuk lindung nilai:

Sebagaimana telah diuraikan dimuka bahwa transaksi derivatif pada dasarnya dimaksudkan sebagai upaya lindung nilai terhadap hasil-hasil dari kegiatan ekonomi disektor riil. Tetapi dalam prakteknya, transaksi derivatif telah terlepas dari kegiatan disektor riil dan menjadi ajang spekulasi.

Dalam rangka upaya lindung nilai, pada dasarnya ada 3 pendekatan yang dapat digunakan, yaitu: economic hedging, cooperative hedging dan contractual hedging. Berbagai instrumen keuangan islam seperti murabahah, mudharabah dan musyarakah, dapat digunakan sebagai upaya lindung nilai tersebut sesuai dengan karakteristik transaksi atau risikonya. Uraian lebih lanjut tentang ketiga pendekatan dengan instrumen keuangan islam tersebut akan disampaikan dalam kesempatan selanjutnya.

Thank you June Reyno and Poppa Koppa for this Post

There is a myth going around that once the eviction and unlawful detainer are completed, and after the Sheriff has thrown you out of your own home, there is nothing else you can besides try to rent the property. Not So! There are numerous ways of turning everything back around, placing you back in your own house and vacating the foreclosure sale, the unlawful detainer and the writ of possession. Some of them involveFannie Mae renting the house, but we come back to the issue rent from whom? If they fraudulently obtained title and now wish to charge rent which they will keep for themselves why should you be paying them? The answer is very simple: if that is the only way to stay in your house without the sheriff at your door, you do what you must.

Keep in mind that you should invoke these procedures, but don’t say within the lines they painted on the highway. Demand documents to prove that the party wishing to have a rental relationship with you is in fact the proper party to do it. Why? Because you don’t want to have paid all that money to the wrong person. And you don’t want some new party whom you never heard of saying that now they own the property and the rental deal was void because they always owned the property since the foreclosure. See the other “How to” articles over the last week and you;ll see what I mean.

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PoppaKoppa sez: Let’s tell it straight!

The Wall Street pretender lenders, prankster banksters and squishy beneficiary Trusts unlawfully discount your original note when they do an untitled transfer of your property at a sham foreclosure auction that extracts an unnecessary 20% from home equities, THEY are made whole by pay offs on Credit Default Swaps, re-insurance from a Quasi government entity, and/or rapid re-sale of Your American Dream @ 50% of the NOD amount owed.
They blame YOU for failing to meet obligations THEY established. After inflicting untold emotional and financial harm, wearing down your Main Street Spirit, they ask you to say “THANK YOU, SIR!” when swoon goons will hand you back the keys to your own home!
Some folks call the past two years a period of necessary social change (socialism). I call it unjust transfer of wealth, demise of capitalism, and “Tyranny on The Courthouse Steps!” The Mass Media and Talking Heads will applaud this program as a Sigh of Relief for American Society… NAHJ supporters and Forty Percent of homes still in distress should see TEARS falling from The Statue of Liberty!

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U.S. offers rental programs to foreclosed homeowners
Is renting your home an option after foreclosure?

By Amy E. Buttell, Cyberhomes Contributor

Published: December 4, 2009

Programs offered by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae give homeowners the option to remain in their foreclosed home as renters. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)
If you’ve received a foreclosure notice or are in imminent danger of foreclosure and your mortgage is owned by government agencies Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you may be able to rent your home (or former home) at an affordable rate.
Fannie Mae’s Deed for Lease Program, begun in November 2009, and Freddie Mac’s REO Rental Option program, started in January 2009, aim to keep more homeowners in their homes, even if they no longer own them. Below are the three most common questions homeowners are asking about the rental programs.
What do I need to do to participate in a foreclosure rental program?
First, you need to figure out if Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns your mortgage, says Ryan Boyajian, president of We Save Homes Inc., a publicly traded company that assists homeowners with loan modifications and short sales. You can find out here:
Freddie Mac Fannie Mae
While some banks and finance companies that own mortgages are offering similar programs, only mortgages owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are eligible for these two programs.
What are the qualifications?
They include:

* Your income must be sufficient to make rental payments.
* The property must be in good condition.
* For Fannie Mae-owned properties, second mortgage liens aren’t eligible and subordinate liens must be released. You must surrender your mortgage deed (known as a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure). You also cannot be involved in an active bankruptcy proceeding. Homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments aren’t eligible.
* Under the Freddie Mac program, foreclosure must have already been completed, meaning you weren’t eligible for a loan modification.
* The home must be your primary residence.
* If you are a tenant of a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae homeowner, you are also eligible for these programs.

What are the terms of the rental, if I qualify?
The terms vary. Rents, especially in areas hard hit by home prices declines, will be at regional fair market value rates, which are likely to be significantly lower than most borrowers’ payments, says Andrew Housser, co-CEO of Freedom Debt Relief, a San Mateo, Calif.-based company that helps consumers settle their debts. In other words, “your rent payment will never be more than 31 percent of your income, but that amount must equal or exceed the fair market rent in your area for your type of home,” says Boyajian.

Under the Freddie Mac program, the rental is month-to-month, so if your house is sold under foreclosure to a new owner, you will have to leave at the end of the month. The Fannie Mae program provides greater stability, as the leases are 12-months, and your home will not be put up for sale during that time.

The time period to complete the lease agreement varies, but Fannie Mae expects its property managers to approve the rental application and complete the deal within 10 days, says Mia Melle, broker and president of operations at Renttoday.us, a Southern California property manager. She urges homeowners to respond quickly to a rental offer. “They have 72 hours to respond,” she says. “If they don’t, the offer will be rescinded.” Under this program, Fannie Mae may decide to extend leases for another year or continue the arrangement on a month-to-month basis.

CHARLES J. KOPPA, Realtor/Loan Officer/Investor/Grandfather, 760-787-9966 & the National Alliance of Homeowners for Justice dba: HELPING FAMILIES SAVE THEIR HOMES FOUNDATION

“Looking for Homeowner Volunteers Across America to Rescue Homeless Families That Have Lost Their Homes to Foreclosure” Call: 1-888-899-8915 / 909-795-4046
858-361-2399

US Regulators have shut down six more banks, bringing to 130 the number of US banks to be brought down so far in 2009 by recession and mountains of bad debt. Six US banks fail, bringing 2009 tally to 130—US Regulators shut 4th largest failed bank, 5 others.

 The 130 bank failures are the most in a year since 1992 at the height of the savings-and-loan crisis. They have cost the federal deposit insurance fund more than $28 billion so far this year. They compare with 25 last year and three in 2007. ( Discover the Top 100 Safest U.S. Banks .)

Thank You ABBY!

This post is from Abby. You can catch her email in comments where she originally posted. Just one word of caution: Just because the Trustee or officer of the SPV pool claims to have your loan doesn’t mean they really do. In fact they may only have a spreadsheet with no documentation, no original notes, no copies of the note, no copy of the deed, deed of trust or mortgage deed. They may have something they called an allonge and are treating it as though it was an assignment. The attempted transfer will almost ALWAYS violate the terms of the the SPV mortgage backed bonds and almost certainly violate the terms of the pooling and service agreement which is the document governing the pools created by aggregators before they were “sold” to the SPV. For one thing these documents usually state that the execution of the transfer documentation must be in recordable form and some of them even say they should be recorded. There are many other terms as well that conflict with each other and conflict with the actions of the intermediary participants in the securitization chain.

This is why this research is so important — but you should not be doing it to prove your case. You should be doing it to make them justify their position.

By delving deep in discovery or seeking an order compelling them to answer the QWR or DVL, they will eventually anger the judge by their stonewalling. Judicial anger is behind some of the most favorable decisions on record so far. The Judge gets there by recognizing that he/she has been duped and now the truth is coming out that these foreclosing parties are illegiitimate: they are not creditors, they are not lenders, they are not beneficiaries. They are simply interlopers seeking a windfall leaving the homeowners and the investor who advanced the funds in the dark. Shine the light and they scatter like roaches in the middle of the night.

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WANT TO SEARCH FOR THE TRUST YOUR LOAN WENT INTO??

Some steps below to use the SEC website to locate your loan and the trust it is in (mortgage pool).

This example uses WAMU (Washington Mutual).
Typically, Chase had JPMAC (JP Morgan Acquisition Corp) as the name of trusts.

http://www.sec.gov/

1. click on above link
2. if you have not yet created a free account and it asks you for login info…create the account
3. click on ’search’ in upper right corner
4. in the blue area, type in WAMU in the ‘company name’ field
5. click find companies at bottom
6. this brings up all the WAMU filings
7. search around for one that is the year you got your WAMU refi
8. it will be tedious, but you have to click on each CIK number (in red) over on left, and that will take you to a whole big list of more filings for that particular trust
9. go through and click on any ‘fwp’….read/scan to see if it lists any loan numbers….some will….check to see if your loan number is in it.
10. when you click on an ‘fwp’, which means free writing prospectus, you will see even more files…try to avoid looking at the ones that have .txt ending (the other, usually an html file, will have any infor you may need.

Note: you may want to also search around in years just prior to or just after your loan was done.

Some of these deals were set up even prior to you getting your loan.

Again, another place you may find the trust name is on your recorded docs, in MERS or on a Power of Attorney filed at the county recorder by the Securities trustee in your local county (if required by law).

The way the media tells it, there are million of bargains out there that will be the house of your dreams and will make you rich. If it seems too good to be true, that would because it IS too good to be true. As a backdrop to this discussion remember that there are over 2 million homes that could be on the market but for the fact that the “owners” don’t want to flood the market. 2 million homes means there are too many homes for any foreseeable demand from buyers. That means that bargain prices are simply early predictors of where the market is heading. Those statistics, taken from over 500,000 homes reported and sampled, shows that the average “discount” is 15%-20%. In a normal market the discount would be real and relatively stable. In this market where we have 2 million homes already in the pipeline and around 3-4 million MORE homes coming it is not merely possible but rather likely that prices will continue to be depressed.

Add to that the credit crunch and the current environment where banks are reinstating underwriting standards where they verify the appraisal, verify your ability to pay, verify your history, verify other conditions affecting the value or future value of the home, and you have a seller’s glut with very little demand. Analysts from companies that maintain divisions employing economists now are estimating that it will take 6-12 years to clean up this mess. I think these estimates will change monthly until they give recognition to the fact that 10 years is about the best we could ever hope for, 30 years in about the worst case, and that the probable time will be something close to 20 years. That is 2 decades of confused downward price pressure, title errors, defects and defects, and figuring out how to undo the the chaos created by Wall Street.

That said, there are many reasons why you SHOULD buy a foreclosed home. First you SHOULD buy a home if you want to live in it — but beware that most people THINK they will live there a long time but frequently move within 3-5 years due to unforeseen circumstances. Financially, the likelihood that you will financially benefit from such circumstances is extremely low. Renting the same house or one just like it will probably cost no more than 60% of the monthly payment you would have even if you put 20% down payment. And you don’t get stuck trying to sell a house in a market that will basically be unchanged or worse than it is now.

Second you should buy a home on a short sale or otherwise, if you have capital and a good credit score and want to do something good. Let’s assume the house was originally bought for $450,000 and the buyer made a 20% down payment. So the buyer paid $90,000 PLUS all the improvements that are made, especially to a new developer tract house. So the sake of our example, the buyer now finds himself with a house that is currently “appraised” at $275,000. The “lender” refuses (actually lacks the authority because they are not really the lender) to modify the mortgage with a principal reduction, the terms are resetting so that the buyer’s payments are about to triple or have already done so. Assume they had no problem making the original teaser payments and could even pay more but not the absurd amounts called for under his current mortgage or deed of trust.

Let’s further assume the foreclosure has already taken place and the buyer is still in the home, awaiting eviction. With a little help from you and this post you get the homeowner to fight the eviction and start a confrontation where the homeowner is demanding discovery and is alleging a fraudulent foreclosure. Using average “discounts” you buy the house for $55,000 less than appraisal from the “bank” (actually a separate entity with dubious authority to have taken or retained title to the property since neither the forecloser nor the REO (Real Estate Owned) entity had one dime in funding the mortgage). So you have purchased the home for $220,000. Don’t get all excited. The original $450,000 price was false and even fraudulent. The next time that house sees $450,000 will be somewhere around the year 2040.

So now you make a down payment of 20% or $44,000. You have $44,000 into the deal plus whatever assistance you have the original buyer/homeowner. Your mortgage is $176,000. Using an amortization of 15 years fixed rate for 5%, your payments for principal, interest, taxes, utilities and insurance are probably going to be around $1250-$1350 per month. You give the original buyer/homeowner a lease requiring payments of $1600-$1700 per month plus a CPI (Consumer price index no less than 2% with no maximum) AND a pass through of increases in utilities, taxes etc. The lease is at least 5 years long. If you don’t have a homeowner willing to lease for 5 years, you are going to have trouble.

The lease is a net lease requiring the tenant to maintain the house. It renews automatically for additional terms of 5 years unless canceled with at no more than 9 months notice and no less than 6 months notice. Beginning with the end of the third year, the homeowners may have a two year option to buy the house at either the price you paid for the house, plus CPI or the current fair market value, whichever is higher. This option is good only in years 4 and 5.

You start negotiating with the “bank” or the REO with a demand for proof of title. See how-to-negotiate-a-modification

They will offer you indemnification, hold harmless and release. None of that means anything because most of them have either gone out of business or are about to go out of business. You ask “Who is the actual creditor here?” That will make them uncomfortable. You get rough and tough. And then you soften a little and use the procedure set forth below. Meanwhile the original buyer/homeowner starts threatening them because they obviously don’t have physical possession of the note or they have no rightful claim to ownership of it. The original buyer/homeowner makes demand and maybe even files suit demanding to know who the creditor is or was. This will soften up the game of the bank/REO.

Now let’s talk about how you are going to do this without being in the same mess that the banks, homeowners, title companies and others are in.

The attributes of a good solid purchase of a foreclosed home are:

1. Warranty Deed
2. Title Policy from large company without any exclusion relating to securitization of the prior owner’s loan. It would be best if the policy specifically mentioned securitization and stated affirmatively that there is no exception relating thereto.
3. Friendly Quiet Title Action, in which the REO, the forecloser and all other known parties, at their expense bring a quiet title action naming the former buyer/homeowner and you, and naming John Does 1-1000 being the holder of mortgage backed securities who could have or who could claim an interest in the mortgage being extinguished by this deal. As long as the relief sought is ratification of the above deal and ordering the clerk of the County to remove the old mortgage and accept the new filings without any encumbrance other than your new mortgage and without any owner other than you.
4. ONLY A FINAL JUDGMENT EXECUTED BY A JUDGE WILL GIVE YOU CLEAR TITLE. WAIT UNTIL THE TIME FOR APPEAL HAS RUN. INCLUDE A PROVISION WHEREIN YOU CAN RESCIND IF SOMEONE MAKES A CLAIM THAT THIS TRANSACTION WAS A FRAUD ON THE COURT WHETHER IT HAS MERIT OR NOT. IF SUCH A CLAIM IS MADE THEN AT YOUR OPTION YOU BECOME THE SUCCESSOR TO THE “BANK”  AND REO AND OTHER FORECLOSURE OR TRUSTEE SERVICES OR, AAT YOUR OPTION YOU CAN RESCIND THE TRANSACTION RECEIVING BACK ALL MONEY RECEIVED BY THE SELLING PARTIES TO THE TRANSACTION IN WHICH YOU PURCHASED THE PROPERTY.
   
5. Indemnification from the forecloser
6. Indemnification from the REO
7. Hold Harmless from the Forecloser
8. Hold Harmless from the REO
9. General release from original buyer/homeowner
10. Acknowledgment from your new lender that they were advised of the above and they agree that they will not make any claims against you for misrepresentation or misstatement based upon the securitization of the loan.

Hello Friends here we come up with an extension of our previous blog,

ECONOMIC INDICATORS… “Leading the World” Part 2.

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Economic Indicators - Leading the World Final Part

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In previous Blog, we had touched upon the classified categories of Economic indicators in details and about Time Era.

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Now in this final part we would know what major economic indicators are!!

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Major Economic Indicators :

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· Gross Domestic Product (GDP):

Indicates the pace at which a country’s economy is growing or shrinking.

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· Industrial Production:

Measures the change in the production of the nation’s factories, mines and utilities, industrial production also measures the country’s industrial capacity utilization.

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·Purchasing Managers Index (PMI):

This index includes data on new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, export and import orders.

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·Producer Price Index (PPI):

Measures average changes in selling prices received by domestic producers in the manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and electric utility industries.

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The PPIs most often used for economic analysis are those for finished goods, intermediate goods, and crude goods.

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Consumer Price Index (CPI):

Measures the average price level paid by urban consumers (80% of the population in major currency countries) for a fixed basket of goods and services.

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Durable Goods:

Measures new orders placed with domestic manufacturers for immediate and future delivery of factory hard goods.

This figure is a useful measure of certain kinds of customer demand.

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Employment Cost Index (ECI):

ECI counts the number of paid employees working part-time or full-time in the nation’s business and government establishments.

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Retail Sales:

It is the indicator of broad consumer spending patterns and is adjusted for normal seasonal variation, holidays, and trading-day differences.

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Housing Starts:

Measures the number of residential units on which construction is begun each month.

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Thus to conclude,

Economic indicators is a tool for an investor..

for knowing the economic world & simultaneously smartly making money out of the sensitive movements of the financial & commodities market.

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Note : For More Latest Industry, Stock Market and Economy News and Updates, please click here

The business case for taking, handling and litigating residential “mortgage” cases has been proven over and over again. Unfortunately most lawyers are ignoring this opportunity.

The latest estimates are that it will take 6-12 years to clean up this mess and I think that is very conservative. My analysis shows that it will take the better part of 30 years, and even then there will be cases that are still outstanding. One case, just filed, involves a mere $500,000 mortgage but alleges more than $27 million in damages (which could end up north of $81 million), credibly, the proximate cause of which was the eggregious, tortious behavior of loan originators and investment banks who gave the impression that normal underwriting standards and procedures were in place. The complaint alleges breach of Federal Statutes, State Statutes and common law including identity theft, slander of title, and fraudulent or negligent appraisal.

Lawyers who were starving are getting to understand that monthly payments from the client will cover them until the contingency fee kicks in and that there are clear ways to collect damage judgments. Some lawyers we know have $50,000 per month or more coming in from clients.

Let me spell it out for you. Most analysts agree with my estimate from 2 years ago: $13 trillion in erroneous, fraudulent paper was floated producing some $25 trillion in profits that was sequestered off shore. There appears to be some 60 million loans affected by this massive scheme. If your contingency fee is only 20% that means that around $5 trillion in contingency fees is sitting out there waiting to be pocketed. If every lawyer in America took these cases, they would each have around 40-50 cases involving title claims, securities claims defenses. But we all know that only a fraction of the 1 million lawyers are even doing trial practice. The short story is that for every lawyer there are hundreds if not thousands of cases that can be handled each averaging fees in excess of $100,000 per case.

We know there are lawyers out there some of whom are taking a few but not many of these cases. Livinglies takes in requests for services at the rate of 15-20 per day. And THAT is without any promotion. We don’t do any promotion because we have an insufficient number of lawyers to refer these prospective clients. WAKE UP LAWYERS! We have referrals for you and we require NO COMPENSATION for the referral and no co-counsel fee.

Send your resume:

eFAX: 772-594-6244

eMail: ngarfield@msn.com

There are many avenues to funding a start-up company but the typical story is:

(i)            the founders of a technology start-up company throw in their own money to produce a prototype of something;

(ii)           with the prototype in hand, they go with their hands outstretched to angel investors who throw money into what they hope will not be a vacuum (i.e., never to be seen again); and

(iii)          with luck the technology start-up convinces some venture capitalists to invest”

But there is a conspicuous omission in the “typical story” – where are the friends and family investors in the story? Where is Aunt Matilda, Uncle Id, my old college roommate Tom and the rest of my relatives and friends?

Well, if Aunt Matilda, Uncle Id and the rest of your family members and friends are wealthy (that is, they make more than $300k per year or are worth $1 million in assets), then grab as much money as you want (well, be reasonable and always tell the truth about your company when pitching it) and give them stock in your company.  That’s fine.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which is the federal government agency that (among other tasks like keeping us safe from the Madoffs of the world, oh wait…) regulates the sale of stocks, bonds, and options (otherwise known as “securities”), says basically that it’s ok to sell “unregistered” stock to wealthy people (or in SEC-speak, “accredited investors”) because these wealthy people should be savvy enough to spot a bad investment and can spare the cash.  What is “unregistered” stock? Here’s the (admittedly dumb) definition: it’s stock that is not registered with the SEC.  The deal is: you can’t sell unregistered stock to poor people (or “non-accredited investors”) because, well, they apparently can’t spot a bad investment and can’t spare the cash.

So why not register the stock? Simple answer: its expensive, like 6-figure expensive, and requires that you disclose as much information as the IBMs, Microsofts, and Apples of the world that are listed on stock exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange.

What happens if I sell unregistered stock to a poor person (“non-accredited investor”)?  At first, nothing because it’s unlikely that the SEC will find out about it. But let’s say that your company is terrifically successful and goes to launch publicly through an IPO.  The SEC will need to approve the IPO and when they find that you had been selling stock to poor people, well, let’s just say they won’t be happy and they will stop the IPO, etc.

Or how about if one of your poor person investors gets pissed off and goes to the SEC? The SEC attorneys live to fight for poor person investors and will take you to the cleaners.

see how-to-negotiate-a-short-sale

see how-to-negotiate-a-modification

See Template-Lawsuit-STOP-foreclosure-TILA-Mortgage-Fraud-predatory-lending-Set-Aside-Illegal-Trustee-Sale-Civil-Rico-Etc Includes QUIET TITLE and MOST FEDERAL STATUTES — CALIFORNIA COMPLAINT

See how-to-buy-a-foreclosed-house-its-a-business-its-an-opportunity-its-a-risk

This is general information and assumes that you have access to the rest of the material on the blog. Foreclosures come in various flavors.

First of all you have non-judicial and judicial foreclosure states. Non-judicial basically means that instead of signing a conventional mortgage and note, you signed a document that says you give up your right to a judicial proceeding. So the pretender lender or lender simply instructs the Trustee to sell the property, giving you some notice. Of course the question of who is the lender, what is a beneficiary under a deed of trust, what is a creditor and who owns the loan NOW (if anyone) are all issues that come into play in litigation.

In a non-judicial state you generally are required to bring the matter to court by filing a lawsuit. In states like California, the foreclosers usually do an end run around you by filing an unlawful detainer as soon as they can in a court of lower jurisdiction which by law cannot hear your claims regarding the illegality of the mortgage or foreclosure.

In a judicial state the forecloser must be the one who files suit and you have considerably more power to resist the attempt to foreclose.

Then you have stages:

STAGE 1: No notice of default has been sent.

In this case you want to get a forensic analysis that is as complete as humanly possible — TILA, RESPA, securitization, title, chain of custody, predatory loan practices, fraud, fabricated documents, forged documents etc. I call this the FOUR WALL ANALYSIS, meaning they have no way to get out of the mess they created. Then you want a QWR (Qualified Written Request) and DVL (Debt Validation Letter along with complaints to various Federal and State agencies. If they fail to respond or fail to answer your questions you file a suit against the party who received the QWR, the party who originated the loan (even if they are out of business), and John Does 1-1000 being the owners of mortgage backed bonds that are evidence of the investors ownership in the pool of mortgages, of which yours is one. The suit is simple — it seeks to stop the servicer from receiving any payments, install a receiver over the servicer’s accounts, order them to answer the simple question “Who is my creditor and how do I get a full accounting FROM THE CREDITOR? Alternative counts would be quiet title and damages under TILA, RESPA, SEC, etc.

Tactically you want to present the forensic declaration and simply say that you have retained an expert witness who states in his declaration that the creditor does not include any of the parties disclosed to you thus far. This [prevents you from satisfying the Federal mandate to attempt modification or settlement of the loan. You’ve asked (QWR and DVL) and they won’t tell. DON’T GET INTO INTRICATE ARGUMENTS CONCERNING SECURITIZATION UNTIL IT IS NECESSARY TO DO SO WHICH SHOULD BE AFTER A FEW HEARINGS ON MOTIONS TO COMPEL THEM TO ANSWER.

IN OTHER WORDS YOU ARE SIMPLY TELLING THE JUDGE THAT YOUR EXPERT HAS PRESENTED FACTS AND OPINION THAT CONTRADICT AND VARY FROM THE REPRESENTATIONS OF COUNSEL AND THE PARTIES WHO HAVE BEEN DISCLOSED TO YOU THUS FAR.

YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO THE OTHER PARTIES ARE, IF ANY, AND WHAT MONEY EXCHANGED HANDS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR LOAN. YOU WANT EVIDENCE, NOT REPRESENTATIONS OF COUNSEL. YOU WANT DISCOVERY OR AN ORDER TO ANSWER THE QWR OR DVL. YOU WANT AN EVIDENTIARY HEARING IF IT IS NECESSARY.

Avoid legal argument and go straight for discovery saying that you want to be able to approach the creditor, whoever it is, and in order to do that you have a Federal Statutory right (RESPA) to the name of a person, a telephone number and an address of the creditor — i.e., the one who is now minus money as a result of the funding of the loan. You’ve asked, they won’t answer.

Contemporaneously you want to get a temporary restraining order preventing them from taking any further action with respect to transferring, executing documents, transferring money, or collecting money until they have satisfied your demand for information and you have certified compliance with the court. Depending upon your circumstances you can offer to tender the monthly payment into the court registry or simply leave that out.

You can also file a bankruptcy petition especially if you are delinquent in payments or are about to become delinquent.

STAGE 2: Notice of Default Received

Believe it or not this is where the errors begin by the pretender lenders. You want to challenge authority, authenticity, the amount claimed due, the signatory, the notary, the loan number and anything else that is appropriate. Then go back to stage 1 and follow that track. In order to effectively do this you need to have that forensic analysis and I don’t mean the TILA Audit that is offered by so many companies using off the shelf software. You could probably buy the software yourself for less money than you pay those companies. I emphasize again that you need a FOUR WALL ANALYSIS.

Stage 3 Non-Judicial State, Notice of Sale received:

State statutes usually give you a tiny window of opportunity to contest the sale and the statute usually contains exact provisions on how you can do that or else your objection doesn’t count. At this point you need to secure the services of competent, knowledgeable, experienced legal counsel — professionals who have been fighting with these pretender lenders for a while. Anything less and you are likely to be sorely disappointed unless you landed, by luck of the draw, one of the increasing number of judges you are demonstrating their understanding and anger at this fraud.

Stage 4: Judicial State: Served with Process:

You must answer usually within 20 days. Failure to do so, along with your affirmative defenses and counterclaims, could result in a default followed by a default judgment followed by a Final Judgment of Foreclosure. See above steps.

Stage 5: Sale already occurred

You obviously need to reverse that situation. Usually the allegation is that the sale should be vacated because of fraud on the court (judicial) or fraudulent abuse of non-judicial process. This is a motion or Petitioner but it must be accompanied by a lawsuit, properly served and noticed to the other side. You probably need to name the purchaser at sale, and ask for a TRO  (Temporary Restraining Order) that stops them from moving the property or the money around any further until your questions are answered (see above). At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you need a good forensic analyst and a good lawyer.

Stage 6: Eviction (Unlawful Detainer Filed or Judgment entered:

Same as Stage 5.

First and foremost I’m a real estate wholesaler.Everywhere you go and every time you turn on the tv all you here about are short sales and foreclosures and that the next social sites and virtual investing wave are  in town. Investors are able to get the short sales and foreclosures basically from the comfort of there own home. It’s true, the potential profit margin is considerably a lot higher for investors and plenty of baskets to pick from meaning streams of income. The fact is there are still a lot of good old-fashioned wholesale deals out there as well and a lot of investors have forgotten all about them because of this wave that’s passing through. One thing for sure,there will always be these type of deals and there will always be money to be made on these deals. The world will never run out of these two things so I wonder why is it that when certain markets turn a different direction and a couple group of investors starts to flock into that direction,why do almost investors do the same. I know investors are thinking of getting the money while the wave is passing through but isn’t that short money.I mean no wave stays a wave for ever so why abandon what you put you on that wave in the first place. I don’t know about you but I would love to have that old faithful , reliable analog system kept in production, know what I mean. With a good system wholesaling will bring you money on auto pilot. I think chasing the next biggest wave will always have you chasing that wave. Correct me if im wrong but according to the laws of the universe, we should be attracting money instead of than chasing it.

The middle man is still able to do deals in this market believe it or not as a matter of fact the middle man rather for everyone else to chase the market anyway, it’s more for him. He’s still able to do about three deals a month and not have to answer to an employee or worry about competition.Do your thing by all means but somehow or another wholesaling has been left of the equation.Its true the signs, the door knocking, the cold calling takes a lot out you but with the social sites and the internet marketing wave, it’s also true that that’s getting congested just like it was when the bandit signs came on the scene. Me personally, I honestly feel like even though there is more potential to make more money than you’ve ever seen in life by using the internet resources, some how i feel it’s all about the basics and I reference this to that old land line phone in your house ,mr. still reliable.

Dont get me wrong now I didnt say I was strictly old school so dont get all huffy.The purpose of this blog is to remind you to always keep old faithful around because you never know when this next big  wave will dies and it will die.So happy investing and I see you all at the top, it’s still plenty room up there ,we know that’s not crowed…

Written By Harry Bailey

Revive Properties LLC

Follow me on twitter http://bit.ly/4LiIk3

Inventions meet Investments

Prepatent method, is yet the most modern method for taking your new Discovery, Art, Invention or idea into the world – in a way which will not be discouraging as it has been for too many years, but is more then encouraging because it employs wisdom automated for www automation of a more secured and faster way to find the help and support plus respect and appreciation for the contributions and commitment you have invested in your more or most important projects in life.

On the Business end, this is a tool which is A GIFT to all future generations of inventors and innovators, artists and designers, engineers and trades people of all industries; and it is yet better then the Golden Days of “The Lands of Opportunities” ones America was so well known for.

On the consumer and people side, we will see many more new smaller incorporation able to compete with giant vendors by creating newer or more advanced services and products people can find and use if they like – and as it already is, from the cell phone or computer without having to be busy with looking for places and people to communicate and reach agreements.

On the cultural side it only opens the way for many more opportunities to rise to the new quality and safety standards of modern time with the joys of life to be at least as good as in the past; by the multitude of creativity the Prepatent process lets go free with the security of Intellectual Properties and Capital increased as well as profitability from the proficiency the method introduce by eliminating key human interferences with healthy natural selection growth of each special new knowledge or know-how.

The center is now brand new and the first DRAFT is on the www but more work and updates are to come, as I get to do more work there then here now.

So I’ll be back to edit and update – but the good new is out now if you know who has good ideas or project and who is seeking to invest in good projects.

In recent days the Obama administration has announced that it will begin a concerted effort to crack down on mortgage companies and mortgage loan servicers who are not doing enough to help homeowners at risk of foreclosure.  AboutYourMortgage.com supports the administration’s goal of keeping people in their homes.

There are mortgage loan servicers who need to be doing more to help homeowners, however at the same time, especially with the companies who are preferred servicers with our company, many are trying their best to find solutions in the face of unprecedented challenges. These challenges are further complicated by the fact that large percentages of eligible homeowners submit inadequate paperwork or worse yet, for both the homeowner and the servicer they do not submit any paperwork.

“Faced with sluggish progress in its foreclosure-prevention effort, the Obama administration will spend the coming weeks cracking down on mortgage companies that aren’t doing enough to help borrowers at risk of losing their homes. The mortgage companies, also known as loan servicers, have had a hard time getting borrowers to complete the needed paperwork for the administration’s loan modification program. Nearly 60 percent of the 375,000 borrowers who qualify to have their loan modifications completed by year-end have either submitted incomplete paperwork or none at all.”  Zibel, Alan. “More pressure on loan servicers.” Associated Press 01 December 2009

A large part of the mortgage company’s problem is simply that the demand to assist delinquent mortgage customers presently exceeds their capacity. According to an MBA press release dated 11/19/09 the combined percentage of loans in foreclosure at least one payment past due was 14.41% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.  This percentage is the highest ever recorded in an MBA delinquency survey.

It is also important to understand that mortgage companies, also known as loan servicers, have a vested interest in quickly resolving delinquent mortgages. The mortgage servicer is often obligated to continue advancing payments to the investor even if the borrower does not pay. These advances will not be recoverable until resolution of the loan, putting some mortgage companies in a cash flow squeeze. The initial contact and boarding of homeowner information by the servicer is extremely critical and time consuming.

The reality to both the homeowner and the loan servicer is that each bears some responsibility in the success or failure of this process. The homeowner must do their part by not just walking away from the problem, but actively seek help and follow through with completing their paperwork.  The servicer must find a way to successfully expedite the paperwork process for the homeowner.  Neither task can be completed quickly or without frustration.

Yilkal, one of our most active members, has taken it upon himself to organize a VC4Africa Meetup in London on December 4th. I think this is a great idea we already have between 30 and 40 participants registered.

As with all VC4Africa Meetups, the event will simply be a place for members to meet one another and share thoughts and ideas. No speeches, no agenda, nothing planned. The loose structure allows for lots of networking. Just remember, everyone is expected to pay for their own drinks : )

Let us know if you will attend and If you want to help out please add your name to the list and help spread the word!

Register to attend this free event?

Happy Networking!
Ben and Yilkal

See how-to-negotiate-a-short-sale

See Michael Moore — Modifications

See Template-Lawsuit-STOP-foreclosure-TILA-Mortgage-Fraud-predatory-lending-Set-Aside-Illegal-Trustee-Sale-Civil-Rico-Etc Includes QUIET TITLE and MOST FEDERAL STATUTES — CALIFORNIA COMPLAINT

See how-to-buy-a-foreclosed-house-its-a-business-its-an-opportunity-its-a-risk

My statements here relate to general information and not legal advice. Generally we are of the opinion that the loan modification programs are a farce. First they end up in foreclosure in 6-7 months — more than 50-60% of the time. Then you have the problem that you signed new papers that will at least attempt to waive the rights and defenses you have now. A trial program is a trial program — it is not permanent. It is usually a smokescreen for the “lenders” (actually pretender lenders) to appear to comply with the federal mandate and thus collect the bonus from the Federal government for entering into a modification agreement. And let’s not forget that the entities with whom you would enter into this “new” agreement probably have no rights, ownership or authority over your mortgage — they are only pretending. Their game plan is that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain because they never advanced any money on the funding of your mortgage.

So the very first thing you want to do is ask for proof of real documents that can be reviewed by a forensic analyst which will demonstrate they have the power to change the terms, and assuming they can’t produce that, their agreement that any deal you enter into with them will be taken to court in a Quiet Title Action in which they will allow you to get a judgment that says you own the house free and clear except for whatever the new deal is with the new lender. The New Lender is necessary because the REAL Lender is quite gone and possibly unidentifiable.

Any failure to agree to such terms is a clear signal you are wasting your time and they are jockeying you into default, which is the only way they collect insurance on your mortgage through the credit default swaps purchased on the pool containing your mortgage. They actually make money if you default because they were allowed to buy insurance many times over on the same debt. So on your $300,000 mortgage they might actually receive (no joke) $9 million if you default. That means they have far more incentive to trick you into default than to REALLY modify your mortgage terms. and THAT means you need to be careful about what they are REALLY doing — a modification or deception. If it’s deception don’t fall into self deception and wish it weren’t so. Go after them with whatever you can. The law is on your side as to title, terms and predatory and fraudulent loan practices.

Your strategy is simple: (1) present a credible threat and (2) demonstrate that you have knowledgeable people (forensic analyst, expert witness, lawyer).

Your tactics are equally simple: (1) Present an expert declaration or affidavit that raises issues of fact regarding the representations of counsel or the pleadings of your opposition, (2) Pursue expedited discovery (ask for things that they should have had before they started the foreclosure process — a full accounting from the real creditor/lender, documentation showing chain of title/possession, documentation regarding the money that exchanged hands from the bond investor all the way down the securitization chain to the homeowner) and (3) ask for an evidentiary hearing on the factual issues.

It would probably be a good idea if you went through a local licensed attorney who really knows this stuff — like a graduate of Max Gardner’s seminars or a graduate of the Garfield Continuum. This attorney can create some credible threats like the fact that youa re claiming, under TILA, your right to undisclosed fees on your mortgage, including the SECOND yield spread premium paid in the securitization chain when the pool aggregator sold the “assets” to the SPV pool that sold bonds to investors — investors who were the the sole source of cash advanced to make this nightmare come true. Picking the right lawyer is critical. Anyone who has not studied securitization, anyone who has not been working hard in the area of foreclosure defense AND offense, should not be used because they simply don’t know enough to achieve a satisfactory result.

My rule of thumb is that I don’t like any modification unless it has the following attributes:

1. Forgiveness of all late fees, late payments etc. No tacking on fees, payments, interest or anything else to the end of the loan.
2. Removal of all negative comments from your credit rating.
3. Reduction of the principal due on your obligation in the form of a new note or an amendment executed by all relevant parties. The amount of the reduction should be no less than 30%, probably no more than 75% and should average across the board something like 40%-60%. So if your mortgage was $300,000 your reduction should be between $90,000 (leaving you with a $210,000 obligation) and $225,000 (leaving you with a $75,000 obligation).
a. How do you know what to ask for? First step is on the appraisal. Had you known that the appraisal used in your deal was unsustainable, you probably would have taken a different attitude toward the deal and would have insisted on other terms. Assuming you had a zero-down mortgage loan(s) [i.e., including 1st and 2nd mortgage] then you probably, on average have spent some $15,000-$20,000 in household improvements that cannot be recouped, but which were also spent based upon the apparent value of the house.
b. So you look at the current appraisal and let’s say in your community the actual sales prices of homes closest to you are down by 50% from what they were in 2007 or when you went to the “closing” on your loan.
(1) Write down the purchase price of your home or the original appraisal when you closed the “loan.”
(2) Deduct the Decline in Appraised Value, which in our example is a decline of 50%. If you had a zero down payment loan, this would translate as the original amount of the note minus the 50% $150,000-$160,000) reduction in value. This leaves $140,000-$150,000.
(3) Deduct the $15,000-$20,000 you spent on household improvements. This leaves $120,000 to $135,000.
(4) Deduct your attorney’s fees which will probably be around $15,000, hopefully on contingency at least in part. This leaves $105,000 to $120,000.
(5) Deduct any other related expenses such as the cost of a forensic audit (which INCLUDES TILA, RESPA, Securities, Title, Appraisal, Chain of Possession, and other factors like fabrication and forgery) that should cost around $2500, and any expense incurred retaining an expert to prepare and execute an expert declaration or expert affidavit that should cost around $1000-$1500. [Caution a declaration from someone who has no idea what is in the document, or who has very little exposure to discovery, depositions, court testimony etc. could be less than worthless. Your credibility will be diminished unless you pick the right forensic analyst and the right expert]. This leaves a balance of $101,000 to $116,000.
(6) If you did make a down payment or cash payments for “non-standard” options then you should deduct that too. So if you made a 20% down payment ($60,000, in our example) that would be a deduction too so you can recover that loss which resulted from the false appraisal and false presentation of the appraisal by the “lender” who was paid undisclosed fees to lie to you. In our example here I am going to assume you have a zero down payment. But if we used the example in this paragraph there would be an additional $60,000 deduction that could reduce your initial demand for modification to a principal reduction of $40,000.
(7) So your opening demand should be a note with a principal balance of $101,000 with a settlement probably no higher than $150,000. I would recommend a 15 year fixed rate mortgage because you will be done with it a lot sooner and convert you from debt to wealth. But a mortgage of up to 40 years is acceptable in order to keep your payments to a minimum if that is a critical issue.
4. Interest rate of 3%-4% FIXED.
5. Judge’s execution of final judgment ratifying the deal and quieting title against he world except for you as the owner of the property and the new lender who might have a new note and a new mortgage or who might just walk away completely when you present these terms. There are tens of thousands of homes in a grey area where they have not made a payment in years, the “lender” has not foreclosed, or the “lender” initiated foreclosure and then abandoned it. These people should be filing quiet title actions of their own and finish the job of getting the home free and clear from an encumbrance procured by fraud.

If you want to “up the stakes” then add the damages and rebates recoverable for TILA violations for predatory lending, undisclosed fees etc. That will ordinarily take you into negative territory where the “lender” owes you money and not vica versa. In that case your lawyer woudl write a demand letter for damages instead of an offer of modification. The other thing here is the typical demand for your current financial information. My position would be that this modification or settlement is not based upon NEED but rather, it is based upon LENDER LIABILITY. And if they are asking for proof of your financial condition on a SISA (stated income, stated asset) or NINJA (No Income, No Job, NO Assets) loan then the mere request for financial information is a request for modification. That triggers your unconditional right to ask “who are you and why are you the entity that is attempting to modify or settle this claim?”

By the way the “rule of thumb” came from the old common law doctrine that one could beat his wife and children with a stick no greater in diameter than the size of your thumb. In this case don’t let my use of the “rule of thumb” restrain you from using a bigger stick.

Neil F. Garfield, Esq.
ngarfield@msn.com

Option ARMs Come Back into Center Stage: 350,000 Active Option ARMs with over 200,000 in California. 78 Percent of Option ARMs have yet to hit Recast Dates.

Option ARMs are the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season.  As it turns out, these pesky toxic mortgages are still sitting waiting to hit recast periods.  Like a street vendor taco these things went down nicely and appeared cheap but came with a hefty aftermath.  The last option ARMs were made in 2007 yet they are still causing much pain in the housing market.  Attorney General Jerry Brown has requested data from the top 10 issuers of option ARMs with a deadline date of November 23.  It’ll be interesting to see what is released from the AG’s office.  However, Standard & Poors issued a report on option ARMs last week and found that much of the problems with these loans are still to come.

One of the stunning points found was that 93 percent of option ARM borrowers decided to go with the negative amortization option otherwise known as the “minimum payment” option.  This is something we have established from many fronts and data sets.  The bottom line is the vast majority went with negative amortization and this grew the actual balance owed.  Yet one of the new findings in the report was that 78 percent of all outstanding option ARMs have yet to hit major recast points.  Given that 58 percent of option ARMs are here in California, this is a one state wrecking ball:

In total, some 350,000 option ARMs are still active nationwide.  Over 200,000 of these loans are here in California.  The most risky option as we have established with option ARMs is the negative amortization payment:

Now why was this payment such a poor choice?  Well as the California housing market fell by 50 percent from its peak, the actual balance on many option ARMs was going up.  So not only is the home underwater from the initial starting point, the loan taken out on the home has increased on 90+ percent of these borrowers.  This is like negative equity squared.  So deep are these loans in negative equity territory that not even HAMP can save them.  Oh, and speaking of HAMP, it is turning out to be a colossal failure as expected:

“(NY Times) Capitol Hill aides in regular contact with senior Treasury officials say a consensus has emerged inside the department that the program has proved inadequate, necessitating a new approach. But discussions have yet to reach the point of mapping out new options, the aides say.

“People who work on this on a day-to-day basis are vested enough in it that they think there’s a need to do a course correction rather than a wholesale rethink,” said a Senate Democratic aide, who spoke on the condition he not be named for fear of angering the administration. “But at senior levels, where people are looking at this and thinking ‘Good God,’ there’s a sense that we need to think about doing something more.”

I know many delusional folks in California were thinking that somehow the quiet on the option ARM front had to do with the masterful success of HAMP.  Of course, these loans never qualified for HAMP but that is beside the point.  HAMP is failing because of a simple reason.  Negative equity.  Here in California, we have millions underwater.  Those with option ARMs are not only underwater, they are going to have massive spikes in their monthly payments at a time when the California unemployment rate is the highest in record keeping history.  The problem is Wall Street has sucked up all the taxpayer bailouts and for what?  To keep the crony welfare investment banks ticking?  Trillions of dollars out the door and the real economy is still troubled.  HAMP had the naïve premise that the only problem was high interest rates and the problem with the housing market was toxic mortgages.  Well, the actual problem is thousands of homes are still valued at bubble prices and with stagnant wages for a decade, people can’t afford homes without going massively into debt.  Prime, near prime, and subprime means little when you have no income and that is why even prime defaults are spiking.  The option ARM had such an allure for the gold rush California home speculator because it sidestepped that tiny little caveat of income.  It allowed maximum leverage without the valid income support.  80 percent of option ARMs went stated income.  In other words, people made crap up like saying they made $200,000 when they were pulling $75,000 to qualify for that $600,000 home:

“(CNN) There is another little problem that many option-ARM borrowers seeking refinancing would face: “Upwards of 80% of were stated-income loans,” said Westerback.

These are the so-called “liar loans” in which lenders did not verify that borrowers earned as much money as they said they did. Lenders may not be able to modify mortgages because many of the borrowers’ income could not stand up to the scrutiny. Borrowers may also not want to go through underwriting again because they could be held legally liable for deliberate inaccuracies on their original applications.

Add to those conditions the still fragile economy and high unemployment rates, and you have a recipe for disaster.”

As people chime in about stabilization, California is still hovering near the bottom in terms of prices.  The only reason we have seen prices move slightly up is because the massive jump into foreclosed homes, the home buyer tax credit, Fed buying securities to lower mortgage rates, and all these phony moratoriums that we are now seeing are basically delaying reality for many.  Inventory is artificially low because of the shadow inventory.

People ask for a solution.  Here it is:  We should have (and still should) break up the banks into pieces that are small enough to fail.  Bring back Glass-Steagall with some teeth.  Commercial and investment banking should be put into silos that don’t even come close to one another.  Banks that need to fail should.  After all, the government now backs 90+ percent of all mortgages so why do we even need them?  A quick assessment should have been made from day one on housing.  Those that couldn’t afford their homes should have gotten assistance into rentals.  Here’s a thought.  Why didn’t we create a program where those who had no way of paying on an overpriced home were given a tax break to rent a place in an empty commercial real estate development?  Right there you kill two birds with one stone.  Of course, those on Wall Street and those in our government are two sides of the same coin.  For the past three decades they have systematically neutered our government to the point of it being a bread and circus spectacle.

You think the 200,000 option ARM borrowers in California are sitting in a good spot?  Let us look at negative equity rates for a few metro areas since this is the largest predictor of future foreclosures:

If you look at the Inland Empire and the Phoenix metro area, they virtually reflect one another.  In fact, both areas have negative equity rates of 54% of all mortgage holders.  This is incredible.  Half of all borrowers are underwater in these big regions.  But look at the largest block of mortgages in California clustered in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area.  1.5 million mortgages and 400,000+ are underwater.  You think this is going to bode well for home prices as option ARMs hit their recast dates in stride from 2010 to 2012?  I put in a more normal area of Dallas above and you can see what a normal market looks like.  Even there, you can see that negative equity is still an issue.  But compare that to California and it is another story completely.  What does this mean?  The middle market is certainly going to take major hits once these loans hit their recast dates.  If they don’t qualify for HAMP, then what?  S&P in their report gives an example of a hypothetical $400,000 mortgage:

The payment flat out doubles at the recast date.  Do you think people are going to be able to come up with an extra $1,200 per month with no problems?  You know what the typical mortgage payment for a home bought last month in California totaled?  $1,097.  That is the price of the hypothetical increase in the priciest state in the U.S.  So yes sales are happening but at a much lower end.  How is this going to help those in negative equity on more expensive homes?  Take a look at the raw numbers for the state:

34 percent of all California mortgages are underwater.  You can rest assured that 80+ percent of those option ARMs are underwater.  As the above highlights, those mortgages are still here and they are still toxic.

Option ARMs fall under a bigger umbrella of Alt-A loans.  California has over 700,000 active Alt-A loans.  The bulk of the 200,000+ California option ARMs fall under this category.  But the bulk of these loans are also toxic mortgage waste.  These will go off as well.  These are actually part of the shadow inventory including those who simply stop paying but banks sit back and do absolutely nothing.  Is that really a solution?  Take a look at where the Alt-A loans are in California:

Los Angeles and Orange counties hold the biggest number of Alt-A and option ARM loans.  Do you really think this is a bottom?  It might be for a home in the Inland Empire selling for $100,000 or $150,000 depending on local area dynamics.  But many cities in Los Angeles and Orange County are vastly overpriced.  The above dynamics look similar to how subprime was building up in 2006 and 2007 before the market imploded.  Yet somehow things are now different.

THE PHONE RINGS. YOUR NERVES ARE JANGLED. YOU KNOW YOU ARE “LATE” IN YOUR PAYMENTS. PROBABLY ANOTHER COLLECTION CALL. FEAR COURSES THROUGH YOUR VEINS LIKE ACID TOGETHER WITH A RISING TIDE OF EMBARRASSMENT.

SO HERE IS WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.

First of all if you look up the collections firm, mortgage servicer, or other party you will find dozens of entries on most firms about behavior that easily crosses the line from legal to illegal. Second of all they might have the wrong person (see article below). Third of all they probably have the wrong information even if they have the right information. So don’t be so scared of them.

Fourth — and this probably ought to be first — in a culture created by endless ads and product placement, where our consciousness has been switched from savings and prudence to credit and spending, where 30% interest is not usury, where $35 fees apply to $2 overdrafts, I challenge the core notion that the debt is or ever was valid. In plain language I know what the law says, but I also know what is right and wrong.

It is YOU who are the victim and it is THEM who are the predators and tricksters. I know the media, politicians and pundits say otherwise. They are wrong. So the point of this blog is to get you to give up the myth that this was somehow mostly your fault and see yourself as one of tens of millions of victims who seek justice. The laws say you have rights  — like usury where most states have a legal limit of interest which if violated invalidates the debt and entitles the debtor to treble damages. Yes there are exceptions but not these creditors and collectors do not qualify under the exceptions. They only win in collection or foreclosure if you don’t fight it out with them.

In most cases (actually nearly all cases) the creditor does not have the resources to do anything other than maintain a phone bank with people who have a script in front of them containing key words and phrases designed to scare the crap out of you. The credit card companies, the mortgage pretender lenders and servicers lack resources to sue everyone at once.

As you have seen on these pages there are a number of offensive and defensive strategies that can put the “collector” in hot water with fines and payment of damages to you for using improper tactics, withholding information (like the fact that your mortgage was paid several times over but they still want YOU to pay it again). Use the Debt validation Letter, the Qualified  Written request, complaints to FTC, FED, OTC etc. Send letters to consumer protection divisions of your state attorney general. report them to the economic crimes division of local police, sheriff and U.S. Attorney’s office. GO ON THE OFFENSIVE.

THE WALK AWAY STRATEGY: There are many reports of lawyers and other advisers suggesting that you simply walk away from the mountain of debt, move to another residence (the rent is bound to be far less expensive than the old carrying charges on the inflated value of the old house), and start over. They recommend that you maintain your phone number by switching services and that you pull the plug. So the collector only gets voice mail and confirmation that this is still your phone number. They recommend that you get a new unlisted number even under another person’s name if that is possible. And then start the march toward saving money, getting prepaid credit and debit cards and re-establishing a high credit score. It’s a lot less expensive than bankruptcy. After the statute of limitations has run they have no right to go after you even if it was a valid debt. This is the advice given by others. Livinglies has no comment.

Hello, Collections? The Worm Has Turned

The phone rang. A woman from a law firm representing a collection agency wanted to know if Mark Hoyte was Mark Hoyte, and he said he was. They were calling to collect $919 on a Sears-Citi card.

Mr. Hoyte said he never had that credit card.

Then the woman wanted to know if his Social Security number ended in 92, and Mr. Hoyte said no, it ended in 33.

“She says to me, ‘Your date of birth is in 1972,’ ” Mr. Hoyte, 46, recalled in an interview.

Clearly, they had the wrong Mark Hoyte. But that did not stop the lawyers at Pressler & Pressler from suing him. They swore out a complaint and sent a summons to Mr. Hoyte, ordering him to be in court last Monday.

Then things took a rare turn.

Every day of the year, 1,000 cases on average are added to the civil court dockets in New York City over credit card debt — a high-volume, low-accuracy moment of reckoning. The suits are usually brought by collection companies that purchase the debt for pennies on the dollar from card issuers and then work with a cadre of law firms that specialize in collection work.

Conducting a digital dragnet, they troll through commercial databases searching for debtors. Because of the vast sloppiness and fraud involved, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has shut down two of the collection firms and is suing 35 law firms tied to the business.

A person who blows off a civil court summons — even if wrongly identified — faces a default judgment and frozen bank accounts. But to date, there have been few penalties against collectors for dragging the wrong people into court.

Until Mr. Hoyte turned up last week in Brooklyn.

After trying to settle the case in the hallway — the 11th floor of 141 Livingston Street is an open bazaar of haggling — the collections lawyer realized he had the wrong man. He got Mr. Hoyte to sign an agreement that would end the case against him, but not against the Mark Hoyte who actually owed the $919.

In front of the judge, the lawyer, T. Andy Wang, announced that the parties had reached a stipulation dismissing this Mr. Hoyte from the suit.

Not so fast, said the judge, Noach Dear.

“Why didn’t you check these things out before you take out a summons and a complaint?” Judge Dear asked. “Why don’t you check out who you’re going after?”

Mr. Wang said that Pressler & Pressler used an online database called AnyWho to hunt for debtors.

“So you just shoot in the dark against names; if there’s 16 Mark Hoytes, you go after without exactly knowing who, what, when and where?” Judge Dear asked.

Mr. Wang replied, “That’s why the plaintiff is making an application to discontinue.”

The judge turned to Mr. Hoyte, who works as a building superintendent, and asked him how much a day of lost pay would cost. Mr. Hoyte said $115.

“Do you think that’s fair?” Judge Dear asked Mr. Wang. “That he should lose a day’s pay?”

“My personal opinion,” Mr. Wang said, “would not be relevant to the application being sought.”

The judge said he was prepared to dismiss the case and wanted Mr. Hoyte compensated for lost wages.

“Your honor,” Mr. Wang said, “I’m personally not willing to compensate him.”

No, the judge said; he meant that the law firm, Pressler & Pressler — one of the biggest in the collection industry — should pay the $115. He would hold a sanctions hearing, a formal process of penalizing the law firm for suing the wrong man.

Under questioning by the judge, Mr. Hoyte recounted being called about the debt, providing his Social Security number and date of birth, and being summoned to court anyhow.

The collections lawyer then began to interrogate Mr. Hoyte.

“You claim you told Pressler & Pressler it wasn’t you,” Mr. Wang said to Mr. Hoyte. “Did you send them proof, as in a copy of your Social Security number with only the last four digits visible?”

“No,” Mr. Hoyte said. “They didn’t ask for it.”

“But you didn’t send any written proof of the claim that it was not you?” Mr. Wang said.

“I told them on the phone it’s not me,” Mr. Hoyte said.

Mr. Wang appeared outraged.

“So without any written proof that it’s not you, you would expect someone just, you know, to go on say-so?” he demanded. “Is that correct?”

Alice had reached Wonderland: The lawyer who had sued the wrong man was blaming the wrong man for getting sued.

Judge Dear cut off the questioning. He told Mr. Wang and Mr. Hoyte to come back to court in January.

“If, somehow, counsel, you decide that you’re going to compensate him for his time off,” Judge Dear said, “I will reconsider sanctions.”