Monday, August 29, 2011

No light at the end of the foreclosure tunnel. Bad loans continue to rise for NJ banks

The Record reports that


“Toxic loans held by New Jersey-based banks continued to climb in the second
quarter even as bad loans at U.S. banks declined, according to new government
data.”

“The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday in its quarterly industry profile that loans more than 90 days past due or no longer accruing interest at New Jersey's 117 banks and thrifts rose to 3.61 percent of total loans as of June 30, up from 2.91 percent a year earlier. Those banks' combined seriously delinquent debt climbed in each of the past four quarters.”
Even the once vaunted Hudson City Savings Bank is feeling the pain. As the Record notes,


“Paramus-based Hudson City Savings Bank, the largest thrift based in New Jersey
and a high-end residential mortgage lender, had 123 foreclosed properties on its
books at the end of June, up from 52 a year earlier.”

Why?


“A weak economy, persistent high unemployment and a slow foreclosure process
have all contributed to the recent rise in bad loans throughout the state, said Bill Brewer, partner at the Livingston office of Crowe Horwath LLP, a community bank auditor. "Banks have had a hard time moving this stuff off the books," he said. "The banks have the capital to withstand this, but it is a continuing problem.’"


Read more of the whys and wherefores here.



For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Stephen's Title Agency, LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-227-4724 - Fax 973-556-1628

E-mail Stephenstitle AT comcast.net - www.stephenstitle.com

Monday, August 22, 2011

Helping underwater homeowners? Not flood, mortgages.

The New York Times editorial pages takes on the cause of underwater homeowners, folks whose property is worth less than the mortgage or mortgages on it. Principal relief? Who's going to judge who's entitled to it?


Neither Congress, nor federal regulators, nor state or federal prosecutors have yet to conduct a thorough investigation into the mortgage bubble and financial bust. We welcomed the news that the Justice Department is investigating allegations that Standard & Poor’s purposely overrated toxic mortgage securities in the years before the bust. We hope the investigative circle will widen.

Tens of millions of Americans are being crushed by the overhang of mortgage debt. And Congress and the White House have yet to figure out that the economy will not recover until housing recovers — and that won’t happen without a robust effort to curb foreclosures by modifying troubled mortgage loans.

Read the complete editorial.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Stephen's Title Agency, LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-227-4724 - Fax 973-556-1628

E-mail Stephenstitle AT comcast.net - www.stephenstitle.com


stephen flatow stephen's title agency mortgages underwater

Monday, August 8, 2011

Families claim Wells Fargo gyped their parents over reverse mortgages

Bloomberg news reports, "Wells Fargo Sued Over Reverse Mortgage Policies by Borrowers "

“Wells Fargo & Co. was accused in a group lawsuit of ignoring federal rules on reverse mortgages and forcing homes into foreclosure instead of giving heirs a chance to buy them.

“Estates and surviving spouses have the right to purchase properties at 95 percent of appraised value after the death of a borrower who took out a federally insured reverse mortgage, lawyers for a California man said in the complaint filed Aug. 3 in federal court in San Francisco.

“Wells Fargo hasn't been notifying heirs of this right and has been starting foreclosures if demands aren't met for repayment of the full mortgage balance, according to the complaint filed by the son of a California homeowner. The plaintiff, Robert Chandler, also sued the Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae.”

Wells Fargo alleges that it complied with HUD guidelines; guidelines that only came into effect in April 2011.

Read the full story.






For your next title order or if you have questions about what you see here, contact
Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.,

Stephen's Title Agency, LLC,

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101
Fairfield, NJ 07004, Tel 973-227-4724 - Fax 973-556-1628
E-mail Stephenstitle AT comcast.net - www.stephenstitle.com