Probe Targets Foreclosure Paperwork
Probe Targets Foreclosure Paperwork
October 13, 2010, Wall Street Journal
A Florida probe is focusing on paperwork by a Georgia mortgage-processing company that may have tainted tens of thousands of foreclosures. From Suite 350 at a suburban Atlanta office to a bevy of law firms in Florida, thousands of documents were signed, and many sworn to, in order to ensure that foreclosure proceedings were sound. Now, that work — at a mortgage-processing company called Lender Processing Services Inc. and four foreclosure law firms that processed documents on behalf of lenders such as GMAC Mortgage and Citigroup Inc.— is at the center of an investigation in Florida.
Document Questions Cloud Recovery
October 13, 2010, Wall Street Journal
Agents fear housing could stall as uncertainty on foreclosures unnerves buyers, especially investors. Sales of foreclosed homes have helped lay the groundwork for housing recovery in many of the nation's boom-to-bust markets. Now, some real-estate agents say that recovery is at risk because of delays in bank foreclosures.
Little-Known MERS Faces Big Challenges in Foreclosure Battle
October 13, 2010, Wall Street Journal
Challenges to the role of a little-known but influential mortgage-record service are emerging as the latest headache for banks in the battle over foreclosure proceedings. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, or MERS, is owned by some of the nation’s biggest banks and mortgage companies, including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup, HSBC, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was created to streamline legal record keeping for mortgage sales and securitization.
Florida's 30-Second Foreclosure Dash Hits Wall of Fraud Claims
October 12, 2010, Bloomberg
Home to more foreclosures than 47 U.S. states, Florida sought to clear out its backlog with a system of special court hearings that dispensed with cases quickly, sometimes in less than a minute. Homeowners like Nicole West now threaten to slow that system, Florida’s so-called rocket docket, to a crawl. West, who has been fighting to save her Jensen Beach house from foreclosure, has leveled a new allegation in her three-year battle: the entire process is based on fraud.
Title Insurers in Talks With Lenders on Foreclosure Warranties
October 11, 2010, Bloomberg
Title insurers are in talks with banks and regulators to obtain warranties from lenders assuring they followed proper procedures before selling foreclosed homes, said Kurt Pfotenhauer, head of the insurers’ trade group.
Cuomo Expands Probe of NY Foreclosures
October 12, 2010, The Real Deal
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is seeking information from four major mortgage servicers — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and GMAC Mortgage — concerning the practice known as "robo-signing" in home foreclosure proceedings, he announced today.