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Robo-Signing Settlement in The Works: No Foreclosure Until Loan Modification Fails?

realpropertycheck.com November 16, 2021

Robo-Signing Settlement in The Works: No Foreclosure Until Loan Modification Fails?

UPDATE: H.R. 3808 INTERSTATE RECOGNITION OF NOTARIZATION ACT OF 2010, seen by many as an attempt at legalizing robo-signing, was averted by a Presidential Veto which was sustained when the veto override procedure failed in the House of Representatives on Nov. 17th 2010. H.R. 3808 would have required “each federal and state court to recognize any lawful notarization (…) by a notary public” in another state while legalizing the use of digital signatures and digital-only document storage (see also -> MERS). It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out how this would have both legalized and streamlined the robo-signing of foreclosure documents. Luckily, the President’s Veto stands and the measure cannot be reconsidered by the House or the Senate. This does not resolve any of the current problems caused by robo-signers, however.

50-state attorney general investigation into robo-signing foreclosure practices is reportedly nearing a settlement.

As reported by CNBC’s Diana Olick, Bank of America and JPMorganChase appear to be agreeing to the same framework of a settlement.

1. Banks would pay into a fund administered by attorneys general which could be used to compensate borrowers who can prove valid claims to having been wrongfully foreclosed upon (in exchange , those borrowers would presumably have to agree to forgo ever seeking legal recourse elsewhere).

2. There are talks of some kind of third-party mediation for review of eligibility as per the first point above.

3. Banks would have to eliminate dual track of modifications and foreclosures, which have often resulted in homeowners in negotiation of a loan modification being foreclosed upon by another arm of the lender. Only after all options of modification are exhausted will a bank be able to begin foreclosure proceedings (what looks good on paper can be still subject to interpretation, so don’t celebrate just yet).

i, Robot, Columbia Pictures, 2004
i, Robot, Columbia Pictures, 2004 (buy at Amazon.com)

The final agreement could still look a lot different from this framework.

Principal write downs as part of the settlement have been on the table as well.

Banks are apparently in no mood to lavish money at a compensation fund if they can dodge the bullet.

In an interview last week, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller hinted at the possibility that

maybe instead of paying huge fines, they [the banks] adequately fund the modification process

What sounds so laudable comes down to this: The arrangement mentioned by AG Tom Miller would keep the money and the leverage in banks’ hands. It is difficult not to wonder whether past victims of the robo gate who had been wrongfully foreclosed upon as a result of a clerical mistake and/or fraud are going to get shortchanged again.

We will keep you posted.

In the meantime, if you happen to be a victim of robo-signing, your property was a subject of a regular foreclosure or a short sale or you cut a loan modification deal with your lender, you could be liable for taxes on phantom income unless you preempt the IRS. Read how you can legally dodge the bullet in: “Negative Equity and How You Can Avoid Tax On Phantom Income From Relinquished Property.”

You can also find out how to get out of trouble with your lender in: “How To Stop A Foreclosure (And Walk Away With Money In Your Pocket).”

Filed Under: Homeowners' Club, The Economy Tagged With: foreclosure, Robo Gate, robo-signing

Gary Shilling Predicts Home Prices Will Fall Another 20%

realpropertycheck.com November 15, 2021

Gary Shilling Predicts Home Prices Will Fall Another 20%

A. Gary Shilling, who predicted the U.S. housing collapse and the Greek crisis of 2010, says house prices will fall another 20% before the market hits bottom. With excess inventory of unsold homes in the millions he sees no other way for house prices but down.

Massive Deleveraging

Shilling, who is president of the investment research firm A. Gary Shilling & Co. in Springfield, New Jersey, believes the Fed’s efforts in stimulating the economy will fail. He says that this recession is unlike the others: This time around, massive deleveraging is under way.

Savings rates will keep climbing as consumers realize they have not retained enough resources to retire on. Home equity withdrawals have already ceased as a result of falling house prices.

A Stock Market Sell Off Will Decimate Retirement Savings

Shilling also thinks the stock market is overvalued and we are in for a “significant” sell off within a year as the Federal Reserve fails in its efforts to stimulate economic growth. This will further decimate many Americans’ retirement savings.

No matter how hard the Fed tries, Shilling believes overall borrowing will continue to decrease.

Given his recent track record, you can’t dismiss him out of hand. He predicted the housing collapse. He foresaw the Greek crisis of 2010 and called for investors to short the euro only days before its spectacular collapse in early May.

Shilling sees this trend continue for at least another decade. He lays out his outlook in his new book, “The Age of Deleveraging: Investment Strategies for a Decade of Slow Growth and Deflation.”

Shilling’s predictions are in line with the outlook in the most recent research report by Zillow (we have a summary for you right here).

If the purchasing power of Americans keeps sinking and with it the rents, some seemingly cash-flowing real estate deals may turn out not to be such great investments. Prepare for the worst.

Please comment below.

Filed Under: Books, Buying, Investing, The Economy Tagged With: A. Gary Shilling, home prices, investment strategies

Best Themes For Real Estate: How To Set Up A Website for a Real Estate Agency Without Breaking The Bank

realpropertycheck.com November 11, 2021

Best Themes For Real Estate: How To Set Up A Website for a Real Estate Agency Without Breaking The Bank

Real estate agents are receiving an ever increasing number of leads through social media and the web as prospective buyers research the market on the Internet. In order to stay competitive, real estate agents need an attractive web presence which drives business even as they sleep.

In this article:

  • How To Cut The Costs Of Web Development And Maintenance
  • Best Premium Themes for Real Estate Websites

How To Cut The Costs Of Web Development And Maintenance

Many real estate agencies are paying web designers hefty fees for custom-made websites only to discover how expensive this really is once they request some extras (adjustments of the original concept) or once decide to move their business elsewhere. If you were lead to believe that you must shell out thousands of dollars for a custom made website which no one except your own web developer knows how to maintain, relax. You can cut the costs of web development by using prepackaged themes running on top of a open source CMS engine.

One of the best ways to cut the costs of web development and maintenance and still get to fully control your own website, is to set up a content-management system such as WordPress–the popular blogging software can very much serve real estate agent’s listings–and then furnish it with a ready-to-go theme designed from the ground up for real estate. Once you know what you want, an experienced web developer can complete this setup within less than two hours or you could also do it yourself if you really want to.

This way, you will be able to tweak settings through your own administrative interface: manage agents’ accounts, add listings and other content.

Using an off-the-shelf theme does not preclude you from having your own custom adjustments (it is not difficult and your web developer will be more than happy to show off her skills).

Tip: If you solicit the services of a web professional, make sure they “harden” your WordPress installation (this means that they make it more hacker-proof with a few little tricks).

Best Premium Themes for Real Estate Websites

A professional web theme can cost as little as $35 and serve you for years. Themes can offer powerful customization options which do not require coding, for example by means of so-called widgets (little graphical elements such as text boxes, calenders or calculators you can drag and drop around in the admin area to customize a web page). Many also offer skins, predefined optimized visual interfaces which allow you to change the appearance of your website with the click of a button and without paying for any more code.

A few such themes are truly remarkable for their design and/or flexibility.

WP Pro Real Estate 2 WordPress Theme

The WP Pro Real Estate 2 WordPress Theme ($35) by contempoinc is one of the most advanced themes out there but not the most jaw-dropping one. The design does look a bit bare-bones out of the box. But it has a lot to offer.

WP Pro Real Estate 2 WordPress Theme by contempoinc
WP Pro Real Estate 2 WordPress Theme by contempoinc (click on the image to see live demo)

WP Pro Real Estate 2 offers, among other things, a powerful search in listings, custom Agent profiles (obviously, the relevance of an agent’s commission wasn’t lost on the developers), and Google Maps integration. This cutting-edge theme supports custom menus of the most recent generation of WordPress (number 3.x as of this writing).

WP Pro Real Estate 2 uses a modern, future-proof code base (HTML 5 and CSS3). This is a big plus for modern browsers but can be a drag on older ones such as Internet Explorer prior to version 8, but then again, you can’t have it both ways.

You also get top notch support and free theme updates for life.

OpenHouse Real Estate Bundle by BuchmannDesign

The OpenHouse Real Estate theme for WordPress ($35) by BuchmannDesign comes in a bundle so you actually get two editions of the theme: one for a real estate brokerage and one for an auto dealership.

WordPress theme
The Open House Real Estate WordPress theme by BuchmannDesign (click on the image to see live demo)

It sports a built-in loan calculator, Agent-specific listings, a Google maps widget for each listing (no API key needed) and unlimited color schemes for easy adjustments. It is geared towards the most recent version of WordPress (3.x) with support for features such as custom post types. With an optional log-in form you can even allow sellers to post their own listings all by themselves.

The Real Estate Theme by designspike

The Real Estate Theme by designspike is not only elegant but also compatible with a wide range of modern and legacy browsers, giving your website the biggest exposure. It can show the status of your listings such as New, Reduced Price, Rented and Sold.

This theme packs a lot of content onto a small piece of screen real estate.

Real Estate Theme for WordPress by designspike
Real Estate Theme for WordPress by designspike (click on the image to see live demo)

How To Set Up a Real Estate Website By Yourself

For those of you who follow the do-it-yourself approach, here is a recap of how to set up a website for a real estate agency you can control:

  1. Get a hosting package which supports WordPress (the principle is the same for other content management systems, but you need different themes).
  2. Install WordPress: this is usually a one-click affair using features such as Fantastico in cpanel. (If the theme doesn’t work out of the box, you need to correct file system permissions)
  3. Buy a theme for WordPress, for example from themeforest.com.
  4. Upload the theme to your server, log in to WordPress, activate the theme and go through the configuration (in most cases, you can add your own logo this way).
  5. Begin populating your theme with property listings, including photos and videos where appropriate.
  6. Mission accomplished!

No, you are never actually done. The listings keep coming!

You might also want to read this: How to Give Your Property Listings More Exposure And Find Buyers/Deals Quickly

Filed Under: Apps, Selling Tagged With: open house, property listings, real estate agent

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bankruptcy building wealth in real estate code violations commercial real estate contingency clause deed deed in lieu of foreclosure delinquent loans double-dip Fannie Mae featured FHA foreclosure foreclosures Frank-Dodd bill Freddie Mac GNMA GSEs HAMP HARP home prices homestead IRS junior lien lease option lien loan modifications lot number mortgage mortgage originator no-docs loans notice of commencement phantom profits REO residential robo-signing Robo Gate second liens second mortgage seller financing taxes title company title insurance unsold inventory Zillow

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