Foreclosures spiked before robo-signing scandal
Report tracks foreclosures, loan mods
By Inman News, Thursday, December 30, 2010.Banks scaled back loan modifications and stepped up foreclosures during the third quarter, with foreclosure starts and completions both up sharply from the previous three months, a new report by banking regulators shows.
During the three months ending Sept. 30 -- before the robo-signing controversy was in full swing -- the number of foreclosure starts was up 31 percent from the previous quarter, to 383,000. Another 187,000 homes completed the foreclosure process, a 15 percent increase from the second quarter and up 57 percent from a year ago.
(Foreclosures are considered completed when ownership of a home transfers to loan servicers or investors.)
The quarterly report, from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision, is useful for spotting trends, but understates the total number of foreclosures because it covers only about two-thirds of first-lien mortgages.
The report showed loan servicers approved 470,321 home retention actions during the third quarter, a 17 percent drop from the quarter ending in June. Modifications undertaken through the government-backed Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) were down 46 percent from quarter-to-quarter, while non-HAMP modifications were up 10 percent.
More recent reports show loan modifications were up in November and that foreclosure filings dropped dramatically from October to November as loan servicers reviewed foreclosure procedures.
The OCC and OTS report showed modifications have had some success in slowing the flow of properties through the foreclosure pipeline, even in cases where borrowers have redefaulted.
While only 26 percent of the 421,000 loans tracked by the report that were modified in 2008 were still current, only 10 percent had completed the foreclosure process.
Another 30 percent of loans modified in 2008 were seriously delinquent, and 14 percent were in the foreclosure process. The rest were newly delinquent (7 percent) or no longer being serviced (9 percent) because they had been paid off, sold to another investor, or removed from the system through foreclosure, short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
Among 587,000 loans modified in 2009, 43 percent were still current, and only 3 percent had completed the foreclosure process. Another 28 percent were seriously delinquent, newly delinquent (10 percent) or in the foreclosure process (11 percent).
Most loans modified in the first half of 2010 were still current at the end of September (69 percent), although 27 percent were delinquent and 3 percent were in the foreclosure process.
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Submitted by Barbara Ann Jackson on December 30, 2010 - 10:01pm.
Whether or not property owners should have mortgage loans –and whether or not people realize basis for opposing home repossessions, serious foreclosure frauds are deliberately being done by certain foreclosure lawyers! Even if it became remotely valid to label all defaulted homeowners as deadbeats, NOTHING IS VALID ABOUT real estate racketeering.
Not even ‘the powerful banker’ / lender has authority concerning the judicial Rule of Law. Bankers and lenders ARE NOT the entities who file foreclosure proceedings in civil and in bankruptcy courts; and NEITHER are lenders the persons who record illegal deeds for properties after NULL FORECLOSURE AUCTIONS (which creates defective deeds and all sorts of long term problems).- http://chn.ge/eU2zAm
Intentional foreclosure fraud entails foreclosures naming defunct mortgage companies, or having no ownership of notes; unfair fees beyond “Acceleration Clauses" that impairs borrowers’ ability to repay arrears; falsified Bankruptcy Court motions to “Lift Stay" and falsified “Proof of Claims” for accomplishing"simulated" foreclosure auctions via “straw buyers."
Scores of homeowners do not contest foreclosures because of not having legal knowledge to recognize illegal foreclosures and fraud; they lack funds to pay for attorneys to represent them; and they are told to come to foreclosure auctions with money that they do not have, so they stay away from foreclosure auctions. It is outrageous that there are families living outdoors whose homes have been confiscated via real estate racketeering.
Also, some PREDATORY mortgage loans appear to be issued for the very purpose of people defaulting so that properties can become flipped, repeatedly (hence blight); and lenders gain tax credits, mortgage-default insurance, and more! Too often, not only is it true that the lender DID NOT file foreclosure, certain homes wound up becoming flipped by the foreclosure lawyers who carry out simulated auctions with “straw buyers” who illegally “credit bid”!
Foreclosure lawyers are officers of the court; knowledge of applicable laws and civil procedure is not required from mortgage lenders, nor loan servicers. In states that require judicial foreclosures, FORECLOSURE LAWYERS are the ones who file lawsuits to seize and sell property; and lawyers are responsible for filing and recording foreclosure property deeds. *Request for Congressional Foreclosure Panel to Examine Foreclosure Lawyers @ http://www.change.org/petitions/view/request_for_congressional_foreclosu...