Posts Tagged ‘Mortgage and Foreclosure’

Does the Cramdown Bill Have a Chance of Passing?

A report from Housing Wire suggests that the answer may be ‘no’.

“[Senator Richard] Durbin [D-Ill]  had a hell of a time coming up with a bill that’d pass the Senate,” said Burt Ely, a banking expert and principal of Ely & Co. “He’s watered it down so much that his proposal now limits the accessibility or intention of the bill. Even if he got it passed, the gulf is so big it wouldn’t even get out of [the House] conference committee to be enacted into law.”

Not surprisingly, consumer advocates are seeing red.

“With Durbin, Dodd and Reid doing the bidding for the banks, this current state of the cramdown bill will have virtually no impact for at-risk borrowers,” says Bruce Marks, CEO of Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America, a mortgage broker and consumer activist. “The Senate Democrats have made no measurable actions this year to help the housing crisis.”

More here.

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Foreclosures Update: Florida & Ohio

Following up on my March 1 note, foreclosures are up 25% in Broward County, Florida according to a press release by Default Research. I have to admit, I do love Ft. Lauderdale and have met many great local folks there. While this press release is pretty short on facts as to the reasons why the foreclosure rates are up, I know from some of the locals that it was very difficult getting back on their feet after the hurricanes of the past few years.

The news out of Ohio is also not so great for homeowners in Stark County and Montgomery County.

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No Ticket? No Bankruptcy

In an interview on WBZ-1030AM Radio in October, I was asked if I thought the changes in the bankruptcy laws were “fair.” My response: “ask me in a year.” Well, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act is here. As Gene Wilder gleefully shrieked in Young Frankenstein, “IT’S ALIVE!” One of the most important new requirements under the law is the need for get a “ticket” to the bankruptcy court. It’s not worth shrieking about, but it is worth making sure that consumers contemplating filing bankruptcy know about it.

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