Now It's the Big Banks That Are Getting Foreclosed On - CNBC
"These associations have been hit hard by the housing crisis, as many delinquent borrowers stopped paying their monthly HOA dues. In some cases, HOA’s, which do have the authority in many states, managed to foreclose on properties even before the banks, by using the back dues as liens. Now the homeowner associations are taking it one step further. They are going after the banks, claiming that several of the largest lenders are not paying monthly HOA/condo fees on homes they’ve repossessed and now hold as bank-owned properties (Real Estate Owned, or commonly called REO’s)."
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Apparently the reporter just learned that HOAs are foreclosing on banks that don't pay their assessments. This isn't new, but the article has some good detail. Thanks to Shu Bartholomew for the link.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Giving the green finger: Gardener who carved bush into rude gesture ordered to remove it | Mail Online
Giving the green finger: Gardener who carved bush into rude gesture ordered to remove it | Mail Online
"A gardener who carved a giant bush into a hand displaying a rude gesture has been ordered to remove it after being accused of committing a public order offence.
Richard Jackson has displayed the offending topiary, which shows the middle-finger sign, in his garden for the last eight years.
The 53-year-old has now been told by the council to alter it after a neighbour complained, but he has refused to comply."
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Thursday, July 19, 2012
Baltimore and the Libor scandal: 'We can't leave any money on the table' | Business | guardian.co.uk
Baltimore and the Libor scandal: 'We can't leave any money on the table' | Business | guardian.co.uk
"Baltimore is lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit that alleges that banks including Barclays, Bank of America, HSBC, JP Morgan and UBS conspired to fix a set of key interest rates – the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor – costing the city millions in the process. So far, the Libor scandal has played out mostly under the radar in the US. But now it is gaining traction in Washington, and Baltimore's suit is putting a human face on a scandal legal experts predict could end up being the most costly of the credit crisis.
Firefighters, services for the elderly, school programmes – all these and more are being cut as a direct result of the actions of colluding bankers, Rawlings-Blake claims."
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Good thing we have the British press to tell us about the biggest banking scandal in the history of money. You have to hunt through the business section to find a word about it in US papers. No wonder people have stopped reading them. But at least we know all about Tom Cruise's divorce.
If you want to read more, check out Matt Taibbi on this, via Max Keiser.
"Baltimore is lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit that alleges that banks including Barclays, Bank of America, HSBC, JP Morgan and UBS conspired to fix a set of key interest rates – the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor – costing the city millions in the process. So far, the Libor scandal has played out mostly under the radar in the US. But now it is gaining traction in Washington, and Baltimore's suit is putting a human face on a scandal legal experts predict could end up being the most costly of the credit crisis.
Firefighters, services for the elderly, school programmes – all these and more are being cut as a direct result of the actions of colluding bankers, Rawlings-Blake claims."
-------------
Good thing we have the British press to tell us about the biggest banking scandal in the history of money. You have to hunt through the business section to find a word about it in US papers. No wonder people have stopped reading them. But at least we know all about Tom Cruise's divorce.
If you want to read more, check out Matt Taibbi on this, via Max Keiser.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Marc Realty Residential sues to force several Columbia Gardens condo owners to sell - Residential News - Crain's Chicago Business
Marc Realty Residential sues to force several Columbia Gardens condo owners to sell - Residential News - Crain's Chicago Business
"A venture led by Marc Realty Residential LLC is trying to compel the owners of three condos in the Columbia Gardens building to sell their units to the venture, which took over 31 units in the project at 1615-25 W. Columbia Ave. from its developer last year. The building's condo association, which is controlled by the Marc venture, has sued the holdouts, citing language in the association's governing documents and state law that allow it to force them to sell if a supermajority of owners approve the sale of the entire building. The case highlights the problem facing many distressed-property investors that try to buy failed condo projects at a discount and then rent out the unsold units. Owning a rental building with some condos mixed in can be complicated, and many investors avoid such “fractured” projects entirely. Others look for ways to buy out existing condo owners after buying a big chunk of unsold units from the project's lender or developer. Marc tried that, but the three owners wouldn't go along, according to the lawsuit, filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court. The association argues that they must sell because the owners of 81.5 percent of the building's units voted to sell all the condos last year. Under the association's rules, it has the authority to sell the entire building if two-thirds of the property's units vote to approve the transaction, according to the complaint."
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Another example of forced sale in a seriously distressed condo project. This is the statute that Marc Realty is relying on:
(765 ILCS 605/15) (from Ch. 30, par. 315)
Sec. 15. Sale of property.
(a) Unless a greater percentage is provided for in the declaration or bylaws, and notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 13 and 14 hereof, a majority of the unit owners where the property contains 2 units, or not less than 66 2/3% where the property contains three units, and not less than 75% where the property contains 4 or more units may, by affirmative vote at a meeting of unit owners duly called for such purpose, elect to sell the property. Such action shall be binding upon all unit owners, and it shall thereupon become the duty of every unit owner to execute and deliver such instruments and to perform all acts as in manner and form may be necessary to effect such sale, provided, however, that any unit owner who did not vote in favor of such action and who has filed written objection thereto with the manager or board of managers within 20 days after the date of the meeting at which such sale was approved shall be entitled to receive from the proceeds of such sale an amount equivalent to the value of his interest, as determined by a fair appraisal, less the amount of any unpaid assessments or charges due and owing from such unit owner.
(b) If there is a disagreement as to the value of the interest of a unit owner who did not vote in favor of the sale of the property, that unit owner shall have a right to designate an expert in appraisal or property valuation to represent him, in which case, the prospective purchaser of the property shall designate an expert in appraisal or property valuation to represent him, and both of these experts shall mutually designate a third expert in appraisal or property valuation. The 3 experts shall constitute a panel to determine by vote of at least 2 of the members of the panel, the value of that unit owner's interest in the property.
(Source: P.A. 86-1156.)
"A venture led by Marc Realty Residential LLC is trying to compel the owners of three condos in the Columbia Gardens building to sell their units to the venture, which took over 31 units in the project at 1615-25 W. Columbia Ave. from its developer last year. The building's condo association, which is controlled by the Marc venture, has sued the holdouts, citing language in the association's governing documents and state law that allow it to force them to sell if a supermajority of owners approve the sale of the entire building. The case highlights the problem facing many distressed-property investors that try to buy failed condo projects at a discount and then rent out the unsold units. Owning a rental building with some condos mixed in can be complicated, and many investors avoid such “fractured” projects entirely. Others look for ways to buy out existing condo owners after buying a big chunk of unsold units from the project's lender or developer. Marc tried that, but the three owners wouldn't go along, according to the lawsuit, filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court. The association argues that they must sell because the owners of 81.5 percent of the building's units voted to sell all the condos last year. Under the association's rules, it has the authority to sell the entire building if two-thirds of the property's units vote to approve the transaction, according to the complaint."
--------------------------------
Another example of forced sale in a seriously distressed condo project. This is the statute that Marc Realty is relying on:
(765 ILCS 605/15) (from Ch. 30, par. 315)
Sec. 15. Sale of property.
(a) Unless a greater percentage is provided for in the declaration or bylaws, and notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 13 and 14 hereof, a majority of the unit owners where the property contains 2 units, or not less than 66 2/3% where the property contains three units, and not less than 75% where the property contains 4 or more units may, by affirmative vote at a meeting of unit owners duly called for such purpose, elect to sell the property. Such action shall be binding upon all unit owners, and it shall thereupon become the duty of every unit owner to execute and deliver such instruments and to perform all acts as in manner and form may be necessary to effect such sale, provided, however, that any unit owner who did not vote in favor of such action and who has filed written objection thereto with the manager or board of managers within 20 days after the date of the meeting at which such sale was approved shall be entitled to receive from the proceeds of such sale an amount equivalent to the value of his interest, as determined by a fair appraisal, less the amount of any unpaid assessments or charges due and owing from such unit owner.
(b) If there is a disagreement as to the value of the interest of a unit owner who did not vote in favor of the sale of the property, that unit owner shall have a right to designate an expert in appraisal or property valuation to represent him, in which case, the prospective purchaser of the property shall designate an expert in appraisal or property valuation to represent him, and both of these experts shall mutually designate a third expert in appraisal or property valuation. The 3 experts shall constitute a panel to determine by vote of at least 2 of the members of the panel, the value of that unit owner's interest in the property.
(Source: P.A. 86-1156.)
San Francisco Courthouse Strike Exposes Strain In City's Judicial System (PHOTOS)
San Francisco Courthouse Strike Exposes Strain In City's Judicial System (PHOTOS)
A strike at San Francisco Superior Court on Monday halted much of the city court's business as workers walked off the job demanding a resumption of labor negotiations that have been stalled since February.
Chants of "Rise up, shut it down, San Francisco's a union town," echoed off the walls of the Civic Center as hundreds of striking court workers, clad in purple Service Employees International Union T-shirts, carried signs slamming court officials for a slew of furlough days and five consecutive years without cost-of-living pay increases.
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Even the most basic functions of government are under major financial strain in California.
A strike at San Francisco Superior Court on Monday halted much of the city court's business as workers walked off the job demanding a resumption of labor negotiations that have been stalled since February.
Chants of "Rise up, shut it down, San Francisco's a union town," echoed off the walls of the Civic Center as hundreds of striking court workers, clad in purple Service Employees International Union T-shirts, carried signs slamming court officials for a slew of furlough days and five consecutive years without cost-of-living pay increases.
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Even the most basic functions of government are under major financial strain in California.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Bankruptcy choices highlight fiscal pain of cities nationwide - latimes.com
Bankruptcy choices highlight fiscal pain of cities nationwide - latimes.com
"It does not look pretty. It's not going to look pretty over the next three or four years," said Michael Pagano, dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "It's a long-term structural problem, and cities need to think of new ways to collect resources to fuel their services, or they are only going to be in worse trouble."
Like hundreds of other cities around the country, Stockton, San Bernardino and Vallejo share a number of fundamental problems that drove their finances into the ground. Blue-collar cities with aging infrastructure, they have relatively poor populations. And they're saddled with ballooning pension and healthcare obligations for civic employees and retirees.
Then came the recession, and with it foreclosures, crashing property values and the disappearance of retailers that were vital to sales-tax revenue. Cities that had been scraping by suddenly found their bank accounts depleted and their budgets in a death spiral.
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My colleague Mike Pagano has it right. Cities that have already tried every trick they know, including using CIDs, are becoming insolvent. Finding new sources of revenue will not be an easy task.
"It does not look pretty. It's not going to look pretty over the next three or four years," said Michael Pagano, dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "It's a long-term structural problem, and cities need to think of new ways to collect resources to fuel their services, or they are only going to be in worse trouble."
Like hundreds of other cities around the country, Stockton, San Bernardino and Vallejo share a number of fundamental problems that drove their finances into the ground. Blue-collar cities with aging infrastructure, they have relatively poor populations. And they're saddled with ballooning pension and healthcare obligations for civic employees and retirees.
Then came the recession, and with it foreclosures, crashing property values and the disappearance of retailers that were vital to sales-tax revenue. Cities that had been scraping by suddenly found their bank accounts depleted and their budgets in a death spiral.
--------------------------------------------
My colleague Mike Pagano has it right. Cities that have already tried every trick they know, including using CIDs, are becoming insolvent. Finding new sources of revenue will not be an easy task.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Calif. cities eye plan to seize mortgages | AccessNorthGa
Calif. cities eye plan to seize mortgages | AccessNorthGa
Another story on the contemplated cramdown by condemnation scheme in Southern California's Inland (non) Empire.
Another story on the contemplated cramdown by condemnation scheme in Southern California's Inland (non) Empire.
Wells Fargo to pay $175 million to settle lending bias allegations - latimes.com
Wells Fargo to pay $175 million to settle lending bias allegations - latimes.com
Wells Fargo & Co.'s settlement of allegations that it overcharged minorities for home loans and wrongly steered them into subprime mortgages requires the bank to pay $125 million in damages, including about $10 million to African Americans and Latinos in the Los Angeles area.
The settlement, announced Thursday by theU.S. Justice Department, also requires the San Francisco company, by far the nation's largest home lender, to provide $50 million in down-payment assistance to residents of areas where the alleged discrimination had a significant effect.
Those regions include the San Francisco Bay Area and the Inland Empire but not Los Angeles County, where Wells Fargo already has provided an assistance plan for buyers.
The $175-million total is the second-largest fair-lending settlement by the civil rights arm of the Justice Department. The largest, reached in December, requiresBank of America Corp.to pay $335 million to settle claims against Countrywide Financial Corp., the aggressive Calabasas lender it acquired in 2008.
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And on it goes.
Wells Fargo & Co.'s settlement of allegations that it overcharged minorities for home loans and wrongly steered them into subprime mortgages requires the bank to pay $125 million in damages, including about $10 million to African Americans and Latinos in the Los Angeles area.
The settlement, announced Thursday by theU.S. Justice Department, also requires the San Francisco company, by far the nation's largest home lender, to provide $50 million in down-payment assistance to residents of areas where the alleged discrimination had a significant effect.
Those regions include the San Francisco Bay Area and the Inland Empire but not Los Angeles County, where Wells Fargo already has provided an assistance plan for buyers.
The $175-million total is the second-largest fair-lending settlement by the civil rights arm of the Justice Department. The largest, reached in December, requiresBank of America Corp.to pay $335 million to settle claims against Countrywide Financial Corp., the aggressive Calabasas lender it acquired in 2008.
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And on it goes.
Analysis: In the U.S. housing market, recovery or Lost Decade? - Yahoo! News
Analysis: In the U.S. housing market, recovery or Lost Decade? - Yahoo! News
And the answer is: Lost Decade. This is a detailed analysis of the situation. And here is one big factor: banks are preventing people from buying homes by the simple expedient of not making loans except to near-zero-risk borrowers, and the federal government is letting them run the show:
"In nearly every city, it now costs less to own than to rent.
But many would-be homeowners cannot buy. Lenders have virtually locked them out of the market by denying them mortgages, according to statistics from the Federal Housing Administration and a recent Morgan Stanley research report.
In May, consumers able to close on a mortgage had, on average, a near-perfect credit score. They could afford a 19 percent down payment on their new home. And they were still on track to spend no more 24 percent of their income on their new house, according to the Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report.
"Most of the population can't meet current mortgage underwriting standards," says trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance founder Guy Cecala. "They're getting eliminated before they even get to the door."
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this thoroughly depressing link.
And the answer is: Lost Decade. This is a detailed analysis of the situation. And here is one big factor: banks are preventing people from buying homes by the simple expedient of not making loans except to near-zero-risk borrowers, and the federal government is letting them run the show:
"In nearly every city, it now costs less to own than to rent.
But many would-be homeowners cannot buy. Lenders have virtually locked them out of the market by denying them mortgages, according to statistics from the Federal Housing Administration and a recent Morgan Stanley research report.
In May, consumers able to close on a mortgage had, on average, a near-perfect credit score. They could afford a 19 percent down payment on their new home. And they were still on track to spend no more 24 percent of their income on their new house, according to the Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report.
"Most of the population can't meet current mortgage underwriting standards," says trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance founder Guy Cecala. "They're getting eliminated before they even get to the door."
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this thoroughly depressing link.
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