Make Home Owner Associations legitimate by holding them to the same standards as our state and federal government, or end them as racketeering.
These privatized corporate goverments are judge, jury, and executioner against homeowners' basic rights. They require no oversight as they target, bully, and foreclose for profit, and just because they can. This multi-billion dollar a year industry uses oblivious HOA boards to extort billions from homeowners while proporting to "protect property values." Nothing could be further from the truth. Tragically, Senator Carona from Dallas owns the largest HOA management company in the country, and he writes the legislation against homeowners to protect his empire.
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The petition can be viewed and signed here.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Foreclosures made up 31 pct. of home sales in 2Q - Yahoo! Finance
Foreclosures made up 31 pct. of home sales in 2Q - Yahoo! Finance
The share of the market would likely have been larger this spring if not for a state and federal investigation into faulty paperwork by banks and servicers. The probe has led many banks to delay foreclosure sales. Once that is complete, foreclosures will likely surge later this year.
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I guess the real policy we are adopting de facto is just to bail out the banksters and let people lose their homes. All this talk about helping out the owners seems like empty rhetoric.
The share of the market would likely have been larger this spring if not for a state and federal investigation into faulty paperwork by banks and servicers. The probe has led many banks to delay foreclosure sales. Once that is complete, foreclosures will likely surge later this year.
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I guess the real policy we are adopting de facto is just to bail out the banksters and let people lose their homes. All this talk about helping out the owners seems like empty rhetoric.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Borrowers claim lender knowingly made bad loans, depressing their property values
This is a case in which nearly 250 California customers of Countrywide Financial allege that the mortgage lender knowingly failed to practice diligent underwriting, generating bad loans that led to a liquidity crisis that cratered California's housing market -- and their property values:
The Second District California Court of Appeal isn't buying the argument. It granted Countywide's petition to overturn a trial court ruling overruling its demurrer to the plaintiffs' fraudulent concealment allegation:
In other words, the court is saying, the conduct of a single lender -- even one like Countrywide that had a major segment of the pre-meltdown residential mortgage market in California -- can't be blamed for popping the real estate bubble. It's also impliedly stating that lots of lenders threw underwriting standards to the wind, so no single mortgage lender can be blamed for the resulting crash.
The full ruling can be viewed here.
As a proximate result of the foregoing concealment by Defendants, California property values have precipitously declined and continue to decline, gravely damaging Plaintiffs by materially reducing the value of their primary residences, depriving them of access to equity lines, second mortgages and other financings previously available based upon ownership of a primary residence in California, in numerous instances leading to payments in excess of the value of their properties
The Second District California Court of Appeal isn't buying the argument. It granted Countywide's petition to overturn a trial court ruling overruling its demurrer to the plaintiffs' fraudulent concealment allegation:
We conclude the plaintiffs/borrowers cannot state a cause of action against Countrywide for fraudulent concealment of an alleged scheme to bilk investors by selling them pooled mortgages at inflated values, the demise of which scheme led to devastated home values across California. Due to the generalized decline in home values which affects all homeowners (borrowers of Countrywide, borrowers who dealt with other lenders, and homeowners who owned their homes free and clear), there is no nexus between Countrywide‘s alleged fraudulent concealment of its scheme to bilk investors and the diminution in value of the instant borrowers‘ properties.
In other words, the court is saying, the conduct of a single lender -- even one like Countrywide that had a major segment of the pre-meltdown residential mortgage market in California -- can't be blamed for popping the real estate bubble. It's also impliedly stating that lots of lenders threw underwriting standards to the wind, so no single mortgage lender can be blamed for the resulting crash.
The full ruling can be viewed here.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Walmart Is Dying Because Its Business Model Is Strangling Itself - The Consumerist
Walmart Is Dying Because Its Business Model Is Strangling Itself - The Consumerist
Make sure you read this in a spooky voice in your head: Wal-Mart is dooooomed! At least, the business model it relied on to reach such astronomical growth is now probably putting a choke hold on the company's ability to grow and compete.
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Human institutions often collapse right after a period of explosive growth.
Make sure you read this in a spooky voice in your head: Wal-Mart is dooooomed! At least, the business model it relied on to reach such astronomical growth is now probably putting a choke hold on the company's ability to grow and compete.
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Human institutions often collapse right after a period of explosive growth.
US May Back Mortgage Refinancing for Millions - CNBC
US May Back Mortgage Refinancing for Millions - CNBC
The Obama administration is considering further actions to strengthen the housing market, but the bar is high: plans must help a broad swath of homeowners, stimulate the economy and cost next to nothing.
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I feel as though Obama has waited far too long to seriously address the housing market and the unemployment situation. And if he is thinking about next year's election, it may be too late for these initiatives to make any difference.
The Obama administration is considering further actions to strengthen the housing market, but the bar is high: plans must help a broad swath of homeowners, stimulate the economy and cost next to nothing.
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I feel as though Obama has waited far too long to seriously address the housing market and the unemployment situation. And if he is thinking about next year's election, it may be too late for these initiatives to make any difference.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Homeowner Groups Sue to Force Foreclosures - Bloomberg
Homeowner Groups Sue to Force Foreclosures - Bloomberg
Members of the Vintage East Condominium Association in Miami Beach got tired of waiting for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) to foreclose on unit 9, so they sued the bank in February to take control of the property.
In June, more than four years after the owner stopped making payments, a judge ruled that JPMorgan lost its claim to the $144,000 mortgage. The apartment is now on the market for $87,500, and the association may stave off insolvency with proceeds from the sale and a new owner who pays monthly dues, said Jane Losson, a board member at the complex. Four of the 11 other owners at the property are also behind on dues.
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Thanks to Doug Selby for this link. Maybe it's time to stop coddling the banksters. Just a thought.
Members of the Vintage East Condominium Association in Miami Beach got tired of waiting for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) to foreclose on unit 9, so they sued the bank in February to take control of the property.
In June, more than four years after the owner stopped making payments, a judge ruled that JPMorgan lost its claim to the $144,000 mortgage. The apartment is now on the market for $87,500, and the association may stave off insolvency with proceeds from the sale and a new owner who pays monthly dues, said Jane Losson, a board member at the complex. Four of the 11 other owners at the property are also behind on dues.
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Thanks to Doug Selby for this link. Maybe it's time to stop coddling the banksters. Just a thought.
New York Attorney General Kicked Off Government Group Leading Foreclosure Probe
New York Attorney General Kicked Off Government Group Leading Foreclosure Probe
WASHINGTON -- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Tuesday was kicked off the committee leading the 50-state task force charged with probing foreclosure abuses and negotiating a possible settlement agreement with the nation's five largest mortgage firms, according to an email reviewed by The Huffington Post.
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Why? Apparently because he is too aggressive about it: "He's leading his own investigation into mortgage improprieties, subpoenaing documents from the nation's largest financial institutions and reviewing court records for possible illegal home repossessions."
WASHINGTON -- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Tuesday was kicked off the committee leading the 50-state task force charged with probing foreclosure abuses and negotiating a possible settlement agreement with the nation's five largest mortgage firms, according to an email reviewed by The Huffington Post.
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Why? Apparently because he is too aggressive about it: "He's leading his own investigation into mortgage improprieties, subpoenaing documents from the nation's largest financial institutions and reviewing court records for possible illegal home repossessions."
Monday, August 22, 2011
AM Alert: Beware the (privatization) beast
A beast is on the loose at the Capitol today -- and we're not talking about Sutter Brown.
A "privatization beast" will be roaming Capitol Park as librarians gather on the south steps to warn of what they say are the perils of privatizing public libraries across the state.
The 11 a.m. presser is being staged in support of Assembly Bill 438, a union-backed bill that would establish a series of hurdles for cities and counties looking to hand over their library operations to private companies. Several California libraries have already signed on with a national contractor called Library Systems & Services.
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Privatizing libraries? That's nothing compared to local government, where entire towns and communities have been privatized into HOA-governed common interest developments in many parts of the nation.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
City of Aurora, CO Proposes Giving Corporation Right to Vote | Move to Amend
City of Aurora, CO Proposes Giving Corporation Right to Vote | Move to Amend
And...the Libertarian Party is opposing it!
And...the Libertarian Party is opposing it!
How to Disband a Homeowner's Association
A quick tour of your favorite search engine's menu on the topic of "disbanding homeowner's associations" sites would be mildly entertaining if inquiries weren't so fraught with rants and anger. A great HOA does nothing but help a community share expenses and responsibility, but when power is abused and members reach a collective breaking point, there's nothing to be done short of cutting the umbilical cord that holds residents to an existing, structured code of conduct.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Scars Left by ‘Great Recession’ Will Be Hard to Erase
One of these permanent marks left by the previous recession is what's happened to neighborhoods hit by a wave of home foreclosures. Peck points to areas in Florida, Arizona and Nevada that are starting to disintegrate — just like what happened to some inner cities back during the 1970s.
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More signs that Privatopia and its privatized local government by HOA that grew dramatically over the past four decades and built to a climax over the past 15 years is on the decline. Peck predicts HOA land will become blighted. Note however another author predicted the suburbs would become the new slums long before Peck: Jack Lessinger in his 1991 work Penturbia: Where Real Estate Will Boom AFTER the Crash of Suburbia.
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More signs that Privatopia and its privatized local government by HOA that grew dramatically over the past four decades and built to a climax over the past 15 years is on the decline. Peck predicts HOA land will become blighted. Note however another author predicted the suburbs would become the new slums long before Peck: Jack Lessinger in his 1991 work Penturbia: Where Real Estate Will Boom AFTER the Crash of Suburbia.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Home | What Went Wrong: The Betrayal of The American Dream
Home | What Went Wrong: The Betrayal of The American Dream
Donald Barlett and James Steele wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning series for the Philadelphia Inquirer back in 1991 about how the Reagan era policies undermined the middle class. Now they are back--and the situation is far worse now.
Donald Barlett and James Steele wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning series for the Philadelphia Inquirer back in 1991 about how the Reagan era policies undermined the middle class. Now they are back--and the situation is far worse now.
Woman’s yard sale to pay medical bills gets shut down | News | Salem News
Woman’s yard sale to pay medical bills gets shut down | News | Salem News
A woman fighting a terminal form of bone cancer is trying to raise money to help pay bills with a few weekend garage sales, but the city of Salem says she’s breaking the law and is shutting her down.
Jan Cline had no idea, but the city of Salem has a clear law that states a person can only have three yard sales a year.
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Thanks to Mystery Reader for this depressing story of mindless rule enforcement.
A woman fighting a terminal form of bone cancer is trying to raise money to help pay bills with a few weekend garage sales, but the city of Salem says she’s breaking the law and is shutting her down.
Jan Cline had no idea, but the city of Salem has a clear law that states a person can only have three yard sales a year.
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Thanks to Mystery Reader for this depressing story of mindless rule enforcement.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Case against MERS reaches Supreme Court « HousingWire
Case against MERS reaches Supreme Court « HousingWire
A controversial case challenging the ability of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems to foreclose on a California man was filed with the Supreme Court Monday, making it the first major MERS case to reach the nation's highest court.
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But the USSC hasn't agreed to hear the case. This is just a petition for a writ of certiorari. The court gets thousands of these every year and ends up deciding fewer than 100.
A controversial case challenging the ability of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems to foreclose on a California man was filed with the Supreme Court Monday, making it the first major MERS case to reach the nation's highest court.
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But the USSC hasn't agreed to hear the case. This is just a petition for a writ of certiorari. The court gets thousands of these every year and ends up deciding fewer than 100.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Libertarian Billionaire Wants Island Nation for Libertarian Billionaires
Libertarian Billionaire Wants Island Nation for Libertarian Billionaires
Awesome. Too bad they won't be taking the rest of the libertarians with them. Most of them no doubt will continue to preach the gospel of Ayn Rand and Ron Paul from Mom's basement..
Awesome. Too bad they won't be taking the rest of the libertarians with them. Most of them no doubt will continue to preach the gospel of Ayn Rand and Ron Paul from Mom's basement..
Hercules Municipal Utility Has Drained City Coffers
Hercules Municipal Utility Has Drained City Coffers
HMU rates are higher because the utility's growth has been balanced essentially on the backs of residential ratepayers and taxpayers. Over the past decade, Hercules has spent more than $16 million building a utility that today consists of little more than nine miles of underground cable, switching boxes and a vacant piece of land that was supposed to house a substation.
It is an enterprise awash in IOUs. In the process of serving 840 customers, the utility has saddled Hercules with more than $13 million in bond debt. And since 2003, Hercules' redevelopment agency has loaned the utility almost an equal amount of money -- this in a town of only 24,000 residents that has a general fund budget of just $14 million.
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Wow. It appears that a city can be run as badly as an HOA.
HMU rates are higher because the utility's growth has been balanced essentially on the backs of residential ratepayers and taxpayers. Over the past decade, Hercules has spent more than $16 million building a utility that today consists of little more than nine miles of underground cable, switching boxes and a vacant piece of land that was supposed to house a substation.
It is an enterprise awash in IOUs. In the process of serving 840 customers, the utility has saddled Hercules with more than $13 million in bond debt. And since 2003, Hercules' redevelopment agency has loaned the utility almost an equal amount of money -- this in a town of only 24,000 residents that has a general fund budget of just $14 million.
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Wow. It appears that a city can be run as badly as an HOA.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Hybrid housing holds appeal | StarTribune.com
Hybrid housing holds appeal | StarTribune.com
This type of housing -- called manor homes, villas, cottage homes or detached townhouses -- is tailored to people who want the privacy of a traditional single-family home with the convenience of a condo. And although it accounts for only a tiny slice of the real estate pie, builders and developers are cautiously optimistic that this hybrid style of house will grow in popularity, partly because it's designed for a growing population: retiring baby boomers.
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This is a puff piece touting a super-paternalistic type of HOA where the association hires all the contractors that service the individual lots. Next step is what? The HOA sends inspectors into your home and makes you pay for repainting your bathroom a different shade of beige?
Anybody who buys into a place like this isn't really a homeowner anyway. They are just tenants with an investment interest.
Thanks to Mike Ramsey for the link.
This type of housing -- called manor homes, villas, cottage homes or detached townhouses -- is tailored to people who want the privacy of a traditional single-family home with the convenience of a condo. And although it accounts for only a tiny slice of the real estate pie, builders and developers are cautiously optimistic that this hybrid style of house will grow in popularity, partly because it's designed for a growing population: retiring baby boomers.
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This is a puff piece touting a super-paternalistic type of HOA where the association hires all the contractors that service the individual lots. Next step is what? The HOA sends inspectors into your home and makes you pay for repainting your bathroom a different shade of beige?
Anybody who buys into a place like this isn't really a homeowner anyway. They are just tenants with an investment interest.
Thanks to Mike Ramsey for the link.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
10 housing markets that will collapse this year - Business - Real estate - msnbc.com
10 housing markets that will collapse this year - Business - Real estate - msnbc.com
As if they hadn't already collapsed? What do you call it when something that has already collapsed once decides to go ahead and collapse again?
As if they hadn't already collapsed? What do you call it when something that has already collapsed once decides to go ahead and collapse again?
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Horror of Homeowners' Associations
The Horror of Homeowners' Associations
Evan McKenzie, a University of Illinois-Chicago political science professor and author of the book Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government, recently explained to me that a complicating aspect of HOA disputes is that they often become personalized, "so you can't even resolve them." When board members interpret the rules to suit their own ends, homeowners often must look to the courts to enforce basic standards of accountability—and that can get expensive. "There's no training or actual requirements" for board positions, McKenzie adds, which means that the people in charge often don't understand the most basic requirements of the law. Many homeowners don't, either.
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Followed by 22 horror stories.
Evan McKenzie, a University of Illinois-Chicago political science professor and author of the book Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government, recently explained to me that a complicating aspect of HOA disputes is that they often become personalized, "so you can't even resolve them." When board members interpret the rules to suit their own ends, homeowners often must look to the courts to enforce basic standards of accountability—and that can get expensive. "There's no training or actual requirements" for board positions, McKenzie adds, which means that the people in charge often don't understand the most basic requirements of the law. Many homeowners don't, either.
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Followed by 22 horror stories.
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