Fraudclosure Errors Destroying Americans’ Property Rights | The Big Picture

Fraudclosure Errors Destroying Americans’ Property Rights | The Big Picture
Barry Ritholtz, author of Bailout Nation, says:
"Over the past 2 years, I have warned repeatedly about the dangers to American property rights caused by massive bank fraud, A deadly combination of MERS, robo-signing, and illegal shortcuts have created a horrific situation. A bedrock of our society — the ability for the owner of a piece of real estate to confidently convey that property, along with all associated property rights — is now in danger."

Occupy the Neighborhood: How Counties Can Use Land Banks and Eminent Domain | Truthout

Occupy the Neighborhood: How Counties Can Use Land Banks and Eminent Domain | Truthout
This includes some interesting recent cases where judges have refused to allow mortgage foreclosure, even where the owner didn't answer the complaint, because the mortgage servicer can't prove they own the note.

South Carolina Woman Jailed For Having Messy Yard

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) — A Mount Pleasant woman is serving 10 days in jail after failing to pay a $480 fine for having a messy yard.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports 53-year-old Linda Ruggles has sold blood and even volunteered for medical experiments to get money to keep her home from foreclosure.
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There have been a number of new "debtors' prison" stories where people went into debt, were ordered by a court to make payments, and then were jailed for contempt for not doing so. Here she didn't pay a fine. But given that the entire situation for which she was fined resulted from her having NO MONEY, it seems fairly inevitable that she would end up in jail for not paying the fine--if this is the way we are going to do things...

Cool Tools: Tiny Homes

Cool Tools: Tiny Homes
Tiny houses are the norm for most people in the world, but have been out of fashion in the US for many decades. Recently some Americans are rediscovering the joys of very tiny homes for several reasons: hard economic times, a reaction against modern excess, and a realization that a digital world does not require a lot of space. There are now a handful of blogs and a whole shelfful of books about tiny homes. Mostly good stuff.

Anonymous posts with instructions??

If you choose to post comments anonymously, there is no way I can follow your anonymous instructions to go back and do something with a previous anonymous comment that you now want to change, because when you posted it anonymously the first time you put it in the wrong place or something of that sort.

I am thinking about requiring registration because so many people comment anonymously that it hinders communication. Often people will write, "As I said previously..." and nobody has the slightest idea what they are talking about because the previous post and the current one are anonymous. The conversations would be a lot more interesting if people knew whose comments they were reading and commenting on.

Silver Lakes Association eyes rental restrictions

Across California, there seems to be an emerging trend of homeowners associations increasingly eyeing rental restrictions in the lingering wake of the housing bust, said Richard Monson, president of the California Association of Home owners Associations. But he added it still seems to be a relatively small number of the state’s roughly 47,000 HOAs representing over 4.8 million homes.

“Because there are many more foreclosures and short sales, the buyers of these units are more likely to be investors than for owner-occupancy,” Monson said. “That’s a greater number of renters.”
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The residential real estate correction is having a big impact on Privatopia as this blog has detailed over the past four years. This is one of them. As more absentee investor owners purchase dwellings in HOAs, the question becomes are they homeowner associations or property owner associations? HOA rental restrictions are designed to keep the "home" in HOAs. But HOAs cannot control housing market forces. If the market prefers investor owned rental properties, failing to accommodate that preference could lower the value of properties within HOAs that restrict rentals since it would limit their marketability.

Calls for US taxpayers to bear housing costs - FT.com

Calls for US taxpayers to bear housing costs - FT.com
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a304e636-3a2d-11e1-a8dc-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1iv3rp4qS

US Federal Reserve policymakers are increasingly urging fiscal authorities to consider reducing distressed borrowers’ loan balances, a politically fraught position for a central bank that has long sought to distance itself from fiscal policy.
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Principal reduction should have been done three years ago, but I think the banks should just write it down rather than have the taxpayers take the hit. The financial parasites who crashed the economy, and who then were bailed out by the taxpayers and the Fed, have had a free ride to date. The economy will never recover until the middle class gets some relief from the burden of debt--mortgages, student loans, credit cards--that is the substitute for lost wages. The article says this would be politically unpopular, but I am not so sure about that.

Vacant condos ripe for accessible, affordable housing - chicagotribune.com

Vacant condos ripe for accessible, affordable housing - chicagotribune.com
Two local organizations, IFF and Access Living, are in the early stages of developing a new model of affordable housing, first in Chicago and then throughout Illinois, for people with disabilities who want to live on their own.

Armed with a budget of slightly more than $19 million, the Home First Illinois program also will take a crack at filling up some of the city's empty condominiums. That's because the program revolves around the idea of placing people with disabilities in scattered-site housing rather than grouped together in state-funded or private institutions.

"It's a new model for affordable housing," said Michelle Hoereth, director of housing for IFF, a nonprofit lender and real estate consultant that helps nonprofit organizations in the Midwest. "We can purchase condos that are foreclosed, in a short sale or the owner just wants to sell. There are plenty of units that aren't distressed but are vacant."
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The money comes from the state, Chase bank, and the Chicago Community Trust. The owner of these units will be IFF, and will rent the units to the tenants. IFF will be checking the condo association finances carefully, they say: "You don't want to buy into a financial mess," Giornalista said. "At the end of the day, I think condo associations should welcome our purchases because now they're going to have an institutional investor in their building. It means their assessments are going to be paid on time."

What I don't see in this article is the issue of ADA accommodations for these disabled tenants. Renovation of the individual unit would be up to IFF, but what if there are accommodations needed in the common areas? Who pays for that?

Occupy Las Vegas protesters target foreclosed homes in valley - News - ReviewJournal.com

Occupy Las Vegas protesters target foreclosed homes in valley - News - ReviewJournal.com
Occupy Wall Street is going door to door in single family neighborhoods asking for permission to set up tents in the yards of people who are facing imminent foreclosure. The article notes that they couldn't contact the owners in gated communities, so they left cards. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Deer Ridge residents oppose homeowners’ association

CHANNAHON — Although many who live in newer subdivisions enjoy the protections outlined in homeowners’ association covenants, residents of the 50 houses in the Deer Ridge subdivision say they do not want one.

All, save one whom residents say wasn’t home when they called, signed a petition they brought to Monday evening’s Channahon Village Board meeting stating they do not want to establish a homeowners’ association in their subdivision.

They were promised there would be no association when they purchased their residences, they told trustees, which is the reason some found the site so attractive. But now, according to the 20 or so residents, the developer, Mark Skaggs, is telling them the village is requiring him to set an association up.

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Thousands of words appeared on this blog since last weekend when I asserted HOAs lack acceptance as legitimate local governing authorities and are regarded as intrusive, overbearing juntas of volunteer directors with too much time on their hands aided by managers and attorneys seeking to maximize fee-driven enforcement activities and litigation revenue.

It therefore wasn’t surprising to read of this revolt against an attempt by the village elders of Channahon, Illinois to force 50 properties into an unwanted HOA as the village attorney told opponents an HOA to watch over them would protect their property values. To the HOA opponents, that “protection” is likely about as desirable as protection provided by Tony Soprano and crew.

The revolt against forced HOA governance could be spreading. Note the comment in the story by Channahon Village Board Trustee Debbie Militello, who is quoted as saying she has heard of many residents unhappy with their associations and recently met with a group of homeowners in another subdivision that is fighting a similar annexation into Privatopia.

Argument provokes fatal shooting in Lapu | Sun.Star

Argument provokes fatal shooting in Lapu | Sun.Star
Police believe the attack on Lapaz may have stemmed from an old rift over the collection of association dues. Lapaz, who was aboard her Mitsubishi Montero, had stopped in front of their village gate to call her 20-year-old son, Buenjer Acoril. She instructed Acoril to open the gate, as Villarba was not in the guard house. But as Acoril opened the gate, Villarba, along with Emborong, arrived and allegedly stopped Lapaz’s son. Acoril and Villarba began arguing, with the latter claiming that Lapaz cannot enter the village without a sticker prescribed by the homeowners’ association. Lapaz then joined the argument, allegedly cussing out the security guard and dragging Emborong into her tirade. That’s when Emborong allegedly returned to the guard house, took out Villarba’s shotgun, and shot Lapaz. After shooting the woman, Emborong, along with another security guard, Rodolfo Cavalida, fled from the area.
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As I keep saying, if you think things are bad in your HOA, consider how things work elsewhere around the globe--in this case, the Philippines. Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link.

Obama's Consumer Watchdog Targets Mortgage, Payday Lenders - BusinessWeek

Obama's Consumer Watchdog Targets Mortgage, Payday Lenders - BusinessWeek
Consumers may benefit from its reach whenever they take out a payday loan, negotiate a mortgage rate, borrow money for school or pay a credit card fee. For those who think they've been wronged, there will be a complaint system to help them fight back.
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The congressional republicans fought bitterly to keep this day from coming--the day when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would start operating, two years after it was created. First they filibustered Elizabeth Warren's nomination until Obama finally withdrew it. Then he nominated Richard Cordray in her stead because, he thought, Cordray would be acceptable to the republicans. But they kept his nomination from coming to a vote anyway. They demanded that the enabling legislation for this new agency be changed. The House republicans knew Obama would make a recess appointment, so they refused to agree that the Senate could go into recess, which led to the absurd 30-second sessions being held every few days by one person. Of course, they were on recess, but just pretending that they weren't. Finally Obama just made the appointment on the grounds that the Senate was actually in recess. He called them on their nonsense. This has produced howls of fake outrage from Fox News and AM talk radio.

This is an important agency, at least potentially. American need protection against payday lenders, mortgage companies, mortgage "rescue" scam artists, corrupt and thieving banks, and a host of other social parasites. The house republicans are so extreme in their views that they are blinded to one simple reality: Americans are headed toward debt peonage, and if things don't change soon, at some point there will be a massive political and possibly violent rebellion against the entire system.

The End Of Republican Fusionism? - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Beast

The End Of Republican Fusionism? - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Beast
What we're seeing, I think, is Romney as the last, dying gasp of Republican fusionism. The old alliance - free market capitalism, social conservatism and anti-Communism - has morphed into a new one - libertarianism, Christianism and anti-Jihadism. Each faction has become more extreme as they have marinated in their own media complex, and responded to their fantasies about president Obama. And there is therefore no fusion possible between them. Maybe a charismatic figure like Reagan could somehow bind them together again; but such a figure comes along rarely.
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Interesting analysis. Ron Paul's followers are almost all young men who are obsessed with libertarianism's simplistic world view that justifies radical selfishness as some sort of higher morality. How they can make common cause with the religious right and the neocons I can't imagine. I mean, are we going to simultaneously punish and legalize prostitution, gay marriage, and abortion? Are we going to both invade and not invade Iran?

So it begins: Chicago vacant condo program - chicagotribune.com

2012 housing outlook: Chicago vacant condo program - chicagotribune.com
Within the city of Chicago, armed with an almost 2-year-old law, those efforts have moved beyond pen and paper. In such neighborhoods as West Woodlawn, Austin and Rogers Park, areas where condominium foreclosures have left entire buildings empty and created eyesores, the city has taken steps to turn condo units into apartments by selling entire buildings to investors and developers who will rehab them for rental.

The program is the result of amendments to the state's Condominium Property Act that took effect in January 2010. The changes allow a municipality to petition a Circuit Court to allow a receiver to sell the distressed building as a whole. Owners of the units, which typically are lenders, receive a fractional share of the proceeds from a sale after liens are erased. After taking bids, a judge decides who the buyer of the building should be, a decision based not just on price but on the buyer's financial resources, track record and building plans.
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This is the first article I've seen on the Distressed Condominium Property Act as it is working out in Chicago. This is an Illinois state statute that allows the city to petition the circuit court to appoint Community Investment Corporation as receiver for a failed condo project. CIC then gets all the banks who own the units together on one page, deconverts the project by dissolving the condo ownership structure and CC&Rs, and then sells the building to an investment group to operate as an apartment building.

To date there are 150 projects somewhere in the deconversion process, out of a total of 250 that CIC has identified as good candidates. About 30 are already under court order for deconversion.

This is an easy way to solve two problems: first, get rid of failed condo projects that are a blight on urban neighborhoods; second, restore the proper level of rental housing that went way out of balance during the subprime insanity.

Now--if we can start doing something about all those unnecessary HOA projects. The Federal Reserve's new white paper on the housing market says, "Reducing some of the barriers to converting foreclosed properties to rental units will help redeploy the existing stock of houses in a more efficient way. Such conversions might also increase lenders’ eventual recoveries on foreclosed and surrendered properties."

Bottom Line - Subprime suicide: Notorious broker found dead

Bottom Line - Subprime suicide: Notorious broker found dead
A disgraced securities broker who was one of the subprime mortgage market's chief magicians was found dead of an apparent suicide in his South Florida condo this week. Cliff Popper seemingly created wealth out of thin air — until it all collapsed in 2007. His firm pocketed commissions of more than $16 million in just three years, but when investments backed by risky mortgages turned sour, Popper lost $100 million of investors' money.

When he died, Popper was waiting for a federal judge to hand down a decision in a civil fraud trial brought by the the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Brookstreet Securities, where Popper was a head trader, imploded when the subprime mortgage market crashed. Investors, many of whom had sunk their life savings into the subprime mortgage-backed securities Popper peddled, were left with nothing. Two years later, the SEC charged Popper and nine of his former colleagues with fraud, and he declared bankruptcy in July of that year.
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Fred Fischer on the "Do owners believe CC&Rs are contracts?" debate

Fred Fischer weighs in:

Evan:
You may share the following with anyone. The following is my response comments to the Privatopia story of, Monday, January 02, 2012 Do owners believe CC&Rs are contracts, part trois...


For CID housing to continue to exist into the future and be sustainable will require a major shift away from its present use of adhesion contracts imposed upon property buyers. Therefore a legal shift needs to occur at build-out from the original intent of the developer to manage and sell his properties. To the owner/members so that they can manage and sustain what is then their properties and responsibility.
We have long understood as Tyler stated,….the real problem which is that community associations are created mostly for the benefit of municipalities and developers… Which has resulted in property owners sending a loud message of un-support for the private governance imposed upon them by their local municipalities that burdens them with high liability and no protections. By striping members of their basic liberties and the use and enjoyment of their own properties that treats members like renters and children who have to ask permission to do anything. Even though the member’s private properties are not owned by the HOA entity yet the contract authorizes the HOA absolute control over many aspects of it.
To say that all housing associations should be abolished is not doable presently especially for complex types of CIDs which have utilities company’s, private streets, golf courses, high rise condos, apartments, airparks and commercial property etc. . However they could be converted to help reduce the substantial conflicts and liabilities that automatically and inherently come with privatized housing governance in a few basic ways. First existing and new non complex CIDs could be converted to special districts or other governance forms that are less expensive to operate while retaining the member’s property and other rights. Second the absolute control over the private properties must be largely eliminated in order to reduce the liabilities and conflicts. Third only CC&Rs that truly ‘touch and concern the land” such as structural or permanent changes should be created instead of subjects like refuge containers, signs, animals etc. Fourth require State oversight and licensing of association management firms and others. So CID members can hold accountable those who collect and manage member’s funds and provide advice and servicers to Boards.
Now maybe we can get past the obvious that CC&Rs are enforceable and that most people understand that they are obligated to pay for many of the amenities and services found in their CIDs. Furthermore I agree with Tyler that we need to spend far less time fretting over many of the HOA issues that we already well understand and start making some substantial reforms that will make CID housing, property owner friendly and financially solvent today and into the future. Which will require the property owner’s participation at the creation table to include their best interests and not just those of the municipalities, developer and others. Tyler is also correct when he said that …all of us should be discussing how to help owners save whatever remaining equity they have, and then second, how to convince government to quit mandating for sale housing that will inevitably become obsolete because it has a form of governance that cannot fund its operations--just for the sake of additional property tax revenues.

Finally at the end of the day no one can say we don’t understand why housing association governance is economically collapsing or so controversial. Because when basic liberty and the use and enjoyment of one’s property becomes absolutely controlled by others, to the point that a door knocker or flower pot can’t be installed without committee approval with the consequence of a fine and foreclosure if disobeyed. We have just created a new form of tyranny masqueraded as a housing association so that others can earn an income or profit over the conflicts and this needs to end NOW. Or CID housing will continue to economically and socially collapse and then tens of millions of property owners will possibly be living on the streets.

Thanks, Fred Fischer

George Staropoli on the "Do owners believe CC&Rs are contracts?" debate

From George Staropoli comes this response to the Pilot/Berding discussion:

Finally, a debate, a firm discussion of one of my favorite issues — the legitimacy of the HOA regime. As the unmentioned, chief protagonist asserting the illegitimacy of private local governments that are unaccountable under the Constitution, I offer my comments. Because of the length of my response, I’m forced to provide an excerpt here on The Privatopia Papers, and the full response can be found at Legitimate HOA Government.
Berding dismisses concerns over “the legal structure of community associations as if that were somehow a fundamental problem.” He maintains that “It isn’t, it’s largely academic, and in the big picture, it isn’t important.” You know, what I’ve been writing about as the defective HOA legal scheme founded upon the 1964 “bible” for HOAs, The Homes Association Handbook. Berding asks, in apparent astonishment, How one would respond to the statement that, “Homeowner associations are not legitimate forms of government?” He rejects the reading the Constitution as circular reasoning. But, there is more to constitutional doctrine than found in the Constitution, so please read on Mr. Berding.
McKenzie reaches the opinion:
I conclude that for the most part, despite having some reservations and misgivings about privatized local government, the overwhelming majority of Americans will continue to act as if they believe condo and HOA actions are legitimate contracts.
(But, surely, shouldn’t our policymakers and legislators care?)
And what is the fundamental criterion of legitimacy? Constitutional doctrine says that a legitimate government is based on fair and just laws. But this issue has not been discussed in this exchange of posts, or anywhere else!
With respect to HOAs as private organizations, I ask, Has the legislature delegated authority to these entities to act as an unregulated private government? And the answer is unquestionably, NO! (Recall that in Arizona, its appellate court found the question of improper delegation of regulatory authority to an agency, no less than to a private entity, was sufficient for statutes allowing ALJ adjudication to be declared unconstitutional.) Case law abounds with such statements as:

“We think such power to determine who shall have the right to engage in otherwise lawful enterprise may not be validly delegated to a private organization”; “the Legislature cannot constitutionally delegate to the private parties governmental power . . . contrary to the public interest”; “The Legislature may not surrender its authority to a body [to further] the interest of a group which may be antagonistic to the public interest”; and “legislative bodies may not abrogate their responsibility . . . by delegating this responsibility to private parties ‘uncontrolled by any standard or rule prescribed by legislative action.” (Administrative Law, Section 1.3.2, 2nd ed., Aman & Mayton, West Group 2001).

In my view, the primary reason for this state of affairs has been the avoidance and refusal of those who should know better to raise basic questions pertaining to our social contract under the Constitution.

Landscape Absurdism: Las Vegas - Design - The Atlantic Cities

Landscape Absurdism: Las Vegas - Design - The Atlantic Cities
Take a look at the way some developers and cities have decided to lay out subdivisions.

Billions needed to upgrade America’s leaky water infrastructure - The Washington Post

Billions needed to upgrade America’s leaky water infrastructure - The Washington Post
Rapidly deteriorating roads and bridges may stifle America’s economy and turn transportation headaches into nightmares, but if the nation’s water and sewer systems begin to fail, life as we know it will too. Without an ample supply of water, people don’t drink, toilets don’t flush, factories don’t operate, offices shut down and fires go unchecked. When sewage systems fail, cities can’t function and epidemics break out.

“All the big cities have these problems, and to me it’s the unseen catastrophe,” Hawkins said. “My humble view is that the industry we’re in is the bedrock of civilization because it’s not just an infrastructure that is a convenience, that allows you to get to work faster or slower. At least with bridges or a road, people have some idea of what it is because they drive on them and see them. ”

And just like roads and bridges, the vast majority of the country’s water systems are in urgent need of repair and replacement. At a Senate hearing last month, it was estimated that, on average, 25 percent of drinking water leaks from water system pipes before reaching the faucet. The same committee was told it will take $335 billion to resurrect water systems and $300 billion to fix sewer systems.
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You know, don't you, what will happen? Wall Street will offer creative ways to finance these repairs, which will end up costing ten times what they should. Ask Jefferson County, Alabama.

Typewriter repairman keeps busy in high-tech age - Houston Chronicle

Typewriter repairman keeps busy in high-tech age - Houston Chronicle
Anybody out there still have one of these? For many years I hung onto my Adler portable, which was built like a tank. I bought it in the late 1970s and only got rid of it a few years ago. Maybe after the world runs out of oil and we are all working by tallow candlelight I will wish I had kept it.