In Illinois, a timeshare scam has elicited “dozens of complaints” since January, thanks to the implementation of a tried-and-true scam method: the illicit money wire. Individuals pretending to be timeshare resellers contact the owners of the timeshares. Not surprisingly, many of these owners are currently struggling to make the payments on these vacation “deals” and may be a little too Read full article »
Archives for September, 2010
GMAC Robo-Signer in Attorneys General Sights Across the Country
The attorney general of Connecticut has recently demanded that GMAC Mortgage/Ally Financial Inc. freeze all foreclosures in the state pending an investigation into defective foreclosure documents. Calling GMAC a “foreclosure steamroller,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced yesterday that all foreclosure actions on the part of GMAC would be halted until “the bank’s apparent failure to follow basic legal procedure” Read full article »
category: Mortgage News, Real Estate News
tags: Affidavit, Affidavits, Ally, Apparent Failure, Attorney General Of Connecticut, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Attorneys, Connecticut Attorney General, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Foreclosure, Foreclosures, Fraud, Gmac Financial, Gmac Mortgage, Mortgages, Oversight, Pace, Scope, Steamroller, Technicality
Rumor Mill: Is GMAC Stalling All Foreclosures?
Earlier this week, we reported on the GMAC/Ally “Robo-signer” who allegedly signed off on tens of thousands of inappropriate and even illegal foreclosures. In Connecticut, the state attorney general has already demanded that the lender freeze all foreclosures in the state pending his investigation, and similar moves in other states have sent rumors spiraling across the real estate investing market Read full article »
category: Mortgage News, Real Estate News
tags: Affidavit, Affidavits, Ally, Apparent Failure, Attorney General Of Connecticut, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Bank Owned Properties, Blight, Connecticut Attorney General, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Defense Attorney, Derelict, Florida Defense, Florida Real Estate, Foreclosure, Foreclosures, Fraud, Freezes, Gmac, Gmac Financial, Gmac Mortgage, Housing Industry, Insurance Companies, Lockouts, Marlyn, Mortgages, Nuclear Bomb, Oversight, Pace, Press Time, Rumor Mill, Scope, Similar Moves, State Attorney General, Steamroller, Technicality, Title Insurance, Weidner
California Takes Two of the “Top Ten Worst Places to Live”
According to Walletpop’s list of the top ten worst places to live in, California is the state to avoid. Two of the state’s cities made the list thanks to record-high unemployment statistics, terrible air quality, the “worst traffic in the country” and a general high score on the U.S. Misery Index. In El Centro, California, (number 1 on the list), Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
tags: According To Jim, Air Quality, Bellwether, City Cemetery, Crossing The Border, Diego State University, Economics Professor, El Centro, Foreclosure, High Score, International Business Program, Jim Gerber, Misery Index, Number 1, Ozone Pollution, Polluted Cities, San Diego State, San Diego State University, Unemployment Rate, Unemployment Statistics
Real Estate Lending Scam in California Targets Elderly Homeowners
In Modesto, California, a real estate agent and his roommate set up a simple scam that enabled them to steal thousands of dollars from elderly homeowners while acquiring properties at rock-bottom prices. The agent, James Lee Langford, who is also the owner and broker for Century 21-Apollo Realty in Modesto and his roommate, Jon Vance McDade, would target elderly property Read full article »
category: Real Estate News, Real Estate Scams
tags: 10 Million, Balloon Payment, California Realtor, Century 21, Elderly Homeowners, Estate Business, Extra Money, Langford, Mcdade, Modesto California, Property Owners, Real Estate Agent, Rock Bottom Prices, Roommate, Scammers, Suspicions, Thousands Of Dollars, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, Wells Fargo Bank
The Politics of Real Estate
Few industries are as profoundly impacted by the political machinations in Washington as the real estate industry. Whether it's old legislation like Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act or Barack Obama's massive mortgage bailouts, the U.S. political machine has a huge impact (usually bad) on the business of real estate.
Ideally, we could ignore politics. But here at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, we insist on seeing the world with clarity - including the reality of Washington's aggressive involvement in every facet of our business, from mortgage lending to real estate sales license; from loan modification regulations to appraisal requirements... every piece of our business is profoundly impacted by politics. So rather than stick our heads in the sand and ignore reality, readers of the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter choose to be informed and prepared.
Mortgage Industry News
Few things change more rapidly than the mortgage market, and with the increasing dominance of GSE's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the mortgage business, it's more important than ever to keep up. Here are a few recent mortgage news updates:
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Mortgage News
- HAMP Success Tally Slowly Growing
- Western States Working Through Foreclosure Backlog Quicker than Eastern
- Biggest Down Payments in the Country Found in New Jersey
- President Bypasses Congress, Appoints Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau
- Federal Reserve Recommends Expanding GSEs to Turn Housing Market Around
- Mortgage Rates Likely to Remain Low for a While Longer
- Top Former FDIC, Wells Fargo Execs Say Fannie and Freddie Must Go
- FHA Continues to Extend Anti-Flipping Waiver
- More Homeowners Using Delaying Tactics to Slow Down Foreclosures
- Now that It’s Passed: The True Cost of the Payroll Tax Cut
About Bryan Ellis
Bryan Ellis is an Atlanta-based real estate analyst and publisher of the widely read newsletter "The Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter". With over 200,000 subscribers - including real estate investors, agents, brokers, appraisers and other real estate professionals - the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter is among America's largest sources of unbiased coverage of politics and public policy for the real estate industry.
Bryan Ellis serves as editor in chief for the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter and is assisted by an extraordinary staff of writers, researchers and editors who are each real estate experts in their own right and who assure that the news we report is well researched, factual, and highly relevant to today's real estate industry.
Bryan is very happily married and has two wonderful daughters. He makes his home in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact the team at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter here.