When Citigroup agreed to a $285 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to resolve allegations of negligence in investing that ultimately cost investors millions, the lender was allowed to do so without admitting or denying fault. That’s a problem, according to federal judge Jed Rakoff, who has denied the settlement and set a trial date of July Read full article »
Tag archives for Citigroup
Citigroup Settlement DENIED!
tags: apartment staging, bank fraud, bank lending, BEREL, Bryan Ellis, Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, carole vansickle, Citigroup, citigroup settlement, Dollar, Draft, Economics, Economy, euro, Fannie Mae, Federal Housing Administration, Fha, fha audit, Foreclosure, foreclosure news, Foreclosures, Freddie Mac, good housing markets, Gse, Gses, homestaging, Housing Market, housing market news, housing market trouble, Housing Recovery, Investing, Investing Business, investing course, Investing Education, investing news, Investing Tips, jed rakoff, lending, lending news, lending trends, loan fraud, loan limits, Market News, Mortgage, Mortgage News, Mortgages, multifamily housing, Real Estate, real estate 101, Real Estate Course, real estate economics, real estate education, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing Course, Real Estate Investing News, real estate investing resources, Real Estate Investing Tips, Real Estate Investors, real estate investors news, Real Estate Market, real estate market news, Real Estate News, Rental Property, rental sector, Staging, Stock Markets, Stock News, underwater homes, underwater housing, Va Loans, Veterans Loans
Bank of America Donates Houses, then Bulldozes Them
Earlier this year, Bank of America announced that it would be donating houses in the Cleveland area to a local agency that manages blighted property. Now, in addition to its donation of property, the lender will also be contributing to the demolition of those houses. BofA has announced similar plans for properties in Detroit and Chicago. While this might not Read full article »
tags: Bank Of America, bank of america demolition, bank of america foreclosures, BEREL, blighted property, Bofa, bofa foreclosures, Bryan Ellis, Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, carole vansickle, chicago foreclosures, Chicago Real Estate, Citigroup, cleveland land reutilization corp, cleveland real estate, detroit real estate. detroit foreclosures, Draft, Fannie Mae, Foreclosure, foreclosure demolition, Foreclosures, gus frangos, Jpmorgan Chase, neighborhood blight, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing News, Real Estate Investors, real estate investors news, real estate letter, Real Estate News, Realtytrac, Wells Fargo
State Attorneys General Working on Immunity for Major Banks
The latest in the state attorneys general negotiations with major lenders is an attempt to get immunity for major banks over irregularities in handling foreclosures in light of evidence emerging that banks are continuing to file questionable documents. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Ally Financial could get immunity from civil lawsuits by states in exchange Read full article »
tags: Ally Financial, attorney general settment, Bank Of America, bank settlement, BEREL, Bryan Ellis, Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, carole vansickle, Citigroup, civil lawsuits, Draft, Foreclosure, foreclosure settlement, Foreclosures, Jp Morgan Chase, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing News, Real Estate Investors, real estate investors news, Real Estate News, Wells Fargo
Foreclosure Actions in South Florida Fall 51 Percent in Second Quarter
According to a report from CondoVultures, foreclosure actions in South Florida have plummeted by 51 percent year-over-year for the second quarter of 2011. Peter Zalewski, CondoVultures principal, says that “lenders appear to be riding the brake when it comes to foreclosure actions” in the region. He added, however, that this might change once “administrative irregularities tied to foreclosure process in Read full article »
tags: Ally Financial, Bank Of America, bank settlement, BEREL, Bryan Ellis, Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, carole vansickle, Citigroup, condo vultures, Draft, Florida Foreclosures, Florida Real Estate, Foreclosure, Foreclosures, Jpmorgan Chase, judicial foreclosure, peter zalewski, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Investing News, Real Estate Investors, real estate investors news, Real Estate News, robo signer settlement, South Florida, south florida foreclosures, south florida real estate, Stop Foreclosure, Wells Fargo
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:
-
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.