Saturday, November 27, 2010

foreclosure


LPS Applied Analytics released their October Mortgage Performance data today. According to LPS:



• The average number of days delinquent for loans in foreclosure is a record 492 days

• Over 4.3 million loans are 90 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure

• Foreclosure sales plummeted by 35% in October (as a result of the widespread moratoria)

• Nearly 20% of loans that have been delinquent more than two years are still not in foreclosure



Click on graph for larger image in new window.



This graph provided by LPS Applied Analytics shows the percent delinquent, percent in foreclosure, and total non-current mortgages.



The percent in the foreclosure process is trending up because of the foreclosure moratoriums.



According to LPS, 9.29 percent of mortgages are delinquent, and another 3.92 are in the foreclosure process for a total of 13.20 percent. It breaks down as:



• 2.72 million loans less than 90 days delinquent.

• 2.24 million loans 90+ days delinquent.

• 2.09 million loans in foreclosure process.



For a total of 7.04 million loans delinquent or in foreclosure.



This is similar to the quarterly data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.



Note: I've seen some people include these 7+ million delinquent loans as "shadow inventory". This is not correct because 1) some of these loans will cure, and 2) some of these homes are already listed for sale (so they are included in the visible inventory).



We’re a little puzzled at the attention a Florida robo-signing case has garnered. A plaintiff tried arguing that robo signing alone constituted a reason to dismiss a foreclosure. That’s such a stretch that it is no wonder a judge decided against the borrower argument.


Mind you, we think robo signing is serious because it is a fraud on the court and will almost assuredly be more complicated to clean up than the banks would have you believe. But the presence of a robo signer in and of itself is very unlikely to do much for the cause for an individual homeowner. The real implications are twofold. First is that the cost and hassle of banks straightening out this mess are serious. Not only will they have to spend more on foreclosures going forward, not merely getting proper signatures and notarizations, but also verfying the accuracy of the underlying information. And the state of Ohio is on a warpath, seeking to impose $25,000 fines for each improper affidavit. Second, some judges may make servicers start cases from scratch where a false affidavit has been submitted.

When banks find errors, as Bank of America has, what will the judge do?


HousingWire gives a report on this Florida case:


In Freemon v. Deutsche Bank, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled that an allegedly faulty affidavit didn’t constitute fraud in the case.


“Freemon’s motion does not demonstrate fraud or show why any of the alleged facts would entitle her to relief sufficient to set aside a default judgment,” the court ruled this week. “Freemon nowhere contends that she did not default on her mortgage, nor does she allege that the amounts due and owing, set forth in the affidavit and incorporated in the final judgment, are incorrect.”


In November 2007, Deutsche Bank filed to foreclosure against the homeowner, Veldrin Freemon, alleging she owed more than $570,000 on the mortgage note. Freemon didn’t answer the foreclosure complaint and a default judgment was entered. She later contested the case and it was delayed for six months. A foreclosure sale was reset for September 2009, and the property was sold back to the bank. When the bank sought to repossess the home after the sale, however, Freemon filed for relief from the judgment, alleging that an affidavit in the case was fraudulent.


The allegation of fraud was based on a deposition in another foreclosure case from a Litton Loan employee who was signing foreclosure affidavits without personal knowledge of their contents.


The court ruled that the deposition was insufficient to prove fraud and disagreed with Freemon’s characterization of the Litton Loan affidavit from Denise Bailey.


Freemon claimed that Bailey claimed personal knowledge of the matters in the affidavit yet she did not know who inputted information into the computer regarding the loan in question.

I pinged a lawyer who has been following securitization cases. HIs reply:


Very narrow ruling with limited implications.


I haven’t reviewed the case, but it doesn’t look like this borrower was connected to any of the people we know because it was a very incomplete argument.


Facts (as far as I can tell from the article):

Borrower was foreclosed. Later learns about robo-signers, and uses deposition from another case to argue the foreclosure should be overturned because the robo-signer admitted in the other case that she didn’t personally verify facts in the affidavit.


Appeals court dismissed borrowers complaint because the borrower didn’t present sufficient evidence of fraud or that any facts reviewed by the court in the original foreclosure case were in dispute. The borrower didn’t present any specific information regarding fraud in her case.


I did not see this as a ruling that robo-signing was not fraud. Rather, the judge said that the allegations about another case’s deposition were insufficient to show that an existing ruling (the house was already foreclosed and sold) should be vacated. The appeals court ruled that they would not over rule a trial court’s review of the facts without compelling evidence, which was not presented in this case.


I find the perspective of the article’s author and of Paul Jackson to be curious. The author said it was “good news for servicers” and Jackson said it was “huge news” because it found “robo-signing” was not fraud.


It seems very odd to me to be cheerleading for servicers’ right to submit bad information to the courts. That is a measure of just how far banks, and their minions, are willing to twist themselves over this issue.


In addition, this is far from a huge ruling. The borrower seems to have made a very weak case – first they didn’t challenge the foreclosure until after it was sold. Then, they only presented evidence from another case, without making any factual assertions in their own case (perhaps the goal was to re-open the case so they could take their own depositions, but this is a far more difficult route to attempt). In addition, they also tried to assert that the issue was “fraud”, which is, as you know, a very tough legal hurdle which requires the proof of “intent” which is difficult to establish.


While we’ll be seeing more fallout of the robo signing scandal, it’s more a symptom of deeper problems in the securitization process, namely, widespread disregard for contracts and legal procedures, than a huge issue in and of itself. But it will still be generating embarrassing stories for weeks and higher costs on an onging basis.



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openSUSE Weekly <b>News</b>, Issue 151 is out - openSUSE <b>News</b>

“After the breaking news of Mike Galbraith's patch of 233 lines of code to the linux kernel and the confirmation it was working by Linus Torvalds, naturally some threads were opened on the forums. This thread is one of them, ...

Miller returns to net tonight - Sabres Edge - Blogs - The Buffalo <b>News</b>

The Buffalo News updated every day with news from Buffalo, New York. Links to national and business news, entertainment listings, recipes, sports teams, classified ads, death notices.

Sun TV <b>News</b> application approved - Need to know - Macleans.ca

Sun TV News has been green-lit by the CRTC after a long war with the regulator and critics who are opposed to the 24-7 news-and-opinion channel nicknamed “Fox News North.” The CRTC had previously refused to grant the Quebecor property a ...


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openSUSE Weekly <b>News</b>, Issue 151 is out - openSUSE <b>News</b>

“After the breaking news of Mike Galbraith's patch of 233 lines of code to the linux kernel and the confirmation it was working by Linus Torvalds, naturally some threads were opened on the forums. This thread is one of them, ...

Miller returns to net tonight - Sabres Edge - Blogs - The Buffalo <b>News</b>

The Buffalo News updated every day with news from Buffalo, New York. Links to national and business news, entertainment listings, recipes, sports teams, classified ads, death notices.

Sun TV <b>News</b> application approved - Need to know - Macleans.ca

Sun TV News has been green-lit by the CRTC after a long war with the regulator and critics who are opposed to the 24-7 news-and-opinion channel nicknamed “Fox News North.” The CRTC had previously refused to grant the Quebecor property a ...


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LPS Applied Analytics released their October Mortgage Performance data today. According to LPS:



• The average number of days delinquent for loans in foreclosure is a record 492 days

• Over 4.3 million loans are 90 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure

• Foreclosure sales plummeted by 35% in October (as a result of the widespread moratoria)

• Nearly 20% of loans that have been delinquent more than two years are still not in foreclosure



Click on graph for larger image in new window.



This graph provided by LPS Applied Analytics shows the percent delinquent, percent in foreclosure, and total non-current mortgages.



The percent in the foreclosure process is trending up because of the foreclosure moratoriums.



According to LPS, 9.29 percent of mortgages are delinquent, and another 3.92 are in the foreclosure process for a total of 13.20 percent. It breaks down as:



• 2.72 million loans less than 90 days delinquent.

• 2.24 million loans 90+ days delinquent.

• 2.09 million loans in foreclosure process.



For a total of 7.04 million loans delinquent or in foreclosure.



This is similar to the quarterly data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.



Note: I've seen some people include these 7+ million delinquent loans as "shadow inventory". This is not correct because 1) some of these loans will cure, and 2) some of these homes are already listed for sale (so they are included in the visible inventory).



We’re a little puzzled at the attention a Florida robo-signing case has garnered. A plaintiff tried arguing that robo signing alone constituted a reason to dismiss a foreclosure. That’s such a stretch that it is no wonder a judge decided against the borrower argument.


Mind you, we think robo signing is serious because it is a fraud on the court and will almost assuredly be more complicated to clean up than the banks would have you believe. But the presence of a robo signer in and of itself is very unlikely to do much for the cause for an individual homeowner. The real implications are twofold. First is that the cost and hassle of banks straightening out this mess are serious. Not only will they have to spend more on foreclosures going forward, not merely getting proper signatures and notarizations, but also verfying the accuracy of the underlying information. And the state of Ohio is on a warpath, seeking to impose $25,000 fines for each improper affidavit. Second, some judges may make servicers start cases from scratch where a false affidavit has been submitted.

When banks find errors, as Bank of America has, what will the judge do?


HousingWire gives a report on this Florida case:


In Freemon v. Deutsche Bank, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled that an allegedly faulty affidavit didn’t constitute fraud in the case.


“Freemon’s motion does not demonstrate fraud or show why any of the alleged facts would entitle her to relief sufficient to set aside a default judgment,” the court ruled this week. “Freemon nowhere contends that she did not default on her mortgage, nor does she allege that the amounts due and owing, set forth in the affidavit and incorporated in the final judgment, are incorrect.”


In November 2007, Deutsche Bank filed to foreclosure against the homeowner, Veldrin Freemon, alleging she owed more than $570,000 on the mortgage note. Freemon didn’t answer the foreclosure complaint and a default judgment was entered. She later contested the case and it was delayed for six months. A foreclosure sale was reset for September 2009, and the property was sold back to the bank. When the bank sought to repossess the home after the sale, however, Freemon filed for relief from the judgment, alleging that an affidavit in the case was fraudulent.


The allegation of fraud was based on a deposition in another foreclosure case from a Litton Loan employee who was signing foreclosure affidavits without personal knowledge of their contents.


The court ruled that the deposition was insufficient to prove fraud and disagreed with Freemon’s characterization of the Litton Loan affidavit from Denise Bailey.


Freemon claimed that Bailey claimed personal knowledge of the matters in the affidavit yet she did not know who inputted information into the computer regarding the loan in question.

I pinged a lawyer who has been following securitization cases. HIs reply:


Very narrow ruling with limited implications.


I haven’t reviewed the case, but it doesn’t look like this borrower was connected to any of the people we know because it was a very incomplete argument.


Facts (as far as I can tell from the article):

Borrower was foreclosed. Later learns about robo-signers, and uses deposition from another case to argue the foreclosure should be overturned because the robo-signer admitted in the other case that she didn’t personally verify facts in the affidavit.


Appeals court dismissed borrowers complaint because the borrower didn’t present sufficient evidence of fraud or that any facts reviewed by the court in the original foreclosure case were in dispute. The borrower didn’t present any specific information regarding fraud in her case.


I did not see this as a ruling that robo-signing was not fraud. Rather, the judge said that the allegations about another case’s deposition were insufficient to show that an existing ruling (the house was already foreclosed and sold) should be vacated. The appeals court ruled that they would not over rule a trial court’s review of the facts without compelling evidence, which was not presented in this case.


I find the perspective of the article’s author and of Paul Jackson to be curious. The author said it was “good news for servicers” and Jackson said it was “huge news” because it found “robo-signing” was not fraud.


It seems very odd to me to be cheerleading for servicers’ right to submit bad information to the courts. That is a measure of just how far banks, and their minions, are willing to twist themselves over this issue.


In addition, this is far from a huge ruling. The borrower seems to have made a very weak case – first they didn’t challenge the foreclosure until after it was sold. Then, they only presented evidence from another case, without making any factual assertions in their own case (perhaps the goal was to re-open the case so they could take their own depositions, but this is a far more difficult route to attempt). In addition, they also tried to assert that the issue was “fraud”, which is, as you know, a very tough legal hurdle which requires the proof of “intent” which is difficult to establish.


While we’ll be seeing more fallout of the robo signing scandal, it’s more a symptom of deeper problems in the securitization process, namely, widespread disregard for contracts and legal procedures, than a huge issue in and of itself. But it will still be generating embarrassing stories for weeks and higher costs on an onging basis.



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openSUSE Weekly <b>News</b>, Issue 151 is out - openSUSE <b>News</b>

“After the breaking news of Mike Galbraith's patch of 233 lines of code to the linux kernel and the confirmation it was working by Linus Torvalds, naturally some threads were opened on the forums. This thread is one of them, ...

Miller returns to net tonight - Sabres Edge - Blogs - The Buffalo <b>News</b>

The Buffalo News updated every day with news from Buffalo, New York. Links to national and business news, entertainment listings, recipes, sports teams, classified ads, death notices.

Sun TV <b>News</b> application approved - Need to know - Macleans.ca

Sun TV News has been green-lit by the CRTC after a long war with the regulator and critics who are opposed to the 24-7 news-and-opinion channel nicknamed “Fox News North.” The CRTC had previously refused to grant the Quebecor property a ...


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openSUSE Weekly <b>News</b>, Issue 151 is out - openSUSE <b>News</b>

“After the breaking news of Mike Galbraith's patch of 233 lines of code to the linux kernel and the confirmation it was working by Linus Torvalds, naturally some threads were opened on the forums. This thread is one of them, ...

Miller returns to net tonight - Sabres Edge - Blogs - The Buffalo <b>News</b>

The Buffalo News updated every day with news from Buffalo, New York. Links to national and business news, entertainment listings, recipes, sports teams, classified ads, death notices.

Sun TV <b>News</b> application approved - Need to know - Macleans.ca

Sun TV News has been green-lit by the CRTC after a long war with the regulator and critics who are opposed to the 24-7 news-and-opinion channel nicknamed “Fox News North.” The CRTC had previously refused to grant the Quebecor property a ...


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openSUSE Weekly <b>News</b>, Issue 151 is out - openSUSE <b>News</b>

“After the breaking news of Mike Galbraith's patch of 233 lines of code to the linux kernel and the confirmation it was working by Linus Torvalds, naturally some threads were opened on the forums. This thread is one of them, ...

Miller returns to net tonight - Sabres Edge - Blogs - The Buffalo <b>News</b>

The Buffalo News updated every day with news from Buffalo, New York. Links to national and business news, entertainment listings, recipes, sports teams, classified ads, death notices.

Sun TV <b>News</b> application approved - Need to know - Macleans.ca

Sun TV News has been green-lit by the CRTC after a long war with the regulator and critics who are opposed to the 24-7 news-and-opinion channel nicknamed “Fox News North.” The CRTC had previously refused to grant the Quebecor property a ...


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