LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Monday, February 27, 2012

Technology in your Toilet

The Gates Foundation is challenging engineers to reinvent the toilet into a more efficient, effective model with the following specifications:


"A stand-alone unit without piped-in water, a sewer connection, or outside electricity—all for less than 5 cents a day."

To read more about the future of flushing, click here.

131.8 Million Homes in Diagram Form

Goldman Sachs offers a great chart breaking down America's 131.8 Million Homes into categories of occupied (listed / unlisted) or vacant (listed, season / recreational properties not listed, for rent, sold unoccupied, or held off market).

To view the diagram, click here.

Court of Appeals says both Federal & State can Regulate Appraisal Practices

In People ex rel Cuomo v. First American Corp, the Court of Appeals denies the argument that NY can't regulate appraisals and instead says, while ruling on alleged fraud and violation of real estate appraisal independence rules concerning the issuance of mortgages, that both Federal and State authorities may ensure that real estate appraisal reports comport with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

The implication of this ruling is that appraisers should be mindful of increasing oversight by both Federal and State authorities. More so, Appraisers should be knowledgeable of the USPAP and continually review its interpretations and amendments. To review the USPAP, click here.

Modification Portal Alive, Fax Shredders Dead

Just like they have been doing for at least a year in short sales, banks are now offering a portal for homeowners and/or their representatives to apply for a mortgage modification through an online, streamlined, organized and optimized application process. This should mark the beginning of the end of the fax shredder days of modifications where the lender says they never received anything and they blame the homeowner's neglect for the denial of a modification. While the short sale portal utilized is traditionally administered by a third party company, Equator, the modification portal appears to be administered in-house by way of the homeowner's existing online mortgage account, which should create more tailored offerings to the client's specific needs. We highly endorse this move by the banks and believe technology will eliminate much of the he said / she said about document transmission, which is the main crux behind most modification denials to date.

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Robosigning Settlements

Settlement negotiations are in place with the nation’s five (5) largest mortgage servicers to compensate victims of Robosigners. These lenders include Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.

Robosigners are lender representatives that signed several thousand documents without reading and reviewing them for accuracy, creating issues in foreclosure litigation as a result. This practice came to light as a result of the 2008 financial crisis because the number of foreclosures increased greatly as a result.

On the Upside: A portion of the estimated $25 billion settlement will be used to assist homeowners facing foreclosure in participating states. Compensation may also be available to homeowners that fell victim to Robosigning practices. The lenders would also be required to participate in an upgraded procedure for processing foreclosures in order to provide homeowners with greater protection.

On the Downside: After a final settlement, the participating lenders would be protected from future litigation by the participating states. This raises concern to several state Attorney Generals, such as in California and New York’s Eric Schneiderman.

Opponents to the agreement argue that although the number seems large, these lenders are “getting off too easy”.

This opposition is also fueled in part by the concern that there may be other, undiscovered predatory, deceptive, and/or illegal practices in place with these lenders that warrant further investigation and potentially prosecution. Since protection for the participating lenders is part of the package, this may prevent investigation, prosecution, and protection concerning such ongoing practices.

Likewise, President Obama announced that he anticipates creating a task force which will further investigate lenders’ wrongdoing. If such a task force is created prior to the execution of the settlement agreement, this could result in a failure of the settlement. The lenders are bargaining for protection from further litigation and may not be willing to pay such sums without that promise.

Further, compensation to the victims of foreclosure is limited to a small class of persons damaged within a restricted date range. Homeowners with Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loans will be exempt.

To learn more about this potential agreement, CLICK HERE or CLICK HERE.