Lenders May Cut Borrowers’ Principal to Prevent Costly Foreclosures

Several years ago, it would have been virtually unheard of. But a number of lenders are now sometimes willing to consider reducing or deferring part of a borrower’s principal balance on an upside-down mortgage in order to avoid taking an even more costly hit if the loan goes into foreclosure…

Jan 7, 2010 8:41 PM CST

‘Foreclosure Mills’ Use ‘Assembly-Line’ Litigation Process

Amidst the worst economic downturn in the memory of many practitioners, business is red-hot at Florida law firms that handle multiple mortgage foreclosures for minimal legal fees of perhaps $1,200 a case. Some “foreclosure mills” are filing hundreds of cases monthly, utilizing an “assembly-line” process. It assigns each component of…

Jan 4, 2010 7:54 PM CST

The Pain Spreads

It’s the commercial real estate market’s turn to take a hit from the financial crisis

Jan 2, 2010 5:20 AM CST

That’s Hot. And That’s Not.

Jan 2, 2010 3:20 AM CST

Commercial Real Estate Takes a Hit

Note: Register for this month’s CLE, “Real Estate Law: No Commercial Break,” from 1-2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Not so long ago, General Growth Properties Inc. was a classic success story. The company had morphed in 55 years from a family-owned grocery business in Iowa to the second-largest…

Dec 27, 2009 10:53 PM CST

Advertising with Impunity on Craigslist, Foreclosed-Home Strippers Avoid Sanctions

When a potential buyer walks into a foreclosed home, it isn’t unusual to see gaping, often jagged holes where items of value including appliances, cabinets, countertops, sinks, toilets and doors, among other items of value, used to be. And it isn’t just ordinary thieves who are doing the stripping. Soon-to-be-former…

Dec 23, 2009 6:11 PM CST

Lawyer Charged in Alleged Scheme to Divert Mortgage Payoffs to Fake Company

A Massachusetts attorney is accused of using his legal skills to identify properties that were about to be sold and then recording documents to make it look as though a fake company he created held the mortgage on them. But before Leon Gelfgatt could collect the $1.3 million in mortgage…

Dec 18, 2009 7:32 PM CST

Owners Making Agreed Loan Payments Can Lose Their Homes Without Notice

The federal Home Affordable Modification Program is supposed to help struggling owners get revised mortgage terms that will make it possible for them to hold onto their personal residences. But only a small fraction of those who apply are being approved by lenders, even when they are making trial revised…

Dec 18, 2009 12:29 AM CST

Evicted Farmer Asks Judge to Order Bank to Care for His Animals

Forced to abandon his farm due to a mortgage foreclosure action, a Rhode Island farmer says he was assured by Wells Fargo Bank that his animals would be cared for. But after seeing strangers walk off with some animals and hearing that remaining horses and pigs apparently hadn’t received water…

Dec 9, 2009 6:23 PM CST

IRS Audits Single Mom Making $20K, Says She Can’t Claim Kids as Dependents

A single mom who makes about $20,000 a year working at a hair salon, Rachel Porcaro doesn’t own a car and lives with her parents in order to make ends meet. But apparently not believing that she could pay her bills on her actual, reported income, the Internal Revenue Service…

Dec 8, 2009 9:53 PM CST

2 Lawyers Among 5 Charged in Alleged $14.6M Mortgage Scheme

Two partners in a Pennsylvania law firm have been federally indicted along with three other defendants including two mortgage company owners in a wide-ranging alleged real estate fraud scheme. Jeffrey Bennett and Stephen Doherty of Doylestown-based Bennett & Doherty are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and…

Dec 8, 2009 8:56 PM CST

Beach Parties and Seaside Hot-Dog Stands Figure in High Court Arguments

Supreme Court justices considered worst-case scenarios for owners of Florida coastal property yesterday in a dispute over whether widened beaches belong to the state, interfering with the landowners’ unfettered access to the water. Could the state allow a hot dog stand on the new portion of the beach? A portable…

Dec 3, 2009 3:02 PM CST

Practice Pitfalls

When it comes to potential ethics or malpractice hazards, watch where you’re going, or look out below

Dec 2, 2009 5:39 AM CST

Beautician Wins Major Property Case for Mom, Gets Law School Scholarship

A 23-year-old beautician with no legal training who made headlines by defeating a big British property developer in a High Court case earlier this month is now headed to law school, with the help of a scholarship. Young, blond and apparently underestimated, Georgina Blackwell saved her mother’s home and business…

Nov 30, 2009 10:40 PM CST

Judge Cancels $525K in Mortgage Debt, Blasts Bank’s ‘Shocking and Repulsive’ Acts

A New York judge has wiped out $525,000 in mortgage debt for a couple, saying the bank misled him about the amount at stake and refused to work with the homeowners to modify the loan. The judge, Jeffrey Spinner, canceled the mortgage, interest and penalties after finding that the actions…

Nov 30, 2009 3:21 PM CST