Homeowner is Suing for Foreclosure

There have been many questions raised over what should happen when someone is facing financial hardship with their mortgage. A homeowner in California had spoken with her bank, U.S. Bank about getting a modification on her home loan as a result of her financial position, and after agreeing to do so she claims that they reneged. Ms. Claudia Aceves wasn’t the only one who felt that way, and it makes for a real disaster.


It is important for all of you to understand that the court did see that Ms. Aceves didn’t have a strong case in getting her home back. This case brings about a lot of mixed feelings, but some angry homeowners who may also consider suing, and either causing attorneys to get busy, or regret taking on these types of cases.

Mortgage servicers are also going to struggle and have been for some time due to the argument before that came with servicers telling borrowers over the phone that they didn’t qualify for a modification. Naturally, not only did this leave borrowers angry, but it left them confused over why modifications were even put into place in the first place. Homeowners new very little about the modification program when it was first rolled out, and really neither did the banks. When the programs were rolled out they weren’t really well thought-out on how they were going to be done, timeframe and more. Borrowers didn’t even know how modifications were done, and that they had to qualify for them. So, why did anyone expect this to work until it was all hammered out? This should tell us something about the state of our finances.

-Mayer Dallal

The Best Judgment

I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the story about Judge Votolato, who established a mediation program for homeowners who are facing foreclosure. Under the mediation program the lenders aren’t required to present a borrower with a modification program, but they are expected to work with the borrowers in good faith. This is the best thing that has ever happened, because the homeowners that are out there buried and feeling the desperation need to feel like someone cares. The banks still haven’t done all they can to make things right. While it is true that banks cannot completely change the situation, we are each responsible for doing what we can do. If we know that something is right and we don’t do it, shame on us.


This loss mitigation program was implemented initially in November of 2009, and will hopefully continue as long as is necessary. This housing crisis won’t end right away, or at least within the next few months. It is critical that homeowners become aware of their options so that they can ask for the modification application and go from there. While very homeowners do get approved, it is still in their best interest to investigate and review their options.

-Mayer Dallal

Decrease in Foreclosure Activity

A decrease in foreclosures is what we have been hoping for, unfortunately it just isn’t nationwide. The inventory is still growing, but there are patches of metropolitan cities where foreclosure filings are decreasing. One thing to keep in mind is that we are only at the end of January, and so we have to be mindful of what this New Year holds.


RealtyTrac just released its year end Market Foreclosure Report for 2010. There is no dispute that foreclosures are higher than they were in 2009, but the activity has slowed down significantly in certain areas. There were ten metropolitan areas in which foreclosure activity increased in states like Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho on the low end of that category.

Overall in 2010, foreclosures were five to ten times higher than they ever were throughout history, and this is linked to joblessness. We always see a trend when the rate of unemployment goes up, so does the rate of foreclosures. The city that reported the most foreclosures in the United States was Las Vegas, Nevada, and the numbers equal out to one out of nine homes or buildings being foreclosed on. Modesto, California was one of the metropolitan cities that experienced a decrease since 2009. Hopefully as the year progresses, we will see a slowdown in other cities.

-Mayer Dallal

Foreclosures Drop in November

It’s great news that foreclosures have been dropping over the past few months. In the month of November, Realty Trac released their survey results stating that foreclosures had dropped more than 20% from October which is great. They were down 14% from what we had going on in November of 2009. This is good news to too, because we don’t really want to see numbers right now superseding what occurred last year.


What this means in terms of more real numbers is that this is the lowest this number has been since February of last year, because that is when things seem to get worse. Whether or not it was linked to families choosing to spend money on holiday credit card bills over paying the mortgage I am really not sure. It is tough when families are choosing between paying the mortgage or feeding their kids. I am thankful I am not in that position. What I will tell you is that I am on a mission simply to help others, and it goes day by day because you never know who you will come into contact with.

This is why I was so driven to become multifaceted in my business, so that I could be empowered with knowledge to help those in good and bad situations, and to be able to answer questions that would at least point people in the right direction.

-Mayer Dallal

The Holiday Gift of Suspending Evictions

Freddie Mac announced again that they would not evict people from their homes during the holiday season, which is something that they have been putting into practice for three years in a row. Freddie Mac isn’t the only one that is halting its evictions though, because Fannie Mae is jumping right in as well.

I think that this was one of the best things they could do, because times are hard enough and the holidays have made many people feel worse. Depending upon what holiday you will celebrating, you may be having a hard time with the holiday season. Perhaps it isn’t even a material thing and you lost a loved one, and that is plenty hard enough. Let’s look at the reality at what is happening right now too, and put a spin on this situation. Let’s say you just lost your spouse, and your mortgage payments are behind and you have already gotten your foreclosure notice. Not only are you in a bad place in life, but now you have been given more bad news which makes things harder. You now have to either find another place to live or sleep on the street. This is hard stuff, the stuff that right now I don’t have to worry about. No matter how bad I think I have it, I am still better off than many others in this country right now.

Many times, we also pass by someone without giving much thought to what might be going on in their world. I am here to tell you that I can’t stop thinking about the bum on the street with no place to go. Maybe he lost his job, and his wife left him and his home went into foreclosure and now he is on the street. This when I say “thanks be to God”. Freddie Mac can’t save the world, but it’s time than many more organizations follow their example in 2010 and the years to come.

-Mayer Dallal

Does the Government Pay to Prevent a Foreclosure?

In the midst of all the foreclosures there have been nearly half a million loan modifications done. The success is right around 40%, which is good although we would really like to see it get higher. The only way it would get higher is if banks aggressively solicited modifications instead of waiting for borrowers to get to them. It seems that the families are having to make the first move these days, no matter how deep in they are in the loan.


It has been said that the average cost per modification is a little over $50k. Where does this figure come from? The figure is simply a part of what goes into doing a mortgage modification, and includes everything from the people hired to do the job, to the filing of paperwork, the fees that the bank would eat and some other miscellaneous costs. It sounds like a lot per loan, but let’s face it, we can’t have families put out on the street. The families should have gotten help extended to them in the first place, but there was no real solution in place. Ever see the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”? That says it all.

-Mayer Dallal

What's The Risk?

Is it just me, or does anyone else not see potential issue with having a robot sign foreclosure documents? I think that all the banks and lenders need to be taking a closer look at their process and who is overseeing these things. While it is hard to manage everyone in a large organization, it is imperative that a large organization knows how to make it run like a well-oiled machine.


Having the proper supervisory people in place makes the world go round and having employees that contribute make it all worthwhile and a lot easier to endure. I will say that most companies have it all wrong, and want to get the best around for the least amount of money. When banks and lenders hire these people, they should most certainly get their view on money, and how it works, along with how they wish to see other people become more successful financially. If they don’t share that vision, they have no business working in finance.

Once investors begin to lose confidence, business is down which makes matters worse and properties get sold for a lot less money and less frequently. There is no great mystery behind what is going on, but the only mystery is regarding who will take a stand for what is right? The financial industry has suffered some staggering losses and will continue to do so if no one takes a stand.

-Mayer Dallal

Is All Well That Ends With Wells Fargo?

Wells Fargo decided it might be best to take a closer look at its foreclosure process which was a smart move. Banks are being examined closely in the wake of a time when no one is able to make ends meet, or is struggling too. Banks are also just filing papers quickly without much review. So, with all the review Wells Fargo thought it was a good idea to go ahead and analyze their processes a little bit further.


Affidavits must be signed and finalized by someone before the foreclosure becomes official. Many large companies pay someone a nice salary to do this job and review the papers before they are signed. With this being said, Wells Fargo states that they have the proper processes in place to make sure that the right papers are signed by the right people and that no stones goes unturned.

This process can only be run from the company’s data, meaning the figures on the mortgages and the database showing who is on the list to be processed etc. This is simply a part of quality control, and is done to ensure the accuracy of all paperwork. The story of a man getting his home foreclosed on when he didn’t owe the bank anything is down- right hideous. Think about it; no matter how much you were being paid to sign off on foreclosure documents, would you not review those things to make sure they are correct? Would you want to be out on the street?

-Mayer Dallal

What is the Main Cause of Foreclosures?

I don’t know that the reason for our foreclosure crisis is really a secret, but I do believe that there are multiple reasons. However, if you take a look at the most recent statistics dealing with financial reports, you will clearly see that joblessness is at an all time high, even though rates are at an all time low. It doesn’t balance out, and it doesn’t seem fair.


Rick Sharge, the Senior Vice President for RealtyTrac Inc. spoke with Lisa Murphy on Bloomberg not too long ago and gives us some insight into what is happening. I whole heartedly believe that unemployment is a major if not the main contributing factor for the foreclosures. How can anyone pay their bills when they have no income? They simply can’t, and the funny part is that when you lose your job, your unemployment isn’t instant, yet every credit under the sun expects payment from you. Usually, once you do lose your job you are looking at getting one last paycheck, but even so, it should only be an additional two weeks before you get your first unemployment check.

The point is that with joblessness this high, there is no way that people are going to be able to hold up a mortgage payment, or at least it may not be feasible with very little no savings, and depending on how large that payment is, time could run out very quickly for your family.

-Mayer Dallal

There is Life After a Short Sale !

There is life after a short sale, don’t think that your financial future is over once you negotiate a short sale.


A short sale is much different from a foreclosure, in that it is a negotiation with the lender to let the home sell for less than is owed on the home. The short sale prevents you from having a foreclosure on your credit, and it will also allow you to credit qualify for another loan within a few years time. Foreclosure will affect your credit rating for three years, but it will remain on your credit report for ten years. When doing a short sale, your credit will show that your mortgage loan is paid as agreed, or settled, but this will probably drop your score no more than 50 points, and the slow pay will drop off your report within 12 to 18 months.



With all of the media hype on short sales, it’s really tough to know what is right and what is wrong. You need an expert and the tools and resources to get this right. Foreclosure can be devastating so don’t let it happen to you. There are options, so we can discover what those are together. Call me at (310) 498-2700, or you can email me today at mdallal@fhaloansnow.net.