Archive for October, 2009

Feldman Law Center – Loan Modification FAQs

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

You may have a number of questions regarding loan modifications and how they can help you avoid foreclosure.  Loan modifications have been all over the news lately.  President Obama has passed major, historic legislation giving homeowners more access to loan modifications; the California legislature has also passed legislation promoting loan modifications.

Here are some questions and some answers for loan modifications:

Q: What is a loan modification?

A: A loan modification is an agreement between a lender and a borrower to change the original terms of a loan in order to make payments more affordable.  For homeowners, a California loan modification could be a way to stay in their home.  A loan modification attorney can be a major asset when trying to get a loan modification.

Q: How can a loan modification be accomplished?

A: There are actually a number of different ways to get a loan modification.  The interest rate on a loan can be either lowered temporarily, or permanently set at a lower rate.  An adjustable rate could be set to a fixed rate.  The term of the loan could be changed, from say 30 years to 40 years.  There could be a principal reduction of the loan amount.  There are other ways and you could also have any combination of options.  All of this is geared towards lowering your monthly payments and making your mortgage more affordable.

Q: How common are loan modifications?

A: As the real estate crisis continues, loan modifications are becoming increasingly common.  Loan modifications have been around for a very long time, but only when many people are in danger of losing their homes does everyone begin to ask questions.  Some think loan modifications are a new invention, or a scam, but people with mortgages have been getting loan modifications for quite a while.

Q: Does the federal of California state government play a role in loan modifications?

A: As so many people are suffering due to the economic crisis, President Obama and the California legislature have passed various laws pressuring lenders to offer loan modifications.  Lenders are not opposed to loan modifications, especially at a time when so many Americans are facing foreclosure.  A foreclosure hurts the banks’ bottom lines, and the industry has already seen hundreds of billions of dollars in financial loss due to the mortgage crisis.  California passed a law in 2008 promoting loan modifications, and in early 2009 President Obama wasted no time in helping people get the loan modifications they need to stay in their homes.  With Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in serious trouble due to foreclosures (both of which are federal entities), it behooves the federal government to act that much quicker in saving people’s livelihood.

As you can see, there is a lot of information out there on mortgage loan modifications, and many people are unaware as to whether or not they qualify.  If you are facing foreclosure or facing another financial crisis, contact a qualified California home loan modification attorney today and get “in the know.”

Visit us at http://www.feldmanlawcenter.com or call 800-588-0425.

One Nation Under Law

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Inconceivable, with Liturgy and justification for all.

The story of my life starts with my awareness that nothing I saw made much sense. I just couldn’t see a happy ending. There was an observable pointlessness. Although at the age of eight or so I really wouldn’t have used words like this. The sense was that this world wasn’t going to end well. It wasn’t heading anywhere. That’s what it was in a nutshell. It was going nowhere.

One of the real sore spots was the rules. People kept telling me to do things. I kept asking why. They kept saying things like, “that’s what people do…” or the dreaded, “because I said so…”. Let’s just say that as far as I was concerned there was no good reason for me to follow any of these rules. The real reason that I was being asked, no commanded, to follow these rules was not really clear to the people giving the orders. They couldn’t tell me, because they didn’t know. When they did attempt to give me the reasons, as they understood them, I was always left with the same underlying feeling of, “sorry but that doesn’t add up to anything”. This was the beginning of my walk in society. My “knowing” that it would end badly. It had to. Because it’s not designed to go anywhere. It could only end in – nothing. Nothing has changed.

So I went on from confrontation to confrontation. Here’s a rule that I didn’t get: respect your elders. Look around for the origin of that. You’ll find that it comes out of indigenous settings where the ritual and stories are passed along from generation to generation by the elders of the community. The only relationship our forefathers had with the indigenous tribes was to kill them or corrupt them – for profit. They did it then, they are doing it today. Right now. In our society it means, coercion. It has nothing to do with anything else. It’s just the big older children (adults) trying to make the small people (kids) obey them, or leave them alone. Or so the “grown ups” be treated “like they want to be treated” without the inconvenience of deserving it. As far as I know this collective life of law started with the old testament bible. Someone came up with the “God Decree” and it’s just gotten increasingly stupid with each generation.

The culmination of this obsession with telling people what to do came when a branch of this insidious creation granted the corporation the rights of a person. Sometimes we have thoughts and feelings about things and don’t no where we got them. One of these would be our ideas about judges. Judges are just the upper echelon in the life of law. They aren’t necessarily wise or just. They don’t even have to be smart. With the passing of the law concerning the corporation it came to pass that you can hold a seat on the supreme court and be, not just dumb but, insane. Anyone in there right mind who was approached with this “corporate” idea would immediately, without hesitation, show the petitioner to the door. If you don’t you’re either an idiot or a crook. Who were these petitioners? That’s right, lawyers.

One of the big failings of law is that it doesn’t protect anyone from anything. It doesn’t insure a society of safety or sanity, peace or freedom. In fact, if one looks at the history of society and the history of law, I’d think it would be clear that it is a failed system. In the long run, it doesn’t help. That one rule of law concerning the corporation meant that a few goofballs could ruin the lives of millions. Including those whose lives it was written to enhance. The law was written to protect corporations from common sense. In fact the idea of law itself is the replacement of common sense. It has done this, one thing, to perfection. Not only is there a ever increasing lack of common decency and judgment but common sense has vanished completely. Sense has become compartmentalized. It’s no longer common. There is no sign of it anywhere. There are those who have good sense, it’s just not common to the society. The elders are gone. We are a nation whose only tradition is that we take possession of things under the system of law. If a law prohibits the acquisition then the law is changed or a law is written.

This one event, the corporate rights law, shows that, as a system, it’s flawed. There is no fixing a flawed system. The system is what you start with. Everything that follows are results. If you want different results you have to get a different system. There is no other way. If we wanted to make a good law it’s not all that tough. It could be written like this – Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you. Now this could never really be a law. It is to close to common sense. Also we would have to try and figure out a way to enforce it and then it would just start the whole process up again and in a few generations we be as balled up as we are now. Law doesn’t work for people ( unless you’re a corporation ). So what does? What is it we need to do? We need to do something and we need to do it now. We need to do it “commonly”. That means we need to do it as one. At once. Meaning as one movement at the same time. The first thing we must do is break the law. Not commit a singular criminal act. Break the tyranny of law. Revolt with a unanimous and resounding – No More. No more stupidity. No more greed. No more insanity. No more rulers and ruled. No more armies in sheep’s clothing. No more patrioticide. No more lies.

The reign of law must end. Either that or we just take every thing we hold dear and turn it in, now. We might as well get it over with. We either do it voluntarily or we do it when we’re told to – under the law – that will be written. We already live without freedom, safety, peace of mind, good health. The list is long. We don’t even have the right to ownership. If you don’t believe this stop paying the money that the law requires and see who really has ownership. Ownership will revert back to the cartel set up “Under the Law” to control every possession known to man. Even things “common sense” would never think of as a possession. Like life. Yes there are laws that made it possible for an insane person to get a patent on a life form. Common sense laughed at the idea. Law prevailed. The life we dreamed about is gone. It will never come back. The past is indeed lost to us. There is no way to reroute the ship. We have to board a different ship. We will have to come up with a new dream. A common dream that will re-establish our common sense. The re-emergence of common sense will overwhelm law. Common sense is not dead. Like all ideas it can’t die. It is in the dormant phase of the inactive idea. We can activate it and we should.

It’s a good idea. Unlike the idea of law.

Feldman Law Center – What to do About Interest Rates

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

When people hear about loan modifications, they learn that one of the most common ways to lower your monthly mortgage payments is to adjust your interest rate.  For example, if you have an adjustable rate mortgage, you could get your interest rate lowered for some period of time.  You could also switch from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage, and this way not only would your mortgage payment be cheaper, but you could know what it will be over the long haul.

The challenge is, adjusting your interest rate, or setting your interest rate permanently may not be your best option.  It may seem simple, but you could have other choices available to you that you are not aware of.  One of the benefits of having a loan modification attorney working with you is that they may be aware of options you are not aware of.

For example, a loan modification does not necessarily have to involve an interest rate adjustment.  Other loan modification options involve principal reductions and lengthening the term of your loan.  If you get a principal reduction, it could mean that a loan for $500,000 could be lowered to $380,000, which would obviously have a huge impact on your monthly mortgage payments.  You could also get the term lengthened, and go from a 30 year mortgage to a 40 year mortgage.  An extra ten years would give you an extra 120 months to spread out your payments, which would also lower your monthly mortgage payments.

Interest rates were at an all time low in December, and stayed there for quite a while.  However, they’ve gone up and down and recently have reached their highest point in quite a while.  This sort of uncertainty is not beneficial to your current situation, especially if you’re facing foreclosure.  The federal government has instituted many plans to lower interest rates, including using $600 billion to get more buyers into the market in hopes of stabilizing home prices and reviving the economy.  However, the federal government’s effectiveness has gone up and down.

Loan modification attorneys can be a trusted ally in the battle to keep your home.  A California loan modification attorney can give you the lowdown on your situation, as well as the many options available to you.  While getting an altered interest rate may be to your benefit, it could also be that other options work better for your situation.  Lowering your principal balance could be an option, and it would also be a great long term solution.  Changing the length of the loan could also be a great long term option, and both of these would lower your monthly payments.

If you are facing a foreclosure, or if you are facing some other type of financial crisis, a loan modification could be your best option.  These days, almost everyone is watching the economy, waiting for their own situation to worsen.  Unfortunately, these are tough times, but a loan modification attorney could help out quite a bit.

Visit us at feldmanlawcenter.com or call 800-588-0425.

The World’S Strangest Laws

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Written by ayubs.weebly.com

Here is a list of the world’s most ridiculous laws… no wonder lawyers earn so much!

- In Victoria Australia, only a licensed electrician is allowed to change a lightbulb.

- In Victoria Australia it is forbidden to wear pink hot pants after mid-day on a Sunday.

- It England, it is illegal for a cab in the City of London to carry rabid dogs or corpses.

- It England, it is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.

- It England, it is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside down.

- In France, it is forbidden to call a pig Napoleon.

- Under the UK’s Tax Avoidance Schemes Regulations 2006, it is illegal not to tell the taxman anything you don’t want him to know, though you don’t have to tell him anything you don’t mind him knowing.

- In Alabama, it is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while driving a vehicle.

- In Ohio, it is against state law to get a fish drunk.

- Royal Navy ships that enter the Port of London must provide a barrel of rum to the Constable of the Tower of London.

- In the UK, a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants – even, if she so requests, in a policeman’s helmet.

- In Lancashire, no person is permitted after being asked to stop by a constable on the seashore to incite a dog to bark.

- In Miami, Florida, it is illegal to skateboard in a police station.

- In Indonesia, the penalty for masturbation is decapitation.

- In the UK, all men over the age of 14 must carry out two hours of longbow practice a day.

- In London, Freemen are allowed to take a flock of sheep across London Bridge without being charged a toll; they are also allowed to drive geese down Cheapside.

- In San Salvador, drunk drivers can be punished by death before a firing squad.

- In the UK, a man who feels compelled to urinate in public can do so only if he aims for his rear wheel and keeps his right hand on his vehicle.

- In Florida, unmarried women who parachute on Sundays can be jailed.

- In Kentucky, it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon more than six-feet long.

- In Chester, Welshmen are banned from entering the city before sunrise and from staying after sunset.

- In the city of York, it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow.

- In Boulder, Colorado, it is illegal to kill a bird within the city limits and also to “own” a pet – the town’s citizens, legally speaking, are merely “pet minders”.

- In Vermont, women must obtain written permission from their husbands to wear false teeth.

- In London, it is illegal to flag down a taxi if you have the plague.

- In Bahrain, a male doctor may legally examine a woman’s genitals but is forbidden from looking directly at them during the examination; he may only see their reflection in a mirror.

- The head of any dead whale found on the British coast is legally the property of the King; the tail, on the other hand, belongs to the Queen – in case she needs the bones for her corset.

- In Eureka, Nevada, USA, it is still illegal for men with moustaches to kiss women.

- In Alexandria, Minnesota, USA, it is still illegal for a man who has garlic, onions or sardines on his breath to have sex with his wife.

- In Logan County, Colorado, USA, it is still illegal to kiss a woman while she is asleep.

- In Providence, Rhode Island, USA, it is still illegal for shop owners to sell toothpaste and toothbrushes to the same customer on a Sunday.

- In Zion, Illinois, USA, it is still illegal to offer cigars to your pets.

- In St. Louis, Missouri, USA, it is still illegal for firemen to rescue women who are still in their nightdresses.

- In Ames, Iowa, USA, it is still illegal for men to have three sips of beer while they are in bed with their wives.

- In Maryland, USA, it is still illegal for radio stations to play Randy Newman’s song ‘Short people’.

- In Oklahoma, USA, it is still illegal to make faces at a dog, a crime that could result in a prison sentence.

- In Texas, USA, criminals are still required to give their victims at least 24 hours oral or written notice giving details of the crime they are about to commit.

- In Washington, USA, it is still an offence to pretend that you have rich parents.

- In Baltimore, Maryland, USA, it is still an offence to take a lion into a cinema.

- In Tremonton, Utah, USA, it is still an offence for a woman to have sexual intercourse with a man in an ambulance. She can be charged with a misdemeanour and have her name printed in the local paper.

- In Oxford, Ohio, USA, it is still illegal for a woman to undress in front of a picture of a man.

- In Miami, Florida, USA, it is still illegal for anyone to imitate an animal.

- In Afghanistan the Taliban militia banned women from wearing white socks just in case men find them attractive. The police are also ordered windows to be painted black to stop women being seen from the outside.

- In the USA impotence is grounds for divorce in 24 states.

- In Illinois, USA, it is against the law to give a lighted cigar to a pet.

- In Iowa, USA, it is against the law to kiss for more than five minutes.

- In International Falls, Minnesota, USA, it is against the law for a dog to chase a cat up a telegraph pole and dog owners can be fined for this.

- In Kentucky, USA, it is illegal to carry and ice cream cone in your pocket.

- In Louisiana, USA, if you bite someone with your own teeth it is classed as ‘Simple assault’ but if you bite someone with your dentures it is classed as ‘aggravated assault.’

- In Massachusetts, USA, it is illegal for mourners to eat no more than three sandwiches at a wake.

- In Chico, California, USA, the law says that anybody who detonates a nuclear device within the city limits is liable to a fine of $500.

- In Lebanon any man may legally have sex with any animal just as long as it is a female.

- In Conorsville, Wisconsin, USA, it is illegal for a man to fire a gun while his wife is having an orgasm.

- In Tremonton, Utah, USA, it is illegal for a woman to have sex with a man while riding in an ambulance.

- In Oblong, Illinois, it is illegal to make love while fishing or hunting on your wedding day.

- In Bahrain it is illegal for a doctor to look directly at a woman’s genitals while he is examining her although he is permitted to see their reflection in a mirror.

- In Ames, Iowa, USA, a husband may not take more than three gulps of beer while lying in bed with his wife.

- In Hastings, Nebraska, USA, the law says that hotel owners have to provide a clean white cotton nightshirt for each guest. Also no couples are allowed to have sex in the hotel unless they are wearing these nightshirts.

- In Willowdale, Oregon, USA, no man may curse while having sex with his wife.

- In Indonesia the punishment for masturbation is execution by decapitation.

- In Kingsville, Texas, USA, it is against the law for pigs to have sex on airport property.

- In Florida it is illegal to have sex with a porcupine.

- During World War I anyone found to be a homosexual in the French army was executed.

- Hundreds of years ago in Japan anyone who attempted to leave the country was instantly executed.

- The very first country to abolish capital punishment was Austria in 1787.

- In Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada, in 1917, it was illegal to tie a male horse next to a female horse.

- In San Diego, USA, hypnotism is banned by public schools.

- Chewing gum is illegal in Singapore.

- In Paraguay duelling is legal just as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

- In Milan, Italy, there is still a law that requires citizens to smile at all times or risk a hefty fine. The only exceptions are visiting hospitals and funerals.

- In Switzerland every citizen is required by law to have access to a bomb shelter.

- In Burma it is illegal to get internet access. If a person is found in possession of a modem he can be imprisoned.

- In Bangladesh it is against the law for schoolchildren to cheat at school exams. Pupils as young as 15 can be imprisoned for this.

- Until 1984 Belgians were made to choose their children’s names from a list of 1500 drawn up in the days of Napoleon.

- In Romania, in 1935, Mickey Mouse was banned because the authorities thought that the sight of a 10ft high rodent on screen would terrify the nation’s children.

- Donald Duck comics were once banned in Finland because he never wore pants.

- Belgium is the only country that has never imposed censorship on adult films.

- Karate films were banned in Iraq in 1979.

- In Indiana, USA, during the 1950’s, all Robin Hood films were banned because authorities thought that robbing the rich to give to the poor was an act of communism.

- In Iceland it was once against the law to own a pet dog.

- The bloodhound is the only animal in the world whose evidence is admissable in court.

- In Basle, Switzerland, in 1471, a cockerel was found guilty in a court of law for laying an egg “In defiance of natural law”. The bird was then burnt at the stake as a “Devil in disguise”.

- In Stelvio, Italy, in 1519, a court issued a warrant for the arrest of a gang of moles that had severely damaged crops. The moles were sumoned to court but when they failed to appear they were sentenced to exile.

- In South Bend, Indiana, USA, a monkey was once found guilty of smoking a cigarette.

- In Munster, in 1670, the courts banished a plague of fleas from the city, prohibiting them from returning for ten years.

- In Seville, Spain, in 1983, an alsatian dog was arrested for snatching handbags from shoppers.

- Judge J.H. Logan from California, USA, created the Loganberry fruit. He crossed a wild blackberry with a cultivated raspberry and came up with his own fruit.

- In ancient Sparta men were required by law to eat at least two pounds of meat every day. This was supposed to make them brave.

- In Turkey, during the 16th and 17th centuries, it was illegal to drink coffee and anyone caught doing so was sentenced to death.

- In Venice all gondolas have to be painted black unless they belong to a high ranking official.

- In England, in 1865, a law was passed stating that any self propelled carriage on an English highway had to have a crew of three, one of whom had to walk in front of the carriage with a red flag to warn horse drawn vehicles of it’s approach.

- In Rome, 2,000 years ago, Julius Caesar banned chariots from the centre of Rome to ease congestion.

- In London, England, there is still a law that states London Taxi cabs must carry a bale of hay at all times.

- In Bermuda, up until 1948, all private cars were banned.

- At one time it was against the law to slam car doors in Switzerland.

- In Britain, in 1888, a law was passed which stated that every cyclist had to constantly ring the bell on his bicycle non-stop while the machine was moving.

- In Singapore it is illegal for a person to walk around the house naked and not flushing the toilet. Also a person can be executed if they are found in possession of more than 200g of cannabis resin. Oral sex is banned unless it is used only during foreplay and if a person is caught littering the streets he is forced to make an appearance on TV with a bib around his neck saying “I’m a litterer.”

- In Birmingham, England, it is illegal for a man and a woman to have sex on church steps after sundwon.

- In Iowa, USA, it is illegal for horses to eat fire hydrants.

- In Denmark it is not illegal for a convicted prisoner to escape from prison. If the escapee is caught he only serves the rest of his sentence.

- In Denmark it is illegal to start your car without first checking to see if there are any children asleep underneath it.

- In Thailand it is illegal to step on a banknote, leave your house without wearing underwear and if you drop a piece of bubblegum on the pavement you can be fined $600.

- In Thailand all cinema goers must stand up during the National Anthem before a film starts.

- In Switzerland it is against the law for men to urinate standing up after 10pm which is the same time that it is illegal to flush the toilet.

- In Canada, by law, 1 out of every 5 songs on the radio must be sung by a Canadian and in British Columbia it is illegal to kill a Sasquatch or Bigfoot if one is ever found.

- In Alberta a released convict is entitled to a gun and a horse to ride out of town on.

- In London, England, it is illegal to use a camera tripod, throw a stick for your dog or use an offensive powder like pepper on your jacket potato in any park.

- In London, England, wife beating is legal just as long as it is not after 9pm and it doesn’t disturb the neighbours.

- In London, England, it is illegal to impersonate a Chelsea pensioner which once carried the death sentence in the 19th century.

- In Lebanon men are allowed to have sex with any other animal just as long as it is a female. If a man is caught having sex with a male animal then the penalty is death.

- Non-Christians have been banned from being within 20 metres of churches in Rovato, Italy. The move, instigated by the local government, has angered police because a major highway passes within 15 metres of one of the churches. Officers claim that they cannot be expected to stop motorists and demand to see a Baptism Certificate.

- North Carolina has a law to ban people from swearing in front of cadavers. The law also sets out guidelines transporting the recently deceased after one funeral firm was caught piling stiffs onto the back of a pick-up truck. It outlaws ‘profanity, indecent or obscene language in the presence of a dead human body’ making it technically illegal to say the ‘f’ word in front of a hearse!

- In Minnesota, USA, it is still against the law to hang male and female underwear together on the same washing line.

- In Indiana, USA, in the 1950’s anything to do with Robin Hood was banned on the grounds that robbing from from the rich to give to the poor was a communist act!

- In England, in 1837, a law was passed that entitled a woman to bite off a man’s nose if he kissed her against her will!

- The Egyptian government banned male belly-dancing in 1837 because of the enthusiastic riots that it caused.

- In Arizona, USA, it is illegal to hunt camels.

- In California, USA, in 1986, Judge Samuel King became so annoyed that jurors were absent from his court because of heavy rain that he issued a decree which stated “I hereby order that it cease raining by Tuesday.”
Amazingly it stopped raining on Tuesday and California suffered a 5 year drought.
In 1991 the judge then decreed “Rain shall fall in California beginning February 27th.” Later that day California had the heaviest rainfall in ten years.

- In Alexandria, Minneapolis, USA, it is against the law for a man to make love to a woman with the smell of sardines on his breath.                  ayubs.weebly.com

Saving Thousands with a Loan Modification – Debt Settlement Combination – Felmdan Law Center

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

A grinding recession has put already struggling homeowners in a position where household debt loads are quickly becoming unmanageable. Loan modification has become a well known remedy for those experiencing hardships including toxic mortgages, job losses, being underwater on the house, divorce, etc. It has been widely reported that fully half of these modifications end up back in default within six months. Recently Fitch Ratings published estimates that the re-default rates on mortgages would rise to 70% by yearend 2009 due to inadequate terms on the loan modifications and additional household debt that isn’t included in calculating a what a homeowner can actually afford to pay on the monthly mortgage payments.

Once a homeowner has engaged a firm to negotiate a loan modification on his behalf, entering a debt settlement process can double or triple the decrease in monthly payments gained from a loan modification by itself. The debt settlement aspect of this combination has several advantages in terms of the loan modification and the benefits that would accrue outside of it:

1) Monthly consumer debt/credit card payments are typically cut by 50% within one month of starting the process.

2) The documented decrease in consumer debt payments makes the overall financial picture of the homeowner look much better. As lenders broaden their scope to account for consumer debt and ability to pay after a loan modification, the decreased payment as a result of the debt settlement could be the difference between getting a loan modification and being denied.

3) Engaging in a debt settlement will hurt the credit score of the consumer/homeowner but credit scores aren’t a major factor in determining whether a loan modification will be accepted or not. Acceptance for the loan modification is mostly contingent on ability to pay meaning that a debt settlement, even accompanied by a declining credit score, can help make the case for a modification.

4) The timing for completion of debt settlements varies from eighteen to forty-eight months during which time the credit score of the borrower will decline. Over time, as each account is paid off in the settlement the borrower’s credit score will begin to increase. Concurrently, initial interest rates on a new loan modification are typically set for three to five years before payment increases start to go into effect. An attorney negotiating the terms of a loan modification to coincide with completion of a debt settlement can put his client in a position where the homeowner could apply for a refinance at a time when his credit scores are on the upswing.

5) Even if a refinance is not available to the homeowner, timing the conclusion of the debt settlement process to precede the first interest rate bump on the modified loan proves to be advantageous as the homeowner/consumer would have additional cash flow as he finishes his payments to the debt settlement.

For consumer/homeowners with burdensome mortgage and consumer debt payments, combining the two processes can make a significant difference in cash flowing out of the household, the difficulty in managing the debt, and dealing with the possibility of foreclosure. Have attorney assess your total financial picture so that the two processes can be synchronized for optimal results.              

Mortgage Investors Seek a Taxpayer Bailout by Feldman Law Center

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

After months vehement opposition to most of what the Obama administration has tried to push forward to help struggling homeowners, mortgage investors have thrown their support behind one of the biggest failures of the Bush Administration. The Federal Housing Administration’s Hope for Homeowners (H4H) program, estimated at its outset to be able to help 400,000 homeowners, only originated one new loan.
As he Obama Administration tried to breathe life back into H4H, the mortgage investors saw some potential and started coming around. Part of what they liked was taxpayer money bailing them out of bad investments. The spin on H4H is that it aims to ease a struggling borrower’s debt burden by allowing for a principal reduction to bring a homeowner to approximately even between the size of the mortgage and the value of the home. The mortgage investors would forgive some of the borrower’s debt as part of the principle reduction and then get cashed out by receiving a check from Treasury for something less than the home’s current value.

Being able to roll up to the government sponsored trough and cash out with more taxpayer dollars is, by far, the best option presented to the investors since the bubble started popping in 2006. H4H will allow them to cash out of delinquent mortgages, convert a liability into cash, get a defaulting bond off the books, lick their wounds, and move on. Under the plan, taxpayers will become the new investors in residential real estate, at a time when professional investors are either fleeing or sitting on their hands waiting for the bottom to fall out of the market.

The Obama Administration?s Making Home Affordable home loan modification plan has frustrated mortgage investors as they have had to take a back seat in home loan modification process, with their loan servicers in the driver?s seat. The recent passage of a safe harbor bill by Congress in May added salt to the investor?s wounds by granting loan servicers even more autonomy in their loan modification negotiations. Those negotiations basically yield one of two outcomes for the investors: either a lowered interest rate on their bond with the possibility reduced principle, and a longer maturity or a home that?s going into foreclosure. With the small percentage of sales at auctions, foreclosures are building a huge backlog as bids often come in at 60% or less of the mortgage balance. The FHA plan gives them a third option of putting cash in their pockets without having to worry about selling the property.

Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Agency by Feldman Law Center

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

Feldman Law CenterLoan Modification News by Feldman Law Center — Part of Obama’s plan to overhaul regulation of the mortgage industry, unveiled last week, would create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to monitor consumer financial products and change the entire process of getting a mortgage. With a stated goal of developing a mortgage process that is as simple as signing up for a retirement plan, the President?s proposal centers on an automatic offering of a ?plain vanilla loan? to potential homebuyers. These loans would offer fixed interest rates and 30 year maturities, unless the borrower opts for a loan with riskier terms such as interest only or adjustable rates.

The plan has received vehement opposition from the mortgage and banking industries who say that government-approved mortgages would restrict borrowers’ options, make loans harder to get, and make them potentially more expensive. Powerful trade groups like the American Bankers Association, for example, oppose creating a consumer financial protection agency. Even lobbying groups open to the idea of a consumer-products regulator question whether the government should suggest which mortgages are best for consumers. “We don’t want to stifle innovation, and we don’t want to stifle competition,” said John Courson, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

One thing that would definitely be restricted, and one of the main factors behind these groups? opposition to the plan, will be the potential commissions that mortgage brokers can charge when they sell a mortgage. For example, administration officials want to curb the fees that brokers and lenders receive tied to inflated mortgage rates. Brokers argue the incorporating those fees are a way for borrowers to amortize the costs of a loan without having to come up with thousands of dollars in closing costs. Another aspect of the plan would link compensation to whether the borrower ends up defaulting on the mortgage. “There’s no reason that we should have to assume that risk,” said Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. The group?s stance is that while a mortgage broker can facilitate a loan, the ultimate approval for the mortgage comes from the lender.

Mortgage brokers? fees were typically highest on the most creative and dangerous of the mortgage varieties. With those mortgages a thing of the past, volume, commissions, and their share of new business has dwindled. Mortgage brokers? share of new loans has dropped from a high of 60% to the current 20%, on much lower volume. Fixed rate mortgages have increased from a low of 50% of the total of new loans originated in 2004-05 to 95% today.

As the plan stands now, the newly created agency would approve a set of mortgages including fixed and adjustable rate mortgages. Approval for vanilla mortgages would be similar to the ?prime mortgage? approval process. Potential home buyers could still get mortgages outside of the government approved versions but disclosure of risks and dire warnings will accompany them.

Supporters of the new regulatory agency say that it is needed as much to protect borrowers from themselves as from predatory lending practices. Many borrowers went through the process of getting their mortgage without ever taking the time to understand exactly how the loans they were applying for worked and where the risks were. Still, previous Congressional efforts to regulate the mortgage industry have consistently broken down over the years, even on simple issues such paperwork reduction, so the fight could be long, drawn out, and years in the making.

Purchase of Converted Revenue Lands/Property in Bangalore as per the law

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

The following are the documents required for purchase of Converted Revenue Lands:
1. Conversion Order issued by the Deputy Commissioner.
2. Conversion amount paid receipt.
3. RTCs for 30 years issued by the Village Accountant.
4. Tax Paid Receipts issued by the Village Accountant.
5. Documents of ownership.
6. Mutation Register Extracts.
7. Akarband/Tippani/Podi Extracts.
8. Surveys/Boundary Map.
9. Village Map.
10. Nil Tenancy Certificate.
11. Confirmation from the competent authority that there are no acquisition proceedings.
12. Layout Plan Approval by the competent authority.
13. Khatha Certificate issued by the Revenue authority.
14. Latest Tax Paid Receipts.
15. Encumbrances for the last 30 years.

Why You May Not Get That 2% Interest Rate by Feldman Law Center

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Much has been made of the 2% base rate included in the guidelines for the Obama Administration?s ?Making Home Affordable? plan. It?s been well documented that the plan is off to a very slow start with current estimates of approximately 50,000 loan modifications in process. Less talked about, at least so far, is that the 2% headline interest rate of the plan may be unavailable to most homeowners seeking loan modifications that follow the plan?s guidelines.

As the saying goes, ?The devil is always in the details? and Making Home Affordable has a detail which goes by the name of the ?Net Present Value? test. Many of the mortgages which were originated during the boom in real estate, including those considered to be toxic, were sold to investors on Wall Street, from pension funds, and insurance companies (like AIG). These investors didn?t have the infrastructure or experience to collect payments, prepare statements, etc. so they left the handling of those matters to loan servicers like Saxon Mortgage (now a part of JP Morgan Chase). These servicers interface with the homeowner on all matters, including home loan modifications. For that work, they receive a small percentage off of each of the homeowner?s monthly mortgage checks as their fee.

An unintended consequence of the meltdown in real estate prices and skyrocketing default rates is there is now a conflict of interest between servicers and the investors that employ them. The foundation of that conflict is this; with monthly mortgage payments functioning as the lifeline of the servicers, their priority is to keep those payments going. To that end, granting loan modifications, even with drastic cuts in interest rates, is a much better outcome for the servicer than not receiving payments at all and/or having the home go into foreclosure. Aggressive loan modifications which benefit the servicers often hurt the investors by forcing markdowns on value of loans in their portfolio, hence, the conflict of interest.

Having experienced this conflict prior to the unveiling of Making Home Affordable, investor groups insisted that the net present value test be added to the plan to protect their interests. A net present value (NPV) calculation works this way:

1) Determine the proposed monthly mortgage payment for the life of the modified loan
2) Calculate the total return in dollars over the life of the loan ? monthly payment x 12 months x 30 years = total return
3) Estimate the value of what the foreclosed home would sell for at auction
4) The highest number between the total return and the estimated selling price at foreclosure determines what action will be taken.
Motivated to keep properties generating monthly payments and out of foreclosure, servicers will negotiate the highest interest rate possible, within the constraints of the plan and what the homeowner can afford, to generate higher fees and to make sure that the net present value test comes out on the side of loan modification. With higher fees and the net present value test driving the negotiations in a loan modification, granting 2% interest rates becomes a very low priority and in some cases a deal killer for the servicers.

New York City (Nyc) Medical Malpractice Law Firm – 866-Atty-Law

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

If you have suffered serious health complications due to some surgery or medical treatment then you can file a personal injury claim. Your injury claim will be filed against the negligent medical practitioner, authority, or even a hospital which failed to provide adequate medical treatment. A victim of medical malpractice can suffer variety of health complications such as brain injury, kidney failure, misdiagnosis resulting in a breast cancer and several others.

Your medical service provider is bound to provide best medical/health care services to the patients. It should be their top priority to maintain best standards of health/medical services. In case you or someone close to you has suffered personal injuries due to medical malpractice then you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the negligent medical practitioner.

There are some basic steps involved in filing a medical malpractice compensation/claim lawsuit as given below:-

Step1: You must seek treatment of another doctor if you are feeling un-well right after an operation or surgery. A separate medical facility or doctor should examine your health which will help you perceive whether your injuries resulted from medical malpractice/negligence by your previous medical practitioner or not.

Step 2: You can contact the New York City Department of Health to inquire about the previous legal history of your medical service provider, hospital or any other medical authority. If you observe several complaints lodged against your doctor/medical authority in the past, then you should prepare yourself for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Step3: You should also do a research on the legal history of cases which are similar to yours. You can also contact a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer who will help you receive compensation and justice from the negligent medical practitioner.

Step4: Always present valid/correct facts to your attorney. Do not hide any important fact from your medical malpractice lawyer. Your medical attorney will also verify your medical records to find out the level or extent of your injuries. He/she will also help you filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Most of the medical practitioners have insured themselves against any such situation in advance. They hire aggressive defense attorneys who will try their level best to nullify your injury compensation. Having an attorney by your side will help you receive justice and compensation from the negligent party involved. It will also help you overcome any complexities arising out of a medical malpractice case.