Gov. Scott's plan to speed foreclosure process draws mixed reactions

By TOM KNOX, Business Writer

Local foreclosure activity at a glance:

Number of properties in some stage of foreclosure:

Florida :

August*: 23,569

July: 22,377

August 2010: 56,877

Volusia County:

August: 486

July: 626

August 2010: 1,734

Flagler County:

August: 142

July: 89

August 2010: 193

*Most recent data available

SOURCE: RealtyTrac

DAYTONA BEACH -- Gov. Rick Scott wants to improve the state's housing market by removing the courts from the foreclosure process, a move supporters say will help prevent long delays.

Critics say removing the courts from the process would give too much power to lenders and removes protection needed by homeowners. Plus, courts would lose more than half of their funding received from foreclosure fees.

Scott and Republican leaders in the House and Senate have expressed interest in changing the process this year, although specifics have yet to be determined.

State lawmakers last year did not pass a bill to change the process.

"Right now it takes more than 600 days to get through a foreclosure," said Lane Wright, Scott's press secretary, in an email. "That's just too long. When foreclosures take that long, fewer people want to lend money to homebuyers and the market can't recover."

Judge Allows South Florida Homeowner to Sue Investors In Lawsuit Charging Financial Institutions With Mortgage Appraisal and Origination Fraud

Wells Fargo, Greenpoint Mortgage Funding, and Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp. adjustable rate mortgage trust named as defendants.

MIAMI, FL, October 04, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge has granted Coral Gables, Fla. homeowner Pelayo Duran permission to include investors in his lawsuit charging Wells Fargo, Greenpoint Mortgage Funding and others with mortgage appraisal and origination fraud (Case #09-03703-CA). This development comes days after the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, sued 17 large banks and financial institutions over losses on about $200 billion of subprime bonds, as well as, AIG's lawsuit against the Bank of America claiming that it lost $10 billion in a "massive fraud."

"It's believed the defendants, just like in the other high-profile cases, fraudulently induced others to invest in mortgage-backed securities supported by scores of defective loans," said Duran. "Basically the defendants generated or acquired any loan, no matter how risky, that could be sold to third party investors. I was an unsuspecting victim who applied for a loan, but was duped into something else."
Duran alleges in his lawsuit that the fraud began when he tried to refinance his primary residence in 2005. He purchased the home in 2004 with an initial down payment of $100,000. Shortly after the purchase, Duran needed to access some of the down payment money to pay for a few personal and business obligations. Duran alleges that the Wells Fargo mortgage broker baited and switched him into a subprime home mortgage with Greenpoint.

The Florida Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act

The Law

Beginning in 2010, any individual or company that provides loan modification services must have an active license from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. This new provision further enhances the Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act, which prohibits individuals and businesses from collecting up-front fees for loan modification services related to foreclosures.

In 2008, the Legislature enacted the original Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act to specifically address foreclosure rescue businesses and their potentially abusive practices. The Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act prohibits businesses or individuals from collecting up-front fees from the homeowner prior to completing all services contained in the contract. This includes foreclosure rescue services or loan modification services related to foreclosures.

Bloomberg: Procurador de California niega propuesta de acuerdo de BoA y JPMorgan

BofA, JPMorgan Proposed Accord Rejected by California’s Harris

By David McLaughlin - Oct 1, 2011

A proposed nationwide settlement with banks including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. is being rejected by California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who will pursue her own mortgage investigation in the state that had the second-highest foreclosure rate in August.

The proposed agreement is “inadequate” and would allow too few California homeowners to stay in their homes, Harris said in a letter yesterday obtained by Bloomberg News.

“After much consideration, I have concluded that this is not the deal California homeowners have been waiting for,” Harris, a Democrat who took office in January, said in the letter to the U.S. Justice Department and the Iowa attorney general, who is leading talks for the states.

All 50 state attorneys general last year announced they were investigating bank foreclosure procedures following complaints that the companies were using faulty documents in seizing homes.

State attorneys general and federal agencies have been negotiating a settlement with the five largest mortgage servicers, including Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America and New York-based JPMorgan. They have sought a settlement that would fund loan modifications and set requirements for how the banks conduct foreclosures and interact with borrowers. Harris’s office has been negotiating directly with the banks on behalf of the states. One in every 226 California housing units had a foreclosure filing during August, more than twice the national average and second only to Nevada, according to a RealtyTrac Inc. report. Harris said 2.2 million Californians are underwater in their mortgages.