Today my colleague Simon Offord published a short case update in our firm’s monthly newsletter* regarding the case of Intengan v. BAC Home Loans Servicing (March 22, 2013). He writes: “… the 1st District Court of Appeal recently held that a homeowner may pursue a wrongful foreclosure claim against a loan servicer even though the [...]
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By Julia M. Wei, Esq. Buried in the New Year’s Day bill was SEC. 202, which extended the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act through 2013. Except, the section was cryptically called “EXTENSION OF EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME OF DISCHARGE OF QUALIFIED PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE INDEBTEDNESS.” That means for homeowners who were approved for short sales or [...]
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In July, I posted a snippet about the “Homeowner’s Bill of Rights” (“HOBR” or “HOBoR”), also known as the California Foreclosure Reduction act. At the firm’s law blog, I later wrote with more specificity about HOBR explaining some of the requirements that have changed about notices to foreclosure sales — such as: Before a Notice [...]
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By: Julia M. Wei, Esq. Lenders may not be scrutinizing their loan documents as closely as borrowers are these days. Certainly, private lender Hyman Levy had a rude awakening when the appellate court concluded Levy was NOT entitled to default interest when the borrower did not make the balloon payment on a loan of $2.7M. [...]
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With much fanfare, the Attorney General’s office announced today the passage of a collection of bills intended to protect homeowners who are attempting a loan modification. Among the key provisions, the statutes will: -Require creditors to provide documentation to a borrower that establishes the creditor’s right to foreclose on real property prior to recording [...]
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By: Julia M. Wei, Esq. What happens when you buy a property at a trustee’s sale in California and the borrower files for bankruptcy? Foreclosure Buying and Bankruptcy by: dirtblawg FORECLOSURE INVESTMENT PROPERTY / BANKRUPTCY Client: Do you remember that investment property I bought at a foreclosure sale? Real Estate Attorney: I think so, was [...]
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Buying Notes and Deeds of Trusts: Bank Buys Worthless Note, Borrower Awarded Attorney Fees By: Julia M. Wei, Esq. Investors, collection agencies, scavenger funds and institutional lenders buy promissory notes all the time. If the note is secured by a deed of trust against real property, the buyer takes the risk of collection of the [...]
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By: Julia M. Wei, Esq. A series of cases have come down in the last few weeks that have some very serious ramifications for lenders. The most dramatic case is that of Lona v. Citibank, based on a property right here in my back yard. The fact pattern in Lona is that the bank foreclosed [...]
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By Julia M. Wei, Esq. In the recent case of Biancalana v. T.D. Service Company, California foreclosure bidder Biancalana came out the winner on appeal. In September of 2008, Biancalana bid at the trustee’s sale of a property on Winchester Dr. in Watsonville (Santa Cruz County). Lucky for him, the trustee (and possibly the loan [...]
In other parts of the country, and in bankruptcy court, borrowers have had some success with the argument that since MERS is a “nominee” and “nominee” is not defined in the loan documents, that it does not have standing to initiate foreclosure. That argument has been far less successful in California, in large part [...]
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