Florida foreclosure bill moving along
The state Senate version of the controversial Florida Fair
Foreclosure Act, which proponents say protects homeowners and
opponents claim is far from fair, passed the Senate Judiciary
Committee on Monday and appears to be on a fast track to the
Legislature floor. The bill to streamline foreclosures,
introduced to the Legislature by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo,
R-Naples, has roused the passions of those who say it’s needed
to revive the foundering real estate industry and those who say
it’s just plain unconstitutional. “I think it’s one of the
most important pieces of legislation we have the potential to
pass this year,” said Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, who
sponsored Senate Bill 1890. The Senate measure is a combination
of two House bills, the first sponsored by Passidomo and a
second, companion bill sponsored by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Parrish.
The bill contains a provision of finality of judgment, which
means that once a home is foreclosed upon and sold in a short
sale to a new owner, that new owner holds clear title to the
property even if it turns out that the home was foreclosed upon
fraudulently by the lender. The original homeowner can’t get
his home back, but he can sue the lender for damages. Passidomo,
who is a real estate attorney, said that some people are
misunderstanding the finality of judgment provision. It is meant
to protect an innocent third party who buys the foreclosed home,
she said. If it turns out that a lender didn’t really hold the
note, and a different lender comes forward with the real note and
tries to foreclose, the third party is protected, she said.
“The bankers don’t like this bill because it makes them
produce all kinds of stuff,” Passidomo said. The point is to
hold lenders’ feet to the fire and make sure they have the
proper paperwork, she said. “Don’t file your complaint until
you have your ducks in a row.”
Under current uniform commercial code, the lender isn’t barred
from foreclosing if it can’t produce the note, Passidomo said.
“If you have a car title and by mistake, the dog eats it, you
can go up and get a new title,” she said. “The fact that
you’ve lost it doesn’t mean it’s gone.” Rather, the
lender must provide an affidavit that says they do have the right
to foreclose. A judge may require the lender to put up a bond,
possibly for the amount owed on the mortgage, so that if another
lender shows up with the real note, the borrower won’t be
foreclosed upon twice. Instead, the second lender that holds the
note can go after the first lender for the mortgage. The bill
advanced 5-2, along party lines. The measure goes next to the
Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, chaired by Sen. Garrett
Richter, R-Naples. The House bill goes to the Judiciary
Committee.
Greek's new deal
Euro zone finance ministers sealed a 130-billion-euro ($172
billion) bailout for Greece on Tuesday to avert a chaotic default
in March after persuading private bondholders to take greater
losses and Athens to commit to deep cuts. By agreeing that the
European Central Bank would distribute its profits from bond
buying and private bondholders would take more losses, the
ministers reduced the debt to a point that should secure funding
from the International Monetary Fund and help shore up the
17-country currency bloc. But the austerity measures wrought
from Greece are widely unpopular among the population and may
hold difficulties for a country which is due to hold an election
in April. Further protests could test politicians' commitment to
cuts in wages, pensions and jobs. Every government in the
currency union will also have to approve the package. Northern
creditors, such as Germany, had pressed for even tougher measures
to be placed on Greece, but Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble
said he was very confident a majority in parliament would approve
the package.
Some economists say there are still questions over whether Greece
can pay off even a reduced debt burden. A return to economic
growth could take as much as a decade, a prospect that brought
thousands of Greeks onto the streets to protest on Sunday. The
cuts will deepen a recession already in its fifth year, hurting
government revenues. A report prepared by experts from the
European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary
Fund said Greece would need extra relief to cut its debts near to
the official debt target given the worsening state of its
economy. If Athens did not follow through on economic reforms
and savings to make its economy more competitive, its debt could
hit 160% by 2020, said the report, obtained by Reuters. "Given
the risks, the Greek program may thus remain accident-prone, with
questions about sustainability hanging over it," the nine-page
confidential report said.
LPS "first look" report
Lender Processing Services, Inc. (NYSE: LPS), a leading provider
of integrated technology, data and analytics to the mortgage and
real estate industries, reports the following “first look” at
January 2012 month-end mortgage performance statistics derived
from its loan-level database of nearly 40 million mortgage
loans.
Total US loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due,
but not in foreclosure): 7.97%
Month-over-month change in delinquency rate: -2.2%
Year-over-year change in delinquency rate: -10.5%
Total U.S foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: 4.15%
Month-over-month change in foreclosure presale inventory rate:
1.1%
Year-over-year change in foreclosure presale inventory
rate: -0.1%
Number of properties that are 30 or more days past due, but not
in foreclosure: (A) 3,998,000
Number of properties that are 90 or more days delinquent, but not
in foreclosure: 1,772,000
Number of properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory: (B)
2,084,000
Number of properties that are 30 or more days delinquent or in
foreclosure: (A+B) 6,082,000
States with highest percentage of non-current* loans: FL, MS,
NV, NJ, IL
States with the lowest percentage of non-current* loans: MT, AK,
WY, SD, ND
*Non-current totals combine foreclosures and delinquencies as a%
of active loans in that state.
Notes:
(1) Totals are extrapolated based on LPS Applied Analytics’
loan-level database of mortgage assets
(2) All whole numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.
Home depot increases income
Home Depot Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 32% as
homeowners spent more on renovation projects and mild weather in
the US helped results surpass expectations. Shares rose 3% in
premarket trading. Home-goods sellers like Home Depot and others
are facing cautious consumer spending and prolonged weakness in
the housing market. They've had to adjust to fewer consumers
making large-scale home renovations by cutting costs and
improving services such as online shopping and customer service.
But Home Depot's sales increase shows there may be some pent-up
demand for home improvement, even during the winter. "We had a
strong finish to 2011, and with favorable weather, our business
delivered results that exceeded our expectations," Chairman and
CEO Frank Blake said in a statement. The largest US
home-improvement company reported Tuesday that it earned $774
million, or 50 cents per share, for the period ended Jan. 29.
That's up from $587 million, or 36 cents per share, a year
earlier. The earnings topped the 42 cents per share that
analysts surveyed by FactSet expected.
Doubt that the settlement will end foreclosure woes
Even as government officials prepare to unveil new standards this
week for how banks treat millions of Americans facing
foreclosure, housing advocates and homeowners are skeptical the
rules will be able to do something past efforts have not: provide
a beleaguered borrower with one individual to help them navigate
the mortgage maze. So the promise of a single point of contact
has emerged as a crucial element in the much-ballyhooed $26
billion settlement reached earlier this month involving state
attorneys general, the federal government and the five biggest
mortgage servicers. These rules will apply nationwide and come
with commitments of strong enforcement by federal and state
authorities, but they carry a familiar ring for those experienced
in the foreclosure process.
Last April, the industry made many of the same pledges under a
consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
and since then, consumer representatives say, there has been
barely any improvement, adding that loan files continue to be
handed off from one agent to another, sometimes weekly, and that
even when a single person is assigned to their cases, one phone
call after another goes unreturned. “It doesn’t seem like
much has changed,” said Josh Zinner, co-director of the
Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, or Nedap, a
resource and advocacy center that works with community groups in
New York. “We’re still seeing the same systematic
problems.”
The state Senate version of the controversial Florida Fair
Foreclosure Act, which proponents say protects homeowners and
opponents claim is far from fair, passed the Senate Judiciary
Committee on Monday and appears to be on a fast track to the
Legislature floor. The bill to streamline foreclosures,
introduced to the Legislature by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo,
R-Naples, has roused the passions of those who say it’s needed
to revive the foundering real estate industry and those who say
it’s just plain unconstitutional. “I think it’s one of the
most important pieces of legislation we have the potential to
pass this year,” said Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, who
sponsored Senate Bill 1890. The Senate measure is a combination
of two House bills, the first sponsored by Passidomo and a
second, companion bill sponsored by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Parrish.
The bill contains a provision of finality of judgment, which
means that once a home is foreclosed upon and sold in a short
sale to a new owner, that new owner holds clear title to the
property even if it turns out that the home was foreclosed upon
fraudulently by the lender. The original homeowner can’t get
his home back, but he can sue the lender for damages. Passidomo,
who is a real estate attorney, said that some people are
misunderstanding the finality of judgment provision. It is meant
to protect an innocent third party who buys the foreclosed home,
she said. If it turns out that a lender didn’t really hold the
note, and a different lender comes forward with the real note and
tries to foreclose, the third party is protected, she said.
“The bankers don’t like this bill because it makes them
produce all kinds of stuff,” Passidomo said. The point is to
hold lenders’ feet to the fire and make sure they have the
proper paperwork, she said. “Don’t file your complaint until
you have your ducks in a row.”
Under current uniform commercial code, the lender isn’t barred
from foreclosing if it can’t produce the note, Passidomo said.
“If you have a car title and by mistake, the dog eats it, you
can go up and get a new title,” she said. “The fact that
you’ve lost it doesn’t mean it’s gone.” Rather, the
lender must provide an affidavit that says they do have the right
to foreclose. A judge may require the lender to put up a bond,
possibly for the amount owed on the mortgage, so that if another
lender shows up with the real note, the borrower won’t be
foreclosed upon twice. Instead, the second lender that holds the
note can go after the first lender for the mortgage. The bill
advanced 5-2, along party lines. The measure goes next to the
Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, chaired by Sen. Garrett
Richter, R-Naples. The House bill goes to the Judiciary
Committee.
Greek's new deal
Euro zone finance ministers sealed a 130-billion-euro ($172
billion) bailout for Greece on Tuesday to avert a chaotic default
in March after persuading private bondholders to take greater
losses and Athens to commit to deep cuts. By agreeing that the
European Central Bank would distribute its profits from bond
buying and private bondholders would take more losses, the
ministers reduced the debt to a point that should secure funding
from the International Monetary Fund and help shore up the
17-country currency bloc. But the austerity measures wrought
from Greece are widely unpopular among the population and may
hold difficulties for a country which is due to hold an election
in April. Further protests could test politicians' commitment to
cuts in wages, pensions and jobs. Every government in the
currency union will also have to approve the package. Northern
creditors, such as Germany, had pressed for even tougher measures
to be placed on Greece, but Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble
said he was very confident a majority in parliament would approve
the package.
Some economists say there are still questions over whether Greece
can pay off even a reduced debt burden. A return to economic
growth could take as much as a decade, a prospect that brought
thousands of Greeks onto the streets to protest on Sunday. The
cuts will deepen a recession already in its fifth year, hurting
government revenues. A report prepared by experts from the
European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary
Fund said Greece would need extra relief to cut its debts near to
the official debt target given the worsening state of its
economy. If Athens did not follow through on economic reforms
and savings to make its economy more competitive, its debt could
hit 160% by 2020, said the report, obtained by Reuters. "Given
the risks, the Greek program may thus remain accident-prone, with
questions about sustainability hanging over it," the nine-page
confidential report said.
LPS "first look" report
Lender Processing Services, Inc. (NYSE: LPS), a leading provider
of integrated technology, data and analytics to the mortgage and
real estate industries, reports the following “first look” at
January 2012 month-end mortgage performance statistics derived
from its loan-level database of nearly 40 million mortgage
loans.
Total US loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due,
but not in foreclosure): 7.97%
Month-over-month change in delinquency rate: -2.2%
Year-over-year change in delinquency rate: -10.5%
Total U.S foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate: 4.15%
Month-over-month change in foreclosure presale inventory rate:
1.1%
Year-over-year change in foreclosure presale inventory
rate: -0.1%
Number of properties that are 30 or more days past due, but not
in foreclosure: (A) 3,998,000
Number of properties that are 90 or more days delinquent, but not
in foreclosure: 1,772,000
Number of properties in foreclosure pre-sale inventory: (B)
2,084,000
Number of properties that are 30 or more days delinquent or in
foreclosure: (A+B) 6,082,000
States with highest percentage of non-current* loans: FL, MS,
NV, NJ, IL
States with the lowest percentage of non-current* loans: MT, AK,
WY, SD, ND
*Non-current totals combine foreclosures and delinquencies as a%
of active loans in that state.
Notes:
(1) Totals are extrapolated based on LPS Applied Analytics’
loan-level database of mortgage assets
(2) All whole numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand.
Home depot increases income
Home Depot Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 32% as
homeowners spent more on renovation projects and mild weather in
the US helped results surpass expectations. Shares rose 3% in
premarket trading. Home-goods sellers like Home Depot and others
are facing cautious consumer spending and prolonged weakness in
the housing market. They've had to adjust to fewer consumers
making large-scale home renovations by cutting costs and
improving services such as online shopping and customer service.
But Home Depot's sales increase shows there may be some pent-up
demand for home improvement, even during the winter. "We had a
strong finish to 2011, and with favorable weather, our business
delivered results that exceeded our expectations," Chairman and
CEO Frank Blake said in a statement. The largest US
home-improvement company reported Tuesday that it earned $774
million, or 50 cents per share, for the period ended Jan. 29.
That's up from $587 million, or 36 cents per share, a year
earlier. The earnings topped the 42 cents per share that
analysts surveyed by FactSet expected.
Doubt that the settlement will end foreclosure woes
Even as government officials prepare to unveil new standards this
week for how banks treat millions of Americans facing
foreclosure, housing advocates and homeowners are skeptical the
rules will be able to do something past efforts have not: provide
a beleaguered borrower with one individual to help them navigate
the mortgage maze. So the promise of a single point of contact
has emerged as a crucial element in the much-ballyhooed $26
billion settlement reached earlier this month involving state
attorneys general, the federal government and the five biggest
mortgage servicers. These rules will apply nationwide and come
with commitments of strong enforcement by federal and state
authorities, but they carry a familiar ring for those experienced
in the foreclosure process.
Last April, the industry made many of the same pledges under a
consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
and since then, consumer representatives say, there has been
barely any improvement, adding that loan files continue to be
handed off from one agent to another, sometimes weekly, and that
even when a single person is assigned to their cases, one phone
call after another goes unreturned. “It doesn’t seem like
much has changed,” said Josh Zinner, co-director of the
Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, or Nedap, a
resource and advocacy center that works with community groups in
New York. “We’re still seeing the same systematic
problems.”
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