Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Josh M. Boggs on October 2, 2011 at 5:58am

Garrett,

 

GREAT reply brother.  Hopefully i can break away this week to give you a call.

Out of the actual mouths of VP's of Loss Mit of the 4 main servicers, loan mods are simply not working as planned, but as all options; they are working at getting better.  There are a few good attorneys out there that charge up to $2,500 for a loan mod, but they get it approved PRIOR to charging the fee and processing the paperwork.  However, they turn down almost 80% of their intake of clients because they do not qualify.  That's gotta speak for something.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bryant Tutas on October 2, 2011 at 12:54am

I'm going to place this one in the newsletter today. Good topic Eric

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kathleen Sheridan on October 2, 2011 at 2:03am

It isn't the attorney's, or in my state, PA, the housing counselors who are messing things up. They can help home owners to work out a loan modifications with their lenders.

Attorneys and housing counselors are offering legitimate help, as long as they are NOT charging the home owner up front fees.

The problem is that the loan modification often results in a monthly payment that is still too high to really help the home owner. In which case, your potential seller will be back to do the short sale.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by storm bradford on October 2, 2011 at 2:18am

Absolutely!

Please read our latest press release: "Beware of the Latest Foreclosure Rescue Scam--Pretender Defenders

http://www.mortgagefraudexaminers.com/blog/2011/08/our-latest-press...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Laura Levenson on October 2, 2011 at 2:41am

Let me preface this by saying (as have others)..YES, there are some good attorneys out there, and I use the word "some" loosely. 

I want to bring up an issue about the new MARS (Mortgage Assistance Relief Services) rule for realtors.  Even if we are or aren't being compliant as realtors, why is it that attorneys are EXEMPT from this rule?  IMHO, I believe the attorneys are the WORST violators of the "reason" for the MARS rule!  I have had many clients, and other random folks tell me stories of these attorneys that promise to be able to help them for the "LOW FEE OF (FILL IN THE BLANK)".  And, as many here have said, basically the money is given to these attorneys, and they just disappear.  Disappear, of course, until it's time to pay them more fees!  I do not, or have EVER asked a potential short sale seller to give me a DIME upfront, as I get paid my commission...WHEN WE CLOSE! 

I feel bad for these distressed homeowners that look at attorneys as though they are Gods of some sort, and they can fix anything.  I have spoken with some of these folks, and I hear "Well, my attorney said he can get our loan modified (blah, blah)"...and "Well, my attorney said just let it go to foreclosure (blah, blah)".  I had another client that was paying his attorney $800 MONTHLY, and going nowhere!  I am sure that particular homeowner has gone SOMEWHERE by now, and I guarantee it's somewhere OUT OF THEIR HOME!

 

When the MARS rule, and subsequent disclosures, came out, I was infuriated at seeing the attorney exemption! HMMM...do you think it was a group of attorneys that conjured this up???

 

Would love to hear some feedback on this!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Julia Fishel on October 2, 2011 at 3:10am

We need a "like" button on this site!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin Hardin on October 4, 2011 at 5:19pm

Laura, of course an Attorney is exempt from MARS. Any Mortgage Assistance Relief Service is a negotiation of a default of a pre existing debt obligation . . . A Contract. Of course an Attorney is already licensed to negotiate this. An Attorney's rules of Ethics and Professional Responsibility are derivative of a State's Supreme Court. MARS is a very complicated rule based upon the idea of Truth in Advertising. Too many non attorneys jumped in to accomplish a task for which they were not licensed or prepared to do. Attorneys were exempted due to having a much higher standard of conduct to be held to. So, It was not a free pass. If an Attorney has truly violated a rule, statute etc, that Client has the ability to call out that attorney with that state's Bar Association. There were dozens of attorneys in California that were disbarred for unethical tactics like you describe. 

So, don't think they got away with anything. You can still hold their feet to the fire and the cost to them is not the $10K fine under MARS, Under Bar Rules they could lose their license. If you see or hear of bad ones, make sure they get reported.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Julia Fishel on October 2, 2011 at 3:05am

Disclosure:  This isn't a blanket statement about all attorneys, just a recurring theme we've seen with many.

 

Attorney gets paid hefty fee for loan modification. Turns file over to underlings who process it.  Homeowner keeps hopes up.  Loan modification denied once or twice.  A year later  a sale date appears. Who knew?!  Must do a short sale immediately. Attorney gets more fees for the short sale. Enter the Realtor who cares.  Realtor submits contract to underlings at Attorney's office who invariably drop the ball at some point. Realtor ends up overseeing underlings at Attorney's office and ultimately communicating directly with the lender(s) because the attorney's office has dropped the ball again.  Realtor obtains approval(s) on behalf of attorney.  There's a deficiency perhaps, at which time it's helpful to have the attorney be able to talk to the client (the first time he has in perhaps a year).  Sale closes and attorney makes more fees as does their title company.  Realtor ended up doing much of the attorney's work, homeowner spends thousands for what could have cost him nothing, has years of deficient payments on his credit credit ........ and everyone lives happily ever after.      

 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bettie Meadows on October 2, 2011 at 3:38am

I would love to see the outcome of this. Please follow up and keep us posted. .

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Evelyn Santiago on October 2, 2011 at 4:19am

Where do I start?  I did my own loan modification and it took over a year and although I saved my home, the simple fact is, that there was no principal foregiveness, they tact on all the late payments, interest, etc. to original loan and lowered the interest rate..saved house, not pocketbook but at my age and being self employed - I am not interested in renting and getting another mortgage 3 years from now, seems impossible, so I took my dings and moved on.  I have been doing short sales for about 5 years consistently on my own.  Attorney's in my state have been scaring realtors into using them.  I succumbed to the propaganda and hired one and wished I had never done it.  He has lost me one buyer, almost lost me another deal that I took over from him and have finally got a conditional clear to close for next week.  He, again, is not answering my emails on my 2 other deals.  He has no idea on how to defend current value despite all the stats and charts and data that I give him and will cost me another deal.

 

The only reason I need them is to do a pre-liminary HUD-1 and even there they or the title company make mistakes and I catch them! So no, not on short sales and definitely not on loan mods.  I have come across so many that take upfront fees and do nothing.  You have the clients call their lenders to verify that a file has been opened months later and the lenders have not heard of them...maybe the lender is lying ...maybe the attorney has not done anything...but I have a bad taste in my mouth, because they are more interested in their fees both in short sales and loan mods.

 

As soon as I get these short sales done its good by to the attorney - they can only do the closing and only with a reasonable fee.  They just want to latch on to realtors like parasites - we give them the free business that they don't have to go looking for and they rarely, if ever, send us a referral, a one way street usually ends up at a dead end.  If we were not an attorney title state, where the attorney is an agent of the title company, we really would not need them in real estate transactions like many other states have done.

 

Perhaps I am just a bit biased.  I am sure there are attorney's that are not like this, but I have not run acrossed them.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Richard on October 2, 2011 at 4:33am

From a buyer's perspective, my personal observation this week is I noticed 3 nice properties in my specific area that closed within the last 1 1/2 weeks and were all negotiated by attorneys.  They all took as longer than the traditional short sale and closed higher than the original listed short sale price.  I know that there are a lot of unclarified details that you and I will never see, but it makes me question, who's actually winning here and who's side are they on?  Are they normally hired by the lender or seller?

 

From what I'm reading here, it seems unanimous here on this site that they tend to always muddy the waters and of course they are getting paid.  So, with so many homes left on the market, I see this as a another bread basket for real estate attorneys.  And with their clout, if they can push lenders around a little and do things on their terms, then I have to wonder, as the football great Vince Lombardi once said " What the hell's going on out there?"  Doesn't the National Association of Realtors have a stronger arm to deal with this?

 

Just an observation.................please help me see the light

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jayne Sanders on October 2, 2011 at 5:09am

I too have experienced many of the problems/siuations that you Eric and Richard refer to. What I have started doing is encouraging my Sellers (and Buyers) to get a pre paid legal plan(which I sell)...That way they have their own attorney who will cost them NOTHING for unlimited consultations by phone; they will also write letters, review contracts, short sale approvals etc. This keeps me out of the legal loop as I know full well about some attorneys ripping off my clients and the homeowner losing the house at auction. We need to stand up for our clients! I am a provider for the legal plan and would highly recommend every agent have it and then you can provide it to your client(and make a couple of bucks to boot)  I can not tell you how many times I have contacted the attorney with questions and you get unbiased answers. In the past week I have spoken to them at least 3 time...all for free. They are in every state. If you want more info about, I will be happy to provide it.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• …
• 8
• Next ›
• Page