Tell It To Al

Banks have had five years to learn how to properly handle foreclosures and loan modification requests.

They’ve also paid steep settlements for their missteps.

But after all that some banks still can’t get it right. Earlier this week New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman threatened to sue Bank of America and Wells Fargo – two of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders – for violating terms of a settlement reached last year.

In that settlement, banks agreed to keep their paperwork straight, but Mr. Schneiderman alleges that they haven’t. Click here to read his press release.

Click here to read my column on MarketWatch.

Banks say it doesn’t happen, but I have heard from many homeowners that it indeed does.

A homeowner asks a bank asking for a loan modification.

The bank tells the homeowner it can’t help them unless they are behind on their payments – effectively telling them not to pay their mortgage.

The homeowner stops paying to try to get the loan modification. But eventually the loan modification is denied, and the bank forecloses on the home.

This is what Caylin Crawford of St. Paul, Minn., says happened to her. She is suing her lender with this claim in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.  Banks, by the way, are also paying billions to settle allegations that they’ve wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners, including a settlement reached this week.

 Click here to read my column.

Don’t let ghosts destroy the value of your home when it comes time to sell.

Prudential real estate broker Cindi Hagley can help.

Click here to read my column on Marketwatch.

You need a home for your growing family, but growing your family could result in a denied mortgage application.

Yes, it’s illegal to discriminate against women on maternity leave. But that doesn’t keep discrimination from happening.

‘The Department of Housing and Urban Development today said it reached a $20,000 settlement with Land Home Financial Services after it allegedly denied a California couple’s mortgage application because the wife was on maternity leave.

“We will continue to pursue maternity leave discrimination until it is eliminated,” said John Trasviña, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

Click here to read more from HUD.

Just when you thought the value of your home could fall no farther, here comes a guy who wants to sell you insurance that covers home value depreciation.

Scott Ryles, CEO of Home Value Protection Inc.,  starting selling these policies in October. So far his company is only operating in five states, but Ryles’ goal is to be a national company.

Click here to read my column on MarketWatch.

Here’s another sign of how far things have fallen: An Aspen home that once listed for $135 million just sold for $49 million.

Just imagine: This represents an $86 million dip in the value of just one single-family home.

Click here to read my column on Marketwatch.

And click here to read what I wrote about this home in 2006 at the peak of the market.

Times like these make me feel like a real capitalist.

I recently put my rental home on the market and received so many inquiries and applications I couldn’t even manage them all.

No. No. No. Sorry, it’s already rented. No. I guess that’s why people hate capitalists so much. They are always saying no.

The housing market, as well as the economy, show no signs of a real turnaround now. But vacancy rates have been edging near all-time lows.

Click here to read my column in The Sunday Wall Street Journal.

A mortgage company defaults on its obilgations and then tells it’s customers not to default on theirs.

Even children know better than that. But the CEO of Residential Capital, a subsidiary of Ally Financial, is doing just that. In fact, I got a letter from him just this month.

Click here to read my column on MarketWatch.

If you need to sell your home in a short sale because it’s worth less than what you owe, you may be better off just walking away and leaving the bank with the keys.

Tampa, Fla. mortgage broker Pam Marron says banks are telling customers they won’t get approval for a  short-sale unless they fall behind  on their payments. Can you imagine a lender actually telling a borrower to default? Banks I talked to say this isn’t their policy, but sometimes the policy of the investors who hold the mortgage notes.

If you’re going to be tagged with a default on your credit report, why not just default? That’s the question this situation is begging.

Marron has started a petition at whitehouse.gov to call attention to this issue. Click here to see her petition. Nearly 23% of American’s with mortgages are underwater. How can the housing market ever get going again if home sellers can’t lower their price to match the market?

Click here to read my column on Marketwatch.

It’s April Fools Day, the unofficial start of the home-buying season.

Is now a good  time to buy? Hey, it’s always a good time buy.

But home prices are still falling, so if you buy now, you may be watching your investment decline in value for a while.

Click here to read my column in The Sunday Wall Street Journal.