Several months ago, Livingston County Democrats learned that Oakland County was filing a lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to collect back taxes from the two mortgage giants. The privately owned but federally backed mortgage lenders had not been paying transfer taxes on real estate, claiming they were exempt as part of the federal government.
We thought this could provide some needed revenue for our county. Jordan Genso, then party chair, went to the Livingston County Commissioners and urged them to look into joining the lawsuit. The all-Republican county commission didn't take that step, but a federal judge later created a class-action lawsuit.
That lawsuit has resulted in a ruling that the two lenders do owe the transfer taxes. Livingston County Register of Deeds Sally Reynolds says the ruling could mean $217,000 for the county. It's disappointing that Reynolds sounded negative about the extra revenue for the county, complaining that it was an "ongoing nightmare."
A good use of that money would be to start a foreclosure prevention program in Livingston County, as local Democrats said at the time.
The local media didn't mention that it was Livingston County Democrats who first brought the issue up here, but it was.
The public has the idea that it's only Republicans in Livingston County that have good ideas. Here's one case where it was Democrats who were on the ball.
Showing posts with label Mortgage Foreclosures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mortgage Foreclosures. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, August 8, 2011
Some Nerve!
The folks at Standard & Poors have some nerve.
It was they who gave AAA ratings to the junk mortgages that home lenders were handing out like candy a few years ago, precipitating a financial crisis that caused the world economy to collapse, and with it federal tax revenues.
So now they tell the federal government they are downgrading the federal government's credit rating from AAA to AA+, even though the federal government reached an agreement to avoid default on its obligations.
What makes them experts all of a sudden?
A lower credit rating means higher interest rates paid by the federal government, i.e. taxpayers, on the money it borrows. And who will be the beneficiaries of those higher interest rates? Wall Street investors, of course.
Nothing like having people coming and going.
It was they who gave AAA ratings to the junk mortgages that home lenders were handing out like candy a few years ago, precipitating a financial crisis that caused the world economy to collapse, and with it federal tax revenues.
So now they tell the federal government they are downgrading the federal government's credit rating from AAA to AA+, even though the federal government reached an agreement to avoid default on its obligations.
What makes them experts all of a sudden?
A lower credit rating means higher interest rates paid by the federal government, i.e. taxpayers, on the money it borrows. And who will be the beneficiaries of those higher interest rates? Wall Street investors, of course.
Nothing like having people coming and going.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Help on Homes Should be Closer to Home
A Livingston County family received media attention last week after picketing the sheriff's sale of their home, which they say was wrongly foreclosed upon due to a bank error.
In reporting on the story, the newspaper contacted a Flint-area organization, Metro Community Development, for comment on the consumer side of the matter. The article noted that Metro Community Development recently helped the owners of a Pinckney home fight foreclosure.
With 1 out of every 215 homes in the county in foreclosure during June, it's too bad people in Livingston County have to rely on an out-of-county organization to fight foreclosures. Shouldn't there be help closer to home with a local agency dedicated to keeping homes from foreclosure, protecting our tax base and home values?
In reporting on the story, the newspaper contacted a Flint-area organization, Metro Community Development, for comment on the consumer side of the matter. The article noted that Metro Community Development recently helped the owners of a Pinckney home fight foreclosure.
With 1 out of every 215 homes in the county in foreclosure during June, it's too bad people in Livingston County have to rely on an out-of-county organization to fight foreclosures. Shouldn't there be help closer to home with a local agency dedicated to keeping homes from foreclosure, protecting our tax base and home values?
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Livingston Dems: County Should Look Into Foreclosure Lawsuits
A pair of Livingston County's neighbors are suing two mortgage giants for not paying millions of dollars in taxes for homes they foreclosed on. Shouldn't Livingston County join in?
Livingston County Democrats think so and on Wednesday, county chair Jordan Genso urged the county commission to look into joining the lawsuits brought by Oakland County and Ingham County against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
With money tight, governments ought to be looking at any potential source of revenue. And that's what officials in Ingham and Oakland have done.
In June Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner sued mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in federal court, alleging that the lenders failed to pay real estate transfer taxes to the county when they recorded documents with the county Register of Deeds.
The county portion of property transfer taxes is $1.10 per $1,000 of a property’s value. The state portion of the transfer tax is $7.50 per $1,000. Oakland County officials have estimated the two lenders owe the state and county $12 million for unpaid transfer taxes.
Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel Jr. filed a similar lawsuit naming not only Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but also Bank of America, BAC Home Loans Servicing, Wells Fargo Bank, Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, and two Michigan law firms, Trott & Trott and Orlans Associates.
That suit, filed in Ingham County Circuit Court, names the entities besides Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because Hertel believes that the companies might have assigned mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac right before a foreclosure in order to avoid paying the transfer taxes.
Hertel also said millions of dollars could be owed to the county and the state.
Genso asked the county commission to look into how much Livingston County might have lost in transfer taxes unpaid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and report that figure to the public, along with its decision on whether or not to join the lawsuits, by August 31.
Money recovered from the lawsuit could be used to start foreclosure prevention and assistance programs in Livingston County, Genso said.
Livingston County Democrats think so and on Wednesday, county chair Jordan Genso urged the county commission to look into joining the lawsuits brought by Oakland County and Ingham County against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
With money tight, governments ought to be looking at any potential source of revenue. And that's what officials in Ingham and Oakland have done.
In June Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner sued mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in federal court, alleging that the lenders failed to pay real estate transfer taxes to the county when they recorded documents with the county Register of Deeds.
The county portion of property transfer taxes is $1.10 per $1,000 of a property’s value. The state portion of the transfer tax is $7.50 per $1,000. Oakland County officials have estimated the two lenders owe the state and county $12 million for unpaid transfer taxes.
Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel Jr. filed a similar lawsuit naming not only Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but also Bank of America, BAC Home Loans Servicing, Wells Fargo Bank, Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, and two Michigan law firms, Trott & Trott and Orlans Associates.
That suit, filed in Ingham County Circuit Court, names the entities besides Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because Hertel believes that the companies might have assigned mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac right before a foreclosure in order to avoid paying the transfer taxes.
Hertel also said millions of dollars could be owed to the county and the state.
Genso asked the county commission to look into how much Livingston County might have lost in transfer taxes unpaid by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and report that figure to the public, along with its decision on whether or not to join the lawsuits, by August 31.
Money recovered from the lawsuit could be used to start foreclosure prevention and assistance programs in Livingston County, Genso said.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Foreclosure Crisis Just Help for Greedy Homeowners?
As lawmakers in Washington begin to address the home mortgage foreclosure crisis, the writer of a letter to the editor of the Livingston Press and Argus complains that federal assistance in such a crisis amounts to helping people who made foolish decisions.
No prudent person would agree to a mortgage with an interest rate of 11 percent, he claims. Such people don't deserve help because they were not as frugal as he is, the writer insists.
So why should the nation help out people -- like many of those here in Michigan -- caught in this foreclosure crisis?
Republican senators apparently have decided they should help out average people because it's hard to justify not doing so after the Bush administration bailed out Bear Stearns.
Besides the sheer hypocrisy of helping rich corporations and not little people, there are other good reasons.
Despite the letter-writer's self-righteousness, a lot of people got into this mess through no fault of their own. Mortgage companies did not always fully disclose what would happen to adjustable rate mortgages in the future, for example.
Or people may have thought they could refinance their adjustable rate mortgages to something lower, as homeowners have been doing for years, only to find out that the mortgage crisis has made refinancing more difficult.
Or they may have lost their jobs, had unexpected medical bills not covered by insurance, or gotten a divorce. In such cases, hanging onto a house that is worth much less than what is owed on the mortgage is difficult when the payments become unmanageable.
Perhaps the homeowners should have foreseen that prices would drop. But when the real estate agent and lender are telling the buyer the deal is a good one, a less sophisticated buyer is likely to trust their judgment. After all, they're the experts, aren't they?
Furthermore, the home mortgage foreclosure crisis is not like a broken leg that affects only the person attached to the leg. It's more like a virulent virus that spreads easily on the wind, sickening those not even close to the carrier.
According to The New York Times:
"Roughly 4.2 million mortgages were either past due or in foreclosure at the end of last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. An additional three million borrowers may default in the near future."
The ripple effects of a crisis that widespread can swamp a lot of other people who think they are secure.
The value of all homes in an area affected by the home mortage foreclosure crisis drops. Neighborhoods with many foreclosed homes begin to experience blight. People who are not facing foreclosure but need to sell their homes in order to move to another job have difficulty finding buyers with so many competing, cheaper properties on the market.
Builders pull back on constructing new homes, so employment in construction and related fields drops. People who are not buying new homes also are not buying new appliances, new carpeting, and new furniture, so spending in those areas is affected.
Those not selling their homes find their homes worth less so they are less able to borrow against them through home equity loans to make improvements or for other reasons. So spending on construction and materials drops even more.
In other words, a mortgage foreclosure crisis of this magnitude has the potential to drag the entire economy into a recession.
That's not good for anybody -- not even people who smugly congratulate themselves on not having had the bad luck to buy a house at the wrong time.
No prudent person would agree to a mortgage with an interest rate of 11 percent, he claims. Such people don't deserve help because they were not as frugal as he is, the writer insists.
So why should the nation help out people -- like many of those here in Michigan -- caught in this foreclosure crisis?
Republican senators apparently have decided they should help out average people because it's hard to justify not doing so after the Bush administration bailed out Bear Stearns.
Besides the sheer hypocrisy of helping rich corporations and not little people, there are other good reasons.
Despite the letter-writer's self-righteousness, a lot of people got into this mess through no fault of their own. Mortgage companies did not always fully disclose what would happen to adjustable rate mortgages in the future, for example.
Or people may have thought they could refinance their adjustable rate mortgages to something lower, as homeowners have been doing for years, only to find out that the mortgage crisis has made refinancing more difficult.
Or they may have lost their jobs, had unexpected medical bills not covered by insurance, or gotten a divorce. In such cases, hanging onto a house that is worth much less than what is owed on the mortgage is difficult when the payments become unmanageable.
Perhaps the homeowners should have foreseen that prices would drop. But when the real estate agent and lender are telling the buyer the deal is a good one, a less sophisticated buyer is likely to trust their judgment. After all, they're the experts, aren't they?
Furthermore, the home mortgage foreclosure crisis is not like a broken leg that affects only the person attached to the leg. It's more like a virulent virus that spreads easily on the wind, sickening those not even close to the carrier.
According to The New York Times:
"Roughly 4.2 million mortgages were either past due or in foreclosure at the end of last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. An additional three million borrowers may default in the near future."
The ripple effects of a crisis that widespread can swamp a lot of other people who think they are secure.
The value of all homes in an area affected by the home mortage foreclosure crisis drops. Neighborhoods with many foreclosed homes begin to experience blight. People who are not facing foreclosure but need to sell their homes in order to move to another job have difficulty finding buyers with so many competing, cheaper properties on the market.
Builders pull back on constructing new homes, so employment in construction and related fields drops. People who are not buying new homes also are not buying new appliances, new carpeting, and new furniture, so spending in those areas is affected.
Those not selling their homes find their homes worth less so they are less able to borrow against them through home equity loans to make improvements or for other reasons. So spending on construction and materials drops even more.
In other words, a mortgage foreclosure crisis of this magnitude has the potential to drag the entire economy into a recession.
That's not good for anybody -- not even people who smugly congratulate themselves on not having had the bad luck to buy a house at the wrong time.
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