Agents advised to keep ‘bank-owned’ quiet
Looking to buy a home, but not sure you want one that fell into foreclosure?
Good luck finding out before you tour the property.
It’s a little-known fact that Wells Fargo Bank’s Premier Asset Services division, which sells bank-owned homes, instructs agents who sell these houses to list the owner as “Owner of Record,” and not Wells Fargo. Premier Asset Services also sells homes owned by other banks.
The Multiple Listing Service, which is used by real estate agents to list properties, includes a category for bank-owned property. But here again, agents are told by many banks not to disclose the fact that the property is, in fact, owned by a bank.
A number of agents who sell bank-owned properties privately say most banks have the same requirement. They say banks want their homes to be considered equally with non-distressed homes.
Tyler Smith, vice president of REO Community Development for Premier Asset Services, acknowledged that Wells Fargo prefers that the MLS not list a property as bank-owned, if the listing is optional. In some parts of the country, the MLS requires that the property be listed as bank-owned, and Wells Fargo asks its agents to comply with the rule, Smith said. But in the regional MLS that serves Palm Beach County, there is no requirement, and so the disclosure is discouraged.
Rest here…
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Wells Fargo has a very well defined set of steps they follow to try and steal homes from homeowners. While we were in the refinance process they did this to us so I researched and found out that many many other homeowners have been subjected to the same bunko scheme. The steps are: 1, during the refinance process they will say that the homeowner can have a ‘payment vacation’; 2, drag out the refinance process: 3, tell the homeowner that the home is being foreclosed due to missed payments. At this point the credit of the homeowner is ruined due to the inappropriate negative comments by the bank, making it very very difficult to find alternative financing. They did this to us knowing fully well that we were doing a cash out refinance to help with our daughters wedding. Not only did we have to endure the stress of being told our home would be taken from us, but we were not able to help with our daughters wedding to the extent we would have liked to. The fact that we had over $250k equity in the home might have played into their desire to steal it. There was a lawsuit that Wells Fargo lost, involving 1000’s of homeowners and a bevy of lawyers that was related to this whole scheme. The end result: the homeowners that lost their homes got a whopping $2k after the dust cleared. Wells Fargo was unsuccessful in their attempt to steal our home so we did not participate in the lawsuit and were able to keep our home. Also, as we are not subject to the gag order that keeps people from outing WF for the lying cheating thieves that they are. Nevertheless ~ the process left us in a very sad state both financially and emotionally.
Bla bla bla on the state of affairs in this country and for humanity as a whole ensues ~ how in the world can a company employee agree to participate in the process that throws whole families onto the street? It is up to each and every one of us to just say no to the involvement in such fraudulent processes. I hold the bankers that tried to lead us down the path to destruction just as much as I blame the company for whom they worked.
End Note: never, never, under any circumstances allow the bank to give you a “payment vacation” (even if you have been banking with them for decades and trust them implicitly) as it could be a prelude to having your home taken from you.
As an agent who has worked on Wells Fargo REOs through this site I can say never was I instructed to lie about the status of the property. Besides, any GOOD agent will check the status of a property before actually taking their client to see it, unless agents have become lazy (GASP!) and have stopped doing their homework. I am sure each MLS is different, however from mine all you do is click on the Assessor’s parcel number which is right there on the listing and it takes you to the tax data WHICH automatically tells you the property status, foreclosure, pre-foreclosure,standard sale etc. Banks can’t hide information which is PUBLIC information unless you’re lazy and don’t bother or don’t know how to look up this info. If you’re looking to buy and your agent doesn’t know how to do something as basic as look up the property status, the history of loans, owners etc. it’s time for you to look for a new agent!
Beware to those who plan to do this….
Former Jacksonville mayoral candidate among 3 arrested for squatting in homes
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – March 6, 2012 – Three people, including a man who ran for mayor in Jacksonville last year, were arrested Sunday on charges of grand theft after five vacant homes were illegally taken over to be lived in or rented to others, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Former mayoral candidate Warren Lanorris Lee, 46, was arrested at 7:30 p.m. on a warrant for organized fraud, grand theft and operating as a real estate broker without a license, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Also arrested Sunday evening were Rhonda Petite Johnson, 52, of Tori Lane and Cleveland Xavier Stephens, 36, of Milnor Street, both on grand theft charges, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
One more suspect – Marcellous Dunbar – remains at large in what the sheriff called a “very complicated” case.
“They rented property that they never really owned,” Sheriff John Rutherford Monday during a news conference on the arrests. “They were living in them, or presenting them as their own. They squatted there, changed the locks, and in some instances rented these properties to other people.”
The problem of illegal squatters is also being investigated in Clay and Nassau counties, with cases pending there, State Attorney Angela Corey said.
“We understand there are legal means by which some people can take over property. It is called adverse possession,” Corey said. “That is not what this is about. This is about getting around the law and basically stealing, and we will not tolerate it.”
Rutherford said the arrests should be a signal to home renters everywhere, that if they think their landlord or homeowner doesn’t “seem to have their business squared away,” check with the property appraiser’s office website. (To find a local property appraiser, visit the Florida Department of Revenue website.
“You can … type in the address (on a property appraiser’s website) and get the owner of record,” he said. “If it is not the person you are paying, you need to call us.”
Rutherford also warned other squatters that it is just a “matter of time before we get you.”
Lee’s address wasn’t released because he is a former state Department of Juvenile Justice employee, police said. The Times-Union reported last March that Lee was fired from his job there because he approached co-workers on the job to ask for their signatures so he could quality for the ballot.
Copyright © 2012 The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.), Dan Scanlan. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
Here is a piece of interesting information….keep this for future use…
Gone, but not forgotten: Canceled debt
WASHINGTON – March 6, 2012 – Like former lovers who send you friend requests on Facebook, old debts can come back to haunt you.
But while you can ignore old flames, you can’t dismiss past debts, even if your lender forgave them. Debts that were canceled or forgiven are considered taxable income – something many taxpayers don’t realize until they receive a 1099-C tax from their lenders.
During the Great Recession, lenders wrote off billions of dollars of credit card debts deemed uncollectible. Now, the tax bills on that debt are coming due. The IRS estimates that creditors will send taxpayers 6.4 million 1099-C tax forms this year, up from 3.9 million in 2010.
The appearance of an unexpected tax bill “creates a financial nightmare for people who have already been through financial hell,” says Gerri Detweiler, personal finance expert for Credit.com.
Fortunately, if unemployment or other financial calamities forced you to default on your debts, there’s a good chance you won’t have to pay the tax bill. You qualify for an exemption from taxes on forgiven debt if:
You filed for bankruptcy. Debts discharged in bankruptcy aren’t taxable, says Jennifer MacMillan, an enrolled agent in Santa Barbara, Calif.
If you receive a 1099-C for a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy, fill out IRS Form 982 and file it with your tax return, Detweiler says. Check box 1a, “Discharge of indebtedness in a title 11 case.” (Don’t be confused by the term “title 11” – that’s a reference to the section of the U.S. Code covering bankruptcy, not the type of bankruptcy you filed.) On Line 2, list the amount of debt that was discharged.
You were insolvent. If your debts exceeded your assets when the debt was forgiven, some or all of the debt reported on 1099-C is exempt from taxes. This exclusion is also reported on IRS Form 982. You can use a worksheet in IRS Publication 4681.
Your list of debts should include everything you owed when the debt was forgiven, including debts that aren’t dischargeable in bankruptcy, such as student loans. For assets, estimate the fair market value of everything you owned when the debt was written off.
Even if you’re accustomed to doing your own taxes, it may be worthwhile to consult with a professional tax preparer, Detweiler says.
Erroneous tax forms
Complicating matters, a significant number of 1099-Cs issued to taxpayers contain errors, says IRS Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson. To comply with Treasury regulations, some lenders issue 1099-Cs for debts they haven’t tried to collect in 36 months, even if they haven’t forgiven them, she says. In other cases, taxpayers have received duplicate 1099-Cs for the same debt, she says.
In her 2010 report to Congress, Olson listed inaccurate reporting of canceled debt as one of the most serious problems facing taxpayers. The problem hasn’t gone away, Olson says, and taxpayers continue to face numerous obstacles when they try to challenge an erroneous 1099-C.
Shelley Cartier, 48, of Austin, recently received a 1099-C for a $6,400 credit card debt that was discharged when she filed for bankruptcy in the early 1990s. The debt was so old that the tax form was addressed to Cartier’s former married name and sent to her mother’s house.
When Cartier contacted the financial institution, she was told it was up to her to prove the debt was discharged. That’s a problem, because Cartier discarded her bankruptcy documents after holding on to them for the period required by law.
With help from her bankruptcy lawyer, Cartier was able to track down a service that she hopes will retrieve the court documents for her bankruptcy filing for $35.
“I don’t know how much time I’ve spent trying to clear this up,” she says.
Fixing the problem
The worst thing you can do when you receive a 1099-C is ignore it. When your lender sends you the form, it also sends a copy to the IRS, which will match the document with information on your tax return.
Contact the lender if you believe the information on the tax form is incorrect, MacMillan says. If your lender won’t revise the form, report the amount on the 1099-C on your tax return and make an adjustment to correct the error. Most tax software programs provide a way to explain the discrepancy.
© Copyright 2012 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., twitter.com/sandyblock
Some MLS listings now require REO status
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – March 6, 2012 – Starting today, a service used by some real estate agents to list homes for sale will require that agents disclose whether a bank owns the property.
The change comes two days after The Palm Beach Post reported that some banks, including Wells Fargo, tell real estate agents not to disclose the bank’s ownership on the Multiple Listing Service. Until now, the MLS in that region did not require agents to describe a home as being “bank owned”; but in other parts of the country, the information is required. Some agents who sell bank-owned property privately said they feared losing business if they went against the wishes of the banks.
Last week, Tyler Smith, vice president of REO Community Development for Premier Asset services, a Wells Fargo division that sells bank-owned property, said the directive to agents was done so buyers would not avoid bank-owned real estate. Smith said Wells Fargo has been improving the condition of its properties.
Even though a home’s ownership can be obtained through public records, some agents say they would prefer to have the information disclosed on the MLS before they take a client to a home.
On Monday, Eric Sain, president of the Regional MLS, said the MLS has created a category field called REO (real estate owned) that agents will be required to fill out. Sain said the move had been in the works for months, as the regional MLS adapts to changes in the real estate market.
“We’re changing with the times,” said Sain, who hopes the rule will lead to more accurate home descriptions and less frustration for real estate agents and buyers. “We want to make the process easier for agents.”
The rule applies only to new listings to avoid interfering with agreements between banks and agents who sell bank-owned homes, Sain said.
Kevin Dickenson, a Prudential Florida Realty agent who first noticed the missing information on the MLS listings, called the REO field a “good move” and said it would help boost the sale of properties.
Some buyers specifically want bank-owned homes, Dickenson said, while others do not because many REO homes need major work.
Some real estate agents were surprised to learn that banks were directing agents to hide their ownership of homes. Sharon Harrington of Realty Elite Destination in Wellington said asking an agent to hide the information “goes against the rules of our profession” to disclose all known information about a property.
The state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation prohibits misrepresentation and concealment by real estate agents, but it does not specifically address bank-owned properties, said Sandi Copes Poreda, director of communications.
But Craig Fialkowski of Realty Elite of the Palm Beaches in Wellington called hiding ownership on the MLS “unconscionable. There is absolutely no reason a seller should authorize (an agent) not to disclose material facts pertinent to the buyer’s interest in the property.”
Fialkowski sells property owned by Regions Bank, which he said does not prevent him from disclosing that a home is bank owned.
© 2012 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.) Distributed by MCT Information Services.
MORE “SHIT ” BY THE BANKS LET’S BUY A HOME & DON’T TELL THEM YOU’RE NOT GONNA PAY
BECA– USE IT’S A SINKHOLE OR YOU FIND OUT IT WAS A FORECLOSURE & MAYBE A :LIEN ON THIS
HOME SEE HOW FAST THEY “STEAL” YOU’RE HO– USE ..
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO “DISCLOSURE” ??? EVERYTHING IDS “FRAUD” “NO”
HONESTY AMONG THIEVES !!!
Shame on any Realtor who violates MLS rules by giving in to these demands.
Does anyone know if they try and say that Premier Asset Services has the title to any of their foreclosed homes? They are skanks, for sure!!
Weren’t Wells Fraudgo the ones who have the REO ‘weasel-out of title problems clause’ in their selling agreement?
yup
Here’s some more BS the realturds are trying: Advertising the listing as “corporate owned,” making it sound as if an executive lived there and his/her job was being transferred and the corporation he worked for bought his interest out.
If the agent signs on to represent the buyer (dual agent status), the fail to disclose this information is a violation of their fiduciary obligation.
Now that the banks own the homes they want to limit realtors and the MLS from full disclosure regarding the status of the home? What a joke? What about homeowners who had to list and try to sell with a lis pendens on the MLS? Many homeowners sold their homes for far less than they should have because of the “in foreclosure” designation. Most were subjected to the foreclosure hunters and low-ballers, realtors who sold them out by making sure that the “in foreclosure” status was revealed to every potential buyer and used as a selling point. ” Great house, great location, and it’s in foreclosure”. Now because it’s the banks that are losing money, keeping quiet about the status of a home is important for the welfare of the neighborhood. While I agree that protecting the neighborhood is important, keeping the status of a home in default should be private from the start. Not just when it’s the bank that will lose money.
Here is an update the FNMA has gotten a preliminary injunction upon contingent upon FNMAposting of a $5,,000.00 bond that was ordered July, 2011.
http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/arizona/azdce/2:2011cv01227/623642/38