Obama Foreclosure Program Criticized By Expert Panel
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Former Wall Street bailout watchdog Neil Barofsky blasted the banking industry on Friday for inflicting a litany of abuses on American homeowners, and issued a withering critique of the Obama administration for protecting those same banks at the expense of homeowners.
“Our entire housing system is built on a foundation of fraud,” said Barofsky, who served as special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program from 2008 into 2011.
Barofsky’s comments came at a special panel on foreclosure fraud at this year’s Netroots Nation conference — an annual gathering of progressive bloggers and activists. Barofsky and white-collar crime investigator Lynn Szymoniak, Massachusetts foreclosure activist Malcolm Chu, and moderator David Dayen recounted foreclosure horror stories in which bank documentation is in such disarray that homeowners who have not even missed mortgage payments find themselves facing foreclosure. In thousands of other cases, the panelists emphasized, homeowners who do find themselves in financial trouble are unable to obtain any kind of relief from banks, even when aid would be less costly for investors than evictions. Meanwhile, in other cases, the banks rely on an entire cottage industry of forged signatures and fabricated documents to push through evictions.
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If you follow some of the cases that involve contested foreclosures, you will see that the major lenders actually are able to use HAMP as their mechanism to destroy any efforts of homeowners to battle. They have a litany of cases to support their position that there was no mandate in HAMP requiring modification and there is no individual cause of action granted to the borrower under the terms of that program. All the program did was provide cover and time to the banks to “extend and pretend” while they decided when and to what firm they (or the Fidelity Network) would send the foreclosure file. How the major news services have somehow ignored these facts is one hell of a story. But, apparently it won’t be told until time has worked its magic and saved the greedy lenders.
rommney shoot hes rich how can any of them relate they have that new show under cover boss when ceos and bosses go and work with there employees why dont we have under cover politicians
Maybe he has a plan for Kenya type village to grow from Banker fpreclosed neighborhoods>
I could not agree more that Obama did not serve us well in the housing crisis. It remains in doubt as to whether he will step up if granted a second term. However, having said that, is Romney’s housing policy an improvement? I believe Romney said little about how he would help homeowners or the housing situation. He did say banks needed to clear their inventory so the bottom could be reached? Does that demonstrate profound ignorance of the housing situation or what?
In my local, despite the spin put on sales, the bottom has yet to be reached. Come on down to the sunny South where you can buy $130K houses for $15-30K, throw a little paint around and repackage for pie in the sky out of town investors complete with rental management options touting high rental income as a kicker. All the investor has to do is buy the package and these fly-by-night rehabbers will manage your new rental investment. Gee whiz, you can make more income, than interest at the bank or in the stock market!!!!
Soooo funny it makes us in the industry laugh. Rents are not rising. You get through one tenant and must remodel to find the next because they have let their dogs tear up the doors and smell up the carpet.. Been there and done that!
Tax base is tanking and property taxes and sales taxes are rising in a state with no income tax because wealthy Republicans want everyone to pay their share by taxing food at the highest rate in the nation! So much for the Republican legacy.
Oh, well, must move on. . . . .
Obama had several programs to help people stay in their homes. Romney on the other hand said” let the foreclosures bottom out and then we will buy them and rent them out”. Romney also had the nerve to tell the people in the restaurant the day he was interviewed about people losing their jobs; he told the people there “I am in the same boat as you I am out of work too”. What an ass. No amount of money will persuade me to vote for that ass. He has never had it tough. His other statement I remember is in response to a ladies question for help, “You are on your own”.