Real Estate Investing Coaching - Brian Gibbons

Ohio - Attorney general's office sues six foreclosure rescue companies

                           

Attorney general's office sues six foreclosure rescue companies 6 foreclosure rescue companies accused of not helping borrowers Thursday, August 09, 2007 Sheryl Harris Plain Dealer Columnist Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann took aim Wednesday at foreclosure rescue companies that siphon money from people who are in danger of losing their homes. Dann's office sued six companies - two of them based in foreclosure-ridden Cuyahoga County - that solicited money from consumers with promises they could save their homes from foreclosure. Dann said the companies didn't contact lenders or do much else to prevent the homes from being sold, even though they accepted advance payment, ranging from $450 to $10,000. "This may be the 'last chance' money these people have," Dann said. The lawsuits, filed in courts across the state, accused the companies of violating the Consumer Sales Practices Act, but also took the new tack of insisting practitioners of foreclosure rescue must comply with the Debt Adjuster Act, which requires them to have insurance, limit consulting fees, undergo annual audits and keep separate trust accounts for clients. "I believe it's important to take all the arrows in our quiver to attack a business as sleazy as this one," Dann said. Ohio and Cuyahoga County, in particular, are ripe markets for foreclosure rescue companies. Both have frequently topped lists of the most foreclos- ure-ridden places in the country, and Cuyahoga County's foreclosure rates run triple the national average, giving it the dubious distinction of being, as County Treasurer Jim Rokakis often notes, "first and worst." On Wednesday, the attorney general sued: Cary Lavensky, doing business as Home Restoration Services, located in Cleveland. Richard Pinnix, dba Pinnix Business Services, of Shaker Heights. United Foreclosure Managers LLC of Youngstown. American Housing Authority Inc. of Newport Beach, Calif., and a related company, American Housing Financial Inc. of Phoenix. F.A.S., dba Foreclosure Assistance Solutions and Mortgage Second Chance, of Clearwater, Fla. Foreclosure Solutions of Cincinnati. Lavensky said he has been out of the foreclosure rescue business for a year. He said he could recall only one instance in which he had a dispute with a homeowner and, in that case, the family interfered with a planned sale of the home and then demanded a refund. He said he is certain his company complied with Ohio law. "I assure you, all our paperwork was drawn up by an attorney," he said. "This is the first I'm hearing of any of this." Pinnix said that while the attorney general is right in saying he didn't have insurance or separate accounts for clients, "I have saved a lot of people's homes through refinancing and hard-money lending . . . I work 17 hours a day to help my clients. At the end of the day, the truth will come out." Officials of United Foreclosure did not return a phone message left at the company. The suits seek restitution for consumers, fines and an order barring the companies from doing further business until they comply with applicable state laws. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: sherylharris@plaind.com, 216-999-4409 © 2007 The Plain Dealer                   © 2007 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.

Housing Costs Consumed More of Paychecks in 2006 - Housing costs ate up more of the monthly paycheck for millions of Americans in 2006 than the year before, despite signs of a slowdown in the housing market, according to figures made public today by the C

 

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September 12, 2007

New York Times
September 12, 2007
Housing Costs Consumed More of Paychecks in 2006
By JOHN LELAND

Housing costs ate up more of the monthly paycheck for millions of Americans in 2006 than the year before, despite signs of a slowdown in the housing market, according to figures made public today by the Census Bureau. The bureau also reported that more Americans over age 65 were continuing to work last year, whether by choice or out of economic necessity.

The housing data describe the buildup of economic pressures before the recent wave of foreclosures, as lenders allowed home-buyers to borrow more money relative to their earnings and consumers borrowed or refinanced as if the market would never fall. At the same time, incomes did not keep up with housing prices.

The housing data describe the buildup of economic pressures before the recent wave of foreclosures, as lenders allowed home-buyers to borrow more money relative to their earnings and consumers borrowed or refinanced as if the market would never fall. At the same time, incomes did not keep up with housing prices.