Category: Predatory Lending
Published On: June 21, 2008
Yet more outrage today when I read the Center for Responsible Lending report entitled “Tarnished Golden Years: Unauthorized Bank and Credit Union Overdraft Fees Threaten Financial Security of Older Americans.” (Read entire report here) The Center has yet another report, Shredded Security, which reports the following: As AARP reports this week that bankruptcy among older Americans has doubled since 1991, and as banks raise their overdraft fees and make it easier to hit their account holders with multiple charges, we release findings on how unauthorized overdrafts strip fees from Americans 55 and older at the level of $4.5 billion per year. Nearly $1 billion of… Read More
Published On: May 24, 2008
Wow, the Internet Celebrities have posted over 30 “comedy” videos on Youtube. Each video sends a message about the predatory lending crisis in this country. Entertaining yet very hard hitting. Check out the video below (beware of some well-placed four-letter words). The Internets Celebrities Dallas Penn and Rafi Kam go in for an investigative report on Check-Cashing. Themes explored include usury, economic instability, commercial banks and their profit line, and the cycle of poverty. Oh yeah, it’s a comedy. The video is shot on location in Bushwick and Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn, New York. Also stars special guest Internets Celebrity Ben Popken… Read More
Published On: April 19, 2008
Yahoo! News published a fascinating article by Nick Carey entitled “Troubled Homeowners Fall Prey to ‘Rescue’ Scams.” Among the byproducts of the U.S. housing crisis is a surge in scams that cheat people out of their money, their homes, or both, under the guise of offering to rescue them from foreclosure. “There is a lot of money to be made if you are good at committing fraud,” said Debra Zimmerman, an attorney at Los Angeles-based Bet Tzedek Legal Services, which provides free legal assistance to stricken home owners. “Foreclosure rescue scams are big business right now.” Groups like Zimmerman’s say that… Read More
Published On: March 30, 2008
How has the Subprime Crisis affected you? Foreclosure? Victim of Real Estate Fraud? Skyrocketing mortgage payments? Negative credit rating? Victim of Predatory Lending? Misled by lenders? Call or e-mail me to learn about your legal rights. Maybe all is not yet lost… Lowell Steiger, Attorney at Law lowell@steigerlaw.com As we learn more and more about predatory lending and the subprime mortgage crisis, I think it is imperative that you read the following article written by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Understanding and Reporting Suspected Predatory Lending and Fraud MBA and its members actively fight against predatory lending. Lending practices that strip equity away from homeowners or… Read More
Published On: March 22, 2008
How has the Subprime Crisis affected you? Foreclosure? Skyrocketing mortgage payments? Negative credit rating? Misled by lenders? Call or e-mail me to learn about your legal rights. Maybe all is not yet lost… Attorney General Brown Shuts Down Mortgage Scam Artists From the Attorney General of California’s Website: LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2008 —California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today shut down Lifetime Financial, Nations Mortgage, Greenleaf Lending, Virtual Escrow, Olympic Escrow and Direct Credit Solutions, accusing the predatory lending companies of pushing homeowners into “illegal and unconscionable loans.” “As the mortgage crisis worsens, a growing number of fly-by-night companies are employing utterly… Read More
Published On: March 21, 2008
he National Association of Consumer Advocates is a fantastic organization comprised of attorneys and other individuals dedicated to championing consumer rights — your rights. They are there for the consumer when it comes to: Auto Fraud Credit Reporting Problems Debt Collection Abuse Identity Theft Lemon Law Military Consumer Rights Predatory Lending Practices Student Loans I have a particular interest in the substance of their organization as my practice is now taking on the types of cases which the National Association of Consumer Advocates addresses. Of topical note is their published piece on predatory lending practices, the substance of which is posted below: Predatory Lending Practices… Read More
Published On: March 21, 2008
The BBC has produced a shocking video depicting ex-subprime borrowers, once proud homeowners, now living in tent cities that have sprung up in Southern California as victims of the mortgage crisis lose their homes. How has the Subprime Crisis affected you? Foreclosure? Skyrocketing mortgage payments? Negative credit rating? Misled by lenders? Call or e-mail me to learn about your legal rights. Maybe all is not yet lost… Lowell Steiger, Attorney at Law
Published On: March 20, 2008
The Subprime Crisis is complex, frustrating and, most of all, enraging. The 1000’s upon 1000’s of unsuspecting victims range from borrowers trying to get a home to major investors trying to make a legitimate return on their investment. As it unfolds, the litigation against mortgage brokers, lenders, appraisers and everyone in the chain will increase exponentially. The Subprime Primer is a comical, yet sobering, series of cartoon frames that explains the etiology of the Subprime Crisis. Beware, there are some four-letter expletives throughout but they enhance, rather than detract, from the subject matter. How has the Subprime Crisis affected you? Foreclosure? Skyrocketing… Read More