Chase CEO Has Left The Building: Homeowners Confront JP Morgan Bank Executive, CEO Finds Himself Looking For The Nearest Door

As Tea Party protests grabbed headlines last week, another angry group found itself fighting for attention. The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) took its case to the Capitol, where some of its members disrupted a congressional committee hearing, surprised a bank executive, and dramatized the problems faced by many "underwater" homeowners.

At first, the April 13 meeting of the House Financial Services Committee seemed destined to be pretty run-of-the-mill. David Lowman, CEO of JPMorgan Chase's (JPM) home mortgage business presented 12 pages of testimony outlining his company's plans to help struggling mortgage borrowers to stay in their homes. But as Lowman began fielding questions from the congressmen, the meeting took an unexpected turn. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) asked the banker whom homeowners could turn to if they felt that JPMorgan's employees weren't helping them deal with their mortgage problems.

Lowman confidently replied "They can come to me."

Within minutes, they did: A stream of roughly 50 borrowers presented him with a six-page analysis of his company's failure to help homeowners.

In an article about the event, Reuters quoted organizer Bruce Marks, who described Lowman's hasty retreat: "He ran. He ran like a dog with its tail between his legs ... He was scared to death because he doesn't really want to talk to homeowners."Equal Parts Pied Piper, Protester and PranksterOver the past few months, Marks has emerged as a sort of a Pied Piper for angry homeowners. A former union activist, regulator for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and congressional liaison for the Department of Energy, Marks has combined middle class anger and 1960s-style street theater to create protests that are grabbing headlines -- and homeowner interest.

In December, Marks gathered an estimated 1,000 NACA members and stormed JPMorgan Chase's offices in New York's financial district. During the brief sit-in, the protesters occupied the main atrium of Chase plaza before being escorted off the premises by police. While not as dramatic as the building seizures of the Vietnam era, the action energized the group and garnered headlines. At the time, Marks told me that the confrontation "in the belly of the beast" was designed to draw attention to President Obama's critique of the "fat cats" in the banking industry.

A year ago, Marks borrowed a page from the playbook of Joey Skaggs.' In the late '60s, the famous prankster noticed that tour companies were running buses full of suburbanites through his hippie-laden neighborhood in New York's East Village. In response, he launched the "Cultural Exchange Tour," taking a Greyhound bus filled with hippie gawkers on a tour of suburban Queens.

Marks updated the prank by leading a collection of buses and minivans on a "Predator's Tour" of suburban Connecticut. Dropping in on Greenwich Finance CEO William Frey and Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO John Mack, the tour highlighted the social and economic gap between the bank execs who fueled the economic crisis and the struggling homeowners who were its victims. Commenting on its battle against the Wall Street execs -- which it referred to as "Loan Sharks," NACA's website stated that "We can't let them live quietly in a lap of luxury while they throw hard working Americans out on the street."Marks' theatrics have drawn protest and critics have levied numerous accusations against him. According to some, the "financial terrorist" is evasive when questioned about NACA's business practices, while others claim that his tactics often cross the line into abuse and bullying.

Yet, with an estimated 6 million homeowners behind on their mortgage payments and 1 in 4 mortgages currently underwater, it looks like Marks -- and his fellow protesters -- are going to be around for a while.

NACA's Bruce Marks: Quirky Populist Lights the Fuse of Homeowners' Rage By BRUCE WATSON 04/20/10

[ Thoughts from the Publishers of Lender Lies.info:

All Chase Borrowers with a bone to pick should contact the following individuals:

Dave Lowman (Chase Chief Executive) at: 636-735-2121
Jamie Dimon (Chase CEO & Chairman) at: 212-270-1111 ]

Foreclosure sales nearly DOUBLE from prior year

April 21, 2010

Foreclosure sales nearly double from prior year

Foreclosure sales increased 92.3 percent in March 2010 compared with March 2009 and 24.2 percent compared with February according to ForeclosureRadar’s March foreclosure report. Nearly 80 percent of foreclosure sales in February were for properties returning to lenders; the remaining properties were sold to third parties, primarily investors.

Notices of Default declined significantly in March compared with the prior year, when filings reached record levels as lenders caught up on a backlog of filings. Third-party purchases of foreclosure sales set a new record in March, surpassing 4,000 properties for the first time.

Bank Forecloses on Nicolas Cages Bel Air Home - Gets No Bidders

Nicolas Cage is leaving Bel-Air. And not by choice.

The fate of the sprawling Tudor mansion owned by the actor, who won an Oscar for his role in "Leaving Las Vegas," was decided Wednesday far from the baronial estate.

It was up for auction Wednesday morning -- along with a handful of other foreclosed properties -- on the steps of the county courthouse in Pomona.

After a rapid-fire spiel by the auctioneer, the bidding was opened at $10.4 million, far less than the $35 million that Cage had tried unsuccessfully to sell the house for.

To put it mildly, the house, though impressive, was not to everyone's taste. Real estate agent Bret Parsons, who toured it most recently in October, described the interiors as "fascinating and bizarre."

"The design was 'frat house bordello,' " Parsons said. "There must have been 300 comic book covers elaborately framed and hanging on the walls."

Model train sets on raised tracks a couple feet below the ceiling circled the inside of the breakfast room and two bedrooms.

There were also no takers in the courthouse sale, and in less than a minute the auction closed, with ownership reverting to the foreclosing lender -- just one of six holding a total of $18 million in loans on the property.

The pattern of repeated borrowing against equity is familiar to Bob Baker, sales manager of County Records Research, a Huntington Beach-based company that supplies information about foreclosure properties.

"This is a microcosm of what's going on in our state," Baker said. "We've seen as many as 13 loans on a house."

When people keep borrowing, he said, it has "a snowball effect." The final loans often are taken out to meet expenses, he said. "It's a survival tactic."

This is not the only property lost to foreclosure by Cage, who was ranked last year by Forbes as the fifth-highest-paid actor in the U.S. with earnings of $40 million.

Cage's publicist said the actor could not be reached for comment.

In October, Cage sued his former business manager, Samuel J. Levin.

The complaint, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accused Levin of having "lined his pockets with several million dollars in business management fees while leading Cage down a path toward financial ruin."

Levin filed his own countersuit, describing Cage as setting off "on a spending binge of epic proportions" and states that by July 2008 Cage owned "15 palatial homes around the world," four yachts, an island in the Bahamas, a private Gulfstream jet and millions in art and jewelry.

LA Times, April 08, 2010By Lauren Beale

'Octomom' Nadya Suleman Staves Off Foreclosure, For Now

Nadya 'Octomom' Suleman has been offered two avenues of income to help her avoid foreclosure on her home: PETA and porn.

The 34-year-old mother of octuplets, who owes $450,000 on her home in Southern California, has accepted a $5,000 offer from PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- to post a sign in her front yard proclaiming, "Don't Let Your Dog or Cat Become an Octomom. Always Spay or Neuter," according to the Associated Press. The payment will buy Suleman time not only to stay in the home, but also to file a lawsuit against the former owners for allegedly failing to disclose major problems with the house.

At the same time, Steven Hirsch, head of one of the world's largest purveyors of adult films, has offered to pay off the entire mortgage if Suleman agrees to star in a porn film. Although Suleman has not publicly responded to the offer, her lawyer Jeff Czech indicated she rejected it out of hand, according to the AP. "No porn. Just PETA. Nadya prefers animals over men," Czech said.

Fed Up Homeowners Taking It To Court

For homeowners struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments, their best hope may be negotiating a lower, more affordable monthly payment while they try to get their financial houses back in order. That's the aim of the government's Home Affordable Modification Program, which encourages lenders to modify loan payments. It sounds simple: To modify your mortgage, you fill out the paperwork and move forward, right? Don't count on it, say some homeowners who have been there, tried that. Lenders, if they do anything to help you at all, might accept you into the temporary mortgage reduction program, but what happens when you've made those reduced payments and your lender renegs on the deal and on the home anyway?

HAMP officials have been tightening the rules for lenders to make it harder for them to string borrowers along. But in the meantime, many homeowners are fighting back, the American way: by suing and screaming. More people are taking their lender to court or contacting their congressman, or sometimes both. We looked at some homeowners who have chosen one of these routes -- and won.

Some lenders and loan servicers believe they can make more money by foreclosing on a home than by modifying a mortgage, so they give excuses for not doling out permanent modifications while trying to appear as if they're trying to help. For others, they just give homeowners the "runaround."That's exactly what retired "Real Housewives of Orange County" cast member Jeana Keough was probably feeling before she launched a campaign against her lender.Keough says her 7-bedroom, 9-bath Coto de Caza home (left) finally has been saved from foreclosure through a loan modification. But it wasn't easy, as the banks didn't comply until she made a lot of noise, reported the Orange County Register. She says of her efforts, "I am more than a bimbo on a Reality TV show." (Plus, she knows how to leverage her status).

After acknowledging her financial woes last summer, Keough originally listed the home for $5.5 million, about a half-million dollars above its then-value in an apparent attempt to help buy her time as she fought the system. But once Keough's home had been scheduled for auction, it was last listed on various online services at $3.9 million, reported the Orange County Register. "With the possible sale of my house at auction, and the crazy people coming out of the woodwork to buy my $4.5 million dollar house for $1.3, you find out who your friends are," she wrote to Jon Lansner at the Register. WaMu/Chase had originally denied accepting her into the permanent home mortgage modification program after she says she worked with them for six months. "They said I didn't fit the program, I am a fighter so I called my friend Jason Cougenhour at HUD, our illustrious Congressman, and our Governor's office, and found out that 75 percent of the people in loan mod's weren't getting accepted. That incensed me. I talked and wrote, harassed, gave speeches, encouraged people to write email blasts. ... I am happy to say Chase has stopped foreclosure, and made my payments affordable."Now, we all aren't living in multi-million-dollar homes and able to broadcast our woes on a reality TV show to get action done, but that isn't to say you also couldn't complain to your state representatives.Las Vegas Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said his office has handled hundreds of calls from homeowners complaining about lenders' unwillingness to work with them. They gripe about the difficulty of reaching lenders, reported the Las Vegas Review Journal.

"One of the biggest complaints I get from people fighting to stay in their homes is that they can't get anyone on the phone to talk to them," Reid said. "These people are just looking to get someone on the phone who can help navigate these troubled waters."Reid said he knew he wouldn't be able to help everyone, so he sent letters to lenders urging them to be more responsive. The senator's efforts resulted in 19 Nevada homeowners getting a loan modification or workout plan from the bank; another 40 or so have been assigned to a workout negotiator.Gloria Lucas, who lives on a retirement pension with her husband and two teenage grandchildren, says Reid's efforts helped her. She had gotten no where after calling Wells Fargo and Wachovia almost weekly seeking help in lowering her $1,322 payment. So Lucas called Reid's Las Vegas office. Within three weeks she was receiving phone calls and documents from the bank. Her payment was reduced to less than $800 a month with 18 percent, or a little less than $30,000, forgiven on the mortgage balance.But if political clout doesn't work, you can always sue.At least four Boston-area homeowners are suing Wells Fargo and Bank of America, claiming the banks haven't done what they promised.One lawsuit claims that the plaintiffs followed all the Federal rules and guidelines set by the lender to lead to a permanent mortgage modification, "only to be given the shaft at the end of the mandated trial period," reported Charles Feldman for Walletpop.

"When a large financial institution promises to modify an eligible loan to prevent foreclosure, homeowners who live up to their end of the bargain expect that promise to be kept," the homeowner's attorney, Gary Klein, said in his complaint obtained by the Boston Globe. Although the cases for the Bostonians are still ongoing, many Californians have received positive results from their legal pursuits.Federal lawsuits over the Truth in Lending Act or wrongful foreclosure in California have skyrocketed in the past five years, from just 29 in 2005 to 1,395 last year, reported the San Jose Mercury News.

Two weeks before their Sunnyvale home was to be auctioned off, Sonia Leverman and her sons seized on a desperate David-vs.-Goliath legal strategy and won after everything else had failed.The Levermans' saw the monthly mortgage payments on their three-bedroom, $655,000 ranch home jump from $2,500 to $4,353 when the rate changed--right on the heels of the husband losing his job and the sons' work hours cut back, reported the Mercury News.The family entered a temporary modification plan with the lender, but filed suit after Litton Loan Servicing refused to grant them a permanent loan modification. The loan servicer claimed their third trial payment was late - even though the Leverman's had a Western Union receipt showing it arrived on time. As a result, the Levermans finally hired an attorney who filed suit in California's court system against Litton, alleging breach of contract. As a result, the family is back on track for a permanent modification. However, they owe more than the house is now worth and they're out $5,000 to attorney Los Gatos lawyer Wendell J. Jones. But I am sure they see that as money well spent. "Only when I got involved and filed a lawsuit did the lender come to the table," Jones said.

Quality Staff At Bank of America Illegally Seizes House and Luke, The Parrot

Bank Sorry for Taking Parrot
by James R. Hagerty
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wall Street Journal

BofA Believed Woman's Home Was Vacant, Padlocked It and Kept Bird Over a Week

PITTSBURGH -- Bank of America Corp. apologized after its local contractor entered the home of a mortgage borrower when she was away, cut off utilities, padlocked the door and confiscated her pet parrot, Luke.

Angela Iannelli, 46 years old, alleged in a lawsuit Monday that the October incident -- which separated her from her 11-year-old parrot for more than a week -- caused so much "emotional distress" that she needed a prescription medication for anxiety.

A Bank of America spokesman said Wednesday a bank employee erroneously believed the house was vacant and sent the contractor there with instructions to install a new lock and otherwise "secure" the property. The bank spokesman said those instructions were inappropriate because Ms. Iannelli wasn't in default and the house wasn't vacant.

Mortgage lenders have struggled in the past three years to hire and train enough people to deal with the biggest wave of foreclosures since the 1930s. Nearly eight million households, or 15% of those with mortgages, are behind on their payments or in the foreclosure process.

Many borrowers complain they get the runaround when they call their lenders for help, receive contradictory information from different employees and are required to repeatedly fax the same documents.

At the same time, suicide threats from distressed borrowers are so common that one lender, OneWest Bank Group in Pasadena, Calif., had to establish procedures for alerting the police. Lenders' call-center employees are under heavy pressure. "These people make $14 or $15 an hour, and we ask them to move mountains," said a OneWest executive at an industry conference last month.

In her civil suit filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Ms. Iannelli said a contractor hired by Bank of America entered her house about 15 miles north of Pittsburgh in mid-October when she was away. According to the suit, in an "invasion" of the home, the contractor stopped utility services, cut water lines and electrical wiring, damaged flooring and finishings, poured antifreeze into sinks and toilets, and "stole" the parrot.

Ms. Iannelli, who owns a diner and works part-time as a bartender, said Bank of America representatives weren't helpful when she called in to protest. They first denied knowing where the parrot was, and later told her she could go to the offices of the contractor, about 80 miles away, to retrieve the bird herself. Ms. Iannelli said bank representatives also told her they were "tired" of hearing from her, hung up on her and advised her to seek help from the police.

Her lawyer, Michael Rosenzweig, a partner at Edgar Snyder & Associates in Pittsburgh, said Ms. Iannelli was seeking damages of more than $50,000. The amount of any damages would be decided by a jury if the case goes to trial.

A Bank of America spokesman said the bank would "quickly review the allegations in the lawsuit, the actual events that led to them and the causes of those events, and consider any hardship that resulted."

Mr. Rosenzweig said Ms. Iannelli had missed one payment around the time of the incident but quickly caught up and was now current on her loan.

After she drove two hours to reclaim her parrot in October, the bird initially seemed nervous, Ms. Iannelli said in an interview Wednesday. "He's doing very well now," she said.

Note from Webmaster: Stories like the one above are reported to our office often. This is NOT a one time event. We receive numerous calls and reports from families that have been wrongfully kicked out of their homes by B of A and incident reports to B of A management mostly lands on deaf ears.

In Real Estate Full Disclosure Is The Law

Man Screws Bank By Bulldozing $350,000 Custom Home

February 2010

Is this the tipping point? Americans have been taken advantage like no one on earth by greedy Banksters and corporations. Like many of them, a man named Terry Hoskins has had troubles with his bank. But his solution to foreclosure might be somewhat unique.

Hoskins said he's been in a struggle with RiverHills Bank over his Clermont County home for nearly a decade, a struggle that was coming to an end as the bank began foreclosure proceedings on his $350,000 home.

"When I see I owe $160,000 on a home valued at $350,000, and someone decides they want to take it – no, I wasn't going to stand for that, so I took it down," Hoskins said.Hoskins said the Internal Revenue Service placed liens on his carpet store and commercial property on state Route 125 after his brother, a one-time business partner, sued him.

The bank claimed his home as collateral, Hoskins said, and went after both his residential and commercial properties."The average homeowner that can't afford an attorney or can fight as long as we have, they don't stand a chance," he said.Hoskins said he'd gotten a $170,000 offer from someone to pay off the house, but the bank refused, saying they could get more from selling it in foreclosure.Hoskins issued the bank an ultimatum:

"I'll tear it down before I let you take it," Hoskins told them. And that's exactly what Hoskins did.

Hoskins says one of his businesses is going on the auction block in March over the tax liens but says he's considering bulldozing it down too.

Before Chase Bank Forecloses on You, Please be Comforted to Know that Chase CEO is Reported to Receive a 17 Million Dollar Bonus

February 2010

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase Bank, is one of the biggest of the big dogs on Wall Street.
So a lot of people were waiting to see what his "number" would be, his 2009 bonus. The wait is over; he will get a bonus valued at around $17 million according to a company filing with the SEC. But instead of it being in cash, it will be in stock and options.

The non-cash approach is all the rage on Wall Street for the topmost executives at the big firms, as companies try to show that they got the message that Washington policymakers and voters are outraged by Wall Street compensation that in past years past resembled Powerball prizes.

Especially galling has been companies paying bonuses after they and their industry were bailed out by billions of dollars from taxpayers.

By getting stock, Wall Street's top bankers are trying to demonstrate that they have a stake in their companies not taking foolish, short-term risks since that could negatively impact the value of their stock bonuses.

According to the SEC filing, Dimon would receive 195,704 units in restricted stock and 563,562 stock options.

Now all eyes turn to the bonus watch for Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs' CEO. There's been speculation that he could come in with a really big number, maybe even $100 million, although those who are talking don't know and those who know aren't talking.

How Indymac Scammed This Entire Country and How The FDIC Bailed Them Out

February 2010

Click on the photo above and watch a 5 minute clip that explains the dirt on Indymac and how the American Public got Dooped. This video explain it all and will make your head spin. Talk about the BIGGEST Lender Lie and a slap in the face to every IndyMac Borrower that lost their home.

Indymac Bank: Now a CERTIFIED Group of Liars

December 2009

Boy, there is nothing more refreshing than to wake up in the morning to find that you are now mortgage free and own your home outright just after a nasty foreclosure battle with one of the dirtiest lenders in the business, Indymac.

That's right, just ask Greg Horoski and his wife, Diane Yano-Horoski of Long Island who successfully sued Indymac Bank (now known as One West Bank) and won.

Judge Jeffrey Spinner wiped away over $525,000 in mortgage payments (a loan that carried an initial adjustable interest rate of 10.375 percent, which soared to 12.375 percent), blasting Indymac and its "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive acts."

Judge Spinner's direct kick in the nuts to IndyMac left the Horoski family owing absolutely no money on their ranch house in East Patchogue. Judge Spinner pulled no punches as he leveled the truth directly at the bankers of Indymac / OneWest -- the bank that took an $814.2 million federal bailout but have a record of cold-bloodedly foreclosing on any homeowner that owes them a nickel in backed payments. He canceled the debt because the bank "must be appropriately sanctioned so as to deter it from imposing further mortifying abuse against the couple."

Horoski, who had begged the bankers to let him restructure the loan said, "I think the judge felt it was almost a personal vendetta." Dealing with the bank was "like dealing with organized crime."

The good news for Indymac was apparently Judge Spinner was in a good mood that day and decided to take it easy on the preying group of vultures. His honor humbly stated that One West's conduct was "inequitable, unconscionable, vexatious and opprobrious" and that's putting it lightly.

Oh, the quality staff, employees, and personnel that Indymac has to offer. What more can anyone in this nation expect from a certified group of liars that single handedly bankrupt a major bank in a matter of a few years?

A Special Note to All Business Owners and Employers: If you are in need to ruin or demolish your company, offer the worst customer service known to mankind, and feel the need to extinguish any and all remaining business you have left, hire a member of the Indymac staff. Their stellar record and performance speaks for itself. There is no better choice of dirt left on this earth.

GENIUS Banking Employees At It Again

Bank Mistakenly Sells Couple's Home

Despite being up to date on their mortgage payments, a Phoenix couple mistakenly had their home placed in foreclosure and sold.

Jeff and Yanthy Zerner were approved for a mortgage modification with Chase just days before they received a notice giving them five days to vacate the property, a KPHO-TV, Phoenix story said. When Jeff Zerner contacted the number on the notice, he was told the house had been in foreclosure, and it had been bought.

Chase admitted the error and apologized to the couple, the story said. They are also meeting with the couple to work out a solution.

WATCH The FULL STORY HERE:

or click the photo above to view.

Another One Bites The Dust

FDIC officials enter the California National Bank branch at 221 S. Figueroa St. in downtown Los Angeles as the bank is taken over. The bank's 68 branches are set to reopen Saturday or Monday as usual as branches of U.S. Bank. By E. Scott Reckard.

California National Bank fails, is seized by FDIC

October 31, 2009

The Los Angeles-based, 68-branch bank is immediately acquired by the U.S. Bank unit of U.S. Bancorp.

Regulators seized Los Angeles-based California National Bank on Friday night in the country's fourth-largest bank failure this year.The 68-branch bank, a unit of FBOP Corp., was immediately acquired by the U.S. Bank unit of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, with no losses to be incurred by depositors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.The branches, mostly in Los Angeles and Orange counties, were set to reopen as usual Saturday or Monday as branches of U.S. Bank, which has been expanding rapidly in Southern California.Eight smaller banks owned by FBOP, a privately held Oak Park, Ill., company, were also taken over by regulators and acquired by U.S. Bank. They include San Diego National Bank, with 28 offices, and San Francisco's Pacific National Bank, which has 17.The collapse of FBOP's banks, attributed to losses on securities issued by the giant mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, was the latest in a rash of financial failures that began last year with government takeovers of 25 banks. Before Friday, 106 U.S. banks had failed this year.

California National Bank, with $7.8 billion in assets and $6.2 billion in deposits, is the fourth-largest commercial bank based in Los Angeles County. Only City National Corp., East West Bancorp and Cathay General Bancorp are larger.FBOP's owner, billionaire Michael Kelly, didn't return a call seeking comment.But in a letter to employees, obtained by KTLA-TV Channel 5, Kelly said the holding company and its banks had owned $855 million in preferred shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which became worthless when the government placed the firms into conservatorship in September 2008.FBOP had hoped last fall that it could get money from the Treasury Department's $700-billion financial bailout fund, Kelly said. But in the end, he said, changes in the program "meant that we were no longer eligible." A Treasury spokesman couldn't be reached Friday for comment.Kelly said FBOP had been working to obtain $750 million from private investors but was unable to present an acceptable proposal to the regulators when a deadline for raising capital expired Friday."I am so proud of organizations that you helped grow, and I will always be grateful for the work that you have done," Kelly said in his letter to employees. "I apologize that this is the end result."

California National has had its share of lending problems. As of June 30, the last time it reported its financial results publicly, the bank had five times as much foreclosed property on its books and twice as many non-current loans as it had a year earlier. But the bank's main problem was its loss on the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares.U.S. Bancorp has been a major acquirer in the West, buying the remains of Downey Savings of Newport Beach and PFF Bank & Trust of Pomona when those struggling thrifts failed last fall. It also has acquired branches in Arizona, and just this month, it bought 20 Nevada branches from BB&T Corp., which had acquired them as part of a deal to buy Colonial BancGroup Inc. At about $25 billion in assets, Montgomery, Ala.-based Colonial was the largest bank to fail so far this year.The nine FBOP banks had combined loans and other assets totaling $19.4 billion as of Sept. 30, the FDIC said.U.S. Bank is acquiring most of those assets under a loss-sharing plan with the FDIC, which is to absorb 80% of the first $3.5 billion in losses and 95% of any additional losses.Taking such losses into account, the FDIC estimated that Friday's nine bank failures would cost the federal deposit insurance fund $2.5 billion.

Customers with loans from California National and the other FBOP banks were advised to continue making payments.The FDIC had allowed prospective buyers to make offers for individual FBOP banks as well as for the whole company. U.S. Bancorp Vice Chairman Joseph Otting said U.S. Bank was able to work out an offer for all the banks because it already was committed to growing in Southern and Northern California and in Chicago, where FBOP owned Park National Bank.Before the Downey and PFF deals, U.S. Bank had 79 branches in the Los Angeles-Orange County area, a spokeswoman said. The FBOP acquisitions will bring its total in the area to 241.That would create "opportunity for selective branch consolidations," the bank said in an online presentation on the FBOP deal.

There was no immediate word on layoffs, but U.S. Bank sought to allay fears at California National.Otting said representatives of his bank met Friday evening with California National employees at all the branches, telling employees who work face to face with customers that they could keep their jobs and back-office workers that they would be allowed to apply for other jobs at U.S. Bank.The bank plans meetings Sunday to further brief California National workers, he said.California National Bank is unrelated to L.A.-based National Bank of California, which has five branches.

Notice to all INDYMAC Customers - Email Our Office Today For Foreclosure Delay

Indymac Notice of Sale Problem:

As everyone who has a loan owned or serviced by Indymac knows, the bank has had a long, troubled history. When the bank failed to meet FDIC guidelines, the government agency was forced to take over to ensure that the bank did not fail completely, which could have cost depositors all of their money. In early January, the FDIC then decided to sell off the mortgage-backed securities portfolio to a company comprised of a group of strong investment companies called IMB Management Holdings, LP. Indymac has now become One West Bank. The basic terms of the purchase allowed IMB to purchase the $16 Billion dollar portfolio for $13.9 billion. IMB also received $7 Billion in other securities and 33 branches making the acquisition terms very favorable for IMB.

The sale of the portfolio is now complete which puts homeowners, who were hoping to modify their loan in a more compromising position compared to when the FDIC was in control. While the FDIC was heavily understaffed, they were there to help modify loans to favorable terms for qualified homeowners. The process was very slow but the results were strong. Homeowners generally received a step program that would start at a very low interest rate (1%-3%) then gradually go up over the years until it reached a low fixed number. In addition, they would also stretch out amortizations to lower payments and capitalize delinquencies. This enabled homeowners to keep their property even when they were seriously delinquent causing the bank to make less money than when the property was purchased.

Now that the sale of the portfolio is complete and there is a new regime controlling the fate of the mortgage backed securities, these programs seem to be much harder to get. IMB basically bought the portfolio for around $0.40 cents on the dollar, meaning that if they foreclose on a property and only regain half of the note amount, they still make 20%. This is scary for homeowners. Foreclosing on homes is supposed to scare banks because it results in catastrophic losses. In this case, these losses have already been realized and dealt with, meaning that the homeowners have little leverage.

Along with the fear of foreclosure, Indymac is using unethical tactics to collect past due balances from homeowners. It has been seen where Indymac will offer a modification to a troubled homeowner looking to keep their house. The terms look great and the homeowner now believes that they can keep their home. They send Indymac the required ‘Good Faith’ reinstatement payment and the signed documents. Indymac cashes the check then issues a denial upon further review. This practice is becoming very common, so if you are an Indymac customer, understand what you are going up against.

Another important new addition to the ever changing guidelines is that anyone who is on Notice of Sale (NOS) now is required to pay up to 50% of their delinquent balance to delay the foreclosure. This does not guarantee a modification or reinstatement, just delays the sale date. Make sure that you consult an attorney before you make this move. There are other ways to delay the foreclosure without paying 6-8 months of missed payments, fees and taxes. Bottom line is that Indymac borrowers need to beware. They are not playing fair and definitely do not care about you as a homeowner.

If you are in a Trustee state and are heavily delinquent, we can be your answer to delaying the foreclosure. Indymac is taking back homes in the thousands. Do not be one of them just yet.

It Can Happen To Anyone, No One Is Immune:

Bank left holding high-profile property after auction failure
Thomas Holdings lost Sunset Whitney Country Club in foreclosure
Sacramento Business Journal - by Mark Anderson Staff writer

First Banks Inc. of St. Louis is marketing the Stockton Waterfront Hotel for $18.8 million. It cost $60 million to build, and was offered at auction last month for $12 million, but there were no takers. Buyers are scarce, even for distressed commercial properties put on the auction block for a fraction of their former value.

The Stockton Waterfront Hotel failed to attract bidders when offered at auction last month for $12 million. The hotel, which cost more than $60 million to build, is now being marketed for $18.8 million by First Banks Inc. of St. Louis, which owns the hotel free and clear.
The same bank tried to auction Sunset Whitney Country Club on Aug. 27 for a minimum bid of $2.8 million. But no one bid on the Rocklin golf course, which, like the Stockton hotel, had been owned by Sacramento’s Thomas Holdings LLC.

The two properties are some of the first high-profile, real estate-related businesses to go through commercial foreclosure, bankruptcy filings and auction sales.
They will not be the last, said Dan Hayward, a hotel broker and financier with PKF Capital in Sacramento.

“There are a lot of properties that we are watching,” he said. “The fourth quarter is going to be a lot worse.”

And different. Every foreclosure has different players, a different structure and different location, Hayward said. “There are so many different directions properties can go when they start going down this path,” he added.

But different paths aside, both the Stockton and Rocklin properties show that commercial real estate is not selling, even when offered for less than half what it fetched just four years ago at the height of the boom.

Erasing debt and clearing title

Despite the sluggish response, there are many advantages to putting properties on the auction block. At the top of the list: clearing title to the property, getting rid of creditors who may be owed millions of dollars and scrubbing potential liens.

The Stockton hotel was about $40 million in debt before it hit the San Joaquin County courthouse steps last month. Now, following the auction proceedings, the hotel’s deed is uncontested, and First Banks doesn’t need to worry about any liens being placed on its title.
Sunset Whitney Country Club owed the bank $4.6 million. In addition, a former owner of the course was owed about $1 million in a second position, while Thomas and other creditors had unsecured claims of $1.5 million.

In many cases, the foreclosure auction wipes out all creditors other than the senior creditor,

unless another creditor is willing to buy the property.

If a lender has the senior position on the deed, and no one bids over the lender, the lender gets a clear title position on the deed, and all junior debt is wiped out, said Doug Kraft, principal in Kraft Opich LLP in Citrus Heights. As an attorney specializing in distressed loan and property cases, Kraft was talking in general and not about the specific properties.

Some prospects in sight

Sunset Whitney has remained open, with an interim management company taking over and hiring existing employees, said Mike Heutter, general manager of the club.

The Stockton hotel was closed the night before the auction. The plan is to reopen the hotel this month, said Alan Reay, president of Atlas Hospitality Group, the Irvine-based brokerage that is listing the hotel for First Banks. Reay said Atlas has received interest from numerous hotel brands.

The hotel was developed with the city of Stockton by Sacramento developer Regent Hotel LLC, an affiliate of Thomas Holdings. Thomas worked for years on the hotel, investing time and money that has been wiped out by the hotel’s foreclosure.

Thomas didn’t return calls seeking comment.

“As the temporary owner of both properties, First Bank continues to stabilize operations while making sure all the financial details involving both entities are in complete order. The Sunset Whitney Country Club will remain open with no interruptions in service until a new owner is found. A ‘soft’ opening, with limited services, of the Lexington Hotel is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 22 as we continue to look at potential buyers,” said Peggy Lents, First Bank spokeswoman.
The real estate listing for the Waterfront Hotel describes it as “being offered at a fraction of its replacement cost.” It cost more than $60 million to open the hotel less than two years ago.
The hotel is listed as “unencumbered by brand or management.” That can be a selling point, Hayward said, noting that it can be expensive for buyers to deal with an existing management contract or long-term brand affiliation, especially if it isn’t the management or brand a buyer wants going forward. Some major hotel brand contracts run a decade or two, and if a buyer wants another brand, that could entail breaching an existing contract and paying liquidated damages to change brands.

Hotel values are all over the board, Hayward said. The market is in such a slump that the usual metrics of average rate and occupancy are pointing to basement-level pricing. Some bargain-hunters are shopping based on capitalization rates they want; others are shopping on a per-room cost. Nothing is close to replacement value.

The Waterfront Hotel opened as a Sheraton in December 2007 at a cost of $61.5 million. But three stories of penthouse condominiums on top of the hotel were never completed. The revenue from selling the condos was supposed to subsidize the cost of the hotel. But by the time the condos were almost ready to hit the market, the housing market was floundering. The project started falling into technical default early on, and it got hit with waves of mechanics’ liens. Regent sued the bank for not releasing the last $6 million of its construction loan. Meanwhile,

Regent got hit with about $9 million in mechanics’ liens.

First Bank foreclosed on the Stockton Sheraton in July 2008. A court-appointed receiver was named custodian of the property for First Bank. The hotel was still being operated by Regent, but had to drop its Sheraton brand after foreclosure. Regent continued to operate the hotel under the Lexington brand until the property was auctioned last month.