Author Archives: doug

A Perceptive take on the “foreclosure fiasco”

By doug | Published: October 17, 2010

Syndicated columnist Michelle Singletary has a theory on the root cause of what she terms a nationwide “forclosure fiasco” — that treating mortgages as the equivalent of trading cards led lenders astray from the fundamental values of home ownership. Singeltary’s remedy? S-L-O-W D-O-W-N. She says “Fair would be to slow down. Fair would be to […]

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Race Happy

By doug | Published: October 17, 2010

A nice profile of Hamilton – Wenham high school running coach Steven Sawyer by Boston Globe correspondent Doug Saffir shows how the coach stresses the importance of positive thinking instead of the won-lost record. The result? His teams’ records are truly impressive; the girls team has won 68 Cape Ann league meets in a row […]

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Credit card write downs ease, but card holders not really catching up

By doug | Published: October 16, 2010

Credit card default rates fell last month, but recent improvements in getting late payers to catch up slowed down instead. According to the Associated Press, the major banks all said that charge-offs fell in September to the lowest level of 2010. Charge-offs usually represent accounts that are more than six months behind — or in […]

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Bank of America needs weeks to untangle its foreclosure mess

By doug | Published: October 15, 2010

On Friday, Bank of America became the first major US bank to suspend foreclosure sales in all 50 states after questions were raised about whether it and other banks had illegally seized homes without the proper documentation. In a deposition filed in a Massachusetts lawsuit, a Bank of America official said she signed as many […]

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Bankruptcy lawyers buzzing over foreclosure revelations

By doug | Published: October 14, 2010

The news wires are just packed with stories on foreclosures lately. In just a small sampling: * All 50 state attorney generals appear to be circling the wagons around the large banks, questioning their handling of residential foreclosure procedures; * Syndicated columnist Candice Choi raises the spectre of disbarred lawyers trying to scam homeowners based […]

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Debt settlement firms face new rules

By doug | Published: October 12, 2010

As outlined by nationally syndicated columnist Michelle Singletary, debt settlement companies are already facing new rules from federal regulators concerning their practices. New rules require debt-relief companies to make specific disclosures, such as how long it will take to get results, how much the service will cost, and the potential negative consequences. The firms are […]

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Bankrupt Texas Rangers rise and surprise

By doug | Published: October 8, 2010

Baseball’s Texas Rangers have been the only North American sports team to file for bankruptcy recently, and I have been following their exploits, both in the courtroom and on the field, over the summer. The Rangers are shaping up as an ideal bankruptcy redemption story, as they have just clinched the American League’s West Division […]

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Update on new Massachusetts foreclosure program

By doug | Published: October 7, 2010

The forms needed to apply for HUD’s new zero-interest foreclosure prevention loans for the unemployed will not be available until later in the year. In anticipation of the new program, this would be a good time to get your financial house in order, though. Excessive non-mortgage debt is one of the disqualifying factors for the […]

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new program to help unemployed homeowners in massachusetts

By doug | Published: October 6, 2010

Yesterday the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development unveiled a new program designed to help unemployed homeowners stave off foreclosures. Unlike many prior programs, this one has the look of something that might work, and it will soon be available here in Massachusetts. Unemployed homeowners may be able to borrow up to $50,000 to […]

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Ally Financial’s GMAC mortgage company in hot water over foreclosures

By doug | Published: September 24, 2010

Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit has suspended foreclosures in 23 states amid suggestions that all the necessary paperwork is not in order. The states affected are so-called judicial foreclosure jurisdictions, where a judge must sign off on the right to foreclose in court. Both Massachusetts and New Hampshire are not judicial foreclosure states, so […]

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