California Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

Bank of America has modified more than 50,000 mortgages under a legal settlement, the Wall Street Journal reported May 26. The loan workouts are required under a settlement the bank reached with multiple state attorneys general, who filed a predatory lending lawsuit against Countrywide Financial over its marketing of high-risk subprime and option adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans. Bank of America bought Countrywide in 2008. The article says homeowners involved in the program have saved as much as $823 million, an average of $195 each.

The settlement covers 390,000 homeowners with option ARM and subprime mortgages in 42 states. The lawsuit said Countrywide misled them when they originally bought their homes. Bank of America admitted no wrongdoing by its acquisition, but agreed to change up to $8.4 billion worth of principal and interest owed on the loans. The biggest savings went to buyers with option ARM mortgages, who are saving an average of $311 a month. People who didn't qualify for a loan modification, including tenants whose landlords went into default, have also received $22.4 million in financial assistance with relocation.

Not everyone is happy with the settlement. Bank of America has already been sued by investors in securities backed by the modified mortgages, who allege they're paying for the settlement with a reduced value of their investments. Consumer advocates also expressed concerns that not all of the loan modifications resulted in lowered monthly mortgage payments, which is widely considered the best indicator of whether a loan modification is sustainable in the long term. The article mentioned one San Diego County homeowner whose monthly payments actually went up after a modification, thanks to the addition of late payments and fees. This was despite the fact that the interest rate on his option ARM mortgage dropped.

Our Riverside loan modification lawyers are pleased to see that loan modifications under this settlement are helping at least some homeowners who may have been exploited. It's well established by now that subprime and option ARM mortgages are two of the most commonly defaulted types of home loan, and they were also specialties of Countrywide before they got it into financial trouble. However, for this settlement to do real good, Bank of America must not just go through the motions of loan modifications, but make them sustainable -- which means lower monthly payments for homeowners who need them. A loan modification that results in a higher mortgage payment, like the one in San Diego, is unlikely to help financially struggling families stay in their homes.

Based in Anaheim, Howard | Nassiri LLP has an active practice helping homeowners throughout California negotiate for meaningful loan modifications. As Montebello loan modification lawyers, we are professional negotiators with a thorough understanding of mortgage and real estate law. Banks listen when we call, because they know that we know your rights -- and we're willing to sue, if necessary, to protect those rights. And unlike fly-by-night loan modification companies, we are established, licensed Orange County loan modification lawyers subject to discipline and lawsuits if we take advantage of our clients.

If you're fighting to keep your home and you're ready to enlist an experienced, aggressive advocate, you should call Howard | Nassiri. To learn more at a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.

Congress passed a law this month adding new regulations limiting anti-consumer behavior by credit card companies. Our Chino debt settlement attorneys have written here a few times before about the rise over the past year of unfair practices like changing interest rates, lowering credit limits and other adverse actions against cardholders who have no record of payment problems. In response, Congress passed the CARD Act, a law limiting certain behaviors by credit card companies, and President Obama signed it May 22. Consumer groups are pleased by the law, but warn that it doesn't end every abusive practice -- and could encourage more abuse in the months before it becomes effective.

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog reported some of the details of the bill. Perhaps most important for cardholders, credit card companies can no longer apply an interest rate change to an existing balance, unless that balance is more than 60 days overdue. They must disclose changes in terms 45 days before the changes take effect, disclosures must be clearer and bills should be sent out at least 21 days before the due date. Any payment above the minimum must be applied to the highest outstanding balance. And they cannot charge fees for transactions over a credit limit unless the cardholder chooses that feature.

These are all good features. But consumer groups, and our own Orange debt settlement lawyers, wish it went farther. Most importantly, we wish the law had set a cap on interest rates for bank-issued cards, which can go as high as 30 to 40 percent. The banking industry had argued that this would threaten their industry, but interest rates on cards issued by credit unions have been capped at 15% for decades, with no ill effects. We also wish it had banned the practice of raising interest rates and lowering limits based on the cardholder's record with other lenders, or worse, based on a good cardholder's choice to shop at stores frequented by irresponsible cardholders.

We also wish Congress had mandated the new rules take effect s soon as possible, rather than giving credit card companies nine months to implement them. Already, it's clear that they're using those nine months to squeeze as much revenue as they can out of cardholders, raising interest rates dramatically and lowering credit limits on people with no history of late payments or overspending. These moves punish responsible borrowers in the short term, raising their expenses at a time when few Americans have the resources to deal with another expense. They also do long-term damage to cardholders' credit scores, which take a hit every time available credit goes down. These practices raise profits in the short term, but by driving cardholders into financial problems and possible bankruptcy, they could actually cost the card companies more in the end.

At Howard | Nassiri LLP, we represent clients who are in debt over their heads because of a combination of bad decisions, bad luck and unethical behavior by creditors. Our Los Angeles debt settlement lawyers negotiate with creditors to end harassing phone calls and settle your debt once and for all with a lump-sum payment. Frequently, creditors will accept less than you owe because they know it's more than they would stand to receive if they drive you into bankruptcy. Once your debt is settled, we can help you set your credit record straight and advise you on the tax and credit consequences of the transaction.

If you know you have more debt than you can handle and you're ready to take action, you should contact Howard | Nassiri today for a free, confidential consultation. You can contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.

The rate of real estate foreclosures was higher in April than at any time since reporting began in 2005, the Associated Press reported May 12. Irvine-based RealtyTrac reported that April foreclosures jumped 32% over last year's April numbers, with California cities seeing six of the ten biggest increases by city. That works out to one in every 374 U.S. households receiving a foreclosure filing, the AP said. However, foreclosures were up less than 1% between March and April of this year, a rate that one expert quoted in the article found surprising

The numbers reported represent total foreclosure activity -- legal filings and notices of default. However the article said, repossessions of homes are down. This could be a delayed result of expired foreclosure moratoria by major lenders and some states, or voluntary moves by lenders, who may be waiting to see whether federal programs can help them avoid taking on yet more money-losing foreclosure properties. For distressed homeowners, this may mean more repossessions over the next few months, as foreclosures progress. Federal programs may be able to help, the AP wrote, but some have questions about how much cooperation homeowners can expect from lenders.

As Carson loan modification attorneys, we are cynical on this last point. We work every day with homeowners who tried their best to modify their loans on their own, only to discover that their lenders were unwilling to discuss it or so overwhelmed by calls that they couldn't respond. The Obama Administration's plan is generous to lenders, using financial incentives to incentivize them into considering loan workouts that are already in those lenders' best interests -- in the long term. With home prices low and the Southern California housing market glutted with bank-owned properties, a foreclosure is a bigger money-loser than it already was. However, lenders have shown distressingly little interest in staving off that situation, preferring to send homeowners into foreclosure rather than change loans in a way that lowers their short-term profits.

Howard | Nassiri LLP represents homeowners stuck in this situation as part of our loan modification practice. Our Escondido loan modification lawyers deal with lenders on our clients' behalf and have successfully argued for changes including lowered interest rates and conversion of adjustable-rate mortgages to more conventional structures. Banks pay attention to us because we are attorneys -- which means we have professional negotiating skills, we understand our clients' rights and we will file a Southern California predatory lending lawsuit if appropriate. We go into every case with the goal of winning a modification that lowers the clients' monthly payment permanently, allowing them to stay in their home.

If you're in default or know you could be soon and you need help, you should call Howard | Nassiri as soon as possible. Our Costa Mesa loan modification attorneys offer free, confidential consultations, so there is no risk to you in talking to us about your situation and your options. To schedule a consultation, please contact us through our Web site or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.

The Obama Administration has announced an expansion of its foreclosure-prevention program that could help substantially more people, the Washington Post reported May 15. The Making Home Affordable plan announced earlier this year already gives lenders financial incentives to modify loans for some distressed homeowners and refinance the loans of others. The new guidelines would expand those plans to serve more homeowners, including many who are ineligible for the original plan because they owe far more than their homes are worth.

The original plan allowed cash payments to lenders for allowing loan modifications and refinancing. The new guidelines grant cash payments of $1,000 to a lender for allowing a short sale, in which the home is sold to a new buyer for less than the current homeowner owes on the loan. The same payment would be available if the short sale isn't possible but the bank accepts a deed in lieu of foreclosure, where the homeowner simply turns over the keys and walks away. In both cases, the federal government has also pledged to help remove second mortgages or other liens. Homeowners would be eligible for $1,500 in moving expenses.

Perhaps more importantly for homeowners here in Southern California, the plan also includes $10 billion intended to encourage loan modifications in areas where home prices are still falling. As things currently stand, if a lender allows a loan modification and the homeowner defaults again, the lender's losses could be even greater than they would have been if it had foreclosed the first time. The administration wants to insure those lenders against that risk, encouraging them to modify loans.

As Oceanside mortgage loan modification lawyers, we are pleased to see that the administration is thinking of our region. Like other areas that saw extremely high housing prices, we have more than our share of homeowners who are now underwater by well over 5%, the cutoff for federal refinancing help. Under the "insurance" plan, they have a better chance of winning a reasonable loan modification that lowers their monthly payments for good. If that doesn't work out, they have the short-sale or deed transfer options. Those may sound grim, but they keep everyone out of foreclosure, which lessens the damage to buyers' credit and may even end their mortgage debt.

The Anaheim law firm of Howard | Nassiri LLP represents homeowners who need help getting a loan modification. Many times, our clients come to us only after they have spent weeks trying unsuccessfully to connect with a loss mitigation specialist at their lenders. Our Fontana loan modification lawyers can cut through that red tape with persistence, knowledge about how the process works, and -- if appropriate -- any evidence we find of predatory lending. And unlike a fly-by-night loan modification company, we are lawyers, which means we have legal obligations to our clients and face professional consequences if we don't meet those obligations.

If you are facing a foreclosure and you're ready to explore your legal options, Howard | Nassiri can help. To set up a free, confidential consultation with our San Bernardino loan modification attorneys, please contact us online or call toll-free at 1-800-872-5925 as soon as possible.

As Rialto loan modification attorneys, we were very interested in a recent Washington Post column about why loan modification scams are thriving right now. The May 16 column by "The Mortgage Professor," Jack Guttentag, says borrowers get taken in by scammers in part because they want representation in their dealings with lenders -- not just counseling. Scammers meet that need by promising to act as the borrowers' agents, he wrote, but some are outright thieves and others deliver a service that isn't worth what it costs.

Guttentag started by listing the steps of a loan modification: negotiating a deal, delivering the necessary documents, verifying the information provided and following up to ensure that the paperwork doesn't get lost in the shuffle. Representation can't change the rules borrowers must follow, he wrote, but it can help simplify this complex process, make it faster and help borrowers avoid making costly mistakes. Many borrowers could do it all themselves, but some need help from a trustworthy agent who can direct the process. The federal government should recognize this and do more to encourage legitimate loan modification companies, he wrote.

As San Diego County loan modification lawyers, we agree -- but we wish his analysis had recognized the difficulty of actually dealing with a lender. For one thing the demand for loan modifications has skyrocketed in the past few months, and that means it's hard for our clients just to get a human being on the phone. Part of our job as a mortgage loan modification law firm is simply to get the banks' attention, whether that means leveraging evidence of predatory lending or simple persistence. Just as importantly, even well-educated people have trouble with the complex and detailed legal and financial issues in a loan modification. We take those burdens off the backs of clients who are busy, frustrated and sometimes paralyzed by financial worries.

Based in Orange County, Howard | Nassiri LLP represents homeowners throughout Southern California who need help negotiating a meaningful loan modification. We are not credit counselors or a brand-new loan modification company trying to exploit desperate homeowners -- we are a law firm, which means we face career-ending consequences for exploitive and dishonest behavior. Because we are Corona loan modification attorneys, we understand and can guide our clients through the complexities of a loan modification. For the same reason, we know when your rights are being violated-- and we can use any evidence of predatory lending to get your lender's attention. We're proud to say that we have successfully changed the terms of many families' loans, allowing them to stay in their homes at a lower, sustainable monthly payment.

If your family is struggling to get a fair, realistic loan modification, Howard | Nassiri can help. To set up a free, confidential consultation to discuss your case, please contact us online or call toll-free at 1-800-872-5925 today.

A study by real estate Web site Zillow.com found that 21.9% of U.S. homeowners -- 20.4 million -- owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, the Wall Street Journal reported May 6. Such homeowners, called "underwater" in the real estate world, will have trouble refinancing or selling their homes, the article said, which could exacerbate the housing downturn. Stan Humphries, a vice president for Zillow, told the newspaper that home prices have dropped in some markets that hadn't seen trouble last year, putting about four million more homeowners underwater since December.

The Journal pegged this as a "challenge" to the Obama housing rescue plan, Making Home Affordable, which is trying to stabilize the market by giving financial incentives to banks that work with troubled homeowners. Under the plan, certain homeowners who are underwater can refinance -- but only if they are underwater by 5% or less of the home's value. That excludes virtually all homeowners here in Southern California, where housing prices have dropped steeply, leaving some underwater by six figures. Such homeowners can still negotiate a loan modification under the plan, but lenders have been reluctant to risk a loan modification for deeply underwater homeowners, and some borrowers may think it's better just to walk away.

The article says the Obama Administration is looking into raising the limit for the refinance program, so homeowners who are deeper underwater can participate. As Ontario loan modification lawyers, we hope they can manage it. Refinancing is not appropriate for every distressed homeowner, but when it works, it is far better for everyone involved than a foreclosure or even a loan modification. The borrower gets more realistic terms, the lender protects its investment and the local housing market isn't hit with yet another foreclosure. Most of this is also true with a loan modification -- but because of bureaucracy and a perceived threat to profits, lenders have been reluctant to offer realistic loan modifications. Expanding refinancing eligibility would give homeowners another tool to help them stay in their homes.

Based in Anaheim, Howard | Nassiri LLP has an active practice negotiating loan modifications for clients throughout California. Our Temecula loan modification attorneys argue aggressively for lowered interest rates, expanded repayment periods and changes to "exotic" and unfair loan structures such as adjustable-rate mortgages. Banks listen to us because we understand your rights -- and they know that, if necessary, we are prepared to sue them to enforce those rights. The goal for our Riverside County loan modification attorneys is always to keep our clients in their homes at a new, lowered, realistic monthly mortgage payment.

If you believe you can save your home with a loan modification, but you know you need help, you should call Howard | Nassiri as soon as possible. For a free, confidential consultation, you can contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-972-5925.

As Tustin loan modification lawyers, we were disappointed to see that the Senate failed to pass a bill that would have done our clients a whole lot of good. We are referring to the Senate's 45-51 rejection of a bill that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to "cram down" the principal on primary-home mortgages in Chapter 13 bankruptcies. The measure passed the House of Representatives in March with backing from President Obama, but that support wasn't enough to keep the bill alive in the Senate. Several Democrats crossed party lines to join Republicans in voting for a bill they said would hurt the economy more than it would help homeowners.

We supported the cramdown bill because we disagree. In fact, we believe that cramdowns could have helped shorten the housing crisis while saving many individuals' homes from foreclosure. In a cramdown, a bankruptcy judge reduces the principal owed on a mortgage loan -- a power judges already have for second homes, cars, boats and other loans. As you might imagine, lenders strongly dislike this forced reduction in their profits. Industry lobbyists argued that the change would have forced lenders to raise interest rates and make it even harder to buy a home -- possibly true, but a price we think is worth paying to cut short the housing crisis.

However, months of evidence have made it clear that lenders also dislike granting meaningful loan modifications to homeowners at risk of default. Frequently, they refuse to even speak with homeowners in financial trouble until those homeowners have already gone into default and taken a hit to their credit. When homeowners do qualify for a loan modification, they frequently get ignored outright or are given the "runaround." And when they manage to negotiate a workout, studies show that only a minority of those workouts actually lower monthly payments -- sending the borrower right back into default.

As Cypress loan modification lawyers working to find a solution to this for our clients, we believed that the possibility of a cramdown would have encouraged lenders to get serious about loan modifications. Lenders don't like the financial loss they take in a loan modification -- but at least that loss would be under their control. If they left the homeowners with no option to save their homes but bankruptcy, they would have faced the possibility of a loss they could not control -- and probably a loss bigger than they would have faced by changing a loan's interest rate or structure. That possibility no longer exists, thanks to banking industry lobbying in the Senate.

Howard | Nassiri LLP has an active practice negotiating mortgage loan modifications for homeowners throughout Southern California. Our Yorba Linda loan modification attorneys negotiate on behalf of homeowners who have not been successful reaching loan workouts -- or even getting the lender's attention. We get the lender's attention because we negotiate aggressively -- and because banks know that, as lawyers, we can and will sue them if our clients' rights have been violated. We have successfully negotiated lower interest rates, changes to exotic loan structures and changes in repayment periods for many homeowners.

If you believe you can stay in your home with a reasonable loan modification, but your lender isn't listening, Howard | Nassiri can help. For a free, confidential consultation, please contact us as soon as possible through our Web site or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.

The Los Angeles City Council agreed May 13 to a pilot program aimed at keeping some San Fernando Valley homes out of foreclosure, the Los Angeles Daily News reported May 14. According to the article, the plan would provide up to $75,000 in loans for individual homeowners as "silent second mortgages," with no payments due until the homeowners sell the homes. The lenders controlling those mortgages must agree to write the principal owed on the mortgages down to current market value. That could reduce the principal owed by as much as $100,000, the article said. In return, they and the city would receive interest equal to the increase in the home's value.

The pilot program is aimed at the Northwest Valley, in Pacoima and surrounding communities. However, the article said, some leaders hope to use it throughout Southern California if it is successful. The trouble is getting lenders to agree, said City Councilman Richard Alarcon -- something he hopes the city's loans will help to do. Yvette Mariajimenez, deputy director of Neighborhood Legal Services, said a study by her organization shows that lenders would save more money by participating than they would by completing foreclosures. The Daily News did not reach mortgage lenders for comment.

As Placentia loan modification lawyers, we hope so. So far, mortgage lenders have been surprisingly reluctant to write down principal or make other drastic changes to mortgages, even when it's in their own best financial interests. Conventional wisdom says banks prefer not to foreclose because it's expensive, and with the housing market glutted with foreclosed properties, they face steep losses when they do foreclose. However, news reports and our own clients have told us over and over that lenders refuse to write down principal or even change interest rates, even when it's clear that the alternative is an expensive foreclosure. If a loan from the government can get lenders to do what clearly is in everyone's best interests, we would be happy to support this program.

Through our mortgage loan modification practice, Howard | Nassiri works every day with homeowners in this situation. Many clients come to us after their attempts to negotiate a loan workout on their own have failed, often because the bank has simply ignored their calls. We help these clients by negotiating aggressively with their lenders, using evidence of predatory lending, if necessary, to get their attention. Frequently, just knowing a lawyer is on the job is enough to get the lender's attention. Our Stanton loan modification attorneys have a strong record of success negotiating for lowered interest, changes to adjustable-rate mortgages and more.

If you know you need a loan modification, but your mortgage lender won't listen, the Santa Ana loan modification attorneys at Howard | Nassiri can help. To learn more at a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.

A lawsuit charges that builder KB Home and its exclusive mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial, misled customers into buying homes with inflated values, the Arizona Daily Star reported May 8. The proposed class-action lawsuit alleges that the companies conspired to inflate home values with a third company, LandSafe Appraisal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Countrywide. The claim was filed by homeowners in Arizona federal court but includes allegations about homes sold in Nevada as well.

According to the newspaper, the lawsuit alleges that LandSafe employed appraisers who were willing to inflate the values of homes to Countrywide's specifications. The appraisers would compare them to inappropriate properties and rely on untrue statements about the housing market in the area. This allowed KB Home to maintain high prices in a falling real estate market, the lawsuit said, giving both KB Home and Countrywide a higher profit at the expense of borrowers. The average appraisal was inflated by about $20,000 in as many as 14,000 homes, the claim said, suggesting that borrowers took out hundreds of millions in unnecessary loans.

This is the second class action predatory lending lawsuit for Countrywide, which in October settled a multi-state, multimillion-dollar claim alleging deceptive lending practices. That doesn't mean it's guilty as charged of the allegations in this lawsuit -- but as Buena Park predatory lending attorneys, we would not be surprised. Mortgages and home purchases are far too complicated for even well-educated people, and poor regulation has ensured that overly cozy relationships between lenders, appraisers, brokers and other players in the housing market are not closely scrutinized. In that environment, it would be easy for corruption to flourish.

At Howard | Nassiri LLP, we represent victims of predatory lending practices in lawsuits against the lenders that took advantage of them. Borrowers have many rights under state and federal law, including the right to full disclosure of loan terms. If you believe you were misled in any way when you purchased or refinanced your home, our Garden Grove predatory lending lawyers can help you cancel and nullify the unfair loan. In a Costa Mesa predatory lending lawsuit, you can win back the payments you made on the fraudulent loan, plus other costs and attorney fees.

Howard | Nassiri offers free, confidential consultations to all potential clients. To set one up, you should call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925 or contact us online as soon as possible.

A new study says bailed-out banks and investment firms actively participated in the subprime lending market, the Los Angeles Times reported May 6. The Center for Public Integrity's study concludes that the problems at bailed-out banks were "self-inflicted wounds" caused by their active participation in the subprime lending market. Many of the banks receiving federal bailout money either owned subprime lenders outright or financed them, the study said -- and subprime loans are believed to be a major contributor to the housing market's crash. Nine of the ten largest subprime lenders were based in Southern California, the newspaper added.

At the height of the housing boom, subprime loans were offered to buyers with bad credit, at high interest rates and without a requirement that the buyers fully disclose their incomes and debts. Banks then bundled the loans and sold them as securities, the article explained. When the homeowners defaulted, those "securitized" loans became the "toxic assets" that put big banks at risk of failing and triggered the Bush Administration's bailout bill. However, the CPI study said, those same bailed-out banks owned or financed 21 of the 25 largest subprime lenders, making them at least partially responsible for their own injuries.

Subprime loans are notorious among Orange loan modification lawyers like us for another reason: They are notorious for being overly complex, expensive and sometimes a vehicle for predatory lending. During the housing boom, banks offered subprime loans to buyers who didn't have the credit or the money for a conventional loan -- or weren't savvy enough to realize they qualified for one. These loans were riskier, but the lenders could pass on that risk by securitizing the loans, allowing them to profit from as many high-risk loans as they could originate. Unfortunately, investors now refuse to modify many of those securitized loans, denying the borrowers a chance to modify and exacerbating the housing crisis.

At Howard | Nassiri LLP, we have an active practice in helping homeowners get out of that trap. Our Fullerton mortgage loan modification lawyers represent homeowners facing foreclosure or default who need a loan workout -- but whose lenders have ignored their phone calls or passed them endlessly from voicemail to voicemail. Banks pay attention to our attorneys because we understand clients' legal rights and we're not afraid to enforce them -- in a court of law, if necessary. We have successfully modified many mortgages, including subprime and exotic mortgages, lowering monthly payments permanently so that our clients can stay out of default and stay in their homes.

If you need a loan modification, but your lender refuses to negotiate, Howard | Nassiri can help. To set up a free, confidential consultation with our Anaheim loan modification attorneys, please contact us today through our Web site or call 1-800-872-5925.

The California Department of Real Estate is receiving record numbers of complaints about unfair practices by for-profit loan modification companies, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported May 5. According to the article, regulators at the agency, which handles complaints about licensed real estate professionals, received complaints about few loan modification firms last fall. But this spring, after a record year for foreclosures in California, complaints have soared to include about 500 companies, requiring the department to add a dozen extra workers to handle those complaints. A spokesman for the department predicted in the article that it's likely to soon see "a whole new crop of victims."

Loan modification companies intercede on their clients' behalf with mortgage lenders, pushing for a loan workout The most common complaint the article noted was about up-front payment requirements; many consumers have complained that they paid thousands in up-front fees and got little or nothing in return. In fact, this is illegal for real estate professionals doing business in California, who may not charge such fees unless they are attorneys on retainer or have a special arrangement with regulators. There are ethical nonprofit organizations doing this work on behalf of consumers as well, the Union-Tribune noted, but many are overwhelmed by the number of homeowners who come to them needing help.

As Garden Grove loan modification lawyers, we're happy to see that the state is moving in to clean up the crop of sham loan modification companies that have popped up in response to the mortgage crisis. Some of these companies are legitimately trying to help, but many more are taking advantage of the desperation of homeowners facing default or foreclosure. Instead of helping these people, who are already financially distressed, the scammers take their money and stop answering phone calls, or provide services that are of little value. Regulatory action may get some victims a refund, but for many, it comes too late to stop a foreclosure.

If you need meaningful changes to your mortgage -- from a legally accountable professional -- the Anaheim law firm of Howard | Nassiri LLP can help. Unlike a fly-by-night loan modification company, we are an established law firm with a demonstrable track record of success negotiating workouts for our clients' mortgages. Our Los Alamitos loan modification attorneys have successfully lowered interest rates, changed repayment periods and converted exotic and variable-rate mortgages to more conventional forms for our clients. As attorneys, we bring knowledge about your legal rights to the table, along with negotiating skills -- which means banks pay attention to us. Where appropriate, we are not afraid to use evidence of predatory lending to get you a modification that keeps your payments reasonable, so you can stay in your home.

If you're at risk of default or foreclosure and your lender refuses to return your calls, Howard | Nassiri can help. For a free, confidential consultation with our Placentia loan modification lawyers, please contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.

Faced with negative equity, high mortgage payments and a bad resale market, many homeowners who are "underwater" are choosing to simply walk away from their mortgage obligations, Reuters reported March 17. Homeowner are considered underwater when they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth -- and according to the article, there are 8.3 million Americans in that situation. Tired of struggling to make payments that no longer seem worthwhile, these homeowners just stop. Then, they can live in the homes during the months-long foreclosure process, allowing them to save money until they need to find a rental home.

These semi-intentional foreclosures might be the best decision for the homeowner, the article said, but they can have a profoundly negative effect on everyone else. When banks don't get the payments they're expecting, it hurts their bottom line -- and if it's widespread, it hurts an economy that's already struggling. Meanwhile, foreclosed homes sit empty and uncared-for, driving down property values for everyone around them. This could actually accelerate the trend toward walking away, the article said, because lower property values put even more homeowners underwater, further incentivizing them to give up on making payments. Unless lenders or regulators are willing to refinance or modify underwater loans, this could create a vicious circle.

Unfortunately, this is not new to anyone who has followed the foreclosure crisis. Stopping mortgage payments is not an easy decision, but it's one that lots of Orange County homeowners have had to consider recently. As Santa Ana mortgage loan modification lawyers, we know that this might actually be the most sensible decision for underwater homeowners who have no realistic way to catch up on their payments -- but it's not a decision to be made lightly. In addition to the practical and emotional consequences of losing the home, homeowners who go into foreclosure have their credit ruined for seven years. This makes it very difficult to start over later.

In our Costa Mesa mortgage loan modification practice, we help our clients avoid facing this decision in the first place, by negotiating changes that make their mortgage payments reasonable again. Our Fountain Valley loan modification lawyers aggressively negotiate with banks to win changes to mortgages' structure, interest rates and, when possible, principal. If clients are considering a bankruptcy to save their homes, our Garden Grove bankruptcy attorneys can explain the likely results of that choice as well. If you're one of the thousands of Southern California homeowners who is underwater and at risk of default, Howard | Nassiri LLP can help. To set up a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925 today.

The U.S. Senate has approved legislation preventing lawsuits against mortgage servicers granting modifications to certain mortgage loans, Bloomberg News reported May 6. The bill assures servicers that they will not face lawsuits if they modify securitized mortgages -- mortgages that have been combined with other loans and sold as investments -- involved in the Hope for Homeowners foreclosure-prevention plan. This is intended to help correct the economic downturn by making loan modifications easier to get, thus preventing more foreclosures of troubled homes. The bill also overhauls Hope for Homeowners, with provisions intended to streamline the process and give federal authorities more flexibility.

The "safe harbor" provision is important to Southern California loan modification lawyers like us because the threat of lawsuits can stop a loan modification altogether. When a mortgage is securitized, the original lender sells its stake in repayment to investors. Those investors then have an interest in making sure the full value of the loan is eventually repaid -- which gives them a stake in any changes to that loan. Mortgage servicers, which administer the loans and collect payments, can be sued if they make decisions the investors believe harms the value of the loan. This has contributed to the mortgage crisis by making servicers and lenders very reluctant to agree to any modification, even those that are in their own best financial interests.

As Costa Mesa loan modification attorneys, we believe this is great news for homeowners with securitized mortgages and loan trouble. It may also be good news for lenders, who are increasingly reluctant to foreclose as the market is flooded with bank-owned properties that won't sell. Even when these lenders agree that stopping a foreclosure makes sense, fear of a lawsuit may stop them from approving a loan modification. The "safe harbor" plan only helps homeowners participating in Hope for Homeowners, so it won't solve this problem for everyone. But, if successful, it could pave the way for broader efforts to save thousands of homes and correct the downturn in the housing market.

Howard | Nassiri LLP has an active practice helping homeowners -- with or without securitized mortgages -- win loan modifications from their lenders. Frequently, clients come to us after they've spent weeks leaving unanswered messages with their banks or sitting on hold with representative after representative who cannot help. We cut through that red tape by making sure lenders know that we understand our clients' legal rights -- and are willing to sue to enforce them, if necessary. Our Lakewood loan modification lawyers have successfully negotiated for changes to the structure of clients' loans, their interest rates, repayment periods and other terms. If you know you need help getting through to your mortgage lender and you'd like to learn more at a free, confidential consultation, please contact Howard | Nassiri online or call us today at 1-800-872-5925.

Our Chino Hills debt settlement lawyers were pleased to see a recent press release from our partner, Morgan Drexen Integrated Legal Systems. Morgan Drexen is an essential part of our services for our debt settlement clients, providing administrative and technical support that backs up our legal services. The press release from Morgan Drexen, which has been picked up by publishers around the globe, outlines the services the firm offers to support attorneys like us, who represent consumers who need help controlling and getting rid of their debt.

Our Anaheim debt settlement practice is aimed at people who are struggling with an overwhelming amount of unsecured debt -- debt not connected to physical property like a home or car. Credit cards and medical bills are the two more common types of unsecured debt in the U.S. Rather than declare bankruptcy, which haunts a consumer's credit for a decade, our debt settlement clients retain us to help them negotiate with their creditors for a lump-sum payment that ends their debt. The consumer gets an end to stressful phone calls and massive debt; the creditor gets a guaranteed payment that it might not get in a consumer bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, more and more consumers must consider debt settlement or bankruptcy because of the economic downturn. Credit card companies extend lots of credit when the economy is good. Now that it's not so good, they are reducing credit lines, raising interest rates and sometimes closing accounts, even for customers with no history of payment problems. For people who are struggling with job losses, lower incomes or serious medical problems, this can push them from barely making minimum payments to not being able to pay at all. Debt settlement offers an alternative that harms their credit scores less and ends harassment by creditors.

Howard | Nassiri LLP is proud to partner with Morgan Drexen to help consumers reduce serious unsecured debt, enforce consumers' rights to be free of harassment and help them build a healthy financial future. In addition to offering tough debt settlement negotiations, our firm also offers Orange County Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawyers, who sue over violations of federal debtors' rights laws by aggressive debt collection agencies. If you or someone you care about is struggling with these problems and you'd like to learn more about your legal options, we can help at no initial charge. To set up a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.

As Anaheim fair debt collection lawyers, we were pleased to see that a federal appeals court has recently made it just a bit harder for credit agencies to go after the wrong debtor. According to a May 1 article in the Los Angeles Times, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that credit reporting agency Experian Information Systems and debt collector Pacific Creditors Association violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and privacy laws when they went after consumer Maria Pintos. The ruling may lead to better enforcement of the Fair Credit Reporting Act's provisions on buying and selling credit histories, the newspaper reported.

Pintos sued the agencies after a case of semi-mistaken identity. Her son had bad credit, so she bought him a car and signed over the title after he paid her back for it. The car was later towed and impounded, and the son did not pay the fees. The towing company sold the debt to Pacific, the debt collector. Realizing that Pintos was more likely to pay than her son, Pacific or the towing company requested and received her credit information from Experian. This began seven years of embarrassing phone calls, many reaching Pintos at work, in which Pacific employees threatened to run her credit. With help from a legal aid organization, she sued for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and privacy rights laws. In its decision, the Ninth Circuit said Experian and Pacific violated the FCRA because Pinto was not a party to the transaction between her son and the towing company.

The decision means Pintos is entitled to a trial in a lower court on her claims against the two companies. But perhaps even more importantly for us as Santa Ana debt collection violation attorneys, it could also lead to more careful behavior from credit reporting agencies. Credit reporting agencies are already required to follow the FCRA, but as an attorney in the article notes, they routinely ignore it because few consumers have the resources to hold them responsible for violations. This has real consequences for victims -- ruined credit, missed opportunities and harassment by predatory debt collection agencies. Holding credit agencies responsible for their actions will cut down on these injustices and score a victory for consumers.

Howard | Nassiri LLP protects consumer rights through our Fair Debt Collection Practices Act litigation practice. The FDCPA requires debt collectors to be honest with consumers, refrain from bullying or abusive tactics, avoid calling them at work on request and more. As with the FCRA, debt collectors routinely violate the FDCPA, relying on ignorance of their rights and embarrassment to keep consumers from fighting back. But with our Fullerton debt collection attorneys by your side, you can not only hold them responsible for violating the law -- you can also win back the costs of their illegal actions, as well as $1,000 for each violation and attorney fees. Our firm handles individual consumer lawsuits as well as class actions uniting large groups of consumers harmed by the same unfair practices.

If you're being illegally harassed by a debt collector and you'd like to learn more about your legal rights, please contact Howard | Nassiri online or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925 for a free, confidential consultation.

Pressure from lenders and overly cozy relationships drove "rampant corruption" in the property appraisal industry before the housing downturn, appraisers charged April 14 in a report from the Center for Public Integrity. The appraisers told the center, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization, that they were asked to value homes using inappropriate estimated prices or inappropriate comparison properties, then sometimes asked to reevaluate the home if their numbers didn't match up. Those who did not comply were blacklisted, they said -- putting financial pressure on the appraisers, who are paid by the job, to lie.

Lenders hire appraisers to ensure that their mortgage loans are secured to property with an appropriate value. That way, if the borrower defaults, the lender's losses are still fairly low. However, once lenders began to "securitize" loans -- bundle and sell them as investments -- their risk was passed on to investors. That left them free to fudge loan values upward, which increases the commission paid to loan originators --loan officers and mortgage brokers. After housing values plummeted and borrowers began defaulting in record numbers, many of those mortgage loans were revealed as "toxic." This contributed to the housing bubble and subsequent devastation, the article said.

According to the mortgage industry workers interviewed for the article, the pressure to inflate appraisals was subtle rather than overt. Lenders would give appraisers an estimated value for a home or a list of comparable properties before they began their work. Some outright asked appraisers to meet that estimated values; others punished those who came back with lower numbers by simply not hiring them again. Banks keep blacklists of appraisers who are ineligible for hire due to incompetence; the article charges that these lists were swollen with names of those who wouldn't play ball. In fact, one appraiser found himself on a list maintained by a lender he had never worked for, suggesting that they traded information about blacklisted appraisers.

As the article says, homeowners are now paying the price. By inflating the value of homes, the corrupt players forced homeowners to take on more debt than they needed -- debt that many are now struggling with. At Howard | Nassiri, our Orange County loan modification attorneys see numerous homeowners who were sold unsustainably expensive mortgages, including subprime mortgages, by real estate professionals they thought they could trust. In many cases, we can find evidence of fraud or predatory lending practices that force the lender to talk seriously about changing the terms of the loan.

Based in Anaheim, Howard | Nassiri LLP represents homeowners all over Southern California who need help negotiating meaningful changes to their mortgages. Even if your bank is ignoring your request for a loan workout or endlessly transferring your calls, we can help. Not only do our Fullerton loan modification lawyers understand your legal rights and the lender's responsibility -- but they can and will enforce those rights with a lawsuit, if necessary. Our goal is to lower our clients' monthly payments to a realistic number that lets them keep their homes. If you're in this situation and you're ready to take action, please contact Howard | Nassiri online or call 1-800-872-5925 today for a free, confidential consultation.

The highest court in South Carolina temporarily suspended thousands of sales of foreclosed home May 5, the Associated Press reported. The state's Supreme Court granted an injunction stopping sales of homes guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or any lender that has signed on to the Obama Administration's anti-foreclosure plan, Making Home Affordable. The goal is to give homeowners eligible for the program time to take advantage of the loan modification aspect of the plan, a lawyer for Fannie Mae wrote in court papers. The AP said the injunction could affect as many as 5,000 homes in the state.

The injunction was necessary because South Carolina law allows judges to cancel foreclosures and start them over if they take too long. The law is meant to encourage a speedy process, the AP reported, but Fannie Mae argued that it encouraged lenders to speed through foreclosures so they didn't lose money. This was too speedy to give the mortgage company time to help, it argued. Fannie Mae had originally requested the suspension only for its own mortgages, but Chief Justice Jean Toel expanded it to include loans guaranteed by Freddie Mac, as well as any other lender participating in Making Home Affordable.

As Orange mortgage loan modification lawyers, we think this is great news. The relevant part of the Making Home Affordable plan allows loan modifications for homeowners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments. It requires lenders to reduce qualifying homeowners' interest rates so that their monthly payments are no more than 31% of their gross incomes, then freezes that payment for five years and puts a cap on the interest rate for the rest of the loan's repayment period. This won't help everyone -- people who have lost their jobs or have very low incomes relative to their mortgages probably won't qualify. But for those who do qualify, the court's decision may literally have saved their homes.

The Westminster loan modification attorneys at Howard | Nassiri LLP represent homeowners who are struggling just to speak to someone at their banks about a loan modification. Over and over, our clients tell us that they tried to negotiate their own workout with the lender, only to be ignored or transferred from person to person endlessly. When they do get help, many clients end up with sham loan modifications that don't substantially change their monthly mortgage payments, nearly guaranteeing that they'll end up back in default. Our Buena Park loan modification lawyers use legal knowledge and negotiating skills to cut through that bureaucracy -- using evidence of predatory lending, where appropriate -- to get decision-makers' attention and negotiate meaningful changes to our clients' loans.

If you believe you can save your home with a significant change to your mortgage or its terms, Howard | Nassiri can help. To learn more at a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.

Thanks to the bad economy and recent interest rate hikes from credit card companies, more and more cardholders are missing monthly payments and going into default. Now, according to the Orange County Register's Mortgage Insider blog, credit card companies are taking that a step further and writing off more debt as unrecoverable. The unrecoverable debt, called chargeoffs by the industry, is already at record levels, according to a Reuters story the blog linked to. And analysts expect it to get worse, Reuters reported, climbing to 9% or 10% by the end of 2009, up from 6% to 7% in December of 2008.

In response, Reuters said, credit card lenders are lowering credit limits, ending rewards programs, raising interest rates and adding new fees. That's true even for cardholders who haven't missed a payment, which has generated widespread anger. From a purely financial standpoint, these moves make sense -- until you consider the bad economy behind both sides' financial problems. Raising cardholders' interest rates could generate more revenue -- if the cardholders can afford the new minimum payments. If they cannot, the card company gets no revenue at all. And of course, responsible customers unhappy about the way they are being treated may simply stop using their cards.

As Orange debt settlement attorneys, we work every day with people struggling with high credit card debt. In some cases, high interest rates drive our clients' debt out of control very quickly. Arbitrary fee hikes and rate increases don't help, because they can mean the difference between barely making a payment and not making it at all. With unemployment and home foreclosure at record highs, cardholders may have limited options for dealing with a sudden increase in their debt. The result: default and chargeoffs for the card issuers and massive financial problems for the cardholders.

Howard | Nassiri LLP's Garden Grove debt settlement lawyers help clients get control of overwhelming debt from credit cards, medical bills and other debts not secured by physical property without declaring bankruptcy. We aggressively negotiate with creditors to stop harassing phone calls and get the debts discharged, often for a lower amount than our clients owe, in exchange for a lump sum. If you or someone you love feels overwhelmed by debt, we would like to help. To set up a free, confidential consultation with our Anaheim debt settlement attorneys, please contact us today.

The Federal Trade Commission, the federal watchdog responsible for enforcing consumers' rights, announced April 6 that it would coordinate with federal and state authorities to crack down on scam artists who prey on desperate homeowners with "foreclosure rescue" or "foreclosure prevention" schemes. In particular, the FTC said it was seeking to stop scammers who mislead customers into thinking they are affiliated with the federal government, claim near-perfect success rates, then take large up-front fees and disappear. In addition to taking legal action, the press release said, the agency is also reaching out to educate homeowners who may be victimized.

According to the release, a dishonest foreclosure prevention company typically recruits homeowners who are at risk of defaulting on their mortgages, actually in default or facing foreclosure. They advertise an unrealistically high success rate, the FTC said, then charge several thousand dollars and do little or nothing to help. Legitimate organizations will never charge those up-front fees, the release said. Worst of all, it said, many use names or Web addresses intended to sound like the names of government agencies, or organizations related to the government, such as: • Federal Loan Modification Law Center (FedMod) • Bailout-hud-gov.us • Hope Now Modifications LLC and New Hope Modifications LLC • Home Assure/Expert Foreclosure

The FTC has recently sought or won temporary restraining orders against all of these companies, and issued warning letters to 71 more. Through certain lenders and nonprofits, it is distributing materials to borrowers intended to keep them from being taken in.

As Santa Ana loan modification lawyers, we are delighted to see that federal and state regulators take this threat seriously. Foreclosure prevention scams take advantage of people who are already financially strapped and vulnerable, robbing them of money they could use to make a mortgage payment or get meaningful help. Frequently, the victims don't realize they've been exploited until it's too late or nearly too late to stop foreclosure. And unfortunately, they have proliferated in Orange County; the OC Business Journal reported April 17 that foreclosure prevention and loan workout companies were responsible for a spike in office space demand in March.

If you need help getting your lender to agree to a loan modification, Howard | Nassiri LLP can help. We are not a fly-by-night company with vague "mortgage industry experience"; we are an established law firm with legal accountability to our clients. Because we are Orange County loan modification attorneys, we understand your rights and the bank's legal obligations to you. And because we are lawyers, banks know that we can and will sue them if we find any violations of your rights -- which we can use as leverage to get you a loan workout that works. To set up a free, confidential consultation on a Fountain Valley loan modification today, please contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.

In an editorial published April 9, the New York Times called for legislation that would help protect home buyers from what it called predatory mortgage brokers. Some mortgage brokers are able to get good deals for their clients, the newspaper said -- but many more exploited loopholes in the system to make a larger profit at the clients' expense. Lenders were only too happy to agree to larger loans, it said -- and both contributed to the current subprime mortgage crisis. In response, the editorial called for Congress to pass two pending bills to address the loopholes.

One of those bills would ban some or all of a class of payments called yield-spread premiums. A yield-spread premium is a payment to a loan originator (usually a mortgage broker or loan officer) based on the difference between the actual interest rate the borrower pays and the best one he or she qualified for. That is, loan originators make more money when they steer borrowers toward higher interest rates and more expensive loans. Some of them have done just that; a study by the Center for Responsible Lending showed that subprime borrowers who used mortgage brokers got much more expensive loans than those who went directly to banks. As our Cypress loan modification lawyers wrote recently, the House is considering a bill banning yield-spread premiums.

Another bill, sponsored by Minnesotan legislators, would address the other big issue surrounding mortgage brokers: their lack of legal accountability. Stockbrokers, lawyers, trustees and corporate leaders all have a fiduciary duty to their clients, which means they are under an obligation to act in the client's best interests. This obligation is intended to ensure that they don't exploit the people who trust them to do the right thing. If they do, they can be sued. That's not true for mortgage brokers, who can legally do whatever they like with their clients' money. The proposed law would fix that by giving mortgage brokers a fiduciary duty to find the best deal for their clients. It would also outlaw collusion between brokers and banks.

The Times supports both bills, and so do we. As Buena Park predatory lending attorneys, we work every day with homeowners who have been financially and personally devastated by the dishonesty of a lender, broker or other financial professional. Where there's a violation of the federal Truth in Lending Act, or another state or federal law against unfair lending practices, we can sue -- but because these predatory practices by brokers are currently legal, our hands are tied in cases where brokers steered our clients toward expensive loans. It would be good not just for our clients, but for our country, to prevent these practices -- and hold dishonest people responsible for their actions.

Based in Anaheim, Howard | Nassiri LLP represents homeowners and others in Southern California who were lied to, misled or otherwise exploited when they took out a home loan. If you believe you were deceived when you bought or refinanced your home and you're now at serious financial risk, we may be able to help. Our Garden Grove predatory lending lawyers can negotiate on your behalf for an end to expensive, unrealistic loan obligations -- and enforce your rights in a court of law, if necessary. To speak to us about your case and your legal rights, please contact us today through our Web site or by calling 1-800-872-5925.

Home loans made in the late summer and fall of 2006 produced substantially more defaults than loans made in preceding years, a new report by MDS DataQuick says. The San Jose Mercury-News reported April 24 that in California, the highest rate of defaults came between August and November of 2006. Loans made during that period defaulted at nearly twice the rate of 2005 mortgages and more than nine times the rate of those made in 2004, the report said. It also implicated certain lenders for their exceptionally high rates of default, and implicated the practice of "securitizing" mortgages for removing the risk to lenders and encouraging risky behavior.

According to the Mercury-News, more than 9 percent of mortgages made between August and November of 2006 ended up in default. By contrast, just 4.9 percent of California mortgages made in 2005 saw defaults, and the rate for 2004 was less than 1 percent. Meanwhile, mortgage lenders with the highest rates of default were seeing default rates as high as 70 percent of their clients. The three lenders with the highest defaults were all small lenders, DataQuick said: ResMAE Mortgage, at 70 percent; Master Financial, at 65 percent; and Ownit Mortgage Solutions, just behind at 64 percent. Among major lenders IndyMac Bank had the highest default rate at 18 percent. Of these four companies, only ResMAE is still operating.

The Mercury-News says, and our Fullerton mortgage loan modification attorneys agree, that the report makes a strong case that more regulation in the mortgage lending industry is needed. The period when the bad loans peaked occurred in the same year when the most mortgages were "securitized," the report said. By selling the risk and potential profit of mortgages to investors, lenders essentially removed their own risk. This freed them to extend more credit to risky borrowers, using subprime loans that maximized their profit while passing the risk on to investors. The result, as we now know, was the collapse of the housing market when too many of those risky borrowers couldn't make their mortgage payments. It also made it difficult for borrowers to change the terms of their loans, thanks to investors who can't or won't give permission for otherwise viable loan modifications.

At Howard | Nassiri LLP, much of our practice is now dedicated to helping clients who face default because of these conditions. Our Westminster loan modification lawyers negotiate with lenders on behalf of clients who believe they can continue their mortgage payments if the bank will agree to a substantial change in the terms of their loans. Using common sense and any evidence of predatory lending or illegal behavior by the banks, we have successfully changed our clients' interest rates, payment structures and repayment periods. Our goal is to keep our clients in their homes for the long term by establishing a new, achievable monthly mortgage payment.

If you're at risk of default -- or already in it -- and you need help convincing a lender to modify your mortgage, Howard | Nassiri can help. To speak confidentially to our Garden Grove loan modification attorneys at a free consultation, please contact us today via email or call 1-800-872-5925.

The NAACP has sued two major mortgage lenders, alleging that they steered a disproportionate number of African-American home buyers into subprime loans, the Los Angeles Times reported March 13. The civil rights organization accused Wells Fargo Bank and U.K. bank HSBC of "systematic, institutionalized racism" in their mortgage lending decisions. Both banks defended themselves vigorously against the charge. The lawsuits are likely to be joined with an existing NAACP suit against other subprime lenders, including Ameriquest, Option One Mortgage and Fremont Investment & Loan, all based in Orange County.

The lawsuits grow out federal and private studies showing that African-Americans are likely to be offered higher interest rates than white borrowers, even when they have similar incomes and backgrounds. One study found that African-Americans were 31% to 34% more likely to have higher-rate loans; other numbers show that African-Americans paid 2.3 percentage points more than whites in subprime loans and 1.3 percentage points more in prime loans. Meanwhile, a federal study found that African-Americans were 3.3 times more likely than whites to be in foreclosure, even after controlling for income and credit score. The NAACP lawsuits don't ask for financial damages; instead, they want the lenders to change their ways and open their records to the public to prove it.

As Anaheim predatory lending attorneys, we are disappointed, but not surprised, that race continues to affect how home loans are made. Since the foreclosure crisis began, many consumer advocates have criticized lenders' use of subprime mortgages to get people into homes they couldn't afford using a traditional prime loan. Lenders could sell these high-profit loans as securities, so they -- along with mortgage brokers and others in the lending chain -- had an incentive to sell more. Racist perceptions of African Americans could easily have led into assumptions that they were good candidates for subprime loans, even when they could have qualified for much safer prime loans. Meanwhile, borrowers who had little way to know better trusted these name-brand lenders to offer them a reasonable deal.

Subprime loans offered on the basis of race are not exactly mortgage fraud -- but they violate federal and state civil rights and housing fairness laws. At Howard | Nassiri, our Garden Grove predatory mortgage lending attorneys vigorously defend the rights of clients who were entrapped into unfair loans, whether or not racism was a factor. We have helped many clients stay in their homes by having their unfair loans declared void and unenforceable, and winning back all of the costs of the unfair loan, including closing costs, mortgage payments and attorneys' fees.

If you have bought or refinanced a home in Southern California in the past few years and you believe you were deceived, we may be able to help. To set up a free, confidential consultation with our Santa Ana predatory mortgage lending attorneys, please contact us online or call 1-800-872-5925 today.

Congress is considering legislation aimed at curbing abusive behavior by credit card companies, the New York Daily News reported April 23. The legislation is backed by President Obama, who met with credit card companies that day to ask for their cooperation in reforming anti-consumer practices, simplifying the information offered to consumers and establishing tighter regulation. The president said he wants credit card companies to be profitable without engaging in practices he believes are abusive. Meanwhile, both houses of Congress are considering a bill that would address some of those goals as a "Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights."

The Daily News ran a separate article summarizing the proposed new laws. Its provisions address recent practices by credit card companies that have stirred up widespread consumer anger, including arbitrary increases in interest rates and lowering of credit limits for clients who haven't missed any payments or gone over limits, simply because the card companies' risks are greater in a bad economy. The Senate version would: • Prohibit credit card companies from applying an interest rate hike to an existing balance • Increase the required notice of an interest rate hike from 15 days to 45 days • Let consumers set their own credit limits and stop them from charging fees when customers exceed that limit • End "double cycle" billing, in which companies charge late fees for on-time payments by applying the payment to a new billing cycle • Prohibit intentional credit card offers to minors who are not emancipated • Prohibit adding the high fees on "subprime" cards to the balances on those cards • Establish standard definitions of common terms to prevent misleading advertising

As Chino Hills debt settlement attorneys, we hope this passes in a meaningful form. As things currently stand, credit card companies are permitted to do anything they want to customers' cards, as long as they give 15 days' notice before changing interest rates. Because credit scores depend on the customers' amounts of available credit, many of the practices mentioned above have a substantial negative effect on customers' credit. Good customers are penalized for a bad economy, or the irresponsible behavior of people who live and shop near them. Meanwhile, substantial changes to credit limits and interest rates can put people with higher balances into uncontrollable debt, taking away the hope that they can pay it off alone.

At Howard | Nassiri LLP, we work every day with people who feel overwhelmed by their debts, including credit card debts as well as medical bills and other forms of debt. Our Placentia debt settlement attorneys know that creditors would rather get some payment than nothing at all, which is what they can expect if they push our clients into bankruptcy. We use that knowledge to negotiate with creditors to discharge your debt completely, in exchange for a lump-sum payment. We can also help clients sue over unfair practices that violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

If you need help controlling ballooning debt, from a credit card or any other source, you should speak to Howard | Nassiri's Corona debt settlement attorneys as soon as possible. To set up a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call us toll-free today at 1-800-872-5925.

As we've blogged here before, credit card companies are responding to the recession with unilateral changes to cardholders' accounts that many find unfair. Among those changes are interest rate hikes to as high as 30%, which are being applied even to cardholders with no history of payment problems. Columnist David Lazarus of the Los Angeles Times wrote March 15 that Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, has responded with a dramatic proposal: A bill that would limit interest rates on all consumer debt to just 15%. Sanders called his proposal, a direct response to the credit cards' recent rate hikes, "a national usury law."

The idea has precedent, Lazarus said. States are currently free to make usury laws -- which limit the interest a lender can charge -- and many have. However, credit card companies haven't had to comply with them since 1978, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that national banks could set their interest rates using the limits that their home states allowed. This triggered a race to set up shop in states with no usury laws at all. Meanwhile, federally chartered credit unions have always operated using an interest rate cap -- set at 18% since 1987 -- and Lazarus noted that they have survived.

Passing the bill would be an uphill battle against the financial industry and its supporters in Congress. But as a La Mirada debt settlement attorneys, we would welcome such a law. The recent interest rate hikes by credit card companies are partly a response to rising defaults by cardholders -- but another part is a response to financial problems in other divisions of the companies, including mortgage lenders. Raising interest rates, lowering credit limits and adding fees punishes cardholders for the bad bets those divisions made. This is especially unfair to cardholders who have no payment problems -- but whose credit score is harmed by the changes to their cards.

In our Southern California debt settlement practice, we help clients whose debt has spiraled out of control, in part because of high credit card interest rates. When interest rates are jacked up without reason or appeals, they raise the cardholder's minimum payment as well -- which can be overwhelming to someone who's already struggling to make payments. Our Placentia debt settlement lawyers help clients in this situation by negotiating a fair lump-sum payment to the card that ends their debt once and for all and helps them avoid declaring bankruptcy.

If this sounds like your situation and you know you need help, please Howard | Nassiri can tell you more at a free, confidential consultation. To schedule one, please contact us online or call toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.