Countrywide's not looking to happy

[teambenya]

Patch, I just blogged about an article I ran across and if you hadn't heard about it already, I figured you might like to

Oh boy.... I just ran across a doozy of an article that's DEFINITELY made my list of loony real estate news! According to the NY Times, the lender has admitted to "recreating" letters to a Pennsylvania homeowner involved in a bankruptcy case.

What exactly does that mean? Well it means that Countrywide submitted letters to the court as evidence that they had notified the owner about some extra charges she owed after she was deemed to be current on her mortgage.... over $4,000 in extra charges and late fees. She claims she was never notified and that this should have been mentioned prior to the bankruptcy being dismissed.

Countrywide handed over letters they claim they sent to the bankruptcy judge. Her lawyer's address was incorrect though. It seems he recently moved, and the address on the letters was the new one, not the address he was at when the letters would have been sent out. Oops....

So Countrywide has some serious egg on their face, and they admit that the letters were "recreations" submitted as examples, not copies of the original letters.

Whose fault is it? That's for the court to figure out, but this is yet another blow to Countrywide's already tattered reputation. The LA Times reports that they(Countrywide) are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and their stock has plummeted as a result. The lender claims that they are not at risk of bankruptcy right now, so it looks to be a game of "wait and see" for right now.

Anyone out there have any further insight on this one?

Countrywide's Got A Lot Of Splainin' To Do!

 

[smilin]

Countrywide stock up 70%!

That appears to be just another new twist on this prior revelation:

"Moody’s did not identify the servicers it surveyed. But borrower advocates who work with a broad array of lenders say that none make it harder to modify loans than Countrywide, the nation’s largest mortgage originator and loan servicer. Countrywide deploys a 2,700-member unit, called the HOPE Team, that it says helps borrowers modify their loans and hold onto their homes. HOPE is an acronym for “Helping homeowners, Offering solutions, Preventing foreclosures and Envisioning success,” but some Countrywide borrowers say the company’s practices have left them hopeless."

"According to a dozen borrowers interviewed for this article, and thousands more who are working with borrowers’ advocates, it is often difficult for homeowners to reach HOPE staff members. When they do, these people said, they encounter hostility and are charged large and unexplained fees throughout the foreclosure process — whether or not they wind up keeping their homes."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/business/30country.html

Yup, BofA is going to let their 2+billion go down the drain - when pigs fly or Patchy buys!
Wall Street plays by their own rules which is to manipulate everyone to make $$$$$ - which is what they are supposed to be doing!


MarketBeat Blog - WSJ.com : Countrywide Jumps on Buyout Talk

 

[somdrenter]

Yup, BofA is going to let their 2+billion go down the drain - when pigs fly or Patchy buys!

“Professor Shiller, co-founder of the respected S&P Case/Shiller house-price index, said: “American real estate values have already lost around $1 trillion [£503 billion]. That could easily increase threefold over the next few years. This is a much bigger issue than sub-prime. We are talking trillions of dollars’ worth of losses.”

A billlion here, billion there, pretty soon we’re talking about real money.

Top economist says America could plunge into recession - Times Online

 

[somdrenter]

Be sure to pay YOUR taxes!

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Guess who's helping Bank of America pay for its $4.1 billion purchase of Countrywide Financial? Answer: The taxpayers of the United States.

That's because Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), which is solidly profitable, will be able to use some of Countrywide's losses to offset its own taxable income. The tax break could total about half a billion dollars over the first five years, according to an estimate by tax guru Robert Willens, who left Lehman Brothers Friday after a 20-year run and will be in business as Robert Willens LLC starting next week. The losses could be worth considerably more to Bank of America starting in the sixth year, depending on how big Countrywide's losses are when Bank of America formally acquires it.

At this point, of course, no one knows how much in losses Countrywide has run up since the junk mortgage market began souring and defaults accelerated. Countrywide (CFC, Fortune 500) itself probably doesn't know. But it seems almost certain to ultimately be in the billions.

Taxpayers to help foot BofA's $4.1 billion Countrywide bill - Jan. 11, 2008