On most days, Anjad Brijlall tends his garden and small lawn outside his tidy Ozone Park home twice a day.But the beauty of Brijlall's garden stands in stark contrast with the seediness of the vacant, foreclosed home across the street where refuse mingles with knee-high weeds.
"Nobody has been living there for about six months," Brijlall, a 72-year-old retiree, said of the eyesore, now owned by a large bank. "I'd be glad to see a good neighbor buy it and keep it nice and clean."
With southeastern Queens emerging as the epicenter of the city's subprime mortgage crisis, City Councilman Joseph Addabbo is drawing attention to a stalled bill that would help rid blocks like Brijlall's of such blight.
Addabbo pushing bill to fight foreclosure blight
Addabbo, who is trying to unseat veteran GOP state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale), blasted the Senate's Republican leadership...for failing to pass a bill that would allow the city to clean up foreclosed homes and bill the banks that now own them.
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PREDATORY FORECLOSURE
As the credit crisis worsens, homes are being foreclosed. Areas in NYC are being hit hard.
NOTICE OF SALE
SUPREME COURT -- COUNTY OF BRONX -- LASALLE BANK, N.A. AS TRUSTEE FOR MLMI INVESTMENT SERIES 2006-FM C/O WILSHIRE CREDIT CORPORATION, Plaintiff, AGAINST HERIBERTO ANDREW, ET AL., Defendant(s) -- Pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure and sale duly dated 4/23/2008, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Bronx County Courthouse, Room 600, 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY, New York, on 9/8/2008 at 2:00 PM, premises known as 2680 BAILEY AVENUE, Bronx, NY 10463. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the New York City, Borough of Bronx, County of Bronx and State of New York, Section, Block and Lot: Block: 3239 Lot: 30. Approximate amount of judgment $407,062.82 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #22605/06 Patricia A. Finn, Esq., Referee Steven J. Baum PC, Attorneys for Plaintiff, P.O. Box 1291, Buffalo, NY 14240-1291 Dated: 8/6/2008 1064852 au11-M s2
However, many of the mortgage companies themselves are subject to scrutiny. One particular company is the Wilshire Credit Corporation. Located in Beaverton, Oregon, it is a subsidiary of Merrill Lynch. A consumer website lists several pages of complaints regarding Wilshire.
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/forums/about430-2.html
The complaints vary from lost documents to unreturned phone calls. There is also an issue with Wilshire's slow processing of the "Short Sale". A short sale is used when an owner is near foreclosure. The owner seeks a buyer. With an agreed price, a contract is signed with the buyer and it is presented to the agency which holds the owner's mortgage. The sale of the house represents a partial, yet settled payment for the property. The owner avoids bankruptcy and the bank recoups part of the money owed. In the case of Wilshire, buyers have walked away from deals with owners due to the slow process of the Wilshire machine. As a result, since many of these properties are an "all cash" buy, they resort to foreclosure. The houses remain vacant and the neighborhoods deteriorate. Approvals of short sales extend beyond 90 days.
Wilshire is a member of HOPE NOW. This is a newly formed agency which promises to help homeowners in trouble. But Wilshire falls short of it's promise according to the guidelines:
"The new HOPE NOW guidelines state that loan servicers should inform homeowners within 45 days whether their application for a workout -- such as a repayment plan, loan modification or short sale -- has been accepted or denied."
Area residents who are experiencing difficulty with Wilshire should contact the New York State Attorney Generals office and/or their local government representative.
Thank you for posting this blog I found it very informative. Real estate may be down, but there is grants to bring it up. I was facing foreclosure, and found this. It might help you and your readers as well.
Foreclosure Grants Research
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