Hello Paul,

I have a question about a debt collection company.  Integra Services in Nevada is trying to collect a timeshare debt from me, and I live in Texas.  The timeshare was a complete act of stupidity that only became apparent when we actually tried to use it, and none of the promises made by the sales staff amounted to anything close to something resembling the truth.

I first disputed the contract altogether citing about ten deceptive practices that were used throughout the timeshare presentation and issued a cease and desist letter.  Later, the debt was sold to the collection agency Integra. 

Now it is my understanding that under Texas law, they are required to have a surety bond to collect debt in this state.  I wrote Integra a letter requesting validation of the debt and proof of a surety bond.  They sent me the validation information, but refused to send me information on the surety bond.  I sent a second letter certified mail again requesting the surety bond information for Texas that was left out of their first letter back to me.  The company responded by saying that they didn’t need to provide a surety bond since “licensing is required by Nevada which is in good standing for their company in the state of Nevada.”  This seems like the company’s way of saying that they don’t have a surety bond. 

I offered them a settlement in the second letter which amount to the same dollar amount they were seeking from me as long as the caveat of a pay for delete was upheld for the credit reports.  They never responded to my second certfied piece of mail and have now continued to report the debt negatively to all three credit bureaus.  It has now been well past the thirty days from not only my initial letter but also the second certified letter again requesting surety bond information.  I’m just not sure what my next step should be. 

Aren’t they in violation of Texas consumer protection laws since they have never provided me with the surety bond information?  Should I file complaints with the Attorney General’s office?!  Should I send letters to the credit bureaus?  Should I send another certified letter to Integra Services in Nevada?

I am just so upset I can’t see straight.  Why would they that give no response to my pay for delete request even though it was the same amount of settlement that they had asked for initially?  Any help in this situation would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Robert (more…)

Hello Paul!

Can you tell me how short selling 3 rental homes will affect our credit? Our scores are 750 currently.  Haven’t found any information on the impact of 3 homes compared to doing just one. Is it true that actual missed payments on the loans is what hurts your credit more then the short sale itself? I currently have offers on all 3 and am about to be 60 days past due on the loans. We have two rentals in AZ (a non-forgiving state) and one in CA.

Just wondering if we should try and make arrangements with the collection dept to lessen the impact on our credit report or does this not even matter? Once it goes to collections, it is done? Do you know that if we do pay on the loans, will this affect the lenders decision to accept the short sale?

Any advice you can give would be great. Thanks so much for your time and expertise.

Gina (more…)

Matthew Weidner, a Florida foreclosure defense lawyer, as quoted today by the St Petersburg Times:

“This is a catastrophe being laid upon a crisis,” he said. “America is foreclosing upon ourselves. The federal government is foreclosing on taxpayers to pay rich bankers. This is madness.”

Hi Paul…
I was told to email you because of all people out there talking abotu credit, you would be the one to answer my question…

I have heard a lot of talk about what to do when we get a 1099c.  What about if we *don’t* get a 1099c?

I am currently in the process of negotiating a shortslae with my lender, CHASE.  I am using a very qualified third party negotiator (law firm) to help me.  So far, we have gotten acceptance of our offer and all of the terms we wanted *except* the release.  In other words, the “investor” who owns my loan says they will not sign a release for the debt amount if I go through with the short sale which means there is a very good chance I will *not* get a 1099c and therefore my debt is not “cancelled”. 

So, my question is, if my first mortgage debt is still hanging out there and is not cancelled, what effect will that have on my credit??  I happen to know that lenders are not currently pursuing borrowers for outstanding debt…YET.  If they were, they would start sending me letters and asking for payments and eventually, if I don’t pay, send the whole thing to collections where it could potentially be “charged off”.  However, lenders aren’t doing that…and my lender has said they won’t cancel my debt either.  So, without a cancellation or charge off, what do I have?  What happens to my credit?  Do I just have this open credit line hanging out there with no payments against it?  By the way, we are talking about nearly $100K in debt in the state of Florida.  And this is not my primary residence.  Supposedly, the “investor” is Wells Fargo…even though the loan is serviced by CHASE.

I may still have some negotiating room with the lender because nothing has been officially signed yet.
THANKS!
Greg (more…)

Two of the nation’s largest lenders are quietly offering some delinquent homeowners a deal.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. say they give select borrowers behind on their mortgage payments $10,000 to $20,000 for agreeing to short sales, which means the homes are sold for less than what’s owed on the mortgages.

Most banks figure they’re doing homeowners a favor simply by signing off on short sales and forgiving the amount owed. But in some cases, Chase and Wells Fargo borrowers receive that and cash at the closing.

Lenders routinely hand homeowners a few thousand dollars if they leave the properties in good shape after foreclosure. That’s known as “cash for keys.” Also, homeowners are entitled to $3,000 of government money if they complete short sales through the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative program.

But real estate agents and other industry observers say they aren’t aware of other major lenders offering such sizable incentives for successful short sales.

“It looked, to me, like it was a come-on,” said Allison Adler, an agent for the Keyes Co. in Weston.

But Adler checked and discovered it was legitimate. Her client, Sara Horowitz, received $10,000 last week from Chase when she completed a short sale of her Davie townhouse. (more…)

This must have been very satisfying.

A Florida couple turned the tables on a major bank that tried to falsely foreclose on their home — and instead wound up foreclosing on the bank.

Warren and Maureen Nyerges’ strange twist of fate occurred after Bank of America accused them of defaulting on a mortgage for their single-story, 2,700-square-foot home.

It turned out the Collier County couple had paid cash for the house and didn’t have a mortgage.

After dismissing the bank’s claim, a judge ordered bank to cough up $2,500 to cover the couple’s attorney fees, but the check never came.

So the Nyerges followed the bank’s example and went into a local branch Friday with sheriff’s deputies, a moving company and an OK from the court to seize the bank’s assets.

“I’m either leaving the building with a whole bunch of furniture, or a check or cash or something,” insisted the Nyerges’ attorney, Todd Allen.

The branch manager eventually cut them a $5,772.88 check to cover the couple’s costs.

NYPost.com

OK, so from the looks of things here, old FIA Card Services hasn’t conducted a reasonable investigation into a consumer’s fraud claim per the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  Big surprise???  NOT!!!  As a matter of fact, the judge’s memorandum and opinion states that the consumer “asked to speak to a manager about this determination and claims that the manager called her a liar, laughed at her, and hung up.” Way to go FIA Card Services!  Oh, again, NOT!

Below is an excerpt from the case:

Nancy Meyer was the victim of fraud when her live-in fiancé stole convenience checks from two of her credit cards and forged her signature to cash those checks. The question presented in this motion is whether defendant F.I.A. Card Services, N.A. (“FIA”) has shown its investigation into that fraud was reasonable such that, as a matter of law, it met its obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act when Meyer alerted it to the fraud. Since FIA knew the nature of the fraud and had specific requests from credit reporting agencies (“CRAs”) to verify the signatures on the checks, which it did not do, the Court finds that FIA has not made such a showing and denies FIA’s motion for summary judgment.

Meyer v FIA Card Services (D. Minn., Civil No: 09-2726)

The FTC has settled two actions that charged marketers with deceptively claiming they could reduce consumers’ credit card interest rates. Both operations allegedly made deceptive telemarketing calls, called consumers on the Do Not Call Registry, and used illegal robocalls. The settlements will ban all of the defendants from selling debt relief services. (more…)