By Joann Prinzivalli The financial crisis of the past couple of years has brought with it a glut of mortgage foreclosures. With this huge increase in foreclosures has come a troubling increase in short cuts and sloppy work by institutional lenders and the “foreclosure mill” law firms handling a bulk of these proceedings in New York [...]
By Joann Prinzivalli While there is a lot of government intrusion in our lives since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 spawned the reactionary USA PATRIOT Act, the recently-implemented reporting requirements imposed on title companies relating to certain real estate sales in Manhattan and Miami can be traced back to the passage of Currency and Foreign [...]
By Joann Prinzivalli One of our underwriters has circulated a memo advising of a fraudulent short sale scheme involving Bank of America mortgages. Bank of America has implemented procedures to address the fraud scheme. When representing a buyer or a seller on a short sale, lawyers must be aware of the number of scams and frauds [...]
By Joann Prinzivalli Insignia Title has been advised that as of November 21, 2011, the office of Steven J. Baum, P.C., which had been the largest foreclosure mill law firm in New York State, has terminated its attorney client relationship with all existing clients and the firm’s foreclosure files were being transferred to new foreclosure counsel. [...]
By Joann Prinzivalli In New York City, when Environmental Control Board liens (ECBs) are docketed with the County Clerk, they are enforceable in the same way as judgments for a lien period of eight (8) years from the entry date. It has always been our understanding that ECBs must be cleared if they are docketed against [...]
By Joann Prinzivalli Laws that are enacted as a reaction to one problem can sometimes find new life in a very different context. As we shall see in this report, lawyers for condominium sponsors and purchasers can draw some interesting lessons from a spate of recent cases emanating from the Southern District of New York. Back [...]
By Joann Prinzivalli On August 13, 2010, Governor Paterson signed Chapter 340 of the Laws of 2010. This bill makes a number of technical corrections to the General Obligations Law as it relates to Statutory Short Form Powers of Attorney (SSFPOA) and other forms of Power. Here are some highlights of the changes: A few of [...]
By Joann Prinzivalli But the rules differ for federal credit unions and state credit unions, and state credit unions that converted from federal on or after January 1, 2009 have yet another different set of rules! New York State’s Mortgage Recording Tax has been in the financial news in recent weeks, with the recent decision in [...]
By Joann Prinzivalli We recently became aware that some title companies, lenders and lender’s attorneys require that sellers utilizing a New York Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney must execute an “optional” Statutory Major Gifts Rider in all cases. Such a policy unlawfully interferes with the seller’s rights. However, the statutory relief involves only an order [...]