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Chicago Area Sees Sharp Increase in Total Foreclosures
Property taxes on the rise seem to be a direct, if not the sole cause, of foreclosures increasing significantly throughout Chicago, its suburbs, and ...
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Atlas Consumer Law
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Some Foreclosure Cases Still Linger Years After Housing Market Crash
Although foreclosure rates are significantly down from their historic numbers at the height of the housing market crash, experts have found that many ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD
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Foreclosures from Financial Crisis Remain
On the National Public Radio special series Planet Money , a discussion occurred regarding the housing market crash and the foreclosure cases started ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD
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Black Knight Financial Services Spending Foreclosure Profits On NHL Hockey Team
According to recent reports, a new NHL team is on the horizon: the Las Vegas Black Knights. The rumors began 18 months ago, but now it is becoming a ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD
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FBI Investigation of Foreclosure Fraud in Florida
When Jacksonville, Florida FBI agents sent a memo to higher-ups in Washington D.C. six years ago, it could have been the discovery of what would have ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD
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FL Court Reverses Decision in Foreclosure Case
The District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fourth District, has reversed the final judgment of foreclosure in favor of the defendant ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD
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Fighting Foreclosures on FHA Loans
In an insightful and intelligent article for the Harvard Law and Policy Review, Rachel Labush, a staff attorney at Community Legal Services of ...
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Atlas Consumer Law
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Consumer Defense: A Tactical Guide to Foreclosure, Bankruptcy, and Creditor Harassment
Attorneys Ahmad T. Sulaiman and Matthew H. Hector are the authors of Consumer Defense: A Tactical Guide to Foreclosure, Bankruptcy, and Creditor ...
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Atlas Consumer Law
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How Wall Street's Foreclosure Fraud was Uncovered by Three Ordinary Americans
David Dayen of the Daily Kos recently published a book on the story of three South Floridians and their role in uncovering the largest crime against ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD
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How Judges Can Help Prevent Zombie Foreclosures
According to RealtyTrac, 25 percent of foreclosures in the U.S. are “zombies” – homes with no clear ownership of title. This happens when the owner ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD
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America's Foreclosure Crisis is Far From Over
In our previous blog , we talked about the $5.1 billion settlement that Goldman Sachs is responsible for paying as recompense for its part in the 2008 ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD
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Defending against Illinois foreclosures
If you are involved in a dispute with your mortgage lender, you may have the specter of foreclosure looming. Alternatively, you may owe far more on ...
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Atlas Consumer Law
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Ways to avoid foreclosure
As Illinois homeowners may know, the rate of foreclosures has been high since the economic downturn of 2008. This is a complex situation but often ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Alternatives to foreclosure in Illinois
The mortgage payment is often an Illinois resident's largest monthly expense, and an unexpected illness or layoff may make meeting this obligation a ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Help for Illinois homeowners facing foreclosure
Homeowners in the Chicago area may be among the many individuals across the nation who are facing foreclosure. However, our firm offers individuals a ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Study finds bankruptcy effective against foreclosure
Illinois readers may be interested in the findings of a university study regarding the effectiveness of bankruptcy actions in forestalling or avoiding ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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How to use bankruptcy to delay foreclosure
For Illinois homeowners who are facing foreclosure, bankruptcy may be a powerful tool to stave off any action by a lender to take their home away. The ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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How Foreclosures Have Impacted Chicago
Last month, I wrote a post about the number of vacant properties in Chicago and how long those properties had been vacant. Now, to elaborate on that ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Independent Foreclosure Review -- The GAO Report
The Independent Foreclosure Review remains the biggest failure of our regulatory system. It turns out that it was an even bigger failure than ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Do you still need to be battling foreclosure?
Since the beginning of the foreclosure crisis, millions of American homeowners have weathered with the process of fighting to keep their homes. The ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Zombie Foreclosures Are Back -- Again
The Woodstock Institute recently revived the concept of zombie foreclosures and mortgages by issuing a new report . The report details the patterns of ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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How to avoid becoming a victim of foreclosure scams
When your debt load has become overwhelming, it can be tempting to panic. It can be tempting to allow your stress, anxiety and frustration to rule ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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EverBank To Pay $37 Million In Independent Foreclosure Review Payments
On August 26, the OCC announced that it had reached an agreement with EverBank where the lender will pay $37 million to more than 32,000 eligible ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Illinois Governor Pat Quinn Signs Bill Extending Tenant Protections In Foreclosure
A federal law that protects renters whose buildings are in foreclosure will expire this year. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law that ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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FHA Changes Eligibility For Borrowers Post-Bankruptcy and Post-Foreclosure
FHA loans have been a reliable source of mortgage lending for people with less-than-perfect credit. It is possible to get an FHA mortgage two years ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Homeowners consider crowdfunding in fights to avoid foreclosure
Experienced bankruptcy attorneys are often able to help homeowners avoid foreclosure through utilization of a variety of legal options. However, even ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Independent Foreclosure Review -- Uncashed Check Update
According to Housing Wire (apparently via the Huffington Post), approximately 400,000 Independent Foreclosure Review settlement checks were mailed to ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Independent Foreclosure Review -- Cash Your Checks!
According to this article , about $1 billion in Independent Foreclosure Review settlement checks remain uncashed. The checks are only valid for 90 ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Independent Foreclosure Review -- Ally/ResCap Calls It Quits
When the rest of the banks settled with the OCC and began sending out rubber checks, Ally/ResCap decided to continue its portion of the Independent ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Foreclosure maintenance settlement will target blighted areas
When the economic recession and foreclosure crisis of 2008 rocked the nation, some areas were unquestionably hit harder than others. Some residential ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Bank of America Whistleblowers: BofA Lied to Homeowners, Incentivized Foreclosures
If you have ever applied for a loan modification on your own, then you may have encountered some very frustrating situations. I frequently hear about ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Independent Foreclosure Review and National Mortgage Settlement Checks -- An Update
As we get further into the summer, we should be receiving more information about the Independent Foreclosure Review settlement and the National ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Do not let the threat of foreclosure overwhelm you
Home may indeed be wherever the heart resides. For many people, their houses actually are exactly where their hearts live. Whether individuals have ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Why stable homeowners should pay attention to foreclosure processes
If you are a homeowner who has remained so-far unaffected by the economic downturn and the foreclosure crisis, we offer sincere congratulations. Not ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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96,000 Underpaid By Independent Foreclosure Review Settlement -- Checks Are In The Mail
The Federal Reserve has announced that 96,000 homeowners were underpaid when they received their initial settlement checks from the Independent ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Independent Foreclosure Review By The Numbers -- Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley
11 of the 14 banks involved in the Indpendent Foreclosure Review reached a settlement with the OCC and the Fed. Not too long ago, I wrote about the ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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The Hits Keep On Coming -- Independent Foreclosure Review Checks Are Bouncing
Just when you thought that the Independent Foreclosure Review couldn't be any more of an utter failure . . . According to DealBook, the checks being ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Independent Foreclosure Review Payouts -- A Pittance For Your Troubles
ProPublica has released some data that explains how the Independent Foreclosure Review payments are being distributed. As you may recall, the ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Illinois Supreme Court Announces Effective Date of New Foreclosure Rules
As you may recall, the Illinois Supreme Court postponed the enforcement of its newly-announced foreclosure rules because it was unclear whether those ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Can A Bank Sue You For A Deficiency After The Foreclosure Lawsuit Is Over?
Since the implosion of the real estate market, we have seen a massive number of foreclosures in Illinois. In many of these cases, homes were sold at ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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The "Rambo-type Foreclosure Litigator" -- A Rebuttal
I never knew that I was an action hero. A recent opinion piece at Housing Wire indicates that I may very well be one. As a consumer defense attorney, ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Illinois Supreme Court Postpones Start Date of New Foreclosure Rules
On February 28, 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court issued an order postponing the effective date of new Rules 99.1, 113, and 114 until May 1, 2013. The ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Illinois Supreme Court Rule 113 -- New Mortgage Foreclosure Procudures
One of the reasons why Illinois has such a famously long foreclosure timeline is because our state's judicial foreclosure process puts procedural and ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Illinois Supreme Court Rule 99.1 -- Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Programs
Newly implemented Rule 99.1 establishes standardized requirements for mortgage foreclosure mediation programs. Judicial circuits that currently have a ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Illinois Foreclosures are Down! Or Up!
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." -- Mark Twain ( or possibly Benjamin Disraeli ) Today, I found two different ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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The Independent Foreclosure Review -- Here Come the Whistleblowers
Naked Capitalism is running a series of posts describing the ugly truth behind the now-defunct Independent Foreclosure Review. Whistleblowers from ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Foreclosure and your FICO score
When you are facing financial challenges, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Do you think about the immediate stressors in your life, such as ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Foreclosure Settlement Claim Deadline is January 18, 2013
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced yesterday that Illinois homeowners have until January 18, 2013 to to submit a claim for reimbursement ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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The Independent Foreclosure Review To Be Replaced With. . . Something
On December 24, 2012, I wrote about the impending demise of the Independent Foreclosure Review program. The program was pronounced dead on arrival ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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The Independent Foreclosure Review Is Neither Independent Nor A Review
Over the course of this year, I have written about the Independent Foreclosure Review several times. In February, I wrote about the job postings for ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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The Independent Foreclosure Review Benefits Auditors More Than Homeowners
Those of you who have been following the foreclosure crisis since the beginning may recall that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency entered ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan Sending Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Letters
A client recently notified me that the Illinois Attorney General is sending out notices to Illinois homeowners regarding the National Mortgage ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Appellate Court of Illinois (Second District): No Commemorative Assignments in Foreclosures
It finally happened. After several disappointing decisions, the Appellate Court of Illinois has finally released a foreclosure-related opinion that I ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Chicago Foreclosure Auctions See Dramatic Increase in First Half of 2012
Through the first half of the year, foreclosure auctions in Chicago more than doubled. In fact, according numbers released by the Woodstock Institute ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Why a Strategic Foreclosure Does Not Mean "Just Walk Away"
I frequently receive calls from prospective clients who have friends in California that simply walked away from an underwater home. This may work in ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Woodstock Institute Reports A Spike in Completed Foreclosures
Although there are no accurate foreclosure numbers on a national scale, the Woodstock Institute does a good job of keeping track of foreclosure data ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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How Many Foreclosures Have Happened Since the Housing Market Crashed?
Frighteningly enough, nobody knows . I spend a lot of time absorbing data about the housing market. More often than not, when one news outlet reports, ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Independent Foreclosure Review Deadline Extended, Compensation Schedule Released
In the past, I have written about the Independent Foreclosure Review. I have not always been very enthusiastic about the chances of significant relief ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Illinois Has Third Highest Foreclosure Rate in the Country
According to data recently released by the Mortgage Bankers Association, nearly 7.5 percent of Illinois residential properties secured by mortgages ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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How Does Foreclosure Affect Children?
The national foreclosure crisis is often discussed in terms of property values, abandoned properties, and document fraud. However, there are other ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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Beware of Mortgage Foreclosure Scams
This is probably one of my most frequent topics on the blog. Every time there is media attention devoted to a new development in the mortgage ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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ProPublica: The Great American Foreclosure Story
ProPublica has released an eBook entitled, " The Great American Foreclosure Story. " It is available as a web page, and runs about 16 pages of text. ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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Data Shows Major Spike in Chicago Foreclosures
If you haven't had a brush with foreclosure yourself in recent years, you probably know someone who has. Although talk of economic recovery seems to ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Does The Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Actually Punish The Banks?
If you ask the blogosphere the above question, it appears that the answer is a resounding "No." Abigail Caplovitz Field has described the settlement ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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How Many Chicago Homes Are Part of Fannie Mae's New Foreclosure to Rental Program?
The short answer to the above question: 99 properties. How many units are in those 99 properties? 120. How many of those units are vacant? 34. On ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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Is The OCC's Independent Foreclosure Review A Farce?
Late last year, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency announced that several banks had agreed to conduct an independent foreclosure review to ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Can I Use Making Home Affordable, The Foreclosure Settlement, and The OCC Settlement Together?
In the past six months, we have seen the expansion of Making Home Affordable, in particular in the refinance (HARP) and the loan modification (HAMP) ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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How Does The Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Affect Banks?
The foreclosure fraud settlement absolves the 5 major banks from liability for robosigning and other practices. The breadth of this waiver of ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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How Does The Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Affect Illinois Homeowners?
On February 9, 2012, the Attorneys General of 49 states and the United States announced a settlement with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd.
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Foreclosure Sales and Filings Drop in Chicago Area, but Problems Persist
According to a recently released report from RealtyTrac, there were 6,348 distressed homes - properties in foreclosure or already bank-owned - sold in ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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Guard Against Foreclosure Rescue, Loan Modification Scams in Chicago
Legitimate programs and professionals exist to help homeowners who face foreclosure. Unfortunately, some companies and individuals who appear to be ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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How Does Foreclosure Impact Your Credit Score?
CNNMoney is reporting that Fair Isaac, the company that created the FICO credit-scoring system, has finally released some numbers to indicate how ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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Foreclosure Proceedings Stretching on for Nearly a Year in Chicago
A recent analysis of Chicago foreclosure statistics found that foreclosure proceedings are taking an unusually long time to complete - almost a year ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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Foreclosure Crisis Only Half Over
According to a study by Center for Responsible Lending, we are likely only halfway through the foreclosure crisis. Based on the Center's numbers, 6.4% ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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Illinois' Right to Redemption During Foreclosure
Illinois is still suffering from the worst housing market crisis in history; in fact, areas of Chicago are still experiencing a record number of ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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NYT: Foreclosures Are Killing Us
According to a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, foreclosures and health problems appear to be related. Does this mean that ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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Aid to Neighborhoods Hit Hardest by Chicago Foreclosures
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced a program that will help neighborhoods that have been significantly impacted by Chicago foreclosures . ...
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Sulaiman Law Group, LTD.
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