Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. recently represented a lender on a residential mortgage refinance where the borrower had an extremely common first and last name. The borrower was 82 years old and desperately needed to refinance for a lower rate. On the day of closing a last minute condition was sent by an underwriter for the Full Article…
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Understanding, Complying With New Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Rules
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act has governed costs associated with residential mortgage transactions since 1974, but it became the subject of significant controversy as reports surfaced of abuses by lenders and third-party service providers. After many halting attempts to overhaul the RESPA rules, the Department of Housing Full Article…
Using the Judicial System to Abate the Foreclosure Crisis
By Adam Leitman Bailey And Rachel Sigmund Many stagnant foreclosures in the United States have been stuck in the judicial process for more than two years. This article describes how several states have addressed one of the primary legal impediments clogging the pipelines of pending or future foreclosures: lenders’ inability to locate the original mortgage Full Article…
New Power of Attorney Law Corrects Some Flaws, Not All
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman On Oct. 14, 2009, these authors critiqued the then brand new Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney (POA) statute. In brief, we found it to be a disaster. Now sitting on the governor’s desk, awaiting signature, is a heavily amended version of the statute addressing a number of the Full Article…
Calls for State Insurance Threaten Property Transfers
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman Currently before the State Legislature are two bills, each jointly introduced in both houses, that would inject the state in the business of title insurance, damaging New York’s standing as the capital of real estate transactions. One would broaden the power of the State Insurance Fund to provide Full Article…
State High Court Decision Exorcises Ghosts of Liens Past
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman Secured borrowing and the transfer of money are the bedrock of the global financial system. However, that system finds itself in crisis. Before the current malaise can end, the system must rebuild in a manner that ensures mutual trust between lenders and borrowers. Rapid repair of the economy Full Article…
Title Litigation: Expense of Theft Prevention Dwarfed by the Cost of Fraud
By Adam Leitman Bailey At the start of this new millennium, the most effective means to rob a bank no longer includes the use of a gun. The real estate closing table has replaced the gun and mask as the most favored and effective tool of theft from financial institutions. As the New York Times Full Article…
The Warranty of Habitability: An Unexpected Hazard in Home Mortgage Foreclosure
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman Most attorneys and nearly all educated tenants in this State are aware of the existence of the warranty of habitability. Few may know that it is statutory in basis, fewer care that it contradicts the common law, but most would be surprised by the types of occupancy to Full Article…
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