Indiana lead contamination decades in the making

MEDIA–take a break from reporting Donald Trump’s every booger and the entire political race soap opera…there’s a lead crisis in Indiana.

Bank of America to Defend Racketeering Claims

(CN) — Homeowners can sue Bank of America for claims it feigned compliance with a mortgage assistance plan that was a condition of the bank’s $45 billion bailout in 2008, the 10th Circuit ruled Monday.
Bank of America hired Urban Settlement Services dba Urban Lending Solutions to administer its Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP.
The bank was required to participate in HAMP as a condition of receiving a $45 billion bailout from the federal government to shore up the bank’s bad loans during the 2008 financial crisis. The government also guaranteed $118 billion in potential losses at the bank.
HAMP required Bank of America to collect financial information from at-risk borrowers, and evaluate their eligibility for a loan modification that would allow them to pay a lower interest on their mortgage.
The program allowed eligible borrowers to enter a trial period plan to demonstrate their ability to make lower monthly payments, and permanently modified loans if the borrowers made regular payments.
But a class of homeowners led by Richard George say Bank of America and Urban conspired to obstruct and delay their HAMP loan modification applications.

Read on.

Court of Appeals rules that Nevada HOA liens do not supersede first mortgages

Mortgage lenders and investors needn’t worry about whether a homeowners’ association super lien will be given priority over a first mortgage in the state of Nevada, at least for now.

According to an alert published Monday by Ballard Spahr, the Ninth Circuit Court Appeals ruled last week that an older version of Nevada’s laws, which previously gave super-priority status to HOA liens, is unconstitutional.

Read on.