[carli]

I just saw that segment on 60 Minutes, too. Scary! It was breathtaking to see the disregard throughout the entire industry (not just a few rogue banks) of administrative/legal basics, such as signatures on documents, during the mortgage securitization heyday.

We’ve all heard anecdotes about this stuff, but the 60 Mins piece showed how pervasive the ineptitude (or worse) was throughout the whole banking industry. Loans were being made and then sold off so fast that the process was concluded before the original bank actually signed the loan documents. As a result, homeowners facing foreclosure have a gigantic loophole to help keep them in their homes.

Any homeowner who sees this segment who is anywhere near getting foreclosed on would be crazy not to demand to see the actual signature page of the loan documents proving that the institution that’s foreclosing on the house OWNS the house. The segment made it seem like most institutions would not be able to produce the document/proof needed.

Leslie Stahl interviewed Sheila Bair, who is urging the banking industry to pay into a cleanup fund to provide for settlements of future homeowner litigation on this issue. She basically said that paying into such a fund would be less costly to banks than having to produce the legal proof that they own the houses they’re foreclosing on, which it sounded like they literally would not be able to do…not just a few rogue banks, but basically most of the industry.

Here’s a link to the segment – http://www.cbs.com/primetime/60_minutes/video/?pid=CzUKTPuRNBcG_rBEgSMWF27hKjSsZGyP

[carli]

Okay, I’m confused…unless you commit some sort of OJ-style crime or do some other atrocious thing that is clearly your fault (such as driving while under the influence and ending up killing someone in a car accident), why else would a person need to declare bankruptcy and have to worry about sheltering assets? Unless we’re talking about bankruptcy due to investments gone bad, but I thought the concern was about worst case/liability issues, not investments gone bad?

Doooh, doesn’t a PEL policy address the concern? Or is there some potentially risky scenario about which I should have been worried all these years, but have remained blissfully ignorant?

Maybe this is more for all the legal experts out there – I thought that with a PEL, as long as you remain crime-free, you’ll be covered…no?

[carli]

Okay, I’m confused…unless you commit some sort of OJ-style crime or do some other atrocious thing that is clearly your fault (such as driving while under the influence and ending up killing someone in a car accident), why else would a person need to declare bankruptcy and have to worry about sheltering assets? Unless we’re talking about bankruptcy due to investments gone bad, but I thought the concern was about worst case/liability issues, not investments gone bad?

Doooh, doesn’t a PEL policy address the concern? Or is there some potentially risky scenario about which I should have been worried all these years, but have remained blissfully ignorant?

Maybe this is more for all the legal experts out there – I thought that with a PEL, as long as you remain crime-free, you’ll be covered…no?

[carli]

Okay, I’m confused…unless you commit some sort of OJ-style crime or do some other atrocious thing that is clearly your fault (such as driving while under the influence and ending up killing someone in a car accident), why else would a person need to declare bankruptcy and have to worry about sheltering assets? Unless we’re talking about bankruptcy due to investments gone bad, but I thought the concern was about worst case/liability issues, not investments gone bad?

Doooh, doesn’t a PEL policy address the concern? Or is there some potentially risky scenario about which I should have been worried all these years, but have remained blissfully ignorant?

Maybe this is more for all the legal experts out there – I thought that with a PEL, as long as you remain crime-free, you’ll be covered…no?

[carli]

Okay, I’m confused…unless you commit some sort of OJ-style crime or do some other atrocious thing that is clearly your fault (such as driving while under the influence and ending up killing someone in a car accident), why else would a person need to declare bankruptcy and have to worry about sheltering assets? Unless we’re talking about bankruptcy due to investments gone bad, but I thought the concern was about worst case/liability issues, not investments gone bad?

Doooh, doesn’t a PEL policy address the concern? Or is there some potentially risky scenario about which I should have been worried all these years, but have remained blissfully ignorant?

Maybe this is more for all the legal experts out there – I thought that with a PEL, as long as you remain crime-free, you’ll be covered…no?

[carli]

Okay, I’m confused…unless you commit some sort of OJ-style crime or do some other atrocious thing that is clearly your fault (such as driving while under the influence and ending up killing someone in a car accident), why else would a person need to declare bankruptcy and have to worry about sheltering assets? Unless we’re talking about bankruptcy due to investments gone bad, but I thought the concern was about worst case/liability issues, not investments gone bad?

Doooh, doesn’t a PEL policy address the concern? Or is there some potentially risky scenario about which I should have been worried all these years, but have remained blissfully ignorant?

Maybe this is more for all the legal experts out there – I thought that with a PEL, as long as you remain crime-free, you’ll be covered…no?

[carli]

Doooh, if all you’re worried about is “a couple mill” in liability, it doesn’t cost more than a few hundred dollars a year to cover yourself with an umbrella/PEL policy if you haven’t already done so. An umbrella policy extends over the liability limits of your underlying car/home policies to cover excess liability up to a specific insured amount. For example, I think ours covers us for $5 mil in excess liability yet it’s only about $300 in annual premium, if I recall correctly. Allows us to sleep better at night, especially with a teenage driver in the house. Knock wood.

[carli]

Doooh, if all you’re worried about is “a couple mill” in liability, it doesn’t cost more than a few hundred dollars a year to cover yourself with an umbrella/PEL policy if you haven’t already done so. An umbrella policy extends over the liability limits of your underlying car/home policies to cover excess liability up to a specific insured amount. For example, I think ours covers us for $5 mil in excess liability yet it’s only about $300 in annual premium, if I recall correctly. Allows us to sleep better at night, especially with a teenage driver in the house. Knock wood.

[carli]

Doooh, if all you’re worried about is “a couple mill” in liability, it doesn’t cost more than a few hundred dollars a year to cover yourself with an umbrella/PEL policy if you haven’t already done so. An umbrella policy extends over the liability limits of your underlying car/home policies to cover excess liability up to a specific insured amount. For example, I think ours covers us for $5 mil in excess liability yet it’s only about $300 in annual premium, if I recall correctly. Allows us to sleep better at night, especially with a teenage driver in the house. Knock wood.

[carli]

Doooh, if all you’re worried about is “a couple mill” in liability, it doesn’t cost more than a few hundred dollars a year to cover yourself with an umbrella/PEL policy if you haven’t already done so. An umbrella policy extends over the liability limits of your underlying car/home policies to cover excess liability up to a specific insured amount. For example, I think ours covers us for $5 mil in excess liability yet it’s only about $300 in annual premium, if I recall correctly. Allows us to sleep better at night, especially with a teenage driver in the house. Knock wood.

[carli]

Doooh, if all you’re worried about is “a couple mill” in liability, it doesn’t cost more than a few hundred dollars a year to cover yourself with an umbrella/PEL policy if you haven’t already done so. An umbrella policy extends over the liability limits of your underlying car/home policies to cover excess liability up to a specific insured amount. For example, I think ours covers us for $5 mil in excess liability yet it’s only about $300 in annual premium, if I recall correctly. Allows us to sleep better at night, especially with a teenage driver in the house. Knock wood.

[carli]

CA-dreamin,

Yes, we did relocate from the east coast. Feel free to PM me. I’m happy to share our experience.

Best,
Carli

[carli]

CA-dreamin,

Yes, we did relocate from the east coast. Feel free to PM me. I’m happy to share our experience.

Best,
Carli

[carli]

CA-dreamin,

Yes, we did relocate from the east coast. Feel free to PM me. I’m happy to share our experience.

Best,
Carli

[carli]

CA-dreamin,

Yes, we did relocate from the east coast. Feel free to PM me. I’m happy to share our experience.

Best,
Carli

[Author]

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