A former chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation has been charged with fraud in connection to a $1 billion misappropriation claim.

The scheme was centered around pulling funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program and federal organizations such as Freddie Mac, although the investigation revealed that no TARP funds were granted to the company. The company began having financial woes in 2002 after working with mortgage loans sold to Freddie Mac, leading them to pull tens of millions of dollars from Colonial BancGroup. To cover their expenses, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker began to sell home loans that had already been sold, fictional mortgage loans, or even assets that had been impaired. In order to cover these growing problems, the mortgage company tried to buy out large portions of Colonial BancGroup.

They had hoped that, by purchasing a stake in Colonial BancGroup, the $500 million TARP funds coming to that company could be used to keep their operations afloat. Instead, both Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation and Colonial BancGroup filed for bankruptcy in August of 2009.

If you need a legal professional to help you make sure your mortgage modification is a reliable operation to improve your financial situation, contact the Maryland mortgage modification lawyers of Chaifetz & Coyle, P.C., by calling 443-546-4608 today.

Refinances dropped 14.3% this week, leading some to believe that the government's steps to help home-owners are showing themselves to be ineffectual.

To qualify to refinance, banks require the home-owner to be keeping up with mortgages, hold a steady pay-check, not have refinanced their loans already, and have a decent credit score. While the government has taken steps to allow home-owners who cannot manage their current mortgages to refinance under the Making Home Affordable Program, the major caveat to qualify for the program is a stipulation that does not permit a single missed payment on the loan. Bad credit scores due to credit card misuse can contribute to refinance application rejections.

The drop in accepted refinance applications comes with the fifth straight week of dropping purchase applications, which have lowered an additional 5.7% in the last week.

If you are looking to refinance your mortgage, working through an experienced legal professional can help you get the best results with the least amount of headache. Contact the Maryland mortgage refinancing lawyers of Chaifetz & Coyle, P.C., by calling 443-546-4608 today.

A new bill was signed into law late last month which provides homeowners the opportunity for more protection against foreclosure.

The new law increases the possibility of foreclosure mediation. It makes it necessary for lenders to forewarn homeowners, providing a 45 day warning before foreclosure action is first filed in court in the form of a mortgage modification or loss-mitigation application. Lenders must also pay a $300 foreclosure fee when filing for action.

The homeowner is then given 15 days after receiving their final loss-mitigation notice to file for foreclosure mediation. Once sent to the Circuit Court, the homeowner is expected to pay a $50 fee.

The bill originally made foreclosure mediation a necessary step, but the voluntary route was taken instead. Governor O'Malley proposed legislation in 2008 with significantly more aggressive actions taken to protect homeowners, including making the foreclosure period 150 days instead of 15 days.

If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure, the Maryland foreclosure defense lawyers of Chaifetz & Coyle, P.C., may be able to help you. Contact us at 443-546-4608, and let us provide you with legal advice that could make the difference today.