Thank you to all our heroes and heroines, past and present – and to the families who have also sacrificed.

“Bravery never goes out of style.”   William Makepease Thackeray

Sincerest thanks and deep appreciation to all of our military personnel, both active and retired.

Best wishes and safe times to all over Memorial Day weekend.

You can see this article in its entirety at CNNMoney.com

Freddie and Fannie won’t pay down your mortgage

By Tami Luhby, senior writerMay 14, 2010: 3:58 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Pressure is mounting on loan servicers and investors to reduce troubled homeowners’ loan balances…but the two largest owners of mortgages aren’t getting the message.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are controlled by the federal government, do not lower the principal on the loans they back, instead opting for interest rate reductions and term extensions when modifying loans.

But their stance is out of synch with the Obama administration, which is seeking to expand the use of principal writedowns. In late March, it announced servicers will be required to consider lowering balances in loan modifications.

And just who would tell Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) to start allowing principal reductions? The Obama administration.

Asked whether they will implement balance reductions, the companies and their regulator declined to comment. The Treasury Department also declined to comment.

Home prices in LA County and Orange County were down in March after eight straight months of gain.  Even so, the over-all news is brighter. The S&P Case-Shiller indexes show prices are up 6% above March ‘09.  Neighbor to the south, San Diego county, posts a positive 10.8% for March ‘10 over March ‘09.

“He who waits for the best never waits too long.”  Erik Bergman

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.”  Confuscius

“Without music, life would be a mistake.”  Nietzsche

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”  Plato

This is the fifth post of six from an article written by George Mantor.  If you are a homeowner who might soon be facing default or you are currently in default and trying to work out something with your lender, this is critical information for you to know.

Predatory Mortgage Servicing Fraud – First of a SeriesRISMEDIA, April 6, 2010—

“They will try to get as much money from you as they possibly can. First as a sizable down payment, and then as high a monthly make-up payment as you’ll agree to. They take all of your cash and leave you with a payment that might be 35% to 50% higher.

In the process, you’ll be asked to sign away many of your rights and you’ll do it because they said they care.

They exploit you at your most vulnerable time because they know that most people would do anything not to lose their home. They intimidate you into suspending judgment and going along out of fear and embarrassment. And, if you put up little or no resistance, they will take you all the way to the courthouse steps.

They get paid a small fee to process payments, but when a payment is missed, they can charge whatever fees they want and keep all of the money. They are nothing more than shakedown artists operating in a largely unregulated arena who have figured out a way to wring millions of dollars out of nervous consumers and keep the perfect mix of defaults in the pools.

They get away with all of this because they can. You didn’t choose your servicing company, they chose you. They chose you because they know all about you and know that you will make a good target. You can’t fire them, quit them or take your business elsewhere. Once they begin to destroy your credit, you couldn’t get another loan to pay them back even if you wanted to. And, even if you refinance, there is no guarantee you won’t wind up back with the same servicer.

Lest you doubt their motives, it is a well known business axiom that you reward the behavior you want.

Read the remarks of the president of Ocwen Loan Servicing, Ronald M. Faris, after a $1.8 million judgment was awarded to a customer. “We make sure our employees are aligned with this effort by paying them incentive bonuses when they succeed in keeping borrowers in their homes.”

Now that sounds noble if not a bit self-serving. But, the incentive isn’t paid for keeping a borrower in their home, it’s a percentage of the money collected while stringing the borrower along. Abuse of borrowers is their business plan and the longer they keep you in default, the more money they can collect.”

More to come…….