HELOC Loans May Be the Next Threat for Mortgage Fraud

CoreLogic estimates that one in 131 mortgage applications had indications of fraud in the second quarter of 2022, and HELOC loans seem to be an increasing concern. Despite the obvious legal fact that fraud is wrong, there are a notable number of people in the United States who participate in fraudulent schemes, since fraud can appear to be a victimless crime and is rarely punished.

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Real estate firm lures in homeowners with quick cash. But some say there’s a ‘predatory’ 40-year catch

As gas and food prices shot up this past summer, Brian Oliver was desperate for some extra cash to tide him over until his next disability payment. So when he found an offer for no-interest cash while searching for a loan online, he jumped at it. “They said, ‘We’re going to give you $400 and you don’t have to give it back,’” said Oliver, 64. “‘We just want to be your real estate agent.’”



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Which ZIP Codes Are Changing From Homeowner to Renter Majorities?

The American dream of homeownership has been hashed and rehashed throughout the past decade —especially in wake of the pandemic— with more households renting than at any point in the last 55 years, according to RentCafe's latest market report. Although renting was previously considered an alternative brought on solely by circumstances surrounding affordability prior to and throughout the pandemic, one-third of this decade’s renters now say that it is now a matter of choice.



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What’s Old Is New Again: DOL Proposes a Sort-of-New Employee v. Independent Contractor Rule

Here we go again! It seems like lately, every time a new presidential administration is elected, we get new rules that overturn existing rules that often go back to other, even older rules. It’s like watching a tennis match: back and forth and back and forth. That is certainly true with the U.S. Department of Labor and its rules for classifying workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. 



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FinCEN Renews and Expands Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today announced the renewal and expansion of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in non-financed purchases of residential real estate. The terms of the GTOs are effective beginning October 27, 2022, and ending on April 24, 2023. The GTOs continue to provide valuable data on the purchase of residential real estate by persons possibly involved in various illicit enterprises. Renewing the GTOs will further assist in tracking illicit funds and other criminal or illicit activity, as well as inform FinCEN’s future regulatory efforts in this sector. 



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Landfill/Real Estate Repurchase Option: Kansas Appellate Court Addresses Whether Contract and/or Applicable Law Impose Closure Obligation

The Court of Appeals of Kansas (“Appellate Court”) addressed in an October 21st Opinion a question arising out of a contract that provided the right to repurchase the real estate on which the landfill occupies. See South Mulberry Properties, L.L.C., v. GT Management, L.L.C., 2022 WL 12127266.

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The Arizona Supreme Court Confirms that Judgment Liens Attach to Homestead Property

The Arizona Supreme Court recently clarified that a judgment lien does, in fact, attach to the proceeds of the sale of a homestead property. See In re McLauchlan. In sum, if the sale of a home produces more than the homestead exemption amount, then a judgment creditor can collect from those excess sale proceeds.



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Wisconsin Court of Appeals Finds for Title Insurer Despite Late Policy Issuance 

The Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, District Three recently upheld a summary judgment finding for title insurer WFG National Title Insurance Company (“WFG”) in a title insurance coverage dispute based on clear exceptions for a driveway easement even though the title policy was issued late. See Columb v. Cox, No. 2020AP1593, 2022 Wisc. App. LEXIS 478 (Ct. App. June 7, 2022).

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Court Says COE Acted Arbitrarily When Declining Jurisdiction Over Farmland

An issue that troubles many farmers and ranchers is the federal government’s regulation of farmland and farming activities. Two primary regulatory agencies are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE). They have jurisdiction to regulate the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) and the scope of that jurisdiction has been a big issue for many years and has generated innumerable court decisions. 

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Pennsylvania Federal Court Dismisses Statutory Claims, Allows Breach of Contract Claims in Wire Fraud Case

In a wire fraud claim raised by a bank’s customer, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania recently granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss filed by the customer’s bank, P.N.C. Bank (“PNC”), regarding claims brought by plaintiff Richard Tracy (“Tracy”) for breach of contract, promissory estoppel, violation of Pennsylvania's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (“UTPCPL”) and violation of Pennsylvania's Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”). See Tracy v. P.N.C. Bank, N.A., No. 2:20-cv-1960-NR, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111095 (W.D. Pa. June 23, 2022). While the Court dismissed the statutory claims, it held that PNC’s post-notice conduct of erroneously informing its customer that the majority of the funds had been recovered and ignoring the customer’s subsequent requests could set forth a breach of contract claim.

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Once Claim Based On Adverse Possession Is Held To Be Untenable & Ownership Claim Is Negated, Possession Can't Be Protected: SC [India]

The Supreme Court has observed that once the claim of title on the basis of adverse possession is held not tenable and ownership claim is negated, thereafter the possession or alleged possession cannot be protected by passing a decree of permanent injunction.

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Stale claim [Philippines]

Rights of action and right of ownership may be lost through lapse of time either by laches or prescription. This case explains the difference between laches and prescription.

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Rent going up? One company’s algorithm could be why

‘My stomach just dropped’: Family claims builder promised them home on land it doesn’t own

Title Agents Take Business to the Next Level

Bouvet Island

FOR A PLACE KNOWN AS “the loneliest place on earth,” a surprising number of people have tried to claim it. An uninhabited frozen isle halfway between South Africa and Antarctica, Bouvet Island is the most remote island in the world, and as such, perhaps the most remote landmass in the world.

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What bird flies 13,000 km without stopping? This one

A young bar-tailed godwit appears to have set a non-stop distance record for migratory birds by flying at least 13,560 kilometres from Alaska to the Australian state of Tasmania, a bird expert said Friday.

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When I’m done in here I’ll vacuum the garden.

Terrible Real Estate Agent Photographs



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Can You Spot the "Buildable" Million Dollar Lot?

Having just hit the market for one million dollars and positioned as a “unique and irregularly shaped interior lot…located in the beautiful Richmond District,” a lot that “IS buildable” and could yield “a very unique residence” (“with some creativity and imagination of a great designer,” all per the lot’s listing agent), we challenge you to find the lot that’s 34 22nd Avenue without scrolling down.

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The Windham Frog Fight of 1754

Drive through the small town of Windham in Eastern Connecticut, United States, and you’ll wonder why the people here have a strange obsession with frogs. Many local businesses are named after frogs. You will see frogs in their logos, frogs graffiti painted on the walls and frog statues everywhere, including four large bronze pieces at the four corners of a bridge across the Willimantic River. Even the town’s official seal has a frog in it.

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