The past seven years have been horrendous for millions of homeowners who lost their homes. Somewhere between 7 and 8 million homes were lost. The majority of homes lost to foreclosure were around 6 million. These were mostly due from distressed homeowners who suffered hardships ranging from losing their jobs to serious health issues. Around 2 million homes were sold as a short-sale (sold for less than what was owed) and given back to the lender by a deed-in-lieu (DIL) that a

Are you thinking of starting your own business? Congratulations. Owning your own business may require working harder and longer hours but the rewards can be worth it. When starting a business, it is imperative the business is set up correctly and the business structure is made to best fit your type of business and you. The formation of your business entity should be dependent on your tax and liability, ownership rights, capital needs and other business transactions. Each sta

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. announced last week they had reached an agreement to resolve an ongoing investigation of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group. The agreement was attained after more than seven years after the worst financial crisis hit the U.S. in which Goldman Sachs played a role. The agreement will conclude any real or potential civil claims from the Department of Justice, New York and Illinois Attorneys General, National Credit Union Administra

Our law office continues to receive numerous calls from homeowners who were scammed by so-called ‘loan modification’ companies. Most of the ‘loan modification scammers have companies based in California, Florida, New York and New Jersey. By the time the homeowner figures out the scam, they’ve lost between $700 and $5,000 on average and/or received a notice they are in foreclosure. Some homeowners have had no idea they’ve been scammed until someone comes to their door with doc

​Back in the day - when the predatory mortgage loans were being tossed out like candy, so were the student loans. It was easy to get a student loan and only took a few minutes. School employees quickly entered information into a computer, twirled the computer around and said ‘here-press enter’. Just like that you had a loan, there was no need to even sign anything. Problem was, nothing was explained and you had no idea about interest, rates or the pitfalls. The school said th

We receive calls almost daily from homeowners who are having a dispute with their Homeowners’ Association and need help fighting these special groups. In Colorado alone, we have over one million residents who live under the rules and laws of an HOA. The common thread we hear is the HOA elected a new board, someone on the board doesn’t like the homeowner, the HOA became power-hungry or a particular neighbor keeps complaining. Many HOAs believe they have absolute authority and

A Wheat Ridge, Colorado woman was arrested for renting out a home through Craigslist last week. A woman who identified herself as Lisa Sandoval, advertised the home for almost $1,800 a month, a steal considering the home had four bedrooms. And a steal it was. Lisa Sandoval’s real name is Michelle Copeland, 39. Copeland had no rights to the home at all. In fact, the home had been vacant for almost 5 years. When Francine Neilsen saw the advertised home, she jumped at the price,

What is happening with foreclosures? This last quarter, the national average length of time to begin and end a foreclosure was the longest it’s been since before 2007 taking an average of 629 days to complete the process. In Colorado, the average time to complete a foreclosure is 352 days. Part of the reason for the national increase in time can be blamed on the fact that foreclosures had increased last month (July). That increased activity can be blamed on the rapidly risi