In an unprecedented move that can only be described as stunning ignorance, the California State Bar recently released a legal opinion that will effectively deny legal representation to millions of homeowners faced with foreclosure. The controversy is around SB 94, a law put into effect in 2009 that was meant to protect homeowners from predatory loan modification companies.

As with any crisis, when people are in trouble or desperate, other people jump into action to take what little money those desperate people have left. While SB 94 was little more than an imperfect knee-jerk reaction to systemic fraud, it was supposed to protect homeowners from scammers who promised to get loans modified, took hefty upfront fees, and were never heard from again. These scumbags were generally former mortgage brokers, also known as Department of Real Estate Licensees (DRE), looking to make up some of the losses from the meltdown by recycling the suckers they had sold homes to during the drunken housing orgy.

Taibbi over on Rolling Stone, took a well deserved swipe at Brian Moynihan is a post earlier this week. Seems the bank CEO is completely oblivious about what went on in his bank for a few years. And w...

Looks like Chase is getting into the app business, with an announcement to create an app for mortgage hunters. Clearly it connects to a Chase broker. The new app, which is called My New Home, lets...

The CFPB is working with the FHA to create a National Mortgage Database. Not sure how that differs from MERS, with the exception that it may actually be accurate, transparent, and may, in fact, requir...

Adam Levin picked up on the $25 Billion settlement being used for all sorts of other things apart from helping homeowners. From ABC News:

Remember the settlement -- the $25 billion that America's five largest mortgage servicers paid out to atone for fleecing millions of American homeowners? Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Ally Financial and Citigroup were held accountable for fraudulent foreclosure practices -- including the notorious practice dubbed "robo-signing" -- that cost millions of Americans their homes. The idea was not just to punish the banks (and the jury is out on exactly how much this really does punish them), but to help beleaguered homeowners as well as raise the level of consumer financial awareness in this country so 2008 would never be repeated.