Expert Witness Blog
Mortgages expert witness Joffrey G. Long will moderate a special session on title insurance as part of the January 30-31 educational program presented by the California Mortgage Association in Universal City, CA. In Securing a mortgage expert witness: Types of real property lawsuits, Mr. Long writes:
There are many types of lawsuits involving loans secured by real property; they often fall into one of six general themes:
4) Loan servicing, default and modification issues: Cases involve what occurred after a loan was originated, including issues about application of payments; the processing, denial, or granting of loan modifications; and foreclosure.5) Issues relating to licensing requirements and practices, or usury: Not as common as some of the other cases, these often center on the licensing of the originating organization or individuals, and their ability to have legally made or arranged the financing at issue. A related topic is usury, where a dispute exists over whether or not a loan was usurious, or if an exemption from usury applied.
6) Loan fraud issues: Advanced technology and a down economy have contributed to increases in both the quantity and complexity of direct real estate and lending related fraud. Forged documents, false reports, “straw” buyers or borrowers, fraudulent entities, falsified income, credit and appraisal documentation, and “short sale” fraud or fraud related to lender-foreclosed property comprise just a partial list. Having been defrauded and often unable to find or collect from the original perpetrator(s), parties often sue those that can be found and have assets or insurance coverage. These may include loan origination entities or officers, escrow holders or title insurers, appraisers, and loan or real estate brokerage firms.
Mr. Long has been a mortgage broker/lender in hard money and institutional lending since 1979, president of a mortgage company, past president and current education chair and director for the California Mortgage Assn. (Private Money Broker/Lender Trade Assn.)
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