July Hathaway Duke Archives

Lawyer Up! Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Investors in American Home Mortgage Announced

Not that we follow such things, but this has to some sort of record for filing a class action suit, and ads to what must be an absolute puke-fest over at AHM. Filed at 4:24 EST today:Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased thebehalf of purchasers of the securities of American Home Mortgage between July 26, 2006 and July 27, 2007, inclusive. The plaintiff is represented by Lerach Coughlin, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.[Super Long Law Firm Name] Files Class Action Lawsuit Against American Home Mortgage [businesswire]…

Update to June 15, 2007 Blog: The California Air Resources Board Passes New Regulations Limiting Off-Road Diesel Engine Emissions (13 CCR SEC. 2449)

By Randolph C. Visser and Olivier F. TheardOn July 27, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) passed new regulations intended to reduce emissions of particulate matter (PM) and nitrous oxide (NOx) from off-road diesel engines.  The regulations require businesses to…

That was Fast: AHM Issues Death Rattle Press Release

A press release, or Illiquidity update from American Home Mortgage:Based on the foregoing, the Company at present is unable to borrow on its credit facilities and was unable to fund its lending obligations yesterday of approximately $300 million. It does not anticipate funding approximately $450 to $500 million today….The Company has retained Milestone Advisors and Lazard to assist in evaluating its strategic options and advising with respect to the sourcing of additional liquidity including the orderly liquidation of its assets.In English: They cannot fund the many thousands of loans scheduled to close today, and did not fund them yesterday, leaving their buyers and refinancers in a pickle, to say the least. Choose your lender carefully - this is a very different event from a mom-and-pop broker going out of business. AHM was a publicly traded company with a market capitalization in excess of 1 Billion just a few short months ago.AHM Liquidity Update [biz.yahoo]…

Aaaaaaaand a Prime Lender Gets Ready to Go Down

We’ve mostly refrained from chronicling the ongoing mortgage lender implosion around here. Mainly because it has been so ably covered by others like Calculated Risk (who points out the unseemly nature of this particular lender’s meltdown) and the ubiquitous Implode-o-Meter. But this latest news on American Home Mortgage is worth mentioning, because they are not a sub-prime lender. This is a mostly Prime Alt-A lender and a NYSE listed (for now) outfit with five branches and some 32 loan officers plus support staff right here in the Twin Cities, and all indications are they are going down (barring any 11th hour buyout by another lender.) Seeking Alpha Summarizes the situation thusly:At the moment the company is “evaluating how the weak mortgage market will affect it”, which probably means recalculating the value of its mortgages and related securities, and deciding whether to have a fire sale or exercise the Bankruptcy option. As the story unfolds, people may try to paint this as part of the subprime mortgage mess. But don’t be fooled - AHM only dealt in prime and near prime mortgages. We have a mortgage problem in the US, not a subprime problem. It’s a mortgage problem which is only going to get worse.Might be time to start revising our graphic from earlier this week.· American Home Mortgage: Continued Carnage [Seeking Alpha]· American Home Mortgage Tumbles on Liquidity Issues [Washpost]…

Tuesday AM Linklube

LocalA**Hole Neighbor Ordinances Passing [Strib]More on Neighborly Behavior [Gross Report]Is Your Neighborhood Walkable? [Walkscore]Elsewhere OtherwiseJim Cramer: 100% Default Rate on 2/28’s Predicted [Kedrosky]Sub-Prime’s Super Rich Victims [NYT]Home Sales Still on the Skids [Mktwatch]…

New York Attorney Indicted for Subprime Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Alexander Kaplan, Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on charges of participating in a multimillion-dollar sub-prime mortgage fraud scheme. The allegations against Kaplan relate to charges contained in a superseding Indictment, unsealed in Manhattan feder…

Georgia Broker Pled Guilty to Straw Borrower Scheme

George W. McRee, Jr., a Georgia mortgage broker, pled guilty to mortgage fraud charges and is awaiting sentencing. The terms of his plea provide that he will cooperate with the prosecution’s case against the other defendants which is moving towar…

Mozaic Condo: Circling the Drain?

From a reader, regarding that much anticipated high-end Uptown Development Mozaic. You remember…the floors aren’t floors, but sick-making new-agey names like Fire Water Space and our personal favorite, Aura: We were one of the first buyers at Mozaic and while strong supporters initially, our confidence and enthusiasm have waned in the 11 months since we forked over a huge deposit while absolutely nothing has happened. The process has been awful- no official updates from the developers since last fall, and repeated weak excuses when we contact them. Ground breaking has been delayed so many times we lose count- Nov., Dec, then Jan, then April, then late July, then pending Uptown Art Fair, then pending buss lines being rerouted. Since Clark Gassen’s other two projects, Lumen on Lake and Edgewater have stalled (I read on a blog posting that Lumen actually has had negative sales and is still below 50% presold), I would guess this project will die. The last ones I expect to hear it from are the developers, they are doing all they can to keep it alive, when it has clearly redlined some time ago.Pretty damning stuff. Many of the high end boutique projects are struggling like this, with aspiring owners left in the lurch. One does wish these developers would be more forthright with their plans. Our advice, get some answers from the developer, or get the deposit back. Any other info or tips can go right here. Our tipsters will be chronicling the Mozaic’s dramatic arc on their blog, here:Our Mozaic Blog [ourmozaicblog.com]…

Monday Market Commentary: Stock Market Selloff Helps Mortgage Rates

Graphic Courtesy MSNBCLast WeekWith the Dow shedding 586 points on the week, some of that money flowed into mortgage bonds, which helped mortgage rates notch a slight improvement by the time markets closed on Friday. Rates, however, are still testing the highs for the year.This WeekStock Market gyrations may have less effect on mortgage rates, as the bond market will have some real meat to digest in the form of several top level economic data releases scheduled for this week. The big Ones: Tuesday’s PCE (personal consumption expenditure index) is a measure of inflation, and closely watched by the Fed. Friday’s employment report also figures to be a prime mover. Any data points showing inflation, or a strong economy, will put upward pressure on mortgage rates.· This Week’s Economic Calendar [barrons]…

Texas Man Convicted of $10M Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A jury has convicted Michael D. Goodson, 39, Spring, Texas, for engaging in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders.  The properties were located in Montgomery, Bryan, Spring and Tomball, Texas.  After only one hour and a half of deliberation, a…