April 2009

A Reasonable Fee
A man phones a lawyer and asks, "How much would you charge for just answering three simple questions?"

The lawyer relies, "A thousand dollars." "A thousand dollars!" exclaims the man. "That's very expensive isn't it?"
It certainly is," says the lawyer. "Now, what's your third question?"

APRIL 2009 ABVLAW Newsletter

Hello Arizona! In addition to servicing Texas and New Mexico, Anderson, Burns & Vela, LLP, recently announced it has expanded its default servicing operation into the State of Arizona. If you or any of your colleagues can utilize our legal services for Arizona matters, please contact our office to discuss further.

Michael J. Burns, Esq.

Anderson, Burns & Vela, L.L.P.

mjburns@abvlaw.com

Fannie, Freddie under fire for Bonuses!

Carrie Bay - DSNEWS.com

As lawmakers grilled AIG's CEO on Capitol Hill about executives receiving bonus from taxpayers dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are also handing out sizable bonuses as "retention payments" to thousands of employees. Read Full Story

The "Home Affordable" Guidelines are out?

Home Affordable Modification Program Guidelines

New debtor defense: What happens if the lender fails to produce the original note?

One of the primary issues involved in a foreclosure is establishing a chain of title for loans that have been sold or securitized. In order to proceed with a foreclosure, courts require different degrees of proof that a lender is actually the holder of the loan. The attached article is a good example of how courts typically handle the issue. If a borrower raises the “holder defense”, it can delay and make a foreclosure more expensive. This can be “nipped in the bud” if the lender has access to the original documents and the chain of title is clear.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29242063/