Mortgage

CARSON CITY – Several lawmakers raised questions today about a proposal put forth by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to spend $33 million over three years on outreach, counseling and legal assistance to homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

Nicole Larrimore has been named as the new Mortgage and Marketing Coordinator for the Nevada Rural Housing Authority. The position was recently created to provide information about the NRHA’s housing assistance programs to mortgage lenders, banks, realtors, brokers, title and hazard insurance companies and prospective homebuyers. She will serve as the NRHA liaison to lenders and build relationships with the home buying and real estate community to better serve their needs.

Fifteen students received $1,000 scholarships from Greater Nevada Credit Union for the upcoming school year. More than 64 students applied for the program, which the Credit Union has offered to local students for the past 13 years.

“It’s our pleasure to provide financial support to some of the region’s best students so they can continue their education,” said Wally Murray, President/CEO for Greater Nevada Credit Union.

CARSON CITY – The deadline for a free, federal independent foreclosure review for Nevadans whose homes were in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010 has been extended to Sept. 30, 2012, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said today.

The previous deadline was July 31.

CARSON CITY, NEV (June 29, 2012) – The Nevada Rural Housing Authority (NRHA) has launched a new home mortgage and down payment assistance program that is designed to help a group that has received very little help until now: working Nevadans who have been hurt by the downturn in the economy and the housing crisis.

Dear Editor:

It's time to make it easier for millions of homeowners around the country to refinance their mortgages and save hundreds of dollars each month.

Cutting through the red tape will be good for families, good for communities, and good for the country at large. Interest rates are at historic lows, yet millions of homeowners have not taken advantage of these rates, either because it's too expensive, or because banks and regulations make it hard or impossible. This month, Congress has a chance to pass real home mortgage relief.

CARSON CITY – Washoe County Republican and Democratic Party leaders may disagree on who the best choice is for president, but they agree on one point – Washoe is the “battleground” county in the battleground state that is Nevada.

Clark County is expected to go big for Democrats and President Obama, while Nevada’s rural counties are expected to go strong for Mitt Romney. But Washoe County, where Republicans lead in voter registration by 3,700, has gone for both parties in past elections.

CARSON CITY – Gov. Brian Sandoval today announced changes to his staff in his Carson City office, including the departure of Senior Adviser Dale Erquiaga, who will move to Arizona in July to be near his children.

RENO – President Barack Obama made a brief stopover here today, visiting with a couple who refinanced their home through a White House initiative helping underwater homeowners who have government-backed loans.

After meeting with Paul and Valerie Keller, Obama urged Congress to expand the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) to other mortgages as well.

Event at Obama for America Campaign Office, March 15, at the Carson City Democratic Central Committee Headquarters
at 502 E. John Street (& Roop St.) behind Bank of America

On Thursday at Noon, Occupy Carson City demonstrators, MoveOn.org members and homeowners in crisis will rally at the local Obama for America (OFA) office in Carson City, NV to demand that government-controlled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provide relief to ten million underwater homeowners by adjusting their mortgages to reflect the true value of their home.

A dozen Carson High School Students recently learned the importance of building and maintaining good credit. The goal was to provide knowledge that would make them more savvy borrowers.

Four 90-minute classes held January 26 and 27 were taught by Jesse Hartford, Consumer Loan Specialist, and Jackie Tilton, Consumer Loan Processer, both from Greater Nevada Credit Union (GNCU). Topics included interest rates and accruals and different types of loans.

Watch out, there's another Heller in politics. Emmy Heller was just declared the winner of the vote for student body president at Carson High School. Her father Sen. Dean Heller has held elective office since before Emmy, 17, was born, and helped her craft her positions and talking points. But Emmy said the experience of running for election was so stressful that she doesn't want to pursue politics as a career.

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F.I.S.H. (Friends In Service Helping) has launched a campaign to refinance the mortgage on their building and free up extra funds to help the needy of Carson City. The group currently owes $1.7 million on the property on North Carson Street, which is valued at $1.6 million in today's market. Their interest rate is 7.75 percent, well above what can be obtained through refinancing. Executive Director Jim Peckham hopes to raise enough money to obtain a $1.2 million loan at 4 percent, which means they would have an extra $8,000 a month to serve the homeless and others in need.

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The owner of Cactus Jack's casino in downtown Carson City was hit with a $15,000 fine by the Nevada Gaming Commission for using unauthorized poker chips in poker tournaments. Guess the house doesn't always win.

CARSON CITY – When state Sen. Greg Brower asked the Attorney General’s office earlier this month about the $6 million in outside legal costs incurred so far in defending the state in a freeway construction dispute, he said his motives were purely fiscal in nature.

Greater Nevada Credit Union (GNCU) recently named Linda Barker as Vice President of Information Technology. Barker is responsible for leading the credit union’s technology initiatives and supporting its internal team, business partners, and members.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced today a lawsuit against Lender Processing Services, Inc., DOCX, LLC, LPS Default Solutions, Inc. and other subsidiaries of LPS (collectively known “LPS”) for engaging in deceptive practices against Nevada consumers.

The state's Interim Finance Committee questioned Corrections Director Greg Cox over contradictory plans for running the license plate shop at the Nevada State Prison once the facility closes down. The original plan was for the shop to stay where it is and be run by minimum security inmates. But Cox had also been looking at moving the plant to either the Northern Nevada Correctional Center on the south side of Carson City, or to High Desert State Prison near Las Vegas. He said they didn't currently have the money to make that move.

The IFC also got the final $521,904 bill for the special election to fill Nevada's Second Congressional District seat after Gov. Brian Sandoval appointed Dean Heller to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Ensign.

The IFC also approved funding for 20 of the 30 new positions for the Department of Motor Vehicles approved by the 2011 Legislature. The new positions are supposed to help cut the wait time at DMV offices, which have increased since 85 positions were eliminated due to budget cuts.

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A coalition of organizations is urging the Attorney General's office to reject a multi-state settlement with the banking industry over allegations of widespread falsifying loan documents and other wrongdoing in the wake of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. New York and California have already signaled that they will not sign onto the agreement, and the Attorneys General of Nevada and California recently announced that they will work together to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by the banks.

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The Carson City Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with the Nevada Small Business Development Center at UNR to work together to operate the city's Business Resource Innovation Center, under the leadership of its new director Michael Salogga.

Attorneys General Kamala D. Harris of California and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada today announced that their states have entered into a joint investigation alliance designed to assist homeowners who have been harmed by misconduct and fraud in the mortgage industry.

By forging this alliance, California and Nevada will combine investigative resources, including litigation strategies, information, and evidence gathered through their respective ongoing investigations, assisting each state as it pursues independent prosecutions.

The Nevada Housing Division today announced a new low mortgage rate for Nevada's first-time homebuyers. The Division is offering a dramatically low mortgage 3.50% interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan to qualified buyers.

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The Office of the Nevada Attorney General announced today that Tracy Lawrence, 43, a local notary, has pled guilty to one count of notarizing the signature of an individual not in her presence, a gross misdemeanor in violation of NRS 240.155.

Notary fraud carries a potential jail sentence of one year and/or a fine of up to $2,000.

I have a friend here in Carson City who will soon be losing her home. She's not the first, and probably not the last.

She bought her house back near the height of the boom. It's a fairly small, modest home, but fits her needs almost perfectly. At the time, her income from her sales job easily covered her mortgage and expenses. Times were good.

I applaud President Barack Obama for his most recent trip to Las Vegas to announce a mortgage relief package. It is too bad that the TARP funds were not used several years ago to accomplish exactly...

I applaud President Barack Obama for his most recent trip to Las Vegas to announce a mortgage relief package. It is too bad that the TARP funds were not used several years ago to accomplish exactly...

LAS VEGAS – President Obama will today announce he is expanding a federal aid program to allow more homeowners to refinance their mortgages at today’s low interest rates, said White House officials this morning.

CARSON CITY – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has joined with her Utah counterpart Mark Shurtleff  in asking the U.S. Senate to take up consideration of Rich Cordray’s nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Greater Nevada Mortgage Services (GNMS) has promoted Jenny Casselman to Vice President of Loan Servicing. Her responsibilities will include mortgage loan servicing and loss mitigation functions.

Casselman, who holds a Masters in Business Administration, started at Greater Nevada Credit Union in April 2003 as a Branch Manager and then served as Call Center Manager and Regional Manager before joining Greater Nevada Mortgage Services in May 2009 as Loan Servicing Manager.

Hundreds of Nevada homeowners will be eligible for financial relief totaling tens of millions of dollars under a settlement with Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings, the state attorney gene...

(press release) Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto today announced that she filed an Assurance of Discontinuance with Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings (“Morgan Stanley”) to resolve an investigation into the firm’s role in purchasing and securitizing roughly 3,000 subprime mortgages in Nevada.

The Carson City Board of Supervisors recently awarded a residential lot in Carson City to the Sierra Nevada Community Land Trust (SNCLT).

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto this week requested permission to amend a previous complaint against Bank of America and its subsidiaries to add more claims relating to mortgage origination and servicing.

As the leader of a Northern Nevada-based financial institution and its subsidiary mortgage company, industries rife with challenges the past several years, I finally went "Over the Edge." Significa...