What is a zombie 2nd mortgage? "Zombie" mortgages are mortgage debts that you might have thought were forgiven or satisfied long ago but that still exist.
Old debts can be written off by the lender and sold for pennies on the dollar to debt collectors. Sometimes the mortgage company goes silent and stops sending statements or communicating with you altogether. Years later, a debt collector reaches out to collect on the debt. Because these mortgages seem to reappear after being considered "dead" or gone for so long, they're sometimes called "zombie" second mortgages.
Why did some borrowers have second mortgages on their homes?
Before the Great Recession in 2008, mortgage lenders sometimes gave borrowers two mortgages for the same property, instead of one. For example, a primary mortgage (recorded in the courthouse first) might cover 80% of the purchase price, and a second mortgage (recorded in the courthouse after the first mortgage) covered the remaining 20%. Sometimes the second mortgage was taken out as a home equity loan after the house was purchased.
As the Great Recession hit and home values shrank along with the economy, some people had trouble making mortgage payments. When a borrower defaults on a second mortgage, the mortgage holder can sometimes start foreclosure even if the borrower is current on the first mortgage. But, for business reasons, some second mortgage holders charged off their defaulted loans as uncollectible and stopped communicating with borrowers. Some sold the loans to debt buyers without telling the borrower. Some borrowers, because they received no notices or periodic statements for years, thought their second mortgages had been modified along with the first mortgage, discharged in bankruptcy, or forgiven.
Now, years later, as borrowers have paid down their first mortgages, some are hearing from companies that say they own or have the right to collect on a long-dormant second mortgage. As property values rise, mortgage holders who bought these second mortgages-and their debt collectors-are threatening foreclosure and other collection actions. Some of these debt collectors demand the outstanding balance on the second mortgage, plus fees and interest, and some threaten to foreclose if the borrower does not or cannot pay.
Will California's new tax on gun and ammunition sales reduce firearm violence? California will be the first U.S. state to charge an excise tax on guns and ammunition, starting in July. The new tax- an 11% levy on each sale-will come on top of federal excise taxes of 10% or 11% for firearms and California's 6% sales tax.
The National Rifle Assn. has characterized the law that allows this new tax, the Gun Violence Prevention, as an affront to the Constitution. But the reaction from the gun lobby and firearms manufacturers may hint at something else: the effect that the measure, which is aimed at reducing gun violence, may have on sales.
You have 1 unread broadcast messages. Click here to see them now.
The new tax will make me feel safer, because there should be no more gun violence in California.
5/26/2024 2:25 PM PT
Johnny Wactor -- an actor best known for appearing in nearly 200 episodes of "General Hospital" -- has died, TMZ has learned.
Wactor was shot and killed in downtown Los Angeles early Saturday morning, his mother Scarlett tells TMZ. She says Johnny was with a coworker when they saw three men messing with Johnny's car. While authorities haven't release his name, this matches the description of an incident where three suspects allegedly tried to steal a catalytic converter.
RIP Sam Rubin Sam Rubin (February 16, 1960 - May 10, 2024) was an American journalist who served as the entertainment reporter for the KTLA Morning News.
I got my first warning on TikTok. I got my first warning on TikTok. I was reported for bullying. Young lady posted a video saying she wanted men to pull her but plug out and suck on it. I told her that she is nasty, then she reported me for bullying her. I lost my appeal.
Southern California Edison rebate. I had solar installed in October 2023. I've been asking where's my rebate. Edison said until the state issue them rebate money they have no money for rebates. I think Newsom has overspent California's budget so I won't be getting a rebate anytime soon.
Derek Chauvin former Minneapolis police officer. Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd during a 2020 arrest that set off a wave of protests, was stabbed at a federal prison in Tucson, Ariz., on Friday, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
