Co-contributor Mike Has A Matthew Bender Post on New Statutes Relating to Same.
The California Attorney General and California State Bar are cracking down on attorneys who collect advance fees for residential loan modification services. The California Bar Journal is replete with several articles and announcements in the last few editions indicating that the first criminal arrest has been made and numerous disciplinary proceedings are in the works with respect to loan modification attorneys. For example, an Irvine attorney and two of his Ladera Ranch neighbors recently were arrested after allegedly taking $1.6 million either from clients or credit card companies reimbursing clients for losses. More than 1,300 investigations have been opened by the State Bar’s loan modification task force, a special unit set up to crack down on illegal loan modification activities.
Co-contributor Mike has written a post for Matthew Bender/LEXI’s on-line Real Estate Law Center on Senate Bill 94, which added new Civil Code sections 2944.6 and 2944.7 to the Code. These provisions, effective October 1, 2009, make it unlawful for attorneys to take advance fees for most residential loan modification services. The post also discusses State Bar ethical advisories and California Department of Real Estate warnings on loan modification services that are being provided by attorneys. These DO’s and DON’T’s can be accessed on line by either attorneys or the public.