EPA moves to rein in ‘fracking’ pollution

The Federal and State EPAs are now putting forth regulations to make oil and gas companies more environmentally responsible.  Ohio also has a bill on the table proposing a tax on the producers coming in to Ohio so that a portion of their profits will be (hopefully) used to maintain and improve the infrastructure needed to support this industry. 

The Ohio EPA plan has support from the Sierra Club, but not some other fringe environmental groups.  That is a good sign that it is somewhat fair.   Now - let's hope all these jobs created in Ohio by this industry materialize ASAP!

EPA moves to rein in ‘fracking’ pollution

New players staking claims to Ohio’s Utica shale land - Local - Ohio

This is an exciting industry in Ohio right now.  Ohio's energy resources have been thought dead for a long time, but technology has caught up now and some of these new wells are able to yield significant natural gas and oil for the first time in decades.

This area of industry fits in well with my practice area, I have one local oil and gas company as a client and hope to get more out of state business that need quality land related legal work.  I have a team of professional prepared to offer title opinions, lease and royalty research, contracts and other industry related local representation.


New players staking claims to Ohio’s Utica shale land - Local - Ohio

Ohio foreclosure statistics

Reprinted article from The Ohio Supreme Court regarding foreclosure filings for 2011.  I wouldn't read too much into this, this is still a lot of foreclosures and there are a lot, lot more to come in my opinion.  Best thing that can happen to really make this trend change is for economy to continue to improve.

March 14, 2012
Ohio Foreclosure Filings Drop 16 Percent in 2011

After experiencing a drop in the number of Ohio foreclosure case filings for the first time in 15 years in 2010, that number declined even further in 2011 by 16 percent, according to data released today by the Supreme Court of Ohio.
For 2011, common pleas courts across Ohio reported 71,556 new residential and commercial foreclosure case filings to the Ohio Supreme Court, or 13,927 fewer foreclosure cases than 2010.
The Ohio Supreme Court began collecting foreclosure data in 1990, and for 14 consecutive years through 2009 the number of foreclosure new filings rose. Not since 2006 have the foreclosure filings been in the range as the numbers recorded for 2011.
Only two counties saw increases in the number of year-over-year foreclosures in 2011. Coshocton County reported 317 foreclosures in 2011 compared with 163 in 2010 for a 94.5 percent increase. Guernsey County reported 198 foreclosures in 2011 compared with 188 in 2010 for a 5.3 percent increase.
On the other end of the spectrum, 75 of Ohio’s 88 counties reported double-digit decreases in 2011, and 10 counties reported 30 percent or greater declines.
Cuyahoga County continued to lead the state in the number of foreclosures with 11,544, although this figure represents a 10 percent annual decline, which followed a 9 percent decline in 2010.
Information contained in the reports is provided to the Ohio Supreme Court on a monthly basis by all county common pleas courts.
By collecting case data, the Ohio Supreme Court attempts to assist in the efficient administration of justice by measuring the pace of incoming litigation for case management purposes. The Ohio Supreme Court does not examine or analyze larger social and governmental trends that may contribute to or influence changes in the number of foreclosure case filings. The foreclosure data submitted by common pleas courts does not break down the number of residential versus

Ohio's Share of Foreclosure Settlement

Jury is still WAAAYYYY OUT on if this settlement will actually help anyone.  I have two initial thoughts:

1.  The most important part of this is the money that will be used, in conjunction with federal incentives, to write down the principal balance of mortgages.  This will allow homeowners to actually refinance or sell their homes creating market turnover that is desperately needed to get the housing market going.

2.  I hope that you don't need to be in foreclosure in order to get these benefits.  There are lots of homeowners that are completely upside-down on their mortgage, but still make their payments on time.  Otherwise, there is an incentive NOT to pay your mortgage in order to get these benefits!   

Tell me what you think!


Ohio will receive $335 million in benefits as part of a landmark $25 billion settlement with the nation’s five biggest mortgage companies announced today.

The settlement will be used to help keep struggling Ohioans in their homes, to demolish thousands of blighted properties, and to compensate some of those who lost their homes to foreclosure.

“Although this settlement is of historic proportion, we know it does not solve the mortgage crisis,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in announcing the settlement. “It is a start. It is a first step.”

The deal is the biggest settlement involving a single industry since a 1998 multistate tobacco deal.

Under the agreement, five lenders — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial — will reduce loans for nearly 1 million households. They will also send checks to about 750,000 Americans who were improperly foreclosed upon. The banks will have three years to fulfill the terms of the deal.

Ohio’s share of the settlement will be divided approximately this way:

--$102 million will come in the form of loan modifications to homeowners who are delinquent or in the foreclosure process, possibly allowing them to remain in their home or sell the home in a short-sale.

-- $90 million will benefit homeowners who  are "under water" on their mortgages, that is, owe more on their home than the property is worth. 

-- $44 million will compensate former homeowners who were foreclosed upon between Jan. 1, 2008, and Jan. 31, 2011. The amount of payment will depend on the numbers who apply, but is expected to be about $2,000 per home.

-- $97 million will come as a direct payment to the state, most of which the attorney general’s office will use to demolish abandoned properties around the state.

“The time has come to shout, ‘Tear down these houses, tear down these buildings,” DeWine said.

Pennsylvania moves to tax natural-gas drilling

This is probably long overdue and Gov. Kasich has said that a tax on these drilling companies is coming to Ohio as well. Makes sense to keep up with wear on an already damaged infrastructure, if that is where the money goes. Hopefully, it doesn't squelch the industry's move into Ohio and Pennsylvania. Oh yea, the natural gas prices have already done that!!

Pennsylvania moves to tax natural-gas drilling

Foreclosure rates plunge in 2011 - Jan. 12, 2012

Don't get too excited by the following article. I believe that there is still a tremendous backlog of loans in default in Ohio that the lenders have just not proceeded forward. There is the robo-signing issue, Courts requiring pre-foreclosure certifications of documents, more loan modifications and other attempts at diverting foreclosure and other factors slowing the process. Gradually this year and the next, the banks will have exhausted all loss mitigation efforts and have to proceed with foreclosing on the backlog of default mortgages in Ohio.

Foreclosure rates plunge in 2011 - Jan. 12, 2012

Foreigners bid up shale-drilling rights

Woo Hoo! Let the bubble ride begin. Can't blame landowners from cashing in, but this could be the beginning of making a mess of this opportunity. Stay tuned!

Foreigners bid up shale-drilling rights

Oil, gas lease filing more than quadruples in 2011

Recorders' Offices have been under siege since this "boom" started.  The oil and gas companies are moving from the research/acquisition phase to the drilling phase, but it is a bumpy road.

This is an area of law that I am excited about getting involved with. I have found work in clearing title issues related to oil and gas leases, quiet title actions, lease review, title research, and am looking to assist landowners and oil companies in achieving their goals in this exciting wave entering Ohio.

Oil, gas lease filing more than quadruples in 2011



My advice to all involved - don't rush into any deals without consulting a real estate and/or oil and gas attorney familiar with the issues that can complicate these deals if they are not addressed at the outset.  Feel free to contact me if I can be of any service.

Vacant houses swamping city

Vacant houses swamping city

This is the type of problem facing many cities in the Midwest and beyond. Columbus has actually fared better than most in the real estate collapse. However, this problem, although maybe not to this extreme, is moving into the suburbs and other developments where foreclosures are prevalent. Vandalized homes can't be sold by the banks and are eventually left to continue to fall into disrepair until no one wants them and no one will pay to demolish them. Sad state of affairs.

9/11 Parent Essay - My Son Cole's Assignment

September 11, 2011

Hilliard Memorial

RE: 9/11 Assignment

Cole Linville - 8^th Grade Hilliard Memorial M.S.

To Whom it May Concern:

I am told this essay is supposed to be about how America has changed since 9/11. The short answer is that it certainly has changed. The changes are sometimes hard to see and sometimes, obvious.

The best way to describe the changes, in my opinion, is that prior to 9/11, the United States mainland had not been physically attacked by an outside enemy since the 1800's. WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq...these are all areas where US citizens have been killed, but they all occurred far away. The 9/11 attacks happened in our homeland, in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. This is why 9/11 changed America so profoundly.

One example of this change is the way we travel. TSA agents “patting down” passengers, taking off your shoes in a airport, not being allowed to wait at a gate unless you are a passenger, and bringing only 4 ounces of liquid on plane are all habits that didn't exist prior to 9/11.

Our laws have changed dramatically, as well, affecting civil liberties that are guaranteed to us by the Constitution. Police agencies have much broader authority to stop and question and search civilians. Many political prisoners no longer have a right to a speedy trial, right to have charges read to them, rights to an attorney. Some prisoners have been tortured during government sanctioned interrogations. These are mostly unintended consequences, but many come directly from choices our government has made in the aftermath of 9/11.

Lastly, war is seemingly a constant since 9/11. Prior to 9/11 there was rarely a war in my lifetime, now there are long wars on multiple fronts.. The War on Terror has taken a turn, in my opinion, from a mission to stop terrorist organizations, to a political no-win gambit to enforce American ideas and practices on foreign cultures. However, recent events akin to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in Egypt, Libya, Syria and other middle eastern countries show that their world is changing and the people of those countries are ready for a change. Perhaps they are motivated in some ways by changing world attitudes since 9/11.

One thing that hasn't changed is the American spirit. While we were shocked by the events of 9/11, we have eventually rebuilt. A newsman stated that America is a nation of builders, not destroyers. I believe that. Another stated, Americans do not live in fear, Americans live in freedom. That's a good message on which to end.

Sincerely,

J. Bradford Linville

Mortgage Foreclosures are going to get a Second Look. Wha-What ?!?

In the latest in the ongoing saga of the Feds vs. Banks on the subject of the foreclosure mess, it was announced that the 14 Largest Banks are going to be required to send letters out to any customers that had a foreclosure in progress in 2009 and 2010 that they can request a review of their file by an independent auditor to see if there were any mistakes in the foreclosure and if they are entitle to any financial compensation from those errors!

WOW!.  This is not good new for the banks.  On the one hand in may allow them to move forward on foreclosing on loans currently in default.  On the other hand, the can of worms this could open up for the banks is monumental.  We are talking potentially millions of loans that are subject to these letters.  The numbers could be mitigated that a lot of those customers were defaulted out of court proceedings then, and will still not have any interest in reopening that chapter of their lives, BUT what if they do?

The article says that the Banks will hire independent auditors to review files after the letters go out.  This could jump start the economy with how many independent auditors they could have to hire in order to make this a meaningful process!!  The reviews are to be completed in 120 days.   OK, so that means the umpteen million foreclosures that went on over the last 2 years will be reviewed for violations in that time frame?  How is that even going to be possible?  I don't know.

 As much as I am mired in the world of the foreclosure by representing debtors, working with servicers, bankruptcies, etc., I think the only way to get out of this mess is to move forward.   Do whatever it takes to get the wheels of the foreclosure machine moving again so that the Banks can get the bad loans off their books, the Courts can get through their dockets, the homes can get integrated back into the market and we can all cut our losses and begin rebuilding!  It is not going to be pretty, there will be lots of pain, but the longer that things stay tied up, the longer it is going to continue to screw up the housing market.




It is probably good news for lawyers in my profession if we can use this to help our clients or get new clients that may have been wronged by the banks before and are now getting another bite at the apple.  However, I  have to balance my business interests out with the long term effects of this on the larger economy.  Something the Big Banks never even considered when they were raking it in and raking their customers over the coals!!

Yeesh!

Mortgage Default Industry

Here is a little peek into my world.  I am a lawyer, attorney (at-law if you're being formal), counselor or whatever respectful name you care to use.  I have certainly been called other things, but that comes with the territory.  For most of my professional career, I have worked in what is called the Default Services Industry.  Here in the rust belt, it has been one of the few growth industries in town.  Default Services deals with all aspects of defaulted mortgages, foreclosures and the subsequent disposition of the collateral - the house.  My experiences have allowed me to work as and work with lenders, borrowers, debtors, landlords, title agencies, realtors, investors and homeowners. 

While I am grateful for these experiences, it has not been the most uplifting of careers as of late.  A recent article in USA Today http://usat.ly/lOHPgu discusses the great news that people who defaulted on the mortgages, but no other debts, are good credit risks going forward.    I would enjoy hearing anyone else's interpretation of this information, but I'll tell you this is a great example of where our economy really is.  The article's point is well taken and a sign that in the future, as many people will have foreclosures as have good credit!!  

Check back for my perspective on the ongoing saga of the biggest problem with the economy that has the broadest effect on real people - the housing and real estate crisis.  I will be a frequent blogger on this issue so feel free to join in.