How can you ABANDON your property but still be LIVING there? SCARY NEWS!

What a concept! You could be living in a abandoned home and not even know it! Our state legislator recently passed a clarification on the redemption period law. That clarification (chapter 178: HF 3473/ SF 2918) states that a borrower's failure to appear at the hearing after service of process is conclusive evidence of abandonment by the borrower.

So basically, after your home goes to sheriff sale the bank can ask to have your redemption period shortened from the standard six months to a measly FIVE weeks! And if you don't show up for that hearing, the court assumes that you have abandoned the property.

It doesn't matter if the home is clearly occupied.

It is unclear how many banks are going to take advantage of this HUGE boon for them.

My advice to you-- open all your mail, read everything that gets served to you or posted on your door.

And, if you are as outraged as me... write to the bill's authors Rep. Debra Hillstrom and Senator Linda Higgins.

** This information came from the Minnesota Association of Realtors, Legislative Update.

IndyMac Mortgage failure leaves a BIG Unknown

After a stunning collapse of not only Indy Mac's mortgage business, their bank has crumpled... regulators stepped in and stopped the run on the banks... but approxiamtely 10,000 customers had money in excess of what the FDIC will cover... their losses could be steep!

What does this news mean for IndyMac mortgagees? Too soon to say... the new servicer may or may not be open to short sales, loan modifications and the like... but only time will tell.