Podcast of the May 12, 2012 Show – Word of the Day “Opps” – Chase’s $2 Billion Blunder, Case Studies for the Elderly and Debt Issues

CLICK HERE FOR PODCASTS

News on Detroit & Financial Manager *** Steve Hood joins Ken Gross on The Financial Crisis Talk Center on 3/31/12

Host of Detroit Wants to Know, the popular local TV show airing Sundays at 11:30 AM – On WADL TV 38 – joined Ken Gross and David Einstandig live in the 1270 Talk Radio Studio on Saturday March 31, 2012 for a candid look at the Detroit Fiscal Financial Crisis. Hood – identified Detroit’s problem as being poor management – from the current Bing Administration and dating back to the Colman Young era – where while there was controversy, Hood indicates there was competent management in place.  No stone was left unturned in this 1 hour broadcast – how race is a factor to some and how core services for the City is a factor to all of its residents. You can catch the broadcast via podcast – Podcast of FCTC 3/21/12 Show

Ken Gross Comments on $25 Billion Settlement in Michigan Lawyers Weekly

MICHIGAN

LAWYERS WEEKLY

State to share in $25B settlement

Michigan one of 49 states to sign on to compensate for ‘abusive practices’

POSTED: 11:02 PM Friday, February 17, 2012
BY: Carol Lundberg

Michigan will share in a settlement said to be worth $25 billion, but it’s not exactly raining cash on Michigan’s foreclosure problem.

Michigan joined 48 other states in a $25 billion settlement with the country’s five largest mortgage lenders.

The settlement, intended to hold mortgage servicers accountable for what U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said were “abusive practices,” will provide some relief to homeowners struggling to pay mortgages that are more than their houses are worth.

But the amount of relief is so small, too small to stabilize the country’s still-crippled housing market, said Matthew Heron of Clark Hill PLC in Detroit.

“If you think about it, how could it really solve the problem of $700 billion worth of underwater mortgages?” he asked. “The reason the housing market isn’t recovering yet is a function of the economy, of the free market.”

Heron represents lenders. Though the settlement doesn’t cover the damage to state budgets and individual borrowers as a result of the foreclosure crisis, it does give states’ attorneys general a little bit of resolution without requiring them to invest a lot of resources in investigations.

“The investigations by the attorney generals haven’t resulted in significant settlements, and they do put a burden on the states, which are having economic problems,” Heron said.

But the states and borrowers certainly aren’t going to receive $25 billion worth of relief.

Of the $25 billion, the banks — Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and GMAC/Ally — are paying about $5 billion in cash to federal and state governments, or approximately 1 percent of their combined market capitalization.

Of that, $1.5 billion will be used to establish a Borrower Payment Fund to provide payments to borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure, according to Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. The payments will be as much as $2,000, though details have not yet been worked out.

The payments to state and federal governments will be used to repay public funds lost as a result of servicer misconduct, and to fund programs such as legal aid and housing counseling that the states are providing. The settlement excludes borrowers with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages, who make up approximately half of the homeowners in the U.S.

Schuette said in a press release that Michigan residents will receive approximately $500 million dollars, but the only hard cash flowing into Michigan will be $101 million, which will be paid mainly to the State of Michigan. (See “Settlement details,” right.)

That payment is not meant to make up for a foreclosure,” said attorney general spokesman John Selleck. “It’s a punishment for poor customer service by the banks. We were getting calls from people who would be on the phone with a mortgage servicer trying to get some kind of help with their payments, at the same time that the bank was foreclosing on them.”

He said that when the housing market crashed in 2008, it crashed very hard and very fast.

“The banks just didn’t handle their customers the way they should,” Selleck said. “The settlement is to address two main thrusts — horrendous customer service by the banks, and robosigning, which we are still criminally pursuing.”

Michigan has been particularly hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis. Last year, a California-based analytics firm, CoreLogic, reported that 35 percent of Michigan homeowners are underwater in their mortgages.

The deal does nothing to solve the problems in the housing market, which will continue to be a drag on the economy because small business owners aren’t able to create jobs when they have no equity in their real estate, said Kenneth Gross of Thav Gross PC in Bingham Farms. Gross represents borrowers.

What would help borrowers the most, he said, is principal reductions, something the banks have been reluctant to do.

“This settlement doesn’t address any of that. It’s extremely limited to the issues of robo-signing and fraudulent foreclosures,” Gross said.

“Basically what’s going to happen is everyone in the world going to call my office wondering how to get their $2,000,” Gross said. “But no one knows yet who will be eligible to receive what. There have been 1.9 million foreclosures with another 1.9 million still to come.”

The settlements will not prevent individual borrowers from suing their lenders if they have a cause of action, Heron noted.

“What this does do is to free up the attorney generals and their resources to decide what they want to dedicate their time to,” Heron said. “The public settlement funds are being used to prop up the services the states would have a hard time providing.”

If you would like to comment on this story, please contact Carol Lundberg at (248) 865-3105 or carol.lundberg@mi.lawyersweekly.com.

From CBS Detroit – Banks In $25B Deal To Settle Foreclosure Abuses

Banks In $25B Deal To Settle Foreclosure Abuses

February 9, 2012 4:07 PM

BINGHAM FARMS (WWJ) – Michigan is among 49 other states to receive a chunk of cash from a landmark $26 billion settlement from five banks for alleged foreclosure abuse.

Some borrowers in Michigan could get between $1,500 and $2,000.

“States across America have worked hard to present a united front in the fight to help stabilize the housing market in the aftermath of harmful mortgage lending and foreclosure practices,” said Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. ”As a result, Michigan residents who were hit hard by this crisis will now receive assistance.”

Attorney Kenneth Gross with Thav Gross in Bingham Farms, who represents homeowners going through the foreclosure process, said the settlement is disappointing.

“We’re very disappointed with it, because I think the banks did a lot that they should be called upon to pay for, and I don’t think they are,” Gross said.

How will borrowers get their hands on the cash?

“I’ll research it and once it’s out there I’ll put it up on our website,” said Gross. “It certainly isn’t going to be something that somebody goes to hire an attorney to try and get this $1,500 or $2,000. I don’t see how they’re gonna come out ahead after paying attorney fees.”

“So, it’s gotta be something where you can exercises self  help and get it done.” he said.

The five banks in the settlement include Bank of America, Citi Group, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

“I’ll research it and once it’s out there I’ll put it up on our website,” said Gross. “It certainly isn’t going to be something that somebody goes to hire an attorney to try and get this $1,500 or $2,000. I don’t see how they’re gonna come out ahead after paying attorney fees.”

“So, it’s gotta be something where you can exercises self  help and get it done.” he said.

The five banks in the settlement include Bank of America, Citi Group, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

“Dump the Debt” – Ken Gross and Thav Gross announce Free Seminar on Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Goal – Preserve Future Income for You and Your Family – So that you cash goes in the Bank and NOT to the Bank.

Learn the latest new in the Housing Market – Short Sale? Loan Modification? Principal Reduction? What to do….

What do you do if your house is under water? If you owe $300,000 on  your home and today it is only worth $170,000. Are you just going to “stay the course” and pay for the house over the next 20 years – paying $130,000 plus interest for air? If you have $50,000 of credit card debt, at 19.9% interest – are you going to just “stay the course” and pay the interest and payments over the next 19 years and 3 months (that is if you make the minimum payments) paying a total of $99,109 to payoff the debt. THIS IS WHAT THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY WANTS YOU TO DO. If you do this, your credit score may be 725 now and 725 every day for the next 20 years – but you’ll have nothing in the bank for savings and retirement. There is an alternative – by exiting the house underwater and shedding the credit card debt  – you can put yourself in a position that rather than “staying the course” you “create your course” – the result – you begin to save the $2,000 per month you were paying on the credit card debt and you bank the $1,000 per month you will save by reducing your housing costs so that you are paying for housing based on TODAY’s market values.  You must realize that 2008 values – are in the words of the great, Ernie Harwell, “Lonnnnng Gone.” Saving the $3,000 per month over 20 years, with a modest return will yield you over $1,000,000 in savings.

The choice – a reduced credit score for 1-2 years and becoming debt free and having a savings account of $1 Million – or reaching 70, with nothing in the bank (but, oh yes, a perfect credit history). When you need food to eat or shelter when you’re 72, just try and pay for it by giving them some of your credit score points! Sound harsh – this – is the reality of today’s world. This economy, as miserable as it is – does create opportunity. The hard part for many – is recognizing the reality and taking action.

If you want to learn how to do this – attend the FCTC and THAV GROSS’s free Financial Crisis Management Seminar on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 7 PM. Sign up on the Website or call our offices at the numbers listed.

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO RECLAIM YOUR FUTURE – SO THAT YOU PRESERVE YOUR FUTURE INCOME FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

The Opportunity Exists – Ken Gross Column – Jewish News – Sept 8, 2011

This applies to so many — but you need to recognize it and act on it!

The Opportunity Exists AL (9.8.2011)

Spotlight On the News with Chuck Stokes – Ken Gross appears to discuss Short Sales and What to Do if You're Underwater in Michigan

Houses Under Water – Solutions for Michiganders – Ken Gross Interviewed by Chuck Stokes – On Spotlight on the News 6/25 Channel 7

VIDEO – URGENT – Save this Dog & Michigan from Being Homeless – Help Avoid Foreclosure

Click Here – to Learn About the Need to Save Michigan’s Law that is Expiring 7-5-2011

Ken Gross named Michigan Leaders in the Law 2011

http://milawyersweekly.com/news/2011/02/28/kenneth-l-gross-leaders-in-the-law-2011/

Michigan Lawyers Weekly

Kenneth L. Gross – Leaders in the Law 2011

POSTED: 02:16 PM Monday, February 28, 2011
BY: Edward Wesoloski, Esq.
TAGS: 2011 Leaders in the Law

Kenneth L. Gross
photo by Mark Bialek

Thav, Gross, Steinway & Bennett, P.C., Bingham Farms
Education: Wayne State University Law School, 1982
Specialty: Financial crisis management, business law, estate planning

Kenneth L. Gross, co-founding shareholder of Thav, Gross, Steinway & Bennett, P.C., puts a lot of people back on their feet after they’ve had the financial rug pulled from underneath them.

In the process, he’s evolved the law practice that he and Charles Thav founded 29 years ago, the day after Gross graduated from law school.

For many years, he said, Thav Gross “was a normal business practice.” The bulk of the work was mergers, new companies, contracts and commercial disputes.

Then, in 2008, the national economy melted down, unemployment shot up, and the real estate market crashed.

“A lot of people connected to the real estate market were put out of work,” Gross said.

In response, he led the firm to a new type of practice: financial crisis management.

“We had a tax collection defense and bankruptcy practice, so we rechanneled the focus and expanded it from a standpoint of what’s going on the economy,” he explained.

“The real estate developers, the mortgage brokers, the trade workers, the suppliers — all those people have suffered horrendous losses as a result of the housing crisis. They’re fighting for survival. They’re trying to save their homes. They’re trying to figure out how to put food on the table.”

This troubled Gross. He also was frustrated by “the arrogance and the lack of practically the banking industry has displayed with regard to the mortgage crisis.”

When homeowners are underwater with their mortgage and their income drops, “it would make more sense to renegotiate the principal and let the people stay in there,” he said.

“But the lending market and the banking industry absolutely refuses to recognize any concept of principal reduction.”

So Gross views his advocacy as if “it’s almost a war, an ‘us versus them’ mentality in terms of the banking industry.”

But, he added, “what’s incredibly interesting is all of the possible ways to improve a bad situation that we’ve learned by doing.”

Gross’ approach is to assess a client’s particular circumstances and determine which creative combination of the available tools — bankruptcy, debt settlement, loan modification, short sale tax relief — will work best to resolve the client’s problems.

This approach has worked well for his clients in many instances.

Gross’ business strategy has worked well for his firm.

Due to the slow economy, fewer clients seek “pure” business services and many more clients seek help with their personal financial circumstances.

Gross is invigorated by the shift in focus, saying, “I used sit there sometimes and say, ‘Is there any good that I do as a lawyer?’

“When I’m engaged from a pure business standpoint, I’m doing good for my client. But when you start moving into this financial crisis area, where you’re trying to help and solve people’s problems on a long-term basis, it is more inspiring and in some respects it’s more fun.

“I think I’m more charged-up about practicing law now than I’ve ever been,” he said.

Though he admitted feeling guilty at times about being too impatient to bring about the result he’s after, “I’ve learned over the course of time that you need some level of impatience to stay on track.”
By Ed Wesoloski, Esq.

Ken Gross to appear on Detroit Wants to Know – WADL TV 38 – Xmas Day

Ken Gross along with Robin Thompson, from Budge Wise Consulting are guests Christmas Day  on  Steve Hood’s new hot show Detroit Wants to Know. Tune in at 7:30 PM on Saturday, December 25th – Channel 38 – WADL TV Detroit