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July 17, 2012· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

July 17, 2012 Daily Brief – “Sunshine is the best Disinfectant” Edition

By Timothy Myers SR. — Tim Myers

  • In a somewhat surprising twist Congressman Buck McKeon puts his Countrywide loan documents online.  SIGNAL  Readers will recall that several months ago the documents were “shown” to the Signal Editorial board (they were not allowed to keep copies) while an “expert” who might (or might not) have had some affinity with the Congressman explained what the Signal folk were “seeing.”  What has the Congressman learned from polling etc. that is causing him to reveal the documents now?  Apologists for the Congressman have pointed out that any benefits received in the VIP program were relatively small, but doesn’t that just make it more disturbing if an elected official can be influenced for a few bucks?
  • Vandals trash Sierra Vista Junior High School in Canyon Country.  SIGNAL  Hey geniuses, there were security cameras!
  • Look at me, Mom!  City estimates that 909 days of filming locally in the last fiscal year produced a local economic impact in excess of $21 million.  SIGNAL  Article also list shows that make the SCV their home, including “Justified” which is just absolutely kick ass!  I am about as heterosexual as they come but that Timothy Olyphant……
  • Profile piece on Fran Pavley, “incumbent” State Senator of the SCV.  SIGNAL  Ms. Pavley is probably a bit nervous because she actually lost in the jungle primary to Republican Todd Zink in what is turning out to be a very competitive race.  Dems are correct in asserting that Democratic turnout was extremely low in the jungle primary, not just in the new district but also statewide.  Will it reverse in November to save the incumbent?
  • Anthony Hernandez, the second victim of the single vehicle crash on Soledad Canyon Road, is till in a coma.  SIGNAL  If you believe in prayer sending one up for his recovery certainly would not hurt.

Comments (36)

  1. Bill ReynoldsJuly 17, 2012 at 2:00 AM PT
    NEWS ALERT! This just in: JD Kennedy is back with Congressman Buck McKeon. I am pleased to hear this news directly from JD and more delighted that he will NOT join the Maldonado/Haueter team.
  2. PetzJuly 17, 2012 at 2:06 AM PT
    Boomerangs work great in Australia…rarely in the business world. Steve Jobs being a possible exception.
  3. Dave PutnamJuly 17, 2012 at 2:30 AM PT
    Glad to hear the Congressman has finally deemed his constituents worthy of seeing his Countrywide VIP loan documents. I’m wondering if he is doing this “retroactively”?
  4. mikecJuly 17, 2012 at 2:36 AM PT
    The Next SCVtalk meet up will be Saturday July 28, 2012 at Longhorn’s BBQ located at 27125 Sierra Hwy, Santa Clarita, CA 91351. We will be meeting at noon!
  5. Josh PremakoJuly 17, 2012 at 3:53 AM PT
    Is this meetup open to ex-Signalites?
  6. mikecJuly 17, 2012 at 4:08 AM PT
    Josh, Absolutely! Everyone and anyone is welcome to attend…look forward to seeing you!
  7. Josh PremakoJuly 17, 2012 at 4:13 AM PT
    Cool. I can’t promise, but it’s definitely going on my calendar.
  8. mikeJuly 17, 2012 at 4:20 AM PT
    I approve this message.
  9. Bill ReynoldsJuly 17, 2012 at 2:44 AM PT
    @Petz… Do you have anecdotel evidence?
  10. PetzJuly 17, 2012 at 2:55 AM PT
    Personal and professional experience. When a tie is cut the dynamics of the relationship and interpersonal trust are altered. Sometimes divorced/separated couples work it out on a second try, but not very often. Petz knows you like JD-and he hopes it works for him, but this is a strange circumstance.
  11. Bill ReynoldsJuly 17, 2012 at 10:22 AM PT
    By the way….obviously, the “tie” was not cut as Congressman McKeon wanted JD to stay and JD elected to stay. I’d say those two decisions strengthened the “tie”.
  12. MikeJuly 17, 2012 at 10:46 AM PT
    This all matters to me about as much as the color of McKeon’s socks.
  13. Bill ReynoldsJuly 17, 2012 at 10:00 PM PT
    But you do know the color of Lee’s socks, eh Mike.
  14. MikeJuly 18, 2012 at 12:15 AM PT
    Do podiatrists wear socks?
  15. Bill ReynoldsJuly 18, 2012 at 11:47 AM PT
    You should know….
  16. mikeJuly 18, 2012 at 12:09 PM PT
    That’s essentially the same joke told twice in a row. Please try harder.
  17. kkorenthalJuly 17, 2012 at 2:45 AM PT
    In fact, the Berman/Sherman campaign will draw a lot of Democrats out to vote in November which obviously benefits Pavley. Having said that, the District though having a slight Democrat advantage, looks much more like Todd Zink than it does Fran Pavley.
  18. mikeJuly 17, 2012 at 3:33 AM PT
    This will be a really interesting race, but the discrepancy in party ID in the November turnout will be significant, so barring any future mishaps, it’s advantage Pavely for now.
  19. Bill ReynoldsJuly 17, 2012 at 2:49 AM PT
    Think Zink Got Wilk!
  20. PetzJuly 17, 2012 at 2:50 AM PT
    The limited document dump by Buck McKeon is a real head scratcher and leaves Petz terribly chagrined and embarrassed after his full throated defense of Buck. Any experienced / savy politician would have left those papers locked up in a safe deposit box, since there was no pupular outcry for their public dissemination. At least he should have waited until the weekend or Labor Day. The final closing statement would at least seem to indicate that Buck “WAS NOT” charged any lender junk fees in accordance with the inter-office memo written by a Countrywide employee. Lender “junk fees” commonly refer to miscellaneous fees charged by the lender in excess of the loan origination fee. They are commonly detailed as “loan processing, loan document, underwriting, and funding fees.” One might expect them to range from about $500-$1,000 on a typical transaction. All of the “closing costs” on the HUD 1 settlement statement were legitimate third party charges from the title company and closing agent (escrow), “which were owned by Countrywide”. The others were for the appraisal and credit report. Petz made the mistake of relying upon the examination done by others aka “Mendenhall” who represented to TMS and it’s readers that the closing statement reflected the payment of junk fees. Mr Mendenhall misrepresented this information- he knows what a “junk fee” is, and this left Petz with mud on his face last night. The Truth In Lending Disclosure release was incomplete-Buck left out page 2 of 2 although there is no reason to believe that this would reveal any additional information not reflected on the HUD 1 settlement statement. This is not complete transparency and indicates that he is taking a class from Eric Holder in document discovery. The HUD I settlement statement does reveal the pay off of a home equity loan that Buck received shortly after his purchase of the property from ,surprise surprise, Valencia Bank, where he had a history and a lot of friends. In my LTE of The Signal- Petz said we must be fair to Buck….this morning Petz feels like a fool-and my credibility and professional insight can be called into question. Madder than hell at Buck because he could have disclosed these documents at the time they were requested by the Issa committee. That would have been transparency. So will Petz vote for Buck on November 6 ?…….That information will go with him (and Lucy) to the cemetary. In any case, he will not vote for Lee Rogers, and you can put that on his grave marker.
  21. CCJuly 17, 2012 at 3:03 AM PT
    This is what makes you so endearing—integrity. Good job Petz.
  22. David GaunyJuly 17, 2012 at 9:51 AM PT
    Gauny is very proud of his friend Petz for posting this. Personally, the Gauny household would also like to see the loan transmittal (form 1008). Link: http://www.usadirectfunding.com/pdf/1008.pdf The 1008 would give us the complete specifics about the actual loan scenario, including LTV, FICOs, income provided, etc. This is the best way to really see how much was ignored by Countrywide and how good of a deal McKeon really got. For now, I definitely agree that there appears to be no junk fees – only direct costs to Countrywide were passed on to McKeon which is definitely uncommon. But again, Gauny doesn’t think much of this whole ordeal. In countless other ways, McKeon has already proven himself that he is no longer a man of our people. He’s a leech on the public concerned with nothing more than a few additional years of perceived relevance in a horribly corrupt legislative branch. For this reason alone, I am convinced that a vote against him (and virtually every other incumbent) is the only path to real change.
  23. Coastal SageJuly 18, 2012 at 4:37 AM PT
    Dave, thanks for posting Form 1008. It’s exactly the kind of form which would allow any realtor to evaluate whether the McKeons got a sweet deal from Countrywide. However, short of a litigation subpoena or a Congressional Committee subpoena I think that the Form 1008 for the McKeon loan will be hidden in the bowels of BofA/Countrywide’s electronic file room forever, and the “real” details will never be seen. I’d also love to see the Form 1008 for former Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn). At the time Dodd received his “Friends of Angelo” loan, Dodd was chairman of the Senate committee which has jurisdiction over legislation concerning banks.
  24. ToddJuly 17, 2012 at 11:58 AM PT
    Steven, you and I rarely (yet occasionally) agree…. but I respect the hell outta you for this statement.
  25. Capt. GeneJuly 17, 2012 at 9:00 PM PT
    You have taken your first step into a larger world. Well done Petz.
  26. Bill ReynoldsJuly 18, 2012 at 11:48 AM PT
    Petz was already in the Larger World!
  27. Bill ReynoldsJuly 17, 2012 at 3:06 AM PT
    Having spoken to JD & understanding the circumstances and details, I do not find it strange at all. JD will be far better off with Buck and without Bob H. My opinion….
  28. PetzJuly 17, 2012 at 3:32 AM PT
    “Despite any memo, Mendenhall said, the Countrywide documents did have the usual amount of “junk fees” attached to the loan. The closing costs, commonly referred to as junk fees, totaled $2,500.20 — minus the prepaid interest of $174 — and supplemental taxes of $272.25.” In light of the documents released by Buck McKeon yesterday, Petz calls upon TMS to issue a correction to their article of January 28, 2012 where Christopher Mendenhall represented that Buck’s loan did have the usual amount of junk fees attached to the loan. The statement is patently false (or his statement misrepresented) . This reader and paid subscriber relied in good faith upon Mendenhall’s review which is now publicly contradicted the documents.
  29. Coastal SageJuly 18, 2012 at 4:39 AM PT
    Petz, send a “demand letter” to The Signal’s Publisher. Otherwise, your comment simply will be ignored.
  30. JimJuly 17, 2012 at 4:00 AM PT
    Petz, Thank you for the analysis of Buck’s loan documents. I know very little about real estate loans and after reading the released documents I thought they answered all the questions concerning Buck’s loan. Looks like I was wrong. I think most readers of TMS and Buck’s constituents are people like me and have assumed this is the end of it. I am sure that is the reason the congressman released what he did. Whether it blunts the attacks by the dems or not only time will tell. The election is still months off.
  31. MikeJuly 17, 2012 at 4:24 AM PT
    I hate to call Jim Holt out, but he just regurgitated the McKeon spin on the loan, leaving out three major problems, two of which should be completely obvious. For one, the Issa report made it clear that the 1.0 point discount was not reflected in the loan documents, but was reflected in Countrywide’s internal records, the specific source was cited in the report. Second, you have this. Quoting the article, not McKeon’s campaign: “McKeon’s website posting notes the interest rate on his Countrywide loan was 6.77 percent, while the average interest rate in October 1998 was 6.49 percent. The posting invites website visitors to check out http://www.mortgage-x.com/x/ratesweekly.asp to see for themselves the going interest rates of the time.” Yet if you click on that link and do a search, you will see that on the week of McKeon’s loan, the average rate was 6.73, right in line with the rate on McKeon’s document, 6.77%. 6.49% was the lowest reported average from the five weeks ending in October. Taken together, the October average was 6.71%. Other sources show that average to be even higher. ( http://www.hsh.com/natmo98.html ) Third, McKeon’s loan was a no-doc loan, as directed by Angelo. Leaving aside any questions of credit worthiness, no-doc loans come with a higher interest rate, do they not? (not an expert, but as far as I can tell, this is true. Petz?)
  32. PetzJuly 17, 2012 at 5:27 AM PT
    The footnote to the Issa report (pricing) was very vague and Petz would not trust a congressional staffer to evaluate an internal document anyway . Pricing loans became increasingly difficult as the variety of product became more complex. Even pricing technicians and loan officers could make mistakes…and some information needed may not be available or change during the process . Mike is correct a “No Doc” would be much more expensice that a “full Doc. Countrywide had a branded “Fast and Easy” that was an industry standard. Pricing could vary or be adjusted based upon a number of criterion. 1- Who is the investor-FNMA-FHLMC-Private label-House brand etc. 2-What is the loan to value? The higher the more expensive 3-Type of documentation, Full, Fast and Easy , No Income/Stated Assets, Stated Income, No Income/ No Asset (No Doc) 4-Type of loan -purchase, no cash out, rate , cash out 5-How long is the rate lock guaranteed-the longer the more expensive 15 day 30 day 45 day 5 Borrowers FICO score (lowest middle score of all the borrowers) 6 Imound accounts 7-Does the borrower want to pay costs with cash-equity-or premium rate There is an extensive pricing matrix that needs to be addressed and there is no reference to that form in the Issa report. We simply do not have the information to determine whether Mozilo’s directive to “take off 1 point” was complied with, or whether Buck knew about it. We do know that Buck is spinning closing costs as evidence of paying junk fees, although he should know the difference by now. He is stating “hey look I paid closing costs”, when the issue all along has bee did Countrywide waive the garbage fees-which it appears they did. The Issa report is really a testimony to how congress seemingly wastes time investigating itself , for naught. We hope Issa has a better case against Holder.
  33. David BraytonJuly 17, 2012 at 5:51 AM PT
    Petz always cracks me up talking in the third person. That’s what Brayt thinks at least.
  34. Bill ReynoldsJuly 17, 2012 at 12:43 PM PT
    With all due respect my pals Petz & Gauny, we’ve had enough Local GOP angst/division do in my humble opinion it’s high time we close ranks & defeat all Democrats in our range. We’ve all witnessed numerous debacles created by Democrats, both State & Nationally so the last thing we need is more division. Desipite several alleged missteps by our Congressman, it pales in comparison to the harm Democrats have heaped on America & Kalipjhonia. Also, I hear rumors that another local GOP club is being established…. I sincerely “hope” that is not the case. What the heck is going’ on around here?
  35. PetzJuly 17, 2012 at 9:54 PM PT
    Petz came to the defense on “Buck” on Countrywide and is sympathetic to his plight on CEMEX. Buck did not work with the Tea Party Patriots and HE is responsible for a lot of the angst in this town. Hatchet man Haueter drove a wedge between PRINCIPLED (did you hear that Bill) Conservatives and traditional GOPers in this valley. He supported Sue Solomon against Joe Messina and Hatami/Ender against TBB and his friend Ed Colley. To put the frosting on the cake he ran his marginally qualified wife and “treasurer” Patricia McKeon against a rising political star Scott Wilk. Is Petz pissed off and madder than hell-you bet he is. Petz relied on truthfulness from Buck and his “professional” mortgage broker Christopher Mendenhall in his Countrywide statements and it is clear he is parsing words and being deceitful to his constituents, then and now. This morning I open my Signal to see a defense of Buck from his uber liberal friend Gary Horton on Countrywide. So what would you have Petz do,, sit on his ass with his nimble fingers tied behind his back? Even at this point I will not vote for an unknown carpetbagger from Simi Valley like Rogers who thinks remodeling Obamacare around the individual mandate constitutes health care reform. But whether I Ink a Vote for Buck McKeon on Novemebr 6 or not is yet to be determined.
  36. Bill ReynoldsJuly 17, 2012 at 10:02 PM PT
    Now, Reynolds respects Petz even more!

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