Brian Montgomery, Chairman & Founder, Gate House Strategies. Montgomery most recently served as Deputy Secretary, Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and has twice served as FHA Commissioner under two Administrations.

Dror Oppenheimer, Founding Partner, Gate House Strategies. Oppenheimer spent over two decades with Fannie Mae and previously served as a Senior FHA Advisor.

Eric Kaplan, Senior Advisor, Milken Institute. Kaplan is currently the Chair of the CFPB’s Consumer Advisory Board.

Faith Schwartz, Founder & CEO, Housing Finance Strategies. Schwartz serves on the Board of Directors for Redwood Trust and Gateway First Bank; she is also the founder of the HOPENOW alliance.

Candace Russell, Vice President, Post-Sale, Carrington Mortgage Services. Russell is a former Chair of the MBA’s Loan Administration Committee.

​Moderating is Marissa Yaker, Esq., Managing Attorney, Padgett Law Group. Yaker Chairs the Legal League 100’s Special Initiatives Working Group and in 2020 received the DS News Top 25 Women of Law distinction, ALFN: JPEG Young Professionals Award, and the Five Star Women in Housing Rising Business Leader Award.  

“With the issues to be discussed, the backgrounds of the panelists, and the timeliness of the topic, this webinar is truly something you can’t afford to miss. We encourage all of our clients and partners to participate and join us on July 22,” said Chief Development Officer Robyn Padgett.  
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PLG has opened registration for this one-time event to members of the industry including mortgage servicers, investors, financial institutions, vendors, and other industry stakeholders including members of the American Legal & Financial Network (ALFN) and Legal League 100 (LL100). Seats are limited to 1,000 and registration is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The complimentary registration link can be accessed via the link below. Inquiries, press pass requests, or advance questions can be sent to [email protected]. PLG reserves the right to refuse, cancel, or prioritize registrations at its sole discretion.  ​

Last year we alerted our clients and partners to the Arkansas Supreme Court ruling in Davis v. PennyMac Loan Services, LLC, 2020 Ark. 180 (May 7, 2020), wherein the Court held the sale notices used by some Arkansas law firms was too vague to satisfy the requirements of the Arkansas Statutory Foreclosure Act.  To initiate a statutory foreclosure, the Statutory Foreclosure Act requires the recording of a Notice of Default and Intention to Sell (“Notice”) that states “the default for which the foreclosure is made.” Ark. Code Ann. § 18-50-104(b).  The notice at issue in Davis stated that “a default has been made with respect to a provision in the mortgage.”  The Court found that such boilerplate language was not a specific enough description of the default to satisfy the Statutory Foreclosure Act.  Fortunately, PLG’s Arkansas foreclosures were not affected by the decision since its Notice contained the language required by the Statutory Foreclosure Act.  The Court’s decision, however, created a realm of uncertainty related to statutory foreclosures completed by firms using the faulty notice.  The status of all such REO properties became a topic of much concern, and the industry sought to resolve these issues through the passage of legislation amending the Statutory Foreclosure Act during the 2021 Regular Session of the Arkansas General Assembly.  Thus, Act 1108 emerged, which will most likely become effective on July 30, 2021, although this date could change due to peculiarities in Arkansas law.  

The foreclosure crisis starting around 2007 bore from it a slew of legislation which attempted to help borrowers facing imminent foreclosure or the loss of their home due to foreclosure.  One such piece of legislation was the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.  In February of 2010, the United States Treasury established the Hardest Hit Fund in an effort to provide targeted financial aid to states hit most significantly by the subprime mortgage crisis.  

​Indiana is one of 19 states that received money from the U.S. Treasury to fund its Indiana Hardest Hit Fund (“the Fund”).  Over the course of its run since 2010, Indiana received more than $283 million for the Fund, which was a program run by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA).  The final deadline for accepting applications for the fund ended on May 3, 2021.  The program provided eligible borrowers with up to $30,000.00 to reinstate their mortgage loans (see 877gethope.org).  The Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network boasts that it has provided over $182 million to over 11,000 Hoosiers in the State.