A recent commenter on this site pointed out in a comment on this article that disbarred California Attorney, Brian Colombana, formerlly associated with Liberty Law, is back in the troubled mortgage business. This time he is selling reports to help people know if they meet the federal guidelines for the HAMP program.
The NPV Report domain, npvreport.com is owned by Brian Colombana and was registered on May 6, 2010.
The site sells something called a REST Report for $795. The report is described on the site as, “The REST Report allows you to know, before you apply, whether it is in best financial interest of the investor [who owns your loan] to modify your loan. You may or may not qualify for HAMP, an in house program, or none at all.” – Source. The site even provides a sample report.
After looking at the site I’m a bit confused about the value of this report. The site says that it is used to for the investor to make a decision if they want to modify your loan and the loan may not be modified. But by contacting either the lender directly or a HUD Housing Counselor you may be able to obtain qualification information for free. It seems that if an investor will modify a mortgage is determined by internal specifications and not by the production of an outside report.
There are some other statements on the site that seem to really qualify the effectiveness of the report as well.
The site says:
- If the REST Report shows that you do qualify for a HAMP loan modification, you can be assured that you will qualify, assuming your lender follows the HAMP guidelines for servicers. [Lenders don’t need to follow HAMP guidelines or modifiy loans at all if they don’t want to.]
- If the report shows you don’t qualify for a HAMP loan modification, you won’t waste money or time chasing a modification for which you won’t be approved, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get your loan modified. If your lender or servicer offers an in-house modification program, you can still use the Rest Report to apply for that modification program. [But wouldn’t applying with the lender directly tell you the same thing and save you $795?]
- And, when you have a REST Report, you have what you need to push back should your bank still refuse to modify your loan. [If the bank is refusing to modify your loan because it does not meet their qualifications then what is there to “push back” for?] – Source
The government provides a site specifically for people looking for a loan modification. You can find it at MakingHomeAffordable.gov
On that site it provides guidance for consumers paying for any sort of loan modification assistance, which it seems the REST Report would be included. The government site says right on the front page:
Do You Have a Question You'd Like Help With? Contact Debt Coach Damon Day. Click here to reach Damon.
Beware of Foreclosure Rescue Scams – Help Is Free!
- Beware of anyone who asks you to pay a fee in exchange for a counseling service or modification of a delinquent loan.
- Scam artists often target homeowners who are struggling to meet their mortgage commitment or anxious to sell their homes. Recognize and avoid common scams.
- Assistance from a HUD-approved housing counselor is FREE. – Source
They also created the video below to help educate consumers.
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I want to be clear here, I am not calling NPV Report a scam, I am saying that it may not be necessary to pay for services like this when there are ways to obtain information on modification eligibility for free.
I am concerned that consumers that pay for a product or service like this may be disappointed and upset when their lender does not modify their loan regardless of what some external report prepared by an entity outside the bank says.
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Your post is largely inaccurate or just misleading. I never affiliated with LN of A, HLC, or MRLC; those were my companies. My associates never advised anyone to do anything; they merely told them what would happen if they did miss their payments. Only attorneys can advise. If an employee did advise something, they were immediately terminated.
Your other inaccuracy, which isn’t so much your fault as your sources, is that I never admitted to misconduct resulting in significant harm to multiple client. To the contrary, if you read the stipulation (which I’m sure you will), you’ll see that I produced voluminous files for every client who lodged a complaint with the state bar. My companies did the work we promised to do; the only problem is that we were either unsuccessful in obtaining the modification or our services were offered in jurisdictions other than California. That is the extent of my stipulation.
It should be prominently noted that their were 12 complainant’s in the more than 5,000 homeowners who retained my companies services. Therefore, it would seem 99% of our client’s were satisfied with our services. So while these might be outstanding odds for any business, they are not for an attorney. As the state bar informed me, only 1 instance of misconduct is cause for disbarment. Helping a homeowner (even for free) outside of California, would constitute one such instance of misconduct.
An Orange County, Calif. lawyer who handled dozens of foreclosure cases has admitted extensive misconduct that will lead to his disbarment. Attorney Brian Colombana, who was placed on involuntary inactive status earlier this summer, has stipulated that he committed nine acts of misconduct in 12 matters. He becomes the fifth lawyer who agreed to be disbarred in the state of California in the wake of complaints by homeowners who paid fees to lawyers who then did little or nothing to help them.
Colombana affiliated with several loan modification companies, including Loan Negotiators of America, Housing Law Center and Mortgage Relief Law Center. In most cases, he never met his clients. His associates, however, advised them to stop making their mortgage payments. When State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn ordered Colombana to stop practicing in June, he said many homeowners were current but then fell behind as a result of that advice. Many “were worse off after retaining (Colombana’s) services,†Honn said.
In agreeing to disbarment, Colombana admitted that his misconduct “resulted in significant harm to multiple clients (and) . . . constituted a pattern of willfully failing to perform and a habitual disregard for . . . clients’ interests.†– Source
An Orange County, Calif. lawyer who handled dozens of foreclosure cases has admitted extensive misconduct that will lead to his disbarment. Attorney Brian Colombana, who was placed on involuntary inactive status earlier this summer, has stipulated that he committed nine acts of misconduct in 12 matters. He becomes the fifth lawyer who agreed to be disbarred in the state of California in the wake of complaints by homeowners who paid fees to lawyers who then did little or nothing to help them.
Colombana affiliated with several loan modification companies, including Loan Negotiators of America, Housing Law Center and Mortgage Relief Law Center. In most cases, he never met his clients. His associates, however, advised them to stop making their mortgage payments. When State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn ordered Colombana to stop practicing in June, he said many homeowners were current but then fell behind as a result of that advice. Many “were worse off after retaining (Colombana’s) services,” Honn said.
In agreeing to disbarment, Colombana admitted that his misconduct “resulted in significant harm to multiple clients (and) . . . constituted a pattern of willfully failing to perform and a habitual disregard for . . . clients’ interests.” – Source
Your post is largely inaccurate or just misleading. I never affiliated with LN of A, HLC, or MRLC; those were my companies. My associates never advised anyone to do anything; they merely told them what would happen if they did miss their payments. Only attorneys can advise. If an employee did advise something, they were immediately terminated.
Your other inaccuracy, which isn’t so much your fault as your sources, is that I never admitted to misconduct resulting in significant harm to multiple client. To the contrary, if you read the stipulation (which I’m sure you will), you’ll see that I produced voluminous files for every client who lodged a complaint with the state bar. My companies did the work we promised to do; the only problem is that we were either unsuccessful in obtaining the modification or our services were offered in jurisdictions other than California. That is the extent of my stipulation.
It should be prominently noted that their were 12 complainant’s in the more than 5,000 homeowners who retained my companies services. Therefore, it would seem 99% of our client’s were satisfied with our services. So while these might be outstanding odds for any business, they are not for an attorney. As the state bar informed me, only 1 instance of misconduct is cause for disbarment. Helping a homeowner (even for free) outside of California, would constitute one such instance of misconduct.
Sure Brian. That post was taken directly from the State Bar of California. No one believes you anymore. Change your ways or you can expect to spend time behind bars.
Thanks for the comment.
Give me the name and contact information at a major lender that uses the report and I’ll interview them for the site.
Were you saying your site has no ads on it? I didn’t quite understand if that’s what you meant by no ads?
Do you happen to know what the affiliate commission is on the report? Just curious what the wholesale cost of the report is.
Hi Steve… I can go over the REST Report with you in whatever level of detail you’d like, plus I’m really glad to found your site, it looks fantastic. I’m Martin Andelman of Mandelman Matters on ML-Implode.com. I’m an outspoken advocate for homeowners and have written 350 in-depth articles on the economic, political, social and legal issues surrounding the financial and foreclosure crisis. I’m also a nonprofit who offers no advertising. I can’t comment about Brian Colombana, but I can assure you the REST Report is not a scam in any sense of the word, to the contrary, it’s the only thing I’ve ever seen work effectively with servicers considering loan modifications, and I personally wouldn’t even consider applying for a modification without having run the report. You, I’m absolutely certain, will want to know more about it. Feel free to contact me directly at mandelman@mac.com, or feel free to call me at 714-904-2288. Martin
Hi Steve… I can go over the REST Report with you in whatever level of detail you’d like, plus I’m really glad to found your site, it looks fantastic. I’m Martin Andelman of Mandelman Matters on ML-Implode.com. I’m an outspoken advocate for homeowners and have written 350 in-depth articles on the economic, political, social and legal issues surrounding the financial and foreclosure crisis. I’m also a nonprofit who offers no advertising. I can’t comment about Brian Colombana, but I can assure you the REST Report is not a scam in any sense of the word, to the contrary, it’s the only thing I’ve ever seen work effectively with servicers considering loan modifications, and I personally wouldn’t even consider applying for a modification without having run the report. You, I’m absolutely certain, will want to know more about it. Feel free to contact me directly at mandelman@mac.com, or feel free to call me at 714-904-2288. Martin
Thanks for the comment.Give me the name and contact information at a major lender that uses the report and I’ll interview them for the site.Were you saying your site has no ads on it? I didn’t quite understand if that’s what you meant by no ads?Do you happen to know what the affiliate commission is on the report? Just curious what the wholesale cost of the report is.