Let’s implement some new rules for the mortgage modification Three Card Monty game. If we put our cards on the table as we do, have done, time and time again to these banks demanding every single line item of our financial identity, why are we the only ones naked at the table? Why has the game been rigged for so long now without the turnabout of fair play? Unless of course you can afford an expensive lawyer to represent you in revealing our imaginary friend, PETE, aka Person Entitled To Enforce the “debt”, the note, the loan, the mortgage.
It’s time for a new conversation. Homeowners are no longer silent at the table, and we
no longer wish to be on the menu. It’s time to look at some out of the box ideas in
regard to the cards being stacked in favor of the casino banks. The homeowners need
to be a voice in this process, need to be heard and treated fairly as to the hands we’ve
been dealt.
Here are a few ideas as to the negotiations that we as citizens, homeowners, renters
from homeowners, and community members would like to see more action on in regard
to our rights, our investments and our homes.
We look to our law enforcement, Consumer advocates and the organizations/bureaus
in place to serve and enforce the truth of the law, to protect the rights of consumers,
individuals, and land records, not the will of the mega banks that have time and time
again admitted to wrong doing, consumer harm, fraudulent foreclosures, money laundering,
abusive lending practices, forgery, robo signing, incentivizing foreclosure with
gift cards for God’s sake and so much more – paying settlements in the high billions
with not even a slap on the wrist, let alone an arrest of a high ranking executive. Quite
the opposite in fact. Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase was just given a 70% raise after
paying out billions of dollars in settlements of wrong doing last year!! John Stumpf,
CEO of Wells Fargo makes over $9,000.00/hour and as part of his 2013 compensation
received a one million dollar bonus. 21,702 shares of stock at $46.00 a share.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/jamie-dimons-raise-proves-u-s
-regulatory-strategy-is-a-joke-20140130
Meanwhile lower and middle class homeowners are literally thrown into the street,
locked out of their homes, their belongings taken, stolen or destroyed. Where is PETE
and why is he of no real consequence in regard to those hired to serve and protect us?
Those of us that have found ourselves in this merciless maze begging for mercy have
come to know that the cards are stacked against us. We didn’t know that going in. We
innocently wandered in trying to refinance or modify what, due to hardships and an
economic depression everyone refers to still as a recession. Layoffs, catastrophic illness
– whatever it is, we were told we could call the HOPE hotline and HAMP or HARP
our way into a modification to save the day. A reset of our mortgage payments that
would make it affordable. We played fair. We put all of our chips on the table, heart
pounding, dice blowing lady luck looking on, we didn’t know that we didn’t stand a
chance cause she works for the casino.
Most of us were not flipping houses and buying boats. Most of us were and are just
trying to get by in this big bad new world we find ourselves in over the last five or six
years. We had faith because we were offered hope.
HOWEVER, the Intent of these banks has been NOT to Modify, but to Capitalize on the Loss
Mitigation, insurance, fees, short sales and foreclosures under the guise of document requests
to assist us in modifying our mortgages.
Georgetown Law professor Adam Levitin spelled this out in testimony before Congress
in 2010: “If mortgages were not properly transferred in the securitization process,
then mortgage-backed securities would in fact not be backed by any mortgages
whatsoever.”
That being said, the mortgage modification Three Card Monty game seems to be still
standing by like Vanna White all gussied up, beaming with the promise of the right
guess, the spin of the wheel, the flip of the card – Jackpot!!
The long shots are flattering – nothing personal but Vanna is getting old like the rest
of us and time is of the essence, so…..what if….
All servicing banks should be required to produce a NPV report when a loan mod is
denied. A homeowner cannot appeal a denial if they do not know the numbers that the
servicer used. The underwriter notes used to “decision” a denial must be produced.
No more than one SPOC assigned to a homeowner through out the thirty day process.
New homeowner protection laws in place need to be fortified and locked up – no wiggle
room and they need to be national, not just in specific states. New specifics need
to be in place in regard to what can be requested by the banks, so that the document
requests are more standardized across the board.
Strict time sensitivity given to a simplified across the board doc request. A decision
made within thirty days.
Homeowner must be supplied a clear concise Qualified Written Request of the nature
and history of the mortgage since it’s inception/transaction took place.
Any modification must be honored by any bank or entity that transfers or assumes
servicing duties on the mortgage.
No more monkey business. No more marked cards. No more homeowner strip poker!
1) We should have a right to know if our chain of title is accurate, so that we might
know who our true “investor” is. Since it is supposedly up to the investor
whether or not we are modified. Proof of ownership by the investor/or servicer
must be provided and forensically legitimate.
2) Hardship letter should not be a prerequisite, nor should we have to ‘qualify’, obviously,
we already have the loan. Their qualification is a form of extortion. In
other words….how much do you have so we can squeeze you for the maximum
amount. There should be a reduction in principle and interest. Period.
3) Modification should be mandatory, due to the the massive systemic fraud,
forgeries, billions in settlements and admitted wrong doing by the banks abuses
to consumers. Tho…some qualify and some do not….all were victims, not just
the investors and the ones who are still paying on time, juggling two or three
jobs to do it, should still benefit from the settlement with a modification. This
is not a two way contract with our signature. Why are we treated like its a one
way contract? We are the third party with so much to lose In regard to a bad
contract as well as all other parties involved in this negotiation.
If a homeowner is denied modification or refinance then –
The rules must be simplified, (eh hem,) “Modified” if you will.
No prolonged discovery fights. No more abuse of our courts and financial
wherewithal.
We are entitled to the entire record of phone recordings, emails, data entry,
express written denials from investor on modification requests, or
principal forbearance, to compare and contrast their entries with our
own paperwork – internal notes to see when the servicer collected on as
to the “servicer mortgage insurance” that will bring us back to the INTENT
not to modify. We are entitled to our Pooling and Servicing Agreement
and the Qualified Written Request, all notes, SPOC names and the PETE’s
ID.
We need and expect our land recordation departments, consumer protection
agencies, govt. offices, congressional representatives and officers of
the court system to acknowledge the fact that homeowners have a place
at this table, a tremendous financial, emotional, literal investment at
stake in the house we have made our home. We expect to be treated judiciously
and fairly and we will not accept anything less. We demand to
have a face to face meeting with PETE, not a suited up group of well fed
attorneys on Mr. Stumpf’s payroll.
© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.Lainey Hashorva is a Social Media Activist, Advocate for homeowners fighting
foreclosure, Investigative Journalist, Artist and Solopreneur of The Magic Bean
Company since 1994. Her line of handcrafted one of a kind items and vintage
collectibles can be found via Etsy.com – Laineybean.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Laineybean?ref=si_shop
#WELLSFARGOSUCKS!! on Facebook groups 🙂
Thank you for this article. My wife and I have been asking for a modification and have questioned several moves made by our lender. We are very suspicious of what they are trying to pull. They will not apply any payments or late payment fees during the modification. We now know that their plan is to deny us the mod and take the house despite my layoff and any other hardships. Looks like it’s time for a lawyer or counseling service. Any ideas?
You claim to be an investigative journalist. I see you have investigated one side of the mortgage lending story. You did a good job pointing out multiple areas of wrongdoing by lenders, but there’s more to this story than you disclosed.
1- What about predatory borrowing?
2- Who caused the real estate bubble?
3- What role did government have in encouraging lenders to make high risk loans?
4- Whose fault is it that home values collapsed?
5- What about homeowners who don’t pay their mortgage obligations?
6- What is your definition of “fraudulent foreclosure?”
7- Did the government inspired Community Reinvestment Act lead to risky lending?
8- Who started the “No money down!” idea?
9- Were borrowers rushing to borrow to buy houses with “No money down?”
10- What about what was infamously known as “Redlining?” From a lender’s point of view, was there any justification for this practice other than racial discrimination?
For an “Investigative journalist” claiming to want to “put all the cars on the table,” it looks like you overlooked a few.
When it has been proven over and over again, the mortgages do not exist. The securitization has been a fake ponzi scheme. There is no one to work a mod with. Why are we forced to deal with a devil whom has no cloth and does not own anything, not alone has no authority to modify nor foreclose? Yes if they prove the real authentic docs which you and I know at this point do not exist, we modify. But if the investors do not come foreward with authentic docs then there is no debt to modify. Due to the banksta’s own criminal hands. The people have tried over and over to do it right and fairly. Now we want blood. And perhaps treble damages for the hell the banks have caused. At least the incomes we have lost due directly to this fraud and crime should be given back to us. How can any homeowner owe these criminals one penney? http://www.msfraud.org/the-ocwen-story.html We need to go for the throat now. Jury awards $6 million to woman in fraud suit against bank arising out of real estate loan. http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/07/6-minute-pixar-video-how-the-99-finally-see-end-1s-obvious-crimes.html
Shelly,
Since you allege it has been ” proven over and over again the mortgages do not exist” can you cite at least 2? There are probably lots of examples you can give me, but I will settle for 2.
I would like to know their address, the property ID number, who is on title, and the name and phone number of the County Recorder. It will not take too much digging to find out if there is a Trust Deed (or mortgage) recorded against the property.
As to the question of whether the original Note can be found, or whether or not it has been properly Assigned, there has been a lot of wrongdoing. There may have been multiple Assignments (securitization)? Servicers may have fraudulently signed documents? But these wrongs do not mean the mortgage does not exist.
Help me out with some proof, will you?
You might be justifiably angry about something. The first link about Ocwen, a mortgage servicer, does not prove the mortgage doesn’t exist. In fact, it is apparent that the borrower was in default relating to their mortgage.
If I were you, I would be angry at the servicer, Ocwen.
Predatory borrowing?
Since the borrower usually does not write the contract, nor is generally allowed to negotiate the contract language. The borrower, more often than not, has not attended school for contract law and the borrower has a reasonable expectation of a fiduciary responsibility on behalf of the lender who does have the skill and responsibility to follow contract law, how are you citing predatory borrowing?
In our particular case, the contract was changed the day before closing presented late at night in a rush to push through. Nevertheless, we changed the portion of the contract we had not previously agreed to, and it went through. Yet a year later, the lender (Countrywide) did not honor the contract. We sued. The lender attempted to have the changed portion of the contract removed from evidence because it was not “standard.”
Ultimately, they settled with us, however through that we learned that negotiation by the borrower is not really a reality.
Who caused the Real Estate Bubble?
On the following site you can follow a long list (11 pages) of settlements and lawsuits outlining the fraud: http://elainegalindo.com/1973.html
FRAUD, NOT MISTAKES AND ERRORS, HAVE PERMEATED THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS IN AMERICA
4/12/2013 by Barry Fagan
Servicers and corrupt foreclosure law firms should not get a free house. The automated and robotic foreclosure processes that have been engineered over the last two-decades must be re-engineered to stop the frauds and abuses that have permeated our legal system. Far too many major banks and servicers are getting a free pass to unjustly take away a borrower’s property and getting a free house in the process. The blame for this crisis lies squarely on the heels of the mortgage industry and its lawyers. These frauds were systemic and endemic, not isolated mistakes and errors. As you will see in this paper, the CEOs and boards of major banks and mortgage companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were fully aware of the frauds, but chose to turn a willful blind-eye to the abuse and its ultimate consequences.[1]
[1] http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/fraud-not-mistakes-and-errors-have-per-06034/
What role did the government have?
The evidence uncovered in the Household suit should put to lie once and for all the oft-repeated myth – spread by many of America’s most notable dumb people, from Rush Limbaugh to New York City Mayor-unelect Mike Bloomberg – that the financial crisis was caused by the government “forcing” banks to lend to poor people.
In reality, of course, the subprime bubble exploded because financial companies and banks were in a mad rush to get as many iffy borrowers into loans as quickly as possible – and not because they were forced to, but because they made assloads of money doing so.
Nowhere was that more in evidence than in this case, Lawrence E. Jaffe Pension Plan v. Household International, Inc., et al., where a major trafficker in subprime and “alternative” mortgage products schemed in every conceivable way to get low-income, high-risk borrowers into as many dangerous mortgages and refinance deals as they could.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/lurid-subprime-scams-unveiled-in-long-running-fraud-trial-20131212#ixzz2uuEJ4H00
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook
LOL! As if the homeowners has an equal chance to fleece the banks! That is as ignorant as claiming that Black people routinely discriminate against White people. Sure, there may be a few isolated incidents, but statistically speaking, since the banks, lender and servicers have the power, chances are those WITH the power did most of the screwing and those WITHOUT the power, got screwed.
If I were you Lainey, I would ignore the troll. Had he approached you in a respectful manner, perhaps he may have been worth your time. Instead, here he is 6-years later, still thinking homeowners are deadbeats and picking on innocent banksters.
Shill, troll or idiot — we have too much to do to waste time with the likes of him.
Whose fault is it? Well, there were plenty of bad boys to go around, I think the previous posts above cover a great deal of the “fault finding” you may be looking for. Nevertheless, I believe the answer you are looking for may be “the homebuyers”. Except these brilliant homebuyers are now called ‘idiots’ and ‘deadbeats’ by the same people who sold then the liar loans in the first place…as as mentioned before homebuyers cannot write the contracts, are not allowed to investigate the lenders solvency or books….so how did they mastermind this crash?
Some of the homebuyers share in the responsibility for over-extending themselves, but he key word here is “share” and that has not been how this has played out. Our leaders and WallStreet lenders have profited from the fraud by placing the costs squarely upon the shoulders of the borrowers…who did not create this mess and who were the ones that were defrauded in all those lawsuits for mortgage fraud!
What about homeowners who do not meet their mortgage obligations? Let’s deal with another pertinent question….what about lenders who do not modify the borrowers loans as required by the National Mortgage Settlement and the Bush and Obama administration? What about lenders who operate in duo tracking? Promising to modify, then using the modified payment as an excuse to foreclose? What about the numerous contract violations?
Homebuyers were set up as outlined in Neil Barofsky’s book “Bailout”. Neil Barofsky, by the way was the Special Inspector General of the Tarp Funds (SIGTARP) hired by Congress to investigate what was happening with the funds.
“Warren asked Geithner repeatedly about HAMP. After several evasions, Geithner said about the banks, “We estimate that they can handle ten million foreclosures, over time… this program will help foam the runway for them.”
This is a revelatory moment for Barofsky in the book, and should be for everyone reading. Geithner’s concern, first of all, was with how the banks would respond to the program, not how homeowners would respond to it. In fact, homeowners are quite besides the point. Regardless of their situation, they will be one of the 10 million foreclosures, in Geithner’s construction. His goal was merely to space out the foreclosures and give the banks time to earn their way back to health, mostly through the other parts of the bailout, that enabled them to earn profits.
This is a classic “extend and pretend” scheme; banks can extend the time frame for their losses, and pretend they were financially strong in the meantime.”
Read Neil Barofsky book “Bailout” for further outline of ‘fault’ and the reason homebuyers are behind on their mortgages.
The title of the article is: “For Pete’s Sake” referring to the “Person Entitled to Enforce”. Since I am familiar with writing articles, I am aware that we are only allotted a certain number of words, which I am sure I have exceeded in my replies.
The author’s lack of coverage of your questions is not an investigative oversight on her part. There are numerous articles out there addressing your concerns, most of them are not favorable to the lenders involved. Her subject matter was covered. It would have been more truthful of you to have said you disagreed.
I will leave you with the answer to your other question about what constitutes ‘fraudclosure foreclosures”
You can read further here: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/nationwide-foreclosure-probe/story?id=11864199
“In courts throughout the nation, homeowner attorneys have alleged that lenders forged signatures and improperly notarized documents in the rush to foreclose on homeowners.
“Banks blatantly broke the law, papering the courts with defective documents to railroad consumers into fast, possibly fraudulent foreclosures,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement. “At the best, banks engaged in careless negligence, at worst, outright fraud.”
Such practices might have violated laws against unfair and deceptive trade practices, which could result in civil penalties, according to investigators.
“This is the clearest signal yet to the major mortgage lenders and servicers that they need to take serious measures to fix problems with affidavits,” said Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, who recently filed the nation’s first lawsuit against a mortgage servicer over allegedly fraudulent affidavits.
“What we have seen are not mere technicalities, as some suggest,” Cordray said. “Rather, this is about the private property rights of homeowners facing foreclosure and the integrity of our court system, which cannot enter judgments based on fraudulent evidence.””
Due to this probe, the fraud investigation was stopped and checks began to be issued to millions of homeowners…who had lost their homes FRAUDULENTLY.
They never fully disclosed all of the reasons, although you can read the National Mortgage Settlement lawsuit if you care to look it up.
Elizabeth Warren had something pertinent to say on the subject…you can read it here: http://americablog.com/2013/04/elizabeth-warren-hearing-illegal-foreclosures-video.html
“ELIZABETH WARREN: So do you plan to give the families this information? That is, those families that have been victims of illegal foreclosures, will you be giving them the information that’s in your possession about how the banks illegally foreclosed against them?
RICHARD ASHTON, DPTY GEN COUNSEL, FEDERAL RESERVE: I think that’s a decision that we’re still considering making. We haven’t made a final decision yet.
ELIZABETH WARREN: So you have made a decision to protect the banks, but not a decision to tell the families who were illegally foreclosed against?”
Dear Mr. Hadlock,
Which mill sir?
The winds have already shifted. I say, about face Richard.
For a good overview on ‘predatory borrowing’ you may want to peruse this article from Wm.Black, published last Friday, 2/28/14: http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2014/02/key-house-republicans-almost-get-accounting-control-fraud.html#more-7659
I’d start getting myself on the right side of this issue on the PDQ, if I were you, Dick.