The whole foreclosure fiasco and a possible moratorium.

[werepossum]

If memory serves, the whole moratorium right now consists of several banks and mortgage companies being caught not following the law. For instance, simply signing that you had reviewed the entire packet when in fact you had done nothing of the sort. That certainly requires a moratorium, though only by those companies. For instance, I believe it was Bank of America that auctioned a house whose owner not only wasn't behind, but whose mortgage they didn't even hold. Pretty hard to argue that you've properly reviewed the entire package when nothing matches. Several have auctioned off properties whose mortgages they did hold but whose owners were not behind, and unfortunately those sales are not so easily set aside. With behavior like that it's apparent that some banks and mortgage companies (not all by far) need to step back and review their internal processes, and need additional government supervision carrying forth.

I have sympathy with banks and mortgage companies who hold mortgages that are not being paid. There's a couple of things to remember though. First, one of the reasons mortgages get upside down is that banks and/or mortgage companies use in-house or otherwise tame appraisers, or make loans for 105 percent up to even 125 percent of the appraised value. Hard to get any sympathy if you colluded in the upside-down mortgage. Second, many of these mortgages were made by these same banks and mortgage companies using balloon payments or adjustable rate mortgages that any fool could see were not sustainable by the borrower. Again, no sympathy if you stupidly make a loan that can't be paid back and it isn't paid back. Outside of those caveats I see no reason that someone who is not paying his mortgage should be accommodated by his lender using others' money.

 

[Jhhnn]

Very few of the mortgages in question are held by the originators of the MBS, werepossum. The revenues from the individual mortgages were bundled into securities and sold to investors. In many cases, the MBS originator deliberately failed to file the necessary paperwork to register the sale in the appropriate jurisdiction so as to avoid fees, and also failed to properly register themselves or the REMIC created with state authorities. Additionally, their copies of the original blue ink paper work were destroyed thru the agency of the MERS entity.

In terms of black letter law, which Darwin333 points out, they can't prove much of anything w/o making themselves liable in a civil and sometimes criminal sense... Hell, they're filing foreclosure notices on behalf of MBS entities who've gone bust and will never receive a dime of the proceeds of sale on the foreclosed property. They'll just keep it as an unearned windfall.

Thanks, Chumps!

 

[LegendKiller]

There are two issues here, practical and procedural.

1. Practical view: These people have defaulted on their obligation. The obligation stated that if they defaulted they would lose the home. Thus, they should lose their home no matter what.

2. Procedural view: The procedure of foreclosure differs from state to state with many states with judicial foreclosure protecting consumers from lender abuses in foreclosure. Review processes are intended to make sure that the obligor has defaulted and foreclosure is warranted. In the vast majority of cases foreclosure is warranted.

Reviewing the documentation is procedural, not practical. Regardless of whether the documents had a full review, the obligor has still defaulted and should be foreclosed.

Kicking people "to the curb" is a ridiculous notion. These people are not paying their "rent" and should be removed. Otherwise you are eliminating the property rights of the owner (bank). That is the strongest underpinning of our country, what is yours is yours, a home, until paid off and with a mortgage, is not yours, it is the banks contingent on payment and foreclosure/sale that is underwater.

Such ridiculous notions could then be applied to landlords that, no matter what, if everything isn't followed to the T, then the tenant can live rent-free for months, if not years.

On the subject of "fraud", I would be willing to bet that the actual "fraud" is less than 1% of total foreclosures and would be near the number that would happen even with a full review. Furthermore, I would say that any other mistakes is under 1%.

Foreclosure is a human action and humans will make mistakes.

No moratorium, remove the defaulted obligors if they don't want to pay, pay fines for the "mistakes".

 

[werepossum]

Very few of the mortgages in question are held by the originators of the MBS, werepossum. The revenues from the individual mortgages were bundled into securities and sold to investors. In many cases, the MBS originator deliberately failed to file the necessary paperwork to register the sale in the appropriate jurisdiction so as to avoid fees, and also failed to properly register themselves or the REMIC created with state authorities. Additionally, their copies of the original blue ink paper work were destroyed thru the agency of the MERS entity.

In terms of black letter law, which Darwin333 points out, they can't prove much of anything w/o making themselves liable in a civil and sometimes criminal sense... Hell, they're filing foreclosure notices on behalf of MBS entities who've gone bust and will never receive a dime of the proceeds of sale on the foreclosed property. They'll just keep it as an unearned windfall.

Thanks, Chumps!

There's something else bizarre that banks are doing, or so I'm told. Our neighbor (now ex-) sold her house, she was behind several payments. She was having a very hard time getting a letter of the pay-off amount. Her sister-in-law is a Realtor and had seen this before, so she was able to warn her - if you are behind and you do not get a letter of payoff, then the bank will declare that you actually owe the principal plus all the interest that would accrue over the life of the loan, so the bank keeps the entire payment. In other words, you borrow $120,000 expecting to make 240 payments of $1,000 each, or a total of $240,000. You pay $3,500 in payments (let's guess $500 on principal), then fall behind, so you sell your house for $150,000. You would normally expect to receive $30,500 less any late fees, interest, and the Realtor's cut. What the banks are doing instead (and this may just be Bank of America or Countrywide, her original refi mortage holder) is saying that the loan is a contract for $240,000 so they keep the additional thirty grand and declare it a short sale.

Assuming that is an accurate representation of what's actually happening (sister-in-law's sharp as a tack, neighbor not so much so it may be garbled), then people ought to be going to jail for that, in my opinion anyway.

There are two issues here, practical and procedural.

1. Practical view: These people have defaulted on their obligation. The obligation stated that if they defaulted they would lose the home. Thus, they should lose their home no matter what.

2. Procedural view: The procedure of foreclosure differs from state to state with many states with judicial foreclosure protecting consumers from lender abuses in foreclosure. Review processes are intended to make sure that the obligor has defaulted and foreclosure is warranted. In the vast majority of cases foreclosure is warranted.

Reviewing the documentation is procedural, not practical. Regardless of whether the documents had a full review, the obligor has still defaulted and should be foreclosed.

Kicking people "to the curb" is a ridiculous notion. These people are not paying their "rent" and should be removed. Otherwise you are eliminating the property rights of the owner (bank). That is the strongest underpinning of our country, what is yours is yours, a home, until paid off and with a mortgage, is not yours, it is the banks contingent on payment and foreclosure/sale that is underwater.

Such ridiculous notions could then be applied to landlords that, no matter what, if everything isn't followed to the T, then the tenant can live rent-free for months, if not years.

On the subject of "fraud", I would be willing to bet that the actual "fraud" is less than 1% of total foreclosures and would be near the number that would happen even with a full review. Furthermore, I would say that any other mistakes is under 1%.

Foreclosure is a human action and humans will make mistakes.

No moratorium, remove the defaulted obligors if they don't want to pay, pay fines for the "mistakes".

I agree with all this, except I fully support a moratorium on those companies who have been found to be breaking the law and/or using autosigners rather than actually reviewing the paperwork. If you can't read through that many packets, either hire more people or foreclose fewer properties. The law is the law, and if they don't like it then they can lobby Congress to change it. Even the ticks deserve what the law says they can have, and those honest people losing their homes because of the recession or other unforeseen events certainly deserve those procedures to which the law entitles them.

 

[LegendKiller]

There's something else bizarre that banks are doing, or so I'm told. Our neighbor (now ex-) sold her house, she was behind several payments. She was having a very hard time getting a letter of the pay-off amount. Her sister-in-law is a Realtor and had seen this before, so she was able to warn her - if you are behind and you do not get a letter of payoff, then the bank will declare that you actually owe the principal plus all the interest that would accrue over the life of the loan, so the bank keeps the entire payment. In other words, you borrow $120,000 expecting to make 240 payments of $1,000 each, or a total of $240,000. You pay $3,500 in payments (let's guess $500 on principal), then fall behind, so you sell your house for $150,000. You would normally expect to receive $30,500 less any late fees, interest, and the Realtor's cut. What the banks are doing instead (and this may just be Bank of America or Countrywide, her original refi mortage holder) is saying that the loan is a contract for $240,000 so they keep the additional thirty grand and declare it a short sale.

Assuming that is an accurate representation of what's actually happening (sister-in-law's sharp as a tack, neighbor not so much so it may be garbled), then people ought to be going to jail for that, in my opinion anyway.



I agree with all this, except I fully support a moratorium on those companies who have been found to be breaking the law and/or using autosigners rather than actually reviewing the paperwork. If you can't read through that many packets, either hire more people or foreclose fewer properties. The law is the law, and if they don't like it then they can lobby Congress to change it. Even the ticks deserve what the law says they can have, and those honest people losing their homes because of the recession or other unforeseen events certainly deserve those procedures to which the law entitles them.

I highly doubt they are doing the interest as described above. Sounds like the person didn't know they were taking interest in arrears + fees. I've never heard of a lender taking future interest (nor have I seen it in any loan contracts, you are only entitled to past-due) and that might even be highly illegal.

So what, exactly, would a review prevent? The vast majority are in default.

 

[werepossum]

So what, exactly, would a review prevent? The vast majority are in default.

That "vast majority" part is very important if you're one of those honestly struggling to save your home and you're being denied what the law says you should have. Even then, it's possible to be in default but not yet to the point of exhausting the process. Don't get me wrong, I'm heavily in favor of kicking out the deadbeats, but if a bank or mortgage company is caught intentionally and/or repeatedly flouting the law I'm very much in favor of stopping their foreclosures and reviewing every one to make sure from now on they are done properly. This isn't something like tax breaks which adversely affect no one but the company if they are allowed to proceed, these are people's homes, and assuming that there are foreclosures being done not according to the law, then at least a few of those prematurely foreclosed would have saved their homes or at least had time to sell them off were the procedure slowed down. Again, I'm not in favor of arbitrarily slowing the process for everyone, but in those cases where banks or mortgage companies have been shown to be dishonest and/or incompetent then I think it's an important protection.

I highly doubt they are doing the interest as described above. Sounds like the person didn't know they were taking interest in arrears + fees. I've never heard of a lender taking future interest (nor have I seen it in any loan contracts, you are only entitled to past-due) and that might even be highly illegal.

Remember that I'm getting it third hand. There was definitely nothing in the loan contract that entitled them to do that, nor did they take anything they were not due; I just know her sister-in-law told her not to sell until she had that letter because banks were doing that and hers was the worst. (And I don't remember now if that was Countrywide, the original, or Bank of America, the holder at time of sale.) One thing that occurred to me was that Bev might have been telling her that if you do a short sale, then you have to get a letter from the mortgage holder stating that they will accept X amount as full payment or legally you still owe the difference. That actually makes sense, but this house was sold for considerably more than the mortgage amount. I do know the lady at the bank told her they were not required to give her a pay-off amount and would not send her a letter with the pay-off amount (my wife was there for that), but that after she told them she understood what they were doing and would not sell without that letter, they had her a letter the next day. But it's quite possible that the lady just told her they wouldn't send a pay-off letter because she was being an asshole.

 

[Darwin333]

What it amounts to is that the banks should have been nationalized rather than bailed out, reorganized, recapitalized and sold back into the market, with the assets of the perps seized under RICO statutes.

None of that was going to happen with GWB in the Whitehouse, which is why the crisis was deliberately precipitated while he still was in the Whitehouse. Investment houses knew that up front, acted accordingly, squeezed out every nickel they could into execs' pockets, sometimes to the point of riding their corporate steeds into the dirt.

Who Cares, right? I got mine, and that's all that matters....

I haven't seen any indictments come from the Obama justice department. Fraud is still fraud last time I checked and if they can be charged under RICO all the better, so why is it Bush's fault that Obama is blowing the banksters too?

 

[werepossum]

I haven't seen any indictments come from the Obama justice department. Fraud is still fraud last time I checked and if they can be charged under RICO all the better, so why is it Bush's fault that Obama is blowing the banksters too?

Dude, it's ALWAYS Bush's fault. Whenever it might look like it can't possibly be Bush's fault, then you must simply accept on faith that the conspiracy is larger and more powerful than your mortal mind can imagine.

 

[Darwin333]

There are two issues here, practical and procedural.

1. Practical view: These people have defaulted on their obligation. The obligation stated that if they defaulted they would lose the home. Thus, they should lose their home no matter what.

I agree that those who borrowed money have a contracural obligation they must meet. That should not be wiped out and they should not be given a "free" house.

2. Procedural view: The procedure of foreclosure differs from state to state with many states with judicial foreclosure protecting consumers from lender abuses in foreclosure. Review processes are intended to make sure that the obligor has defaulted and foreclosure is warranted. In the vast majority of cases foreclosure is warranted.

Perfectly fine with that too. Prove that you have the right to foreclose, under the law whose jurisdiction you chose to do business in, and no one has any issues.

Reviewing the documentation is procedural, not practical. Regardless of whether the documents had a full review, the obligor has still defaulted and should be foreclosed.

Bullshit. If reviewing documentation is such a non-issue then why doesn't that work in the consumers favor too? You lost your documentation stating I owe you money than I guess I don't owe you any, right? The rule of law works both ways bud and I really don't think you want to get rid of the rule of law. It won't work out well for your industry.

Kicking people "to the curb" is a ridiculous notion. These people are not paying their "rent" and should be removed.

Prove you have the right to "kick them to the curb" and then go about kicking.

Otherwise you are eliminating the property rights of the owner (bank).

Bullshit again. The property rights of the bank are in jepordy because the bank did not do its due dilligance. The "oops I fucked up" line won't get your average joe shit in a court of law so why exactly should banks be special? If you can prove you are the property owner, which simply means you kept up on your paperwork the way the law dictates you must, this is a non-issue. Furthermore, banks are the undisputed kinds of "fine print" so you will forgive me for not having any sympathy for them if they failed to follow the big bold black letter law.

That is the strongest underpinning of our country, what is yours is yours, a home, until paid off and with a mortgage, is not yours, it is the banks contingent on payment and foreclosure/sale that is underwater.

Prove it in a court of law. Due process is a right and I will defend the banks right to due process just as much as the consumers. In some cases they don't even know which bank or entity actually "owned" the house yet someone is trying to foreclose.

Such ridiculous notions could then be applied to landlords that, no matter what, if everything isn't followed to the T, then the tenant can live rent-free for months, if not years.

Actually in a lot of states that is exactly the case. Matter of fact the eviction process in my state is such that a tenant can call you and tell you flat out they aren't paying you another dime and it still takes months to legally evict them. Oh, the landlord can also prove he owns the property which makes it just a tiny bit different than what we are talking about.

On the subject of "fraud", I would be willing to bet that the actual "fraud" is less than 1% of total foreclosures and would be near the number that would happen even with a full review. Furthermore, I would say that any other mistakes is under 1%.

And I assume you would agree that those caught perjuring the court should be charged as such?

Foreclosure is a human action and humans will make mistakes.

Mistake? Are you kidding? We have sworn testimony from people working for the banks stating that they didn't review a single document out of thousands that they filed affidavits stating that they reviewed all the paperwork and it was in order. That is called perjury my friend and possibly contempt.

No moratorium, remove the defaulted obligors if they don't want to pay, pay fines for the "mistakes".

I agree that no moratorium is needed. What is needed is to simply follow existing black letter law. Funny how you think one side should be forced to follow that law while the other side should not be..... What is it you do for a living again?

This is about due process, plain and simple. "Stupid hurts" and it is supposed to, if you lost a document that was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars because it is necessary to obtain the collateral behind a debt then you now have an unsecured loan. You can bet your ass the banks would play that card if they had it.

 

[Darwin333]

So what, exactly, would a review prevent? The vast majority are in default.

Prove that the entity who is trying to seize the property has the legal right to that property? You know, the very minor details.

 

[Jhhnn]

Darwin333 is right- it's the MBS originators' and lenders' game, so they have to play by their own rules, and by the rules of the states where they seek foreclosures. They knew or should have known this going in. They've enjoyed the services of counsel all along.

It's one of those common sense kind of things- "No tickee, No Laundry!" so it behooves servicers to produce the tickee...

 

[vailr]

Blame it all on the Federal Reserve System, which is a privately held corporation created under mysterious circumstances in 1913 at Jekyll Island, Georgia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jekyll_Island#Planning_of_the_Federal_Reserve_System

 

[sandorski]

lol

 

[Jhhnn]

Found this linked at Krugman's blog-

http://rortybomb.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/foreclosure-fraud-for-dummies-1-the-chains-and-the-stakes/

It examines the whole foreclosure mess at some depth while explaining some of the technical terms and relationships. Easy to read, worth the time, imho.

 

[Patranus]

I wonder what companies will be bailed out when they have to pay out a trillion dollars for the title insurance claims.

Not saying that "illegally" foreclosing should be supported but if you don't pay, I couldn't really care less.

 

[Fern]

This is about black letter law, nothing more and nothing less. You and I have to follow it and so should the banks. If black letter law states that they can not foreclose on a property with document X and Y and they only have Z, should they allowed to foreclose on it anyway even though it is a clear violation of black letter law?

Of course I think banks should follow the rules.

If in the process of agregating/reselling mortgages they develop paperworks problems, I say tough sh!t. They need to work it out, not just be allowed to ignore the problems they created themselves.

Fern

 

[Fern]

Very few of the mortgages in question are held by the originators of the MBS, werepossum. The revenues from the individual mortgages were bundled into securities and sold to investors. In many cases, the MBS originator deliberately failed to file the necessary paperwork to register the sale in the appropriate jurisdiction so as to avoid fees, and also failed to properly register themselves or the REMIC created with state authorities. Additionally, their copies of the original blue ink paper work were destroyed thru the agency of the MERS entity.

In terms of black letter law, which Darwin333 points out, they can't prove much of anything w/o making themselves liable in a civil and sometimes criminal sense... Hell, they're filing foreclosure notices on behalf of MBS entities who've gone bust and will never receive a dime of the proceeds of sale on the foreclosed property. They'll just keep it as an unearned windfall.

Thanks, Chumps!

These strike me things the courts should be able recongize and hold the bank/mortgage co. etc to the standards of the law.

Likewise, when banking officials are found to have perjured themselves.

This still strikes me as indictment against the judical system as much as anything else. It is the judicial system's responsibility to safeguard our rights as guaranteed by law. If instead the judicial system has become a mere clearing house for large corporate interest to poach property and funds from individuals a forlosure moratorium is not the solution to the fundamnetal problem, it is merely a temporary respite from it.

Fern

 

[bfdd]

Protip: Type slower or learn the English language better.





As far as the moratorium, it has come out that the big banks were engaging in foreclosure fraud at alarming rates, some in the thousands of frauds per day.
Banks engaging in title / foreclosure fraud:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/229048-mortgage-title-fraud-a-national-catastrophe

Banks try to buy law to "legalize/legitimize" said fraud, bill passes but is veto'd:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704696304575538131744705958.html?ru=MKTW&mod=MKTW

More:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/228961-where-is-the-foreclosure-mess-leading
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/category/real-estate
http://4closurefraud.org/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703843804575534303696918076.html?ru=MKTW&mod=MKTW

Basically it looks like the banks/ibanks/loanservicers took LOTS of liberties with regards to legal proceedings when people stopped paying on their loans, banking on the fact that people wouldn't know the difference and/or wouldn't (or wouldn't be able to) hire a competent lawyer for their defense.

Now there will be a epic wave of legal BS to get this all sorted out, in addition to larger losses for the banks.

Hopefully the banks have learned their lesson, but likely they have not. Regardless, the lawyers are loving it (from both sides).

lol shady ass motherfuckers

 

[ebaycj]

I haven't seen any indictments come from the Obama justice department. Fraud is still fraud last time I checked and if they can be charged under RICO all the better, so why is it Bush's fault that Obama is blowing the banksters too?

How is he blowing them again? He did just veto a bill that would have saved their asses big time.

 

[Jhhnn]

How is he blowing them again? He did just veto a bill that would have saved their asses big time.

That's true. We'll see how it works out.

 

[Darwin333]

How is he blowing them again? He did just veto a bill that would have saved their asses big time.

Could you please list the names of the banksters that have, and have been proven to have (albeit not in a court of law), committed fraud that his justice department has attempted to indict? With the vast wealth of information we currently have at our fingertips it shouldn't take you long to compile a short list of examples.

I have a laundry list of other crimes the banksters CONTINUE to commit, almost all of them very provable, that have gone unpunished. Allowing a select few elite to rampantly break the law and GAIN from it, often at taxpayer expense, equals blowing them in my book. What is it called in your book?

How bad does it suck to realize the new boss is almost exactly like the old boss because they are owned by the same people?

Edit: BTW, I have praised Obama for vetoing that bill.

 

[MooseNSquirrel]

Greedy financial institutions caused the housing mess.

Now its payback time!

Er hmmm.

 

[LegendKiller]

I agree that those who borrowed money have a contracural obligation they must meet. That should not be wiped out and they should not be given a "free" house.

Ok

Perfectly fine with that too. Prove that you have the right to foreclose, under the law whose jurisdiction you chose to do business in, and no one has any issues.

In almost all cases they have proven they can do this. The review process has taken place, to the largest extent, outside the signors. I think time will show that while the exact process had issues, the base fact remains is that they had the ability to foreclose. The MERS issue is a non-starter and has already been shot down in several courts.

While some challenges exist, they are few and will likely be overturned.

Bullshit. If reviewing documentation is such a non-issue then why doesn't that work in the consumers favor too? You lost your documentation stating I owe you money than I guess I don't owe you any, right? The rule of law works both ways bud and I really don't think you want to get rid of the rule of law. It won't work out well for your industry.

Recent statistics show that the average time between the last payment and foreclosure is about 18 months. Between initiation of foreclosure and foreclosure is over a year. In that time documentation is gathered and a solid non-payment history and/or failure of negotiation has been shown.

Finally, fully 40% of foreclosures are on houses that aren't even occupied (even excluding evictions).

Prove you have the right to "kick them to the curb" and then go about kicking.

The right has been established in courts, rocket dockets or not. If you're in default of the terms the foreclosure is a formality, one which doesn't require modification efforts. If you borrow money under those terms you should have no expectation of modification, thus the foreclosure is a formality and the review process protection. I am sure you'll find that there is an odd case here or there with genuine issues and those should be fined and dealt with. However, the vast majority will be proven correct.

Bullshit again. The property rights of the bank are in jepordy because the bank did not do its due dilligance. The "oops I fucked up" line won't get your average joe shit in a court of law so why exactly should banks be special? If you can prove you are the property owner, which simply means you kept up on your paperwork the way the law dictates you must, this is a non-issue. Furthermore, banks are the undisputed kinds of "fine print" so you will forgive me for not having any sympathy for them if they failed to follow the big bold black letter law.

True and correct copies of the notes and/or mortgages can be recorded elsewhere, thus a copy can be obtained or the obligation reconstructed. Again, you'll see this proven out.

Prove it in a court of law. Due process is a right and I will defend the banks right to due process just as much as the consumers. In some cases they don't even know which bank or entity actually "owned" the house yet someone is trying to foreclose.

I agree that due process must be followed. However, in almost all cases they do know what trust owns the mortgage and note. There are exceptions and those can be recreated/traced back.

Actually in a lot of states that is exactly the case. Matter of fact the eviction process in my state is such that a tenant can call you and tell you flat out they aren't paying you another dime and it still takes months to legally evict them. Oh, the landlord can also prove he owns the property which makes it just a tiny bit different than what we are talking about.

Months, not years, and that's only with certain exceptions. The landlord must prove but it isn't too difficult, event without original lease documentation.

And I assume you would agree that those caught perjuring the court should be charged as such?

Perjury should be dealt with.

Mistake? Are you kidding? We have sworn testimony from people working for the banks stating that they didn't review a single document out of thousands that they filed affidavits stating that they reviewed all the paperwork and it was in order. That is called perjury my friend and possibly contempt.

Seems like somebody reviewed it, otherwise the foreclosure wouldn't be happening. Again, we'll have to wait for the evidence to come forth and the cases to be brought up. It will certainly be interesting.

I agree that no moratorium is needed. What is needed is to simply follow existing black letter law. Funny how you think one side should be forced to follow that law while the other side should not be..... What is it you do for a living again?

This is about due process, plain and simple. "Stupid hurts" and it is supposed to, if you lost a document that was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars because it is necessary to obtain the collateral behind a debt then you now have an unsecured loan. You can bet your ass the banks would play that card if they had it.

Agreed, but I think you'll find that cases in which the lost note and/or mortgage can't be recreated otherwise will few and far between.

 

[Darwin333]

There are two issues here, practical and procedural.

1. Practical view: These people have defaulted on their obligation. The obligation stated that if they defaulted they would lose the home. Thus, they should lose their home no matter what.

2. Procedural view: The procedure of foreclosure differs from state to state with many states with judicial foreclosure protecting consumers from lender abuses in foreclosure. Review processes are intended to make sure that the obligor has defaulted and foreclosure is warranted. In the vast majority of cases foreclosure is warranted.

Reviewing the documentation is procedural, not practical. Regardless of whether the documents had a full review, the obligor has still defaulted and should be foreclosed.

Kicking people "to the curb" is a ridiculous notion. These people are not paying their "rent" and should be removed. Otherwise you are eliminating the property rights of the owner (bank). That is the strongest underpinning of our country, what is yours is yours, a home, until paid off and with a mortgage, is not yours, it is the banks contingent on payment and foreclosure/sale that is underwater.

Such ridiculous notions could then be applied to landlords that, no matter what, if everything isn't followed to the T, then the tenant can live rent-free for months, if not years.

On the subject of "fraud", I would be willing to bet that the actual "fraud" is less than 1% of total foreclosures and would be near the number that would happen even with a full review. Furthermore, I would say that any other mistakes is under 1%.

Foreclosure is a human action and humans will make mistakes.

No moratorium, remove the defaulted obligors if they don't want to pay, pay fines for the "mistakes".

Finally an asshole in Congress who evidently has a set of nuts. I would really enjoy your comments on the Congressmans letter to the FBI concerning what you assert is a "ridiculous notion" affecting less than 1% of foreclosures.

October 14, 2010

Robert S. Mueller III
Director Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20535

Robert O'Neill
US Attorney
Central District of Florida
400 North Tampa Street, Suite 3200
Tampa, FL 33602



Dear US Attorney Robert O'Neill and Director Mueller,

When it comes to foreclosures, there is mounting evidence of a state of rampant lawlessness in Central Florida. There are increasing signs that big banks routinely evade laws meant to protect homeowners, in many well-documented cases of ‘foreclosure fraud’. Despite the demonstrated existence, for instance, of ‘robosigners’ signing affidavits attesting to documents that they have never seen, the parties engaging in such misconduct are not being brought to justice. Big banks are mischaracterizing this as mere “technical problems,” and apologizing only where there is clear and very public evidence of harm.

It is not enough for big banks only to apologize for fraud, perjury, and even breaking and entering – when they are caught. It is time for handcuffs. Fraud does not become legal just because a big bank does it.

On September 20, 2010, after my office found evidence of systemic foreclosure fraud perpetrated by big banks and foreclosure mills, I called for a halt to illegal foreclosures.

Since then, big banks such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, GMAC, PNC and others have suspended foreclosures or foreclosure sales. These banks are still claiming that the massive fraud they have perpetrated amounts to nothing more than a series of technical mistakes. This is absurd. This is deliberate, systemic fraud, and it is a crime.

To give but two of the many available examples, attached is a deposition from an ex-employee of one of the largest ‘foreclosure mills’ in the state, the Law Offices of David Stern. In it, this employee testifies under oath that it was routine for that office to falsify documents regarding military records, in order to move foreclosure cases along more quickly.

The local media has reported on the case of Nancy Jacobini; a contractor for JP Morgan Chase broke into her home after the bank mistakenly foreclosed on it. JP Morgan Chase ‘apologized’ for terrifying her. But we do not have an apology-based legal system; we have a system of laws. I am writing to ask you to enforce them.

The organized and systematic manufacturing of falsified documents to deprive people of their homes is not only a threat to the integrity of the legal system. It also aggravates and extends the weakness in the housing market. Who is going to feel comfortable buying a home if a big bank can simply take it, whether or not that bank has a right to it? Given the securitization of mortgage-backed securities, this misconduct is a threat to our securities markets as well. But fundamentally, this is a question of protecting basic property rights – if you don’t own it, then you shouldn’t try to take it. Without clear property rights, and a legal system that insists on clear proof of those rights before transferring ownership by force, the economy will fall apart.

If perpetrators of perjured affidavits and other systematic criminal activity can get off simply with civil liability -- or even less, an insincere bureaucratic apology -- the freedom that Americans enjoy will erode quickly in the face of lawless seizures of property. I appreciate your work on the joint Middle District of Florida’s Mortgage Fraud Initiative, and respectfully request that the efforts of your offices turn towards reining in this rampant criminality.



Regards,



Alan Grayson
Member of Congress

The banksters have blatantly disregarded the law, and continue to do so in many more ways than this, for years now. It is time that we start demanding these assholes receive the due process they deserve, even though they wish to remove the due process YOU deserve, and stand trial for the crimes they have committed.

The rest of you sit here and argue about unimportant or unchangeable shit while BOTH of your parties allow this complete disregard for the rule of law to continue. Is this enough for you to demand people be legally indicted and put on trial? If, in your opinion, they have not crossed the line yet then they never will regardless of how many laws they break and how much of YOUR money they steal.

Bastards are lucky I am not in charge, after a jury of their peers finds them guilty of treason in a fair trial and affording them the due process they desire to deprive you of, I would hang the sonsofbitches on the Whitehouse lawn and let em swing till the sun goes down.

Where the fuck are the cops?

 

[LegendKiller]

Finally an asshole in Congress who evidently has a set of nuts. I would really enjoy your comments on the Congressmans letter to the FBI concerning what you assert is a "ridiculous notion" affecting less than 1% of foreclosures.




The banksters have blatantly disregarded the law, and continue to do so in many more ways than this, for years now. It is time that we start demanding these assholes receive the due process they deserve, even though they wish to remove the due process YOU deserve, and stand trial for the crimes they have committed.

The rest of you sit here and argue about unimportant or unchangeable shit while BOTH of your parties allow this complete disregard for the rule of law to continue. Is this enough for you to demand people be legally indicted and put on trial? If, in your opinion, they have not crossed the line yet then they never will regardless of how many laws they break and how much of YOUR money they steal.

Bastards are lucky I am not in charge, after a jury of their peers finds them guilty of treason in a fair trial and affording them the due process they desire to deprive you of, I would hang the sonsofbitches on the Whitehouse lawn and let em swing till the sun goes down.

Where the fuck are the cops?

Yeah, Grayson has a set of nuts alright. His brain is full of them. The guy is a hyperbole wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a fucking freak. He's trying to defend his seat, so yeah, he'll write that letter and make a big deal out of a single anecdote and failure to recognize reality.