Nov
18

Abigail Field | The Dehumanizing Nature of Robo-Signing

  The Dehumanizing Nature of Robo-Signing Robosigning is criminal, and I’m so grateful that Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has the courage and integrity to prosecute people for committing it. The very term “robo-signing” has, I think, inhibited prosecution because banks have successfully messaged that it was “just a harmless technicality; the real villain is … Read more Related posts:
  1. Abigail Field | Hey AGs: Banks Aren’t Credible Negotiating Partners
  2. Linda Green | Robo-signing Signing Scandal Hits Allen County Recorder John McGauley, Thousands of Suspect Documents, Including His Own
  3. Abigail Field | Wells Fargo and the Credit Bureaus Sued for Deceit
Sep
05

Abigail Field | Wells Fargo and the Credit Bureaus Sued for Deceit

Wells Fargo and the Credit Bureaus Sued for Deceit Following on the heels of the Nevada AG‘s suit that details profound deception and bad faith dealing by Bank of America, Countrywide and affiliates, consumers in Oklahoma have leveled similar charges against Wells Fargo. Similar, that is, in that the consumers accuse Wells Fargo and the … Read more
Apr
30

BRILLIANT FORECLOSURE LEGISLATION OUT OF ARKANSAS

foreclosureIs it “AR-KANSAS” or “AR-KAN-SAW”? I’ve never been sure.  But here’s one thing I am sure of. Florida’s sister southern state passed a brilliant piece of legislation that should be a model for states nationwide…it is simple, it is basic and if the banks would have followed the principles established, they wouldn’t be in nearly the mess that they are in now.  The premise is simple….get your documents in order, get the note and records, then file foreclosure.

If you’ve got them all, then things just move along.  Now compare this bill’s simplicity and basic legal principles with the horrific legal quagmire that the banks now find themselves squarely in the middle of.  They’re stuck in a messy thicket of lies, fraud, deceit and failed business practices.  The reason is clear.  The financial services industry failed to put even the basic paperwork together from the beginning, then rather than accept that, fix the problems and come to court admitting the  problem, they tried to cut corners and lie their way out of the thicket.

There is still hope.  We admit the problems.  Good lawyers and judges force the mortgage and financial services industries to admit their errors, then we establish fair ways to work around the problems.  That’s what good lawyers and judges do.  They fix the problems created by businesses.  But we lost our way through this crisis.  Rather than lawyers and judges forcing them to fix things at the front end, we continued to allow them to shovel their mess into our legal system without letting them know the terrible consequences that would come when the problems inevitably collapsed on top of themselves.

The Arkansas bill provides a way out of the wilderness…..

Act885

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Apr
13

A Gut Wrenching Appellate Loss- Please Share Your Opinions With Me.

This blog has been a great forum to discuss the occasional triumphs of justice and the victory of the rule of law over the fraud, the deceit and the abject criminality of the banks and their law firms.  It has also been an open forum for me to discuss the frustrations over a legal system that is broken and a country that is in decline because we now routinely and systematically just ignore the Rule of Law.  I enjoy sharing the victories, but today I share a devastating personal loss with an opinion that was just released in a case I filed in Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal.

The briefs and all of the attachments follow here in this post.  I kept reading it and hoping for some glimmer, some bright spot in the middle of a drubbing, a bloody, awful loss, but I can find not a single redeeming element of this opinion….just a flat out shellacking.  A gut punch. A sledge hammer to the forehead.

Despite the published opinion, this is not an appeal that I should have lost….from an academic, technical and legal standpoint. In a purely legal vacuum, relying solely upon the law, I think the law is totally on my side and I win.  But the costs to the legal system had I prevailed were just too great…and so this tortured and tortuous opinion is now of record.

I desperately want feedback and very critical opinion on this appeal.  I encourage every one of you to read each of the briefs, read the rule and share with me your opinions.  Am I just so close to this issue that I am missing something or does an honest and objective reading of this case support the opinion that is published?  Below is the Rule in question on appeal:

Fl.R.Civ.Pro. 1.020(j) Summons; Time Limit. If service of the initial process and initial pleading is not made upon a defendant within 120 days after filing of the initial pleading directed to that defendant the court, on its own initiative after notice or on motion, shall direct that service be effected within a specified time or shall dismiss the action without prejudice (emphasis added) or drop that defendant as a party; provided that if the plaintiff shows good cause or excusable neglect for the failure, the court shall extend the time for service for an appropriate period.

As briefed extensively, my reading of this rule leads me to the conclusion that the court has the authority to dismiss an action in it’s entirety.  In this appeal, I argued that’s what the court did.  But that’s not what the appellate court found.  Reading the same rule, the court found as follows:

Clearly, the circuit court lacked authority under this rule to dismiss the action as to any defendant who had been properly and timely served.

To which I question, “Really?  Where does the rule limit the court’s ability to dismiss the entire action? (without prejudice is the exact text of the rule)

I’m frankly just flabbergasted here.  But I’m perfectly prepared to accept that I’m just too close to the action, and that maybe I’m just missing something.  That’s why I want objective input.  Please read the opinion…lay persons and lawyers alike. Print all the briefs out and study them.  Become honorary appeals court justices for the day.  You’re now officially appointed to The People’s Court Appellate Court Bench.

And there’s one HUGE issue here that is just totally not addressed at all.  You see, the most profound issue….The issue of greatest Constitutional importance relates to the rights of third parties whose rights are completely ignored and violated by this opinion’s operation. I care desperately about people who have no attorney to stand up for them.  But somehow that whole issue was totally lost.  By this opinion’s operation, there is a poor, scared mother of four renting a home who is paying her bills, who has no notice that she is in danger but gets a knock at the door from the sheriff who tells her….”GET OUT NOW, LEAVE THIS HOME!”

That’s the most profound issue that seems to be lost in this opinion….but again, maybe I’m missing something here.  I desperately want feedback and critical input here……

phillipsappeal

WritofProhibition

writappendix

SixthCircuitResponse

ResponsetoResponseFinal

responseappendix

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Jan
24

BOMBSHELL- TAXPAYERS PAY MILLIONS FOR FANNIE/FREDDIE FRAUD LAWSUITS

mortgage-crisisI’ve become numb to all the fraud, the questionable dealings and the utter failure of our courts, regulators and government officials in the midst of Fraudclosuregate.  The revelations continue to roll out and still nothing, absolutely nothing to protect the American people from all this.  It seems that we are all just powerless in the middle of this because the parties in the drivers seat on all this deceit are too powerful. But all it takes is our local circuit court judges to stand up for their communities and for the rights of the American people to start making things right…..

Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud. The cost was a closely guarded secret until last week, when the companies and their regulator produced an accounting at the request of Congress.

The bulk of those expenditures — $132 million — went to defend Fannie Mae and its officials in various securities suits and government investigations into accounting irregularities that occurred years before the subprime lending crisis erupted. The legal payments show no sign of abating.

Documents reviewed by The New York Times indicate that taxpayers have paid $24.2 million to law firms defending three of Fannie’s former top executives: Franklin D. Raines, its former chief executive; Timothy Howard, its former chief financial officer; and Leanne Spencer, the former controller.

NEW YORK TIMES

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Dec
24

The Foreclosure Mess- Florida Courts Must Do Better

The national and even international press are on red alert and are reporting the tragedies that are played out in “our” foreclosure courtrooms.  The press will continue to do their jobs because we’re only scratching the surface of the fraud, the deceit and the con that continues to play out….the full specter of the chaos will play out in 2011 and into 2012.  As the attached article notes, courts (in some states) are starting to pay serious attention to the warnings we’ve been blasting for years now…

In the face of banks’ rampant disregard for the law in pursuing foreclosures with false paperwork, the judiciary has started to emerge as the great defender of due process and the rule of law.

For example, in October, New York put an end to the fraudulent document problem in its courts. Some Ohio courts started making similar efforts. And on Monday, New Jersey put in place rules to end document fraud in its system. New Jersey also called out major banks and demanded they affirmatively demonstrate that their foreclosure procedures are sound. This list of judges standing up for the system is hardly exhaustive.

In each case, the judges made clear they weren’t picking sides. They were merely enforcing the rules, making sure the banks didn’t get special exceptions unavailable to anyone else.

Please Read The Full Article Here

We’ve got a real problem here across this country because the problems that are being identified in these states are just the tip of the iceberg.  This cannot be ignored any longer.  We can no longer tolerate the widespread denial.  The longer we allow the problems to be ignored, the harder it will be to find solutions.

It’s high time for all of us to wake up and demand change from our strained judicial system. Please share the article with others and leave comments.

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Nov
19

THEY ARE ON THE ATTACK AND THEY’RE COMING TO GET ME- COME TOMORROW AND I’LL TELL YOU MORE~!

It’s not just those of you who are battling on the right side of this foreclosure war that are reading this blog.  The banks, the foreclosure mills and the wrong doers who are helping to wreck this entire nation’s economy are also avid readers of this blog.

No surprise that they do not like one bit the fact that I stick my neck out there and put the information that is published on this blog out there.

No surprise that there are very real and very specific attacks that have been directed at me.  I knew the attacks would come and I know that more are coming, but publishing this information and getting the word out to the American People is a sacred and honorable task that I have been given.

At some point in time I hope to share with all of you all of the documents and all of the stories.  At some point in time I will probably write a book so that the full story can be told.

The real story is the battle of everyday Americans against the greed, the lies, the deceit and the unrestrained power of the banks and institutions that have destroyed the very fabric at the heart of the American way of life.

Please help me write the next chapter in this book-

THE AWAKENING OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE-

THE FORECLOSURE MADNESS MUST END!

TOMORROW, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH, 2010

TAMPA CONVENTION CENTER

11:00 AM

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Nov
18

Investor and Institutional Lawsuits Offer Keys to Defending Homeowners in Foreclosure

countrywide-lawsuitWe all know that most, if not all, of the subprime lenders that were originating the loans we are now defending for homeowners were engaging in various degrees of widespread fraud and deceit in order to close the loans.  Our borrower clients were not sophisticated enough to catch the fraud or participate in it, but every level of the originating lenders were.  Take the attached lawsuit against filed by a mortgage insurance company against Countrywide Home Loans for instance, in it,

They admit we didn’t actually review the loans we were insuring, we trusted Countrywide and relied on our “delegated” model for reviewing. (That means we didn’t look at all at the loans, we just issued an insurance policy.) The astonishing this is that there were billions of dollars sloshing around between originating the loans with shady brokers here on the ground level to when they were packaged, insured and sold to trustee, then investors and no one was actually looking at the loans themselves. I was a broker, we made loans and we would never do a loan unless we actually looked at everything, credit, income, visit the home.

The subprime mess was caused because no one, and I mean no one was looking at anything and they were all lying to one another…every player at every step in the process. And they needed unsophisticated players like our clients to start the chain of lies that started when the loans were originated then went all the way to the White House.

There is so much pushback from the remaining servicers and lenders who are fighting and preventing even reasonable modifications from occurring.  One fascinating thing that befuddles me is the fact that if the laws on fraud and improper inducement were really followed here that might provide us with real opportunities to use proven allegations of fraud to force the hands in these modifications.

Read the lawsuit and let’s use the swarm strategies to pull all these pieces together.

countrywidelawsuit

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Oct
28

BOMBSHELL- Potentially Tragic Consequences

foreclosure-law-flThe bombshells are going to start falling like infantry fire on a battlefield….there are consequences for lies and fraud and open deceit….

Judges can either ignore the blatant lies, fraud and deceit or they can enter the Orders just like this one.  If they enter Orders like this it will be a sign to the American people that there is some fairness and equity left in this country.  All it takes is a few mortgages being wiped out as a penalty for fraud and deceit before the world will really, really take notice of the battle we’ve all been fighting for so many years.

This is not just about fighting for individual homes in foreclosure, it’s about fighting for the heart and soul of America.  There must be some victory for the Common Man and Orders like this are it….

BOMBSHELLORDER

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Oct
26

Bloomberg: Fannie Mae Suspends David J. Stern

bloomberg-sternOur federal government, by virtue of being the largest real party in interest in foreclosure cases across this state, is responsible for fostering the environment of fraud and deceit that allowed the Law Offices of David J. Stern to become one of the largest foreclosure mills in this country.  Time will only tell just how many Floridians were lied to and cheated out of their homes by the Law Offices of David J. Stern. (Yes, yes, I know they didn’t pay their mortgage, but what do we do when the banks wouldn’t take it fair and square?)

How in the world will we ever untangle the toxic mess of title-related problems caused by the bogus assignments that have been flying out of that Plantation-based Florida operation for years?

How will we ever compensate those who were forcibly removed from their homes under false pretenses?

How will lenders ever be able to continue with the Stern-filed cases that are currently pending?

How will we put a price tag on the costs to us all for Stern’s out of control operation?

Just how high will the corruption and cover up go?

Attached below are just some notable examples of the types of documents that are polluting our public records and title system.  It takes no real effort at all to find such examples…they are everywhere.  The real question that is presented with examples such as this is what happens to the title to each of the properties that are referenced in the assignments attached?  When examining the assignments attached, please note that notary commissions are issued for a four (4) year period in Florida.  Please compare the date of alleged execution of the attached document to the date on the notarial seal.

AssignmentCollection

There are still too many people that are in denial and cover up mode.  Too many state and federal leaders (most of whom are totally silent on the entire Fraudclosuregate issue) who are absolutely silent on this.  Most troubling however is the fact that judges across this state are still signing foreclosure judgments and setting sales for the Law Offices of David J. Stern in spite of all these developments.

There will be a day of reckoning.

Bloomberg Article

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Sep
30

Yet Another New York Times Article on Foreclosure Fraud

You’ve gotta hand it to the major news sources…when they sink their teeth into something….they don’t let up.  Our elected, senior and even Supreme Court judges can ignore the winds of fraud, lies and deceit that howl inside their courtrooms, but they cannot for long ignore our mighty free press and the inquisitive minds that support the press.

NYTimes-foreclosures

Take a read of the latest New York Times article here.

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Jul
26

Actual Fraud and Constructive Fraud and Other Fraud

From M. Solimon

Editor’s Note: Pretty Good Entry From M. Solimon discussing aspects of fraud. I would add the following:
  1. FRAUD: A false statement wherein the speaker knows it is false, intends for it to be relied upon to the detriment of the receiver, who does reasonably rely on it to his/her financial detriment.
  2. FRAUD IN THE EXECUTION: A trick where the signor believes he/she is signing something other than what the document says it is. Probably applicable in the mortgage mess because the truth is people did not know they were signing the equivalent of their own financial destruction whereas the parties presenting the document pretended it was a standard mortgage loan that had been properly subject to industry standard verification and underwriting standards.
  3. FRAUD IN THE INDUCEMENT: A lie causing a person to execute a document, and otherwise meeting the definition of FRAUD as above. Examples “This is the fair market value of your new house,” or “Housing prices always go up, nevr down,” or “we’ll be able to refinance the property, give you more money out of it, all before the time for reset of the payments.”

Deceit and fraud are defined separately in statutes. Under Civ. Code §§1709 and 1710, deceit is defined in simple terms. See Civ. Code §§1572 for both actual fraud and 1573constructive fraud.

Loook at Liability for actual fraud is limited to acts committed by or with the connivance of a party to a contract with the intent to deceive another party to the contract and induce that party to enter into the contract. Look under Civ. Code §1572

Deceit is appropriate under a material beach or perhaps cause of action. The notion of a lender, who willfully deceives its borrowers or customers leading to foreclosure so to remedy an investor issue and to avoid recourse.

]I suggest you use it there or for the servicing argument for showing the willful intent to induce the consumer homeowners of a right to modifications ad compliance with 2923. to alter his or her position towards litigation (and eat up the balance of legal reserves their intended for a defense and their attorneys). These guys, I know all too well and it’s all too much. The consumer’s injury or risk is liable for any damage suffered as a result of the deceit. [Civ. Code §1709] etc, etc.

My take on this is too isolate the actual fraud that consists of any of the following acts, committed by or with the connivance of a party to a contract who is the assignor and its agents and not the successors.

The argument is it is with willful intent a lost beneficial interest woefully deceives a trustor or mortgagor to the contract, solely to induce the other party to enter into the contract [see Civ. Code §1572]:

Deceit and Actual Fraud combined

•Servicing rights violate SEC 1122 AB,
•Accounting rules violations under FAS 140, FIN 115,
•Trust assets are restricted to passive investments,
•Lenders controlling interest revoke the powers of sale and foreclosure,
•Parties lack standing to bring a foreclosure by appointment,
•Conspiracy to commit fraud where Trustee, Beneficiary and Transferee are all one in the same
•Bid rigging at trustee sale
•Fraud perpetrated against the country recorder
•A nominal interest has powers that conflict in the original assignment,
•Violations of the Code of federal regulations “CFR”
Your feed back will be critical and evident where I have gone as far as I can. It’s not getting through to skilled litigators that still don’t get it. Maybe I am lacking your codifications eloquence and ledger capacity to zero into the abuses of GAAP in more subtle terms; LOL!

he head of the OCC stated in 2009 “I don’t know why getting relief from offering modifications is not working?”

It’s simple “BECAUSE LENDERS FORECLOSING DON’T OWN THE ASSETS THEY SOLD ….for starters.

That said, even after the effort and inability for the US Secretary to further tweak FASB to get them to completely roll over.

Few are winning here. Even Judges who are deciding the matter favorably are commenting from a wrong perspective. There is no demand on UCC judicial interpretations for perfection in a bonefide sale.

The District Courts hearing these chapter proceedings provide comments after deciding the matter favorably are merely suggesting it’s all about “get it right next time”. That wrong where it says’s to a lender they can bring it back, even when a decision is favorable.

The key arguments come down to the fact the lender transfers each receivable as a “whole loan” sale. For Pete’s sake, looks at the general ledger where the asset was entered as a “Receivable” and “Loan Held for Sale”.

That’s not “Loan Held to Maturity” but “Sale”.

The cost to capitalize and reserve a 30 year loan held to maturity defeats the arguments lenders are making that “they did not sell the subject loan. It’s the old “blank assignment” gimmick. Its arguments are lost in court where the problem peaks the Judges curiosity and that’s about it.

We know the value of the open assignment argument is defining for the court where it’s a bank surety and liquidity play. It’s also a GAAP disclosure fraud.

Therein the consumer is disadvantaged arguing defects after being instrumental in a lenders shuffling of assets for maintaining REPO requirements and in its pursuit for shareholder earnings and profitability.

My take on the matter is to let them have the consumer’s home. The consumer then makes the lender pay the price of foreclosure claiming recognition, for reclassifying the sales as debt and restating earnings.

These UD attorneys are so smart that they may cost these bank power houses a debt load totaling about $3 trillion and more in liabilities left off the books. It’s a scary thought actually where you put Citigroup out while not looking and as they still struggle with a $65 billion tax tab carried by consumer taxpayers. BAC may end fighting for their life with a private right to call receivership.

Foreclosures cannot continue in violation of GAAP and where lenders circumvent basis accounting laws while continuing to force the sale treatment issue and while denying they are controlling assets.

It’s the best of both worlds with sale on the front side and as if it was leveraged borrowing upon liquidation and egress.

As we sit I’ll show you the subtle instances of apparently innocent manipulation and confusion befallen o to the courts from errors and omissions which lenders are getting away with. That is happening as the courts say . . . . So what!

The errors and omissions are the desperate means for seeking to maintain some semblance of SFAS140 adherence while employing lawyers as third parties appointed by agents of agents by a nominal interest.
I personally have given up on the right MERS arguments as MERS is entitled to act as an accommodation and even a nominal interest, possibly.

It’s just so easy for one to see the obvious that it has become lost. The nominee cannot execute instruments upon being replaced by the signature below it. Hello guys, right! That’s the purpose of the nominee! And, while one courts rules in favor of the consumer it misses the call.

Something basic is getting lost and I’m not getting through. Unique “floating” entities cannot appear from nowhere to execute assignments by virtue of meritless appointments.

If one of your cases is picked up by the Fed it should register a nice settlement . As one District court judge put it with disgust. . . “The SEC is turning into a penalty and fine system where they are to quick to settle the matter for a couple hundred million every time allowing the defendants’ to save face.”

“That’s not bad!

The US AG office thinks there is a case for bid rigging but I’m not sure the AG’s office knows where to look. Yet as one Judge told me in court “speak English.”

The precise and distinct GAAP and FASB rules violation are clearly demonstrated in each foreclosure. Lenders are violating GAAP even with the recent codification, including revisions and interpretation.

It’s all mind boggling when you consider the distance in communication here and counsel’s alternative to grab the lowest hanging fruit. . . .A RESPA audit (what is that anyway) and a QWR that together are just not going to cut it.

These bank execs fail to realize maybe that these and other Enron style crimes, like those stated in the Fastow confessional, will gets you 10 years . . .at least.

M.Soliman
Witness to Counsel
Expert.witness@live.com


Filed under: foreclosure
May
11

APPRAISAL FRAUD IN DETAIL

APPRAISAL FRAUD IS THE ACT OF GIVING A RATING OR VALUE TO A HOME THAT IS WRONG — AND THE APPRAISER KNOWS IT IS WRONG. This can’t be performed in a vacuum because there are so many players who are involved. They ALL must be complicit in the deceit leading to the homeowner signing on the the bottom line and advancing his home as collateral on a loan which at the very beginning is theft of most of the value of the home. It’s like those credit cards they send to people who are financially challenged. $300 credit, no questions asked. And then you get a bill for $297 including fees and insurance. So you end up not with a credit line of $300, but a liability of $300 just for signing your name. It’s a game to the “lenders” because they are not using their own money.

And remember, the legal responsibility for the appraisal is directly with the appraiser, the appraisal company (which usually has errors and omissions insurance) and the named lender in your closing documents. The named “lender” is, according to Federal Law, required to verify the value of the property.

How many of them , if they were using their own money, would blithely accept a $300,000 appraisal on a home that was worth $200,000 last month and will be worth $200,000 next month? You are entitled to rely on the appraisal and the “verification” by the “lender” (see Truth in Lending Act and Reg Z). The whole reason the law is structured that way is because THEY know and YOU don’t. THEY have access to the information and YOU don’t. This is a complex transaction that THEY understand and YOU don’t.

A false appraisal steals money from you because you rely on it to make the deal for refinancing or for the purchase. You think the home is worth $300,000 and so you agree to buy a loan product that puts you in debt for $290,000. But the house is worth $200,000. You just lost $90,000 plus closing costs and a variety of other expenses, especially if you are moving into anew home that requires all kinds of additions like window treatments etc. But the “lender” who is really just a front for the Wall Street and the investor pool that funded the loan, made out like bandits. Yield spread premiums, extra fees, profits, rebates, kickbacks to the developer, the appraiser, the mortgage broker, the title agency, the closing agent, the real estate broker, trustee(s) the investment banking entities that were used in the securitization of your loan, amount in some cases to MORE THAN YOUR LOAN. No wonder they are so anxious to get your signature.

“Comparable” means reference to time, nearby geography, and physical attributes of the home and lot. Here are SOME of the more obvious indicators of appraisal fraud:

  1. Your home is worth 40% of the appraisal amount.
  2. The appraisal used add-ons from the developer that were marked up for the home buyer but which nobody in the secondary market will pay. That kitchen you paid an extra $10,000 for “extras” is included in your appraisal but has no value to anyone else. That’s not an appraisal and it isn’t collateral or fair market value.
  3. The homes in the immediate vicinity of your home were selling for less than your home appraisal when they had the same attributes.
  4. The homes in the immediate vicinity of your home were selling for less than your home appraisal just a few weeks or months before.
  5. The value of your home was significantly less just a  few weeks or months after the closing.
  6. You are underwater: this means you owe more on your obligation than your house is worth. Current estimates are that it might take 20 years or more for home prices to reach the level of mortgages, and that is WITH inflation.
  7. Negative amortization loans usually allow the principal to rise even above the falsely inflated appraisal amount. If that happened, then they knew at the time of the loan that even if the appraisal was not inflated, it still would not be worth the amount of the principal due on the obligation. For example, if your loan is $290,000 and the interest is $25,000 per year, but you were only required to pay $1,000 per month for the first three years, then your Principal was going up by $13,000 per year compounded. So that $300,000 appraisal doesn’t cover the $39,000+ that would be added to your principal balance. The balance at the end of 3 years will be over $330,000 on property APPRAISED at $300,000. No honest appraiser, mortgage broker, or lender, would be complicit in such an arrangement unless they were paid handsomely to do it and they had no risk because they were not using their own money for the loan.

Filed under: foreclosure Tagged: access to the information, Appraisal, appraisal company, appraisal fraud, builder, closing agent, credit cards, deceitful lending practices, developer, errors and omissions insurance, fair market value, false appraisal, fees, fraud, HERS, insurance, kickbacks, lenders, MORTGAGE BROKER, profit, rating, reabtes, Reg Z, TILA, title agency, trustee, Truth in Lending Act, value, verification, yield spread premium, YSP
May
09

Insider Confirms Builder Complicity in Appraisal Fraud

Editor’s Comment: Appraisal fraud, ratings fraud, misrepresentation, steering investors and borrowers in the wrong direction — all of these amount to the same thing: DECEIT. And as everyone knows, when someone is bilked out of money or value through deceit, they are entitled to made whole — as close as possible, and probably entitled to punitive, exemplary or treble damages. This is no theory. This is hundreds of years of common law a statutes.

So why is the media narrative and the courtroom argument centered on whether the homeowner made payments on a loan that was sold to him under false pretenses? Why is the focus on the homeowner when the real creditor is not in the room? Why are they demanding so much money when part or all of the obligation has been paid (satisfied) through credit enhancements, credit default swaps, insurance and federal bailouts?

The reason why the narrative is on the wrong subject is because you let them take over the narrative. In our course coming up on Discovery and Motion Practice we’ll be talking about how to take control of the narrative. But for now, the message is this is an obligation in search of a creditor and the people who are collecting and enforcing the payments of principal and interest are ignoring the fact that payments were made by third parties, sending out statements that are incorrect or just plain lies, and sending out notices of default and notices of sale on mortgages that are paid off in whole or in part by third parties. STAY ON YOUR MESSAGE.

From Comment on Blog: May 8. 2010

Neidermeyer finds it hard to believe that Builders participated in the mortgage fraud because he has not seen it first hand like I have.

I have been in the real estate business since 1993 during that time I was a loan officer for various independent loan brokers. ( no I did not fund ANY preditory loans, option arms, 3 year pre-pay penalties..etc. and my clients were forced to read their paperwork because I was at the closing table with them)

The first fraud I was witness to was borrower steering. The builder would offer incentives to buyers for financing if only the borrower would use the builders in-house lender directly. The incentives on average would be around $3000.00 toward closing costs. At the beginning of the application buyers would be quoted a rate about 1/8 below market so it appeared that the Builders lender would give them a good deal. When the home was finished 6 months later, 9 times out of 10 the rate had risen and the rate at closing was actually 1/8 to 1/4 percent higher than the buyer could have gotten with their original broker.. So the incentive for closing costs was a sham to steer clients to in house banks.. aka Countrywide on many occasions..So new home buyers check the comparative rates the day you closed and you will see the builders lender saved you no money.

2. Appraisal fraud was rampant. New homes always cost more than comparable resale because the prices for upgrades are added into the loan at retail..

What has to be investigated are the first 3-4 sales in the development or nearby developments..who are those parties and what is their relation to the builder? And how was the comparable property purchased? Cash? Deed Transfer of some sort etc.. often employees or relatives of the builder would” buy”” a home and close on it to create a comp.. perhaps 2 and then the appraiser could go outside the development for 3rd comparable sale at another builders development.

Voila they now have comps and they just turned $200k houses into $300k houses!

Condo Developments/ condo conversions: the HOA and property management company will often still be owned by the developer under another LLC.. look for the same officers..the hoa will be asked to certify certain information about the development on the appraisal..such as owner occupancy ratios, number sold etc. And the HOA cert will lie about the ratios to get the appraisal approved in underwriting.

I just had a client win a settlement due to my research..The appraisal was one of the worst I had seen and ordered the Landsafe and Countrywide in house..The comps used were 5 miles away and 2 times the sq ft and bedrooms.. completely uncomparible properties to start with and the adjustments down for sq ft and bedrooms was laughably small..the HOA cert( by the developers other llc) stated 175 owner occupied when there were only 3 mailing addresses in the development in public records for owners that were not in another state! I also found that one of the signatories for the builder had her own LLC’s and one of her business addresses was the one comparable sale within the development included on my clients appraisal and “owned by an entirely different individual!

And the worst thing I found on this appraisal was the appraiser’s comments section where he admitted the unit had not yet been renovated and that the builder intended to do so after the next tenant changeover..NOT RENOVATED YET! and yet still he appraised the unit as/if it was renovated..the targeted client lived out of state and never saw the property he purchased..

I also looked at the early transfers..of course there were 2 that were sold at 160K when nothing prior had sold over 64k..interestingly after the initial inflated transfers there were several deeds recorded by the officers of the builder llc and friends for the same units at 48-68K done quietly so as not to hurt their comparable sales.

Check the upgrade sheets and what you were charged for certain upgrades… a client of mine was charged over $30,000 for paint upgrades! I am not talking murals here.. a sponged hallway and 2 tones for moldings and walls..

So yes the builders are more than responsible for the inflated values..the partnered with the banks to create this market..It is all in the research!


Filed under: bubble, CASES, CORRUPTION, Eviction, expert witness, foreclosure, foreclosure mill, GTC | Honor, HERS, MODIFICATION, Mortgage, Motion Practice and Discovery, STATUTES Tagged: Appraisal, appraisal fraud, appraiser’s comments section, builders, comparable property, comparable sales, Condo, countrywide, early transfers, fraud, HERS, HOA, incentives, independent loan brokers, inflated values, Landsafe, loan officer, mortgage fraud, occupancy ratios, property management company, upgrade sheet, upgrades
Mar
22

Garfield Continuum White Paper Explains Economics of Securitization of Residential Mortgages

SEE The Economics and Incentives of Yield Spread Premiums and Credit Default Swaps

March 23, 2010: Editor’s Note: The YSP/CDS paper is intentionally oversimplified in order to demonstrate the underlying economics of securitization as it was employed in the last decade.

To be clear, there are several things I was required to do in order to simplify the financial structure for presentation that would be understandable. Even so, it takes careful study and putting pencil to paper in order to “get it.”

In any reasonable analysis the securitization scheme was designed to cheat investors and borrowers in their respective positions as creditors and debtors. The method used was deceit, producing (a) an asymmetry of information and (b) a trust relationship wherein the trust was abused by the sellers of the financial instruments being promoted.

So before I get any more comments about it, here are some clarifying comments about my method.

1. The effects of amortization. The future values of the interest paid are overstated in the example and the premiums or commissions are over-stated in real dollars, but correct as they are expressed in percentages.

2. The effects of present values: As stated in the report, the future value of interest paid and the future value of principal received are both over-statements as they would be expressed in dollars today. Accordingly, the premium, commission or profit is correspondingly higher in the example than it would be in real life.

3. The effects of isolating a single loan versus the reality of a pool of loans. The examples used are not meant to convey the impression that any single loan was securitized by itself. Thus the example of the investment and the loan are hypothetical wherein an average jumbo loan is isolated from the pool from one of the lower tranches and an average bond is isolated from a pool of investors, and the isolated the loan is allocated to in part to only one of the many investors who in real life, would actually own it.

The following is the conclusion extracted directly from the white paper:

Based upon the foregoing facts and circumstances, it is apparent that the securitization of mortgages over the last decade has been conducted on false premises, false representations, resulting in intentional and inevitable negative outcomes for the debtors and creditors in virtually every transaction. The clear provisions for damages and other remedies provided under the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act are sufficient to make most homeowners whole if they are applied. Since the level 2 yield spread premium (resulting from the difference in money advanced by the creditor (investor) and the money funded for mortgages) also give rise to claim from investors, it will be up to the courts how to apportion the the actual money damages. Examination of most loans that were securitized indicates that they are more than offset by undisclosed profits, kickbacks, fees, premiums, and rebates. The balance of “damages” due under applicable federal lending and securities laws will require judicial intervention to determine apportionment between debtors and creditors.


Filed under: bubble, CDO, CORRUPTION, currency, Eviction, expert witness, foreclosure, Forensic Analysis Workshop, GTC | Honor, Investor, MODIFICATION, Mortgage, Motion Practice and Discovery, securities fraud, Securitization Survey, Servicer, workshop Tagged: borrower, credit, credit default swaps, credit worthy, creditor, damages, DEBTOR, Garfield, Garfield Continuum, identity theft, investment banker, Investor, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, remedies, TOXIC WASTE, Truth in Lending Act, yield, yield spread, yield spread premium
Mar
08

MERS Cover-Up of REAL INVESTOR

More and more authorities are holding that in order for a claimant to prove itself to be the real party in interest to support a proof of claim or motion for relief from stay in bankruptcy, as well as to prove itself to be a holder in due course, they have to prove the entire chain of “ownership” and “holdership” of the Note complete with proof of “value paid to purchase the note ownership.” –  Lane Houk

Thanks to Ron Ryan

Editor’s note: If you really think about it there is no reason for MERS to exist EXCEPT to hide transactions under a veil of a “private” association of members, sidestepping the recording statues of every state and fooling Judges, Lawyers and homeowners around the state. Ron came up with the suspicion that Wells Fargo, HSBC and others were posting false entries on ownership of the note so as to dissuade homeowners from a “real party in interest” challenge.

He’s right and the information is starting to pop up showing this pattern of deceit, as you can see from the exchange below and MERS report below. Finding the creditor is this vast array of players is a task that must not be overlooked.

It’s just another example of why “auditors” and “analysts” need to include a complete review and research of the chain before they come to any conclusions about the TILA Report. These factors have a deep impact on APR, undisclosed fees and parties, and a host of other issues that are missed by most TILA Audits.

Brad Keiser’s Forensic Analysis Workshop will show you how to perform this analysis and research. If you are not already well versed in the securitization process and its impact on the mortgage, note, obligation and closing documents, you need to attend this workshop before you send out any more reports without referencing these factors.

——————————————————————–

Ronald Ryan: [It is highly probable] that HSBC, Wells Fargo and some others have come up with an extra creative way to hide the fact that a Note has been pooled into a MBS Pool. As many know, if one is able to obtain the MERS Milestone History and MERS Min Summary there is a great wealth of useful information. These documents are available online, but not to the public. It is not always easy to obtain these. Also, the information that is even on this is not perfect. The information that is shown depends on the information provided by the MERS Membership. I think that HSBC, Wells and others routinely list loans in which they are the Servicer as showing they are both Servicer and Current Investor. In other words, they publish on these secret data bases that they actually own and hold the Note in their own right, when they are really only the Servicer and the Note is pooled just like in every other instance of a Note executed between 2001-early 2008. The idea is that they know that attorneys for borrowers may obtain these documents, and this may dissuade an attack on their “real party in interest” status.

RONALD RYAN
ATTORNEY AT LAW
RONALD RYAN PC
1413 E HEDRICK DRIVE
TUCSON AZ 85719
(520)298‐3333
(520)743‐1020 fax
ronryanlaw@cox.net

http://www.ronryanlaw.com

MILESTONES for 1000302-0055800082-2
Description Date Initiating
Organization / User Milestone Information
Foreclosure Status
Update
11/27/2007 1000115 CitiMortgage, Inc. MIN Status: Active (Registered)
Foreclosure Status: Foreclosure
Pending (option 2), retained on
MERS
Quality Review: Y
Batch
Transfer of Flow
TOS/TOB
Servicing Rights
10/17/2005 1000302 Cherry Creek Mortgage Company,
Inc.
MIN Status: Active (Registered)
New Investor: 1000115
CitiMortgage, Inc.
Old Investor: 1000302 Cherry
Creek Mortgage Company, Inc.
Batch Number: 2785251
Transfer Date: 10/14/2005
Christy Martin
Transfer of Flow
TOS/TOB
Servicing Rights
10/17/2005 1000302 Cherry Creek Mortgage Company,
Inc.
MIN Status: Active (Registered)
New Servicer: 1000115
CitiMortgage, Inc.
Old Servicer: 1000302 Cherry
Creek Mortgage Company, Inc.
Batch Number: 2785251
Sale Date: 10/14/2005
Transfer Date: 10/14/2005
Christy Martin
Release Interim
Funder Interests
10/14/2005 1000108 GMAC Bank (1) MIN Status: Active (Registered)
Old Interim Funder: 1000108
Batch GMAC Bank (1)
Registration 10/03/2005 1000302 Cherry Creek Mortgage Company,
Inc.
MIN Status: Active (Registered)
Servicer: 1000302 Cherry Creek
Batch Mortgage Company, Inc.
Page 1 of 1

https://www.mersonline.org/mers/mininfo/minviewmiles.jsp?aux=A968006867765676A

RONALD RYAN
From: RONALD RYAN [ronryanlaw@cox.net]
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 7:02 AM
To: ‘Lane Houk’
Subject: MERS RE: QUESTION AND REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK
Attachments: image001.png; image002.gif
Thank you. That is very helpful. As to discovery on MERS, do you mean a subpoena or a request for production? I have
had them ignore subpoenas. Do you have a ruling on enforcement of a request for production against them, if they are not named? Also, see below. If you would like a copy of my latest briefing on the relevant issues, I would be happy to provide it to you for the assistance you provided. Thanks again.
RONALD RYAN
ATTORNEY AT LAW
RONALD RYAN PC
1413 E HEDRICK DRIVE
TUCSON AZ 85719
(520)298‐3333
(520)743‐1020 fax
ronryanlaw@cox.net

http://www.ronryanlaw.com

From: Lane Houk [mailto:Lane@thePatriotsWar.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 6:19 AM
To: ‘RONALD RYAN’
Subject: RE: QUESTION AND REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK
Ron,
Your suspicions are correct. See attached milestone report… Citimortgage is listing itself as Servicer and Investor.
Citimortgage does not invest in the loans. At the very least, the owner is Citibank but more likely a private trust or public trust since the loan is a jumbo.
Also, another thing to note on this report is the 10/14/2005 milestone… “Release Interim Funder Interests” naming GMAC Bank as the Interim Funder. On this transaction, GMAC Bank was never named in any document, no disclosure,
nothing. Cherry Creek Mortgage Company was supposedly the “Lender” in this transaction and is listed on HUD‐1 as lender, was the entity which disclosed under the TILA.
The “Lender” on the Note and DOT is never the actual source of funds. Is it your position that TILA requires that the actual source of funding be disclosed?
When we got this milestone report, it prompted specific discovery for all bailee agreements subject to this transaction; still waiting on that. There will also be a break in chain of title since the only assignment they’ve ever produced/recorded is from MERS to Citimortgage.
When you say break in the chain of title, you mean break in the chain of ownership of the Note? More and more authorities are holding that in order for a claimant to prove itself to be the real party in interest to support a proof of claim or motion for relief from stay in bankruptcy, as well as to prove itself to be a holder in due course, they have to prove the entire chain of “ownership” and “holdership” of the Note complete with proof of “value paid to purchase the note ownership.”
2
Lastly, you can get these milestone reports through discovery served on MERS regardless if they are named.
Hope this helps,
Lane Houk, CLA
National Institute of Consumer Advocacy, LLC
Consumer Debt Analyst & Investigator


Filed under: bubble, CDO, CORRUPTION, currency, Eviction, foreclosure, GTC | Honor, Investor, Mortgage, securities fraud Tagged: brad keiser, chain of ownership, creditor, forensic analysis, Lane Houk, MERS, MIN report, real investor, REAL PARTY IN INTEREST, Ron Ryan