Yves Smith asked that this be cross-posted and I am happy to do it.  

I’m certainly not going to write about it.  I haven’t even read her piece yet and I’m not sure I’m going to.  But, by all means, feel free.  Click link below to read the rest on Yves’ site.  I can’t do what she does and respond to this stuff with thoughtful and indignant outrage.

Here’s the deal… I wrote a year ago when the whole AG/banker political circus started that I was not going to follow it, not going to write about it, and certainly not care about it.  It was a colossal waste of time by childlike participants who set out to embarrass themselves and succeeded.  Now everyone is upset that it didn’t turn out to be more.  Why?  It’s to be ignored… unless anyone feels like wagering on any of its promises, in which case, I’m your huckleberry and we should talk.

Remember how the whole thing started… AGs: We want $30 billion.  Banks: No, $5 billion.  AGs: okay $20 billion. Banks: No, $10 billion.  AGs: $20 billion.  Banks: $10 billion. 20… 10… 20… 10… 20… 10…

Like watching two 9 year olds.  No math involved.  Just a stupid tug of war over nothing.  Might as well have set the $20 BILLION ON FIRE!  That’s not a joke, I mean it… set it on fire for all the impact it will have… assuming it ever gets spent, and I’ll bet a whole bunch that unless the money is going to banks, it’s not getting spent.

Remember HAMP was to be $75 billion… then reduced to $50 billion… then reduced to $37 billion.  And we spent $2.4 billion and essentially all of that went to servicers.  Oh, but I’m sure the money is going to be handled very efficiently.  Just watching the jockeying is enough to turn my stomach.  Children… badly behaved children.  And Obama you have the leadership skills of a gerbil, the instincts towards transparency of a criminal. How dare you trumpet this as a success… treat the American people like their idiots… you should be ashamed.

Sorry, it’s Yves time…

Mandelman out.

The Top Twelve Reasons Why You Should Hate the Mortgage Settlement

Another tradition at Casa del Andelman is our Academy Awards Party, held each year on the night the stars come out… for Oscar.  Yes, it’s the time of year when we instruct the staff to roll out the red carpet, polish the chandeliers, dust off the champagne fountain, my wife throws on an evening gown, I always appear in tux and tails… are you buying any of this?  No?

Okay, so would you believe my wife makes a huge amount of chili in the crock-pot along with some delicious cornbread… and I prepare my award-winning specialty… cocktail weenies in my secret, special barbeque sauce. (I’d tell you what’s in it, but then I’d have to kill you.)  They’re best when eaten with a toothpick, by the way… so tangy… mmmm, can’t wait.

The Andelman bar is always pretty much stocked, but everything else is potluck, so someone usually shows up with the ambrosia salad, and others bring whatever else.  We go ahead and spring for the paper plates and plasticwear, and we get the good stuff… you know the Chinette, with the forks and spoons that look like silver even though they’re not, and the red plastic cups.

I’ll tell you what… some years there’s been so much class oozing at our place that it gets to feeling like you’re at a real honest-to-Henry, Hollywood-type soiree.

But all of that is not what keeps bringing people back to our house on Oscar night year after year.  Nope, what everyone comes to our Academy Awards gala for is the gambling.  And we start ‘em young too… I think about 9 years old, if I recall correctly.  Never too young to have your money taken from you, that’s what I always say.  (Okay, so  I’m kidding about that last part.)

I’m not sure how the whole thing got started, it must be about 20 years plus now that we’ve been doing it, but we make up special ballots for a whole bunch of categories and as our guests arrive, they ask for their ballot right after they say hello… grab a pen and start making their picks.

That’s when the house really comes alive… it’s like that scene from “Guys & Dolls”…

“I got a horse right here, his name is Paul Revere, and there a guy who says that if the weather’s clear… Can do… Can do…“  Remember?

“I didn’t see ‘The Help’… did anyone see that?”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

“Was it good?”

 

“Yeah, I liked it… kind of sad at the end though.”

 

“Would I have liked it?”

 

“I don’t know, probably.”

 

“What are you voting for in the ‘Documentary Short’ category?”

 

“I’m not telling you.”

 

“Come on…”

 

“Nope, you’ll just have to guess like the rest of us.”

 

“Let me see.”

 

“No, get away from me.”

 

“Why did we include ‘Best Foreign Film’ again, I thought last year we said we weren’t going to do that anymore… who sees foreign films… no one.”

 

“I saw one of the foreign films last year.”

 

“You did not, you’re lying.”

 

“I am not.”

 

“What’d you see?”

 

“Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin.”

 

“You are so lying.”

 

“So what if I am?”

 

“Hey, does anybody remember what’s the difference between sound editing and sound mixing?  Didn’t we look it up or something last year?  I know someone told me last  year but I can never remember.  Honey, would you hand me my iPad.”

 

“No, you can’t use an iPad, you’ll cheat and look up who the favorites are.”

 

“Oh my God, I will not.  How could you say that about me?”

 

“Because I know you.”

 

“I hate you, did you know that about me?  Go sit over there with your friend.”

 

“Fine.”

Yep, it can get a little heated at times, but no one has physically harmed anyone to-date, and the kids have a ball helping the grown-ups guess at which movies are going to be this years’ Oscar winners… while they listen to their parents make idiots out of themselves.

Until mom or dad needs to pick a winner in the Animated Film category, and then all the parents start looking around for their kids… “Meagan, come in here please. I need you.”

It’s $10 to play, by the way and the one who gets the most right, splits the pot with the one who gets the least right… plus there’s usually a bonus category or two that each win ten bucks or something like that.  I won at least one year… took home $180, if I remember correctly… or maybe it was only $80… or maybe we split the $180… I don’t know.  The kids always win something too… it’s a real good time all around.  If you’re in my neck of the woods, come on by… there’s plenty of food and drink… and we’ll take your ten bucks and hand you a ballot, if you’d like.

Well, it seems to me that some years are better than others, when it comes to the Academy Awards, we usually show our age by engaging in a few discussions that lament the fact that they just don’t make movies like they used to very often… but this year we’ve got quite a list of Best Picture nominees… pretty compelling stuff, if you ask me.

I haven’t actually seen any of them, but I’ve gone ahead and described them, so you can see the candidates through my somewhat jaded perspective… and my list is likely a little different than the others you’ll run across… I don’t know why but other reviewers often miss what the movies are really about.  Me… why I see a little bit of the foreclosure crisis in everything, don’t you know.

There are 17 days to go, so you better get to the movies in a hurry if you want to be in the know come Oscar night… Sunday, February 26^th.

And now…

This year at the 84^th Annual Academy Awards, the nominees for Best Picture are…

“The Con-Artist”

The Scary Scummers story, filmed in black & white.  Growing up with prominent professors of economics at the University of Pennsylvania as parents, and the nephew of two Nobel laureates in economics, a young Scary Scummers realizes he can’t follow the conversations at the dinner table.  In one scene, after scoring a combined 480 on his SATs, he overhears his parents saying the family’s genes have obviously skipped a generation.

About to start a job sweeping up in a bagel bakery, his life takes a dramatic turn when a friend fakes his resume.  Because of his last name, no one thinks to check, and next thing we know, he’s chief economist at the World Bank.  When a charismatic, but inexperienced community organizer from Chicago’s south side inexplicably finds himself in the Oval Office, Scary convinces the new president, who knows nothing about economics, that he’s the one who should drive the nation’s economy.  And he does… straight off a cliff.  (Warning: May cause motion sickness.)

“The Defendants”

This fantasy-drama follows a dozen Bank of America senior executives as they are forced to travel from courtroom to courtroom all over the country defending hundreds of lawsuits of all kinds.  Each time the bank execs think things are going well, but invariably lower level employees are called to the stand, completely blowing the bank’s defense.

As the judgments mount into the billions, new suits are being filed each day.  Law school enrollment skyrockets as the country starts churning out lawyers all anxious to take their shot at BofA or any of the too-big-to-fail banks.  As the law firms and the companies that support the new industry grow, so much money is being made beating the banks, that the U.S. economy starts turning around and soon the middle class is debt free.  99% on Putrid Potatoes:  “It’s the feel good movie of the year!” 

“No HELP”

The story centers on attorneys litigating on behalf of homeowners in foreclosure throughout California where judges actually favor MERS’ assignments, sincerely do not care who owns which house, and believe that “securitization,” is what happens when having a home alarm system installed.

As their clients become more and more dissatisfied, they start blackmailing the lawyers, threatening to file bar complaints in order to get their money back.  The frustrated lawyers finally turn to their own state’s bar association for support, but when they do the bar promptly has them arrested.  Filmed in a hand-held style best described as “gritty realism,” the film is based on a true story.

“HUGE”

In this 3-D animated fantasy, Crazy Jamie Diamonds and Johnny Stumpedwells travel together to find Lord Blankcheck, in the hopes that he will do God’s work and tell them how to find King Angelo Mozillion, the one they call Too-Huge-to-Jail.  Along the way they come across all sorts of familiar characters including GS egghead, Fab Faberge, who keeps repeating, “I did nothing wrong, but I could have been more careful,” and Kenny Lewser, who roams the country wide belching as he says, “I can’t believe I bought the whole thing… twice.”  Rated PiG.

“2:00 PM in Paris”

When Frugal Williams lost his job as a loan officer in 2008, he knew he was in trouble.  But then one day, after a year spent living on his savings and a few loans from his parents, he’s about to put his Paris, Texas home up for sale, until he finds himself watching the country’s recently elected president describe a new federal program designed to help him save his home.

That night, he has the best night’s sleep in over a year, but he wakes up on a different planet.  His life is turned upside down from the moment he sends in the package of forms to his his servicer… First Infidelity Bank (FIB).   Theater owners across the country report audiences screaming out, “No!  Stop!  Don’t!” as he slides the package into the Fed-Ex drop-box.

Soon his life is entirely consumed by requirements of his loan modification.  Unable to keep up, his wife is forced to quit her job, as well, in order to help him, and soon the Kinko’s bills for faxing and photocopying drive the family into bankruptcy.  Now there’s a sale date.  But with Hitchcockian flair, no one knows what will happen for sure… tomorrow at “2:00 PM in Paris,” TX.  (NC-17 – Not for viewers over 17 yrs.)

“Moneyballers”           

This futuristic thriller stars ex-Morgan Stanley bond trader Howie Hubler, the man who lost Morgan $9 billion in a single trade, inadvertently kicking off the new favorite competitive-craze among the country’s wealthiest individuals.  The year is 2016, and every megalomaniac hedgefunder wants to be a “Moneyballer.”

In games of Moneyball, the whistle blows and seated at screens equipped with trading platforms, the uber-rich compete to see how fast they can irrationally pump up various stocks, bonds and/or commodities in order to wipe out the retirement savings of middle class Americans, referred to as “pawns,” who follow them as prices rise to disastrous ends.

In an opening scene, we see Hubler in his Central Park South penthouse.  He is laughing almost uncontrollably. “There’s no question, it can be expensive to play.  Last week, I had to throw away $4 million and change just to bankrupt this small business owner from New Rochelle.  He was quite guarded and pretty tenacious, but in the end he took the bait. When everything collapsed, I swear to God, I think he and his wife both soiled themselves… I’m not kidding… I almost choked on my foie gras.”

“The Free for Life”

In this reality-based comedy, John and Jane Q. Public are seen taking their shot at the lottery wheel of justice.  Couples appear before judges in courtrooms across the country hoping to wipe out their mortgage and walk away with a free house.  The laughs come from watching the pro per/pro se litigants go up against lawyers from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, attempting to explain to judges why it matters that the assignment of the deed of trust was illegally notarized, and why it doesn’t matter that they haven’t made their mortgage payment in 36 months.

“War House”

Brighton Badass and his son, Redneck, have lived in their home all their lives and they don’t plan on leaving it just ‘cause some bankster says so.  In an opening scene, we see and hear Bright talking on the phone, “Well, you just tell the sheriff… she comes out her looking for me and my boy to leave, she better be armed to the teeth, ‘cause I sure will be.  That’s all we invest in out here in the woods… guns and gold,” he laughs as he hangs up the handset.

The camera pulls back and we see that this home is more than just well fortified.  There are snipers in trees, and trenches dug six feet deep for 50 yards all around the property.  Bright pops a few pills in his mouth and washes them down with some white lightening whiskey.  Then he blows his whistle and the hundred or so men, women and children come out from their positions to receive their orders.

The “War House” trailer, voted #1 in 2011, ends when the camera zooms in on Redneck Badass as he says laughing, “Come on, ya’ll… sheriff’s a comin’ so get yourself some amo… time to show the law how we practice foreclosure defense round here. They robo-signing, so we robo-shooting.”

“Extremely Quiet & Incredibly Corrupt”

This semi-historical docudrama chronicles a year of negotiations between 50 state attorneys general and five bankers.  From the beginning we see that neither side knows what in the world they’re doing, as the discussion mostly consists of one side saying, “$20 billion,” and the other side yelling back, “$10 billion.”

Along the way rumors start to swirl as the senseless drama leads to enormous amounts of press coverage, only to end with nothing being accomplished and little being disclosed.  This film concludes Steve Stealbanks’ social commentary on meaningless media hype and corrupt, unfeeling politics, a quadrilogy that began with, “OMG IT’S Y2K,” followed by, “WMD & ME,” and then, who could ever forget, “Hope & Change, 2008.”

OMG, did you see what she was wearing?  See you on the red carpet!

Mandelman out.

To get to the other... wait a minute. Isn't that a bear?

I could talk about politics, government or men’s fashion all day long, but eventually you have to get down to the big stories of the day. You may be worried about the economy, jobs, or who will be president this time next year. But what you really need to be focusing on is whether or [...]

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It all started early last Saturday morning when I got a call about a homeowner in Massachusetts scheduled to lose her home to foreclosure sale in just two days…

Now, I don’t mind telling you that I had just posted a DOERS ALERT the day before, and to be honest they’re all a lot of work and I really didn’t want to have to write another one the very next day… I was exhausted and looking forward to sleeping for the next couple days.

The client’s name was Lisa Ferrecchia, who I was told was one of the thalidomide babies. At the time, I did’t know if that meant she was part of a sister singing trio… you know… The Thalidomide Babies,” or what, but I’d soon find out.

So, I read about thalidomide and OneWest Bank most of the day and then started writing a DOER ALERT, which was finally ready to post at about 5:30 PM on Sunday afternoon.  I was beyond tired and feeling kind of awful, if you must know.  I hadn’t been outside of my study for yet another weekend straight… my wife wasn’t saying anything, and my daughter was saying she missed me.  But what could I do?  I mean, seriously?  Lisa Ferrecchia’s home was to be sold the very next day at 3:00 PM in Massachusetts.

Plus, in Massachusetts, do you know how they do it?  They auction the home off right on the soon to be ex-homeowner’s front lawn, for all to see.  I’ll tell you what… that is some 17th century nonsense right there.  As in… Me thinketh she is a witch!  Aye, a witch!  Might as well be making the homeowner walk around with a scarlet ‘F’ on his or her clothing.  I figured that Lisa had probably spent a lifetime seeing people stare at her, and the thought of her home being auctioned off in front of her neighbors… well… that just was not going to happen.  Not today.

I had spoken to attorney Glenn Russell early on Saturday, and told him to have a skeletal bankruptcy filing ready just in case.  I had just spent the whole weekend behind closed doors in my study typing and posting at 5:35 PM on Sunday, I wasn’t at all sure my DOERS would DO it in time… or even could DO it in time.  And if that was the case… why the heck did I just blow the whole weekend with my family… again.  I was conflicted and unsure of everything.

To make matters even worse…  and I wouldn’t normally share this publicly… but Steve Diberrt of MFI Miami called me on Sunday evening… he was in Denver for something foreclosure-related.  He had read my DOER ALERT post and asked me what I was doing about Lisa Ferrecchia.  I said I posted a DOER ALERT and my DOERS would handle it.  He asked if I had called Glenn Russell and if Glenn was going to file a TRO, etc. etc. to stop the next day’s sale. He asked a bunch of other technical legal questions until I had a headache.

I said there wasn’t time for any of that, but my DOERS would handle it.  He wasn’t buying any of it.  I said, don’t worry… I’m sure it’ll be fine.

And he replied: “Dude, I think your nuts.  I’ll call Glenn and find out  what else can be done.”  He hung up.

“Oh, ye-of-little-faith-shithead,” I thought to myself.  

We all know what happened next, right?  OneWest Bank’s CEO emailed me late on Sunday night saying that he’d look into the situation the next morning… and the next morning OneWest contacted Lisa… told her that the sale had already been postponed… and that they’d do everything they could to get her a loan modification that would allow her to keep her home.  I wrote to tell everyone the good news, and said that I was certain that OneWest Bank would do exactly what they had promised.  Of course, not everyone was sure whether I was kidding… I was right… or I was a fruit loop.

One West said that they would let Lisa know by today… Tuesday, February 7, 2012.  And so here we are…

OneWest Bank Called Today and Lisa Just Couldn’t Be Happier!  

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a HAMP modification… 2 percent for 40 years.

Her mortgage payment went from $2700 and change… to $1500 and change.  

~~~

DOERS you DID it again!

(Hey, Dibert… how do you like me now?)

Mandelman out.

It’s an issue that begs to be turned into a riddle, such as…  Who lives hopelessly underwater and in the desert at the same time?

Answer: Arizona’s homeowners.

Over this past year, Arizona State Senator Michelle Reagan (R) began a careful study of what appeared to be some very frightening numbers about her home state, but she was never willing to view them as a fait accompli.

“In Arizona we don’t ignore problems, nor do we pretend they aren’t there,” Sen. Reagan explains.  “Obviously, the federal programs aren’t going to address our state’s needs, and that’s fine.  We’re perfectly capable of doing what’s best for Arizona.”  

This past week Sen. Reagan brought her historically significant solution bill, SB 1451, to the Arizona State Senate.

According to CoreLogic, as of the third quarter of last year, more than 50 percent of Arizona’s homeowners were underwater, meaning they owed more on their mortgage than their homes were worth… 52 percent, to be specific.

If that weren’t bad enough, according to the latest Case-Schiller survey, which uses data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”), by the third quarter of 2012, home prices in the Phoenix metro area are expected to drop another 9.6 percent, and the same study shows an additional 3.4 percent drop a year after that.

And the really frightening thing about such forecasts is that for at the last four or five years, the actual numbers have, in all cases, exceeded forecasted amounts.  The reverse is never true.

Now, run a tape on all that and you’ll be looking at 65 percent of Arizona homeowners being underwater by the third quarter of 2013, then add in the eight percent or so to account for the homeowners “effectively underwater,” meaning they would be underwater were real estate sales commissions and the like factored in, and we’re talking about well over 70 percent of Arizona homeowners underwater within a couple of years, which is to say nothing of the amounts involved.  Recently, one Arizona homeowner wrote to me about the sale of a home across the street from his for $310,000.  He was very upset.  His mortgage, I later learned, was $860,000.

Why hadn’t he just walked away, was my immediate question.  His response was the his adjustable rate mortgage had been reduced annually and was now at 2.25 percent.  Were interest rates to rise even to five percent and he’d be out of there in no time flat.

Want to know why there aren’t more strategic defaulters in places like Phoenix, AZ?  Now you know.

So, what’s the federal government’s response to the soggy situation?  Well, last fall the Obama Administration loosened restrictions on the HARP program, so now it can be used to refinance your home no matter how far it’s underwater… 100 percent, 200 percent… 300 percent… it doesn’t matter.  Of course, you’ll still be just as underwater as you were before, but you might shave a point or two off your interest rate, which might save you a couple hundred bucks a month… maybe.

Not surprisingly, the new HARP program has not exactly taken off like gangbusters in Arizona or anywhere else for that matter.  And just imagining someone signing a promissory note that obligates one to pay an amount two or three times the market value of  the property, will give you an idea why it doesn’t happen all that often.

Moody’s now pegs Arizona’s recovery in the housing markets at 2034, without adjusting for inflation.  One might as well have forecasted recovery as coming… never.  When 70 percent of a housing market is underwater, and recognizing that under normal circumstances at least two-thirds of home buyers are also home sellers, it’s easy to see that future demand will look nothing like demand seen in past years.

More homeowners realizing they are hopelessly underwater and walking away would seem a certainty.  Costs associated with foreclosed homes being incurred by the state are mounting beyond all previous forecasts and the resulting state budget deficits are becoming increasingly difficult to close.  By 2013, many state economies will be caught up in negative feedback loops that will prevent recovery as, for example, requisite budget cuts and tax increases further surpress consumer spending.

Foreclosures breed foreclosures…

So, after five years of being told that next year would be better… Sen. Reagan had enough.

First, she set out to learn everything about the economic meltdown and the situation related to foreclosures and underwater homes, and once she understood the dynamics, she set out to find a way to free homeowners in her home state from the downward spiral in which they were clearly locked, because she came to understand that otherwise the state’s future could only be bleak.  She assembled a team of experts in various disciplines and the result is found in Senate Bill 1451, The Housing Finance Reform Act of 2012.

I like to refer to it as… Raising Arizona… or, sometimes as, “The shot heard ’round the world.”  You’ll see why soon enough.

Senator Reagan’s bill represents BREAKTHROUGH THINKING as far as solutions to the housing crisis are concerned.  To be blunt, there’s been nothing like it proposed anywhere as yet, nothing close… but that’s not going to be the case for long… already other state legislatures are taking a close look.

Want a little taste?  How’s this just for starters… 

• Writes down mortgage balances for Arizona homeowners to up to 125% of  current market value.
• Lowers monthly mortgage payment by at least 33%.
• NO COST to taxpayers, not a dime.
• No credit score requirement, borrower must be current on mortgage or be able to bring loan current.

But, I’m not going to spoil it for you… CLICK PLAY BELOW and listen in on the conversation with Senator Michelle Reagan, along with key members of her team, Ira Hecht, Steve Kravitz and of course, yours truly, as we talk all about… what the bill is all about.  

(You’ll also find a copy of the bill below.)  

Mandelman out.

*******

ATTENTION ARIZONA HOMEOWNERS…

IF YOU WANT IT, YOU HAVE TO SPEAK OUT!

Sen. Reagan NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT to get this revolutionary mortgage financing bill passed into law.  It’s crucial that you email your state representatives and tell them how important this bill is to your life and your future.

To find email addresses for your state assembly and senate representatives…

 CLICK HERE. 

It’s easy and only takes a few seconds, I promise.

AZ Housing Finance Reform Act Bill

When it comes to defending homeowners against wrongful foreclosure, or suing banks on behalf of homeowners, Attorney Nathan Fransen, of the firm Fransen & Molinaro in Corona, California is a very smart, experienced and dedicated attorney.  This I know for a fact.

How do I know this?  It’s simple.  Over the last few years, I’ve watched him literally bang his head against the wall as California’s courts have unabashedly approved of MERS, disregarded flaws in the securitization process, not cared one bit who signed what, and in general ignored everything having to do with foreclosure cases except the fact that the borrowers hadn’t made mortgage payments in so many months.  He argued complex legal theory and simple fraud… he was honing his approach, and although he had his share of frustrating days, he was careful which cases he took on, never following an unproductive path twice.  I’d refer potential clients to him fairly often, and in most cases, he’d talk them out of filing suit against whoever they had thought they had wanted to file suit against.

Don’t tell him I said it, but he’s also just generally a very smart person, you know, paid attention in school kind of person… fairly well-read… knew about things outside his area of expertise… the whole bit.  He also had both the patience and ability to explain things about the law to me when I was frustrated over how things weren’t working.  When someone can keep complicated things simple, you know they understand them inside and out… and when they can hold their own in a debate with me… well, I’m sorry but that’s saying something.

So, he called me a few weeks back and told me quite nonchalantly that he’d had a very good week.  I was happy to hear that someone had.  What was so good about it?  Well, he had won two of his cases and at least one would result in his client getting a “free house.”  The other might be a free house too, or maybe just a pretty good size pile of money.  It’s true… Nathan had gone in front of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals… his first time, by the way… and beaten US Bank, hands down… in Causey v. US Bank.

It seemed to me to be an impressive win, because he was appealing after losing in the lower court.  He’s smart, patient and methodical… three things that tend to pay off eventually, but he wasn’t just going up against US Bank… no, he was going up against the dreaded “free house,” meaning that if the court ruled in his favor, his client would no longer have a mortgage secured by real property.  At best, the amount owed would be unsecured debt, like credit card debt, and that would mean it could potentially be discharged in bankruptcy.

But, don’t jump to conclusions because it’s not what you’re thinking.

He showed me how I could actually listen to him argue the case in court, the 9th Circuit has audio files of the courtroom proceedings online, and listening to it was fascinating.  So I figured out how to download it and then convert it to a file format that I could put inside a podcast.  Then I asked him to comment before and after the case so listeners would really get valuable information and be able to learn from his experience.

I don’t want to spoil it, so I won’t say anything more… well, okay I’ll say one more thing.  As I listened to him argue his case in court, one thing came through loud and clear: Judges hate the dreaded “free house.”

This is one Mandelman Matters Podcast that you definitely don’t want to miss.  Nathan sets it up in the beginning, then you hear the audio of the actual courtroom arguments, both his and the lawyer for US Bank… and then he and I argue various topics such as whether robo-signing should be prosecuted and by whom, along with several other things that I know are frustrating homeowners today.

This is the real deal… you could call it “reality podcasting.”  Turn up your speakers, sit back, relax, and listen as three justices from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struggle to balance the rule of law against the dreaded “free house.”  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did… 

CLICK BELOW:

Mandelman Out.

1. Rep. Grayson Asks the Financial Stability Oversight Council to Require a Special Capital Buffer to Large Banks Due to Foreclosuregate
2. Fraudclosure | Large US Banks Submit Plans To “Fix” Foreclosure Operations
3. NY Times – How the Banks Put the Economy Underwater

Since 1999, Professor David Coates has been the Worrell Chair of Anglo-American Studies at Wake Forest University.  Prior to joining the faculty at Wake Forest he directed the International Centre for Labour Studies, and was Professor of Government at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.  He also writes a blog at www.davidcoates.com, and it’s absolutely a fantastic read in all cases.

I found Professor Coates’ blog last year on my birthday as I was searching the Web for like voices and when I came across his, I felt like I had been given a birthday present.  And I wrote to him at the time and told him exactly that.

David’s latest article, for example, is titled: Republican Truth and the Real Truth: GSEs and the Housing Bubble.

David and I have been communicating over the last year and I invited him to join me on a podcast because he offers points of view that are as fascinating as they are erudite and well-considered.  They are also not the same thing you’ve heard before, as they cover the foreclosure crisis both here in the U.S and in the UK.  He also talks about the global financial crisis and the political ramifications that are manifesting themselves in this country and frankly, what he says is important at every turn.

David has also written two books, both of which you can find on his blog.  One is, “Answering Back,” which offers “liberal responses to conservative arguments,” and the other, “Making the Progressive Case.”  Both are worth reading.

I’ve learned a lot from Professor Coates and I’m confident you will too.  So, turn up your speakers… click below… sit back and relax… and listen to an uninterrupted hour with Professor David Coates as he talks about the foreclosure crisis here and in the UK, why democracy and progressive politics are more important today than perhaps ever before…  and whole lot more… on A Mandelman Matters Podcast.

(Plus… I don’t know about you, but somehow the foreclosure crisis sounds better in a British accent… go figure.)

CLICK BELOW

Mandelman Out.

In a good way.

How will Indiana’s new right-to-work legislation, which ends forced dues payments to unions and closed shops in the private sector, impact the state’s economy?  Mitch Daniels claims in a Fox News interview with Brian Kilmeade today that his phone has been pretty busy since he signed the bill yesterday — and not from Big Labor [...]

Read this post »

He'll always have Corzine.

No surprise to you and me, but apparently this comes as quite a shock to the Huffington Post.  Paul Blumenthal reports that Democrats sputter that Wall Street never had it so good, but perhaps the investors in the world of finance might know a bad stock when they see it.  Obama has been outraised in [...]

Read this post »

Boost.

The US economy had a good month for job creation in December, according to the new report this morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  We added 243,000 net jobs and the unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percent to 8.3%: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased [...]

Read this post »

1. Lynn Szymoniak and Jeff Thigpen Video | Mortgage Fraud Investigation in Guilford Co.
2. Occupy Palm Beach Foreclosure Fraud Teach-In Sunday Jan 29 1-3pm
3. Open Letter to Sheila C. Bair of the FDIC from Lynn Szymoniak (60 Minutes) RE Compensation for Foreclosure Fraud

1. Lynn Szymoniak and Jeff Thigpen Video | Mortgage Fraud Investigation in Guilford Co.
2. Occupy Palm Beach Foreclosure Fraud Teach-In Sunday Jan 29 1-3pm
3. Open Letter to Sheila C. Bair of the FDIC from Lynn Szymoniak (60 Minutes) RE Compensation for Foreclosure Fraud

But don't take our word for it ...

Three years ago today, while Barack Obama demanded almost $800 billion in stimulus funds, he told NBC that the money would generate millions of net new jobs and a new period of growth in short order.  “If I don’t have this done in three years,” Obama told NBC, “then there’s going to be a one-term [...]

View the video »

Fantasy.

Today, Politico’s Jim VandeHei reports that economic indicators should have Barack Obama worried about his re-election prospects, not more sanguine.  VandeHei relies heavily on this week’s economic and deficit projections from the CBO, but perhaps not heavily enough: A new CBO report grabbed lots of headlines for projecting the deficit will top $1 trillion this [...]

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1. Naked Capitalism | H.U.M.P. – Obama to Try Better Smoke and Mirrors to Address Housing Market Woes
2. Merkley Unveils Plan to Help Get Economy Back on Track: Boost the Housing Market and Stem the Tide of Foreclosures
3. Delaware v. Mers Fact Sheet

Hey DOERS… Good News Once Again, this time for

Tom Stover & Jeneane Traynor-Stover

(And that would be 8 out of 8 for the DOERS… but who’s counting?) 

Ooops, you did it again!  Yes, it’s true… Wells Fargo contacted Tom and Jeneane up in Granite Bay, California mid-day today to let them know that their SALE DATE of February 3, 2012 HAS BEEN POSTPONED.  This was the DOER ALERT posted late in the day last Friday, and today is Tuesday, so even though it wasn’t handled within 24 hours as we’ve gotten used to… I can live with 48 hours too.  (I don’t like it, but I can live with it… LOL.)

The truth is that although I did see that some DOERS sent emails in response to the ALERT on Friday, there weren’t nearly enough.  And then when we didn’t hear anything from Wells yesterday, Jeneane called me and mentioned that she thought that maybe the DOER ALERT got lost in people’s inboxes as a result of being posted late on Friday.

So, I reposted it yesterday and last night I sent out about 100 emails to DOERS, and sure enough… a lot more emails started flying towards Wells… and by today at 11:00 AM… it was a brand new day for Jeneane and Tom.  See how that works?  DOERS have got to stay up on this… you promised to for 120 days, right?  And I’ll try not to post late on Fridays… deal?  Cool.

Here’s the email I received from Jeneane at 11:00 AM today.

Dear Mandelman and the DOERS…

I wanted to let you know asap that I received a call from Michael Berg from the executive office of complaints at Wells Fargo.  He was very nice, the first thing he said was the sale was postponed and he is my single point of contact and he is getting a package out to me today and when I receive it tomorrow he wants me to call him back to go over it.    

WOW, that was great, you really are doing an amazing job at getting results, I will keep you posted!

You are a lifesaver, or shall I say a family saver, I do realized that there is not guarantee of a loan modification, but just being given the consideration of being informed is all I asked for!

Thanks again,  

Jeneane

Okay, well now that Wells has stopped the clock on the sale date… I for one have all the confidence in the world that Wells Fargo will find a way to modify this loan so Tom, Jeneane and their beautiful daughter will be able to stay in their home with payments they can afford.  And I’m sure all of our prayers are with Tom that he fully recover so he can get back to work on a full-time basis soon.

Thank you to all the DOERS who helped DO this! But there still aren’t enough of you DOING what you promised you would DO.  If we want to be able to affect bigger issues… national issues… then everyone’s going to have to turn up their game… get with the program… start taking this more seriously and continue spreading the word.

Sorry… it’s work I know.  But it’s not that much work.  You should all be very proud of what we’ve accomplished together and over a very short period of time… so you should be talking about it everyone you know… bragging even.

Stay tuned… unfortunately there are more DOER AlERTS to come!

Mandelman & Field OUT!

~~~

OFFICIAL DOER STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

BY MARTIN ANDELMAN & ABIGAIL FIELD

We, Mandelman & Field, are joining forces to end the foreclosure crisis. We’ve been writing about the crisis—Mandelman for more than three years and 600+ articles, Field for about half that—but frankly, writing’s not enough.

We need to DO more to solve the massive crisis our country is enduring. We must act now, because the crisis we’re in will get much, much worse.  This year is an election year… the time for decisive action is now.

But by ourselves we can’t do enough. We need YOU to DO too.

Mandelman has already inspired a core group of DOERS, people who have already solved the mortgage modification nightmares of six people. But to solve the problems faster than one mortgage at a time and to attack bigger problems, we need more DOERS… a lot more.

Here’s what we DOERS DO:

1. We take action.

We are knowledgeable, active and involved. We know that our actions make a difference because we’re all working together, multiplying our impact. That’s why we continue to take action, each and every day.

2. We know there’s no “try” in DO.

Either you DO, or you don’t.

3. We build big victories out of little victories.

We’re singles hitters with a really high on base percentage.   We scratch out the runs it takes to win every way we can. Our actions are simple, discrete, and quick to do, like sending an email, making a call, mailing a letter.

We work this way because swinging for the fences wastes lots of effort and results in more strikeouts than our country has time for. Besides, it took years to make the mess we’re in, and there’s no silver bullet that fixes everything all at once. We have to do many things, and collectively they will make the big changes we need.

4. We focus on our similarities, not our differences.  

We’re not about right and left… we’re about right and wrong. Frankly, our nation’s policies on housing and banks are so bad, we have plenty of solid common ground for everyone. Since we’re focused on fixing those two interrelated issues—housing and bank policy—our divisions on other issues are irrelevant.

5. We believe in “We, the People.”  

We join forces to make change because we are Americans. It’s our Constitutional birthright to be in charge, to make change together. And we know if we act together to make good policy, we all benefit.

6. We recruit more DOERS, because size matters.

To solve the big problems we need to be correspondingly big. We’re not playing games. We are DOING to win.

7. And we are in it to win it.

We are relentless.  We take our tasks seriously.  We do our best. We  never let down our fellow DOERS by not DOING our individual parts.

"He wanted me to hush about it."

I hit this today in my Obamateurism feature, but the GOP runs much farther with a new web ad hammering Barack Obama and his “interesting” response to a question on unemployment. To set this up once again, President Obama took a question from a woman during his Google+ “hangout” about why his administration hasn’t limited [...]

View the video »

CBO projects GDP growth of 2.0% in 2012, 1.1% in 2013.

I assume the answer to that question is, well, everyone.  After all, no one thought that cutting less than $40 billion in spending would reduce a $1300 billion deficit by more than a third, did they? The federal budget deficit will top $1 trillion for a fourth straight year, congressional budget analysts said Tuesday, the [...]

Read this post »

ProPublica is reporting that Freddie Mac has been placing “multi-billion dollar bets designed to only pay off when homeowners remain “trapped” in high interest rate loans, and that the government-owned mortgage monster began increasing such bets late in 2010, which they say is, “the same time Freddie was making harder for homeowners to get out of high-interest mortgages.”

Now, the ProPublica story goes on to say…

“No evidence has emerged that these decisions were coordinated. The company is a key gatekeeper for home loans but says its traders are “walled off” from the officials who have restricted homeowners from taking advantage of historically low interest rates by imposing higher fees and new rules.”

And I suppose ProPublica had to say that for whatever reason, probably because that’s what the Freddie Mac SpokesLiar said when they asked about this egregious, fraudulent, criminal behavior that is also AT BEST yet another FAILURE OF GOVERNMENT to protect the American people.

Now, let me be very clear here, so as not to leave any doubt in what we should all understand about this situation that has been uncovered by an investigation conducted by NPR and ProPublica…

1. Freddie Mac has essentially been nationalized. It is 100 percent funded by U.S. taxpayers because if it weren’t for U.S. taxpayers Freddie Mac would be bankrupt. 

2. As ProPublica also points out in its story, Freddie Mac’s charter “calls for the company to make home loans more accessible. Its chief executive, Charles Haldeman Jr., recently told Congress that his company is “helping financially strapped families reduce their mortgage costs through refinancing their mortgages.”  Really, Haldeman?  Or maybe, not so much.

3. The statement above about how Freddie’s traders are “WALLED OFF” from the people at Freddie who have restricted homeowners from getting lower rates so they could keep their homes is OFFENSIVE in so many ways I hardly know where to begin.

First of all, Freddie Mac… IT’S A BOLDFACED LIE.  Do you think you are dealing with a nation of 4 year-olds?  How dare you even try to make such a case to the American people?  Secondly, what right do you have to be “restricting homeowners” from doing ANYTHING?  You are a bankrupt mortgage company that failed so spectacularly that you have cost the American taxpayers incalculable and untold billions of dollars.  The way I see it, you have no right to “restrict” anyone from doing anything.

4. Mr. Charles Haldeman Jr. if you do not end up in prison for the rest of your life, it will be an abominable miscarriage of justice.  When you consider the state of the U.S. and even the world’s economy, and the fragile nature of our banking system, in which almost all trust has been destroyed… Freddie’s acts here constitute TREASON, and Mr. Haldeman should be considered nothing less than a TRAITOR to this country.

No, he didn’t declare war on the United States, or give aid and comfort to our enemies, but congress has, at times throughout our history, passed statutes creating offenses related to treason for acts that undermine the government or the national security, and in my mind, Mr. Haldeman as Freddie Mac’s Chief Executive, most certainly allowed such acts to occur in this case.

5. But Haldeman didn’t commit these acts alone… the others involved must be arrested and tried for these crimes so they may be brought to justice as well.  And where is Mr. Edward DeMarco, the head of the FHFA, the conservator of both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae?

At an absolute minimum, and to avoid his own prosecution, if that’s even possible, we should all be calling for his IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION, and he should be delivering on national television his most profound apologies to the people of this country, for what he has overseen is a national disgrace at a level I’ve never even contemplated as being possible in this country.

6. Because you should make no mistake about this… the acts committed here have cost more than trillions of dollars in lost wealth, but beyond the incomprehensible monetary cost, they have cost American lives. 

There are children who will grow up without their loving parent or parents because of our foreclosure crisis, senior citizens who have lost all faith in our nation in the last years of their lives… families that have suffered in muted agony for months turned years… and to have used American taxpayer dollars to intentionally exacerbate the effects of the crisis, is so appalling… so contemptible… so utterly vile…  that it truly is unspeakable. 

Eric Holder & Lanny Breuer

Further, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder should also immediately RESIGN in DISGRACE…

That these unconscionable trades of securities and derivatives, whatever they are, had to be uncovered by an investigation ProPublica and NPR illustrates the, at best laughable, and at worst  corrupt nature of Attorney General Eric Holder and his Department of In-Justice.

Not only has Eric Holder failed to prosecute any of the banking industry executives responsible for our catastrophic economic collapse, but he hasn’t even lifted a finger to do so, or even taken the time to tell the people of this country anything substantive about anything related to the crisis.

It should go with saying that he needs to be replaced, and perhaps this time we should not hire as our “top cop,” a lawyer from Covington & Burling, one of Washington’s biggest white shoe law firms, widely known to represent… WHILE HOLDER and BREUER WERE PARTNERS AT THE FIRM… some of the largest banks in the country, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, CITIGROUP, WELLS FARGO BANK, MERS, one of the largest servicers, and yes… FREDDIE MAC too.

As reported by Huffington Post on January 19th…

“U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, were partners for years at a Washington law firm that represented a Who’s Who of big banks and other companies at the center of alleged foreclosure fraud, a Reuters inquiry shows.

Covington represented Freddie Mac, one of the nation’s biggest issuers of mortgage-backed securities, in enforcement investigations by federal financial regulators.

A particular concern by those pressing for an investigation is Covington’s involvement with Virginia-based MERS Corp, which runs a vast computerized registry of mortgages. Little known before the mortgage crisis hit, MERS, which stands for Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, has been at the center of complaints about false or erroneous mortgage documents.

Court records show that Covington, in the late 1990s, provided legal opinion letters needed to create MERS on behalf of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and several other large banks. It was meant to speed up registration and transfers of mortgages. By 2010, MERS claimed to own about half of all mortgages in the U.S. — roughly 60 million loans.

But evidence in numerous state and federal court cases around the country has shown that MERS authorized thousands of bank employees to sign their names as MERS officials. The banks allegedly drew up fake mortgage assignments, making it appear falsely that they had standing to file foreclosures, and then had their own employees sign the documents as MERS “vice presidents” or “assistant secretaries.”

And get this…

“Covington declined to respond to questions from Reuters. A Covington spokeswoman said the firm had no comment.”

Roger that.  I understand perfectly.  Let me see if I’ve got this straight…

• President Obama announces Making Home Affordable Program.
• Obama puts Treasury Secretary Geithner in charge of HAMP loan modification and HARP refinancing programs.
• Geithner appoints Fannie Mae administrator and Freddie Mac regulator of MHA programs.
• Obama puts Edward DeMarco in charge of FHFA.
• FHFA is responsible for oversight of Fannie and Freddie.
• Obama and Geithner say they want Fannie & Freddie to offer principal reductions to stem tide of defaults.
• But DeMarco says no to principal reductions, claims it’s because of “short-term accounting reasons.”
• In 2010, Obama nominates permanent replacement for DeMarco, but Republicans in Congress block nomination.
• Charles Haldeman Jr. is in charge of Freddie Mac.
• Late in 2010.Freddie starts making it much harder for homeowners to get out of high interest loans. 
• For example, during Thanksgiving week 2010, Freddie increases post-settlement delivery fees charged to borrowers refinancing.
• Also late in 2010, Freddie starts placing multi-billion dollar bets that pay off by keeping homeowners trapped in high interest loans.
• These investments are called “inverse floaters.” Instead of backed mainly by principal, these are banked by interest payments.
• Because inverse floaters are riskier, they pay much higher rate of return, if people remain in higher interest rate loans.
• Meanwhile, Sec. Geithner and President Obama continue to state publicly that they want loans refinanced and/or modified.
• It’s impossible  to believe that Obama, Geithner, DeMarco, and Haldeman haven’t interacted over the last two years.
• FHFA knew about Freddie’s purchase of $3.4 billion in inverse floaters in 2010.
• The Federal Reserve recently said Fannie and Freddie fees charged make it harder to refinance “difficult to justify.”
• And the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was a partner in the law firm representing Freddie Mac, along MERS and major banks.
• Freddie and Fannie need another multi-billion bailout in 2011… and will need more in future.

Does that about cover it?  Awesome.

And President Obama…

If you haven’t figured it out yet, and I think you have, you’ve hired the WRONG PEOPLE, or been given bad advice, because the way your administration has handled the financial and foreclosure crises is fast getting entirely out of anyone’s control.  Today’s crisis is very much like a tsunami in the middle of the ocean when it looks like a small bump on the water.  But it’s approaching the shore and when it arrives it is likely to be 1,000 feet tall and moving at 600 miles per hour.

You are where the buck stops, and ultimately it is your administration that has allowed Freddie Mac to commit these horrific acts against America’s distressed and vulnerable homeowners.  You are the one responsible for putting Covington and Burling lawyers in charge of the DOJ… you are the individual in which we placed our trust and you have let us down.

I wish I thought you were capable of redeeming yourself, but you can’t… can you?  You’re in too deep and can’t see a way out.  You allowed Washington’s powerbrokers and structure to take over your presidency and now you don’t know how to change the path you’re on… I can feel it.  I am truly sorry, as I’ve felt that way before in my life.

All I can say is that you are still the President of the United States and you can break what needs to be broken.  It’s all about inches, like the journey of 1,000 miles beginning with one small step.

ONE LAST THING… A NOTE TO PROPUBLICA and NPR…

Thank you for your work on this.  Now, if you haven’t already done so, would you mind sauntering on over to Fannie Mae to check out what’s trading places over there.  I’m pretty sure I already know, but I don’t want to say because frankly… I don’t want to be right.

And after that… maybe check out what’s trading at all the major banks… you know… just round up the usual suspects and that oughta’ do it, don’t you think?  Yeppers… I think you’ve just uncovered one of the reasons why it’s been so damn hard to get a loan modification.

Because it seems to me that the odds are outstanding that… just like “robo-signing” wasn’t… this ain’t no “isolated incident.”

Mandelman out.

ARE YOU A DOER, OR JUST A READER?

TO FIND OUT MORE CLICK HERE.

Please don’t delay.  It’s FREE, so DO it today  It’s easy to DO.  And to win, we need you.

Becoming a DOER and committing to our code of action is easy. Just send an email to either one of us:

Martin Andelman at: mandelman@mac.com

Abigail Field at: ACFRealityCheck@yahoo.com

And also don’t forget to subscribe here: SUBSCRIBE

All you have to write in the message is: Count on me to be a DOER.  Or,  just say: I’m in.  Tell me what to DO.

About once a week we’ll call on you to DO something important… something that matters a lot.  

It feels really good to be a DOER, ask anyone who is.

Mandelman & Field… OUT!

Who Let the DOERS Out?  Who-Who-Who-Who-Who?

Who Let the DOERS Out?  Who-Who-Who-Who-Who?

First thing this morning and in response to our DOERS… One West Bank STOPPED THE SALE of Lisa Ferrechia’s home in Milford, Massachusetts… asking that we please call of our DOERS!  They have assured Lisa that they are looking at her situation at the highest levels and will do everything possible to make sure she can keep her home.

DOERS… you did it again.  That’s 7 out of 7 DOERS… we really are DOING it and making a real and very meaningful difference not only for the homeowners whose homes we’ve saved by helping them get sustainable loan modifications, but we’re also helping in a bigger picture sense as well by calling attention to situations that no one should want to see happen.

Obviously, we’ll be staying on top of what’s going on in Lisa’s case, but I’m quite confident that One West Bank is going to find a way for Lisa keep her home, they responded quickly… as a matter of fact the CEO emailed last night… Sunday night… to say that they would be looking into the situation first thing this morning… which they obviously did… and we thank them for being responsive and considerate in this instance.

So, thank you ONE WEST BANK.  Let’s get this done for Lisa and thousands of other homeowners… let’s make this into a win-win scenario, instead of the lose-lose-lose situation we have today.

But, we also recognize that we still have a long way to go before this fight will be over.  So, we need more DOERS signing on every day.  We can’t rest on our laurels, our voice needs to get stronger so we can take on bigger and bigger challenges.  Remember what they say… politicians won’t see the light until they feel the heat.  So, here’s what you need to know about DOERS…

OFFICIAL DOER STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

BY MARTIN ANDELMAN & ABIGAIL FIELD

We, Mandelman & Field, are joining forces to end the foreclosure crisis. We’ve been writing about the crisis—Mandelman for more than three years and 600+ articles, Field for about half that—but frankly, writing’s not enough.

We need to DO more to solve the massive crisis our country is enduring. We must act now, because the crisis we’re in will get much, much worse.  This year is an election year… the time for decisive action is now.

But by ourselves we can’t do enough. We need YOU to DO too.

Mandelman has already inspired a core group of DOERS, people who have already solved the mortgage modification nightmares of six people. But to solve the problems faster than one mortgage at a time and to attack bigger problems, we need more DOERS… a lot more.

Here’s what we DOERS DO:

1. We take action.

We are knowledgeable, active and involved. We know that our actions make a difference because we’re all working together, multiplying our impact. That’s why we continue to take action, each and every day.

2. We know there’s no “try” in DO.

Either you DO, or you don’t.

3. We build big victories out of little victories.

We’re singles hitters with a really high on base percentage.   We scratch out the runs it takes to win every way we can. Our actions are simple, discrete, and quick to do, like sending an email, making a call, mailing a letter.

We work this way because swinging for the fences wastes lots of effort and results in more strikeouts than our country has time for. Besides, it took years to make the mess we’re in, and there’s no silver bullet that fixes everything all at once. We have to do many things, and collectively they will make the big changes we need.

4. We focus on our similarities, not our differences.  

We’re not about right and left… we’re about right and wrong. Frankly, our nation’s policies on housing and banks are so bad, we have plenty of solid common ground for everyone. Since we’re focused on fixing those two interrelated issues—housing and bank policy—our divisions on other issues are irrelevant.

5. We believe in “We, the People.”  

We join forces to make change because we are Americans. It’s our Constitutional birthright to be in charge, to make change together. And we know if we act together to make good policy, we all benefit.

6. We recruit more DOERS, because size matters.

To solve the big problems we need to be correspondingly big. We’re not playing games. We are DOING to win.

7. And we are in it to win it.

We are relentless.  We take our tasks seriously.  We do our best. We  never let down our fellow DOERS by not DOING our individual parts.

 SO, HERE’S THE BOTTOM-LINE…

In 1954, Brown v. The Board of Education didn’t end segregation.  It took ten years and hundreds of thousands of people marching in the streets before President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964-65.

In 1971, President Nixon saw from his White House windows, tens of thousands of people protesting the war in Viet Nam and became paranoid that he would lose the election in 1972.  It drove those around him to break into the Democratic headquarters and led to the Watergate scandal… even though he won reelection in 1972 by a landslide.

And more recently, in 2009, news of AIG bonuses totaling $160 million and a corporate retreat at the St. Regis luxury resort in Southern California, caused people to take to the streets, outraged that a company recently bailed out by the taxpayers would be allowed to pay out what appeared to be extravagant bonuses.  Within two weeks the House of Representatives authored and passed a bill that would have placed a 90 percent tax on those and other bonuses.  It was killed in the senate, of course, but that’s not the point.

The point is that our elected representatives can move quickly… if they are properly motivated.

To become a DOER you only need to DO 3-4 things and they’re all easy:

1. Click here to SUBSCRIBE to Mandelman Matters.  That’s the only way you’ll get an email whenever there’s a new post and when you see “DOER ALERT” in the headline, you know it’s time to DO something that will matter.
2. Send an email to me at mandelman@mac.com.  Just type: I’m a DOER or something close in the subject line.  I’ll add you to the database of DOER emails.  When we want the element of surprise I won’t post it, I’ll email you the plan.
3. Actually check your email from Mandelman Matters or from mandelman@mac.com and when you see the words DOER ALERT, open it and read it right away or certainly ASAP.  Not the next day… that day.  Then, assuming you want to help make a difference, read it and send an email to the CEO’s email while I always list at the bottom of the DOER Alert.  Of course, the more thoughtful the email the better, but it doesn’t have to be a long email if you’re pressed for time.  Just a few sentences is just fine and dandy.
4. Help recruit other DOERS.  Send others links to articles on Mandelman Matters and tell them you’re DOING it and it’s working.

That’s all there is to it, and all I’m asking for is a four month commitment.  After that, if you agree that it’s worth DOING, then give me another four months.  The more DOERS we have the larger the problem we can tackle.

Consider this… right now there’s all this controversy over the 50 state AG settlement.  A few days ago many people thought the deal was about to be announced and people were very upset.  Well, if we had 100,000 DOERS now, we could stop that deal from getting done for sure.

Just think of being a DOER as being a way to “occupy” without leaving your home, sleeping on the ground, getting arrested and sprayed with pepper spray.  It’s also more effective than doing those things.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t do them, but I’m telling you that DOERS can stop this mess in its tracks this year or next.

]]> http://thepatriotswar.com/index.php/our-doers-did-it-again%e2%80%a6-one-west-bank-stops-sale-in-east/loan-modification/feed/ 0 http://thepatriotswar.com/index.php/the-hill-poll-majority-says-payroll-tax-holiday-hasn%e2%80%99t-benefited-them/news_patriot/ http://thepatriotswar.com/index.php/the-hill-poll-majority-says-payroll-tax-holiday-hasn%e2%80%99t-benefited-them/news_patriot/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:35:19 +0000 Ed Morrissey http://hotair.com/?p=177279

Plus, Republicans get edge on tax policy.

Congress returned to Washington this month with an urgency to pass a year-long extension to the payroll-tax holiday, a reduction in FICA withholding that began last year as a means to stimulate the economy.  With the annual GDP increase below 2% at best, it’s hard to argue that it had much impact, and yet Barack [...]

Read this post »

In just two days from now, on Monday, January 30, 2012, at 3:00 PM… a terrible, tragic and yet easily avoidable event is scheduled to occur… and MUST BE STOPPED. 

OneWest Bank is scheduled to conduct a foreclosure auction of Lisa Ferrecchia’s home in Milford, Massachusetts, a home worth roughly $209,800 today, although the balance of Lisa’s loan is about twice that amount… $396,046, as of January 3rd of this year.

The day on which IndyMac Bank originated Lisa’s mortgage was arguably the worst date in history to get a mortgage, July 24, 2007, but she wouldn’t have had any way of knowing that at the time.  The loan’s interest rate, fixed for 30 years, is 7.625 percent.

In the early part of 2010, Lisa’s income went down, just as happened to countless others, but it’s the reason Lisa’s income went down that’s not so common… it went down because someone said that her job was paying her too much money… she was earning $35,000 a year and that was apparently too much money.

Lisa’s income went down because she lost the disability income that I would imagine she had always received as an adult.  You see, Lisa Ferrecchia is a victim of what is often called: “One of the biggest medical tragedies of modern times.”

Lisa Ferrecchia is one of the thalidomide babies.

German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal launched the drug in October of 1957, claiming that it was an effective tranquilizer and painkiller, and proclaiming it a “wonder drug” for insomnia, coughs, colds and headaches. It was also found to be an effective antiemetic with an inhibitory effect on morning sickness, so thousands of pregnant women took the drug to relieve their symptoms.

Scientists at that time did not believe that any drug taken by a pregnant woman would be able to pass across the placental barrier and harm the developing fetus.  And as it turned out, they were so very wrong.

Here in the U.S. the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) never licensed thalidomide for general use, however, samples were distributed to a numerous physicians as part of a clinical trial, in which 20,000 patients in the U.S. received thalidomide.  It’s impossible to know how many pregnant women actually took the drug to help alleviate morning sickness or as a sedative, between 1957, the year my wife was born… and 1961, the year I was born.

Thalidomide was withdrawn from the market in 1961 after the drug was shown to cause birth defects.  Roughly 10,000 babies had been born with disabilities such as the characteristic stunted arms or legs, and some babies were born with no limbs at all.

Even today, it is not known exactly how many worldwide victims of the drug there have been, although estimates range from 10,000 to 20,000… and Lisa Ferrecchia is one of them… basically, she was born with her hands on her shoulders… they’re often called “flipper limbs.”

Some evidence published by the Thalidomide Trust in the U.K. suggests that the drug was first developed by Otto Ambrose, a Nazi scientist, as a possible antidote to nerve toxins, such as sarin gas.  Furthermore, a relation between testing thalidomide and the Nazi death camps has also been suggested.  And according to Grünenthal, Heinrich Mückter was among those responsible for inventing thalidomide.  Mückter was a pharmacologist who is known to have carried out wartime experiments on Polish prisoners allegedly in an effort to find a cure for typhus, but causing the death of many hundreds in the process.

Frances Kathleen Oldham Kelsey, Ph.D., M.D., who under pressure from the Richardson-Merrell, the company with the rights to market thalidomide, correctly refused approval of thalidomide by the FDA, saying that further studies were needed.  As a result, she eventually received the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service at a 1962 ceremony with President John F. Kennedy.  That same year, the United States Congress enacted laws requiring tests for safety during pregnancy before a drug can receive approval for sale in this country.

In September 2010, some fifty years later, the FDA honored Kelsey with the first “Kelsey Award,” which is an award now given annually to an FDA staff member.

Lisa Ferrecchia may have been born a thalidomide baby, but she’s not “disabled,” as far as she’s concerned.  She goes to work each day at a medical facility, where she works as a medical coordinator of care.  She bends over in order to write and her handwriting is beautiful.  I’m told that she has learned to apply her make up beautifully, as well.
So, in some sort of cruel joke, her income went down when her income went up, and now it was difficult to keep up with her $320,000 mortgage.

Stay with me, because here’s where her turning point occurs.  Here’s that moment in time when had she not chosen the path she did, everything could be different today and she would not be worrying about where she will go once her home is sold on Monday…

SHE LISTENED TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND CALLED ONEWEST BANK FOR HELP.

(If this were a movie, this is the part where the audience, seeing what she’s about to do screams, “No, Lisa… it’s a trap, don’t do it!  Don’t listen to them… get a roommate… anything… don’t call ONE WEST BANK!  Noooooo!)

Not realizing that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was both an uncaring, incompetent and dishonest shithead, and that banks like ONEWEST could not be trusted any further than they could be thrown, Lisa explained her situation to the OneWest representative… and can you guess what that person told her?  I know you can…

The OneWest representative said: “I’m sorry, I can’t even talk to you about this unless you’re 90-days delinquent.”

Ding, ding, ding!  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Over a year later, still being tortured by today’s version of thalidomide, Lisa decided she needed help and turned to a law firm who thought to themselves… “We have got to be able to get this done.  This is crazy.”

I spoke with someone from that firm and she says they have submitted Lisa’s paperwork on ten separate occasions, although she admits that number could be nine.  Each time, apparently, the bank takes at least 45 days to review the documents and by then they need new ones once again.

They tell me that she’s been turned down for not enough income, too much income, and the latest excuse du jour… her investor doesn’t participate… whatever the heck that means.

Memo to OneWest Bank – If you force me to actually go find out who her investor is and then pull the PSA for that trust, and I end up finding out this is an IndyMac portfolio loan that you bought for 30¢ on the dollar, or if it’s a Fannie or Freddie deal… I swear by all that is holy, that you will regret having made me go through that exercise, and I don’t give a rat’s petute how many multi-zillionaires you stack up over there.  As far as I’m concerned, the richer they are the more fun it is to ruin page one of their Google search.  Run that by Dell and Soros and see what they want to do, because they may have the money, but I’ve got the time.

So, now… TWO YEARS LATER… now Lisa has almost a $400,000 mortgage… thank you for that, by the way, OneWest Bank.  And when I first heard about her numbers, I thought, hmmm… she is short a few bucks on the income side here, but you know what… horse pucky!  You’re charging her 7.625 percent interest… what kind of unnecessary if not predatory garbage is that?  You can take that rate down quite a bit… and if you have any soul at all, you’ll wipe out at the $80k that’s your fault here, and then reduce the principal so that she can afford to keep her home… period.

I’m not usually like this, I’m a numbers person, but I’ve spent all day and night on this article and I’ve decided that you’re just not going to do this to Lisa Ferrecchia… not today.  Not this time.  Not happening.  Your bank told her to stop making her payments because that was the only way she could get her loan modified and that was TWO YEARS AGO.

Fix this thing… Lisa has had to overcome more than any of us… more than you George Soros. And you, a Hungarian Jew that lived through being a part of the Nazi’s own Jewish Council that carried out acts against Jews during the war.  You above all should know what it feels like to have others avert their eyes rather than to look at you, isn’t that right… Mr. Schwartz turned Soros?

And you, Michael Dell, yet another privileged Jew in a long line of over privileged Jews… don’t you want to do something about this?  Then for God’s sake, Dude, make the call and stop Lisa from losing her home, damn it!

And don’t freak out everybody, I’m Jewish so I’m ALLOWED to say what I’ve said here.  Where I come from, Jews don’t stand by and allow injustices like this happen to other people if we can help it… EVER.

Look, I’m not saying that Michael Dell or George Soros knows anything about this prior to my writing about it today, but they do now.  So fix it and do it fast, because the sale is Monday at 3:00 PM.  And just so you know, the house is not going to sell tomorrow no matter what, because we’ve already got foreclosure defense attorney Glenn Russell ready with a bankruptcy filing to stop it if that’s what we need to do.  (You’ve heard of Glenn, right, he was one of the lead attorneys from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court “Ibanez” decision.)

BUT LISA SHOULD NOT HAVE TO FILE BANKRUPTCY, AND IF YOU MAKE HER DO THAT, I AM GOING TO BE SUCH A PROBLEM FOR YOU THAT YOU’LL HAVE TO HIRE AN ENTIRE DEPARTMENT TO CONTEND WITH MY ANTICS GOING FORWARD.  ARE YOU FEELING ME HERE?

One West Bank is the reincarnation of failed IndyMac Bank, brought back from the dead by a list of multi-billionaires, with the support of the FDIC.  The list of multi-billionaires involved includes: J. Christopher Flowers – who comes from Goldman Sachs… John Paulson – who runs a hedge fund that did quite well shorting the meltdown along with Goldman Sachs… George Soros – who should need no further introduction, and Michael Dell, of “Dude, I’m getting a Dell” Computer.

I only offer those names so that everyone recognizes with whom we are dealing here. These are a bunch of guys so rich they could fund their own space program, take their space shuttle out for a spin whenever company comes to town, and even after all that I’m confident that they’d still be multi-billionaires.

On November 25, 2009, Judge Spinner in Long Island, New York penalized OneWest for what he said were, “harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive” actions related to their dealings with a homeowner at risk of foreclosure, by canceling the debt in favor of the borrower.  The decision was ultimately overturned on appeal, but the words still ring out across the land: harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive.

For most of my lifetime, those were not the sorts of words one expected to hear being associated with a bank.  Now, however, one reads them and thinks… Yeah!  You go, Judge. 

And George Soros, you’re referred to as a “philanthropist.”  I read that “Time” magazine says you’ve given away $7 billion to causes you’ve deemed worthy.  You provide funding for important causes all over the world.  You have to be someone who cares.  But how do I reconcile the way Judge Spinner described OneWest as being, “harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive,” against that?  How do you reconcile a contrast that stark?  Surely, it’s not about the money, is it?  Surely it cannot be that.

And you don’t get to average out your philanthropic deeds, you realize that right?

NoBody’s Perfect…

In 2008, Niko Von Glasow, also a “thalidomide baby,” produced and directed his first feature documentary, “NoBody’s Perfect.”  Without any deference to political correctness the film follows eleven people who, like him, were born disabled due to the disastrous side effects of Thalidomide, and who are prepared to pose for a book of photos… and to pose naked.

The film provides those who regularly throw furtive glances at “thalidomiders,” and other physically disabled people, with a good, long look, and along the way introducing us to fascinating characters working in such diverse areas as “politics, the media, sport, astrophysics and acting.”

It’s a darkly humorous look at people who have learned to live with their disability to an impressive level of “normality,” completing the picture by showing Niko’s numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the chemical company Gruenenthal, to talk about Thalidomide and its effects

About making the film, Niko’s wife told him that it was “time to look the devil in the eye.”  And has he explains, “It was the first real cinema film, historically, made by a disabled director about disability.”  In 2009, the film won the German Film Award for Best Documentary.

Von Glasow asked himself, “What’s my biggest fear?  And in his case, he says the answer was public nudity.

“People stare at me anyway, Niko explains.  

“When I go to a beach with my swimming suit on people stare even more, so I don’t go to beaches. I had to find 11 other thalidomiders who strip naked for a calendar and I became Mr. December. It became a dark but very funny comedy. I did it and now I feel better! More secure: in my soul, in my being, inside. Once you go into it, honesty is very healing.”

So… Dear OneWest Bank…

Lisa Ferrechia should not be in the position she is in today, two years behind on her mortgage and facing the loss of her home tomorrow at 3:00 PM… and she wouldn’t be except for you, and a crisis created by Wall Street’s investment bankers.  This is NOT her fault… she has done nothing wrong except to listen to your bank and her government.

If you hadn’t told her to stop making her mortgage payments in order to get her loan modified, I don’t know what would have happened, but I do know she would have done something else… and because Lisa is a person infinitely better than me at overcoming life’s obstacles, I fully believe she would have overcome this one… were it not for OneWest Bank.

Do you, OneWest Bank really want to be the thing that beat her?

It is inconceivable that any of the “Richest Americans” that are OneWest Bank’s owners, would want the bank’s management to do anything but STOP THIS SALE and do everything possible and then some, to keep Lisa in her home.

And I’m sorry if you or anyone else feels that I’ve been unfairly harsh here.  I assure you that I take no pleasure in any of this.  With every article I write, come prayers that it will be the last I ever need to write in this regard.

This article took me over 18 hours to write.  I started early on Saturday morning, worked on it until 11:00 PM on Saturday night.  Picked it up on Sunday morning at 7:00 AM and as I’m wrapping up now my clock reads 5:35 PM.  And the whole time I knew that Lisa would be wondering whether I would be writing something about her situation, as the research involved made it take a long time to get done.

And sure enough, when I just now called the law firm who is representing Lisa to get her loan number, I was told that she has been watching my blog… waiting to see if there was anything left on which she could pin her hopes. The law firm said that I would be… but Lisa, obviously preparing for the worst, replied: “Miracles like that just don’t happen for people like me.”

I wish more than anything that I could turn back the clock for Lisa Ferrechia and all of the other thalidomide babies… all the way back to the years 1957 – 1961.  I wish I could go back and stop what is referred to as, ”One of the biggest medical tragedies of modern times” from ever happening…. I know I can’t, of course… but I want more than anything to be the miracle she needs.

I wish that I could stop her home from being taken away from her… but I can’t DO that either.  All I can DO is write about this tragic situation in an effort to stop it from worsening.  I just don’t know what else I can possibly DO…

BUT LUCKILY MY DOERS DO… AM I RIGHT, DOERS? 

You know exactly what to DO in an effort to stop Lisa’s home from being sold out from under her… I know you DO.  And time is really of the essence here, so let’s DO this in a BIG way for Lisa… it’s Sunday, so everyone has time, right?

Let’s DO together what I couldn’t possibly DO alone… Let’s be her miracle.

Mandelman out. 

Lisa Ferrechia

Loan #3002965774

I assume you have Lisa’s phone number in your records, and you should also have contact information for the law firm that represents her, but just in case contact…

Lisa Reed

Lombardi & Stephenson, Attorneys at Law

Ph. 781-396-4663 Ext. 2205

Cell: 781-718-1993

HERE’S ONEWEST CONTACT INFO:

Steven Mnuchin

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

steven.mnuchin@owb.com

 ~~~

John Casillas

President

john.casillas@owb.com

Ph. 562-904-9001

~~~

Suggestion from a DOER add:

ombudsman@fdic.gov

 ~~~

Rick Hall

President Hall

richardhall@owb.com

 ~~~

Brandon Latman

brandon.latman@owb.com

Ph. 626-535-5970

 ~~~

Joseph M. Otting

Chief Executive Officer, President & Director

Corporate Offices Ph. 626-535-2500

Toll Free: 800-669-2300

joseph.otting@owb.com

~~~

Michael Mayer

Associate General Counsel

michael.mayer@owb.com

 ~~~

Claudia Mann
Default Escalation Specialist

Fax: 626-440-7148

claudia.mann@owb.com

ONE MORE THING…

Make no mistake, although Lisa doesn’t see it this way… this country OWES Lisa, big time.

In 1900, the Canadian government finally compensated thalidomiders with an award of $7.5 million, roughly just $100,000 each, as far as I can tell.  And that’s just not enough considering that government failed to properly warn the public of the dangers involved in using the drug.  Our government, it seems, has done nothing to compensate the victims of this unnecessary tragedy.

SIGN A PETITION seeking justice and dignity for thalidomiders worldwide.

The thalidomide tragedy was Europe’s worst man-made disaster outside of war or genocide since 1945. It came about because a greedy pharmaceutical company put profit ahead of humanity and because German politicians colluded with the profiteers to give the drug the best possible launch pad. Early warning signs were ignored and even discredited, evidence of birth defects was dismissed and thousands more babies were damaged needlessly. The German state allowed the survivors to have their rights trampled underfoot while Chemie Grunenthal continued to prosper.

This was a company that had its roots in the Nazi death camps and was staffed by unrepentant, former Nazis. This was their last, unpunished crime against humanity. It is time that the German Government recognized its own culpability and made a settlement with thalidomide survivors wherever they are and whoever they are. We believe that not doing so continues to heap shame on the German people.

 Thank you… 

Look, Wells Fargo… we have to talk.  And frankly, I’d appreciate it if you’d jot down a few notes as we go because I really don’t want to have to repeat myself on this subject… and dear Lord, trust me when I say that you don’t want me to have to repeat myself either.

Here’s the deal…

When you’re dealing with a family that has lived in their home and been a part of their community for 15 years… who have raised four children in that home… and has contacted you because the father in that family who works for the school district has been seriously injured in a work-related auto accident and placed on workers comp… right after his wife lost her SECOND JOB (that’s right, she works two jobs), and they have a special needs child, a beautiful daughter who is autistic… you KNOW you are dealing with VERY RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE, right?

Because the parents I just described are the embodiment of the word “responsible,” you do see that, right?

So, when you say to them, “Let’s get you qualified for a loan modification.” you’re doing the right thing.  And when they immediately send you all of their information and documentation, including updated paystubs and bank statements every 30 days for six months, you shouldn’t be all that surprised.

Even so, their Wells Fargo representative was quite surprised, so much so that he actually expressed to them how surprised he was, saying that they had done an outstanding job getting together everything he asked for, right on time, and exactly as he had instructed.  Jeneane, the wife, explained that she used to be an escrow officer so she was quite familiar with preparing and submitting such paperwork.

Not that doing everything right and on time mattered all that much, because Wells still filed an NOD and now has scheduled a sale date for February 3, 2012.

Of course, Grant… their Wells Fargo representative, was very comforting when he explained that they should not worry about that pesky little sale date, because if a decision wasn’t made by the underwriting department, he would simply request that the sale be postponed.  Well, that certainly must have been a relief for these parents to hear, I’m sure.

A little more than a week before the sale date Jeneane called again to check on how things were going but wouldn’t you know it, her Wells Fargo specialist, Grant, was just transferred to a different department.  A department without phones, apparently.

She was told that she would have to wait to speak with her newly assigned specialist until he or she was assigned.   (That’s what your people said, Wells Fargo.  I’m not responsible for that sentence.)

So,  Jeneane called back again yesterday and was told that someone had been assigned but, darn the luck, they weren’t available, so she asked the person who answered the phone if her home’s sale date had been postponed or if there had been an answer on their loan modification.

Now, stay with me here because this is the sort of thing that you read… and it makes your hair hurt.

The Wells Fargo woman said that it appeared that they needed some additional documentation.  Jeneane is quite adamant that this was not true, because she had just sent Grant 36 pages last week.  He had said that everything was there and he even told her that he had scheduled the postponement while they were on the phone.

Are you getting confused?  Yeah, well aren’t we all.

(I have to tell you, when it comes to paperwork being together, I believe Jeneane 100 percent.  This woman knows her paperwork.  She’s a paperwork Queen, you might even say.)

Nonetheless, Jeneane asked what Wells needed and was told she needed to send in  her 2010 tax return.  Jeneane replied that she had just sent in her 2010 Tax Return last week and was quite sure that it was there.  The woman placed her on hold for 10 minutes (kind of a long time to be on hold, don’t you think) and when the woman returned she said: “”Yes, I have it,” which by the way is not the proper response in that situation.

Just so you know… in that situation you’re supposed to say, “Oh, I’m sorry… you were right… we do have it.”  Or something to that effect.  I’m not trying to be picky here, in fact my expectations of Wells people have been lowered to such a degree that if they don’t spit or throw up in the middle of a conversation, I consider it pleasant.

Since the tax return thing didn’t stick, the next thing the Wells woman thought of to say was that they would not approve a postponement unless there was approval of the loan modification.

Jeneane asked if there were any notes in her file from last week when good old Grant said that he had requested the postponement.  She said no… and I have no trouble believing that.  In fact, at this point I wouldn’t have any trouble believing that there wasn’t even a file in which to potentially put notes.

Then the woman said, “You can’t even request a postponement until one day prior to the sale date.”

Then the woman told her to contact the trustee… Jeneane had never heard of a trustee before, but she figured you guys needed the extra hands so she made the call.  Can you guess what happened next?

The trustee said they hadn’t received anything about a postponement from Wells Fargo, but that it could be with Wells’ liaison, whatever that means, and that “sometimes you can’t find out if a sale is being postponed until the day before the sale.”

That’s when in her email to me, Jeneane said: “Somebody is playing a game with me!”

A game?  I’m not sure about that.  I don’t think I’d call it a “game.”

So, here we are at the end of the day on January 27th… it’s a Friday, by the way… so Saturday is the 28th, Sunday is the 29th, Monday the 30th, Tuesday the 1st, Wednesday the 2nd… and voila’… Wednesday the 3rd will be upon us.

And still… no call from Wells Fargo. 

I know you guys must be wicked busy over there but can’t you feel what these parents must be feeling as they watch the clock tick-tock into the weekend.  They’re looking at a weekend in HELL because it’s going to be spent knowing that when it ends there will be only two days to do anything about losing your home.  And you’re dealing with an organization that can take two days just to receive a fax.

Memo to Wells Fargo CEO, John Stumpf…

You and I have been around this sort of issue before, and not very long ago.  And the last time, you were very gracious and attentive to the problem at hand, so I’m going to make the assumption… and I want very much to believe… that this is just another unfortunate slipped through the cracks sort of thing.

So, I’m going to assume that you’ll read this and feel the absolute unfairness of what Jeneane and her husband Tom are being forced to endure at the hands of Wells Fargo’s personnel and systems.

Because I just can’t believe that anyone would intentionally do this to the parents of an autistic 12 year-old girl… invite them to apply for a loan modification, and then after six months, leave them over a weekend with the uncertainty of losing the only home they’ve known for 15 years… in a matter of days… the home in which they have raised four children… all because the husband was injured while while working for the school district… and the wife lost her second job… it’s simply unthinkable.

Who will call first… underwriting to say they’ve been saved… or the investor that just bought their home?  It’s positively surreal, Mr. Stumpf.  It is very definitely a form of torture.  How can a consumer brand like Wells Fargo not feel less secure about its future every time something like this happens?  Short memories?  I think not.

And here’s the thing… I’ve looked at this couple’s numbers.  Their mortgage is around $320,000, and their income is right where it should be to qualify for a loan modification relative to that amount.  And not only that, but their home is 50% UNDERWATER, so not only do I believe they qualify, but I would bet you dinner at the Cliff House that they pass any NPV test you’ve got going at Wells.

Wells Fargo Beats Expectations… 

By the way, I couldn’t help but notice that your earnings showed the bank’s income was, “boosted by a release of $600 million from reserves.”  I’ll tell you what… that is some mighty flowery language considering what you really seem to be saying is that income was “padded by the recapture of a prior expense.”

 

So, I’m curious how was it done?  Was it booked as a negative expense provision, or just some kind of a reverse of an expense taken in a prior period?  Six of one half dozen of another, I suppose, but it’s still kind of cutting off the end of the blanket and sewing it onto the other end to make the blanket longer, right?  I don’t suppose we should we be expecting you to shift that amount back over during the next quarter or two, should we?

 

The only reason I ask is that Bloomberg said the following…

 

Slowing economic growth, low interest rates and volatile capital markets have sapped revenue at the largest U.S. banks, leading them to seek other sources and cut expenses. Stumpf, 58, reduced his staff by 3 percent to 264,200 and reaffirmed plans to trim $1.5 billion in quarterly costs by the end of this year.

I realize that I’m kind of the ultimate cynic about these things, especially when they happen in the fourth quarter… you know… bonus season.  So, what was it that led you to conclude that you wouldn’t need the $600 million in reserves for future losses in light of the fact that you reduced staff by three percent and pledged $6 billion in cuts by the end of 2012?  That sounds like you’re expecting the economy to contract this coming year, and that would seem to mean the potential for losses.

Never mind, it’s none of my business anyway.  Besides, net income up 20 percent to $4.11 billion… you beat earnings estimates by a penny a share, and best of all you made Jamie Dimon over at JPM Chase look like a piker.

Okay, back to the issue at hand…

So, Jeneane’s new Wells’ specialist is Albert at Ext. 60613.  I won’t print his last name here.  He’s the one who was just too busy to make a call before taking off for the weekend. So, is it that he just has to many people in the same position as Jeneane and Tom, so there’s not enough time to call all of them, and so what the heck… time to go?  Or if this couple’s situation is at least somewhat unique, and I sure do hope it is… then what kind of person is too busy to make a call in such a situation?  I’d have taken the number home with me… called over weekend.

But, I don’t blame Albert at Ext. 60613… well, or maybe I do… I don’t even know… honestly, the whole thing has me dumbfounded… flummoxed… you might even say that I’m completely STUMPFED?  I just do not know what else to DO…

Lucky for me, I know some people who DO know what to DO…

RIGHT DOERS?

Tom Stover & Jeneane Traynor-Stover

8216 Seeno Ave.

Granite Bay, CA 95746

Loan Number #0150299733

~~~ 

And look what I found… a whole list of email addresses for Wells Fargo execs, but let’s start with letting Mr. John Stumpf know how littler we think of this situation his bank has created.  Let’s let him know we’re here and we’re paying attention… and that there are quite a few of us.

Chairman of the Board, President, CEO: John.G.Stumpf@wellsfargo.com

~~~~

John Stumpf (415) 396-7018
john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com
CEO: John G. Stumpf
420 Montgomery St.
San Francisco, CA 94163
1-866-878-5865

~~~

Sharon Cecil, Assistant to Both
WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE
sharon.cecil@wellsfargo.com

~~~

Todd M. Boothroyd
Senior Counsel, Real Estate Division
Todd.M.Boothroyd@wellsfargo.com

~~~

John Stumpf (415) 396-7018
john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com
CEO: John G. Stumpf
420 Montgomery St.
San Francisco, CA 94163
1-866-878-5865

~~~

Mark Oman (515) 324-2035
mark.oman@wellsfargo.com

~~~

Cara Heiden (515) 213-4040
cara.heiden@wellsfargo.com
Executive number for members to use to escalate the mod process 1-800-853-8516.
Executive Communications
800 S. Jordan Creek Parkway
West Des Moines, IA 50266
515-324-3130
&
515-324-2872

~~~

Denise Erickson
Executive Mortgage Specialist, Office of the President, WF Home Mortgage
MAC X2302-019
1 Home Campus
Des Moines, IA 50328
denise.erickson@wellsfargo.com
1-515-324-2610

~~~

Cara K. Heiden, CEO
WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE
cara.k.heiden@wellsfargo.com

~~~

Mary Coffin, Vice President
WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE
mary.coffin@wellsfargo.com

~~~

And a few more… just in case… 

Executive Vice President, General Counsel: James.M.Strother@wellsfargo.com

Executive Vice President, Controller: Richard.D.Levy@wellsfargo.com

Senior Executive Vice President – Wholesale Banking: David.A.Hoyt@wellsfargo.com

Senior Executive Vice President David.M.Carroll@wellsfargo.com

Senior Executive Vice President: patricia.r.callahan@wellsfargo.com

Senior Executive Vice President, CIO: kevin.a.rhein@wellsfargo.com

Senior EVP, Community Banking: Carrie.L.Tolstedt@wellsfargo.com

Senior Executive Vice President: AVID.MODJTABAI@wellsfargo.com

The Board of Directors, Wells Fargo Bank: BoardCommunications@wellsfargo.com

Look, Wells Fargo… we have to talk.  And frankly, I’d appreciate it if you’d jot down a few notes as we go because I really don’t want to have to repeat myself on this subject… and dear Lord, trust me when I say that you don’t want me to have to repeat myself either.

Here’s the deal…

When you’re dealing with a family that has lived in their home and been a part of their community for 15 years… who have raised four children in that home… and has contacted you because the father in that family who works for the school district has been seriously injured in a work-related auto accident and placed on workers comp… right after his wife lost her SECOND JOB (that’s right, she works two jobs), and they have a special needs child, a beautiful daughter who is autistic… you KNOW you are dealing with VERY RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE, right?

Because the parents I just described are the embodiment of the word “responsible,” you do see that, right?

So, when you say to them, “Let’s get you qualified for a loan modification.” you’re doing the right thing.  And when they immediately send you all of their information and documentation, including updated paystubs and bank statements every 30 days for six months, you shouldn’t be all that surprised.

Even so, their Wells Fargo representative was quite surprised, so much so that he actually expressed to them how surprised he was, saying that they had done an outstanding job getting together everything he asked for, right on time, and exactly as he had instructed.  Jeneane, the wife, explained that she used to be an escrow officer so she was quite familiar with preparing and submitting such paperwork.

Not that doing everything right and on time mattered all that much, because Wells still filed an NOD and now has scheduled a sale date for February 3, 2012.

Of course, Grant… their Wells Fargo representative, was very comforting when he explained that they should not worry about that pesky little sale date, because if a decision wasn’t made by the underwriting department, he would simply request that the sale be postponed.  Well, that certainly must have been a relief for these parents to hear, I’m sure.

A little more than a week before the sale date Jeneane called again to check on how things were going but wouldn’t you know it, her Wells Fargo specialist, Grant, was just transferred to a different department.  A department without phones, apparently.

She was told that she would have to wait to speak with her newly assigned specialist until he or she was assigned.   (That’s what your people said, Wells Fargo.  I’m not responsible for that sentence.)

So,  Jeneane called back again yesterday and was told that someone had been assigned but, darn the luck, they weren’t available, so she asked the person who answered the phone if her home’s sale date had been postponed or if there had been an answer on their loan modification.

Now, stay with me here because this is the sort of thing that you read… and it makes your hair hurt.

The Wells Fargo woman said that it appeared that they needed some additional documentation.  Jeneane is quite adamant that this was not true, because she had just sent Grant 36 pages last week.  He had said that everything was there and he even told her that he had scheduled the postponement while they were on the phone.

Are you getting confused?  Yeah, well aren’t we all.

(I have to tell you, when it comes to paperwork being together, I believe Jeneane 100 percent.  This woman knows her paperwork.  She’s a paperwork Queen, you might even say.)

Nonetheless, Jeneane asked what Wells needed and was told she needed to send in  her 2010 tax return.  Jeneane replied that she had just sent in her 2010 Tax Return last week and was quite sure that it was there.  The woman placed her on hold for 10 minutes (kind of a long time to be on hold, don’t you think) and when the woman returned she said: “”Yes, I have it,” which by the way is not the proper response in that situation.

Just so you know… in that situation you’re supposed to say, “Oh, I’m sorry… you were right… we do have it.”  Or something to that effect.  I’m not trying to be picky here, in fact my expectations of Wells people have been lowered to such a degree that if they don’t spit or throw up in the middle of a conversation, I consider it pleasant.

The Wells woman then explained that the delay is because… are you ready for this: How does the bank know that Mr. Stover will EVER return to work full-time?  Can you even imagine?  Jeneane pointed out that he is back to work half time, and everyone certainly hopes he ultimately recovers 100%.  They think he will… they’re prayers are… OMG.  Would someone like to explain to me how in the world Wells Fargo would go about answering that question.  Do they have a direct line to the Almighty… I mean, Lloyd Blankfein?  I mean… rude much?

Since the tax return thing didn’t stick… and the obnoxious unanswerable question didn’t seem to help… the next thing the Wells woman thought of to say was:  They won’t approve a postponement unless there was approval of the loan modification.

Come again?  Say what?  Ex-screws me?  Wells Fargo won’t approve a postponement of a sale… unless there’s approval of a loan modification?  Go over that sentence again for me… real slow.  Wells you are starting to make my hair hurt.  Does that make sense to ANYONE?  So, noodle me this:

If there was approval of a loan modification, why would there be a sale date to postpone?  

Jeneane then asked if there were any notes in her file from last week when good old Grant said that he had requested the postponement.  She said no… and I have no trouble believing that.  In fact, at this point I wouldn’t have any trouble believing that there wasn’t even a file in which to potentially put notes.

Then the woman said, “You can’t even request a postponement until one day prior to the sale date.”

I’m getting dizzy… is it hot in here?

Then the woman told her to contact the trustee… Jeneane had never heard of a trustee before, but she figured you guys needed the extra hands so she made the call.  Can you guess what happened next?

The trustee said they hadn’t received anything about a postponement from Wells Fargo, but that it could be with Wells’ liaison, whatever that means, and that “sometimes you can’t find out if a sale is being postponed until the day before the sale.”

That’s when in her email to me, Jeneane said: “Somebody is playing a game with me!”

A game?  I’m not sure about that.  I don’t think I’d call it a “game.”

So, here we are at the end of the day on January 27th… it’s a Friday, by the way… so Saturday is the 28th, Sunday is the 29th, Monday the 30th, Tuesday the 1st, Wednesday the 2nd… and voila’… Wednesday the 3rd will be upon us.

And still… no call from Wells Fargo. 

I know you guys must be wicked busy over there but can’t you feel what these parents must be feeling as they watch the clock tick-tock into the weekend.  They’re looking at a weekend in HELL because it’s going to be spent knowing that when it ends there will be only two days to do anything about losing your home.  And you’re dealing with an organization that can take two days just to receive a fax.

Memo to Wells Fargo CEO, John Stumpf…

You and I have been around this sort of issue before, and not very long ago.  And the last time, you were very gracious and attentive to the problem at hand, so I’m going to make the assumption… and I want very much to believe… that this is just another unfortunate slipped through the cracks sort of thing.

So, I’m going to assume that you’ll read this and feel the absolute unfairness of what Jeneane and her husband Tom are being forced to endure at the hands of Wells Fargo’s personnel and systems.

Because I just can’t believe that anyone would intentionally do this to the parents of an autistic 12 year-old girl… invite them to apply for a loan modification, and then after six months, leave them over a weekend with the uncertainty of losing the only home they’ve known for 15 years… in a matter of days… the home in which they have raised four children… all because the husband was injured while while working for the school district… and the wife lost her second job… it’s simply unthinkable.

Who will call first… underwriting to say they’ve been saved… or the investor that just bought their home?  It’s positively surreal, Mr. Stumpf.  It is very definitely a form of torture.  How can a consumer brand like Wells Fargo not feel less secure about its future every time something like this happens?  Short memories?  I think not.

And here’s the thing… I’ve looked at this couple’s numbers.  Their mortgage is around $320,000, and their income is right where it should be to qualify for a loan modification relative to that amount.  And not only that, but their home is 50% UNDERWATER, so not only do I believe they qualify, but I would bet you dinner at the Cliff House that they pass any NPV test you’ve got going at Wells.

Wells Fargo Beats Expectations… 

By the way, I couldn’t help but notice that your earnings showed the bank’s income was, “boosted by a release of $600 million from reserves.”  I’ll tell you what… that is some mighty flowery language considering what you really seem to be saying is that income was “padded by the recapture of a prior expense.”

 

So, I’m curious how was it done?  Was it booked as a negative expense provision, or just some kind of a reverse of an expense taken in a prior period?  Six of one half dozen of another, I suppose, but it’s still kind of cutting off the end of the blanket and sewing it onto the other end to make the blanket longer, right?  I don’t suppose we should we be expecting you to shift that amount back over during the next quarter or two, should we?

 

The only reason I ask is that Bloomberg said the following…

 

Slowing economic growth, low interest rates and volatile capital markets have sapped revenue at the largest U.S. banks, leading them to seek other sources and cut expenses. Stumpf, 58, reduced his staff by 3 percent to 264,200 and reaffirmed plans to trim $1.5 billion in quarterly costs by the end of this year.

I realize that I’m kind of the ultimate cynic about these things, especially when they happen in the fourth quarter… you know… bonus season.  So, what was it that led you to conclude that you wouldn’t need the $600 million in reserves for future losses in light of the fact that you reduced staff by three percent and pledged $6 billion in cuts by the end of 2012?  That sounds like you’re expecting the economy to contract this coming year, and that would seem to mean the potential for losses.

Never mind, it’s none of my business anyway.  Besides, net income up 20 percent to $4.11 billion… you beat earnings estimates by a penny a share, and best of all you made Jamie Dimon over at JPM Chase look like a piker.

Okay, back to the issue at hand…

So, Jeneane’s new Wells’ specialist is Albert at Ext. 60613.  I won’t print his last name here.  He’s the one who was just too busy to make a call before taking off for the weekend. So, is it that he just has to many people in the same position as Jeneane and Tom, so there’s not enough time to call all of them, and so what the heck… time to go?  Or if this couple’s situation is at least somewhat unique, and I sure do hope it is… then what kind of person is too busy to make a call in such a situation?  I’d have taken the number home with me… called over weekend.

But, I don’t blame Albert at Ext. 60613… well, or maybe I do… I don’t even know… honestly, the whole thing has me dumbfounded… flummoxed… you might even say that I’m completely STUMPFED?  I just do not know what else to DO…

Lucky for me, I know some people who DO know what to DO…

RIGHT DOERS?

Tom Stover & Jeneane Traynor-Stover

8216 Seeno Ave.

Granite Bay, CA 95746

Loan Number #0150299733

~~~ 

And look what I found… a whole list of email addresses for Wells Fargo execs, but let’s start with letting Mr. John Stumpf know how littler we think of this situation his bank has created.  Let’s let him know we’re here and we’re paying attention… and that there are quite a few of us.

Chairman of the Board, President, CEO: John.G.Stumpf@wellsfargo.com

~~~~

John Stumpf (415) 396-7018
john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com
CEO: John G. Stumpf
420 Montgomery St.
San Francisco, CA 94163
1-866-878-5865

~~~

Howard.I.Atkins@wellsfargo.com

James.M.Strother@wellsfargo.com

Richard.D.Levy@wellsfargo.com

David.A.Hoyt@wellsfargo.com

David.M.Carroll@wellsfargo.com

patricia.r.callahan@wellsfargo.com

kevin.a.rhein@wellsfargo.com

Carrie.L.Tolstedt@wellsfargo.com

AVID.MODJTABAI@wellsfargo.com

BoardCommunications@wellsfargo.com
sharon.cecil@wellsfargo.com
Todd.M.Boothroyd@wellsfargo.com

john.g.stumpf@wellsfargo.com
cara.heiden@wellsfargo.com
denise.erickson@wellsfargo.com
cara.k.heiden@wellsfargo.com
mary.coffin@wellsfargo.com

BoardCommunications@wellsfargo.com

 ombudsman@fdic.gov

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