STEP RIGHT UP, YOU SIR..YOU MADAMM....RIDE THE FERRIS WHEEL! LENDERS HAVE CREATED AND OPERATE IN A CARNIVAL-LIKE ATMOSPHERE WHILE THEIR TELEVISION COMMERCIALS MAKE STRIVE TO MAKE THEM SEEM HONEST AND RESPECTABLE. AS JOHN TRAVOLTA SAID IN THE MOVIE SWORDFISH - "MISDIRECTION STAN." THE WHEELS ARE COMING OFF!
Here is a copy of the shocking lawsuit filed by the Ohio Attorney General against GMAC and Ally Financial, Inc. and the "robosigner" Jeffrey Stephan. This case illustrates what we have been saying here all along, and what Neil Garfield (author of the "living lies" website) that most of the foreclosure you see going on are the products of fraud and a failure to even have proof the of the note (yeah, that little piece of paper that gives a bank the legal right to enforce the debt - of course the deed of trust is a whole other matter).
http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/GMACLawsuit (it took a little while to download so you might have to be patient). Maybe shelling out billions of dollars of fines will change things? I wouldn't count on it. Probably would only invoke another taxpayer funded bailout to help them pay all their fines and legal fees. After all, Congress will not let their banker buddies fail.
So, I can only ask at this point - WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON IN AMERICA WHERE THESE BANKS, WHO GOT BAILED OUT TO SAVE THEMSELVES FROM BANKRUPTCY, FEEL THEY DO NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW THE LAW WHEN IT COMES TO INITIATING FAIR FORECLOSURE PROCESSES?
Is this what we are down to now? Here is just a sample of some Banking Nonsense we have seen in our time defending California and Arizona homeowners from foreclosure:
(1) Foreclosing while Hamp Modifications are in process in disregard of U.S. Treasury Directive 10-02 (not to mention the HAMP Scam / Trial Plan Fraud we have highlighted on our other site TrialPlanFraud.com)
(2) Failure to respond to legitimate RESPA Qualified Written Requests (QWR). Homeowners have a right to challenge and dispute loan charges. Banks are mediocre at responding to these legitimate requests.
HERE IS A BLOG ON RESPA QWR: http://vondranlegal.com/respa-qualified-written-request-by-foreclosure-defense-attorney-steve-vondran/
(3) Failure to identify the holder of the loan obligation (name, address, and phone number) under 15 U.S.C. 1641(f). My friends, I will tell you this, the banks do not think it is any of your business to know who owns your loan and who you owe money to. That shouldn't surprise you, recall that when you signed your "loan documents" they did not care to inform you that when the ink dried the loan would actually be turned into a "security" that would be sold to investors on Wall Street, (of course they didn't care to tell investors of mortgage backed securities that some of the loans were just plain junk despite the AAA rating).
THE BIG QUESTION WE HAVE BEEN ASKING IS WHO OWNS YOUR LOAN. HERE IS ONE OF OUR BLOGS DISCUSSING FACTS AND MYTHS OF PRODUCE THE NOTE: http://www.producethenoteattorney.com/
(4) Failure to adhere to the TILA amendment requiring that when a loan is sold, the new owner of the loan must notify the borrower. Again, this arises under 15 U.S.C. 1641 et seq. Borrowers deserve to know when their loans are being passed around like whiskey bottles at a frat house on the secondary loan market. I do not seek this happening at all. Why? The big banks don't worry about enforcement.
HERE IS ONE OF OUR BLOGS DISCUSSING THIS AMENDMENT: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1675367/do-you-have-the-legal-right-to-know-who-owns-your-loan-under-new-truth-in-lending-tila-amendment-the-answer-is-amazingly-yes-
(5) Foreclosing without the legal right to enforce the debt and foreclose (yes, a lender needs both the original note endorsed to them, or to bearer along with the deed of trust. I call this "ham and eggs." This is foreclosure 101. You have to have the legal credentials to foreclose. How do they get around this? They pursue non-judicial foreclosures in Arizona and California where "produce the note" civil injunction strategy will not likely aid the homeowner due to prevailing case law in most jurisdictions. What does this mean? It means just about anyone can foreclose on you and you cannot stop them with a civil lawsuit. Wow. Yep.
(6) Forged docs / Robosigners / False declarations - Instead of modifying loans as Obama's "Making Home Affordable" was supposed to incentivize (we call it "Making Homes Disappear" by the way), the lenders have pursued a strategy of creating "foreclosure mills" that seek to evict as many homeowners as fast as possible from their homes. I mean c'mon, signing 10,000 documents a month without even reading what you are signing, while attesting to the truth of the matter contained therein - wait, this is starting to sound like how congress passes new laws - without reading anything. Anyway, I digress, but we are seeing false Notice of Default (fake signatures), False 2935.5 declarations in the notice of default, improper substitution of trustee (not following what the deed of trust says must be done to properly substitute a trustee), etc.
IF YOU WANT AN INSIGHT - CHECK OUT THIS LINK
(7) Before I forget, lets not forget all the predatory lending, TILA violations, Elder Abuse, Fraud etc. in the loan origination process. Apparently that was just "business as usual." I just came across a file where a broker collected nearly 40k to put an elder in a option arm ("pick-a-prey") negative amortization loan he would not be able to afford after the loan adjusted.
HERE IS A BLOG ON A FEW THINGS WE LOOK FOR IN FORENSIC LOAN AUDITS: http://www.foreclosuredefenseresourcecenter.com/forensicloan-loan-audits/
(8) Number 8 has been deleted
(9) We have filed TILA rescission lawsuits, and have had not one, but two or three different attorneys calling us saying they represented the Banks (oh, and MERS, and the Trustee and everyone else named in the lawsuit) and we even had one attorney assure us in an email that the sale date was postponed and the house would not be sold. Next thing you know, the house was sold. Yep. That is the way big business works my friends. Keep in mind the loan had already been rescinded under TILA and a Quiet Title Lawsuit was pending. The deed of trust was nullified by operation of law under TILA, but they still felt they could sell on security they did not possess. Amazing, but true cases from the foreclosure defense files.
TO GET MORE INFORMATION ON TILA RESCISSION CLICK HERE: http://www.rescindmyloan.net/can-i-rescind-my-loan-against-the-new-lender-overview-of-the-holder-in-due-course-rule-and-legal-challenges-to-predatory-securitized-loans/
(10) We have seen "pretender lenders" with no legal right to enforce the note (again they do not have the original note and deed of trust) try to lift the automatic stay in bankruptcy. This happens time and time again. I am happy to report that I see many homeowners fighting their own cases in pro per and some are doing quite well. To lift the stay, the bank needs to show a. legal standing and b. show they are the real party in interest. These are PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS OF LAW THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED AND THE COURT SHOULD NOT EVEN ENTERTAIN ANYTHING THESE "LENDERS" HAVE TO SAY IF THEY CANNOT MEET BASIC LEGAL REQUIREMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN IN PLACE FOR MANY YEARS AND WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO MAKE US A MORE CIVILIZED SOCIETY AND TO PREVENT MISTAKES FROM HAPPENING. YES, EVEN A BIG BANK CAN MAKE MISTAKES. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME ASK GMAC AND ALLY FINANCIAL, INC.
(11) Recent thing we are hearing (although I have not yet seen it I have heard this from other forensic loan examiners): "As we all know, BofA has stopped foreclosures in all 50 states. However, I have noted a lot of assignments from BofA to Citigroup, US Bank, or Deutsche Bank during the foreclosure process. BofA is then not part of the foreclosure which provides a false sense of security to those homeowners." They are trading loans on the back market and behind closed doors to do whatever they have to do to look good to the public, but then to get what they want in the back room. Shouldn't surprise anyone. I filed a lawsuit against OneWest bank for TILA rescission, now OneWest says HSBC securitized loan trust is the owner of the loan and OneWest and Wells (who was previously identified as the investor of the loan to the borrower) want to be dismissed. Fat chance. This is what is going on. It is a carnival out there.
I could go on and on, but these are some of the main things in my mind, and some of the typical things i deal with every day. The harsh reality is the banks could care less about you, and your home, and in many cases they do not like the fact that they have to comply with the law before foreclosing on your house. They see it is a an obstacle and technicality that their "foreclosure mills" would be better off not having to deal with. After all, the borrower is in default on the predatory loan they underwrote right? And once your house is sold using this process, they raise the "YOU MUST TENDER THE BALANCE OF THE LOAN IF YOU WANT TO CHALLENGE THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS." What? yes, that is what they say each time after the rush to foreclosure, violate the law, and a homeowner seeks to challenge their actions. THE ARGUE TO THE COURTS THAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DO EQUITY IF YOU WANT EQUITY. APPARENTLY THE EQUITY OF THEIR CONDUCT IS NOT AT ISSUE AFTER THE HOUSE IS SOLD. Simply amazing!
At least with the latest lawsuit, the Ohio Attorney General is sending the message loud and clear "WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE UP TO - AND NOW ITS TIME TO PAY THE PIPER." THESE MAJOR FORTUNE 500 BANKS NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE DOING, SHOW RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW, AND IF THEY CAN'T SHOW THE LEGAL RIGHT TO FORECLOSE, THEN THEY MIGHT WANT TO THNK ABOUT MODIFYING THE LOAN AND KEEPING THE OWNER IN THE HOUSE. GREEED, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, IS NOT GOOD IF THE END RESULT IS PAYING LIP-SERVICE TO LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.
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Steve Vondran is a foreclosure defense and bankruptcy lawyer with offices in Phoenix, Arizona and Newport Beach, California. He is also a licensed real estate broker in both states and helps homeowners facing foreclosure all up and down these two states from San Diego to San Francisco, from Tuscon to Phoenix. Services include Forensic loan audits, predatory lending litigation, TILA loan rescission, Quiet Title Lawsuits, Recoupment, Wrongful Foreclosure Lawsuits and other real estate issues including zoning and eminent domain in the greater phoenix region. Mr. Vondran can be reached at (877) 276-5084.
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