FEES

Fees
Purchaser:
Settlement fee, title examination and notary fee $350.00
Abstract / title search $185.001
Survey (if applicable) $150.001
Courier / Express Mail / Wire fee at cost
Title Insurance (based on purchase price)
a. Standard Owners Policy is $3.70 per $1000 up to $250,000 (call for quote over $250,000)
b. Enhanced / Extended / Premier Owners Policy is $4.44 per $1000 up to $250,000 (call for quote over $250,000)

Seller:

Document Preparation (Deed) $75.00
Secure Release $75.002

Refinance:

Settlement fee, title examination and notary fee $350.00
Abstract / title search $185.001,3
Survey $150.001,3
Courier / Express Mail / Wire fee at cost
Secure release $75.002
Lenders Title Insurance (based on loan amount) $2.65 per $1000 up to $250,000#

REISSUE AND REDUCED RATES MAY APPLY

Flipping is back-This time it’s the lenders—–and they are on track to LOSE MONEY with each transaction

wordpress example10001    (These are the documents involved in the following post)

      I have been trying to get a handle on, and track, some of the recent activity on foreclosures in MD. Luckily, there is a lot of information that is easily accessible public information. As you read this keep in mind that I am by no means a financial genius, or attorney. I am just a regular Joe who is appalled that homeowners are being blamed for the state of the housing market, and the economy. I have also been trying to save my home, but when you go about it “pro se”  you can pretty much guarantee the high-priced foreclosure factory has the eyes and ears of the court.

     I chose this property as an example because there is no “MBS” involved. If this can be done when it is clear and concise that the foreclosing lender is not on the Deed of Trust (there is even LESS  hope for the homeowner when one is involved), and this is a non-judical foreclosure.

     In a perfect world, the Judge would do his job, look at the paperwork. He would have seen in this case that the foreclosing bank was not on the referenced and submitted case, and should have dismissed the foreclosure on that fact alone. BUT as you will see it proceeded and was  concluded in favor of the lender. A nagging question for me is, since there is not Certificate of Satisfaction involved, and it is a completely different lender than that of record.

     I have chosen an interesting set of transactions with one property in particular. The property is located in Washington County, MD. This example is NOT UNIQUE to what I have been finding, but it is one of the most blatant and shocking.

     The Deed of Trust for this property was for $233.900.00 ($26,000 down plus closing costs not included) in February 2006. The foreclosure was filed February 12, 2007, with a statement of mortgage debt of $245,908.75 ( a final debt of $249,228.45 ). There has yet to be a Certificate of Satisfaction filed for this debt, and the 3 yr time has not yet passed for the original mortgage company of record to get a judgement against the owner, so I am still following this property.

     Although Suntrust was not the noteholder of record in seemingly any wasy shape or form, I will still continue this example as if they were, since they are the primary source of the litigation.

     The following information will show that along with the over $15,000.00 in original mortgage debt, Suntrust was willing to lose the $220,000.00 they paid CASH for the property. I don’t know about you, but if I ran a business like this, I would soon be closed - not bailed out, or even covered by any type of insurance.

      In brief, this is how the mortgage trail and monies go:

          1)Original lender —-> Homeowner  (Sale price $269,000)

                   Deed of Trust ( Noteholder of Record): Mortgage Capitol Investors

           2) SUNTRUST appoints Subsitute Trustee to begin foreclosure

           3) SUNTRUST Foreclosure factory Trustee –>SUNTRUST (high 

                   bidder $220,500.00)

           4)  SUNTRUST——–> TCIF REO (ZERO dollars Quitclaim Deed)

           5) TCIF REO ——-> New Buyer (165,000.00)

     I don’t know about you, but it looks to me that SUNTRUST paid $220,500.00 cash for a house they gave away for NOTHING! In my head I KNOW the homeowner who was foreclosed on was probably trying to get the loan modified, or work something out with the lender. And I KNOW they would have paid much more than ZERO DOLLARS to keep their home.

     I have searched high and low for anything Satisfying or Assigning the mortgage to any entity other than MERS or Mortgage Capitol- neither of whom were part of the foreclosure process.

     I think that there will be more and more of these kinds of transactions that will go unquestioned and uncontested by the recorders, courts, and foreclosed homeowners. In a cynical way I tend to think that they MAY be recorded at a later date – when it’s too late for the foreclosed homeowner to do anything about it, and may open a whole new can of worms for the foreclosing purchaser. What it comes down to is , in this case, the delinquent homeowner didn’t cost the lender to lose money,  the lender did.

          While the situation is a little harder to follow when it comes to an “MBS” foreclosure, I have found that the results are pretty typical. The Lender who foreclosed is the winning bidder, paying less than the actual mortgage debt, and then reselling for even less money. The largest amount I have found is more than $100,000.00 less.

     So the next time you are willing to cast a leering look at the “deadbeat homeowner” next door bringing down your property value and the economy as a whole——think about this.

Maryland Land Records Searches Illuminate Fraud by Foreclosure Factories and Banks

 

Before a foreclosure case can be docketed in the State of Maryland, the following conditions must be met: 
• Statement of debt, under oath, which itemizes the entire amount the lender claims is due under the loan. This will usually include principal, interest, late charges, attorneys’ fees and all other charges that the borrower is responsible for under the mortgage;
• Certification that the property owner is not a member of the military service. Under a federal law, commonly known as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act, members of the military service have specific rights when lawsuits are brought against them (including foreclosure proceedings) since they may not be in the U.S. due to a military assignment and unable to adequately defend their interests;
  •  
    • If you are a member of the military service and find a property owned by you is the subject of a foreclosure action, you should ask an attorney what additional rights you may have as a result of this federal statute.
• Statement, under oath, that indicates the date of default, the nature of the default and the date the Notice of Intent to Foreclose was sent;
• A copy of the Notice of Intent to Foreclose;
• Original or certified copy of the mortgage or deed of trust;
• Copy of the debt instrument and an affidavit of ownership;
• Original or certified copy of the assignment of the mortgage if applicable;
• The mortgage lender and originator’s license number if applicable; and
• A uniform Notice regarding the filing of the foreclosure action

     It’s these highlighted areas that are the biggest bone of contention with those who are fighting to save their homes. The Deed of Trust is easy enough to find, and all the records are available for public viewing. However, it is the is the other two which the attorneys and lender’s are seeming to “fudge” and get away with, seemingly at the blessing of the court.

     Their “affidavit of ownership” and “assignment of the mortgage” are at best a joke. I have found that in some cases there are two “Deeds” with one possessing little more than a stamp with the words “remit to……”.If you dig a little bit you will find that many of the same people are signing for these “affidavits” and “assignments” they have Power of Attorney for these types of documents for many different banks. And many of these companies are little more than subdivisions of the law firms handling the foreclosures. I believe that would fall under “conflict of interest” on many different levels. But it is happening ever day here in Maryland.

     When it comes to the “Assignment of Mortgage” you can look in the land records and see that many of the foreclosed on homes never had the mortgage assigned to anyone other than themselves and the bank with whom they took the loan.

     While I believe in our justice system, the information I have been able to dig up (it only takes a couple of clicks of the mouse) has really begun to frustrate me. The biggest reason being if I as an average citizen were trying to pull this off, it wouldn’t happen. But put and Esq. after your name, and it seems the rules change.

     What have I found in some of the Court and Land Records in Maryland?

          – Court ratification of a foreclosure that was filed 2/6/09, BUT the      ratification date is 1/2/7/2008

          – Ratifications that are recorded and sent to the auditors PRIOR to the advertised date for exceptions to be filed

          – “Affidavits” stating the time frame for the mortgage debt due not even occurring yet (For example: Dated Jan. 2007…..mortgage debt from May 2007-Dec 2007)

          – Assignments of mortgage for the consideration of $1.00

          – Assignments “intended to be recorded” dated months, to a year earlier

          – “Affidavits” dated PRIOR to the stated “power of attorney” date

          – “Substitute Trustee Appointments : Notarized “Affidavits” that contain a different dated of notarization than the dated they notarized

          – Substitute Trustee deeds filed and recorded the same day as the new deed of purchase of a foreclosed property

          -Many different signatures for the same “notary”

          – Conflicting amounts of money on the same Deed

          – Quitclaim Deeds for ZERO Dollars transferring the foreclosed property to another entity (This was truly amazing to me. Why would they Quitclaim Deed the property?….You know the borrower would have given them MORE THAN ZERO DOLLARS to keep the property.

               The Transaction looks like this:

          Suntrust only bidder at auction: $220,500.00

          Suntrust Quitclaim Deed to TCIF in consideration of: $0.00

          TCIF Sells to new buyer: 165,000.00

          This really makes you wonder what/if they will do if/when they go after the borrower for judgment on the difference of the sale price and the original mortgage

     How are they getting away with it? Easy. The “foreclosure factory” attorney’s are now getting “Substitute Trustee deeds” the funny thing is that according to some of these Deeds, US Bank, Wells Fargo,HSBC and many other banks all share the SAME ADDRESS, which lends credence to many peoples claims that the lender foreclosing on them, is not the correct lender.(Look up the address on the internet and it will point you to Wells Fargo as being the only company at that address.) But hey, all the paperwork ends up in the same place so it’s a wash right?

     I believe this new trend of deed has appear to cover the tracks of misdeeds of these lenders and “foreclosure factory” lawyers. The thing is, you can complain all you want, the “law” is on their side because at least in my experience with the State judicial system here in MD…good luck in getting your motions or objections heard.

     When I see the blatant inaccuracies within the court system I want to scream. I contacted my Congressman and Senators with copies of just two REALLY inaccurate files. All I got back was “thanks for the note”, basically. I thought that at least in an election year there would be someone taking a stand for the people, but I guess it’s too far away yet to consider. That may be part of it, but a bigger part of the picture is that we need to stand up and be heard.

     Laws were enacted for a reason. As these laws get abused, or loopholes are found and exploited, changes are made. No one is holding these entities accountable. The time is well past for changes in the system concerning foreclosures and “assignments” of the Real Estate Laws here in MD. These law firms, Trustees, Substitute Trustees, REO Companies, basically everyone involved in the process needs to be held to the same standards as the general public.

     I can see these deeds coming back to bite us in the butt years from now. Will it be the lender’s and lawyers who pay?…..If this whole Securitized MBS fiasco has taught us anything, you can bet not. The reality is in this non-judicial State there is little the borrower can do, and once they get foreclosed on I doubt that any of them are going through and checking what was done AFTER the sale.

     I would love to champion the cause of holding these firms accountable, but my one voice seems to be drowned out by the ringing of the cashier tills of these transactions. I WILL keep up the fight though, anyone willing to join can contact me. Let’s make a REAL CHANGE. I may not save my house, but if I can affect real change and keep others from being scammed out of theirs it will have all been worth it!

Legal perceptions….hurt the average American

     The legal perception in this country is that all lawyers are honest, and anyone fighting foreclosure is just a deadbeat trying to get away with something. I have been trying to fight my own foreclosure case pro se. If an attorney can’t make a ton of money or they assume you can’t afford them, you have no other choice.

     The frustrating thing is no matter how right you are….in a non-judicial case I truly doubt that the facts will ever be truly known. A good example of this is that the documents used to start the foreclosure process are misdated, and contain miscalculations.

     Well being the no-legal person I am ,I tried to get the court to look at the paperwork I was providing as evidence. And every time, their attorney would respond by stating that I didn’t do it EXACTLY as the rules of my state say. They didn’t deny anything I said, just that since I didn’t enter it into court correctly or ask for what I wanted in the right way,  my motions should be dismissed, and they were. I never even got an answer on my request for a hearing…even after asking for judicial notice on the facts I was presenting.

     Can this really be happening? Do Judges not have the discretion to give the pro se a little leeway to keep them from being railroaded? It is almost as if because they are attorneys, they would never put something into court that was fraudulent or misrepresentational, and how dare I question or point out that they are.

     I can’t believe a Judge really ever looked at my supporting documents or my Motions, after all I’m just a “deadbeat homeowner” trying to stall. When in reality I have been fighting for years for wrong calculations on escrow,payments,  forced placed insurance, and fraud. I’ve been trying for years to get my 10.75% loan modified. Following all their plans until I just couldn’t do it any more because it was getting me further in the hole.

     Yes, I sent my Qualified Written Request. Twice. The first time I was stupid enough not to do it certified. This second time I did send it certified and got a receipt. When the 20 days had passed for them to recognize that they received it I called them, to ask why I hadn’t gotten their acknowledgement. They deny receiving anything. I call HUD to see what I can do, my loan is not FHA so they can’t do anything. I call OCC, they say there is no way of them verifying what I sent to get the return receipt and I can send them a copy of the QWR but they really can’t do anything. They ask me how many questions I asked. I responded with “as many as I needed answers to”…they were not amused.

     So I was sitting here waiting to get an appointment with a lawyer. I am armed with the fact they didn’t follow the new law which states when they first contacted me they were supposed to inform me of how I could fight the foreclosure, and didn’t, the letter I got was received less than 10 days prior to the sale, questioning the fact that the sale was commenced before my motion to dismiss was heard, there was no one at the auction on the day it did happen,and I figure for good measure I will print out the case history to take with me.

     Imagine my shock when I see that the Judge ratified the sale the same day he dismissed my motion! Man that just plays right into the hands of their attorney. It is harder to get the sale overturned after it has been ratified….even though it was 15 days earlier than they had posted in the paper!

    ( I have a lovely mortgage that is in a package. I was working my way up the chain as I was told getting the right authorities involved to help with the fraud.I have been trying for quite some time to get the OCC to help since there was fraud at the inception of the loan, BUT since they have taken so long and my working up the chain to get to the OCC the 3 years has passed, and since I didn’t file fraud charges before 3 years, that option os no longer available to me……although I can only assume if they wanted to exercise the option they’d figure out a way.)

     Throughout this whole thing I have not once been heard, I got screwed before during and now after the sale. Yes there is a “remit to Wells Fargo” stamp on the Deed of Trust. No Date, no notary, nothing. What if I presented a note with a stamp? Does that me I legally hold the note? Considering they presented the note in August 2009 w/o the stamp, and then again in Jan 10 with the stamp I think it’s a little suspect.

     The PSA says they must have the note in recordable form as of the date of the deal closing…..where is THAT piece of paper? I can only assume since they fabricated other paperwork to fit the need they would probably do the same.

     So when Wells Fargo LEGALLY assigns the mortgage to the entity foreclosing on me after this is all through (further proving my point they didn’t have it to begin with) then what? They will have gotten away with fraud, and used the court system to do it. And they’ll make a good profit at it too because they bought the loan at the auction for less than the note. and since it is a recourse state they will get me for the deficiency, and they included the prepayment penalties and “corporate advances on it as well.

     There is something wrong with a system that can allow this to happen. Why is it that I have more rights if I were to rob a bank or kill someone, but when I try to save my home they can just railroad it through?!?!!?

My Brilliant Niece: Key Lime Cakes

     My niece is a brilliant cook and as you will see a MUCH better writer than me. This Month on Pastryscoop.com……her Key Lime cakes.

     I wish I was as creative in the kitchen as she is. I can barely boil water! I want her to write a recipe book based on traveling and the recipes handed down from generation to generation.

     It is often the time spent in the kitchen, making dinner, cookies….or “starch surprise” ( family joke) that when reflected on bring as much comfort as the food itself.

    The last time we got this much snow, my Mom commented that it was God giving us a wake up call. Spent time with your family….that’s what is really important. So if you are like me and trapped in 30″ of snow….take sometime and make a memory with your kids…try this simple and very tasty recipe.

http://www.pastryscoop.com/thescoop_lime0609.html

The OCC….National Banks Security Blanket

    You may be one of thousands of Americans who have been educating yourself on what should have happened in your home loan process. Maybe you are on of thousands who have questions concerning the servicing of your loan, your escrow account, fees applied to your mortgage. You could be one of the thousands who have done everything you should have, but are having difficulty with your bank.

      If you are having trouble with your bank, and it’s a National Bank (N.A.) , you first call the State, then your Senator, HUD, everyone you can find that has a phone number. Each and every one of those people will tell you there is nothing they can do because it’s a “national bank and you need to contact the OCC”.

     The OCC (Office of the Comptroller of Currency), you are told, is the only entity with any power over national banks. SO, you contact them and they tell you what you need to do. You gather all your information, supporting documents, and send them off to the OCC Consumer Complaint Division. That’s exactly what I did. With a gleam in my eye, I sent off the letter and supporting documents, one to the bank, and  faxed a copy to the OCC.

     I wait for the letter confirming receipt of my complaint. The letter from the OCC comes….HOORAY! I have a case number, now something will be done! I get the response letter from the bank saying they are checking into my questions, and will respond within the timeframe.

     I watched for the mailman everyday as the 30 day mark approached  waiting for that first letter, hoping for information and possibly vindication.

     I soon get a FEDEX from the bank.

     I anxiously open the package, naively thinking they are going to have seen the oversights, etc., and naively I think they will correct them. In my head I think “Yes, they are going to have to fix it now that I have the OCC involved”.

     WRONG! I open the letter and begin reading. It is a regurgitation of useless information that doesn’t even address the issues I presented to the OCC! If it did address the issue, the supporting facts I presented showed a different reality!

     I call the OCC, and question  the lack of real substance in the letter. I ask them to look at the complaint I filed,” Do you see how they didn’t answer all of the questions? Do you see how my documentation doesn’t match up with what they are saying?”  I am told to respond back, and send a copy to the OCC. So I do…….about 6 times! Every time I got a letter back from the bank, it was the same old tap routine. To the point that the letters seemed exact in the wording, like this is not the first time they had to address the issue, and they simply cut and paste some of my information in the “blank”.

     After 7 months, I was sick of sending documents, and getting the tap routine from the bank and the OCC. I send one last letter to the OCC. I  ask them to make a decision based on the information I, and the bank have given them. I tell them they need to be more involved than being the “note passer”. I let them know if need more information, or clarification on my part because of a document the banks submits to them, I will be happy to forward my copies for further clarification, or submit what I have for clarification.

     I wait, imagining someone actually looking at the information I, and the bank, submitted. I assume the bank has not had to submit any more documentation, as I hear nothing from the OCC.

     3 months go by. I still hear nothing, I look on the OCC website and it shows my case as still pending. I contact the OCC to see the status, to get an update as to what will happen if they find the bank has made a mistake. I am told that nothing might happen for me. Even if the bank is found to have done wrong from the simplest thing to TILA or RESPA violations. They are often punished, but unknown to the public. WHAT?!? How can that be? 

     I contact the Congressman’s aide who has been looking into the matter, and tell him the information the OCC relayed to me. He too is astonished that they have told me there is little if any vindication I would get even if they found wrongdoing on the part of the bank. He contacts the OCC, and they tell him that my case is in the “legal department”. YEAH!? Did they actually read and  see the information ? ( I know in my heart I will get some results. I know what I gave to them as evidence. There’s no way they won’t see the problems and miscalculations. All I have to do is be patient.)

     FINALLY 7 months later I get a letter from the OCC. I am not encouraged by the fact it is just a letter size envelope, but who knows…I open the letter….by the time I finish reading I am livid! After 17 months, the following points are made in response to my complaint:                            

     1) THEY can’t even tell if my loan was a refi or purchase loan. Hmm I was a first time buyer..my name was not on the deed or any other deed in the whole country prior to my getting this house…what do you think?

2) They ignored the information I provided to them concerning the fact the Wells Fargo presented my loan as a refi with an appraised value of 264,000.00 and a loan value of 180,000.00

     Why is that important well the purchase price was really $175000.00 the loan was for $180,000.00 and the one and only appraisal was for $250,000.00. SO Wells LIED when they presented my loan into the package it is currently in….but hey, why even bother addressing the issue, it only points to systematic fraud. Really, if you were in investor would $180,000.00 loan on a $175,000.00 purchase to a person with 510 credit look good to you? BUT a $180,000.00 refi on $250,000.00 appraisal would..Hmmm.

3)It says I stated inconsistencies in accounting and being charged 100.00 for HOPE NOW (I was and sent the copy of the paper from Wells accounting). Wells Fargo says it didn’t happen….so OCC agrees.

GEEZ the latter keeps getting better……

     It continues to say the bank responded on several occasions and they would only summarize, but have included copies for me (there was nothing else in the envelope) The letter continues that even though my rate is 10.75% and I paid over $15,000.00 total at closing the loan was not high cost. HOWEVER the inaccuracies in my loan application (outright lies) are not within the OCC’s authority to resolve.

4)The bank provided information as to the various workout I was offered, but the unscrupulous/ predatory nature of them is not addressed as the OCC can not force a bank to work things out with you ( OK, I’ll give them that)

5)In regards to the various workout arrangements, inaccuracies of accounting and payment history their comment is this “Such disagreements are factual disputes and the OCC does not have the authority to resolve factual disputes between a consumer and the bank”

     REALLY!?!?!?! I guess me and all of America just helped the OCC bank account get bigger because of the fines that will/could be imposed, but we do not get the agency back up. But I do get advise that if I am not happy I can retain counsel…yea. Like any one has the guts or money to go after a bank. Good luck finding that attorney.

     I look at it this wasy, if they are getting information about the poor practice of these banks and do little more than fine them, but don’t help make the people who bring it to their attention whole, the OCC becomes little more than a security blanket for the Banks.

     They already claim Federal Preemption when a States rules are tougher. The FEDERAL RULES SHOULD BE TOUGHER THAN ANY STATE LAW!  It should be a crime for a government agency to have the knowledge an entity broke the law,  and not do anything. By allowing this to continue it only reenforces the too big fail, “nanny-boo-boo you can’t catch me”–thumb the nose and stick out their tongue attitude the banks have in full force.

     Let me be a small company that is pulling the crap the banks are, and I’d be in Jail! Instead, I continue to be railroaded and daily have to decide whether to stand strong because I am right, or walk away and join the ranks of soo many other “deadbeat homeowners”

     If you ARE one of the thousands of homeowners who filed a complaint, hoping to be vindicated-Good Luck. The banks Security blanket is only getting bigger, and as long as even the OCC is not willing or able to help the comsumer it won’t get any better.

Are there any Attorneys in Maryland who have a set willing to take on Foreclosure Factories?

     To date, I have not posted all the documents about my case. I plan on doing it as soon as I am done with this nightmare journey. Let me tell you, I would be considered one of those “deadbeat homeowners” the ones who are in foreclosure. That is that we, like so many, have been trying to get our fraudulent / predatory/ outrageous interest rate loan modified. I am at the mercy of the court which seems to just rubber stamp a homeowner to the street..no matter what a foreclosure factory presents.

      As a preface:I have been trying to get this loan modified since 2006. I have ALOT of proof of the fraud involved in the inception of the loan, and have reported it to everyone I can, to no avail.

    ( BTW I have not received a mortgage statement from Bank A, Bank B…..or any other entity since Dec. 2007)

February 5, 2010

     Yet another day of making phone calls and leaving messages. Another day of Lawyers telling me they don’t do work in my County. No wonder so many foreclosure cases go uncontested in this County, And Yes, they are non-judicial.

     I have gone about filing pro se. It’s my only option. After years of trying to get modified, I’ve done what I can:

     - ”Special Forbearance Agreements” (which are little more than their way of getting as much money out of you as they can before they eventually foreclose)

     – Report the fraud and poor accounting practices to the OCC….only to get a letter that they have no “power to resolve factual disputes between a consumer and a National Bank.

          REALLY?!?!?! Well, considering their Mission Statement is to help reduce the regulatory capacity they have, and since the OCC receives it’s paycheck from the banks and not the government it shouldn’t surprise me.      The fact there is a definite conflict of interest has seemingly eluded “the powers that be”

     Let me give you a brief synopsis :

    - Bank A files foreclosure proceedings in Jan 2008 : Their Affidavit of support states as of Jan 25th 2007,  the Borrower owes for May 2007- Dec 2007  …notarized 2007 submitted to court Jan 2008. Hmmmm…..Hey  it’s non-judicial the judge obviously doesn’t have to look and if you don’t question it they won’t.

-We try the “Special forbearance” agreements, but medical reasons prevented from following through

-August We file for Chapter 13. At that time the lawyer presents the note signed stating that Bank B is entitled to arrears, and our payments are 1800.00 a month. We want to question everything, our sad sad attorney choice would not. We make the first payment…then get a copy of a letter stating they want to lift the stay of foreclosure because we didn’t make the post-petition payment of 1900.00. What? Where did that number come from? We again ask our attorney to do something. Nothing

-April We are out of bankruptcy and they set a new sale date. I motion the court to Stay the proceedings until the OCC has made a final decision on my complaint. Their attorney requests that m motion be denied because they have no sale date so my motion is moot. My motion was dimissed as moot.

January- I file a motion to Dismiss as I have no clue how Bank A can foreclose when Bank B has the note. I also submit evidence to the court that the attorney is submitting false/misleading documents to the court.( For instance they include the prepayment penalty in the amount they are are trying to get, they have “Corporate Advances” included, and the documentation provided shows vastly different amounts for the arrears than has been presented  to the investors)

                    They file a response to have it dismissed because I did not submit an Affidavit. They don’t question the other reasons why I ask that it be dismissed. They also provide the court with a copy of the note which now bears a stamp “remit to Bank A” in support of their having the power to foreclose,( REALLY, not notarized? just stamped? If I tried something like that I wouldn’t get far!) and the statement that the sale occurred on January 7th.

                    The Judge orders my Motion DENIED

                    I immediately file an amended Motion to Dismiss and ask the court for a hearing my ground? I mistakenly used the normal motion to dismiss rules that stated you had to have an affidavit or supporting documents. Since I had Exhibit A-I…I figured I had enough. 

                     (I guess I was really stupid, I should have known they would exploit my pro se position, and I’m sure they know there are no attorneys who take on this kind of thing in my area, so I would continue to be pro se. Trust me I have contacted anyone and everyone with a phone number. I even got chewed out by the  Pro Bono organization for sending them my paperwork…….hey it can’t hurt, it’s all public record.)

                    I filed an Affidavit stating I never signed anything with Bank A. They never filed an “Assignment of Mortgage with the Land records”, their Pooling and Servicing Agreement stated that, at the very least, the assignment was to be in “recordable form”, and since I have provided the court with enough documentation as to their producing documents as needed for their case, if they were to provide the court with this “assignment in recordable form” it should suspect.

                    I questioned the Sale because, at the time of the Sale, my Motion had not yet been addressed. The other Sale that occurred on the same date they say my occurred had already been in the paper two times. Mine had not yet been advertised.

                   I also requested a Hearing.

                   So as part of my daily routine I look up the case on the State website. What do I see this morning? Their Attorney’s Affidavit stating they complied with the Real Property Law, The Purchaser’s Affidavit, the Report of Sale, Certification of Publication of Sale, and Notice.

                   HOW CANT THIS BE? They sold the house before the Motion was heard, They didn’t even wait to see if I DO get Hearing. AND they haven’t advertised it as the law requires, but as it seems to go with non-judicial it will just get rubber stamped!

             This is truly a crime, but one that the foreclosure factories will continue to get away with unless we get attorney’s to help stand up for the little guy. Everyone should get the opportunity to get their side of the story in front of the court. As long as non-judicial foreclosure exists we won’t.

        The Lender and their lawyer have NOT followed the laws here in MD. They are trying to slip this through under the radar and they are going to get their wish, with the Courts help.

        I am open to discussing this with any attorney, or news source. I KNOW I’m not the only one out there!

UPDATE:

     Well as of 2/18/10 I am officially screwed! I guess the Court didn’t take too kindly to my Motions (not that I believe they were even read). I not only did not get a Hearing that I requested separately, and in a Motion, but the Judge confirmed and ratified the sale on the same day he denied my Amended Motion.

     What does this mean? Well I didn’t get to file exceptions to the sale (which no one was at)and there is not much else I can do to save the house. I will be filing an appeal to a higher court, but who knows.

     They REALLY have the system down though, I received the Notice of Sale Date on Dec. 30th (postmarked Dec 28th), with a sale date of Jan 7th. They were sly, the certified notices were received on the 26th and the 28th (how is that possible? They went to totally different states! NOT my address). Although it is less than 10 days as required by law from the day I got it, the postmark is not less than 10 days, so it is considered within the timeframe…..SERIOUSLY?!?!?!? You know I was trying to get a hold of every agency and lawyer that I could, but with the holidays no one was in their offices until Jan 5th or 6th.

     People in Florida…take heed. They are trying to make YOUR State a NON-JUDICIAL one too. The fact that the American Homeowner in foreclosure can not be heard by the court if they are trying on their own to save their home is just criminal, and the States need to do something…NOW!

The “endorsed in blank” Defense……What a crock!

 

     As I reading an article yesterday about Florida possibly changing their laws and becoming a non-judicial foreclosure state I wanted to scream at the screen. What is wrong with these people? In these days of “Lost Note Affidavits” and note “indorsed in blank” someone has to begin to wonder…Why are the banks pushing for non-judicial foreclosure ? Simple…They didn’t learn anything, and they are still GREEDY.

     If you didn’t know When you are faced with a judicial foreclosure, you actually get to speak to a judge, the foreclosing party has PROVE they are owed the debt. In non-judicial foreclosure the paperwork is rarely questioned and your home is basically ribber stamped out from under you.

Hmmmm….Which way is better for the bank? I wonder?

     If your loan is in a mortgage-backed security, you will rarely fin out who it is unless you are served with foreclosure papers. You will sit there in a little bit of wonderment as you question “Who is….? My mortgage is with……” .CONGRATULATIONS YOUR LOAN IS IN A MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITY!! If you know you loan is in a “package”, good luck in getting your servicer to tell you who the “investor” is. (Look at your land records office, I’m sure you will only see your original “Lender” and Deed of Trust.)

     I have taken quite a bit of time to read some of the Pooling and Servicing Agreements in connection with these loans. They are very specific. I bet you didn’t know that not only did they slice and dice the loans, but they sliced and diced the servicing. There are a lot of players, and many duties. You know the regulars: The Servicer, The Master Servicer, The Trustee, The Depositor, The Originator and so on. Each one of them gets .05% of every loan for doing a job  in connection with the loan “pool”.

     Why is this important? Well there’s another player, The Custodian . Yes, each plan pays a Custodian, to keep track of all the paperwork for each loan. That means they get at least .05% to keep track of:

1)The individual notes.

2)The Assignments of the mortgage from the original lender.

3)All paperwork involved in, and needed for the deal.

     Along with this bit of information you will find the “Rules” as to how each loan was to be handled. For instance, my loan package states:

On the closing date, the depositor will transfer to the trust all of its right, title and interest in and to each Mortgage Loan, the related mortgage note, mortgage, assignment of mortgage in recordable form to the trustee and other related documents .The assignments of mortgage are generally required to be recorded by or on behalf of the depositor in the appropriate offices for real property records, except (i) in states as to which an opinion of counsel is delivered to the effect that such recording is not required to protect the trustee’s interest in the Mortgage Loan against the claim of any subsequent transferee or any successor to or creditor of the depositor or the sponsor, or (ii) with respect to any Mortgage Loan electronically registered through the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.

     Which leads to my statement a “lost note” or “indorsed in blank” is a CROCK! They may try the cover my butt approach that some notes got lost, but with the swell of foreclosures, it’s looking like there was a lot of lost notes. If that’s the case, what is the Custodian getting paid to do?

     Unfortunately for the banks there is no mention of “indorsed in blank”. Why? Because each mortgage was supposed to be recorded! Even if they “lost the note” they should have the assignment: in recordable form!

     Think about it, they lost the note, they didn’t assign the mortgage, they didn’t record the mortgage….Looks like there was something they were trying to hide! Now that it’s common knowledge, they are trying to cover their inaction by “lost note affidavits” and “indorsed in blank” defenses. As long as they can push through on non-judicial foreclosure, it’s their little secret. Lawyers have no clue about the Pooling and Servicing Agreements, and Judges are so overwhelmed they are just pushing them through. In a wasy it’s the banks getting away with fraud.

     The idea has been put in everyone’s head that the ” homeowner is the deadbeat”…..”a bank won’t submit false paperwork. ” I think the morality, righteousness, and over all sound business practices banks used to have  versus their quest for the almighty dollar, and big bonuses has put all of that up for debate.

     But once again the banks are going to benefit from their poor practices. This time it not the investors buying their baloney, it’s the courts. Maybe those State Legislator’s should ask the banks a few questions, like:

     Where’s or Recording Fees and Other fees the State or County should have gotten, that are associated with recording and assigning mortgages? (Are they going to let them slide on that too?)

     If homes are allowed to be foreclosed on non-judicially, the banks will just be getting another kind of bailout at the expense of the homeowners rights.

A letter to The President from “Another Foreclosure Statistic”

     Below is an actual letter being sent to the President of the United States.While it may never reach the eyes of the President himself, I thought I’d send it out to the far reaching internet. It is a plea from another homeowner struggling to get a modification. This is letter is not unique, this homeowner could be your neighbor.

     Everyday you see the News spouting off how it is the homeowners who are “gumming up the works” when it comes to HAMP. The homeowners who are not turning in all the paperwork required.

     Someone needs a reality check. Go on to www.loansafe.com , look at the self-help forums. At least 80% of the posts are begging for help as the bank has them on numerous trial payments, says they haven’t gotten their paperwork (and they’ve sent it 3 times), and are generally uncooperative. Most of the people in trouble with their mortgage in America truly just want an affordable payment, or the modification they were promised months ago, before the inception of HAMP, but only to be set up, primed for foreclosure.

     The Banks want the American Homeowner held to a higher standard of accountabilty than themselves. Maybe Congress ought to sit on a phone call between a HAMP applicant and their bank. See that you never get the same answer twice, for that matter you rarely get to speak to the same person twice!

     Maybe Congress should ask the American homeowner what problems they are having, and address them, not give new guidelines to already non-performing banks that have no teeth. Put some teeth in the regulations and guidelines and, god forbid, ENFORCE THEM, ISSUE PUNISHMENTS, MAKE THEM ACCOUNTABLE!

     LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

February 1, 2010
 
President Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC  20500
 
Re:       Making Home Affordable
 
Dear President Obama:
                                                                       HELP!
                            I am being held hostage by Bank of America.
 
     My name is XXXXXXX.  I am a wife, and a mom of a 10 year old boy, your typical working class American citizen.  I have been attempting to get my home loan modified through Bank of America since March, 2009.  After spending over 1,000 hours in my attempt, I have learned that BOA has no intention of modifying the terms of my loan.
 
   Remember when you said: “Never again will Americans be held hostage by banks that are too big to fail.”?
 
     I thought you might like to know what is happening here in Middle America.
 
     Fact:  The Banks are not modifying loans.  Look, their agreements with their investors (PSAs) only allow them to remove a certain percent of loans from a “pool.” If they remove more than the amount stated in the PSAs, they will expose themselves to liability via lawsuits.  The banks were smart enough to hire mathematicians to create a complex formula to slice and dice loans.  MHA is not going to work, regardless of new Directives, regulations, ordering the CEOs to appear before the government to explain themselves, etc.  It will simply not work due to the PSAs that we registered with the SEC.
 
     Fact: The bank makes more money when it forecloses. 
 
          Fact: Your delegation of MHA responsibility to the Department of Treasury is a failure.  The Treasury has poorly written Directives and the banks are taking full advantage of these loopholes.  Even if the Directives contained the words “MUST” instead of “may”, there is nothing the Treasury can do that will force banks to modify loans (due to PSAs).
 
     Fact:  The banks are instilling false hope to already beaten down Americans and as a result, we are losing what little faith we have left in our government.  A perfect example of this is banks putting homeowners on trial plans with no intention whatsoever of converting them to permanent. The only permanent solution available is foreclosure. 
Due to my knowledge of the troubled Home Affordable Modification Program, I will not allow BOA to take advantage of my family by offering me a trial program with no intent of making it permanent. 
 
     Look, BOA has informed me that their Corporate Investment Group (CIG) has excluded my loan from being modified (non-compliance of Fannie Mae Regulations).  Now to me, that either means that they are unable to remove it from the pool or they have calculated that they will receive more money by foreclosing, and the lender has also insured my loan against loss.
 
     My concern, and it should be your concern as well, is who is going to absorb the insurance companies losses?  We are.  The American taxpaying citizens. 
 
     When the dust settles after all the foreclosures have been completed, and the insurance companies have paid the lenders, and the banks have collected their exorbitant fees, where will that leave us?  My guess, a situation that is far greater than anyone can anticipate.
 
                                                     I believe in Change. 

I believe you care about the working class and will come up with a solution to this crisis.

I believe you will create a program that will stabilize the housing market, which will in turn create more jobs and lead this country into a recovery.

 
In 1938, Franklin Roosevelt created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Both of these GSEs had access to a line of credit through the US Treasury. 
 
Why can’t you use TARP funds as a line of credit for a newly created GSE, who will in turn buy up troubled mortgages, resulting in a stabilized housing market?
 
Please do not send me a form letter informing me I can contact HOPE or any other agency.  If you have serious answers to my questions, I welcome your response. 
 
So what will it be, Mr. President? 

Will you continue to allow Americans be held hostage by
banks that are too big to fail or are you going to MAKE A CHANGE?
 
 
Thank you for your time.
 
Sincerely,
Another foreclosure statistic
 

How to find the PSA (Pooling and Serving Agreement) for your Mortgage-Backed Security

  You hear a lot about PSA’s. What are they? What does the information contained within them mean?How do I find mine? I have tried to give a simple tutorial in this blog to help you find your “package”. It took me a long time to figure it out, and I’m not sure as to how clear this is for the novice. If you have suggestions, and comments as to your success, I can update this page and make the needed adjustments.

     This tutorial is for someone who already knows what “package” their loan is in. To find the possible “package” your loan might be in, refer to the “How to find my Loan Package” page. Once you have one or a few ideas, you can follow the steps on this tutorial to find the exact package.

What are they?

They are the agreement that the banks and investors made when making these securities.

What does the information mean?

There is no need to start looking for your package unless you know what you are looking for. When they presented these “packages” to the investors they submitted the information to the SEC. Each document can be overwhelming. Filled with a TON of information you don’t understand. But don’t just blow it off. There is a lot of information contained in these filings that are important for you to grasp and have an understand. They “filing you will be looking for are:

Free Writing Prospectus (FWP)

This document describes all the players and their roles in the package. Among other things it tells the investor :

Average FICO score Underwriting Standards

Locations Modification Rules

Interest Rate Explains terms like “Corporate Advances”

Property Type Web Links

Purpose of the loan

The Originator

When you find the document. You will at first be overwhelmed at the amount of information contained. Don’t be. Look for the specifics. Identify each player, and their role. Look at the information concerning modifications, and how they are to be handled. Look for links to specific websites that will lead you to either following the loan package, or pages that even further describe the “Mortgage Pool”.

      Let’s begin by using an already known Trust Pool. This one is specifically Nomura Home Equity Trust Loan Series 2006-WF1.

TIPS:

1) Use the Table of Contents to give you search terms, and what information will be available for this package.

2) Use the “find” method (ctrl f ) to search for specifics so you don’t get overwhelmed. Read each section that you need to understand. The Interest Rate Swap and other more specific information is beyond my grasp right now, but that’s not what I need to know, so I skip it.

The Table of Contents for this package has “The Mortgage Pool”. But as you look through this document, I read descriptions of the pool….I got to wondering if there wasn’t something, somewhere which described each mortgage in the pool specifically.

I go to www.SECinfo.com and type in Nomura Home Equity Loan Trust Series 2006-WF1 (you would type in your specific “ package”) I keep searching around until I find a page with as much information on the package as I can get. This particular information is at:

http://www.secinfo.com/$/SEC/Registrant.asp?CIK=1365821

     Once you get to this kind of page in your “package” look at every filing that you can. You will find more information by looking at each document. Download and save each document. Don’t try to absorb it in one sitting. You are specifically looking to see that you loan is in the “package”. The only way to do this is to find the “Mortgage Pool”. So I type the words “Mortgage pool” into the search for this filing .

     Look at each “line” that mentions the words “mortgage pool”. In this example, “Line 552…..Mortgage Loans are more particularly described in the Prospectus Supplement, dated June 28, 2006 (the “Prospectus Supplement”)”

      Bingo! I can now see if my loan is in the package and how it was presented to the investors. I need to find the “Prospectus Supplement, dated June 28, 2006” . But wait…what about the term “mortgage loan”? Let’s search that from the same place:

http://www.secinfo.com/$/SEC/Filings.asp?AN=0000882377-06-002698&Find=mortgage+loans&Page=1&List=Docs&Show=Each

     Look at all the information you can get on this package! It states the “Rules” they must adhere to for MERS…How each Mortgage is to be “Assigned”. This is exceptional information. It can lay to rest the “endorsed in blank” defense the Banks are using. SAVE this to your favorites, you don’t want to get too in depth with this until you make sure your loan is in this “package” . Take note of the lines that may contain interesting and fruitful information as you scroll down the page. You will need this information IF your loan is in this package.

Still on the hunt for that supplement….

     At this point you will spend quite a while looking…searching…but don’t give up. If the page you go to looks interesting, bookmark it, but don’t read it all until you KNOW that your loan is in the package.

     Keep hunting different terms. Look at each and every FWP, they are different. Keep searching.

BINGO! Finally found the loan pool!

( Nomura Home Equity Loan Trust Series 2006-WF1)( Click FWP)( The third FWP down from the top)

Be patient, this is a HUGE page. Once it is loaded, save it. It contains a TON of information about each loan:

State the property is in.

Loan Balance

Terms

FICO

Type of Loan

     Now all you have to do is type in you loan number. Compare the information and double check that it is your loan. Once you are sure it is your loan, compare the information they gave to the investors to the reality of your loan. Does it match?If it does, this is your package. If not, try again until you get the right package.

Once you find your package, you will want to open a new document in you word processing program. Go back to the notes you made in the previous searches. Choose one subject and find all the pertinent information for that subject. Use Topics like:

“Assignment of Mortgage”

“Chain of Title”

“Registration with MERS”

Copy and paste the pertinet information you find into that now open text document. If you think it’s important copy/ paste. You can always edit it out later.

     Why is this important? You need to know and understand what was supposed to happen with the mortgages in the pool. You can blow holes in the “endorsed in blank” defense, because it is written in the agreement how all mortgages are to be handled. There are clues as to what papers should be present. For example, they shall give the assignment in “recordable form”. Don’t pull out the PSA card right away. Get as much information about what they have before letting them in on your knowledge.

If you are lucky enough, and I use the term loosely, to have a loan to which there is a website attached, you can track the information on the package, the amount of money they are telling the investors you owe…..use this information and compare it to what they are asking the court for in arrearages….Does it match?

Having the patience to find this information no matter what company your loan is pooled through is very valuable. Educating yourself is the first step. This information is useful when fighting foreclosure / or modification. It will give you an understanding of what the terms mean, who / what they are really referring to.

They are making you stick to the “rules”, they need to as well. Your lawyer will not know the specifics of your “Pool” and it’s “PSA”. Finding it and extracting the information is not a quick and easy task. You can save yourself a lot by being able to present this to your attorney.