The cronies have effectively used propaganda and lies to convince Americans that naive and greedy homeowners crashed the global credit markets in 2008.
They blamed the crash and current economic malaise on homeowners who bought too much house.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The fact of the matter is that the cronies crashed the global markets when they revealed that there are no mortgages to back the mortgage backed securities. They told Paulsen there was no there there. That’s why he panicked and tossed his cookies.
They could have pulled an Iceland, told the truth, arrested the bad actors and instituted real safeguards to restore the capital markets and consumer confidence.
But they chose to continue the lies and backstop the fraud on the taxpayer’s dime. The cronies covered up their partners’ crimes and orchestrated the bailout.
They feasted on our pension money and left us with the tab.
The bare naked truth is that tens of millions of mortgages were fake securitized. The cronies who fleeced Institutional Investors of $13 trillion clouded title on all the mortgages they originated and purportedly sold on the secondary market. They stole the pension money and now they’re stealing our houses.
The fake securitization scheme will make your head hurt and your heart break. So I’m not going to travel down that rabbit hole.
In the end, it all comes down to old fashioned title. Who holds the mortgage on your home? Will you have clear title at the end of the schedule? Do you have MERS in your chain of title? Was your loan ‘Assigned’ to another entity? If so, where is the evidence that substantiates those claims?
We have abandoned our efforts to convince the mighty and powerful to do the right thing. So we’re not going to waste any more of our time trying to convince members of Congress, Governors, state Attorneys General or the DOJ to arrest the bad actors on Wall Street and K Street and end the fraud.
We’re taking the fight to every local state courthouse and giving homeowners the tools to secure their homes and restore private property rights. This is a ground game and it is entirely winnable. It takes tenacity but once you learn to navigate the local state court system it’s entirely doable.
We’re working with community organizers on the left to educate all homeowners about the fraud, how it affects their mortgages and how to use the state courts systems to get real relief. We’re restoring the rule of law one mortgage at a time.
We’re getting results. Law firms are dropping foreclosure cases and homeowners who have been trying to get modifications are uncovering evidence that gives them real clout in negotiations.
It’s time we turn the tables and use the laws they have flouted as a weapon to win back our economic freedom.
We will win this war one house at a time.
This is a crime scene, so the first step is to gather evidence about your loan. All homeowners, regardless of your payment status need to take the following steps:
MERS look-up: https://www.mers-servicerid.org/sis/index.jsp
Fannie Mae look-up: http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/
Freddie Mac look-up: https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/
Capture the screen grabs, save and print. File the record in a binder or folder specifically for your mortgage documents.
Next step, send a Qualified Written Request Letter to your servicer. This is a way to gather evidence about your loan without going to court. The letter should be mailed to the CEO of your servicer. Contact customer service and ask for the name of the exec – could be the CEO – and the company address where the QWR letter should be sent. Be sure to send it certified mail, return receipt requested. Save the receipt and file it in your binder.
The QWR letter is a feature of RESPA, which was strengthened in the Dodd-Frank bill. The servicer is required to respond to the QWR letter in 5 business days with a written acknowledgement. Within the next 25 days they are required to deliver a written response that includes documents such as the promissory note, mortgage, closing documents, appraisal, title policy, assignments of mortgage.
If they do not answer within the 30 days or fail to provide you with evidence you’ve requested, the servicer will have to pay you $4,000 fine. You’ll have to go into Federal Court to file a complaint and get the judgement.
Here’s a template for the QWR:
Date
Servicer Name
Address
Re: Client Name
Loan Number:
Property Address:
Dear Madam or Sir:
In accordance with RESPA and Section 131(f) of the Truth-in-Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1641(f) (2), please provide me with the name, address, and Telephone number of the owner of the Promissory Note signed by me and secured by the deed of trust in my mortgage loan referenced above.
By their signatures below, I authorize you to furnish me with the requested information, and any other information regarding my account and my mortgage loan.
You should be advised that you must acknowledge receipt of this request within five (5) business days, and respond within thirty (30) business days, pursuant to 12 U.S.C. Section 2605(e) (1)(A) as amended effective July 16, 2010 by the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act and Reg. X Section 3500.21(e)(1).
Thanking you in advance, I am
Very truly yours,
Homeowner name
cc: Law firm for servicer if there has been any correspondence
If they respond, carefully verify all information they have provided. If they provide you with the name of the investor of your loan, check it against the results of your MERS, Fannie and Freddie look-ups. If they provide the name of the trust, go to secinfo.com and look-up the prospectus for that trust. The report is called a 424B. Read it and look for the closing and cut-off dates of the trust. Did your loan close within the window, or after? What parties are listed in the deal? Is your loan listed in the Pool Servicing Agreement that is contained within the Prospectus? You can spot it by reviewing all loans listed – according to principal and interest rate by state.
Find the name of the Trustee. The Trustee contact info is located in the PSA. Call the 800 telephone number provided. The recording will tell you to send an email providing your loan number, address and contact info. Write and email to the Trustee and confirm they are in fact your true creditor. Tell them the Trust was named as investor by the servicer. You’d like evidence that the mortgage was properly securitized, which includes all assignments of mortgage (there should be 4), along with the original Promissory Note.
In several weeks, the Trustee should send you an email response to your request. We’ve sent three of these requests so far, and each time the Trustee has told us that they are NOT the investor, and the homeowner should contact the servicer.
If this occurs with your loan, print out all docs, save them in your binder. You can present this document as evidence that you have a wild deed in a Quiet Title Action.
Next step is to gather all your loan documents recorded in the county registry. Ask the Register or County Clerk to print out all pages and certify them as true copies.
Be sure to determine if there is an Assignment of Mortgage in your chain of title. Examine the wording closely. Did they assign only the mortgage, or the mortgage and the note. If just the mortgage is assigned, that means the chain of title has been broken. Everything that occurred after that assignment is a nullity.
Was the mortgage assigned by a company that s no longer in business? Did the originator declare bankruptcy? If so, did the bankruptcy or demise of the firm occur before or safer the assignment? We’ve found a number of assignments where the originator – Accredited, New Century – was in bankruptcy months and years before the date of the assignment. In a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, companies repudiate all their executory contracts, which includes MERS. So, if you have an assignment of mortgage that features a bankrupt originator dated after they filed chapter 11, you could get the assignment declared invalid by a judge. Which of course means the mortgage was never properly assigned to another party. Your mortgage may be a defective instrument and invalid.
Back to the documents from the registry.
Compare the documents from the registry to those you received in the QWR response. Are they the same, or are there notable differences? Record the notations on a document, attach it to the docs and file in your binder.
Examine the signatures on all documents and start googling. Type in signers name, along with keywords like their title, MERS, name of lender, robo-signer. Chances are you will find their signatures on a number of other documents recorded in registries around the country. Carefully examine the signatures – are there notable differences? Is the signer an employee of the company they are purportedly signing for? You can check their Linkedin profiles to verify employment. If their title is Assistant Secretary, MERS, drill down and expand your search. Many times these signers have various titles from different companies. This is important because if you can find evidence they are not who they say they are and don’t work for the company they claim to, you have a fatal defect in the chain of title.
Be sure to examine all ‘Discharges of Mortgages’ in your chain too. We’ve found robo-signers on a number of the discharges. Real estate attorneys tell us this means that the debt has been satisfied, but the lien has not been extinguished. So, you could challenge the current mortgage and file a claim in state court arguing that the current mortgage is no longer in first position.
Lots here that can keep you busy for awhile – at least the next thirty days.
If this sounds too daunting, just take a deep breath and take the first steps of performing the look-ups and sending the QWR letter.
Once you get a response, leave me a message on TBP and I’ll help you make sense of it all.
Remember, this fight is about restoring our property rights and the rule of law.
An important tip for NY homeowners.
In NY state, “lenders” can dodge paying the land transfer tax – which averages about $4k if they cite a notation on the Assignment of Mortgage that is recorded in the county registry.
Go the the county registry, look up your mortgage and check to see if an Assignment of Mortgage with the following language has been recorded on your property. The language you’re looking for will read:
“This assignment is not subject to the requirements of Section 275 of the Real Property Law because it is an assignment within the secondary mortgage market.”
What does this mean?
It means your loan was fake securitized and the “lender” got a passaroo on paying transfer tax.
Why is this important?
These “lenders” are marching into Federal Bankruptcy court, filing Proof of Claim that they are the true creditor and your mortgage is an old-fashioned loan. They are not naming the trust your mortgage is purportedly in. They are pretending it is not securitized. They are lying.
These “lenders” are also hiding the fact that a mortgage was securitized in foreclosures. They waltz into state court, present the original mortgage – maybe they originated, maybe they didn’t – the Note which may be endorsed in blank or not endorsed to them at all – and the Assignment of Mortgage.
Assignment of Mortgages are ONLY created and recorded in the registries when legal action is about to commence.
So, say you originated your loan with Countrywide. Bank of America is your servicer. You request a modification or start to fall behind in payments. An Assignment of Mortgage will magically appear in a NYS Registry. The Assignment of Mortgage features the NYSRPL Section 275 exemption.
Countrywide assigns the mortgage to Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo sues you for foreclosure. They have just the bank name – Wells Fargo on the Lis Pendens and documents.
Show the judge the Section 275 language on the assignment and say,
“Your honor, I’m confused. Bank of America claims that my loan was securitized on the Assignment of Mortgage, and as a result they did not pay NYS transfer tax of X$. Yet, in your court room, Wells Fargo is pretending its an old-fashioned loan.
If they really deserved to be exempted from NYS transfer tax, then the party suing me for foreclosure should be the name of a trust. It’s not. Either it’s securitized or it’s not. It can’t be both.”
Wassup, Judge?
Very few people have picked this up. It is an important piece of evidence that will carry a great deal of weight with the courts, because it was created by the fake lender and recorded in the registry. It is official. It is fraud.
A note to all attorneys who are representing banks and fake trusts:
You need to drill down and learn about the fraud. You are being used and your licenses are on the line.
I visited an attorney representing a fake trust this week with a friend who is being sued for foreclosure.
We traveled up to Kennebunk Maine from NJ.
The attorney seemed like a really honorable man. He allowed us to inspect the original note, along with the original mortgage and Assignment of Mortgage.
You could tell he believed he was doing the right thing and his client had a legal right to foreclose on the property.
But here’s the thing. The transaction is riddled with fraud. The attorney does not have a clue.
The homeowner originated with Countrywide in April 2003. One week later, Countrywide created an Assignment of Mortgage. Countrywide assigned the mortgage directly into a fake trust. The name of the fake trust is: The Bank of NY Trustee under the Pool Servicing Agreement Series 03-30 at 101 Barclay Street, NY, NY 10286 Trust MBS.
We found the Pool Servicing Agreement for Countrywide MBS with BONY as Trustee for the time period and there was only 1 loan in Maine listed in the Trust. The loan listed had a mortgage for $350K, my friend’s mortgage is $76K. We also contacted the Trustee, spoke with the BONY Chairman’s office who told us that her loan was not in the trust.
And, the loan closed the end of April, past the Trust cut-off date. It simply could not have made it into the Trust.
Lastly, it is a violation of NY Security Law to assign a mortgage directly into a Trust. There should have been 4 Assignments of Mortgage, along with 4 endorsements on the Note. Those documents do not exist – further backing up our claim that there are no mortgages to back the MBS.
If you are an attorney representing a fake trust, or bank you can and will be sued for fraud. You will eventually lose your surety bond, or pay a much higher fee for errors and omissions insurance.
Ask yourself if the loss of your license and livelihood is worth the risk.
Hi Admin, I need Mary Malone to send me mail at [email protected] please
Rick
I forwarded your email address to Mary.
@Rick I just sent you an email – I’ll be glad to help you any way I can.
Thanks Admin!
A note for all homeowners who have lost their foreclosure cases by default (haven’t shown up to fight it), or have lost duking it out in the courts: (judicial and non-judicial states)
If a Sheriff sale of your property is looming, it is not too late. In NJ, which is is a judicial state, the sheriff is required to place an ad, announcing the sale of a specific property in local newspapers for a number of consecutive weeks. Under NJ statutes, he is required to state in the ad whether or not there is a defect(s) in that property’s title.
Well, “Hello.”
There is almost always a defect in title – and the Sheriffs do not reveal it in the ads.
If your property has MERS in the chain of title, if you originated with Countrywide, if your property has a fake trust in the chain you have clouded title, you should get to the judge and sheriff and ask for a stay. You really need an attorney at this point – so find one who is willing to make this very simple argument.
There are over 70 ways a defect in your chain of title can occur. The odds are in your favor.
Follow the instructions in this post by reviewing our documents in the county registry for your property’s entire chain of title – not just the current mortgage.
Attorneys representing homeowners whose property is about to hit the auction block need to drill down in this area. They can stop nearly all sheriff sales in their tracks.
A note on the original Promissory Note.
We recommend you demand to view the original Promissory Note with the “wet ink” signature when you receive the response to the QWR letter.
If the servicer tells you the Note is in their custody in another state and cannot be sent, tell them you want it sent to an attorney in your area, where you can personally view it.
Here’s what to look for:
-The original Note will have your original signature. They call it “wet ink” so that you can feel the raised ink on the page – no photoshop docs allowed.
-It should also have the notary’s seal, raised or wet ink
-Ask the “lenders” attorney, who will be in the room with you during the viewing, if they have ever spoken to any of the parties whose signatures are on the note. Have they confirmed the signers titles, do they know for a fact who the signers worked for? You’re just making them nervous – which is a good thing..
-Ask the attorney if there is an allonge – additional page added to the note after you signed it.
This is important because you want to lock them in and deter the attorney from marching into court at the 11th hour with the allonge, conveniently featuring an endorsement to their client. Many cases have been lost this way…
-Be sure to carefully examine the front, back sides to make sure there are no additional endorsements.
-Check the endorsement and all info on the original note with the copy from your closing docs. Are there any noticeable differences?
-Obtain a copy of the original notes for your files – review it again and again to determine if there is anything askew
Your goal in viewing the original Promissory Note is to determine if it is the real deal, and lock the “lender” into that document.
If your loan was fake securitized, there should be 4 endorsements stamped on the original Note. There should also be 4 assignments of mortgage. Both the endorsements and the assignments should all be dated within 90 days of origination (date you closed the loan).
If your note has 4 endorsements and 4 assignments in the file – alert the media. You will have the only mortgage in America that was lawfully securitized.
A quick thought about Notaries.
All or most of our mortgage documents are notarized. Be sure to check every notary signature, their stamp, and the county/state where their license applies.
Step 1 – Look at the signatures of the “officers” the notary is attesting to- usually an Assistant VP, Assistant Secretary. Find out where they work – the name of their employer and the office they are located in. Google their names, title and MERS, name of company that is on the documents until you find them. Check out LinkedIn, look up public records to see where they live. Do they have a Facebook page? You’re looking for evidence that these “officers” live/work in the same county as the notary.
Step 2 – Use Google Maps to locate the address of the company where the “officers” work. Do a building look-up – a list all tenants in the building. See if the “lender” or company the “officers” work for is located in the building. If you do not see the company name in the directory, call one of the tenant companies and ask them if the “lender” is in their building.
We did this and found that the “lender” did not have an office in this building at the address they cite on the mortgage docs. Or, the suite number doesn’t exist.
Step 3 – Drill down on the notary. Conduct Google search to determine if their signature on your docs matches their signatures on other documents filed at various county registries. Who does the notary work for? Do they sign documents using another title such as Asst. Secretary? If so, what companies are they signing for?
Step 4 – Contact your state office that oversees notary licensing. Confirm they are licensed in the state that is indicated on the stamp, or where the signing is supposed to have occurred.
If you find fraud – you can file civil and or criminal charges against the notary. Check out the notary laws for your state. Find out if they are required to keep a log of all the documents they have notarized. You could request this in discovery.
In NY and NJ, notaries are held to a very high standard. If it is determined they had a conflict of interest, or committed fraud, they may be liable for damages. If the notary works for a large bank, law firm or document mill their employer will have errors and omissions insurance. Could be a good avenue to recover damages.
“HSBC refuses to participate in HAMP, or any other government-sponsored home modification program.” — by Mary Malone
I appreciated you followup explanations as to why.
However, please be aware that HAMP and its offspring are all VOLUNTARY. There is no requirement whatsoever required by HAMP “laws” forcing a lender to do a modification. The HAMP “laws” have zero punitive action against the lender for failing to modify a loan … even if the homeowner qualifies.
To summarize, HAMP is a goddamn joke.
This thread deserves to be in the TBP Hall of Fame.
Mary Malone is doing all an EXCELLENT service!! But … may I just add this word of extreme caution;
Yes, I suppose it is perfectly OK to get started on your own. Yes, write the QWR and gather all the documentation you can. Do-it-yourself is fine, up to a certain point.
BUT, should it go so far as to an actual court date — GET A LAWYER!!!!! You do NOT want to stand in front of a judge representing yourself. That is simply assinine, imho. The high priced corporate lawyers will tear you to shreds 999 out of 1,000 times. They will kick your ass on something as simple as Procedure. I know because I’ve been there.
“A PERSON WHO REPRESENTS HIMSELF IN COURT, HAS A FOOL FOR A CLIENT.”
@Mary Malone
Sorry, I forgot to add.
I am not suggesting that you are advocating going to court alone. Throughout your post you reference the use of attorney’s.
I just want to make sure the super smart, super aggressive readers here on TBP don’t get carried away by thinking they just qualified to represent themselves by taking/reading the Mary Malone Attorney Home Study Course.
I’m sure you agree.
Hey, Shit Throwing Monkey
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so I am normally hesitant to give free advice.
But, today I am making an exception.
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Fuckme.
Well, I guess pics that say “STOP BEING A DICK” simply won’t post in wordpress.
@FBD “I just want to make sure the super smart, super aggressive readers here on TBP don’t get carried away by thinking they just qualified to represent themselves by taking/reading the Mary Malone Attorney Home Study Course.”
Absolutely correct, FBD. All homeowners need to find/retain competent counsel who understand fake securitization or at a minimum are willing to learn.
The attorney fees for a QWR letter are about 2 hours of billable time – $750 in NJ. Most NY/NJ attorneys charge $375 hour. So, the more a homeowner can do to prep their attorney with evidence of the fraud – the more money you will have to retain competent counsel. The attorneys just don’t have the time or ability to conduct this research on their own. But once a homeowner knows where to start – MERS, Fannie, Freddie Look-up, QWR letter, they are off to a really great start.
Much of this sleuthing takes time. The more investigative work a homeowner does on their own, the stronger their claims against TBTF will be.
In fact, everyone should plan to spend 30 days – time it takes for QWR answer to arrive – to research the names of attorneys and interview the ones you would like to work with.
I have heard countless horror stories from homeowners who retained an attorney in a panic and woud up losing their cases because the attorney didn’t file the contested answer properly or was in so far over their heads valuable time and opportunity was lost.
In those cases, it would have been better for the homeowner to file pro se.
So, the moral of the story is to retain the best counsel you can – and manage them and the process. You and your attorney should be a team. If you know the fraud and he/she knows the law, you will have a very good chance of obtaining real relief in the courts.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to re-iterate need for counsel FBD.
A note to everyone who uncovers fraud in their mortgage investigations:
Be sure to file a formal complaint with your State Attorney General. Call their office, tell them you want to file a complaint against your “lender” and request a form.
Fill out the form, attach your evidence. Send it back, certified mail, return receipt requested. The AG will open an investigation.
We have found that the AG’s who are elected – as opposed to appointed – are extremely diligent in following up these complaints.
The AG staffer – usually an attorney – will contact you and at some point ask you what you want. Here’s my humble suggestions:
-If you are being sued for foreclosure, or are in bankruptcy, ask or have your attorney ask the AG to file an Amicus brief. This is Latin for “Friend of the court.” The AG’s brief to the court will detail the findings of fraud and support your claims. It’s a very powerful weapon. Use it.
-If you found your loan is securitized but the TBTF refuses to tell you the name of the trust, tell the AG you want that info. They have a club you don’t and can you it to obtain the info about the trust.
-If your “lender” committed predatory lending violations report that as well. Each state has its own Consumer Fraud laws that punish lenders for these kinds of infractions.
Remember, the MBS fraud is institutionalized. So be sure to use the government institutions to the max in order to obtain real relief in the courts.
Once again, thanks to Admin for putting the post back up.
To all homeowners who uncover evidence that a GSE – Fannie, Freddie, Ginnie own your note – check out this new info on a “decoy assignment.”
Attorney Tom Cox was interviewed by Mandelman, a foreclosure defense attorney. The podcast interview starts at the 6 min. mark.
Mr. Cox is the Maine attorney who uncovered what came to be known as robo-signing in 2010.
Today, he has news regarding GSE – owned loans. Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie do not foreclose in their own names. It’s spelled out in their 1100+ page guidelines.
Mr. Cox uncovered evidence that applies to about 20% of all GSE loans – a missing intervening assignment from originator to Fannie/Freddie/Ginnie is created, but not recorded.
But, the originator DOES create and record another assignment, which Mr. Cox has dubbed a decoy assignment. This assignment is created to fool the court into thinking that there was a real transfer of interest in the property to the TBTF who sues the homeowner for foreclosure.
It’s all a ruse. And in the end, the taxpayer is going to foot the bill.
Be sure to listen to the interview. All homeowners and their attorneys MUST demand the collateral file and ALL unrecorded assignments in discovery,
Crikey, Mary. It’s like an onion, each time you peel a layer you find a new scam.
@Novista It’s absolutely amazing, isn’t it?
The fraud just goes on and on and on. There is no end in sight.
I hope this strand gives homeowners and attorneys the motivation to roll up their sleeves and start digging through the mortgage documents to flag the fraud. And to take the fight to State and Federal courts.
Everywhere we look we find fraud. Everywhere. Major, major issues that cloud title and challenge fake lenders standing.
If I were an attorney, I would rock.
There is a fantastic business here with a huge revenue stream. Think about it. If an attorney wrote 5 contested answers a week, using the evidence gathered by the homeowner in their investigation – and charged $1k per answer, that’s $5k a week, $20k a month in revenue without ever stepping into court. Think about the number of people they could help and the case law they could make.
There’s a huge opportunity here that will last for the next 100 years.
In this post we talk a lot about strategies a homeowner’s attorneys can pursue in crafting a foreclosure defense strategy.
But what about the homeowner who is current on their mortgage and the fraudulent information about their loan is not apparent?
IMHO – poke away.
We held a mortgage fraud workshop last week. Most people were current on their mortgages, so there were no bogus assignments of mortgage recorded n the public registry. No fake trusts suing them for foreclosure.
I reviewed the mortgage docs for one homeowner who received multiple notices withing 90 days of origination that their loan was “sold”. Yet, there were no assignments of mortgage. His servicer is PNC.
He did a MERS, Fannie and Freddie look-ups. His mortgage was listed on the MERS registry. And Fannie
Ugh. Sorry about the break – here’s the rest of the post….
The Fannie look-up showed his property was insured by Fannie Mae.
He called PNC to obtain the info on where to send the QWR letter. The PNC customer service rep flipped out. Refused to provide him with a name and address for the individual/department that answers QWR letter. He kept pressing and refused to take, “No” for an answer.
The result?
The PNC rep blurted out, “I don’t know if I can give you this information. We need to get permission from the investor.”
Bingo.
Now the homeowner has credible evidence his loan was fakes securitized, where there was none. He can quote the PNC rep in all of his letters. When he retains an attorney, they can include this utterance in their complaints and briefs.
He wrangled a department name and address from the PNC rep. He’s sending the letter and if the response does not include the name of an investor, or trust, he can file a complaint that PNC violated RESPA.
I think he will get the investor name. Then, he’s off to the races, following the trail where-ever it leads.
Okay guys, listen up.
BOA is folding their foreclosure tents. I have heard a number of first-hand accounts in the past several days that confirm we are about to win this fight. To wit:
-A Maine homeowner, sued on their first and second Countrywide mortgages by BOA with fake trusts listed on Lis Pendens, cancelled the foreclosure on her second mortgage after she demanded the attorneys for BOA fake trust sign an affidavit attesting that there was no fraud in the mortgage transaction. BOA changed law firms four times.
-Today, she received a letter from BOA that said they are forgiving her $147k second mortgage. Gone. Kaput. No legal action, no surrendering future claims. Nada.
We traveled to Maine and viewed the Promissory Note for the first mortgage of $76k in BOA attorney’s office. The attorney was a nice man. Too bad his client is a crook.
We traced the fake trust and contacted Barclay’s Bank CEO, who told the homeowner her mortgage was NOT in the trust. So, she’ll win that lawsuit too.
Please start the MERS, Fannie, Freddie searches and send the QWR letters out ASAP.
Especially if you have Bank of America or Countrywide as your pretender lender. We can do this. We’re restoring the rule of law, one home at a time.
Mary, could you please let me know if you have any good attorneys in NC that help me? I was originated by Countrywide in 2007 and have been fighting with BOA since they took over. I am behind and need help fast. Thanks!
Ericka in NC, I would love to talk to you too!
@Tree Max Garnder holds Boot Camps for attorneys. He’s top notch, located in NC. There are a number of grads listed in this link. They all are educating themselves on how to detect MBS/foreclosure fraud. If I were you I would start with this list. Many are Bankruptcy attorneys, but others do litigate in state courts. Just start dialing….
Yes, contact Ericka too.
http://www.maxbankruptcybootcamp.com/find-graduates
If you have obtained your mortgage records from the county registry, I’ll help you identify the fraud. Admin has my email address – just send me a note and I’ll be glad to help.
OK, another success story from the battlefield….
We’re assisting a homeowner who is being sued for foreclosure by Wells Fargo, yet her lender is identified as a HSBC Nomura Trust in the QWR. Hmm.
Today, my friend – the Maine homeowner who got BOA to forgive her 2nd mortgage – accompanied the homeowner to a mortgage modification seminar held at the Meadowlands in NJ.
They approach Wells Fargo exec who is staffing the booth and expecting them to beg for a deal.
Well, was he in for a surprise.
My friend, who is a licensed banker, shows the WF exec an assignment of mortgage featuring the signature of an alleged WF VP.
Then, she shows him an assortment of mortgage documents with the WF VP’s signature, only he has a title of Assistant Secretary.
Not content to leave it there, they called WF before their trip to the Meadowlands and asked to speak to the WF VP signer. He wasn’t available, but they did get a confirmation of his title – which was not VP, or Assistant Secretary. It was coordinator.
So, she asks, was the VP demoted to a coordinator in a 6 month period?
Was my friend done? Nope.
She then proceeds to ask the WF exec about the missing Assignment of Mortgages – there should be at least 3 recorded in the NJ registry.
He looks over the docs and says, “Excuse me. I need to contact our Chairman.”
He comes back 10 minutes later and says, “What do you want?”
My friend says, “I want you to extinguish this homeowners lien.”
He gives them the Chairman’s contact info. They are setting up a conference call with the homeowner and her attorney.
It’s not a done deal, but it looks like this homeowner will be able to negotiate a substantial principal reduction or get the loan forgiven and the lien extinguished altogether.
We’re seeing this again and again. I understand it is hard to believe but it is true.
Homeowners who have a clue and show up asking tough questions are winning the battle.
Go for it. Poke them and see what reaction you get.
My guess is if you follow the steps in this post the bank is eventually going to come back and say, “What do you want?”
+ googolplex for Mary
(you do know what a googolplex is?)
http://www.googolplex.com/
@Novista Thanks!
It is very encouraging to see these kinds of results. But we need many more homeowners to get into the game.
Far too many Americans have given up. They are demoralized and their lives are in ruin. It simply does not have to be this way. Fighting is good for the soul.
I sincerely hope more homeowners and attorneys start the process we’ve outlined here.
They have everything to gain – and nothing to lose. Which of course, makes us very dangerous adversaries against the cronies.
Let’s make the Bernack cry all the way to the gallows, shall we?
Admin, will you please email me Mary’s email as per her post so i can contact her regarding my docs? Thanks! 😉
Tree
Done
Mary,
I happened on some website, really forgettable, except they were slamming Neil Garfield. Just because they were talking their own book (and business model) doesn’t make them wrong, eh?
Why, they have all manner of experts in all aspects of mortgages, from appraisals onward.
Sheesh.
Admin, I haven’t received it. Sorry. Can you resend?
Tree
Send me an email at [email protected] so I know I have the right email address.
Mary Malone has worked patiently with me to uncover next steps and possible gaps in my mortgage with BoA. She has educated me on the gaps and answered each of my questions. She works tirelessly and deserves our gratitude. Thank you Mary, I will be updating you soon on my QWR results!
Anyone aware of Washington State attorney’s who “get” the fight we are up against? I need to start interviews!
Thanks again Mary, you are a great blessing to me!
@Rick – Thanks so much for the kind words. We’re in this together and many TBP regulars are contributing too. Admin is donating valuable real estate to the cause – thank you!
The search for a capable attorney who knows the fraud or at least is willing to break away from the pack and argue these cases is the toughest part, IMHO.
One way to identify counsel is to look-up foreclosure defense case law in your state. Read the briefs and court decisions and then contact homeowner attorneys who are winning these cases.
Also, the state legal aid society may have a handle on retired attorneys who are taking these cases and looking to make case law and help homeowners obtain real relief in the courts. Money won’t mean so much to them either, so their fees may be more reasonable.
You’re off to a really great start, Rick. Let’s stay in touch!
@Mary
“You can also send a request to MERS for the Milestone Report today. That has no connection to the QWR.
Here is the contact person to inquire about you MERS Milestone Report.
Claire Catalano
Product Performance Specialist
MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. |1818 Library Street, Suite 300 |Reston, VA 20190
Phone (703)738-0229 | Fax (703)748-0183”
Quick question for you. What do I need to include for the request? Just my property address and name on the title of the house for them to get me this report?
Thanks again.
@Brian Great question. Just send your name, property address,
and if you have it the MIN number, which would be printed on the first pages of your mortgage or Deed of Trust that is recorded in the local registry.
I hope they provide you with the report. We’re getting, “Contact your servicer” as the response. But if they refuse to provide you with the Milestone Report, print out the email and submit it as evidence when you file a lawsuit against the fake lender. It will show the judge you are making every attempt to find your lender.
@Admin, Thanks for providing Tree with my email. We connected and she is on her way….
Thanks I’ll send it off. I’m guessing I will get a “contact your servicer” type response as my mortgage doesn’t even show up on MERS.
We’re getting some interesting responses to the Qualified Written Request letters from Wells Fargo.
They are sending homeowners a set of the closing docs – Mortgage, HUD, disclosures and copy of the note as it appeared at closing. Not bad, but no info on the identity of the investor.
But they are also including language in their response which says, “If you want any additional documents, you will have to send us a subpoena.”
We humbly suggest you take them up on their offer.
The QWR letter is a component of RESPA, federal lending laws to protect consumers that were strengthened in Dodd-Frank. So, this law has teeth. Well, as much bite as any law can have these days that applies to the cronies and not the philistines. Sigh.
In NJ, we have to request a subpoena from a state judge. The judge may not be wild about issuing subpoenas to homeowners if they think we are on a fishing expedition. But, if Wells Fargo is treating RESPA this way, a judge may take note and agree to your request.
So if Wells Fargo is your servicer and you have sent, or plan to send a QWR letter to them, take note and be prepared to take this process one step further.
This is definitely not for the faint of heart.
I’m working with a number of homeowners who originated their loans with Countrywide. Here’s some more info for all homeowners who have Countrywide loans and helps explain why they are foreclosure-proof:
In sworn testimony in the Kemp v Countrywide case, NJ 2010, attorney for homeowner, Bruce Levitt questioned Linda DeMartini, Countrywide executive on the path the Promissory Notes took when the loans were “sold” on the secondary market. The relevance of the case is summarized here:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/kemp-v-countrywide-case-will-bring-down-bank-america-and-rmbs
More here:
Background on the case and what it means to homeowners in this podcast interview between Mandelman and Bruce Levitt:
The DeMartini transcript about the custody of the notes here: http://stopforeclosurefraud.com/2010/11/23/must-read-full-transcript-of-kemp-v-countrywide/.
We’re working with a NJ homeowner who originated with Countrywide. Six years after origination, his mortgage was assigned to:
U.S. Bank as Trustee for BS ARM Trust, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2003-9, residing or located at 475 Crosspoint Parkway, Getzville, NY 14068
Now, the biggest problem is you cannot assign a mortgage into a trust 6 years after origination. Especially if the trust has a cut-off date of December 1, 2003.
In addition to that major issue, there is another problem. The address of the purported owner of this homeowner’s note is bogus. Bank of America is located at the Getzville office. There is no trust by this, or any other name located in the building. We know this because we called and spoke to a BOA Admin.
Now, this address appears on the foreclosure complaint. In NJ, we have the Fair Foreclosure Act which requires the “real lenders” name and address on the complaint. Oops!
We found the pool Servicing Agreement and the Trustee is identified as US Bank with an address in Boston MA. Not Getzville NY.
They are sloppy, arrogant criminals. If you check the details, you will catch them in multiple lies that are frozen on official documents recorded in the registry.
So be sure to check every single “fact” that is printed on your mortgage documents. This is evidence of fraud that any judge will understand.
They’re Baaack….
Ocwen to securitize FHA mortgages
A special vehicle put together by subprime mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp. ($24.38 0.29%) plans to acquire government-backed loans soon and package them into bonds for investors.
Ocwen and its former asset management firm Altisource built Correspondent One last year. The vehicle will buy mortgages originated by Lenders One, which Ocwen estimates wrote 8% of all home loans in the U.S. last year. Lenders One is a national alliance of mortgage bankers, correspondent lenders and suppliers of mortgage products and services.
Correspondent One will also acquire Federal Housing Administration mortgages soon for future securitizations, Ocwen disclosed to investors in its second quarter filing. Currently, roughly 98% of FHA loans are securitized through Ginnie Mae bonds.
The company said Correspondent One acquired roughly $17 million in conventional loans from Lenders One in the first half of 2012.
“Correspondent One has seen significant, positive environmental changes in the correspondent lending market. There has been a contraction in correspondent lending,” Ocwen said, alluding to recent exits by Bank of America ($7.91 0.035%), Ally Financial and others.
In July, Ocwen also began setting up agreements to purchase servicing on newly originated loans. Under the arrangements with undisclosed firms, lenders would sell the loan to either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or issue a Ginnie Mae security backed by FHA loans. The servicing on those loans would automatically transfer to Ocwen.
The company serviced nearly $128 billion in mortgages as of June 30, nearly double the $70 billion portfolio it held one year prior.
The funding pipeline for Correspondent One and these special arrangements reached nearly $195 million at the end of July, Ocwen said.
Ginnie may raise its minimum net-worth requirement for issuers of its FHA-backed mortgage bonds, American Banker reported this week. Smaller lenders are becoming shut out and could turn to more creative and private deals like the one Ocwen has set up in order to fund their new loans.
[email protected]
One for Mary
http://www.economonitor.com/blog/2012/08/how-to-beat-vulture-debt-collectors/?utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EconoMonitor%20Highlights%3A%20Let%20the%20Real%20Games%20Begin
How to Beat Vulture Debt Collectors
Yves Smith
“For those not familiar with this dark underbelly of the credit markets, these vultures buy consumer debt from banks (mainly credit card receivables) that the bank has written off. That means they don’t think it’s worth pursuing.”
~
“Most of the time. it’s worse than that: the debt was never owed (they are going after the wrong person), the debt was paid off or discharged in bankruptcy, the statute of limitations has long passed.”
~
“The buyers of this debt pay pennies on the dollar and treat it like a lottery ticket. They sue, but have NO intention of spending any money on the case beyond making that filing. Their fond hope is that the borrower fails to respond, and they win a default judgment. With that in hand, they can garnish wages or bank accounts.”
~
(quote from another article)
“Revealing the defects in these documents does not require a deep background in consumer law. It just requires a cup of coffee, your undivided attention, a yellow highlighter, and a red pen.”
(sound familiar?)
” … fewer than 1% of the consumers who respond in court are represented by counsel, and that they are typically not treated equitably, since debt collectors have convinced many judges that borrowers are deadbeats and that the rules of evidence don’t hold in small claims … ”
There’s more meat in the article. Recommended.
@Novista – Thanks for sharing the excerpts from the article.
Very few people realize that the MBS fraud has morphed into a business model that has been replicated for credit card, auto and student loans.
They are not just selling the credit card receivables to vulture firms who sue the consumers, they are also bundling all this bad debt into Asset Backed Securities or ABS. These instruments, like the MBS are rated AAA. So pension funds and insurance companies have gobbled them up since the 2008 MBS implosion.
But there is no debt to back the ABS. Just like there are no mortgages to back the MBS. Same scam, different spin.
And since they own every body of Federal and often state government, they can continue to rape and pillage with impunity.
Thoughts…property is in FL, original mortgage with Shorefront Ventures which was recorded. No assignment to new lenders and no satisfaction recorded. So basically there is 3 mortgages showing up in search. SunTrust is claiming they own but hold forged docs. The loan was assigned from SunTrust to RCS then asigned back from RCS to SunTrust yet this assignment is not recorded. Title company that handled closing is no longer in business..Shorefront is no longer in business and is dissolved. Somehow, SunTrust has over 20K in Escrow in which they are paying taxes and insurance. Going on 5 years now. They filed suit in Oct 2007…final judgement issued in Aug 2009..then they cancelled the Foreclosure Sale in Sept 2009. Refiled in Jan 2010 and seem to be stalling. Lack of Prosecution filed and all they responded with was Lead of Counsel and Debtor Discharge in BK. I was discharged in Ch 7 BK in April 2008. Also, SunTrust has record on MERS of 2 mortgages showing as Invaild. What does that mean? When I have spoken to SunTrust they tell me I have 1 loan??? This is all too confusing. Any advise would be appreciated
@Bobbalooee: I’ll try to help. Just have some questions – need clarification on the following points:
So if I understand you correctly your property is in Florida and you originated the mortgage with Shorefront Ventures. The mortgage was recorded in the county registry? Is Shorefront identified as the lender in your mortgage documents?
Question: Was this a MERS mortgage? Is there language in the mortgage that says something like, ” MERS is the beneficiary…?”
You say there are 3 mortgages that show up in the search. What database are your searching? Are you talking about the county registry, or MERS look-up?
What documents were presented that tie SunTrust to the property? Are you saying there is no assignment from Shorefront Ventures to SunTrust?
This info will help me understand what the issues are and let’s see if we can sort it out, OK?
Boy, Shorefront Ventures is a company with a colorful past….
By TBO.COM | Staff
Published: October 29, 2010
TAMPA A man involved in a mortgage scheme first uncovered in a Tampa Tribune investigation four years ago has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire, mail and bank fraud. Chad Evans’ Clearwater companies, Shorefront Ventures LLC and Tye Funding LLC, were used to lure “straw buyers” to participate in fraudulent mortgage transactions, according to court documents.
A straw buyer is someone who buys something on another’s behalf.
Fifty properties were bought and illegally flipped, for a loss to lenders of about $6.9 million, the government says.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment, a fine of $27,496 and supervised release of not more than 5 years. Evans’ lawyer did not return phone calls in time for publication.
http://www2.tbo.com/business/breaking-news-business/2010/oct/29/man-pleads-guilty-in-multi-million-dollar-mortgage-ar-19824/
You’re on a roll, Bobbalooee
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThursday, May 31, 2012
Justice Department Reaches $21 Million Settlement to Resolve Allegations of Lending Discrimination by Suntrust Mortgage
Borrowers Were Charged Higher Fees Based on Their Race or National Origin in 2005-2009 Before the Company Implemented New Policies
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/May/12-crt-695.html
@Mary can you email me at [email protected] so I can respond with the information you requested? Thanks for the articles. I was aware of the Tampa article but not the SunTrust settlement
@Mary, to answer a few of your questions….original mortgage and note was closed on April 10th, 2006 with Shorefront as the Lender. I have the HUD1 for this transaction. Mortgage and Note are recorded in Pinellas County. This is the only paperwork I signed. There is no assigment filed from Shorefront to SunTrust or anyone else. Then, Aug 31, 2006…AmTrust Funding originated a first and second lien and recorded the docs…these docs do not contain my signature and are noticeably forged. In the AmTrust Funding mortgage it does have MERS as the beneficiary and assignements filed to MERS. I recently did a search of MERS by property address and 3 mortgages were listed as ACTIVE. I disputed and they changed 1 to Paid in Full and the other 2 to Inactive. The Notary for Ocean’s Title and Abstract Michelle Fabry stated she “verified by driver’s license” which obviously did not happen. I did some research..Oceans Title is no longer in business and was closing loans and submitting fraudulent docs to the lenders. The Shorefront mortgage was still showing up when I was attempting to short sell the property. I was able to get a letter from Shorefront managing member regarding the dissolved business and had recorded in 2011. I asked SunTrust to mail me the mortgage and note and all they sent was the mortgage which is not my signature. I also asked for an escrow analysis and noticed there was a 52K deposit into the account in 2009…not sure where that money came from. When I have talked to them, they have only 1 loan in the system, so not sure what happened to the second. Very confusing and frustrating. I have a property history report showing I purchased the property for almost 100K more than it sold for a week before I bought it!!!! The appraiser lost his license and was in bed with this lender, real estate agent, title company. You think all the checks and balances in place would have prevented this from happening, but in the end it has left me bankrupt and still dealing with this mess 5 years later. What I also don’t understand, a Final Judgment of Foreclosure was signed off by judge in 2009 but the sale was cancelled. Then they reopen the case in Jan 2010 and seems they continue to stall. SunTrust rejected 4 offers for short sale over a 3 year period, they declined a deed in lieu since the Shorefront Mortgage and 2 other mechanical liens are showing which they require me to pay off. I sent them the shorefront release but they told me I had to have recorded…which I did and that was the last conversation I had with them. Anyway, if you send me your email, I can send over the docs for you to review. I called Stewart Title who I guess underwrites or did for Ocean’s Title regarding getting copies of HUD1 for this property…they never called back….
@Bobbalooeeo- Thanks for the summary. Yes, I’d like to review your docs and see if we can piece together the story. I’ll email you at the address above.
According to the DOJ and the news article posted, Shorefront execs were convicted of mortgage fraud and were sentenced to 5 years in prison and $27 million in restitution. It seems they inflated the value of 50 Florida homes and then divvied the extra loot amount themselves, creating false HUD statements. The homes sold for more than $100K above comps – the Realtor who was in on the scheme told her colleagues that the value was inflated to cover construction costs.
Sound like they should have been convicted for mortgage fraud on 51 properties. Your history conforms with their scheme.
When you deal with criminals like this, everything that follows is suspect. If they sold you a home $100k above the value, then is it reasonable to expect they ever legally transferred or “sold” your loan to subsequent parties?
We’ll try to piece together the puzzle here. It may result in a trip to the local prosecutor of FBI office.
The investigate and charge flim-flam artists. TBTF who stole $13 tril – not so much.
Mary Malone
Thought you (and others) might like this article;
—– —– —–
Fighting the Mortgage Mess
by ELLEN BROWN
Two landmark developments on August 16th give momentum to the growing interest of cities and counties in addressing the mortgage crisis using eminent domain:
(1) The Washington State Supreme Court held in Bain v. MERS, et al., that an electronic database called Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) is not a “beneficiary” entitled to foreclose under a deed of trust; and
(2) San Bernardino County, California, passed a resolution to consider plans to use eminent domain to address the glut of underwater borrowers by purchasing and refinancing their loans.
MERS is the electronic smokescreen that allowed banks to build their securitization Ponzi scheme without worrying about details like ownership and chain of title. According to trial attorney Neil Garfield, properties were sold to multiple investors or conveyed to empty trusts, subprime securities were endorsed as triple A, and banks earned up to 40 times what they could earn on a paying loan, using credit default swaps in which they bet the loan would go into default. As the dust settles from collapse of the scheme, homeowners are left with underwater mortgages with no legitimate owners to negotiate with. The solution now being considered is for municipalities to simply take ownership of the mortgages through eminent domain. This would allow them to clear title and start fresh, along with some other lucrative dividends.
A major snag in these proposals has been that to make them economically feasible, the mortgages would have to be purchased at less than fair market value, in violation of eminent domain laws. But for troubled properties with MERS in the title—which now seems to be the majority of them—this may no longer be a problem. If MERS is not a beneficiary entitled to foreclose, as held in Bain, it is not entitled to assign that right or to assign title. Title remains with the original note holder; and in the typical case, the note holder can no longer be located or established, since the property has been used as collateral for multiple investors. In these cases, counties or cities may be able to obtain the mortgages free and clear. The county or city would then be in a position to “do the fair thing,” settling with stakeholders in proportion to their legitimate claims, and refinancing or reselling the properties, with proceeds accruing to the city or county.
Bain v. MERS: No Rights Without the Original Note
Although Bain is binding precedent only in Washington State, it is well reasoned and is expected to be followed elsewhere. The question, said the panel, was “whether MERS and its associated business partners and institutions can both replace the existing recording system established by Washington statutes and still take advantage of legal procedures established in those same statutes.” The Court held that they could not have it both ways:
Simply put, if MERS does not hold the note, it is not a lawful beneficiary. . . .
MERS suggests that, if we find a violation of the act, “MERS should be required to assign its interest in any deed of trust to the holder of the promissory note, and have that assignment recorded in the land title records, before any non-judicial foreclosure could take place.” But if MERS is not the beneficiary as contemplated by Washington law, it is unclear what rights, if any, it has to convey. Other courts have rejected similar suggestions. [Citations omitted.]
If MERS has no rights that it can assign, the parties are back to square one: the original holder of the promissory note must be found. The problem is that many of these mortgage companies are no longer in business; and even if they could be located, it is too late in most cases to assign the note to the trusts that are being tossed this hot potato.
Mortgage-backed securities are sold to investors in packages representing interests in trusts called REMICs (Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits), which are designed as tax shelters. To qualify for that status, however, they must be “static.” Mortgages can’t be transferred in and out once the closing date has occurred. The REMIC Pooling and Servicing Agreement typically states that any transfer after the closing date is invalid. Yet few, if any, properties in foreclosure seem to have been assigned to these REMICs before the closing date, in blatant disregard of legal requirements.
The whole business is quite complicated, but the bottom line is that title has been clouded not only by MERS but because the trusts purporting to foreclose do not own the properties by the terms of their own documents. Legally, the latter defect may be even more fatal than filing in the name of MERS in establishing a break in the chain of title to securitized properties.
What This Means for Eminent Domain Plans
Under the plans that the San Bernardino County board of supervisors voted to explore, the county would take underwater mortgages by eminent domain and then help the borrowers into mortgages with significantly lower monthly payments.
Objections voiced at the August 16th hearing included suspicions concerning the role of Mortgage Resolution Partners, the private venture capital firm bringing the proposal (would it make off with the profits and leave the county footing the bills?), and where the county would get the money for the purchases.
A way around these objections might be to eliminate the private middleman and proceed through a county land bank of the sort set up in other states. If the land bank focused on properties with MERS in the chain of title (underwater, foreclosed or abandoned), it might obtain a significant inventory of properties free and clear.
The county would simply need to give notice in the local newspaper of intent to exercise its right of eminent domain. The burden of proof would then transfer to the claimant to establish title in a court proceeding. If the court followed Bain, title typically could not be proved and would pass free and clear to the county land bank, which could sell or rent the property and work out a fair settlement with the parties.
That would resolve not only the funding question but whether using eminent domain to cure mortgage problems constitutes an unconstitutional taking of private property. In these cases, there would be no one to take from, since no one would be able to prove title. The investors would take their place in line as unsecured creditors with claims in equity for actual damages. In most cases, they would be protected by credit default swaps and could recover from those arrangements.
The investors, banks and servicers all profited from the smokescreen of MERS, which shielded them from liability. As noted in Bain:
Critics of the MERS system point out that after bundling many loans together, it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify the current holder of any particular loan, or to negotiate with that holder. . . . Under the MERS system, questions of authority and accountability arise, and determining who has authority to negotiate loan modifications and who is accountable for misrepresentation and fraud becomes extraordinarily difficult.
Like MERS itself, the investors must deal with the consequences of an anonymity so remote that they removed themselves from the chain of title.
On August 15th, the Federal Housing Finance Agency threatened to take action against municipalities condemning federal property. But to establish its claim, the FHFA, too, would have to establish that the mortgages were federal property; and under the Bain ruling, this could be difficult.
Setting Things Right
While banks and investors were busy counting their profits behind the curtain of MERS, homeowners and counties have been made to bear the losses. The city of San Bernardino is in such dire straits that on August 1, it filed for bankruptcy.
San Bernardino and other counties are drowning in debt from a crisis created when Wall Street’s real estate securitization bubble burst. By using eminent domain, they can clean up the destruction of their land title records and 400 years of real property law. And by setting up their own banks, counties and other municipalities can use their own capital and revenues to generate credit for local purposes.
Homeowners who paid much more for a home than it was worth as a result of the securitization bubble have little chance of challenging the legitimacy of their underwater mortgages on their own. Insisting that their state and local governments follow the lead of Washington State and San Bernardino County may be their best shot at escaping debt peonage to their mortgage lenders.
ELLEN BROWN is the author of Web of Debt: the Shocking Truth About Our Money System and How We Can Break Free. She can be reached through her website.
http://www.webofdebt.com/