Fannie Mae’s Pre-Filing Mediation Guidelines for Florida

***Got PSA? visit www.DIYMortgageReview.com to get your FREE guide to finding your pooling and service agreement***

Remember the Florida mediation order? Here’s Fannie’s instructions for dealing with the order. This is highly instructive for those of you in Florida with a GSE backed loan.

Fannie Mae Mandatory Pre-Filing Mediation Policy for Mortgage Loans in Florida

DISCLAIMER:
****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

Bank Strategy on Motions to Lift Stay

*** Visit www.DIYMortgageReview.com to get your FREE guide to finding your pooling and service agreement***

This looks like Continuing Legal Education materials for attorneys. I found it on Scribd today. It’s a good look at the bank’s perspective when pursuing a Motion to Lift Stay in a bankruptcy case. Be sure to look at page 110 and on for the information on securitization.

INSIDE THE MINDS OF THE ATTORNEYS–MUST READ FOR HOMEOWNERS

DISCLAIMER:
****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

Credit Card Lawsuit Affidavits Look A Lot Like Mortgage Assignments!

I talked months ago about how the lawsuits would eventually start over defaults on credit cards and mortgages. Here in Arizona, there is a particular bank that is very aggressive, suing defaulting borrowers for mortgage deficiencies even though we’re in an anti-deficiency state. I’m not exactly sure what their line of reasoning is, but my point is that it’s happening now.

I am also hearing from a lot of people who are being sued over credit card defaults. A friend of mine here in Arizona owed nearly $17k on a credit card. He asked the bank for assistance with the payments and they told him they couldn’t help him. So he stopped paying because he couldn’t afford to pay the bill any longer.

As a side note, I think credit cards will be the next big wave of defaults on the consumer side. Regardless of what you think about strategic default, if we don’t feel like making a mortgage payment, why should we pay our credit cards? Especially when it’s the same bank that put the screws to you on your mortgage. Except that default debt purchasers can and will sue you if the amount is right.

Take a look at this Affidavit filed in a credit card lawsuit:

Credit Card Lawsuit Affidavit

Like a mortgage, once you stop paying, the “lender” probably sells it off to default debt buyer and the debt buyer is probably the one who will sue you. The key here is to critically examine the affidavits used to build their case, because they can be picked apart just like an assignment of mortgage.

The affidavit is used to fill in the holes with respect to the chain of ownership of the debt, and if you don’t answer the lawsuit, the judge is going to flip through the papers and see that the affidavit is there and probably won’t look any closer before giving the bank a default judgment.

If that happens, you can then expect a garnishment at any time.

So what do you do if you get sued? Well, I’m not a lawyer and I can’t give legal advice….but this guy is, and if you read very carefully, he explains HOW to basically destroy the plaintiff’s affidavit.

If you follow his instructions and prepare the sworn denial, he says that it means that the Plaintiff can no longer rely on their “affidavit”. (Poof!)

In some cases, this increases the chances that the lawsuit will go away, especially if it will cost more to litigate the case than the amount being claimed you owed.

If the suit goes forward, you can expect nasty calls from the attorney’s staff, and when you appear for your court date, you can expect to be “taken out in the hall” where the attorney for the people suing you may try to intimidate you into settling.

I suggest you consult with an attorney for help with credit card lawsuits, especially if the amount is large enough to cause you concern. We have seen what happens to pro se folks who try to represent themselves in the foreclosure mess, and being out-procedured is a definite possibility, especially with debt collection attorneys.

DISCLAIMER:

****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

Services We Provide

It occurred to me that our new readers and existing subscribers may not have any idea of what we at Foreclosure Industry actually do. I wish I could say that I write this blog for fun, (which it is, but that’s not my point here), but to be clear, this blog is our primary lead generation activity. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who reads and uses our services and buys our products, because with your support, we are able to continue sharing all the information with our audience for free.

So, to clear up any confusion, here’s our “menu” of products and services we offer:

1. Loan Audits. Earlier this summer, we announced that we were going to stop working with the public to offer loan audits because of Arizona’s new law prohibiting upfront fees.

We’ve had some time to do some research and we’re ready to offer no-upfront fee loan audits to the public on a case-by-case basis. I would prefer to work with borrowers who have attorneys involved, or referrals from our existing clients because there’s a trust factor there.

We have a specific process that we’ve put into place to comply with Arizona’s no-upfront fee law. It also makes it complicated and more expensive. The fee for our loan audit service is now $750. You can contact me directly for more information on getting a loan audit done by us by sending an e-mail to me at Christine@desertedgelegal.com.

2. Consulting Services. I have now assisted at least ten different attorneys with foreclosure defense. I’ve either helped them set up their practice, offered training, or worked with them on an hourly basis to get their clients a better result. I have assembled a team of professionals and we’re ready to take on consulting projects for attorneys who want to practice in foreclosure defense or just want hourly paralegal help from me or my team. If you are an attorney and need help with anything relating to foreclosure defense, please don’t hesitate to contact me: Christine@desertedgelegal.com.

3. Do It Yourself. We have created a digital store where you can purchase and immediately download several do it yourself guides: www.DIYMortgageReview.com. We are going to be dropping the prices drastically in order to make these products affordable for everyone who needs them. You can also opt in to get your free download, called “How to Find Your Pooling and Service Agreement,” which is my gift to you.

4. Loan Audit Classes. We will continue to teach others how to understand the mortgage problem, which includes training on how to do loan audits. I have arrived at the conclusion that I’m really empowering people with the information I’ve gathered over the last couple of years. It’s not really about audits – it’s about giving people the tools to get themselves into a better position, and that is deeply rewarding.

Our first class by webinar starts on Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. The cost is $599 and if you opt in to our mailing list to the top right of this post, you’ll get an e-mail with a coupon code for significant savings on the class. I’ll send out an e-mail with the details and the coupon code later this week, so please opt in if you’re interested in that information.

You can also purchase the materials on the www.DIYMortgageReview.com site (click on “Professional Services” at the bottom to get the pro page) and learn at your own pace, but it does not include any access to me for questions or support.

5. Because we are a business, (and we firmly believe that its businesses like ours that will revive our economy), you will see our marketing messages more often in our blog posts. If you need help, we really hope you’ll consider using our services or purchasing our products. We spend a lot of time gathering content for the blog to get this information out there, and it wouldn’t be possible without your support.

6. Please stay tuned for more digital products – I have been getting a lot of requests from people who need help making a decision about what to do with their mortgage, and I’m rapidly writing a survival guide packed with information most people need to make a good decision. I anticipate that product will be ready by the end of September, or sooner, if I can get it done.

7. There are probably other things we can do, but just haven’t thought of them yet. If you need help doing something related to foreclosure defense that isn’t specifically listed here, please send me an e-mail with a phone number where I can reach you and I’ll see if I can help you.

Thank you to all of you who read, comment, send e-mails, and offer your support and encouragement. I appreciate your support and am so glad I can offer the information on this blog.

Got questions? Send me an e-mail: Christine@desertedgelegal.com

DISCLAIMER:

****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

Court Ordered Bonds

Barbara Forde (forde@legalforeclosurehelpnow.com) and I are looking for a bonding company that will write small dollar figure litigation bonds required by a TRO, for people with bad credit.

We might be crazy in asking this question, but any info our audience could share would be appreciated.

You can send me an e-mail: christine@desertedgelegal.com or post in the comments below. Thank you!

DISCLAIMER:

****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

Marques v. Wells Fargo

This is an interesting read. It looks to me like the judge in this case, Judge James Lorenz, spent a lot of time doing research. He ultimately dismissed the Plaintiff’s complaint, but gave Plaintiff leave (permission) to amend, even though the Plaintiff had not asked for leave to amend. He didn’t give the Plaintiff much time, however — only a couple of weeks.

His opinion was instructive — on page ten, he says that the Plaintiffs may be successful in pleading against Wells Fargo as an intended beneficiary of the Commitment to Purchase Financial Instrument and Servicer Participation Agreement (“Agreement”) for the HAMP program, and that because the terms of the Agreement were ambiguous, Plaintiff at least had the right to have his loan reviewed for a modification.

Marques v. Wells Fargo

DISCLAIMER:

****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

Motion to Disqualify Judge

All I can say is “wow.” Attorney Mark Stopa has some guts to file this one. I think he’s asking the right questions. In this blog post, he’s talking about how the judge ruled against the borrower an hour before the hearing!

Motion to Disqualify Judge

Unbelievable. I’m so glad to see that someone is looking out for the borrowers.

DISCLAIMER:

****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

State of Texas Sues American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc.

The Texas Attorney General has apparently had enough of AHMSI’s debt collections practices. Be sure to take a look at page 4 about all the things the servicer did that violated the laws in Texas. I’m sure this isn’t the last lawsuit that gets filed like this by a state’s attorney general.

Foreclosure Fraud – State of Texas v American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc

DISCLAIMER:

****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

Commentary on Corrected Assignments

I received this from Foreclosure Hamlet. This is commentary from attorney Lynn Szymoniak, who writes the Fraud Digest blog.

From Lynn:

On August 11, 2010, the Florida foreclosure mill law firm of Shapiro & Fishman (S&F) filed a “corrective” mortgage assignment (below).

According to S & F, this “corrective” assignment was necessary because previous assignments filed by S & F were signed by Linda Green “who at that time did not have signing authority on behalf of MERS.” The day before, on August 10, 2010, the Florida Attorney General’s office issued a press release identifying S & F as one of the Florida law firms under investigation for unfair & deceptive trade practices involving improper documentation used to speed foreclosure proceedings.

When Linda Green signed the prior assignments as a MERS officer, she was actually employed by Lender Processing Services in its Alpharetta, Georgia offices. Lender Processing Services decides which law firms get assigned foreclosure cases by the banks in hundreds of thousands of cases. Lender Processing Services hires the law firms and provides these firms with the documents they might need – using its own employees to sign the documents – without authority from MERS.

The “corrective” assignment was signed by Kathy Smith and Joseph Kaminski who were identified as Assistant Secretaries of MERS, as nominee for American Brokers Conduit ( a company in bankruptcy since 2007).

Smith & Kaminski are not actually employed by MERS or by American Brokers Conduit – so S&H may need another “corrective assignment.” The original assignment was dated October 17, 2008 – over two weeks AFTER the Lis Pendens was filed, but the “corrective” assignment attempts to solve the obvious lack of standing by a provision that states that the actual delivery of the documents took place on an unspecified date “and that such delivery of documents had occurred before default and before the filing to the lis pendens…”

Courts and homeowners can expect a few more corrections from Shapiro & Fishman.

Corrected Assignment

UPDATE from Christine:

I found the original complaint with the original MERS assignment attached as an exhibit:

American Home v. Fredenburg

DISCLAIMER:

****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

Lender Break-Ins

Foreclosure Fraud has been all over the story about how lenders are breaking into people’s homes, in some cases, when they weren’t even in foreclosure.

Attorney Matt Weidner filed this lawsuit on behalf of the homeowners. Be sure to look at the police report on the Foreclosure Fraud website. The police are treating these break-in’s as civil matters.

Lender Break Ins – Debra l. Fischer v First Property Preservation, Inc., A Florida Corporation; Washington …

DISCLAIMER:

****CHRISTINE SPRINGER IS NOT A LICENSED ATTORNEY. THIS BLOG IS COMPRISED OF HER OPINIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS LEGAL ADVICE. PLEASE CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON OR TAKING ANY ACTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG.****

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