A bankruptcy judge has ordered one of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers to pay $50,000 to a Van Horne couple for seeking permission to foreclose on their house after failing to tell them their payments had increased.
American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc. (AHMSI) of Texas, which has gotten in trouble with regulators in several states, was ordered to pay $40,000 in punitive and $10,000 in compensatory damages to Alan and Kristine Wright by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Kilburg on Dec. 28.
The couple had filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in September 2008 with the intention of catching up on their monthly mortgage payments on their Van Horne home. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is often sought as a way to resolve a mortgage delinquency, according to Janet Hong, the Cedar Rapids attorney who represented the couple.
The bankruptcy plan protected the couple from losing their home as long as they kept up with the court-approved payment plan, but in on May 13, 2010, AHMSI filed a motion to lift the bankruptcy’s protective stay, saying that they were in default.
The motion was withdrawn by AHMSI, but the mortgage servicer filed a second motion about one year later again claiming that the Wrights were in default.
Without notice, AHMSI began placing mortgage payments from the couple in a “suspense account,” drawing from the account to make up the deficiency in each monthly until it was fully expended and returning the next payment, according to the judge’s ruling. The couple didn’t know their account was in arrears until they received the returned check. Their requests for a payment coupon book from AHMSI had been rejected more than once.
The couple eventually found through the court that their payments had been increased due to higher requirements for escrow — the money set aside by the mortgage servicer to pay things like property taxes and insurance — but they had not been notified.
Rest here…
Copy of ORDER RE: MOTION FOR ORDER TO SHOW CA– USE below…
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4closureFraud.org
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ORDER RE: MOTION FOR ORDER TO SHOW CA– USE
AHMSI did us dirty! we were on a temp. unemployment modification offered to us by them. I was told to fill out the paper work and did so, they approved it, said to make 5 payments and to call them back to update them about my husbands unemployment, i made every payment on time. I had major surgery at the end of May, i got out of the hospital and called a few days later to let the, know my husband was still laid off, first thing out of their mouths was, “the house is no longer yours, it went up for auction yesterday, no one bid on it so, your bank bought it!” just like that, we had that house 32 years, we were not sent any notice, letter, nothing! they offered us cash for keys to hurry and get us out! this was June 5th, had to be out by the end of the month, I told them I just had major surgery, I couldn’t pack, hardly walk, let alone look for a place to rent, their answer, “we’re sorry”, I couldn’t afford a lawyer to get us through all the legal matter, i did pay one $1,000 to hear my story, and was told they illegally did this to me but I would have to pay him what he required to help me, I couldn’t afford it, so we were basically SOOL!we are devastated, had to grab the first thing we could afford and get into in the next 3 weeks, our whole world has changed, that was going to be our house forever. my kids, my grandkids and my husband and I can’t understand why they were able to do this to us?! If a person like you and I could ever talk to the right person, things like this probably wouldn’t happen, every time I called them, I asked where am I calling? I was always told India, WTH? where are the U.S. people to talk to?I want my house, they have totally remolded it and now selling it for 339,000 and bought it for 219,000. we owed 395,000 on it, how stupid for them to take such a loss! We’re still hoping we can still get some help somewhere in understanding this! where do we start?
First, everyone including you need to learn what is going on and understand, they did NOT “take such a loss” as they never had anything vested in the entire situation, so it was all PROFIT, and of lot of profit at that – take the time to learn and educate yourself as well as others!!
American Home Mortgage Servicing are huge scammers. The increased out payments by $200 and told us lies that are taxes and insurance went up. The house taxes went down $4000 according to the city and the home owners insurance was never what they said it was ($300 a month more). Huge scammers.
I just hope the banksters and Judges are not just picking on the weaker/smaller companies in a guise to make it look like the Citizens are winning some cases. Like throwing us a bone, to keep us happy as the government did during the Civil Rights Movement. Allow some of the smaller less politically powerful institutions to take the brunt of the losses, as sacrificial lambs while protecting the favored (crony) institutions.
Hopefully someone is keeping tract with who is winning and losing in the God awful battle.
Professor Black’s testimony in Congress surely dispels the myth that the banksters where just part of a system gone bad that was no one’s real fault. It was a planned and perfectly executed pump and dump scheme of the highest magnitude and although I don’t want to see everyone go to jail, as there are not enough jails, even including the reported FEMA camps, to put everyone in jail who committed some level of impropriety. Many originators, servicers, lenders and borrowers had engages in various nefarious activities and anyone with any level of significant involvement and brains knew it. And I’m sure a bunch of appraisers and title people as well.
However, the investment and banking community created this system from the top down and it is they should take the brunt of the financial loses as the Citizens of this country are already suffering enough from the our fascist Oligarchy. If we do not punish this type of social manipulation, I fear the middle class of this country will be lost. How to stop the Judicial corruption is the real battle.
This happens every day to thousand of homeowners but they don’t get this lucky
Lane Powell is the foreclosure mill in the Seattle area, and Lane Powell just sent a letter to my son to sign permission to change the face of the case to Countrywide. He has been fighting RECONTRUST AND BOA, Of course he objected. They think dumb and dummer are written across the average consumers heads and since RECONTRUST AND BOA AND MERS are on the face of the case they want his permission to change it to Countrywide. Wow! An article just came out on the web that the Oregon represenative that would have ran for AG or is AG now has decided to work for Lane Powell in Washington. And how Lane Powell helps the investors. Lane Powell helps the debt collectors steal your houses. Lane Powell is the lawyer firm I am claiming to be felons attempting to help the predator debt collectors steal our homes for free. And she sends my son a letter exspecting him to sign over his house for free and acknowledge a predator to steal his house. Gripes me something fierce. And claims they are a stand up firm for the investors. Look again investors. You are being duped again.
What a relief to see some actual cases making their way through the court system and into the light of day. Maybe the tide is starting to change.
ever so slowing it is turning, and we are headed in the right direction, but still have so far to go!! Corruption is still way too rampant!