By: Sheryl Sutter

Sheryl Sutter — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:38:07 +0000

My husband and I fought the bank (a long arduous six year battle), when we discovered that our signatures had been forged on the mortgage of our home, notarized and recorded. After six years of being beaten, bitten, battled and bruised, we won in the 6th US Circuit Court in January of 2004. (Sutter vs US Bank)
You would have thought that it was over…but not by a long shot. I spent the first half of 2012, looking for, and finding a reputable law firm to handle Act II of this never-ending story of victimization on it’s highest white collar level.
Even though the bank doesn’t have a valid lien on our property (the mortgage was avoided in 2007), they still act as if there is one. The jump us on paying the taxes on our home (realistically, my husband and I pay close to the due date, because that’s what we can afford to do; and the bank makes sure that they pay before the end of the year, in order to get the tax break (and taking the tax break away from us, making sure the we, as self-employed people, are made to suffer more.
Throughout this whole debacle, our home that we have fought so valiantly for, has been slowly but surely deteriorating. Here is the kick…the “mortgage” company feels that they have had the right to insure our home for the past six years (even at times when we already had homeowners)…so even though they have absolutely no interest in our home they have an insurance policy on our home with their names as Named Insured. Even though they have no mortgage (just a note (we will get into that in a moment)); if my home were to burn down tomorrow, they would get paid and we would be homeless (their goal from the get-go on this).
Well, last Thursdays, I set fear aside and filed a claim on that insurance. We are on the policy as Other Insured and, due to the banks actions, we have not been able to fix our home, which has caused some extensive damage to our roof and knee wall on the second floor (we won’t even discuss the garage where the roof collapsed on it last Fall). When I told the mortgage adjuster they didn’t have a mortgage, but they had a note, he couldn’t understand how (join the club). So this should prove to be interesting. There is a valid policy; the court system, bank and our attorneys hindered us from ever contacting the insurance company (don’t fix the house, it may not be yours). We didn’t even know that we were able to file a claim; after all, the policy was not purchased by us (even though it has gone on our ever-growing bill with said company, every year, along with the tax payments).
Let’s put this all into focus.
1. The bank, when they lost the mortgage in 2007, most likely filed a claim with the title insurance and was paid for the note on our home (this is being investigated)…we will call this Pay Day 1
2. The bank, should something catastrophic happen to our home, would get paid for the property and we, should we survive, would be out on the streets with nothing…Pay Day 2
3. The bank, as we get further into our current litigation are going to want their “Note” paid from the judgment…Pay Day 3
Let’s delve a little deeper:
1. With them as named insured on this insurance policy odds are good that they are going to try to get their name on that insurance check (because isn’t that protocol that the Named Insured is on the proceeds) which would mean that they could take the proceeds from the insurance check, intended to fix the house and apply it to the “arrearages”…Pay Day 4?
Let’s delve into the taxes
1. For the past six years, the bank has repeatedly beat us to the punch on paying our property taxes. Each of those years they have had the tax advantage of taking that deduction away from us at tax times, hurting us by costing us money in taxes we wouldn’t have had to pay had we made the tax payment. Now that we are going for the judgments against them, they are going to want to have their tax money paid. Now we pay those taxes and we have to go back and redo our taxes? Do they redo their taxes? Or do we just eat it?…Pay Day 5?
Here is the reality that I personally see. In six years, we proved that the bank was at fault for a forgery…considered a crime in the real world. The fact that they can insure my property when they have no legal interest is outrageous…the fact that they can lie to the insurance company (as demonstrated by the language in all correspondence from the insurance company where my husband and I are listed as “Mortgagees” and the servicing company as “Mortgagor”. In my mind, this is Insurance Fraud on the part of the bank…isn’t that a crime too?
I feel like I am in this never-ending tempest of lies, deceit and fraud…it will be interesting to see how this insurance issue plays out.

Comments on: CUOMO ADMINISTRATION SETTLES WITH COUNTRY’S LARGEST FORCE-PLACED INSURER, LEADING NATIONWIDE REFORM EFFORT AND SAVING HOMEOWNERS, TAXPAYERS, AND INVESTORS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

By: Sheryl Sutter