Danielle Kelley: Quick foreclosure is not a solution
I am in foreclosure. Although I am not proud of that, I know my foreclosure is not my fault.
After dealing with a horrible predatory loan on our home, we were able to get a new fixed-rate, conventional loan. From the date of closing, our payments kept increasing little by little until they were so high something seemed wrong. When we called Bank of America to inquire, we were told we needed a loan modification. Because we were current on our payments, we were not showing an “inability to pay,” so we were told to make a partial payment and then apply for the modification. We did this. Then we were told we would have to stop payment altogether in order to qualify. Our partial payment was returned to us.
While still trying to understand what Bank of America wants from us now, and actively negotiating for a loan modification, we are in foreclosure.
I am an attorney and represent homeowners who are also going through the same horror. Why am I telling you? Because I fear the passage in the Legislature of HB 87 and SB 1666.
Rest here…
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Danelle,
I’ll wager that most of the folks involved are young and the error we older folks must help them with is do not sign anything with any company until you know they are the right one. I wouldn’t go to a local trade day and buy a chicken, dog, mule, anything, until I knew the one I was paying was the owner. Many would gladly take your money if you will just give it to them.
The certainty is mortgages have been sold and traded many times and who knows who really has your note if anyone does?
The sad part is most will sign any agreement that they think will allow them to stay in their home but it is actually a trick to get you to admit you owe this company for your home.
In some cases there has been three or more all trying to get you to sign an agreement to pay something to them. If you pay them for months and later find out they were the wrong company, try to get your money back.
Many lawyers will file suit and take a percentage of your award if you will do the footwork like going to the county courthouse and getting a copy of what is filed against your home. It usually cost about $3.00 but the time to do it may be sever hours of your time that the lawyer would of wasted doing it.
Also when the suit is prepared, you go to the same courthouse and file it. Folks there are friendly and love to help a citizen taking action. Cost about $10.00 and your time.
Unknown is YOUR County Judges like to see someone with some backbone as they see 99% of folks just laying down and taking the beating by the bank or mortgage companies.
County Judges know the banks and outside mortgage companies have screwed up their perfectly kept (for over 100-300 years or more) county records and are honest and really on your side but YOU must put them in a position where they can help you instead of letting the enemy be totally in charge.
I’m no lawyer, but am 74 and been around knowing what is right a long time. Just fatherly advice! Excuse my boldness please.
When you sign for a modification, you are telling everyone this is the company that you owe.
What they want is that admission to use against you in court.
Go to your courthouse and see who has filed a mortgage or note lien against your home. Probably no one has as its a felony to file a false report and since your loan has been sold many times most likely, no one knows who you really owe. To legally claim they are owed and be wrong will get them time in Federal prison.
Until someone can prove standing and will record their legal position in your courthouse, don’t modify or pay anyone. Make them prove it to a judge. See a good lawyer.
One of the biggest problems we homeowners have had is that by the time we realize we have GOT to find a lawyer, we are bled dry already financially by the lender. Also it is not easy to find a lawyer who will work to understand what has been going on, much less find ways to fight it for the homeowner. Those lawyers are not easy to find, for starters, then there is the problem of how to pay them – they have to eat too, they cannot do all cases as charity cases. We really badly need our government to step up and punish the fraud, and our legislators to take steps to hold the lenders accountable and not allow them to so much as try to file a foreclosure if the lender has not got all their ducks in a row. But so far, our government is helping the lenders and the banks. I honestly do not know what the homeowners (and I am one of them) are going to DO.