FORGERY: This criminal case involves a conviction for forgery of a deed of trust. [NOTE: The crime of forgery can occur even if the owner actually signed the deed of trust. The court pointed out that “forgery is committed when a defendant, by fraud or trickery, causes another to execute a document where the signer is unaware, by reason of such trickery, that he is executing a document of that nature.” people_v_martinez
Tag: california
Trustee Sale the trustee may have to pay your lawyer!!!
TRUSTEE’S SALES:
1. The statutorily required mailing, publication, and delivery of notices in nonjudicial foreclosure, and the performance of statutory nonjudicial foreclosure procedures, are privileged communications under the qualified, common-interest privilege, which means that the privilege applies as long as there is no malice. The absolute privilege for communications made in a judicial proceeding (the “litigation privilege”) does not apply.
2. Actions seeking to enjoin nonjudicial foreclosure and clear title based on the provisions of a deed of trust are actions on a contract, so an award of attorney fees under Civil Code Section 1717 and provisions in the deed of trust is proper.
3. An owner is entitled to attorney fees against the trustee who conducted trustee’s sale proceedings where the trustee did not merely act as a neutral stakeholder but rather aligned itself with the lender by denying that the trustor was entitled to relief.kachlon_v_markowitz
California Cramdowns Coming 2009!
There were only 800,000 bankruptcy filings in the United States in 2007, according to the National Bankruptcy Research Center.
And while there is little hard data as to how many of these involve homeowners, some evidence suggests that about half the cases do. In one metro area, Riverside, Calif., 62% of 2007 bankruptcies involved home owners with outstanding balances. And not all of these would qualify for cram downs.
“These bills have means tests,” Harnick said. “If you can afford to pay your mortgage, you don’t qualify. If you can’t afford to pay even after the mortgage balance is reduced, you’re not eligible.”
And Adam Levitin, a law professor at Georgetown University contends that cram-downs would add little to the costs of new mortgages.
He examined historical mortgage rates during periods when judges were allowed to reduce mortgage balances, and concluded that the impact on interest rates would probably come to less than 15 basis points – 0.15 of a percentage point.
“The MBA numbers are just baloney,” said Levitin.
However, even though the direct impact on borrowers would be limited, permitting cram-downs could indirectly give borrowers more leverage in dealing with lenders, according to Bruce Marks, founder and CEO of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA).
Mortgage borrowers could force lenders to negotiate loan restructurings by threatening to file for bankruptcy and have the judges do it for them.
Some people with credit-card debt already win concessions from credit card lenders by threatening bankruptcy, where the debt may be discharged.
“I consider this one of the most important pieces of legislation before Congress right now,” said Marks.
Will it become law?
As to the previous attempt to pass cramdown legislation the conventional wisdom was “We believe it will be very difficult to stop this legislation and we put the initial odds of enactment at 60%,” said Jaret Seiberg of the Stanford Group, a policy research company, in a press release assessing the new bills.
Now that it is being reintroduced in a “New Congress” and “New President” I believe Cramdowns will become law.
This will allow borrowers the leverage they need to negotiate with their own predator.
The Cramdown legislation was reintroduced in Congress on monday Jan 5,2009
Charged minorities thousands of dollars more Hispanic’s borrower charges 55% more
GreenPoint Brokers Targeted by New York
HCI Mortgage, Consumer One Mortgage settle with attorney general
January 5, 2009
Two New York mortgage brokers have settled charges that they charged minorities thousands of dollars more in fees, while a third broker faces a lawsuit by the state and more brokers face investigations. The actions were prompted by an investigation into defunct wholesaler GreenPoint Mortgage Funding Inc.
HCI Mortgage and Consumer One Mortgage have entered an agreement with New York’s attorney general, a press release today said. Between the two companies, there are more than 20 branches throughout the state.
The two brokers will pay $665,000 in restitution to around 455 black and Hispanic borrowers, according to the announcement. The also agreed to establish a standard fee schedule, monitor pricing to minorities and report lending details to the state.
Both brokers are accused of charging minorities higher fees than similarly-situated White borrowers.
The attorney general conducted an investigation with the New York State Department of Banking into discriminatory practices by mortgage brokers. The investigation was triggered by the state’s investigation into GreenPoint Mortgage Funding Inc. after it found that Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data indicated discrimination had occurred on GreenPoint mortgages. GreenPoint, which was shut down by parent Capital One in August 2007, settled the charges in July for $1 million.
Statistical analyses conducted on loans originated by HCI found that black borrowers were charged around 46 percent more than similarly situated whites, which worked out to around $2,260. Hispanic borrowers saw fees that were an average of 55 percent higher, which worked out to $2,280.
“These customers were charged significantly higher fees for no reason other than being a minority — something that is explicitly against the law in New York State,” Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in the statement.
In addition, the attorney general has filed a lawsuit in federal district court against U.S. Capital Funding LLC. A state investigation also found discriminatory practices at U.S. Capital, but the company refused to provide restitution to more than 100 minority borrowers — prompting the lawsuit by the attorney general.
U.S. Capital reportedly brokered 300 loans between January 2006 and July 2007, including around 100 mortgages for black and Hispanic borrowers. Minorities were allegedly charged 58 percent more than whites, costing them an average of $3,500 each.
“HCI Mortgage, Consumer One, and U.S. Capital Funding all did substantial business with GreenPoint,” the statement said. “The office is continuing its investigation into potential discriminatory pricing by other mortgage brokers.
Information needed for a filing
1. Documents to be examined:
1. Promotional literature, correspondence and borrowers notes from initial contact with mortgage broker of “lender.”
2. Any document purporting to give the terms of a proposed loan including but not limited to Good Faith Estimate
3. The Good Faith Estimate and documents supporting affordability and benefits
4. The settlement statement
5. The name and contact information and appraisal report including the actual person and license number of the appraiser, the amount of the previous sale, any prior appraisals available to borrower, and the borrower’s estimate of current value decreased by 12% for broker’s fees (6%) and current average discount from asking price (6%).
6. The name and address of the mortgage broker, and the specific person the borrower dealt with, whether the mortgage broker is still in business.
7. Identification of the loan originator
8. Determination if FNMA or Freddie MAC were actually involved or if the standard forms were used from those or any other (HUD) GSE. (Government Sponsored Entity)
9. Identification of title agent with name and address
10. Identification of title insurance company with name and address
11. Identification of the escrow agent with name and address
12. Identification of the closing agent with name and address
13. Identification of the Trustee with name and address
14. The set of closing documents given to the borrower: the ones provided before closing, the ones provided after closing and any documents that were transmitted appointing servicer or substitution of Trustee or assignment etc.
15. SEC reports and annual reports of any of these entities or affiliates
16. If available, Sampling investigation to determine if Pooling and Services Agreement, Assignment and Assumption Agreement, Insurance, Credit Default Swaps, Cross Collateralizing, Over-collateralizing, reserves, and bailouts from Federal Reserve or U.S. Treasury can be produced for examination.
17. Documents, if available, showing authority of any party alleging rights to enforce, collect or perform modifications, issue notices of delinquency, default, sale or file foreclosure actions, unlawful detainer (eviction) actions etc.
2. Basic Required Services — For expediency and cost purposes, the initial “analysis is presumed to be using a “sampling technique” that identifies probably information that is applicable but does not guarantee accuracy or completeness)
1. Retainer Agreement in Writing for analysis, collection etc., that allows for attorney tot ake over relationship on certain conditions.
2. Written authroization form Borrower executed in triplicate and notarized (each copy)
3. Analysis of disclosures and promotional literature to determine the nature of the deal the borrower thought he/she/they were getting and comparison with the actual result.
4. Analysis of GFE etc. and comparison with actual deal, disclosures of third party funding, table funding, surprise fees, undisclosed fees, undisclosed parties, etc.
5. Analysis of settlement statement to determine the representation of the parties at closing to the borrower and comparison with actual deal.
6. Appraisal Sampling analysis to determine negnligence or fraud based upon comparables of time, geography and whether developer asking prices were used to inflate the appraisal. Calculation of potential claim for inflated appraisal. Determination of the expected life of the loan based upon adjustments, expected market conditions etc. Calculation of probable effect on APR over the expected life of the loan.
7. Analysis of whether the closing conformed to GSE guidelines as industry standards
8. Analysis of conduct of the mortgage broker to determine potential claim for negligence or fraud
9. Analysis of conduct of the title agent to determine potential claim for cloud on title, negligence or fraud
10. Analysis of conduct of the title insurance company to determine potential claim for cloud on title, negligence or fraud
11. Analysis of conduct of the escrow agent to determine potential claim for negligence or fraud
12. Analysis of conduct of the closing agent to determine potential claim for negligence or fraud
13. Analysis of results of investigation for compliance with TILA, RESPA, HOEPA, RICO, Deceptive Business, Deceptive Lending, usury etc.
14. Analysis of conduct of the Trustee or successor Trustee on Deed of Trust, if applicable to determine potential claim for negligence or fraud
15. Sampling analysis to identify potential successor trustees (Pool, SIV, SPV etc.)
16. Sampling analysis to determine where the borrowers payments have been sent and how they have been applied, if available.
17. Sampling analysis to determine if the the named entity as Payee on the Promissory note has been paid in full by a third party — and preliminary abalysis as to whether the note became non-negotiable, whether the borrower owes anyone any amount, and if so who that might be and how much it might be, if it is possible to make such determinations in the preliminary investigations.
18. Issuance of Preliminary Findings Report to be sent to servicer or whoever the borrower is sending payments to or otherwise in communication with.
19. Challenge letter to each party seeking to enforce, whether lawyer or party, raising defensive positions concerning their authority to act.
20. Extensive Qualified Written Request with suggestions for resolutions, coupled with Notice and contract for appointment of Borrower or Borrower’s designee as attorney in fact for reconveyance as per RESPA.
21. Demand letter and notice if Lender fails to comply.
22. Challenge letter if Lender denies claims or requires additional written authorization
23. If available, counsel’s recommendation of next steps
3. Extended Services:
1. Appointment of agent for reconveyance
2. Recording reconveyance
3. Recording other instruments in property records
4. Expert Affidavit
5. Expert testimony
6. Exhibits prepared for court
7. Form complaints, motions and affidavits
8. Legal ghost Writing
9. Consultation with Borrower’s attorney
10. Appearances in Court
11. Forensic Review
1. Basic, non sampling
2. Full audit including examination of servicer’s ledgers etc.
This is how the Big Boys evict you from your house
Lender liability predatory lending foreclosure
Today mortgage loans, particularly more expensive loans marketed to those with poor credit histories, are likely to be purchased by investment trusts, bundled into large geographically diverse pools with many other loans, and sold as securities to investors. … Assignee liability rules render the holder of an assigned mortgage loan liable for legal violations made in the origination of the loan. … If a mortgage loan is covered by the relatively narrow scope of HOEPA, then the lender must deliver a special advance warning at least three days prior to consummation. … HOEPA goes further than any other federal statute in creating assignee liability for predatory mortgage lending. … Similarly, it may not be clear how state predatory lending statute assignee liability provisions should be interpreted if the underlying mortgage includes a waiver of defense clause, and the state has not banned those clauses in consumer contracts. … the primary mechanism for distributing liability to a secondary wrongdoer for predatory origination is by assignee liability rules, including the common law of assignment, section 141 of the TILA, the HOEPA’s due diligence standard, and various state predatory lending provisions. … The FTC’s holder-notice rule steers a responsible middle road on this question by capping investor liability at the amount paid by a consumer under the loan in question. …
The Hedge 