NYC Tenants Look To Fannie To Maintain Complexes On Which They Hold Mortgages As Overfinanced Buildings Throughout City Begin Falling Apart

In New York City, Crain's New York Business reports:

• In 2005, Cammeby’s International bought a portfolio of five rent-regulated housing complexes in the city for $295 million. Just two years later, it flipped the grouping of former Mitchell-Lama buildings to Urban American Management for $918 million. Deutsche Bank underwrote the $700 million loan that funded the purchase, which resulted in a tripling of the properties’ debt service.

• Since the sale, tenants in the buildings, located in Manhattan and on Roosevelt Island, have reported a steady decline in services and maintenance. They protested against Urban American, but say they got few results. Now, they’re trying a different approach. They’re arguing that Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise that bought the debt from Deutsche Bank, has a duty to make sure buildings it owns loans on don’t fall into states of disrepair.

• And they’ll rally in Harlem Thursday afternoon to call on the mortgage giant to put a stop to leaks, lack of hot water and other maintenance problems they say have plagued the buildings. Leaders representing 7,000 tenants in buildings across the city where Fannie Mae owns the debt will participate in the rally.

• “With the rents they’re taking in, there’s no way Urban American can pay that almost $1 billion mortgage and continue to maintain the buildings,” said Jackie Peters, secretary of the Metro North Riverview Tenant Coalition, one of the buildings in the portfolio. Ms. Peters added that up until a few days ago, soot from a February fire in one of Urban American’s buildings had not been cleaned. “We believe that these poor conditions indicate that the owner does not have the available capital to operate the housing in a safe and livable manner,” wrote a collection of 10 city, state and federal elected officials in a February letter to Fannie Mae.

For more, see Tenants target Fannie Mae for upkeep dollars (Advocates say the mortgage guarantor should help pay for repairs on rent-regulated properties). RentSigmaSkimming

Court Says Foreclosure Sales Were Invalid As Banks Didn't Acquire Interest In Delinquent Loans Until After Legal Action Was Completed

In a recent ruling by the Massachusetts Land Court, two foreclosure sales were held to be invalid because, at the time of the publication of the notices of foreclosure sale, neither foreclosing lender owned an interest in the mortgage (either recorded or unrecorded) each was attempting to foreclose.

The facts of the cases in a nutshell are as follows:

• Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank each foreclosed on mortgages it purportedly held and acquired title to the homes securing said loans at foreclosure sales.

• When each lender attempted to unload the homes onto a subsequent purchaser, they were unable to obtain title insurance policies on the homes until a couple of legal issues affecting the property were resolved in the lenders' favor.(1) One of the issues was whether the lenders were the holders of their respective mortgages at the time the notices of foreclosure sale were published.

• The lenders then each commenced legal actions to "remove a cloud from the title" to the homes.

• The court found that the applicable law for this case is found in G.L. c. 244, § 14, Bottomly v. Kabachnick, 13 Mass. App. Ct. 480, 484 (1982), and the cases cited therein which, among other things, appear to require that notice of a foreclosure sale identify "the holder of the mortgage," (See Bottomly, at 483) and that failure to do so renders the "sale void as a matter of law." (Id. at 484.)

• According to the court, the evidence showed that, while Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank were each identified in the published notice of foreclosure sale as "the holder of the mortgage," each acquired its interest in their respective mortgages after the foreclosure sale (in Wells Fargo's case, it acquired its mortgage by assignment ten months after the sale, with the assignment declaring an effective date prior to foreclosure; in U.S. Bank's case, it acquired its interest in the mortgage by assignment nearly fourteen months after the auction took place). Additionally, the court's ruling pointed out that there also was nothing to indicate that each was acting (or purporting to act) as someone else's agent, much less the agent of the principal.

• Because they were incorrectly identified as the mortgage holders in the notice of foreclosure sale when, in fact, each did not acquire its interest until after the foreclosure sale, the court found a lack of compliance with G.L. c. 244, § 14, and therefore, ruled that the foreclosure sales were invalid.(2)(3)

Go here for the consolidated court ruling (U.S. Bank v. Ibanez; LaSalle Bank v. Rosario; and Wells Fargo v. Larace).

In a related story, see Thousands Of Foreclosures Are Void, Says Massachusetts Class Action Demanding Lenders & Their Lawyers Prove Note Ownership.

For posts that reference the failure of mortgage lenders and their attorneys to file the proper paperwork when bringing foreclosure actions, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, Go Here, and Go Here.

Thanks to Glenn F. Russell, Jr. of the Law Office of Glenn F. Russell, Jr., Fall River, Massachusetts for the heads up on this case, and for providing a copy of the court ruling.

(1) For the kinds of title problems one can encounter in buying real estate in a transaction, see:

• Buyers Cautioned To Address Title Issues When Buying Foreclosed Homes, and
• Title Insurance: What Risks Does It Protect A Property Owner Against?

(2) In a third case, the court found in favor of a foreclosing lender, ruling that possession of an unrecorded assignment of mortgage at the time of the publication of the notice of sale was sufficient to establish its status as a holder of the mortgage. Failure to record the assignment of mortgage was not fatal to its position as holder in this case.

(3) In the following excerpt from the court ruling, the trial judge makes an observation that may be of some interest to those in the title insurance industry who are asked to insure the potentially crappy titles to foreclosed homes that may contain title defects as a result of errors made by assembly-line, foreclosure mill lawyers bringing lawsuits on behalf of lenders who lack standing to foreclose. Real estate purchasers buying foreclosed homes, either at a foreclosure auction, or from the bank directly after it acquires title to the foreclosed home, may also have some interest in the following (footnotes omitted):

• As even a cursory glance at the current caseload of this court reveals, titles arising from mortgage foreclosures can have many problems. These include the most fundamental: Did the party conducting the foreclosure have the authority to do so and, if challenged, can it prove that it had such authority? In short, will a purchaser at the foreclosure sale get good title and will get it in prompt fashion? These are increasingly important questions in the current deteriorating real estate market and are not small concerns. It is increasingly rare for a mortgage to remain with its originating lender. Often, as here, mortgages are assigned to other entities, and then assigned yet again into large securitized pools. Often, as here, the paperwork lags far behind. Sometimes mistakes are made. Mistakes can only be corrected, if at all, through confirmatory documents (which the borrower may not so easily agree to) or litigation. With so many foreclosed properties available for purchase, why bid on a property with even the possibility for such trouble? Why bid on a property when the foreclosing party cannot produce all the documents (including proper mortgage assignments in recordable form) that would give good title? Why take the risk that the foreclosing party will be able to produce the documents promptly after the auction takes place, that those documents will be complete and in proper form, or even (in this era of failed and failing institutions) that the foreclosing party will still be in existence, with intact files and knowledgeable employees able to find those files so that the proper paperwork can be completed? Since these concerns affect the ability to obtain clear, marketable title, why bid a reasonable market value instead of a discount price to account for that risk?

• None of this is the fault of the mortgagor [Editor's note: "mortgagor" = the foreclosed homeowner], yet the mortgagor suffers due to fewer (or no) bids in competition with the foreclosing institution. Only the foreclosing party is advantaged by the clouded title at the time of auction. It can bid a lower price, hold the property in inventory, and put together the proper documents at any time it chooses. And who can say that problems won't be encountered during this process? It is interesting that it took the plaintiff (the foreclosing party and successful bidder) almost fourteen months after the auction to obtain its assignment in Ibanez and ten months after the auction in Larace. Would any reasonable third-party bidder have been willing to wait that long, trusting that no other issues would arise? Only in Rosario was the assignment (showing that the foreclosing party held the mortgage and could convey title as a result of the sale) in hand and ready for recording at the time of the auction sale. EpsilonMissingDocsMtg title insurance legal issues

FTC Files Civil Suit Against Loan Modification Firm Accused Of Deceptive Practices While Clipping Homeowners For $3.3M+ In Upfont Fees

From the Federal Trade Commision:

• The Federal Trade Commission has charged a mortgage foreclosure “rescue” operation with falsely promising Spanish-speaking consumers who are behind on their mortgage payments that it would stop foreclosure.(1) Many people who paid the defendants ultimately lost their homes, and others avoided foreclosure only through their own efforts. At the FTC’s request, a federal court temporarily halted the defendants’ practices and froze their assets. The FTC seeks to stop the deceptive claims and obtain consumer redress from the defendants, whom consumers have paid at least $3.3 million.

For the entire press release, see FTC Sues Mortgage Foreclosure 'Rescue' Operation That Targeted Spanish-Speaking Consumers.

For copies of the lawsuit and the temporary restraining order, see FTC v. Dinamica Financiera LLC.

(1) The Commission charged the defendants with violating the FTC Act by falsely representing that they would obtain mortgage loan modifications or stop foreclosure in all or virtually all instances. The defendants are Dinamica Financiera LLC, Soluciones Dinamicas Inc., Jose Mario Esquer, and Valentin Benitez. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on May 19, 2009. The court entered a temporary restraining order on May 20, 2009, halting the defendants’ practices and freezing their assets pending a hearing on whether a preliminary injunction should be entered against the defendants.

New FHA Program Allowing Use Of Reverse Mortgages To Purchase Home Prohibited In Texas; OK Everywhere Else

The San Antonio Express News reports:

• Imagine being able to buy a new home with a 40 percent down payment and not ever having to make a mortgage payment for the rest of your life. The Federal Housing Administration early this year approved such a deal as a form of reverse mortgage for home buyers who are 62 or older. But in Texas, the only thing anyone can do is imagine. The home-equity-for-purchase deal is available in 49 states, but not Texas.

***

• [The available] options would be popular with many Texans as they reach retirement age. They won’t be able to do so, however, until the Texas Constitution is amended. Texas lagged [behind] the rest of the nation in offering home-equity and reverse mortgage loans by more than a decade because of the state constitution’s homestead protections.

• Home-equity lending finally was approved in 1997 by a constitutional amendment, followed by reverse mortgages in 1999. One of the Texas consumer safeguards requires owning equity in a house before anyone could apply for a reverse mortgage, which is a form of home-equity lending. No one could foresee the new home-equity-for-purchase option. Take that restriction away, and the home-equity-for-purchase deal becomes available in Texas, allowing lenders to apply reverse mortgage loans to the purchase price of the house.

For more, see Law blocks new reverse mortgage.

Missouri AG Tags Loan Modification Firm With Allegations Of Clipping Homeowners For Illegal Upfront Fees; Seeks Restitution & Civil Penalties

The St. Louis Business Journal reports:

• Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster on Tuesday sued a St. Louis company that allegedly failed to offer the foreclosure relief and mortgage modifications it promised to Missourians. Koster said the company, Gateway Mortgage Modification, charged “large sums of money and promised it would negotiate a new, workable solution on the client’s existing mortgage, including a change in the terms of a loan in order to help the borrower stay in the home and avoid foreclosure.” But a state investigation found that the company took customers’ money and didn’t provide the services, Koster said.

***

• Koster said Gateway has about 200 current clients and continues to solicit more business. [...] The company also requires upfront payments before services, which is illegal in Missouri. The lawsuit seeks restitution for customers and civil penalties.

Source: Koster sues Gateway Mortgage Modification.

For the Missouri AG's press release, see Attorney General Koster continues 'zero tolerance' stance on mortgage scams (Koster files suit to stop company from cheating people seeking foreclosure assistance and mortgage modification).

Colorado Mortgage Broker Charged With Forging Documents, Fudging Numbers To Obtain Unaffordable Loans For Homeowners

In Wheat Ridge, Colorado, KUSA-TV Channel 9 reports:

• Investigators say a mortgage broker forged documents and doctored numbers to get people into homes and loans they couldn't afford, leading to a string of foreclosures. Zach Magalei will appear in Jefferson County Court next week. He surrendered to police last week after they obtained arrest warrants for felony theft and forgery.

• Magalei, and his brother Shane, ran Superior Lending and Mavy Incorporated in Wheat Ridge. Last July, Wheat Ridge police officers served search warrants on the Magalei brothers' homes and offices. After a televised plea to find the brokerage offices' customers, the investigation spread to Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Arapahoe County, Golden and Colorado Springs. Detectives estimate 100 homes are involved so far.

For more, see Arrest made in widening mortgage fraud case.

SC High Court Lifts Stay On Foreclosure Sales; Creates Procedures To Ensure Uniform Handling Of Cases Where Eligible Homeowners Seek Out Federal Help

In Columbia, South Carolina, The Associated Press reports:

• South Carolina's highest court has lifted a temporary stop on thousands of pending foreclosure sales in the state. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal on Friday replaced an injunction with procedures to ensure foreclosures are handled uniformly while eligible homeowners seek out federal assistance. Earlier this month, Toal ordered South Carolina judges to stop finalizing foreclosure sales on thousands of properties to give homeowners more time to take advantage of a new federal program to help them refinance mortgages. Mortgage experts said Toal's ruling was the nation's first court-ordered stop for an entire state.

Source: Top SC court lifts stop on home foreclosure sales.

Parents Testify Against Son Accused & Subsequently Convicted Of Using Forged Documents To Refinance Family Home, Pocketing £55,000

In Gloucestershire, UK, the Daily Mail reports:

• A couple were horrified to discover that their son had remortgaged their home to raise £55,000 which he spent on luxury living, a court was told. Darrell Keen, 26, forged his father's signature to remortgage the family home in the Cotswolds - then blew the surplus cash in four months on restaurants and clothes. Keen did not turn up for his trial at Gloucester Crown Court, but his parents Graham and Rachel Keen were both there to give evidence against him and he was convicted in his absence. Judge Martin Picton issued a warrant for the callous fraudster's arrest and said he would pass sentence on him on June 1st whether he has been found by then or not.

• The jury of seven men and five women had taken just 25 minutes to convict Keen of forging the morgtage application and using a false instrument with intent. Prosecutor Lisa Hennessy said Keen was living with his parents and a lodger in Field Lane, Willersey, Gloucestershire. Darrell switched his father's mortgage from the Kensington Mortgage company to GE Money, raising an extra £55,000 in the process. In June last year, Mr Keen started to realise what had happened when he got a letter from the new mortgage company stating that the repayments were not being made. The next day he was shocked to receive a notice of summons to attend court about the arrears.

For more, see Son secretly remortgaged parents' house to splurge £55,000 on a flat, car, clothes and restaurants.

Loan Modification Outfit Sued By Idaho AG Abruptly Shuts Down; Homeowners, Employees Left High & Dry As Feds, State Slap $700K+ In Tax Liens On Firm

In Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, The Spokesman Review reports:

• Apply 2 Save Inc. in Coeur d’Alene has closed its doors, shutting out hundreds of frustrated customers who did not receive the mortgage help they paid for and employees who are owed wages. The Internal Revenue Service on Monday filed four tax liens totaling more than $663,000 for unpaid 2008 federal unemployment and income taxes. The state of Idaho has filed a nearly $52,000 lien for unpaid withholding tax.

For more, see Tax liens filed against Apply 2 Save (Coeur d’Alene company closes doors).

See also Apply 2 Save leaves clients and workers bewildered:

• The Coeur d’Alene company was sued last month by the state of Idaho for promising mortgage relief it did not deliver. That was April 20. On April 21, employees were issued paychecks that bounced around North Idaho banks like ping-pong balls. Then dozens were laid off or, as the company calls it, “furloughed.”

Virginia Feds Get 3 Guilty Pleas In Scam That Ripped Off $600K+ From Unwitting Homeowners' HELOC Accounts; One Suspect Remains A Fugitive

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Eastern District - Virginia):

• Chad Antoine Vieux, age 27, of Central Islip, New York, pled guilty today to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, [...] and one count of Bank Fraud, [...]. On April 2, 2009, Happie Harris, age 27 of Chester, Virginia, and on May 4, 2009, Sandra Caiby-Ramkissoon, age 37, of Glen Allen, Virginia also pled guilty to the same charges.

***

• According to court documents, beginning in 2007, Caiby, Vieux, and Harris conspired with individuals who targeted victims with large amounts of available credit on their Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) and credit card accounts. These other individuals obtained personal and financial information for various victims. They then obtained accounts with companies that provide what is commonly called a “caller-ID spoofing” service. This allowed the individuals to make a call appear as though they were coming from the victims’ homes. Armed with the victims’ financial and personal information, these individuals then called the victims’ financial institution, answered security questions, changed account passwords, obtained account balances, and transferred funds from the victims’ accounts. The funds were ultimately transferred into bank accounts under the control of the defendants.

• Once the defendants received the money, they provided the funds to the individuals who had collected the financial information of the victims and called their financial institutions, keeping a percentage of the funds as payment for allowing their bank accounts to be used to facilitate the fraud. The total fraud and intended fraud perpetrated by the defendants exceeds $600,000.

• Shannon Lamont Greene, a/k/a/ Devonte Carr, Devonte Green, and Shannon Israel, age 32, of New York, was also charged. He remains a fugitive.

For the press release, see Three Defendants Plead Guilty to Conspiracy and $600,000 Bank Fraud Scheme. TheftOfDeedMeta

Pennsylvania Regulator Issues Cease & Desist Orders Against Six Loan Modification Firms

From the Pennsylvania Department of Banking:

• The Department of Banking has ordered six out-of-state mortgage modification companies to end their unlicensed business activities in Pennsylvania. The companies advertise on their Web sites to refinance mortgages in Pennsylvania as part of the loan modification process when they are not licensed to do so. The companies must comply with the orders or file appeals.

The following cease & desist orders have been issued:

• ApplyLoanMod.com, California
• ClearHomeRelief, California
• HomeForeclosureFighter, California
• U.S. Loan Assistance Center, California
• Mortgage Solutions Clearing House, Florida
• American Foreclosure Specialists, Oklahoma

For the press release, see BANKING DEPARTMENT CONTINUES CRACKDOWN ON UNLICENSED MORTGAGE MODIFICATION COMPANIES (Cease and Desist Orders Issued to Companies in CA, FL and OK).

***********

The Department has also suspended the mortgage brokerage license of, and issued a cease and desist order against, U.S. Mortgage Group, Inc. of Philadelphia, for refusing to answer questions and provide documentation about its activities as well as the activities of its affiliate, U.S. Mortgage Mod, LLC, according to a press release. The department had been unaware of the existence of U.S. Mortgage Mod, LLC, which engages in loan modification and debt settlement activities. Both companies are owned by Marc Dambrosio and located at 1617 John F. Kennedy Boulevard.

For more, see:

• Press Release: BANKING DEPARTMENT SUSPENDS LICENSE OF PHILADELPHIA MORTGAGE BROKER,
• Cease & Desist Order.

New Housing Law Protects Tenants Nationwide Against Being Blindsided By Surprise Foreclosure Evictions

The Associated Press reports:

• Buried in a housing law signed [last] week by President Barack Obama are protections that will help thousands of renters stay in their homes — at least for awhile — after their landlord has been foreclosed on.

• The law allows tenants to remain in their foreclosed rentals through the end of their lease and then 90 days after that before being forced to vacate by the lender. Renters without leases will have 90 days, a significant improvement over what most received before: almost no notice at all. "Until this law was enacted, there had been no national protections for any of these households," said Linda Couch, deputy director at the National Low Income Housing Coalition. "This gives renters time to adjust their lives."

For more, see Law protects renters from foreclosure evictions.

NY Title Agent Charged With Misappropriating Escrow Funds From Real Estate Deals; Uses "Ponzi" Approach In Attempt To Conceal Earlier Thefts, Say Feds

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Southern District - New York):

• LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, [and other officials] announced that BRIAN H. MADDEN, who controlled and operated three title insurance agencies in New York and Suffolk counties, was arrested today for misappropriating millions of dollars of escrow and other client funds and embezzling a portion of those funds for his own benefit.

The Feds allege that:

• Commencing around early 2008, MADDEN misappropriated escrow and other client funds from Liberty Title, Skyline Title, and GNY Liberty Abstract in order to sustain operations at Liberty Title, and to support the significant cash draws he was taking from the company. In particular, between January 2008 and April 2009, MADDEN took approximately $2.2 million in cash draws from Liberty Title. Those cash draws, which at times amounted to $300,000 or more in a single month, far exceeded MADDEN's draws in prior years, and were taken despite the deterioration in the real estate market throughout 2008. To sustain Liberty Title's operations in the face of such draws, and to pay current client debts, MADDEN misappropriated escrow and client funds of other clients, essentially using new funds from clients to pay off older debts on behalf of other clients.

For the entire press release, see PRESIDENT OF TITLE INSURANCE AGENCY ARRESTED FOR MISAPPROPRIATING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, and Go here for other stories of alleged trust account / escrow account theft of funds.

Thanks to Bill Collins of Crossroads Abstract, Rochester, NY for the heads-up on this story. EscrowRipOffKappa

Cleveland Housing Court Judge Slams Brakes On All Wells Fargo Foreclosure Sales Within City; Lender Accused Of Dumping Blighted Homes

In Cleveland, Ohio, The Plain Dealer reports:

• Cleveland Housing Court Judge Raymond Pianka on Thursday ordered Wells Fargo Bank to temporarily stop selling any foreclosed homes it owns in the city. A housing-advocacy group sought the temporary restraining order, saying that Wells Fargo has expanded its practice of dumping vacant and deteriorated homes for paltry sums without first doing repairs. Wells Fargo and Cleveland Housing Renewal Project Inc., a subsidiary of Neighborhood Progress Inc., are to be in Pianka's court [this] week for a hearing to consider whether Wells Fargo properties should be declared public nuisances and be repaired or demolished before they can be sold. The group estimates the order could cover as many as 183 properties.

For more, see Wells Fargo Bank blocked from selling foreclosed homes in Cleveland by Housing Court Judge Raymond Pianka (if link expires, try here).

Closing Agent Gets 24 Months After Copping Plea To Pocketing Proceeds Of Real Estate Transactions; Insurance Underwriter Forced To Cough Up $1.2M+

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Rhode Island):

• A federal judge [last week] sentenced Angela Raposa, age 33, a resident of Riverside, Rhode Island, to 24 months in federal prison for Wire Fraud. Raposa pleaded guilty to that offense, admitting that between February 2006 and February 2007 she operated a title insurance company, Title America Closing Services, and used mortgage proceeds that were supposed to be paid to mortgage companies for her own personal benefit.

***

• Raposa directed that funds which were deposited into the company escrow account not be used to pay off the corresponding existing mortgage. Instead, these funds were used to pay for various personal expenses of the defendant. Escrow funds were also used to pay off existing mortgages that were already delinquent, since they were originally not paid off in a timely fashion.

***

• In February, 2007, Stewart Title uncovered the fraudulent scheme, at which time it terminated Title America as its representative. As a result of the fraudulent scheme, mortgages were not paid off by Title America with respect to five (5) real estate transactions. As a result, Stewart Title was required to pay off these amounts, which totaled approximately $1,254,324.85.

For the entire press release, see Defendant sentenced to 24 months imprisonment for Mortgage Fraud.

Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, and Go here for other stories of trust account / escrow account theft of funds. EscrowRipOffKappa

Cincinnati Man Charged With Stealing Bar Claims He's The True Owner; Accuses Alleged Victim Of Forging His Name On Papers To Illegally Transfer Title

In Cincinnati, Ohio, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

• A 40-year-old man was charged Tuesday with deceiving the owner of the East End Café to sign the deed over to him, Cincinnati police said. John Yeager of Sycamore Township was booked into the Hamilton County jail on charges of theft, breaking and entering, and securing writings by deception, court records show. The property, located in the 4000 block of Eastern Avenue, is worth $310,000, court records state.

***

• Yeager says none of the allegations are true. He says that he bought the café in 2002 and was working out a deal to rent it to the alleged victim. Instead, that man created a false deed with Yeager’s forged signature and stole the property, he said. “I’m still the owner,” he said. “I’m not a con artist; the property was taken from me. I have all this paperwork showing that the numbers don’t add up.”

***

• On Wednesday, Yeager was released early in lieu of $7,000 bond. He is now working with attorneys to bring the matter to rest, he said. “They have two options: they can pay me what they owe me or they can give me the bar back,” he said.

For the story, see Man charged: 'I am not a con artist.' TheftOfDeedMeta

Tennessee Feds Charge Mortgage Broker With Ripping Off Refinancing Proceeds From Customers

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Eastern District, Tennessee):

• Thomas Duane Roderick, age 42, of Wesley Chapel, Florida, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, charged with one (1) count of wire fraud, three (3) counts of bank fraud, and three (3) counts of money laundering.

***

• The indictment states that Roderick worked with Premier Mortgage [...] in Greeneville, Tennessee, and used various real estate closing agencies in Greene County. At the closings, Roderick would provide legal documents for the signature of the clients seeking loans, and the closing agency would disburse funds as required by the lending institution. Roderick allegedly set up a sham investment company entitled MSI and set up a checking account used to capture money from clients.

• The indictment charges that Roderick caused one client to wire $20,000 to MSI, falsely telling this client that she would owe taxes on the $20,000 equity she received from the refinancing of her home mortgage. Roderick convinced her that if she turned the funds over to him, he would invest the money to avoid taxes. The indictment states that Roderick never invested the funds and immediately withdrew them within two days of the wire transfer.

• Additionally, the indictment charges that Roderick persuaded another client to authorize $119,000 to be wired into his bank account by representing to her that he would use the funds to pay off her mortgage, pay her and her daughter’s outstanding bills, and to assist her granddaughter in obtaining a mobile home. Instead, the indictment states, Roderick spent the $119,000 within three weeks for his personal living expenses.

For the entire press release, see THOMAS DUANE RODERICK ARRESTED FOR MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME. TheftOfDeedMeta

California Fugitive Suspected Of Stealing, Then Selling, Home With Forged Deed Nabbed By Texas Cops

From the Office of the San Bernardino County, California District Attorney:

• In 2006, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office filed felony charges against Daniel Schrey, 28, formerly of Yucca Valley, involving several counts of Real Estate Fraud. In 2005 and 2006, Schrey and codefendant Abel Gotti, forged the victim's signature on a Grant Deed for property located in San Bernardino County. Subsequently, Schrey and Gotti sold the property to another victim for $185,000.

• On May 9, 2009, the Pecos County Sheriff’s Department arrested Schrey in Fort Stockton, Texas. Schrey was arrested on the outstanding felony warrant that included charges of forgery and grand theft. Gotti pleaded to the felony charges in May 2006.

For the press release, see Former Yucca Valley Man Arrested in Texas for Real Estate Fraud.

Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, Go here, and Go here for other posts related to deed or refinancing scams by forgery, swindle, power of attorney abuse, etc. TheftOfDeedMeta

North Carolina Man Charged With Forging Ex-Wife's Signature To Steal Her Interest In Home

In Cary, North Carolina, the May 20th Police Blotter reported in The Cary News contains this entry:

• On May 12, police charged Robert Harry Vogt, 40, of 1202 Castalia Drive, with one count each of obtaining property by false pretenses and forgery. Vogt allegedly forged his ex-wife’s signature in order to have her removed from the deed to their house.

Source: The Cary News, May 20th Police Blotter. TheftOfDeedMeta

Harvard Law's "No One Leaves" Group Makes House Calls To Help Tenants Fight Off Foreclosure Evictions

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Harvard University Gazette reports:

• On a bright May afternoon, two third-year Harvard Law School students set out on one of their regular visits to Dorchester and Mattapan. They are a slightly odd couple: Nick Hartigan, an intense, fast-talking 225-pound former running back, and David Haller, a laid-back native of Arkansas, with a slow Southern drawl. But they have been drawn together on a mission of hope. For the past nine months, the students have been driving through Boston neighborhoods in a car bought on Craigslist, offering to use their legal skills to help families stay in their homes and fight foreclosure.

***

• The pair are part of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau,(1) a student-operated organization created in 1913 to provide legal services and representation to those unable to afford it. One of the bureau’s four areas of specialization is housing law. As part of Hartigan and Haller’s weekly work with the bureau, they attend housing court, and each has several clients that they represent in a variety of housing court claims. And not long ago, the two came up with an effective, hands-on way to help more tenants in jeopardy —the students knock on one door at a time and explain to tenants their legal rights.

***

• They named their program “No One Leaves.” The process is simple: Each week, banks are required to list the properties being foreclosed upon in the Boston-based business paper Banker & Tradesman. The pair, with help from their technology expert and graduating Law School student Tony Borich, take the listings from the paper, create a spreadsheet, enter it into Google maps, divide up the properties among their volunteer corps, and start making house calls.

For more, see Law School students lend a legal hand (Door-to-door canvassers protect vulnerable tenants).

Go here for more on the law students at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau urging tenants in foreclosed homes to fight back against careless/reckless mortgage companies seeking illegal evictions.

(1) According to their website, The Bureau is a student-run organization composed of approximately 40 second and third-year student-attorneys, and 7 staff attorneys. Practicing under the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03, they provide free legal services in civil (non-criminal) matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity (see also Student Practitioners).

Tennessee Couple Loses Home In Phony Foreclosure Rescue Scam; Operators Turn Out To Be Convicted Felons

In Hardemon County, Tennessee, WREG-TV Channel 3 reports on a local couple facing foreclosure who was offered and accepted assistance from Freedom Property Investment, a foreclosure rescue company that turned out to be a scam.

• WREG News Channel 3 Investigators spent weeks trying to track down the company's president, William Boxley. It turns out, Boxley was was cited for driving with a revoked license in Memphis back in March. Records show Boxley never showed up for court. The address he gave police is really a Hickory Hill office complex. Workers there tell us Boxley, and Thomas Frank Montgomery, wanted to open up shop there.

• Court records show Montgomery was just released from federal prison in December. He was serving time after getting caught with nearly 73 pounds of marijuana. A check of arrest records shows Boxley is an ex-con too. He was convicted, and sentenced to 8 years in prison on cocaine charges. In addition, the man who promises to "stop the stranglehold on your financial well-being", in his letter to [the homeowners], has filed bankruptcy.

• So how can someone with Boxley's history run a company promising foreclosure relief? State Senator Roy Herron explains it this way. "It's like the wild wild west," Herron said of the foreclosure rescue industry. "There's no regulation. There's not good statutory protection for people." Herron sponsored a bill that would ban foreclosure rescue companies from charging anything upfront.

For the story, see Homeowners Warned Of Foreclosure Relief Rip-Offs.

Go here to read recent FTC Warning Letter to loan modification firms, and here for the FTC Foreclosure Warning List.

NY Feds Indict Four In Alleged Short Sale, Flipping Fraud Targeting Homeowners In Foreclosure; Unwitting Straw Buyers Left Holding The Bag

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Southern District - New York):

• LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, [and other officials] announced the filing yesterday of a six-count Indictment against LAVETTE M. BILLS, KIRK LACEY, OMAR HENRY, and PETER CHEVERE, charging them with perpetrating a mortgage fraud scheme involving loans totaling over $3 million on at least six different residences.(1)

• BILLS targeted homeowners who had fallen behind on their mortgage payments and whose homes were facing foreclosure by running radio advertisements and appearing on radio programs representing that she was a foreclosure specialist and had the ability to keep a home from going into foreclosure. BILLS and LACEY were then able to convince some of these homeowners to sell or transfer their homes to BILLS or to a company BILLS controlled, NNI, LLC. This was usually done via a "short sale," in which the lender agreed to sell the property for less than the balance owed on the loan and to discharge the remainder of the loan.

***

• However, without the knowledge of either the lenders who approved the short sales, or of the selling homeowners, BILLS and LACEY or their co-conspirators "flipped" the properties to third-party straw buyers at a higher price, usually on the same day or within a short period of time. The sales price in the second transactions–the "flips" -- was often significantly higher–typically by $150,000 or more -- than the short sale price, yet the homeowners typically received little or no money from the sale of their homes. To accomplish this, BILLS and LACEY deceived both the straw buyers and the lenders who were providing the mortgages to finance the purchases.

***

• As a result of their fraud, the defendants profited from their "flips" of the properties; the homeowners lost title to their homes; the straw buyers became liable on hundreds of thousands of dollars they were unable to repay; and the lenders suffered losses from those loans, which eventually went into default.

For the entire press release, see FOUR INDICTED IN $3 MILLION MORTGAGE FRAUD AND FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCHEME.

For the Indictment, see U.S. v. Bills, et al.

(1) BILLS, 36, of Briarcliff Manor, New York, and LACEY, 36, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, were previously charged in a criminal Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court on March 17, 2009.

(2) In at least one case, involving a residence on Tinton Avenue in the Bronx, BILLS convinced the homeowner to place BILLS' name on the deed to the house and to "gift" the equity in the house to BILLS, in return for BILLS' fraudulent promise to transfer the house back to a relative of the homeowner.

20-Unit Condo The Target Of Suspected Straw Buyer Mortgage Scam Leaves One Unit Owner Facing Loss Of Home Despite Having Made All His House Payments

In Escondido, California, the North County Times reports:

• [A] North County Times investigation that began in July has traced the demise of Brookhaven, a community emblematic of the nation's housing bust: Born of a 2005 project to convert apartments to condos, the complex has since been plagued by subprime loans, foreclosures, failed loan modifications, inflated values, strange rent agreements on vacant homes and three real estate professionals charged with mortgage fraud in unrelated cases. An astounding 15 out of 20 of the units are in some stage of foreclosure. Two others sit vacant. There is only one owner who lives in the complex, Cruz Alberto Rangel.

• He bought a home in the complex in 2006. He has made all his mortgage payments and homeowners association fees. Now, he faces eviction because all the foreclosures and vacancies have forced the homeowners association out of business. It can't pay the water bill, and the city of Escondido threatened to shut off the line and evict all residents.

***

• The association also can't pay its taxes and is not allowed to operate as a business, according to state officials. Brookhaven has one water bill, which is supposed to be paid by the association, so it doesn't matter that Rangel has paid his portion and his mortgage. He said he has never missed any payment. "This is our place," said Elvia Rangel, Cruz's wife. "This is our house. We're paying for it, and it's not fair that we're going to lose it."

For more, see Foreclosures overwhelm condo complex (Broke homeowners association late on water bill, residents face eviction).

Foreclosing Lender Screw Ups When Seizing Collateral Not Limited To Homes As Boat Repo Firm Twice Takes Wrong Vessel - Once With Owners On Board

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

• A Fort Lauderdale company that claims to be the biggest boat repossession firm in the world has run into trouble for twice seizing the wrong vessel, once with the owners inside. Walter and Joann Dethier were in bed in their 40-foot Magnum sport cruiser, tied to a Key Largo marina, when they heard thumps as electric power lines were disconnected from the marina and tossed on deck. Running out of the cabin, Walter Dethier saw a boat towing them from shore. He jumped onto the dock, and with the help of a neighbor, a retired police officer, successfully challenged the five repo men, who lacked the proper papers. The boat had no liens on it, and when they called the police, the repo crew ran off. Two months later, at home in Connecticut, the couple got a call from the marina manager saying their boat was being taken again.

***

• The company admits fault, and the Dethiers, outraged at National Liquidator's failure to take elementary precautions before seizing a boat, as well as what they say is $20,000 in damage to the boat's hull and electrical systems, have retained a lawyer and filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. "They're totally out of control," said Walter Dethier, 65, who had been trying to sell the boat for $289,900. "They're operating as vigilantes. My wife won't sleep on the boat anymore."

• The Monroe County Sheriff's Office investigated and advised the arrest of the repo team leader, Jason Barroncini, for criminal mischief. But the [state] attorney's office said it should be handled in civil court.

For more, see Couple's boat wrongly repossessed twice by National Liquidators. ForeclosureLockOuts

NYC Pro Bono Recruiting Meetings Begin This Week; Outreach Program Needs Attorneys For Housing, Consumer Credit, Immigration Law For The Unrepresented

In New York City, the New York Law Journal reports:

• The first of five meetings to recruit, motivate and inform attorneys for the new NYC Legal Outreach initiative will be held [Tuesday night, May 26] in Brooklyn. The campaign is an "unprecedented" joint effort by the judicial and executive branches to expand pro bono legal assistance, Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo said in an interview. The joint program is an attempt to address the growing number of unrepresented consumers with financial and immigration problems brought on by the weak economy.

***

• At a press conference last month, Mr. Cardozo said New York City does not intend to "reinvent the wheel," but hopes to use the "mayor's bully pulpit" to boost existing volunteerism. In a May 12 letter to bar groups, law schools and the 100 largest law firms, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and [Chief Judge Jonathan] Lippman said that NYC Legal Outreach will target four key areas: foreclosure, eviction, immigration and consumer credit.

• "Whether you are fully employed, retired, recently laid off or deferring employment, there is a place for you at this 'table,'" the letter said. At the press conference in April, Judge Fern A. Fisher, deputy chief administrative judge for courts in New York City, said there were some 600,000 filings last year in consumer credit and housing cases. Upward of 90 percent to 95 percent of litigants in housing cases are unrepresented, and as many as 99 percent of litigants in consumer credit cases appear pro se.

***

• [The Tuesday, may 26th] meeting will be held at Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon St. at 6:00 p.m. Additional meetings will be held on June 8 in the Bronx, June 17 on Staten Island, June 22 in Manhattan and June 25 in Queens.

For more, see City, Courts Kick Off Campaign to Encourage Lawyers to Volunteer.

For times and locations of the five meetings, see the Mayor and Chief Judge's May 12th letter.

NY Fed Looks To Iron Out Conflict Of Interest Issues With City's Largest Law Firms On Pro Bono Help For Homeowners In Foreclosure

In New York City, The Am Law Daily reports:

• The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has summoned lawyers at some of the city's elite law firms and largest banks for a meeting Wednesday to discuss the low participation in a year-old waiver program meant to allow firms to handle foreclosure cases for homeowners pro bono. [...] At the time of its launch, the program, called the Lawyers Foreclosure Intervention Nework (LFIN), stressed [conflict-of-interest] waivers for firms that represent financial institutions; the expectation was most of the lawyers would come from such firms. But a year later, the program's participants are largely solo practitioners and small firms, with only a couple lawyers from large firms.

• Fed officials are now trying to figure out if there's a way to bolster participation. A copy of Wednesday's agenda, obtained by The Am Law Daily (download the document), outlines an array of possible fixes, including allowing lawyers at large firms advise volunteer lawyers for the homeowners anonymously.

For more, see New York Fed To Convene Meeting on Foreclosure Pro Bono.

Go here for Wednesday's meeting agenda.

Foreclosure Of NH Assisted Living Home Gets Go-Ahead; Elderly Residents Could Face The Boot; Lender Expects To Acquire Facility & Continue Operations

In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, SeacoastOnline reports:

• After a three-year fight in the state’s bankruptcy court, The Pines at Edgewood assisted living residence has been foreclosed and will be sold during a June 3 public auction, said Concord attorney Carl Anderson who represents the mortgage lender. Anderson said the auction of the at 936 South Street facility is expected to conclude “a long-fought case,” during which owner David Ramsey objected to the bank’s reorganization plans.

***

• As of Friday, Ramsey was in agreement with the current plan which has Flash Island collecting all rent from the 15-bed facility and paying all of the bills, including payroll, said Anderson. At the same time, he said, Flash Island has partnered with a “subsidiary” which will bid during the auction and has applied for a state license to operate a residential home care facility.

• Anderson said it’s his hope that the subsidiary will be the highest bidder and resume operations as they are now.(1) If that’s the case, the current administrator will keep her job and residents’ lives will be uninterrupted, he said. If a high bidder wants to change the current use, they must give residents notice by law, said the Concord attorney.

For more, see Assisted living residence foreclosed, to be auctioned.

(1) For sale is the circa 1900 Victorian building on 1.6 acres of hillside property. According to a legal notice for the auction, the 7,529 square foot building has eight private rooms, 3 semi-private rooms a 2-bedroom apartment for the administrator, a dining room, kitchen and great room. “It is important that the residents of The Pines not be needlessly disturbed by the foreclosure sale process,” said Anderson. “The intent, and in my view likelihood, is that the day-to-day operations will continue the same.”

100+ Rescued Animals Face Foreclosure From RI Farm; Owner Says Servicer Screw-Up When Mortgage Was Sold Led To Failure To Properly Apply Loan Payment

In Glocester, Rhode Island, WPRI-TV Channel 12 reports:

• A Rhode Island farmer who helps abandoned and even tortured animals may have lost the fight and is now facing eviction. Dan Mackenzie's foreclosure deadline ended without an extension, leaving him and more than a hundred rescued animals on the edge of eviction or worse. "A lot of them are old, crippled, abandoned, abused, diseased," says Mackenzie. He paid his mortgage on Bonniedale for eight years but when the note was sold, the new bank didn't get the payments and the foreclosure was underway and unstoppable.

***

• He raised almost enough for a down payment on a re-finance. But now he needs a new bank or an extension from his old bank. "We need help plain and simple." He thinks the eviction could come any day and that most if not all the animals would go to slaughter.

For more, see Farm faces eviction, animals at stake (Owner fears all animals will be slaughtered).

See also, Farm helps animals in need, seeks help (A confusing paper trail that connects a well-known local farm to three banks and a potential foreclosure. Stuck in the middle is the owner and about 100 animals. Now, his neighbors are trying to help.).

For other posts on animals facing foreclosure, go here, go here, and go here. ForeclosurePetsAlpha

Oregon Bride Persuades Judge To Open Shuttered Hotel In Foreclosure To Host Wedding; Now Cries Foul Over "Extorionate" Receivership Bill

In Hood River, Oregon, The Oregonian reports:

• Plenty of brides gnashed teeth, sobbed and cried foul in January when the landmark Columbia Gorge Hotel abruptly closed, keeping their wedding deposits. But just one, Lynne Haaland of Toluca Lake, Calif., fought the distance. She persuaded a judge to order the hotel's court-appointed receiver to allow her wedding ceremony.

• On Saturday, Haaland, 40, tied the knot with Aaron Shepard, 37, at the Hood River hotel, becoming Lynne Shepard. By all accounts the wedding and reception on the spectacular spring day were fabulous, fulfilling her dreams.

• Yet now the Shepards, honeymooning on the Oregon coast, are stunned by the receiver's invoice: $17,938.60, including a $6,650 lawyer's bill and a $2,000 "landscape fee." The interim receiver, Gorge Rentals Property Management Inc., defends the charges as appropriate. "I'm getting slightly extorted," Lynne Shepard said. "They know I wanted the place so bad."

For more, see Fighting bride KO'd by bill (if link expires, try here).

Scammers Putting Bogus Chinese Drywall Notices On Vacant Homes In Foreclosure To Drive Down Prices At SW Florida Courthouse Sales?

In Cape Coral, Florida, WINK News reports:

• A mystery in Cape Coral. Notices, warning of Chinese drywall, are popping up on vacant homes in the city. The catch: The warnings are fake! The yellow notices claim to be from the Department of Health, and say the home has been inspected and contains Chinese drywall. Many of the homes are in foreclosure.

• The Lee County Health Department first learned of the fraud from a home inspector and a realtor. They say no health agency within the county or state does these types of inspections.

• Why would someone post fake notices? Local realtor Ron Martin with Sun Realty has a theory. He's seen several of the notices on properties over the past few days. "There seems to be a common theme to the ones I've seen and that is that they're all scheduled to be auctioned at the courthouse within 48 hours," said Martin. "One would have to suspect that someone is trying to discourage competition."

• Posting these fake notices is a crime, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Cape Coral Police Department or call 1-866-9-NO SCAM.

Source: Fake Chinese drywall notices! (Fake Chinese drywall notices on homes in Cape Coral).

Go here for other posts on Chinese drywall.

Elderly Cincinnati Tenants In Bedbug-Infested Building Send S.O.S.; Landlord, City Refuse Assistance In Battle Against Blood Suckers

In Cincinnati, Ohio, WLWT-TV Channel 5 reports:

• A Tri-State apartment building for seniors is infested with bed bugs and the residents are claiming that nobody will give them the help they need. The Cincinnati Health Department said the responsibility for battling the bugs lies with the landlord. However, residents said they've been begging for help for years to no avail.

• Deborah Scott said the only defense against the dreaded blood-sucking fiends is her bottle of bug spray. Other residents of the Hillrise Apartments for Seniors in College Hill use their own weapons such as stuffing towels under their doors. The suffering seniors said they buildings management is aware of the problem but has done little to battle the bugs.

For more, see Seniors Battle Bed Bugs At Infested Apartment Complex (Residents Say No One Will Help Them).

Florida Courts Continue Efforts To Establish Loan Workout Procedures In Foreclosure Actions

In South Florida, the Daily Business Review reports:

• As a state task force labors to develop a uniform statewide approach to the onslaught of foreclosure cases, Broward and Palm Beach counties are rolling out new programs of their own.

• Palm Beach Chief Circuit Judge Kathleen Kroll will launch a pilot program next month allowing homeowners to confer with law clerks and court interns to get help understanding the paperwork and see if they’re eligible to rework their loan. [...] Broward Chief Circuit Judge Victor Tobin plans to require lenders to make a good-faith effort to meet with all homeowners interested in settling their foreclosure cases. Both are trying to solve complaints by mortgage holders who say they can’t find anyone in a position of authority at their lender to work with them.

• The Miami-Dade Circuit Court created a mandatory mediation program last month for cases involving owner-occupied homes. [...] Others counties around the state are pursuing different options for bringing their foreclosures caseloads under control. A task force formed by the Florida Supreme Court issued an interim report last week suggesting it would recommend uniform case management procedures and a model mediation program.

For more, see Courts initiate programs to assist homeowners in resolving cases.

Scammer Cops Plea To Illegally Pocketing $140K From Elderly Clients Promoting Phony Foreclosure Flipping Business

In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the Appleton Post Crescent reports:

• An Oshkosh man faces prison after he was convicted Monday of two counts of security fraud and one count of selling an unregistered security in a scam that netted nearly $140,000 from elderly clients. Mark H. Brenner, 50, was found guilty of the charges [...] after entering guilty pleas to the felony charges.

***

• The criminal complaint said the charges stem from a series of transactions that Brenner had with an elderly husband and wife. Brenner told the couple that his real estate business, Valley Home Buyers, purchased distressed properties, repaired and refurbished them, and then resold the properties for a profit.

• The couple invested nearly $97,000 between November 2001 and November 2002, with promises of annual interest of 10 to 15 percent. Brenner owed the couple $105,000 by November 2004, entered into another agreement with the couple, and stopped all payments in April 2005. [...] The complaint said Brenner and Valley Home Buyers never purchased a single property and that Brenner used these investment funds to pay his living expenses and interest payments. The investigation also revealed that from 1990 to 1994, Brenner was sued numerous times, resulting in money judgments against him and one foreclosure. The complaint said that Brenner never told investors of his legal woes.

For the story, see Oshkosh man convicted in security fraud scam on elderly.

Ohio AG Threatens Homeowner With Foreclosure Over $24.66 In Flat Tire Mishap

In Fayetteville, Ohio, WCPO-TV Channel 9 reports:

• A broken road reflector cost Paul Holden the price [of] a new tire, and now it could cost him his home. That's the threat from the Ohio Attorney General if Holden doesn't pay another $24.66 the state says it spent investigating his claim for the flat tire.

For more, see Man Gets Flat Tire, State Threatens Foreclosure.

Go here for the threatening letter from the Ohio Attorney General's office.

Another Foreclosing Lender Screw Up Puts Homeowner Out Onto Street, Belongings Dumped On Front Lawn

In Gwinnett County, Georgia, WSB-TV Channel 2 reports:

• A Gwinnett County woman is trying to put her life back together after an alleged foreclosure mistake left her home a wreck. Eviction crews dumped all of her belongings in her front yard. But, she said it was the bank that failed to process her loan modification paperwork. Judi Moser said her life is as shattered as her precious crystal. "It's about 150 years old and it's gone," she said, talking about her now-broken crystal bowl. "Who would let people come in and just destroy a lifetime of things," asked Moser.

• She showed Channel 2 Action News reporter Richard Elliot what's left of her life after deputies and crews evicted her from her home of 29 years -- only to put it all back when they learned the bank made a mistake. "And then they said, 'Oops, wrong, we made a mistake. Let's put everything back,'" said Moser.

For more, see Woman Blames Bank For Eviction Mistake.

Go here for Slideshow of Lender Screw Up.

Go here for other posts on lender screw ups. ForeclosureLockOuts