Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Mortgage Broker Clubbed With $342K Jury Award For Liability In Peddling 'Pick-A-Pay' Mortgage That Left Homeowner "Down In The Bottom Of The Muck!"
In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, The Baltimore Sun reports:
A 78-year-old Annapolis man who said he was duped into getting unsuitable mortgages — sending the home he had owned for decades into foreclosure — was awarded $342,000 by an Anne Arundel County jury this week.
The jury found that Dennis Hollidayoke's mortgage broker violated state and federal law when arranging a "payment option" adjustable-rate mortgage for him in 2006 and then refinancing it into another payment option loan seven months later. The mortgages are also known as negative amortization loans because the lowest payment option adds to what's owed on the mortgage rather than subtracting from it.
Hollidayoke said no one mentioned this aspect of the loan to him upfront, and his attorney said it never was made clear in the paperwork. "It's been a very bad experience," said Hollidayoke, who is trying to short-sell his home of more than 40 years to avoid foreclosure. "I worked hard all my life, tried to keep a pretty good reputation, and this has put me down in the bottom of the muck."
The trial was the latest in a long-running national argument about whom to blame after many Americans signed up for complex loans they couldn't afford — the borrowers or the financial professionals who sold them the products. Hollidayoke's broker, Brian Lynn Blonder of JBL Mortgage Network, contended in court that he did nothing wrong.
"That was their defense, and the jury flatly rejected it," said Hollidayoke's attorney, Phillip Robinson, who represented him on behalf of the nonprofit Civil Justice in Baltimore.
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Real estate agent Sandy Wing, who is trying to arrange the short sale of his home, said Hollidayoke was "distraught" when he came to her for assistance. He didn't understand what had happened. She sorted through his boxes of records and — appalled by what she found — connected him with legal help.
"I just felt, something has to be done about this," Wing said. "This is really, really wrong."
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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