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, June 04, 2012
Homeowner Lawsuits Challenging Foreclosures Skyrocket In New Hampshire With Many Finding Their Way Into Federal Court
The New Hampshire Business Review reports:
A Swanzey woman claims a mortgage originator deliberately lied about her income in order to push through a refinancing, and then the bank pressured her husband -- suffering from dementia -- to sign on to the mortgage to make it easier to foreclose on the property.
A Wolfeboro borrower claims that he wanted to pay off the note in full, but couldn't get a straight accounting from the bank. Indeed, the bank even cited the wrong date, book and page number and parties when recording the mortgage assignment.
Another borrower claims he was told by a bank to stop paying the mortgage on his Jackson home in order to qualify for a modification program, and then he was given the runaround when he tried to get on the program, and then the bank filed for foreclosure, telling him it was too late to be eligible.
Whether any of these claims is true is up to courts to decide. But these are the kinds of complaints against major banks being made in the state, and now federal, courts as a small but growing number of homeowners begin to challenge foreclosures.
In 2011, about 210 homeowners -- or 5.5 percent of the 3,863 foreclosure deeds filed in New Hampshire that year -- sued their mortgage company, almost triple the 75 (2.1 percent) that filed suit in 2008. This year, if the pace keeps up, about 240 will be filed.
"Banks' actions are egregious, and more and more people are doing something about it," said Jeremey A. Miller, a Concord attorney who specializes in defending homeowners from foreclosure.
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Nearly all of the mortgage companies, based out of state, have the right to move these cases to federal courts, and are increasingly doing so because they say the federal court bureaucracy moves much quicker. "I'm sure it does," said Don Goodnow, the director of the New Hampshire Administrative Office of the Courts, which works with the state's courts. "It is better funded."
But Concord attorney Miller sees the move to federal courts as an attempt by mortgage companies to intimidate homeowners by moving their suit "to a big granite building in Concord."
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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