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.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Mortgage Cancellation Rackets That File Suits To Obtain Default Judgments To Wipe Out Banksters' Liens Gain Steam In Florida
In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:
More companies are jumping into the land trust business. At least two new firms in Florida are trying to cancel mortgage debt with lawsuits that lenders call “baseless” and “nonsensical” but that some borrowers say are their last chance at keeping their homes.
The companies, including one with a Jupiter address, are in addition to the Fidelity Land Trust Company that opened last year in Boca Raton. Together, they have filed scores of lawsuits statewide and collected hundreds of deeds from homeowners, who are typically solicited by phone because they have underwater mortgages.
And desperate borrowers are biting.
***
[P]roponents of the trusts point to a Levy County case they say proves it works. A press release issued Tuesday by one of the trust referral companies says Boca Raton attorney Howard Feinmel, who is under a Florida Bar investigation for issues relating to quiet title lawsuits, won a judgment in November that canceled a mortgage.
It was a default judgment, typically awarded when the defendant fails to respond within 20 to 30 days and can be reopened if there are legitimate reasons for missing the deadline.
The plaintiff in the Levy County case was Levy County Partners, which had the homeowner deed his house to it before filing the lawsuit, according to property appraiser records. The deed has since been transferred from Levy County Partners to Fidelity Land Trust Company. The foreclosure lawsuit against the homeowner was voluntarily dismissed in June by the lender. The dismissal was done without prejudice, meaning it can be re-filed.
Bank of America, the servicer on the loan, did not respond to a request for comment.
Fidelity Land Trust Company, which was incorporated in December and is believed to be one of the first firms to make widespread attempts to cancel mortgages by suing the banks, has amassed about 240 deeds statewide, including 100 in Palm Beach County.
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)
<< Home