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, January 10, 2013
Recent Court Ruling May Signal Go-Ahead For Thousands Of New Jersey Foreclosures
In Paterson, New Jersey, The Record reports:
Thousands of New Jersey foreclosures that were held up by faulty paperwork are expected to move forward this year, after a recent decision in Superior Court in Paterson.
The case involved Wells Fargo, which has been cleared to resume foreclosures on about 3,300 New Jersey homeowners under an order signed by Superior Court Judge Margaret M. McVeigh in Paterson.
The impact may be felt beyond those 3,300 homeowners because the Wells Fargo case "provided an example for other big lenders to follow procedurally," according to Kristi Jasberg Robinson, a lawyer with the state judiciary. Foreclosure activity could begin this year on 15,000 or more homeowners affected by the same faulty paperwork that was at issue in the Wells Fargo case, she said.
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The Wells Fargo case hinges on the "notice of intent to foreclose" that mortgage companies send to delinquent borrowers. Many of these notices named the mortgage servicing company — the company that collects the monthly payments — not the actual owner of the mortgage. Since many mortgages were packaged and sold as investments, the servicing company often is not the owner of the loan.
In a decision last February, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state's Fair Foreclosure Act requires that the notice to delinquent homeowners must name the owner of the loan, not the mortgage servicing company. The ruling came in a case involving Maryse and Emilio Guillaume of East Orange, who defaulted on a $210,000 mortgage but challenged their foreclosure because the paperwork named the mortgage servicing company, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo.
After the Guillaume case was decided, state Chief Justice Stuart Rabner set guidelines under which mortgage companies could send out corrected notices, so they could move forward with foreclosures. McVeigh and a Trenton judge were appointed to hear arguments as to why the mortgage companies should not be allowed to re-send the corrected paperwork and foreclose in these cases. McVeigh reviewed those arguments with respect to Wells Fargo, and rejected them, writing in her order, "Wells Fargo may resume any foreclosure where the foreclosure defendant has not reinstated the loan."
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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