For the most part they are operating either illegally or unethically but there are an increasing number of firms that are playing by the rules and actually helping their clients.
beware-of-credit-repair-firms-but-dont-throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater
DISCLOSURE:
I must disclose both an agenda and an interest here. Having been disappointed by the results or conduct of many supposed “audit” or loss mitigation or loan modification firms, either because they gave out bad advice, were engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, or their work product was poor or insufficient, I took the pieces from the public domain and put them together into one plan of action. THEN gave them to my good friend Brad Keiser with a request that he create a central point for those people who wish to receive referrals from us and to create a team of people who would create a product that included all the elements that I think are necessary. So when you go to “In Trouble Now?” you will get to one of our volunteers and probably be screened by Brad.
RIGHT NOW, THE ONLY WORK PRODUCT APPROVED BY ME AS COMPLETE IS THE ONE COMING FROM THE TEAM BRAD BROUGHT TOGETHER UNDER THE NAME FORECLOSURE DEFENSE GROUP. HOWEVER, THE ABSENCE OF OTHER NAMES DOES NOT MEAN THEY DON’T DO GOOD WORK. IT ONLY MEANS THEY DON’T DO EVERYTHING I BELIEVE SHOULD BE PART OF THE FINAL WORK PRODUCT.
I DO HAVE A FINANCIAL INTEREST IN THE GROUP BRAD HAS ASSEMBLED. ONE OF THE WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT THIS BLOG AND THE REST OF OUR EFFORTS IS TO USE FDG SERVICES. But we are NOT the only game in town and you are free to use whoever you want and still get help from us.
That said, we are hopeful of adding other groups that will do the work. Here is a partial checklist of the work involved. We have commoditized it so that instead of costing many thousands of dollars it can be done for a fraction of the price of hiring the professionals separately — BUT the result is a work product that does not purport to be a full forensic audit — just enough information an the opinion of experts, on the violations of statute and common law, ownership of the mortgage and note, and this is based upon the information received and what we are able to find without in depth research on each lender.
If you want to be certified by the Foreclosure Defense Institute to be a vendor that performs audits etc. you must be familiar the differences, between lender, servicer, pool trustee, mortgage broker, mortgage originator, depositor, appraiser, mortgage aggregator, investment banker, special purpose vehicle and have available expertise on your team with the following:
1. TILA
2. RESPA
3. HOEPA
4. Appraisal Fraud and its effect on APR
5. Securitization and its effect on ownership of the note
6. Qualified Written Request — see our blog entries
7. Rescission — 3-day, extended 3 year, fraud, common law.
8. Usury and legal limit on interest rates and exemptions
9. Table Funded Loans and finding the holder in due course.
10. Evaluation of results by an attorney, demand letters, and follow up by qualified group to negotiate with the “lender” or “servicer.”
As soon as we have qualifiled additional firms, they will appear here without guarantee just like everything else on this blog.
Filed under: CDO, currency, Eviction, foreclosure, GTC | Honor, Mortgage | Tagged: audit, CREDIT REPAIR, evaluation, mortgage modification, tile |
Banks are doing so much that is plainly illegal and takes advantage of vulnerable consumers. It is a shame there isn’t more public education on this.
during the recession, there were so many home for sale near our area at bargain prices:“
What A Shame That This was not blasted all over the internet, and town hall meetings! What a bloody shame that the world doesn’t know this story!!
Can someone with FDG (Foreclosure Defense Group) please contact me regarding a Forensic analysis of my mortgage.
Thanks!
Do you provide any service or referral to homeowner’s in Wisconsin?
Loan modification mortgage is a process whereby a home owner’s mortgage is modified and both the lender and homeowner are bound by the new terms of the new mortgage. The most common loan modifications are listed below:
lowering the mortgage interest rate
reducing the mortgage principal balance
fixing adjustable interest rates within the mortgage
increasing the loan term throughout the mortgage
forgiveness of payment defaults and fees
or any combination of the above
Check out this Public site at http://LOANMODIFICATIONMORTGAGE.ORG
Who Owns Your Loan? It’s Time To Find Out
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click here.
By SHANNON BEHNKEN
sbehnken@tampatrib.com
Published: November 18, 2008
Related Links
* Bay Area Foreclosures
TAMPA – Natalie Fuentes was about to lose her foreclosure battle when her lender said it would work out a loan modification so she could stay in her home of 13 years.
The lender, Washington Mutual, agreed to hold off on an eviction until the new loan was final, she said.
So she was stunned last month to find the locks had been changed. Her belongings, including her children’s baby photos, clothes and toys, were gone. The lawn and windows were blanketed with realty signs advertising the Carrollwood home for sale.
“I called the bank, and they said they didn’t know who had done this,” Fuentes said. “I called the real estate company and was told my stuff was trash and had been thrown away. We’re talking about stuff that can’t be replaced.”
It turns out the lender Fuentes had been dealing with no longer owned her loan. Without her knowledge, it had been sold to mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac. Washington Mutual remained the servicer of the loan. In a surprise to both Fuentes and the Washington Mutual officials she was working with, Freddie had moved forward with selling the home.
Fuentes’ situation highlights just how difficult it can be for homeowners to work with their lenders, especially when a third party investor is involved. In this foreclosure crisis, lenders are saddled with bad loans and don’t want more foreclosed homes on their books. They tell troubled homeowners to call at the first sign of trouble to see if something can be worked out.
Yet as Fuentes learned, it’s much more difficult to do that when the loan has been sold. Selling loans to investors was so common during the housing boom that many homeowners don’t know who owns their loan. That could come back to bite them if they, like Fuentes, need to negotiate a new loan later.
Title Was Being Transferred
In Fuentes’ case, the home had gone through the foreclosure process in early October but the title had not yet transferred to Freddie Mac. Fuentes said she was told by Washington Mutual that they had one more month to work out the terms of the new loan and she could keep the house until then. But Freddie Mac officials say they weren’t made aware of this deal and decided to move ahead with plans to rid the bad loan from their books.
“We believe this situation was handled as it should have been,” said Brad German, spokesman for Freddie Mac. “The home was in the process of being titled to Freddie because we own the loan.”
Washington Mutual, as the servicer of the loan, is the proper company to negotiate the loan modification, German said, but the new loan has to be approved by Freddie since it owns the loan.
Missy Latham, spokeswoman for Washington Mutual, now part of JPMorgan Chase, wouldn’t comment on specifics, but said, “We continue to work with the borrower and owner of the loan to see what can be done.”
What no one seems to be able to answer is how this could happen.
“This is totally outrageous,” said Terry Smiljanich, a lawyer with the Tampa firm of James, Hoyer, Newcomer & Smiljanich. The firm is not representing Fuentes. “Freddie Mac had no authority to go onto this woman’s property and throw out her stuff when they didn’t yet have title. They jumped the gun.”
With so many foreclosures, lenders are overwhelmed. If this happened to Fuentes, Smiljanich said, it could happen to other homeowners too.
When a Freddie Mac loan is foreclosed, the company’s procedure is to hire a local real estate company to access the property, secure it and market it for resale. If the home is occupied, the company files for an eviction. If it is abandoned, German said, the agent moves forward with a sale.
With Fuentes’ home, Freddie hired Herbert Fisher Realty, which sent an agent to the home and reported back that it “appeared vacant.” Fisher said he got the go-ahead to then secure the home and dispose of the belongings left behind.
“It’s out of my hands,” he said. “This is between Freddie Mac and Washington Mutual. I did my job.”
Keys Returned To Fuentes
Fuentes fell into foreclosure after a divorce, and had moved most of her belongings out in late September because she knew the home would be foreclosed on. But Washington Mutual didn’t issue an eviction as it continued to work on the loan modification.
Fisher said the home appeared abandoned, but Fuentes said it did not. She stops by almost daily to check on the home and said she mowed the lawn and paid the utilities.
Before Fuentes realized Freddie had hired the real estate agent, she called authorities to report her home had been broken into. The Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office deputy interviewed the real estate agent and attorney for Washington Mutual and determined that Freddie had made the decision. The officer also determined the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser still had the home listed in Fuentes’ name. Because of that, the keys were turned back over to Fuentes.
German, the Freddie Mac spokesman, said his company is still open to working something out with Fuentes. But, they say, they have to make sure she can afford a new loan.
“We don’t want more foreclosed homes,” he said. “We estimate we’ll provide workouts for three out of five of our troubled loans.”
Fuentes still has hope she will be one of them.
In the meantime, the home is still for sale, and Fuentes is renting two neighboring apartments – one for her two teenage daughters and one for her son and her. She’s paying roughly $1,600 a month in rent and utilities for the two places. That’s more, she says, than the new mortgage would be.
“I’m so depressed,” Fuentes said. “I don’t know who dropped the ball and who’s to blame. Somebody needs to take responsibility for this.”
Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804. Keyword: Foreclosure, to search an interactive database of foreclosures in the Bay area.
How can Brad Keiser be reached to inquire about the cost of the services you mentioned?