The Best Clients land the Best Attorneys
By William Hudson
Due to the number of people in foreclosure, there is currently more demand than supply for competent attorneys who specialize in foreclosure defense. The most aggressive and successful attorneys now have the luxury of choosing the clients they decide to take-on. Therefore, it is important that the homeowner represent themselves in the best possible light when contacting a prospective attorney.
If the attorney’s first impression is that you are disorganized, unrealistic, or overly emotional- the attorney will politely say, “I’m afraid I can’t help you at this time.” This article will provide some background into how an attorney evaluates a client and what you can do to maximize your appeal as a prospective client by learning to be organized, concise and to present your case in its best light.
Because foreclosure is a highly emotional situation and involves highly complex contract litigation – many homeowners are forced into an overwhelming situation they don’t understand- and may have difficulty properly conveying what has occurred to an attorney. The urgency of obtaining counsel, the fear of losing their home, and the years of lies and deception cause clients that are usually very centered and rational to become untethered.
The situation is even more complicated because foreclosure litigation does not include one pivotal event and resulting consequence. In foreclosure there is usually the precipitating event that causes the foreclosure (illness, job loss, over-leveraged, divorce), followed by unsuccessful negotiations with an unresponsive servicer, and then finally litigation becomes necessary. Over this period of time 20 different events may have occurred all with different consequences and damages. Foreclosure litigation is a multidimensional practice containing elements of personal injury, real estate law, contract law and securities law.
Over time, the homeowner becomes buried in an avalanche of issues and many may not know what is or is not relevant to their case. When they get in front of an attorney the floodgates open and the attorney must try to quickly decipher years of events, violations, various players and the current status of the foreclosure. Therefore it helps to understand what an attorney is thinking when he agrees to consult with you on a prospective lawsuit and how you can prepare for the consultation.
How can a homeowner present themselves as a client worth representing? An attorney takes into consideration many factors to create an overall idea if the case is worth pursuing. The attorney will consider the merits of the case, the evidence, the client’s credibility, current trends in litigation, financial ability to pay, and especially how it may be like to work with the client through a case that could conceivably take years to settle.
Remember it is your job to present your case to the best of your ability. Attorneys typically will assess:
1. Whether the issue is legally cognizable.
2. Whether there are strong legal defenses.
3. Are there any procedural bars, such as statute of limitations or a prior judgment?
4. Are the damages in the case significant enough to warrant the involvement of an attorney?
5. Is the attorney comfortable in the substantive area of law and do they have sufficient staff?
6. Whether the opposing party can pay a damage award.
7. Do you have the financial resources to prosecute or defend the case?
8. Whether the attorney feels that after you have paid the necessary funds that you will be a satisfied client. This is determined at an early stage of the case and the projected value whether at settlement or trial.
An attorney can provide no assurances of success, must also act in their own best interests, and may make a decision not to represent you if you fail to present your case in a logical, organized manner that helps them understand the real issues. When you arrive bring a one page summary of your issues, a brief timeline, and copies of your Note, and any assignments and letters received from your mortgage company. Providing this information will allow the attorney to quickly take note of possible issues.
Most attorneys are not going to spend more than half an hour on an initial consultation so it is important that you focus on the most important aspects of the case. In order to retain the best attorney you must be the best client. Get organized, stick to the facts, and be able to tell your attorney what happened in less than 5 minutes-in a nutshell. Details can be shared later if the attorney is willing to represent you. I always suggest that clients put together a timeline so that the attorney and client can focus on the key events and it prevents many clients from going off-topic (which is easy to do when you have to relive the event every time you talk about the ordeal).
Remember that no matter how egregious your case may be, your attorney is not your therapist. Trust me, all foreclosure attorneys know you are hurting and have been wronged- but there is only so much they can do in terms of correcting how you have been harmed- and that starts with evaluating the events that have violated the law. Some foreclosure cases are so unjust and evil, that some attorneys I have spoken with say they can almost not bear to hear about the injustice day in and day out- and it makes their job very, very difficult.
You can help the attorney by attempting to stay as calm and unemotional as possible- and I understand how very difficult this can be. There is no doubt that humans act in horrible ways towards other humans, but an attorney’s job is to attempt to bring justice to one who is harmed within the confines of the law. The idea is to do everything in your power to prevail, and being organized will help both you and your attorney. A seasoned foreclosure attorney will be able to “fill in the blanks”.
Attached is an outline for homeowners to fill out prior to a consultation with a foreclosure attorney. There is also a checklist of items the attorney may need to properly evaluate your situation. Good luck and Keep it Simple.
The following items will help a foreclosure attorney evaluate your case:
1. Create a one page overview of your case, or your case in a “nutshell”. Forget the details and provide a “macro” account of your situation (see example).
2. Provide a brief timeline of key events (see example).
3. Gather copies of your documentation that you can leave behind for the attorney to review to include:
• Note (and any variations of your note you have been given)
• All Assignments, allonges, etc.
• Important correspondence (but only what is important)
• Go to your Department of County Records and get copies of all documents recorded
• Organize and copy bankruptcy or legal documents that are important
• Google all names on your Note and Assignments. Are they known robosigners?
The One-Page Summary Letter can be emailed or given to the attorney in person (example):
FORECLOSURE OVERVIEW: JOHN AND JANE DOE
Email Address * homeowner@gmail.com
Your Full Name * John and Jane Doe
Phone Number 222-222-222
Relationship to Loan Homeowner – Primary Residence
What Have You Completed Thus Far? • Educated Myself
• Sent Debt Validation Letter
• Filed Bankruptcy
•Property Street Address * 2018 Elm Street
CITY * Miami
State: Property Located * Florida
ZIPCODE * 33102
COUNTY * Dade
IN FORECLOSURE? Yes
BRIEF BACKGROUND OF EVENTS TO DATE (3 paragraph explanation):
10 Key Points about your Case:
1. Forged Signatures
2. Fabricated Note
3. Servicer has no Assignment
4. Refuse to answer QWR
5. Revoked Modification when Compliant
6. Caused us to lose home
7. Failed to file Unlawful Detainer
8. Broke into Home
9. 4 Years of attempts to settle matter
10. Health and emotional issues from situation
Have you received any document or correspondence that names a “trustee” for an asset back securities pool? * NO
Sale Occurred? * YES
COUNTY DADE
Title Search Complete? * YES
Notice of Default? YES
All Borrowers at same address? * YES
Are the addresses for the subject property, the billing address, and the contact address all the same? * YES
More than 1 Borrower? * YES-2
More than 1 LOAN? YES
Loan Status Information * DEFAULT
Name of “Creditor” if known UNKNOWN
Who sent Notice of default? CHASE YOUR TAIL BANK
Bankruptcy/Litigation Questions About Status of your proceeding • DISCHARGED
What are your goals for the property? Modification, negotiation, short sale, or full litigation and damages? • FULL DAMAGES FOR
• LAW VIOLATIONS
Other circumstances:
WIFE IS CURRENTLY HOSPITALIZED FOR STRESS.
EXAMPLE OF TIMELINE: FORECLOSURE TIMELINE
Filed under: foreclosure |
Ed, have any info. In CA looking to get grand juries going under Homeowner Bill of Rights. No reason why Sen. Candidate Harris hasn’t done. We homeowners need to take action for ourselves if we keep getting blamed and used.
has anyone considered filing commercial liens on all the bastards. Powerful stuff. No one seems to have mentioned this. U can file these against the president of the USA if you want judges and all.
Reblogged this on California Freelance Paralegal and commented:
Great article on how to best present your case when speaking with an attorney about taking on your foreclosure defense case.
Babs the idea that most clients as u say want a free house and something for nothing makes me wonder. Neil’s approach has been that the fraud is very simple as most homeowners knew from the beginning. Lawyers and judges failed to go by basic legal principles as Scalia showed. Instead of making us out to be internet crazies why don’t lawyers help homeowners get the mountain of legal funds gov’t supposedly got? Why don’t lawyers join with homeowners on challenging the courts and elected officials?
Wow! Suddenly the attorneys are the bad guys in all of this? You can’t imagine how many clients come to me with stories that don’t match up with the documents, but they believe they should get their house for free because they read it on the internet. And surprise! They don’t have any money for legal fees. There is no way I can take that client. I have to make a living. I cannot work for free, and I cannot take on a client who is telling me FROM DAY ONE that they are not going to be happy with a reasonable result. I am not dishonest, and I am not part of the foreclosure problem. I do my best to help all the clients that I can, but most clients who call me want something for nothing – – – their house, my time, my knowledge, etc. If the banks did something wrong, I agree that we have to fight back. But I can’t fight back for you if you aren’t going to pay me. I have to pay my rent and feed my kids, too.
Great article, Neil. I want to print it out and send it to clients before they come to see me! I was really shocked at all the negative comments. You are trying to HELP CLIENTS get the best possible help from attorneys. If a client is a nightmare at the initial consultation, the client is going to be a nightmare for the entire time. A nightmare client isn’t worth it even if they pay twice my hourly rate. The real kicker is that usually the nightmare clients end up stiffing you, anyway, because they aren’t happy with the result. Lose, lose. You hit it on the head, Neil. “I’m afraid I can’t help you at this time.”
From my own personal experiences (in Milwaukee), either attorneys have no clue, or they are “in on it”. if Judges are covering for the banks why would an attorney take any case, knowing it will lose….unless they actually obeyed their oath and took judges to task. The only way things change is if lawyers/judges are in fear of losing their law licenses. However, since lawyers judge lawyers that would never happen.
BLD, I’m with you totally on that. It would be great if Dave Dayen could climb on board, as this is right up his alley, and he knows how to shape the narrative like few others. He also has creds with some high-up publications.
It will have to come down to shaming the people actually pulling the levers. After shaming, comes the jailing.
Sheri,
I would contact all of the attorneys and prosecutors who prosecuted the executives at Commonwealth Bank…they are all sitting in prison as we speak…for the misrepresentation of loans to consumers.
Several journalists in Virginia reported on this story…massive fraud was uncovered.
E.
If anyone is familiar with the rigged system it would be Sheri.
Investigative reporters care not how prestigious ones position might be. They are gifted journalists who do an incredibly thorough job of reporting to we the people. There may be some who will pick this story as many are driven to uncover the truth.
Additionally, for all of the reasons you state, it might be even more inscentive for some to pick up her story.
This story is media worthy.
The media should be invited into more courtrooms to observe the criminality of it all.
@Sheri, I too wish you well and hope for a positive outcome in your case. I do, however, feel that TPTB are way too entrenched behind their fortress to allow the commoners any foothold of justice. Obama, Holder, White, and now Lynch are perfectly willing to look the other way when these types of crimes are committed, as the sentiment was established early on that the banks must be saved no matter what, even at the expense of the people these same politicos are supposed to be serving.
As to your lawsuit in Virginia….while you raise important issues of fraud and abuse, these people are so insulated from any and all repercussions as to be totally above the law. Governor Terry McAuliffe is a criminal of the likes of the Dons of the old Mafia days, just like his predecessor Bob McDonnell. McDonnell, a scumbag of titanic proportions, was convicted on various felony corruption charges, and yet he’s still not serving time, even though he lost his appeal. He’s on his way to the Supreme Court, where his corporate compatriots will no doubt see that he’s been harmed by over-regulatory regimes and should be allowed to accept graft with ease. I have no doubt that the same outcome awaits McAuliffe. It’s how they do it up that away. Jon Corzine comes to mind as well.
For any that read what Hammertime posted on the depressed Mr. Wirth, his case is eerily similar to what you’ve posted on your lawsuit. Here’s an excerpt:
After Wirth lost his case in state court, he sued Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, the state attorney general and a judge in 2013. The federal lawsuit claimed that state foreclosure laws were unconstitutional and that Wirth and his unnamed guests were “in imminent danger of being wrongfully deprived of home and property while also being threatened with an armed and forcible entry onto the property and into the home.”
He asked a federal judge to block Park County from selling his home, evicting him or forcibly entering the house and to strike down several state laws. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last September.
The end result in his case was that they sent a posse of deputies to wrangle him to the ground. Blood was needlessly spilt on both sides. I’m surprised they didn’t look for a tree on Wirth’s property and just do the old west justice on the spot, swingin’ boots and all. These people know no bounds, fear no citizenry, and are way above the law. Until we do what’s necessary on our part to shake up this system, I fear there’s little hope in doing it their way. The game board is rigged and the table is slanted directly at them. They’re always dealt aces. But I do wish you all the luck in the world. Just prepare ahead of time for an outcome that benefits the $3K suits over you. But I do respect and applaud your panache.
Focus on Richmond Virginia…also Drudge has the most comprehensive list at the bottom of his web page.
Washington Post.
to BLD..thanks…I have sent it to some media outlets and will send to drudge report….any other suggestions greatly appreciated.
Sheri
Sheri,
Outstanding…you need to get this to the media. Contact as many outlets as possible…
Drudge Report…??
Was Mr Wirth depressed? http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2016-02-24/3-colorado-officers-serving-eviction-notice-shot-killing-1 have
WE NEED A COMPETENT FORECLOSURE DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN RHODE ISLAND who can kindly listen to us as a knowledgeable clients and what we discovered in assignment and fabrication of the promissory note. We believe that we are entitled for a free house by filing a motion for Quite Title because of outright fraud in assignment, mental anguish and sufferings due to some factors. We don’t have a lot of money either to gamble with. WE DO NOT WANT TO FILE BANKRUPTCY.
From a Typical Foreclosure Client from Hell to the attorney who is wasting my time and money- Do you think that I opened up the yellow pages and called the three lawyers within five miles of Binghamton? Are you aware that I can contact three hundred law firms between two am and three am Sunday morning? Do you think that your clients have no knowledge of basic contracts, since we’ve made our living for fifty years performing and litigating said contracts? Do you think that we haven’t gone through every good faith effort to communicate with the devious and incompetent bankers and brokers whose sole interest is to steal every property in America while they hide behind their Pakistani phone people who have no other instruction other than to deceive and delay until the sheriff can come take the property? Do you think that we are unaware of Nigerian 409 schemes, much less common and destructive than a typical MBS or CDO scam on every street in America? Is every lawyer in America already on the payroll of Goldman Sachs or Bank of America? Why don’t you save time and tell me on your website that you’re already processing eight hundred seizures a week, but send me another $5,000 and I’ll consider your house for the six months, and then you can go live under your bridge? I’ll keep the $5,000….
I know that on some late night tv show, I’ll soon see a smiling face asking me ‘Have you or someone you love lost your house to a bunch of criminals from Delaware? Are you currently talking with these Pakistani phone flacks and sending them all your financial information so they can wring the last dollar from your account? Call us TODAY, and gain clear title to your property, or substantial recompense for what America has stolen from you cince 1993! Operators are standing by!
Meanwhile, do us both a favor and keep standing by watching, don’t waste my time. 🙂
Thanks Sheri, and good luck.
Is there no room for dissenting opinions on LL anymore?
Look closer and you’ll see that the article above was written by William Hudson, not Neil Garfield. Not that it matters.
What does matter is that the tone of that entire article is so off-putting and unrealistic as to be worthy of printing and composting. Sorry William, but to even pretend that there’s light at the end of the tunnel and that some fearless, knowledgeably attorney is going to hold the lamp while trudging forward on behalf of the borrower is enough to make me spew a nice Merlot all over my monitor. The entire profession, save for a few brave souls here and there, count them on two hands nationwide, are so ignorant of the truth behind the fraud and scared shitless to bring anything against the banks, who they all whore for whenever they can, that they will give multiple excuses to the client as to why this or that won’t make a difference in their case.
Add to that the fact they all live in fear, justifiably so, that the judge sitting high and mighty above all can and will make life a living hell for anyone who dares to piss him or her off. Few professions have such a built in constraint system. Swords of Damocles hang high in every courthouse in America, ready to slice open the attorney who dares to go after the banks, or the pro se who gets in the way of the retirement package. Ain’t happening.
And besides all that, does anyone really believe that at this late stage the judges are still unaware of the truth behind this crime spree? So many new posters make such definitive statements such as, “Go after the PSA! That’s where the truth can be found!” Or, ask for this or that in discovery!” That’s so cute! I envy the childlike belief in the justice system exemplified by those thoughts. If only it were that easy. When, after years of studying and turning over rocks while nearly being swept away and finally finding the absolute smoking gun, just be prepared for the judge to say, “Did you take out the loan or not?” And please don’t expect to be able to explain that the party across the aisle isn’t….whatever…..you’ll only thin the thread holding that blade on the ceiling.
‘The truth shall set you free’. ‘Justice is blind’. I could go on and on, but none of that is true anymore. It was true before America transitioned over to a full-fledged banana republic. Now, put your shoulder back up to the boulder and push. There’s no time for lollygagging. The chain rash will go away once the blisters harden up.
I just copied my letter of intent to the commonwelath and was able to paste it here…..
18 May 2016
Don W. LeMond, Director
Division of Risk Management
Virginia Department of Treasury
P.O. Box 1879
Richmond, VA 23218-1879
Physical Address:
James Monroe Building, 3rd Floor
101 N. 14th Street
Richmond, VA 23219
RE: NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE LAWSUIT IN FEDERAL COURT
Mr. LeMond,
Please accept this letter as notice of intent to sue several officials of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the federal district court pursuant to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) 18 U.S.C. Chapter 96 § 1961-1968, Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights 42 U.S.C. §1983 and Ex Parte Young.
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Chapter 96 §1961-1968, the “enterprise” is Wells Fargo & Company and its subsidiaries/divisions and agents.
The “defendant persons” include executives from Wells Fargo & Co. and the following Commonwealth of Virginia officials, in their official capacities and in their individual capacities: Governor Terry McAuliffe; Attorney General Mark R. Herring; Donald W. Lemons, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia; Chief Judge Bruce D. White of the Fairfax County Circuit Court; Judge Robert J. Smith of the Fairfax County Circuit Court; Judge Jan L. Brodie of the Fairfax County Circuit Court; and Judge (retired and substituting) Alfred D. Swersky of the Fairfax County Circuit Court.
The “criminal activity” is deliberate fraud, fraud cover-up, mail and wire fraud related to the felonious filing of false documents in the Circuit Court Land Records. Such felonious filings resulted in the Circuit Court unlawfully issuing a Writ for Possession for my house to Bank of America. Bank of America has provided a letter stating they have no record they are the investor for my home at 6935 Pine Crest Ave, McLean, VA. The note for the property has no assignment to Bank of America. Bank of America had no standing to sue. But as a result of the false documents, I was unlawfully evicted from my home by the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, acting on orders from the Circuit Court. The “pattern of criminal activity” is two (2) sets of such false documents (one for my primary residence, one for my rental property) were feloniously recorded in the Circuit Court Land Records.
Furthermore, because Bank of America did not have standing to sue, the courts acted without subject matter jurisdiction, thereby have no absolute judicial immunity. The fraud is well documented and was presented to the Fairfax County Circuit Court in May 2015 (case number CL2015-06749). The courts have ignored the evidence, ignored the precedents of the Commonwealth courts, ignored established law in the Commonwealth, ignored the rebuttal of presumptions and dismissed the case citing a 2 year statute of limitations when only 23 months transpired between the full evidence becoming publicly available in the land records and the filing of the Complaint.
This lawsuit goes well beyond mere grumbling and discontent about a ruling. It is apparent the courts are deliberately concealing this fraud. I have asked the courts to answer 3 simple questions.
1) Did Bank of America have standing and the courts therefore have jurisdiction? 2) Are the loan modifications valid contracts? I believe they are not valid contracts
under established Virginia law and
3) Were the invalid contracts used to execute the foreclosures?
The courts have avoided answering these questions, because honest answers based on the evidence would reveal the foreclosures and eviction as invalid and would require a very different outcome. The courts clearly do not want to admit they have unlawfully taken and evicted me from my home. These are not valid foreclosures under Virginia law.
As required to establish a claim under 18 U.S.C. Chapter 96 § 1061-1968, the date of the second injury is the foreclosure on the Primary Residence on November 1, 2012. This is the earliest possible date for the running of 4 year the statute of limitations.
Other significant dates include: date of injury by Donald W. Lemons and the Supreme Court of Virginia, January 21, 2016 (denial of Petition) and March 2016 (denial of Petition for Rehearing); date of injury by Judge Robert J. Smith, August or October 2013; date of injury by Judge Jan L. Brodie and Judge Alfred D. Swersky July 2015. All the possible dates are within the 4 year statute of limitations.
Claims from 42 U.S.C. § 1983 arise from the Fraud Complaint filed in May 2015 in the Fairfax County Circuit Court (case number CL2015-06749) and are clearly within the 2 year statute of limitations.
Relief pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Chapter 96 § 1961-1968 includes equitable relief in the return of my two homes, and damages in the amount of $21 million dollars ($7 million treble).
In addition, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983, the lawsuit seeks an injunction to include but not limited to:
To enjoin the Commonwealth of Virginia to audit the land records to identify false, forged and fraudulent documents, to clearly identify and mark as such all false, forged and fraudulent documents to protect the public interest going into the future, and to notify those adversely affected and/or harmed by such false, forged or fraudulent filings of their legal rights to pursue remedy including but not limited to those whose property was seized unlawfully and those to whom unlawfully seized property was unlawfully re-sold.
If you have any questions, email is the best means to reach me.
Sincerely,
Sheri Daniel
PO Box 240
McLean, VA 22101
Sheri.great.falls@gmail.com
703 489 2656
cc: Governor Terry McAufliffe
Attorney General Mark R. Herring
Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons
Chief Judge Bruce D. White
Judge Robert J. Smith
Judge Jan L. Brodie
Judge Alfred D. Swersky
Executives at Wells Fargo & Company,
John Gerard Stumpf, CEO & Chairman
Avid Madjtabai, Senior EVP
Michael J. Heid, past President & CEO, WFHM
Franklin Codel, current President & CEO, WFHM
c/o Corporation Service Company, Registered Agent
Bank of America Center, 1111 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219
The media
Thanks for the great overview and insight Neil. You always do a great job of providing good advice and options. Unfortunately there are many people like myself who have been totally devastated financially with a number of things (in my case B of A leading me on for 55 months and all fraudulent ploys and intimidation like assigning one loan to nasty old Shellpoint and now 3 loans to an eve worse culprit in Seterus.
Thanks to you and many others I have made some progress, but in the state of Colorado you are doomed to start with an apparent corrupt state government that has little interest in helping and defending people, like the great state of Montana who really stood up to nasty old B of A big time with the supreme court ruling in the Morrow Case and even the Montana AG and Justice Laurie McKinnon laying it on the line about corrupt, fraudulent Bank of America.
I was really surprised that our past AG, John Suthers, stood up to the very corrupt law firm of Janeway Law in fining them nearly $1 million dollars ($650,000 initially in fines and penalties and $350,000 on hold for compliance). They are STILL doing the same old things for B of A and others and the new AG just turns her head:( She is terrible as is the whole state of Colorado with the exception initially of Senator Corey Gardner. It is amazing what his office could do in two weeks that B of A put me off on for nearly 54 months. Unfortunately it came to late with a true Trial Modification Period and then his office immediately ceased with the other 4 loans that were likewise initiated by Countrywide.
Just too bad that we can’t get more key people involved to fully expose and bring this all to light again, but it is no different with the totally inept CFPB, USDOJ, and state consumer advocate offices, much less the congress people- most of whom are so trenched in and paid for that they don’t even answer or respond to numerous cries for help!!!
Thanks again for your great work and all you do to help people. Semper Fi.
My 6 year experience is that it is all an exercise in futility. It does not matter to the court that the banks forge and present forged documents to the court. The law and the “rules” are for the common people not the banks and if you can find one lawyer in a thousand that won’t throw you under the bus you are blessed. File bankruptcy and hope the trustee will make them prove up the ownership of your loan papers. If you read that new book Neil is promoting you will be even more dicouraged. They present examples of thousands of forged documents and they still lost. The “big bank settlement” may have gotten homeowners as much as $1500 for being thrown out of their house and they did not get their house back. It is an exercise in futility. Your opponents are all corrupt.
I have a pdf of the letter of intent ..I would post it here but don’t know how.
Sheri,
Excellent…you should sue the state and the judges after all you have been put through.
An examiner was telling me that judges do listen to a third party with expertise in fraud…they have no financial interest in your loan.
Not trying to make light…as you may have already done so.
I applaud your courage. Keep us posted…it could help thousands of homeowners.
Another excellent article…..but I would add some perspective from the homeowner’s point of view. Back in 2012 after the foreclosure on my rental property but before the foreclosure on my primary residence I interviewed 4 foreclosure attorneys trying to get some help.
First assumption is that the homeowner is in any shape to KNOW the law(s) and understand the various types of fraud that have been subjected to. I was in a stunned stupor. Yes I had some of the papers but putting it all together in a coherent fashion took time….like a couple of years.
And while I was trying to find clarity, Wells Fargo kept throwing up smoke and mirrors to conceal the truth. And terroizing me with the eviction process.
Second, I found the 4 attorneys each approached foreclosure defense in their own way….one consumer rights attorney only did federal cases, class actions and assured me she could get me $1,000 for my 2 houses….somehow I didn’t think that just compensation for 2 houses…. Another told me they would help get a loan mod (but their letter to the bank was poor at best)…..Another recognized the previous loan mod docs as fraudulent but told me this was too big a fraud, the courts would never consider it and he didn’t want to embarrass himself in federal court….he was also totally focused on robosigning….not much else. And another was focused on Quiet title and was mostly concerned with how much money I could afford to pay him.
I learned from each of the but this experience of interviewing attorneys is what drove me to do my own research and go pro se…..none of the attorneys approaches fit the facts of my case.
And of course pro se carries little weight with the courts. The judges think (or wished) that I’m an dumb idiot and I think are surprised to find out that I am not. But in a way it has given me the freedom to do and say what I believe is the truth when I am not trying to “fit in” to the legal profession…..I don’t have to worry about offending a judge who might help me on the next case…..for me there will not be a next case. This is it.
It has also given me the courage to take the next step. I am as shocked as anyone that it has come to this, but I have given written notice of intent to sue the commonwealth of Virginia and the JUDGES who have been complicit in covering up the well-documented fraud. No answer yet.
Sheri