The First Step in Foreclosure Defense: Title Issues

The same judges that consistently ignore defenses with respect to the endorsements, assignments, or other issues instantly recognize that where there is an error or break in the chain of title, the “bank” must step back, dismiss the foreclosure and start over again.

THIS ARTICLE IS NOT A LEGAL OPINION UPON WHICH YOU CAN RELY IN ANY INDIVIDUAL CASE. HIRE A LAWYER.
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Last Thursday night I had North Carolina Attorney James Surane as a guest on my radio show. As I suspected it was technical but VERY interesting. He gave many examples where title issues had either resulted in an outright win or much greater leverage over the party claiming to be authorized to foreclose on property. In his state of North Carolina, the judicial climate is very frosty when it comes to a homeowner challenging foreclosures. But the same judges that consistently ignore defenses with respect to the endorsements, assignments, or other issues instantly recognize that where there is an error or break in the chain of title, the “bank” must step back, dismiss the foreclosure and start over again.

Although most people have stopped ordering title searches and title analysis by a lawyer, they are throwing out the baby with the bathwater. As I have previously discussed on this blog, the problem with the title reports is not that they are useless, it is that they don’t go back far enough. In the run-up to the mortgage meltdown some closing agents were processing loan closings at the rate of 100 per day. These agents and lawyers were overwhelmed by the volume. They made mistakes.

Here is a summary of what Jim said last Thursday night:

FIRST STEP IN FORECLOSURE DEFENSE CASE:

A thorough title search of the property being subject to foreclosure is an absolute necessity. This includes researching back to the plat in the case of a home in a subdivision, and back 30 years in a case in which the property is not in a subdivision. We have won many cases based upon errors in the chain of title. It must be remembered that a large majority of the mortgages that we deal with today were closed between the years of 1992 – 2007. During these years, closing attorneys and lenders were overwhelmed with business, and as a result many errors in preparing documents that compromised the lenders lien rights. In our title search, we are looking for:

  • Plat was recorded prior to conveyance of lot
  • Errors in the legal descriptions
  • The legal description was attached at the time the deed of trust was signed
  • Errors in the timing of the recordation of documents in the chain of title
  • Errors in the spelling of the grantor or grantee names
  • Both Grantors names in the body of the Deed of Trust and not just signed
  • Failure to include all necessary signatures on deeds
  • Recordings in the wrong county
  • The grantor owned the property at the time of the conveyance
  • The date on the note matches the date of the deed of trust
  • The names on the note match the names on the deed of trust
  • The grantors signed the Deed of Trust in the proper place (not under notary)
  • Check the Secretary of State on all corporate grantors
  • The date the substitute trustee was appointed relative to the Notice of Hearing
  • The proper substitute trustee filed the Notice of Hearing

Surane has won at least one case for each and every issue listed above. Some of the issues listed above have resulted in our winning several cases. Clerks and Judges are not reserved about recognizing errors in the chain of title, and will readily dismiss a case if the errors are properly presented to the Court. It is very important to thoroughly examine the chain of title before proceeding to identity errors with the lenders standing and endorsements to the promissory note.  As many people are aware, the standing and endorsement issues often lead to fertile ground for many additional defenses to a foreclosure action.

North Carolina is more or less a non-judicial state. But instead of the “trustee” recording a notice of default and notice of sale, the trustee in North Carolina files a Notice of Hearing. The Clerk actually has some power to either dismiss or require the filer to dismiss if the chain of title is clearly wrong. This makes North Carolina a somewhat safer place for homeowners than other non-judicial states because there is at least some minimum oversight over the process.

Not all errors in title result in an outright win in Court. But they do create a time interval that could be as long as years in which the homeowner can properly address other issues and seek modification.

At livinglies we provide a title report and an analysis, but most people don’t want to pay the extra cost of going back 3-4 owners. And they don’t want to spend time on a lawyer analyzing title issues. It’s boring stuff to most people. Most vendors providing title information CAN produce a report going back 30 years but they don’t because they have not been paid the extra money to do so — often requiring an actual trip to the building where the public records are kept in the county in which the property is located.

Some vendors, like TitleTracs, will point out potential areas of inquiry that assist a lawyer in analyzing title, but most lawyers don’t want to do the work even if they could get paid for it. It is a laborious task but people are missing “low hanging fruit” when they fail to raise a proper challenge to the substitution of trustee and other defenses.

The bad news is that Surane agrees with my current opinion — it is highly unlikely that any judge anywhere will enter an order quieting title where the mortgage or deed of trust is removed as an encumbrance to the property. Unless the mortgage or deed of trust is void, in our opinion it is not proper to bring the quiet title action. BUT, that said, as Surane pointed out on the show, he has made extensive use of declaratory actions that undermine the enforceability of the mortgage or deed of trust and potentially undermine the note as well. The catch is that courts don’t issue advisory opinions so you need a present controversy in order to get the court to rule.

If this article prompts you to order our COMBO Title and Securitization Report and you want the kind of in-depth title report that is described above the cost of the report is $1995.

Get a consult or order services! 202-838-6345

https://www.vcita.com/v/lendinglies to schedule CONSULT, leave message or make payments.

 

 

 

US Bank v Ibanez: Now They Are Getting the Point

Many Thanks to Max Gardner for this contribution:

See  entire Case at US Bank v Ibanez Memo of Decision Denying US Bank Mts Oct 14 2009Misc 384283 and Misc 386755

See Neil’s Abstract: judge-long-principal-must-be-disclosed

See Boston Globe Article: judge-long-massachusetts-foreclosure-decision-throws-securitization-intermediaries-into-chaos-reo-sales-stopped

See what-do-these-case-decisions-mean

US Bank v Ibanez. Memo of Decision Denying US BankMts. Oct.14.2009 Misc 384283 and Misc 386755.doc “The issues in this case are not merely problems with paperwork or a matter of dotting i’s and crossing t’s. Instead, they lie at the heart of the protections given to homeowners and borrowers by the Massachusetts legislature. To accept the plaintiffs’ arguments is to allow them to take someone’s home without any demonstrable right to do so, based upon the assumption that they ultimately will be able to show that they have that right and the further assumption that potential bidders will be undeterred by the lack of a demonstrable legal foundation for the sale and will nonetheless bid full value in the
expectation that that foundation will ultimately be produced, even if it takes a year or more. The law recognizes the troubling nature of these assumptions, the harm caused if those assumptions prove erroneous, and commands otherwise.”
>

> THIS IS A MUST READ CASE ON STANDING, REAL PARTY IN INTEREST, THE
> ALPHABET PROBLEM, SECURITIZATION, FOLLOWING THE CONVEYANCING RULES OF
> THE POOLING AND SERVICING AGREEMENET, ASSIGNMENTS IN BLANK, POST-FILING
> ASSIGMENTS, ETC. The above quote is from the final conclusions in the
> decision. I started highlighting the important stuff in red font but
> most of the written decision is now red. This is a VERY important case.
>
>
> O. Max Gardner III
> PO Box 1000
> Shelby NC 28151-1000
> 704.418.2628 (C)
> 704.487.0616 (O)
> 888.870.1647 (F)
> maxgardner@maxgardner.com
> http://www.maxgardnerlaw.com
> http://www.maxbankruptcybootcamp.com
>
>

Foreclosure Strategy: Beware those Short Sales — they might be the beginning rather than the end of legal problems.

The government’s role in this mess has been abdicated to people running agendas that are based on narrow self-interest. One could argue that if the Federal Reserve window was swung open for investment banks to borrow at Fed Funds rates using worthless securities based upon assets (residential real estate), that the same window should be open to the homeowners. But that is not necessary either.

Other than private loan situations and a few other rare exceptions, nearly 100% of all loans “secured” by residential real property were securitized, which means that these loans, false from in their inception, went on a journey to never never land where securities, also false from inception, were sold to investors to fund the transaction. Both sides were based upon fraud involving intentional representations of facts known to be false and upon which the victims at both ends relied most notably the false appraisal of the real estate value and the false appraisal of the ABS or CMO sold to an investor.

If authority is claimed but not real, then the nominal “lender” can execute a satisfaction of mortgage, an agreement to forgo deficiency, and allow the short payment — all to zero effect because the nominal “lender” lacked any right to execute any of those documents. Thus the lender, the “borrower” etc. could have their legal position virtually unchanged by the transaction, but the new buyer has a very substantial change of position, as does the new buyer’s lender both of whom might be taking title or recording a mortgage(s) subject to a mortgage that has not actually been been satisfied. This will produce trouble for title companies and closings.It might also produce claims of fraud against the nominal “lender” by new plaintiffs— the new buyer of the property and the new mortgage lender.

The same logic would also require the conclusion that a “lender” or other buyer who takes title to a residence at a foreclosure sale has received nothing in the way of marketable title and even if the argument is made that the mortgage and note were not extinguished, the “lender” takes title subject to claims of multiple third parties

Either the title company will state an exception in the title policy which basically will mean that the buyer is not insured if a third party enters the picture later, or that the new lender for the new buyer, doesn’t have a mortgage at all because the new mortgage lender did not get the signature of the new buyer.

IN THE BEGINNING (when the first buyer/”borrower” bought the property): We have a buyer, a seller (or developer), and a nominal mortgage lender. The “selling forward” (presale of the loan to a third party before closing) by the nominal “lender” negated the validity of the loan closing but not the real estate closing. So the buyer received good title to the property (all other things being equal) and the seller got paid. Since there was no valid mortgage transaction, rescission becomes unnecessary. However fact patterns may vary, as do state laws, so that rescission is probably a good idea as an alternative position to take.

The funding by an undisclosed third party means that the party posing as the lender at the loan closing was by definition part of a deceptive scheme. The statutes help us with that because of the disclosure requirements coming from Federal and state laws. Failure to disclose the real lender is in itself a fatal defect in teh transaction. Hence the New York Judge who ordered that the mortgage be removed from the county records, leaving the homeowner with title, free and clear of the mortgage encumbrance. Going further, he also invalidated all transfers of any interest in the mortgage because the mortgage and note had never really existed.

But even if the mortgage had come into existence, and even if the theory that this was in reality part of an elaborate scheme to trick people into creating negotiable instruments and to trick other people into buying them as “asset backed securities” the loan was paid in full and the mortgage satisfied or extinguished contemporaneously with the original loan transaction. Whether the third party paid the nominal “lender” before or after closing, the note had been paid in full. In order to “purchase” a negotiable instrument and security instrument (mortgage) involving real estate, the transaction would need to be recorded. This is arguably true even in the “notice” states (what’s left of them).

Thus the payment of money by the third party to the nominal lender can only be interpreted as payment (satisfaction) of the note. This is why the allegation that the payments are in default from the “borrower” should be denied. No payments are required, under the terms of the note itself, if the note has been prepaid — whether the prepayment was from the borrower, his mother, or a mortgage aggregator. The affirmative defense of payment obviously is supported by the same logic.

And the filing of a claim to quiet title by the homeowners serving the nominal lander as a defendant/respondent, and John Does 1-100 as people or entities who might claim an interest in the note, will most likely be successful. The “lender” must disclaim any interest in the note. The servicer of the mortgage must admit (and it should be alleged) that they have been receiving payments from the “borrower”, instructions from “lender” and making payments to some third party, none of which should have been demanded, accepted or processed.

The failure to deliver the note or the failure to be able to account for the note in a situation where the intention of a series of parties in a chain of transactions was to transfer the rights or interests in the original “loan” transaction ALWAYS indicates the potential for a third party claim against any one of the parties in the chain at a later time despite adjudication of rights between any two or three of them.

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Here is an article from one of our contributors

Welcome to Wall Street’s Masquerade Ball (every American was invited)

Securities Disguised as Residential Mortgages – and Why Short-Sales Don’t Work among Other Things

Let’s back into this so you can really understand why the reality of what has happened to nearly every American and every homeowner is so bad, the cause of most of our economic problems right now, and yes, most-likely fraudulent.

You lose your job, your job is outsourced to China, you are in a car accident, substantially injured, life happens,etc. All of a sudden, you can’t pay your monthly mortgage payment, along with other debts. You call the financial institution that you send your mortgage payments to. Oh, by the way, this institution is different than who actually lent you the money at closing – and this “servicer” of the loan has maybe changed twice or more since you closed on the loan.

So, you can’t make your payment. The “servicer” now starts calling you almost daily “harrassing” you to “pay up or else.” You indulge them in your perfectly legitimate and understandable situation and, yes, it falls on deaf ears. They tell you something like, “Miss, if you are having a hardship, we will mail you out a hardship package, please fill it out completely and include all the items requested and send back to us. We will see what we can do for you.

So you do just that, you spend about 3 hours of your precious time, diligently filling everything out and collecting all those “necessary” documents. You send it in. Hear nothing back for like 6 weeks. So you call, wait on hold for 40 minutes and finally get someone who barely speaks English… But it sure as hell is frustrating trying to communicate with someone who obviously doesn’t speak your language, not to mention that, in the back of your head, you wonder “how safe it is to be revealing your social security number and all sorts of sensitive, personal information to someone you’re sure is somewhere halfway around the globe and 10 hours ahead/behind us in time. Anyway, sorry for the rant again… back to the real story.

So, you finally get someone on the line and ask them if they received your fax of all the documents you most diligently put together and faxed to them at their request. You faxed everything in 6 weeks ago and haven’t heard a thing! The person politely tells you that for some reason, they have no record of receiving anything from you and “are you sure that you sent it to the right number?” – Now you’re head turns about 3 shades of red as your carotid artery starts to bulge and you consider popping a Nitro pill to stave off a sure-fire myocardial infarction. But that’s beside the point.

Anyway, back to the real story. So, you send it again, wait another 3 weeks, call again and, “MIRACLE!” They got it, thank God, now we can at least get a solution to our current challenges…right.  The foreigner on the other end politely tells you that it will be a few weeks before the “committee” can review it and come up with a decision on your “situation.” (You feel like telling them to go stick it but refrain since “good, polite Americans” don’t do that sort of thing). Son of a gun… I just went off on a quick rant again. Sorry.

Anyway, back to the real story. So, 4 weeks go by and you hear nothing. You think, “What the heck?” Does this company have their heads so far up their rear ends that they can’t even return a call and respond to my really dire “situation?” Then you remember that you were talking to some person who didn’t really care and by now, they might have taken your Social Security Number, borrowed another $100,000 (on your credit) to go shopping at their country’s version of Best Buy and they’re probably watching the CNN “Mortgage Meltdown” coverage on some 100 inch Big Screen Plasma on a brand new leather couch with a Universal Remote Control that even God would be jealous of. Shoot. Sorry for the rant right there.

Anyway, back to the real story… So, you call again, wait another 25 min. on hold and finally get someone on the line. You explain the whole nightmare and they tell you that “yes, we did receive your package and yes, it did come back from the committee, and “could you please wait for a supervisor?” – and yes, the wait on hold charade starts again… but I know, you can’t relate.

Anyway… supervisor comes on the phone like 10 minutes later and tells you that “unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do for you at this time. But if you’d like, you can go to our website and get the “I can’t make a friggin payment because I’m really out of a job” hardship form, fill it out and fax it in, we’ll see what we can do for you.”

Another rant and rave. Sorry. But really folks, this is the madness that everyday, hard-working AMERICANS are going through with their mortgage loans and the crazy lender/servicers can barely answer the phones much less speak intelligibly with a real solution or option!!!!

So, here’s the real story and WHY all those forms, short-sale efforts and all that work to modify your loan won’t do a bit of good. The company you’re calling is just the SERVICER! They don’t own your mortgage OR your note. They have no substantial right to do anything with the note/debt. The mortgage is still recorded in the name of the FIRST mortgage company that gave you the money at closing AND the note (the real evidence of the debt) was sold BEFORE you ever made a payment INTO a Securitization Trust which then SOLD that POOL of NOTES as a Security to 100’s or 1000’s of Investors ALL OVER THE COTTON-PICKIN’ WORLD.

So, the moral of the story is “THE SERVICER CAN’T MAKE A DECISION ON YOUR LOAN BECAUSE YOU REALLY GOT INTO A COMPLEX SECURITIZED INSTRUMENT SCHEME WHEN YOU SIGNED ALL THOSE CLOSING DOCUMENTS WHICH IS WHY THAT SAME DAMN SERVICER CAN’T APPROVE ANY REMEDY FOR ANY HARD-WORKING AMERICAN IN A REAL JAM!”

Want a little context to what I’m saying? Read below for some good ol’ fashioned 3rd party verification. Then, call me and we’ll try to help you a bit. I speak Indian, Chinese and Pig Latin by the way – just in case it’s needed to help you out on your loan.JK.

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