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JP Morgan Told Judge To Stop Paying Mortgage To Become Eligible For Loan Modification
In the latest stunner of disclosure in what goes on just below the murky surface of the biggest scam market in the world (that would be the multi-trillion residential debt market), we learn that a Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court judge, Peter Sikora, who is facing foreclosure on his million dollar (8 room) home. But that is not what makes him unique: after all the story of your average American who buys iPads and garter belts with money that should be going into mortgage payments is all too well known by now. What is amazing, however, is that the reason for his 12 month delinquency is that according to JP Morgan, who service the loan, the only way Sikora would be eligible for loan modification would be if he were in delinquency, which is what they advised him to do. That's right - a bank formally told a client to willfully default on a mortgage. Now obviously no institution in its right mind would ever tell a counterparty to stop paying it for a service it is providing. Which begs the question: how is it that there is an opportunity cost for JP Morgan that is lower than a person paying a set mortgage, which involves both the cessation of payments and the lowering of payment rates. If there is any smoking gun that JP Morgan makes up for mortgage delinquency shortfalls by dipping in the GSE piggy bank of infinite taxpayer capital, this is it. And since in the aftermath of Ibanez ever more mortgages are about to see a freeze on their payments, it begs the question: just how profound will the Fannie and Freddie rape this year be, if the GSEs end up having to fund hundreds of billions in capital shortfall for the Too Parasitic To Fail?
We are certain that in any other banana republic, at least some answer to this rather important question would be sought. But not in this particular one...
More from Cleveland.com on the curious case of Peter Sikora.
A Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court judge faces foreclosure on his eight-bedroom, lakefront Cleveland home after falling a year behind on a nearly $1 million mortgage and property taxes.
Judge Peter Sikora said he hopes a mediation session scheduled for next month will keep him in his Edgewater Drive home, which the Cuyahoga County Auditor's Office has appraised at $844,000.
Sikora, who makes $121,350 a year as a judge, said in a telephone interview Thursday that he has the money to make his mortgage payments. What got him in trouble was following the advice of officials at JP Morgan Chase & Co., he said.
With property values in decline over the past year in Cleveland, and mortgage rates the lowest in decades, Sikora sought to refinance. But the bank, he said, declined his request.
"The bank advised me that the only way they would consider a loan modification would be if I fell behind on my payments," said Sikora, 59, a judge since 1989. "I took their advice and put the money aside."
Sikora said he was surprised when, in June, during the middle of negotiations, JP Morgan Chase filed the foreclosure lawsuit against him seeking $999,000, including $6,400 in unpaid property taxes.
"It's unfortunate that it's gotten to this situation," Sikora said. "I've been talking with them for more than a year, but the bank hasn't been responsive."
And the kicker: this judge, who voluntarily stopped making payments even though he knew full well this was against his contract, and knew he was in effect scamming the system, tried to be a Supreme Court judge on three seperate occasions! Is it any wonder then that the entire judicial system is paralyzed, and is corrupt beyond comparison? After all, it is full of thousands of Peter Sikoras who would do anything in their power, even break the law, just to get on the banks' good side.
Sikora was elected in 2008 as president of the Ohio Association of Juvenile Court Judges. A Democrat, he ran unsuccessfully three times for the Ohio Supreme Court.
He acknowledged it doesn't look good for a juvenile court judge to become delinquent on property taxes, which are used to support schools and the children who appear in his court. But he said the bank is responsible for paying the taxes out of the escrow account.
What else is there to say? There are those who wish to fix the system out there, and god bless them. The problem is any attempt at fixing the system will inevitably end up in bringing the whole charade down. Which is why, as we have been claiming for just over two years now, the "scalpel" approach to cancer elimination is doomed. The cancer has metastasized long ago and the condition is terminal.
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Nothing new. I have 100+ clients with the same story, from every single bank out there. Can't/won't modify till you're delinquent, so stop paying mortgage.
Then the loan mod comes in, it's basically a reduction in interest, no reduction in principal, and all late fees and accrued interest tacked on to the loan (not forgiven, even though they were told to default).
2012 baby! The self-fulfilling prophecy. Come git some!
Tactical defaults are now a fully legitimate and legal means of concluding a contract. The security for the loan is surrendered: the lender has the option to simply take the security back or renegotiate. Simple.
There is no fault here.
The fact that JPM ADVISED a client to default merely emphasizes how this is an acceptable method to conclude a contract, and both parties have an interest in the conclusion of said contract.
If a NEW contract is formed via renegotiation of the loan terms, then that is up to all parties after the orignal contract is concluded via the actions of the borrower and lender. No further considerations and no moral hazards even bear weight to the business of a contract that has a securitized note.
Surprisingly, the dumbed-down herds still haven't caught on to tactical defaulting of their outstanding credit cards.
Ditto. For that reason, I no longer accept cases where the client wants to negotiate for a HAMP modification. First, they can easily do such a mod themselves and I don't believe in charging legal fees for things most people can do on their own. But even if it is a complex mod for which a client needs help, I refer it out. I think mods are essentially repeating the original predatory loan all over again. I have yet to see a case with an exit strategy that is realistic. HAMP does not provide for second mods and when the inevitable re-default occurs, the debtor will have paid MUCH more than the reasonable rental value of the house for the modification period.
What is your approach, then? Negotiate for as much time and cash for keys as possible? Seems to me that with the loan ownership issues Ibanez highlights, the prices banks are willing to pay for a quicker and cleaner conclusion -- and a confidentiality provision to cover up the ownership problems that could endanger the trust -- will go up substantially.
His handle should give that away. He encourages his clients to go into BK and rakes the fees from that when its unnecessary. Been down this road with attorneys and ran a mile.
I had worked in one of the original workout departments in the early 90's recession when Citicorp was bailed out by the Prince of Saudia Arabia because of their fast track loan approvals.
The mortgagers whom are underwater cannot be refinanced through the normal processes because of their LTV ratio is over 100%. So they hear they can receive a lower rate with the loan modification program for distressed borrowers. But this is only considered if the mortgager does not have the ability to pay their loan, which means non-payment of the mortgage and no assets. Even if they cannot pay the mortgage, if they have assets, they will not modify the loan.
If there is equity in the property, then there is no loss to the bank if they sell the property and pay the bank the owed amount. So the bank only modifies loans when they are at risk of losing money in a foreclosure and the borrower can afford to pay the new modified mortgage amount, which is a small percentage of people. The reason most of the modified loans end up defaulting is because the borrowers are a bad risk whom are not responsible for debt payments.
Sounds like a scam by the banks to earn a few bucks on admin and late fees. Is there a commission on signing a "new" loan as well? Lower interest on loans will probably mean lower monthly payments for the client, but in the long term, the borrower always loses out - I can see disaster looming ahead when interest rates go up eventually.
Regardless of who is telling the truth here, (although I can't imagine someone would intentionally default if they have the money), JP Morgue has just hosed themselves in Cuyahoga County. Judges are people too, and what better way to irritate the bankruptcy judges than to go after one of their friends and colleagues. D'oh!
I do not trust or like any of the banksters, especially JP Morgue and the Fed, as they should be fed to the sharks. But the banks do not advise the mortgager to default, but inform them they do not qualify for a distressed homeowner loan modification unless they are delinquent. The judge is an idiot for jeoparizing his credit and risking foreclosure, so deserves the stupid guilty verdict.
In addition, if he is not paying his mortgage with the escrow payment, then there is no money in his escrow account to pay the property taxes.
"But the banks do not advise the mortgager to default, but inform them they do not qualify for a distressed homeowner loan modification unless they are delinquent."
Yes, exactly. His finely trained legal mind did not grasp the difference between information and advice. This exact situation happened to a friend and he couldn't believe it but worked through other channels to get a legitimate re-fi.
I have a friend that owned his home 20 years, and his bank told him to do the same thing. They told him to default on his loan because of the advantages it afforded him. We have created a moral hazard that is going to come back to bite us.
Ultimately, it's not the banks, but the taxpayers that are going to foot the bill for this! Remember than Sec. Geithner extended "unlimited" taxpayer guarantees of all the mortgages that Fannie and Freddie own. It was here on ZH that we were reminded of that. This snowball, once it really gets rolling downhill, will have unexpected and potentially catastrophic consequences for EVERYONE because WE are now liable for all losses. Thanks to Timmy, the Keebler elf in the Treasury Tree, WE are on the hook for the entire tab!
Not exactly correct, but pretty close. Freddie and Fannie are in conservatorship and taxpayers have contributed "up to" $300 billion to cover their ongoing losses. Of course, the losses will be more than that, but we're not yet on the hook for an "unlimited" guarantee. At least that is what I understand is the present situation.
Of course, because 95% of all mortgage origination is now through the GSE's, it will be very hard for Washington to end the guarantee when the $300 billion is exhausted. Timmy is stupidly assuming that by then the private sector will be back to lending. Well, if home prices were to drop another 25%-35%, he might be correct, because at those values private lenders would be idiots not to lend. But because the Fed, Treasury and Government are doing everything they can to prevent a further drop in prices, I think the market will be on government life support for longer than Terri Shiavo.
No, I believe last Christmas eve they snuck in an announcment of UNLIMITED backing for FRE/FAN. One must stay alert to keep up with all the crimes. And those crimes to come.
No, if prices drop that much the illusion will be stripped bare and the banks will be revealed to all as insolvent (which they are already).
Thanks to Timmy, the Keebler elf in the Treasury Tree
Priceless! LOL
Correct. Capital will not form once again in banks as corrupt as ours. Those who have violated the law and the public TRUST [an important word in the banking industry] must go. The only other option is for Ben Bernanke to continue to act as capital...but we all know how that will end.
The current banking regime must end before the economy of this nation can finally heal.
did i tell you, i adore you!
how much are these blood sucking banks making off with in "protective" derivative contracts when a payment stream goes into deliquency!!! this is too much........fraud fraud fraud - in the 70's we had MAUDE and now we have FRAUD!!! i frickin prefer maude!!!
Squid pro quo
"What else is there to say? There are those who wish to fix the system out there, and god bless them."
watching "The Good Earth" (1937) from China - the more things change the more they remain the same....people just people....always the same...so predictable its boring...
Look, telling Joe Sixpack to default and having him do it is one thing. But for a sitting judge, who knows better, to do so is beyond belief. And his excuse? They told me to....no one accepts that excuse from their kid, for crap's sake.
The Ohio State Bar Assn should begin immediate disbarrment proceedings. (They wont, but they should)
With this kind of publicity, the judge has an excellent shot at making his 4th run at the state supreme court a successful one. People are much more likely to respect a crooked judge, since it shows he's successful.
This is not to say the judge is a crook. But he obviously is.
And that's what makes America great!
There is no moral hazard to consider in a securitized note. They are simply both agreeing to conclude the existing contract, dillute and/or eliminate its terms, and create a new one.
As long as both parties of the contract agree to renegotiate, there is no harm done. The lender would thereby choose not to foreclose upon default.
However, a problem could arise, if JPM advised the Judge to default, then JPM went ahead and foreclosed after the fact; this could be construed as bad faith.
Right you are.
BofA told me the same thing...if you want a re-set, first stop paying. It also helps with the negotiations if the house is well underwater...gives one a bit of leverage as the banks do not want anymore REO than they already have.
@66
WTF?, over. If JPM wanted to allow a modification of the note, they certainly don't need a borrower default to do it. The default opens the door to resources and funds that benefit the lender, and at a minimum the borrower gets screwed with fees, interest, and dinged credit. I'd be surprised if the bank fully disclosed their side of a deal that screams conflict of interest. Fiduciary responsibility used to mean something.
About 7-8 years ago, I got Bank of America to substitute the note on my mortgage by a full 1%. I did it by zeroing on a letter they sent me which foolishly talked about "converting" my mortgage. As I explained to the VP I spoke with, "convert" has certain connotations in the mortgage industry and if they refused to lower my rate, I would sue them for promising "conversion" features and then reneging. Long story short;l for a $150 fee, they lowered my loan rate by a full 1%. The next year, when rates dropped again, I left them anyway for a 5.65% fixed rate elsewhere (no points, $0 closing costs). Cutting the 'nads off big business is not as hard as you think. I once spoke directly to the president of Chrysler (Bob Lutz at the time) and got them to take my lemon car back, refund all my 6 months of payments and refund my sales tax. I once got New England Telephone to refund 15% of my last 10 years of phone bills (bad service). FedEx, UPS - and many others have all paid me $$ for various gripes for differing reasons. And don't even get me started about all the charge card companies I've beaten the snot out of. People need to know the key: Get a boss on the phone and plead your case, then keep going upline till you find decision maker with authority. It's hard work - but it is possible. The more of their time you use up on the phone and the more bosses you involve, the greater the chances they'll give in just to scrape you off their shoe. PS: I'm batting over .900 in small claims over the years. "IRAC" 1) Issue, 2) Rule, 3) Apply the rule to the facts 4) Conclusion. Keep good notes, get everything you can in writing and don't be afraid to take them to small claims court. No lawyers fees and it's easier to win than you think.
Have you ever taken lithium?
Litigation lifestyle? Thanks, but I'd rather live under a bridge.
It's a full-time job just keeping track of all that! Why do I get the impression you kinda like screwing with these guys?
BTW, I never sold you anything, did I?
I'm guessing (and yes, it's only a guess) that they are covering their asses against counterparty claims from whomever they suckered into securitizing this crap. If they allow modification to the borrower, they've affected the value of the security they sold someone else and they need to even up on that side, too. They've already spent the dough, so the cost to them of settling up with their creditors is high enough they'd rather lose the money on the retail side. Or at least it leaves them less open to claims that way.
Just a guess.
There is no more stinging indictment of the uselessness of a college/law school education than this nitwit. Are there any responsible adults in this country? This is all a bad dream.
1. Absolutely true.
2. Probably not
3. Yes. Time to wake up screaming.
Not a bad dream, a conscience dream.
Especially since all those banker-gangsters could just as easily learn their fraudulent practices without all those boring, waste-of-time classes.
Explains why bank stocks continue to go up, even after Ibanez.
Banks have essentially gotten the same deal with mortgages as Sallie Mae did with student loans, the government (us) gets stuck with the defaults, and the banks make a profit from the good loans, and servicing fees from the bad loans.
Fraud as a business model.
Fraud. The only model that can still operate successfully in today's business climate.
It's like some weird duo inverted Friends of Angelo thingy ;-)
Perfect!
another irresponsible ZH article accusing someone of committing a crime, when there was none.
even break the law
the judge did not break any criminal law! it can be argued he didn't even violate his civil contract (the note and mortgage) because the jp morgue induced him to default. banks are inducing defaults with false promises. the loan workouts never materialize. the servicing bank profits from the foreclosure from its fees, the note holder profits from the credit default swaps (insurance).
the homeowner who defaults at the instruction of the bank is being taken advantage of. the author of this posting has no understanding of what is happening and i really don't think is worthy of being on ZH.
I'm sorry. I missed the part where credit default swaps pay out. I also missed the part where all the note holders are holding onto their specific CDS instrument that tie to the mortgage backed security they're holding. And I'm also missing the part where the counterparty to the CDS instrument even is capable of paying that obligation out.
And this is not the judge's first rodeo. If he gets fucked for not paying a bill he can afford to pay, fuck him. Taken advtanage of. What a load of horseshit.
The point of the story is that the Courts are complicit with the Banks in defrauding the Taxpayer. The Irony of this story is any Judge in the role of self-interested Dupe, especially one who wanted to serve on the highest Court in his State. Get it?
I agree with you to a certain degree BUT I went through the same thing with my lender. I wanted to refi but was denied. I chose, rightly so I believe, to continue making my payments. This guy is not so innocent in all this but as you said neither is the bank.
Bank gets the CDS insurance money on the default and then gets to refi with fresh paper and another 30 years(maybe) of inflows. Sweet deal for the banks.
If you can't stop the orgy, join.
Can't fight city hall July Morning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_H3IR6XBRI
Apparently you CAN fight city hall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8qOb3ISYN0
It just doesn't always end well, though:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer
I recommend this article, which is cited - but not remotely understood - by Ellen Brown in her latest blog post:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=22402
You can see the background here (follow the link to the comments):
http://strikelawyer.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/talking-with-ellen-brown/
And more on point, here's something on Banks and the Courts:
http://strikelawyer.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/banks-and-the-courts/
And a little more:
http://strikelawyer.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/banks-buy-off-state-attorne...
http://strikelawyer.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/meanwhile-back-in-florida/
From at least the 1990's through today there has been so much bad behaviour on the part of so many interested parties in the residential mortgage market that one can be perhaps forgiven for becoming sympathetic to the motivation behind the Biblical flood.
By now, if nothing else it should be obvious to all that incentives matter and clearly that lesson has not yet been learned.
many no longer know or care about the difference between right and wrong
Yes, exactly what a B of A mortgage holder friend of mine was told when she applied for a government sponsored "modification:" "You have to not pay for a couple of months, then your paperwork will go through." Result now is she's had to hire a lawyer because now B of A says she owes thousands in late fees. They scam from the government and rob the people. Sickening.
She should do what Gonzalo Lira's friend did and email them asking for proof that they have the note, as in:
"Show me the note, motherfucker!"
And if you do get a response, it won't include a copy of the note.
Your friend must be lying, according to most posters here. A Bank certainly would never do that. They are all upstanding business people.
and yet I'm not surprised as this may well be the most corrupt ignorant nation ever run buy the most corrupt selfish people taking everything they can get. This is why I hate paper money because they can always reset the rules when they get caught with their pants down. I'm Watching Obama right now orate a speech full of words that don't mean anything and basking in the accolades of the dim audience. It's just another jerk off session. All's I hear is words. They mean shit to me. These people have zero credibility and people now expect lies and bullshit to be a normal process of their speeches. Every speech we get now is always a feel good hand job because the truth is so god awful the only thing we have left is delusion.
Dr. Gonzo, sir you do have a way with words.
I received the same impression listening to that speech.The constant applause just seemed so inappropriate for such a solemn occasion....
Can Palin put a "Bulls Eye" on this guy too please?
There are too many banker-gangsters out there. Dealing with them requires way more ammo ...
Hey damn it let the banks do whatever so they can get healthy. WTF is the matter with you people
"You are a den of vipers and thieves and I shall root you out. ..." -Andrew Jackson
So... a healthy bank is like...
1. A rabid dog hopped up on methamphetamies and steroids...
2. A vegan mass-murderer full of spirulina tofu and armed with an AK...
3. A Decepticon with a fusion-reactor and topped off with intelligent nano-particle, self-sealing hydraulic fluid...
It's OK! You get to choose!
Maybe this story is news becasue he is a Judge but this stuff has been happening for years. My guess is JPM could have negotiated with him in good faith but found out after they told him to default that they didn't have the note because it is downstream bundled in more crap that has circualted the globe three times.
I know someone who was told to default and three months later he had a shiny new mortgage with a better rate. I know many more who are in the Judges shoes.
That is the ultimate truth in all of this. To fix it means to stop it, which means failure. To not fix it also leads to failure. The latter of the two is most plausible route because it allows the blame for the failure to be cleverly shifted from financial to political, and to some degree even political to social.
what else is there to say???? wtf!
http://theopeningrange.blogspot.com/
Effectively 3 years ago they sold the car crash and bought the cancer. Even then they could have done something if they immediately began to treat the cancer. Of course they didn't and in fact they fed the cancer. So now the only question remaining is when are we the people going to recognize the inevitable.
The answer is of course when it's well past too late. We are there now.
The chemo's been fun, but I'd really appreciate it if somebody would set my broken leg!
Physician, heal thyself! :>D
Hey, you try setting your own broken leg. It's a bitch getting the right leverage. And when the toes go numb, you just can't brace against anything. It's not pretty.
In fact, it gets less and less pretty as the hours pass. Kind of purple and bloated.
Besides, I'm not THAT kind of doctor.
No, and neither is Ben Bernake. The part about the leverage is good. So, here is Benji's RX for a broken financial system:
1. Ignore bloated and purple leg.
2. Borrow money from Fed to buy cosmetics to hide purple color.
3. Borrow more money (QE2), for more cosmetics to hide green-going-to-black color.
4. Contemplate QE3 for perfume to hide gangrenous stench.
5. Put ad in personals saying, "Zombie needed for love-bite to transform terminal patient into permament undead. Euro Zombies preferred, but BRIC Zombie welcomed in a pinch."
That should do it!
Thank you, messie. Much nasty laughing has finally died down in the computer pod.
"We are there now."
Getting close. IMO, the "Ordeal of Change" is already beginning to become real. My situation is such that I don't expect personal tramma but reduction of expectations will be unsettling and discouraging for much of the populace. Today's school children will be prepared by experience to handle it.
The good news is that an infrastructure to deliver goods and services to the population is in place and this isn't going to be the depression of the 30s. I do expect that rectitude in public affairs will become more fashionable.
Good luck during the coming "interesting times".
I'd like to see a judge tell JPM to stop paying their Mortgage because they are all going to jail.
and bankers shouldnt be shot on sight?
fuck a banker..........
Truly unbelievable. Why doesn't this stuff get put on the MSM?
It's real story cannot be reduced to a 30 second sound bite. This judge could probably be demonized but only in his proximal sphere of influence.
What a douche.
What's with the singular tense? All banker-gangsters are douches.
Did the judge get that in writing?
If not, why not?
The article states he was "formally told".
You are so correct, They are in a catch 22. They try to fix the system it brings it all down, and if they continue to allow it to go on the problem becomes bigger and drags the economy. We are what gamblers would call BUSTED, out of money and trying to come up with some form of excuse to tell the wife why the bills won't be paid this month. We have to take our fiscal medicine, but the ones in charge know that if it is done it will tear this country apart once the people realize that all those promises made won't happen.
You call the bank (or investor) and say- "hey, I'm in trouble so you're going to be in trouble, too. Help me and we'll help each other".
Bank hangs up.
You default.
Bank calls AIG.
AIG calls Washington.
Washington buys their worthless fraudulent CDS at full price.
AIG pays the bank (investor)
You're screwed.
Thanks Washington for helping us homeowners.
I love it - he wants the bank to pay for his taxes from his escrow account - which of course has no money because he doesn't pay them. What's next, sympathy for the orphan who shot his parents?:
So the banker-gangsters did nothing wrong? Their 'advice', and the duplicity that accompanied it, isn't fraudulent?
It's pretty obvious who butters your bread now, isn't it?
Maybe, just maybe the century of Oil, fueled largely by the robber barons of the US of yore, is finally showing it's last gasps?
This case may not be illegal, but it sure smacks of dis-ingenuousness, which is more irritating to the masses than illegality. If a judge can do it, why can't I?
Too many messes becoming messier by the day, all together.
A happy ending is not in the books here.
Wonder how many here thought or think or can see that we are part of a tipping point generation. A massive war generation. Rationing, alarm bells, get under the desk, run for the hills.... all happening as we speak/type.
Interesting times indeed.
ORI
http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/70/
i am sure he just believed Obama, when he said HAMP would save 4 MILLION homes from foreclosure
It may be worse than you think. Big banks are scamming millions with so called loan modification.
Bank tells borrower he or she can get a loan modification (possibly by not making payments)
But does not tell them they can't find the original note, which would let the borrower off the hook. By signing a new mortgage the borrower is back on the hook, plus there is an agreement in there that if they default the bank can come after them for any loss which wasn't in there before.
They do the loan modification (if they feel like it) but tack on thousands in late fees, legal expenses etc.
A couple of months later they modify the loan again by jacking up the interest etc. and basically making the borrower worse off than they were to begin with, plus the bank has a signed note which they didn't have before plus the borrower can't get off the hook by default or jingle mail.
And that is if the bank keeps its word. They don't always. Only if the deal is in their favor.
BooYaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The bankcriminals DO tell people to default. Why do you doubt this?
I make way more then 121k. My house cost 125 ten years ago. This guy bought a million dollar house on his salary?
Fuck 'em. Take his house and throw him out in the street for being stupid.
No: fuck the banker-gangsters. If they're stupid enough to loan the money and cook the numbers, they deserve to be prosecuted for fraud and shut down.
Even after all that free taxpayer cash, these thieves are insolvent.
And yet there you are, terryg999, giving them a handjob.
Are you really that pathetic, or are you merely complicit in the fraud?
no clearly terry likes to swallow and every last drop
Hell, my realtor told me to default on my mortgage! I'm trying to sell my home (got married and moved into the spouse's house while trying to sell mine) in Fla which is, of course, 40% down from what I paid for it in '05. Since then, I've lost my job and can't get it rented and even if I did rent it, it would no way cover the mortgage, ins, taxes, and maintenance (HOA), etc.
i couldn't even APPLY for a short sale until I applied for HAMP, and before the short sale was even approved, the bank was telling my realtor at what price to set the house. Got a buyer almost immediately (that same w/e, as a matter of fact, it was priced well, should we say?) who offered exactly what the bank was asking for. It took 3 months to get the short sale approved by the bank, and the same day it got approved, the buyer backed out of the deal. I've lost 3 months and the "buyer" gets their earnest money back and I'm that much closer to foreclosure or a phony HAMP deal, which won't help me out in any way at all.
Weird timing, all that.
I was told to do the same thing by BAC (formerly held by Country-wide and 3 other banks prior to that.) Unfortunately, I have not been able to bring myself to stopping such payments.
Wasn't difficult for me. I've worked and paid my bills for nearly 40 years, but it's true I've missed the last 4 payments on my mortgage on an empty house that isn't worth much these days. Of course, I don't have any income right now, so that makes it pretty simple and I can't really say I'm sorry for it. If the bank wants to blame someone, they can look in a mirror.
jesus Tyler.. you didnt know this?
All the banks do that. ALL of them.
if you want to try to wind down your debt properly with a short sale, they also advise that you stop paying your mortgage.
a lot of times though.. you are advised to stop your first trust but continue paying the second trust.
They use all kinds of evil tricks.. BoA has been buying debt collectors and small holders of second trusts like GreenTree mortgage who holds second trusts of people defaulting on a BoA loan. Then they play good cop/bad cop with you. Essentially acting all nice like they'll do anything to help you on the BoA side.. and then using GreenTree like the evil debt collector trying to ruin everything. (even though they in fact own Green Tree)
It's an evil evil mess. you should look into it more.
You're correct, all of them do it. Then they usually start a parallel foreclosure while they lose your paperwork 100s of times.
Thanks for the info on Green Tree. A friend of mine just got a loan mod approved after 16 months of dealing with Litton (Goldman Sucks). She also asked to see her note, which they didn't produce. Instead, they immediately "sold" her loan to Green Tree. She looked them up and she is now freaking out. I now see why.
There's only 1 way out if you can't get a mod and are going to default or are way underwater.
DO NOT sign the promissory note. They'll try to force you to, using the second trust in a company like GreenTree.
Get a BK lawyer and basically threaten to jingle mail them.
They'll relent and allow a short sale approval most of the time.
If not.. BK and Foreclosure (jingle mail) is the only other way.
I repeat.. DO NOT sign any promissory note.
Corruption in Cuyahoga County Ohio? Shocking, just shocking! Even more interesting is that the he purchased the property in 1999 with a co-signer (purchased for $485k)!!!! The fact that he couldn't purchase this property on his own should have been the first indicator it was too much money for a $120k salary! Now, in 2001 (just two short years later) he "rebought" the property all by his lonesome for $303k. Now, maybe I'm just skeptical about our politicians and judges in CC, but how did he pay down almost $185k in two short years? Pulling a little money in on the side maybe (in bribes perhaps). I would not be surprised to see the next headlines about this Judge reading, "CC Juvenile court judge under investigation for fraud and bribery."
JPM has a modus operandi that started in 2008. They prepaid property taxes on loans that did not require impounds then demanded payments into escrow well above original p+i payments and refused to process mortgage payments unless full amount including escrow payment. This came right at a time (end of 2008) when anyone who was fully extended was fully fucked because the economy was taking a huge dump. Next step for JPM was as described above to dangle a mod in front of the client only if they didn't make a payment for "a month or two". Next step was to leave the client in a "trial" mod program for up to a year, demanding stacks of paperwork every couple of months because it was lost and on pain of foreclosure. Then after a year or so of dangling hope but fucking the clients credit and wracking up fees denying the mod. Then you have to hire an attorney who knows what he/she is doing... At which point the whole application process/waiting thing starts again while racking up more fees etc. The whole thing was calculated from day one and the only way the client gets a mod is if the back room deal that JPM has with the FED/Fannie and the rest of the fuckers on your particular note is worse than the mod deal they can do. Don't ask me how I know.
are you working on my modification file, thats EXACTLY what is happening to me !
No. But I'm not surprised. At some point a class action or prosecution by the State Attorney Generals needs to come out of this shit pile. But it won't....