International Media Blasting Wells Fargo For Driving Man to Suicide

Harry Bradford, Huffington Post

Last Saturday night, Norman Rousseau reportedly spent hours trying to fix an old RV. He was facing the prospect of foreclosure, and he wasn’t about to see his family forced onto the street. Then mid-morning, with the RV’s engine in pieces, he shot and killed himself, CBS Los Angeles reports

Rousseau, who lived in Newbury Park, California, has left a wife and stepson to deal with an ongoing battle with Wells Fargo, according to a lawsuit filed in January 2011 by Norman and his wife, Oriane.

“Our thoughts are with the friends and family of Mr. Rousseau at this difficult time. The eviction has been postponed and we will continue to work with Mrs. Rousseau,” a Wells Fargo spokesperson said to The Huffington Post in an email. “Despite current reports, we tried repeatedly to find affordable options for the family.”

The trouble started when the Rousseaus refinanced their mortgage, finding out much later that their interest rate actually increased after they did so, the lawsuit states. On top of that, the lawsuit claims that the couple was convinced to roll their credit card debt into the loan, ostensibly prolonging and increasing that debt as well, according to Chris Gardas, the attorney representing the Rousseau family.

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No Bidders For Pedophile Pediatrician’s Foreclosed Home

No Bidders for Earl Bradley’s Foreclosed Lewes Home

Michael Lopardi, WBOC

The former home of pedophile pediatrician Earl Bradley received no bids during a foreclosure auction Tuesday.

Opening bids for the property on Savannah Road in Lewes started at $230,000. None of the roughly two dozen people in attendance raised their hands.

The house was one of roughly 50 properties auctioned as part of foreclosure sales. Records show Bradley owes U.S. Bank more than $560,000.

“I would think anyone in this area would maybe shy away from buying that piece of property,” said deputy sheriff Tina Timmons. “We really don’t know.”

Bradley is serving 14 life sentences for sexually abusing young patients at his former medical office.

Timmons said the sheriff’s office received about a dozen calls – mostly from out-of-state numbers with people likely unfamiliar with Bradley – inquiring about the house. With no bidders, the property reverts back to the bank. An attorney for the bank did not answer questions after the auction.

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Like The Missing Kiszka, Note Goes Missing

…And The Lawyers Want It Back!

Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post

A suburban West Palm Beach foreclosure case has even bank employees confused, with internal emails that question whether the wrong entity is repossessing the house – but that then decide to move forward anyway.

Bank attorneys now want to purge the court file with the messages, which were filed mistakenly. The emails also mention trying to avoid mounting community association fees.

“I think the emails basically say the plaintiff doesn’t own the loan, and it belongs to a different lender,” said attorney Peter Snyder, who is representing Abby Lopez. “It may be Bank of America, or Bank of America could just be the servicer. That’s where it all gets crazy.”

Homeowner advocates say the three email exchanges exemplify one of their biggest concerns – that the wrong bank will take their home.

The concern arose when boom-time loans were repeatedly bundled or broken into pieces and sold by the original lender to trusts, investors or other lenders. As a result, a bank may be responsible for collecting payments and daily loan oversight, but not be the true owner.

The emails in Lopez’s case were filed in October with a sworn “affidavit of indebtedness” that details how much Lopez owes on the mortgage, and asserts that Bank of America is the servicer of the loan.

But Bank of America is not listed as a plaintiff in the case. HSBC Bank USA, “as trustee for the holders of Deutsche Alt-A Securities Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2007-Bar1 Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates,” is the party named as foreclosing on the home.

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JPMorgan Chase Forecloses On Property They Sold for Cash

The Huffington Post  |  By 

Bonnie Kavoussi, Huffington Post

That $2 billion trading debacle isn’t all JPMorgan Chase has to deal with this week.

Allan Danforth of Kansas City claims that he bought a house in a short sale in September 2010 from homeowners whose mortgage was held by JPMorgan, KMBC reports. Then two months later and without warning, JPMorgan foreclosed on the home, changing the locks and taking away his furniture, appliances and family items. Danforth is now suing JPMorgan for trespassing and theft.

Danforth’s suit is likely no more than an afterthought to a bank struggling with a large-scale problem — a $2 billion trading loss that’s injured the company’s reputation and prompted some shareholders to propose CEO Jamie Dimon give up his role as chairman.

Short sales, in which properties are sold for less than the amount owed, have become promoted as an increasingly promising alternative to foreclosure, but Danforth’s experience suggests the process can still leave something to be desired. All together,there were more short sales than foreclosures in January, according to data from Lender Processing Services cited by Bloomberg, and many housing experts viewed that as a promising sign that foreclosure alternatives were being pursued.

In addition, critics allege that banks’ mortgage paperwork has been disorganized — so disorganized, in fact, for banks to be able to acknowledge receiving new paperwork.Foreclosures have subsequently been criticized as at times impersonal and sudden, with little opportunity for borrowers to negotiate with banks.

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