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How To Make Mandelman’s Head Spin Around Like Linda Blair

February 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Mandelman Says I Grilled Him Too Hard On One OF His Doer Calls To Action

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Colorado on what was supposed to be a vacation but soon turned into a business trip.  When people find out I’m traveling to a specific city, my phone starts ringing.  It’s usually lawyers who need my help on files and want to meet in person.  So two days into the trip, I decided to just go into work mode and make money while I’m there.  The only time I took off was on Saturday to go see the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls, a roller derby team I’m thinking of sponsoring.

So while I’m watching these ladies elbow each other, I get a call about a woman in Massachusetts that Martin Andelman was trying to help.  So Sunday I call Martin and ask him a bunch of questions about the foreclosure and where it stands.  Naturally, Martin has no clue what I’m talking about and I could tell his head was spinning like Linda Blair in the movie, The Exorcist.   However, to Martin’s credit he’s journalist with a communications background not a mortgage or foreclosure background.  Next time I’m in LA, I will have to stop and give him a Mortgage 101 class.

It all worked out though because One West agreed to give Lisa Ferrecchia who is a Thalidomide Baby a loan modification that would keep her in her house permanently with out the need for me to call One West.  My conversation with Martin must have made an impression because he blogged about it when he wrote about Lisa getting her loan mod from One West.  Here is the blog below:

OneWest Bank DOES IT for Lisa in Massachusetts! 

It all started early last Saturday morning when I got a call about a homeowner in Massachusetts scheduled to lose her home to foreclosure sale in just two days…

Now, I don’t mind telling you that I had just posted a DOERS ALERT the day before, and to be honest they’re all a lot of work and I really didn’t want to have to write another one the very next day… I was exhausted and looking forward to sleeping for the next couple days.

The client’s name was Lisa Ferrecchia, who I was told was one of the thalidomide babies. At the time, I did’t know if that meant she was part of a sister singing trio… you know… The Thalidomide Babies,” or what, but I’d soon find out.

So, I read about thalidomide and OneWest Bank most of the day and then started writing a DOER ALERT, which was finally ready to post at about 5:30 PM on Sunday afternoon.  I was beyond tired and feeling kind of awful, if you must know.  I hadn’t been outside of my study for yet another weekend straight… my wife wasn’t saying anything, and my daughter was saying she missed me.  But what could I do?  I mean, seriously?  Lisa Ferrecchia’s home was to be sold the very next day at 3:00 PM in Massachusetts.

Plus, in Massachusetts, do you know how they do it?  They auction the home off right on the soon to be ex-homeowner’s front lawn, for all to see.  I’ll tell you what… that is some 17th century nonsense right there.  As in… Me thinketh she is a witch!  Aye, a witch!  Might as well be making the homeowner walk around with a scarlet ‘F’ on his or her clothing.  I figured that Lisa had probably spent a lifetime seeing people stare at her, and the thought of her home being auctioned off in front of her neighbors… well… that just was not going to happen.  Not today.

I had spoken to attorney Glenn Russell early on Saturday, and told him to have a skeletal bankruptcy filing ready just in case.  I had just spent the whole weekend behind closed doors in my study typing and posting at 5:35 PM on Sunday, I wasn’t at all sure my DOERS would DO it in time… or even could DO it in time.  And if that was the case… why the heck did I just blow the whole weekend with my family… again.  I was conflicted and unsure of everything.

To make matters even worse…  and I wouldn’t normally share this publicly… but Steve Dibert of MFI Miami called me on Sunday evening… he was in Denver for something foreclosure-related.  He had read my DOER ALERT post and asked me what I was doing about Lisa Ferrecchia.  I said I posted a DOER ALERT and my DOERS would handle it.  He asked if I had called Glenn Russell and if Glenn was going to file a TRO, etc. etc. to stop the next day’s sale. He asked a bunch of other technical legal questions until I had a headache.

I said there wasn’t time for any of that, but my DOERS would handle it.  He wasn’t buying any of it.  I said, don’t worry… I’m sure it’ll be fine.

And he replied: “Dude, I think your nuts.  I’ll call Glenn and find out  what else can be done.”  He hung up.

“Oh, ye-of-little-faith-shithead,” I thought to myself.  

We all know what happened next, right?  OneWest Bank’s CEO emailed me late on Sunday night saying that he’d look into the situation the next morning… and the next morning OneWest contacted Lisa… told her that the sale had already been postponed… and that they’d do everything they could to get her a loan modification that would allow her to keep her home.  I wrote to tell everyone the good news, and said that I was certain that OneWest Bank would do exactly what they had promised.  Of course, not everyone was sure whether I was kidding… I was right… or I was a fruit loop.

One West said that they would let Lisa know by today… Tuesday, February 7, 2012.  And so here we are…

 

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JPM-Chase To Honor MLK Dream By Kicking Elderly Civil Rights Activist Out Of Her Home

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Chase Refuses To Give 78 Year Old Hero A $9000 Principal Write Down

Steve Dibert, MFI-Miami

JPMorgan Chase, like their competitors, has been attempting to improve their public image with an American public who blames them for the recession.   In order to show their commitment to some of the hardest hit segments of economy, JPmorgan Chase has reached out to African-American communities across the U.S. by starting a public relations campaign to help “fulfill” the “vision” of Martin Luther King Jr. to coincides with Black History Month.

Now that campaign is turning into a public relations nightmare for the banking behemoth.   Chase is now threatening to foreclose on 78-year old, Helen Bailey, a former Nashville area Civil Rights activist who stood up to police attack dogs, tear gas and fire hoses for her god given rights.

Ms. Bailey couldn’t keep up with her mortgage payments and attempted to refinance with another mortgage company and would work with her to let her stay in her home until she died.  The only thing she asked from Chase was a $9000 principal write down.

Chase refused and now are threatening to foreclose and evict this hero of one of the darkest times of American history.

According to Change.org, Civil rights leaders like Princeton Professor Cornel West have stepped up to support Ms. Bailey,

“I strongly support my dear sister Helen Bailey. Her struggle for justice is legendary. I stand with her.”

Activists have received 35,000 signatures on an online petition asking JPMorgan Chase to accept an offer to purchase Ms. Bailey’s home from a private buyer for fair market value which is $9000 less than what is owed.

 

 

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MERS Tells Schneiderman His Lawsuit Is Garbage

February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Steve Dibert, MFI-Miami

Below is a press release issued by MERS in response to the lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman last week naming MERS as a co-defendant for defrauding the people of the state of New York.  Naturally, like every other press release MERS publishes you have to take it with a grain of salt because their press releases tend to be as accurate and unbiased as Leni Riefenstahl’s pro-Nazi “documentary”, Triumph of the Will from 1934.

Setting the Record Straight

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) takes its role as a mortgagee very seriously. The MERS® System is an important part of the mortgage industry and the MERS business model has been consistently validated in all 50 states. All of the activities of MERSCORP and MERS are in compliance with state and federal laws. We are confident that as people understand more about MERS and the role we play, they will see that MERS adds great value to our nation’s system of housing finance in ways that benefit not just financial institutions, the broader economy and the government, but—most of all—homeowners.

AG Schneiderman Claim #1: Defendants have improperly brought New York foreclosure proceedings in MERS’ Name

FACT: The right to bring a foreclosure action is determined by the Plaintiff’s relationship to the mortgage loan, which is whether the entity bringing the action is the holder of the note or authorized by the holder of the note to bring a foreclosure action. MERS was authorized by the note holder to bring foreclosure actions in its name, and the borrower agreed that MERS may be the entity who may foreclose on the property in the event of a default. That being said, since July 2011 MERS no longer acts as foreclosing entity. In addition, MERSCORP never received a fee or made any money on foreclosures initiated in MERS’ name.

AG Schneiderman Claim #2: MERS Certifying Officers, including defendant servicers’ employees and agents, have submitted false, deceptive and often legally invalid documents in New York foreclosure proceedings

FACT: When MERS is the mortgagee and is not the entity foreclosing, MERS executes an assignment of a mortgage that transfers all of the interests in the mortgage to the entity that is foreclosing prior to the commencement of the foreclosure. The courts have held that MERS may assign its interests, as a mortgagee, and that such assignments are valid.

AG Schneiderman Claim #3: The use of MERS certifying officers by defendants has confused and deceived homeowners and the courts.

FACT: It is perfectly proper for MERS, as the mortgagee, in order to fulfill certain acts required of the mortgagee, to appoint signing officers (or agents) to act on MERS’ behalf. To act as a principal for its signing officers is not a deceptive trade practice. There is no requirement under New York law that a principal must disclose whether its agents are employed by another entity. These agents authorized to act on behalf of MERS are not employees of MERS, but employees of the loan servicers or sub-servicing companies. Signing officers are duly authorized to perform their responsibilities on behalf of MERS who is the mortgagee – in compliance with applicable laws – and to sign their own names and to use the titles “vice president” and “assistant secretary” of MERS.

AG Schneiderman Claim #4: MERS and defendant servicers through their use of MERS have concealed important information from homeowners about their property and the role that MERS plays with respect to their mortgage.

FACT: MERS does not hide ownership or undermine the integrity of land records. Any mortgage holder registered in the MERS® System can easily access information related to their mortgage on our website or through a toll-free number. Federal law provides that consumers are notified for changes in investors or servicing status. In addition, county land records were not intended to identify the servicer of a mortgage or the current note holder; they are intended to provide notice to purchasers of property that there is a lien on the property and when that lien was perfected.

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Mass AG Coakley Asks Fannie and Freddie For Principal Reductions

February 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Says Current Position Prevents Many Homeowners from Receiving Relief

Massachusetts AG Martha CoakleyConcerned that the refusal by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to engage in principal forgiveness and loan modifications for struggling homeowners is slowing the nation’s economic recovery, Attorney General Martha Coakley has sent a letter urging Fannie and Freddie to reverse this stance.

Leaders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have expressed an unwillingness to participate in federal loan modification programs, including principal forgiveness. In a letter pdf format of Letter to Edward DeMarco re: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac  to the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), AG Coakley insists that the FHFA should allow for principal forgiveness, guided by a net present-value analysis, which would increase loan modifications and help stabilize the housing market and economy.

“More than five million people have lost their homes due to foreclosure in the past five years, and millions more on the brink of foreclosure, struggling to stay in their homes,” wrote AG Coakley.  “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be a leader in the arena of loan modification best practices, not an obstruction.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should change course to serve both their own interests and those of the public and the economy.”

AG Coakley’s office has brought numerous actions against major banks and financial institutions with goal of keeping people in their homes and avoiding unnecessary foreclosures.  These include actions against Fremont, Option One, Countrywide,Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Scotland which all resulted in loan modifications designed to remedy unfair and unsustainable loans in Massachusetts.  In the letter, AG Coakley points out that these modifications have helped thousands of people stay in their homes in Massachusetts.

The FHFA has acknowledged that principal forgiveness can serve the long-term interests of taxpayers when compared to foreclosure by combining the goal of asset preservation and foreclosure prevention.  According to the FHFA’s own reports, fewer loan modifications have been implemented in September, October and November 2011, than any other month since November 2010.  AG Coakley says in her letter that this trend must be reversed.

In addition, a comprehensive proposed settlement resolving allegations of servicing fraud with five major banks is expected to provide loan modifications featuring principal write-downs valued at billions of dollars.  AG Coakley says that those discussions have brought into focus the unwillingness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use principal write-downs as part of its loan modification programs, and that their refusal will impact the ability of many homeowners to get the relief that they need.

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