Matt Weidner – Fighting For The American People

Posts Tagged ‘gmac mortgage’

The nation knows the drill, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley sues the banks for doing what banks do…which is abuse homeowners, violate laws, demand (and receive) trillions of dollars from taxpayers, then tell the taxpayer to go screw off…oh and they also arrogantly scream we’re not gonna follow the laws.

They buy off law enforcement, like JPMorgan did with the New York Police….AND NOW, THE BANKSTERS TELL THE ENTIRE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS….

IF YOU FORCE US TO FOLLOW THE LAW, WE WILL LEAVE THE STATE!

GMAC Mortgage, the mortgage lender of Ally Financial Inc., is exiting the vast majority of its lending in Massachusetts a day after the state sued it and other lenders over its allegedly improper foreclosure practices, a decision the state’s attorney general called an admission.

The nation’s fifth-largest mortgage originator said it “has taken this action because recent developments have led mortgage lending in Massachusetts to no longer be viable.”

GMAC’s move, ratcheting up the high-stakes mortgage fight, comes after Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley sued the five biggest mortgage servicers Thursday, in the first government lawsuit targeting all five for alleged improper foreclosure practices including so-called robo-signing.

GMAC

It’s a disgusting commentary really, but there seems to be no penalty, none whatsoever for an entire industry and complete systems that went purposefully awry.  The failure to clearly and honestly call this what it is and to provide any corrective action at all is one of the greatest failings in our government’s history, local, state and federal.

Today, all across this country, thousands of homeowners will lose their homes through a legal system which has been exploited.  Weeks or months from now, thousands of homeowners will be tossed into the street……through orders that were entered by a legal system that has been exploited.  The perpetrators of these crimes suffer not the first penalty.  In many instances they haven’t even been asked what they did wrong.

How have we come to live in a country where those who do wrong are not even questioned?  When authorities, when confronted with gross and obvious wrongdoing just look the other way.  Worse, when one state threatens an inquiry, as in the case of New Jersey, the court itself is threatened. (Read especially the Wells Fargo response.)

Where is the outrage? Where is the leadership? What happened to the American ethic that demanded an accounting and explanation when wrongdoing occurred?

Palm Beach Post

Published: Tuesday, 19 Oct 2010

“SAN FRANCISCO – Consumer attorneys say there are fresh examples of documentation problems in U.S. home foreclosure cases, even as major banks resume legal proceedings against delinquent borrowers.

Bank of America and GMAC Mortgage, two of the largest servicers of U.S. residential loans, have spent a few weeks poring over their foreclosure procedures after allegations surfaced that for years banks have not reviewed documents properly or have submitted false statements to evict delinquent borrowers.

Consumer attorneys doubt the banks have cured the problems, noting that the speed of the announcement that foreclosure proceedings were to resume would have necessitated huge resources devoted to document review.

Bank of America announced on Monday a partial rollback in its foreclosure moratorium. GMAC, a unit of Ally Financial, has also resumed some foreclosure sales.

“How are they going to put out that kind of volume again?” said Christopher Immel, a Florida attorney who represents homeowners.

Bank of America conducted a scientific sampling of 102,000 foreclosures affected by the moratorium imposted earlier this month, said Dan Frahm, a spokesman for Bank of America Home Loans.

Frahm said he wasn’t aware of the sample size, but that it was large enough to have the confidence of the bank and its biggest investors.

“It would be incorrect to say we went through each and every one of them,” Frahm said.

GMAC would not disclose the manpower it used in its review, but spokeswoman Gina Proia said the company devoted “significant resources” to the issue. Across the country, the company is reviewing “each case going to foreclosure sale before it proceeds,” she said.

FLORIDA FORECLOSURE DENIED

But as recently as Friday, GMAC failed to secure a quick foreclosure on a Florida property where GMAC had been forced to withdraw, and then resubmit, a corrected affidavit, said Matthew Weidner, an attorney for the borrower.

To foreclose on a house, a lender must prove it has a valid claim. That means it must certify through an affidavit and other documentation that it clearly holds the right to enforce the terms of the loan, and that the borrower has actually defaulted.

According to Weidner, St. Petersburg-based Judge Walt Fullerton on Friday decided against a quick foreclosure on Carol Hasbrouck’s property, due to the uncertainty of having two sworn affidavits in the case file.

The withdrawn affidavit had been signed by GMAC employee Jeffrey Stephan, court filings show. Stephan helped spark the current controversy by testifying that he had signed some 10,000 documents a month.

The resubmitted affidavit still did not have any supporting documentation attached, which is required by Florida law, Weidner said.”

Click here to read the full story on CNBC…

“By Dunstan Prial

Published October 14, 2010| FOXBusiness

The last thing most homebuyers want to think about at their closing is title insurance. They’ve already been through the ringer, paying thousands of dollars in often-confusing fees and signing mountains of documents.

Title insurance is almost certainly an afterthought.

But homebuyers may want to think again.

The messy fallout from badly — and, in some cases, perhaps fraudulently — processedforeclosures has cast into sharp focus the need for comprehensive title insurance. As always, homebuyers should make sure they’re getting a policy that covers any costs tied to hidden fees or liens placed against the property that may have not been detected during a title search.

But, now more than ever, homebuyers, especially those purchasing homes through a foreclosure or a short sale, need a policy that covers legal fees if someone challenges the validity of their title.

Lita Epstein, a foreclosure expert and author of several personal finance books, said one of the root causes of the recent financial crisis — a rush by lenders to sell mortgages willy nilly to as many investors as possible — can also be blamed for the current mess.

“These loans were sold so many different times that no one knows who has the original paperwork. That really gets to the core of the financial scandal. The original closing documents for these properties have been lost as those loans were sold and spread out among many investors,” said Epstein.

In recent weeks, many of the major mortgage loan servicers, including Bank of America (BAC: 11.99 ,-0.51 ,-4.08%), Ally Financial’s GMAC Mortgage, and JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 37.17 ,-1.58 ,-4.08%), have suspended foreclosures in the wake of legal challenges charging all manner of improprieties. And as of Wednesday all 50 state attorneys general have said they will investigate how foreclosures were conducted in their states.

The investigations will attempt to determine if loan servicers handling foreclosures processed all the paperwork properly. In affidavits made public since the foreclosure mess gained steam, some loan servicers, dubbed robo-signers, have acknowledged signing off on hundreds of foreclosures each day without ever verifying or even reviewing the documents included in the paperwork crossing their desks.

Thousands of homeowners whose mortgages were foreclosed on are now challenging the loss of their homes, and that number is rapidly climbing. These challenges throw into question the rightful ownership of homes sold through foreclosures.

“There are going to be cases where a homeowner has a right to walk back in that home,” said Matt Weidner, a Florida-based real estate attorney. “The title industry has to decide how they’re going to deal with these cases.”

That’s why comprehensive title insurance has suddenly become so important. So what is title insurance and why is it required by all banks making mortgage loans?

Title insurance is defined as protection against losses stemming from any problems connected to the title of a piece of property. So if there were homeowners’ association fees that went unpaid by a previous owner, or liens against the home placed by local tax assessors that weren’t detected during the title search conducted while the home was being purchased, those costs would be covered by title insurance. The insurance company will also cover all legal fees rising from the dispute.

The problems that have arisen in the wake of the real estate craze early last decade stem from the fact that mortgages and titles changed hands so quickly and so many times that, in many instances, no one knows how to track down all the original paperwork.

In regions hard hit by foreclosures — Florida, for example — much of that paperwork isn’t showing up when title searches are being conducted on sales of foreclosed home. Consequently, lots of potential problems are going undetected.

“There is information that isn’t making it to the proper place quickly enough and it’s making it difficult to be certain that the title has completely cleared,” Epstein explained.

Epstein said there are cases in which mortgages were split up among several investors and those separate investors have foreclosed on the same mortgage at different times, leaving the current title holder in an uneasy state of legal and financial limbo.

That’s the sort of dispute that title insurance is designed to settle.

At least one large title insurer isn’t exactly embracing these issues. On Oct. 1, Old Republic National Title Insurance Co., a unit of Old United International Corp (ORI: 13.93 ,+0.07 ,+0.51%), announced it wouldn’t issue new policies on homes recently foreclosed by GMAC or JPMorgan Chase.

Old Republic did not return calls seeking comment on its new policy.

Weidner said the title insurers should have seen this coming.

“Now they’re looking at all these allegations, and they’re asking how big is the risk and wondering what are we gonna do about it. The magnitude and the proportions are so big, you struggle to find an adjective,” he said.

According to Weidner, Florida alone has more than 500,000 foreclosure cases pending.

“Even if there’s a problem with a small fraction of these, it’s incredibly destabilizing to the real estate industry and financial markets in general,” said Weidner.”

Click to find original Fox Business report…

The stunning reports from across the state that Florida Default Law Group was “withdrawing” affidavits that were submitted in foreclosure cases signed by Jeffrey Stephan are just mind blowing.  I’ve posted two depositions below.  What we’re all trying to figure out is just what this all means.  The Rule of Professional Conduct cited by the law firm as the basis for withdrawing the affidavits is very serious and citing it has profound consequences.  Here is the rule:

RULE 4-3.3 CANDOR TOWARD THE TRIBUNAL

(a) False Evidence; Duty to Disclose. A lawyer shall not knowingly:

(1) make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal or fail to correct a false statement of material fact or law previously made to the tribunal by the lawyer;

(2) fail to disclose a material fact to a tribunal when disclosure is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by the client;

(3) fail to disclose to the tribunal legal authority in the controlling jurisdiction known to the lawyer to be directly adverse to the position of the client and not disclosed by opposing counsel; or

(4) offer evidence that the lawyer knows to be false. A lawyer may not offer testimony that the lawyer knows to be false in the form of a narrative unless so ordered by the tribunal. If a lawyer, the lawyer’s client, or a witness called by the lawyer has offered material evidence and the lawyer comes to know of its falsity, the lawyer shall take reasonable remedial measures including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal. A lawyer may refuse to offer evidence that the lawyer reasonably believes is false.

(b) Criminal or Fraudulent Conduct. A lawyer who represents a client in an adjudicative proceeding and who knows that a person intends to engage, is engaging, or has engaged in criminal or fraudulent conduct related to the proceeding shall take reasonable remedial measures, including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal.

(c) Ex Parte Proceedings. In an ex parte proceeding a lawyer shall inform the tribunal of all material facts known to the lawyer that will enable the tribunal to make an informed decision, whether or not the facts are adverse.

(d) Extent of Lawyer’s Duties. The duties stated in this rule continue beyond the conclusion of the proceeding and apply even if compliance requires disclosure of information otherwise protected by rule 4-1.6.

By filing these notices across the state the foreclosure mills have opened up a Pandora’s box big enough to fit every single foreclosure courtroom in the State of Florida, perhaps even the country.  Just what is the magnitude of these disclosures?  How many were sent out?  Are the notices limited to Jeffrey Stephan?  To GMAC?  To just this law firm? Finding out the answers to these important questions should keep this nation’s best and brightest reporters and journalists busy for quite some time.  Whatever the answers to those questions, the implications are so profound.

I have been saying for months now, and I will state again for the record that,

“IN THE VAST MAJORITY OF FORECLOSURE CASES, THERE IS NOT A SINGLE PIECE OF CREDIBLE, ADMISSABLE EVIDENCE UPON WHICH A COURT SHOULD RELY TO GRANT SUMMARY JUDGMENT”

Let me add to that statement the following:

“THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FORECLOSURE JUDGMENTS AND TITLES TO FORECLOSED PROPERTIES THAT ARE VOID OR VOIDABLE AND WILL BE CHALLENGED AND TOSSED OUT WHEN THE GLARING ERRORS THAT HAVE BEEN COMMITTED ARE PURSUED AFTER THE FACT.”

And the following:

“IF THE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL CONTINUES TO AGGRESSIVELY PURSUE ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN FORECLOSURE CASES, THE RESULTS WILL BE A BROAD INDICTMENT OF THE FAILURES OF FLORIDA’S ENTIRE COURT SYSTEM.”

I am so profoundly disappointed that the charges that will come will not come because our judges stood up and put an end to it all.  They will not come because the Florida Bar took a leadership role and took a stand to protect consumers and they will not come because law enforcement, legislators or consumer protection agencies and official stepped in.  They will come because the perpetrators and purveyors of this flawed system turned on themselves.

But most importantly, it will come because our press is doing their vital and essential function of raising the alarm bells and sounding the alarm of a crisis that is unfolding that affects us all.

GOD BLESS OUR FOREFATHERS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF A FREE PRESS!

stephan

stephan2

This bombshell just hit the wires….EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY GMAC HAS SUSPENDED ACTIONS ON FORECLOSURES IN 23 STATES!

No specific information yet, and it does not clear exactly the scope of what is being suspended, but one can only assume this has something to with the recent disclosures that affidavits of Jeffrey Stephan have been withdrawn!

A whole lot of credit for this should go out to Ice Legal for all their work to bring the efforts of Jeffrey Stephan to light!  Congratulations to Ice for this development!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-20/gmac-mortgage-halts-home-foreclosures-in-23-states-including-florida-n-y-.html

Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit told brokers and agents to halt foreclosures on homeowners in 23 states including Florida, Connecticut and New York.

GMAC Mortgage may “need to take corrective action in connection with some foreclosures” in the affected states, according to a two-page memo dated Sept. 17 and obtained by Bloomberg News. Ally Financial spokesman James Olecki confirmed the contents of the memo. Brokers were told to stop evictions, cash-for-key transactions and lockouts, regardless of occupant type, with immediate effect, according to the document, addressed to GMAC preferred agents.

The company will also suspend sales of properties on which it has already foreclosed. The letter tells brokers to notify buyers that the company will extend the closing date on all sales by 30 days. Buyers will be able to cancel their agreement to purchase and get their deposit back, according to the letter.

GMAC Mortgage ranked fourth among U.S. home-loan originators in the first six months of this year, with $26 billion of mortgages, according to industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance. Wells Fargo & Co. ranked first, with $160 billion, and Citigroup Inc. was fifth, with $25 billion.

GMAC was created in 1919 to provide financing for buyers of General Motors Co.’s vehicles. GMAC converted into a bank holding company in 2008 as it received more than $17 billion of government funds during the financial crisis. It rebranded itself Ally Financial last year, and continues to offer auto loans and mortgages.

JUST A SMALL TASTE OF WHAT’S TO COME IN WHAT WILL BE AN EXTRAORDINARILY CHAOTIC ENVIRONMENT…WHICH WILL ONLY BE EXACERBATED WITH THE ROCKET DOCKETS.

IF THE LENDERS ARE NO SUSPENDING, WHY ARE OUR COURTS NOT DOING SO?