I encourage every single consumer to review carefully the terms of the National Mortgage Settlement. When the banks signed the settlement, they agreed to abide by very strict requirements….not new requirements mind you, but MERELY RESTATEMENTS OF EXISTING LAWS.
Importantly, they agreed to correct already filed affidavits that were false, misleading or legally insufficient:
In pending cases in which such affidavits, sworn statements or
Declarations may have been filed, Servicer shall, at Servicer’s
expense, take appropriate action, consistent with state and federal
law and court procedure, to substitute such affidavits with new
affidavits and provide appropriate written notice to the borrower or
borrower’s counsel.
And yet, here we are many, many months after the fact, with hundreds of thousands of foreclosure cases still working their way through the system and:
I have yet to see a single solitary affidavit or document that has been corrected or brought to my attention…AS THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY REQUIRED TO UNDER THE TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT!
Has any consumer, any attorney, any party ever seen any pleading or statement issued by the banks which correct the false information supplied by the banks? My guess is NO. And that begs the question….
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO ENFORCE THE TERMS OF THE NATIONAL MORTGAGE SETTLEMENT?
From the settlement terms:
Servicer shall ensure that factual assertions made in pleadings
(complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim, answer or similar
pleadings), bankruptcy proofs of claim (including any facts
provided by Servicer or based on information provided by the
Servicer that are included in any attachment and submitted to
establish the truth of such facts) (” POC”), Declarations, affidavits,
and sworn statements filed by or on behalf of Servicer in judicial
foreclosures or bankruptcy proceedings and notices of default,
notices of sale and similar notices submitted by or on behalf of
Servicer in non-judicial foreclosures are accurate and complete and
are supported by competent and reliable evidence. Before a loan is
referred to non-judicial foreclosure, Servicer shall ensure that it has
reviewed competent and reliable evidence to substantiate the
borrower’s default and the right to foreclose, including the
borrower’s loan status and loan information.
2. Servicer shall ensure that affidavits, sworn statements, and
Declarations are based on personal knowledge, which may be
based on the affiant’s review of Servicer’s books and records, in
accordance with the evidentiary requirements of applicable state or
federal law.
3. Servicer shall ensure that affidavits, sworn statements and
Declarations executed by Servicer’s affiants are based on the
affiant’s review and personal knowledge of the accuracy and
completeness of the assertions in the affidavit, sworn statement or
Declaration, set out facts that Servicer reasonably believes would
be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant is competent
to testify on the matters stated.
Read the terms of the agreement and make complaints when you see violations:
