Homeowners pay for customer service as part of their monthly mortgage payment

. . . then the servicer is nothing more than a debt collector subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the exception in that statute for servicers is not available

April Charney:

One reason it is important for the homeowner to be able to access the note holder is to be able to access legal rights to servicing under the mortgage. 

Normally there needs to be a demand for performance before a breach of contract can be declared by a homeowner and legal recourse pursued. 

Homeowners pay for customer service as part of their monthly mortgage payment.

Every PSA binds the servicer and the trustee of these REMIC trusts to manage the trust consistant with best practice servicing and the law of contracts implies a good faith obligation in every consumer contract that brings with it the obligation to best practice servicing.

Servicing includes delinquent loan servicing to avoid foreclosure within 45 days of an initial payment default and notice of these right is part of the duty. 

It is not part of the consumer's bargained for exchange to deal with a claimed agent performing (or not) for an undisclosed principal. 

Now, TILA gives consumers the right to this information. 

And, if the servicer is working for a principal who does not own the debt or did not acquire the debt until post default, then the servicer is nothing more than a debt collector subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the exception in that statute for servicers is not available.  Homeowners have stand alone claims against the debt collectors that are separate from claims against the owners of the loans.

Virginia Beach Solo Suspended

Partly for Implying His Law Firm Was Bigger

A Virginia solo practitioner has been suspended partly for holding out his law firm as a bigger operation.

Jason Matthew Head, a Virginia Beach lawyer, began calling his law firm Jason Head & Associates in May 2009, although he was the only lawyer in the firm, according to findings cited by a three-judge court. His website identified nonexistent practice groups, falsely stated his firm had three locations, and implied that a nonlawyer was actually a lawyer associate, the opinion (PDF) says. The Legal Profession Blog has the story.

The panel also found that Head overdrew his IOLTA account and did not maintain the required records. He also failed to pay a $7,500 settlement in a suit against his firm for alleged violations of the federal debt collection law, the opinion said.

The panel imposed a 30-day suspension and a one-year period of probation. During the suspension, Head will be required to retain a law office management consultant.

Head did not return a phone call requesting comment.

45 AUTO PRODUCT SAFETY WARNING

Ammo Recall

2/07/11

FEDERAL and AMERICAN EAGLE

45 AUTO PRODUCT SAFETY WARNING

Immediate Action Required

FEDERAL CARTRIDGE COMPANY • 900 BOB EHLEN DRIVE • ANOKA, MN 55303 • PHONE 763.323.2300 • Toll Free: 1-800-322-2342

Certain lots of recently manufactured 45 Auto ammunition may contain an incorrect propellant
charge. Use of product from these lots may result in firearm damage and possible
serious injury.

DO NOT USE PRODUCT FROM THE FOLLOWING LOTS:

38X628 through 38X765
38T401 through 38T414

If you have in your possession any 45 Auto with the following brand names and part numbers,
check to see if your ammunition package contains the above lots: American Eagle® (AE45A,
AE45N1, or AE45A250), Champion™ (WM5233), GoldMedal® (GM45B), Hi-Shok® (45C, 45D)
and Federal® Personal Defense® (C45C, C45D).

THIS WARNING APPLIES ONLY TO THE LOTS LISTED ABOVE.

If you possess ammunition from any of these lots, or have questions concerning this warning, please contact us
at 1-800-831-0850 or 1-800-322-2342 and ask for Product Service.

Federal will provide replacement product
and will cover the cost of returning the affected product.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

State Recordation Fees/MERS and More Tax Evasion

Over the past several years, the real estate industry in the United States has undergone a near collapse. House prices have been reduced so far by 25% nationwide due to the bursting of real estate bubble. The only vibrant part of the real estate market in the present economic recovery is the millions of foreclosed homes being sold to bargain hunters.

Some smaller States, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Alaska, have managed to avoid a big downturn in prices and hope to continue to do so. The big States most affected by the real estate disaster though, California, Michigan, Nevada, Florida, have lost more than one-half on home values in many major cities.

The History

The Wall Street investment banks, beginning in the late 1980s, initiated and bought millions of home mortgage loans to be repackaged as Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) and sold to investors across the country and the world. In order to have their investment offerings certified as safe by the investment ratings agencies, the Wall Street banks used almost exclusively Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac qualified mortgages on the assumption such loans have already undergone a serious scrutiny under federal regulations. In reality though the two quasi-government agencies did little to oversee the quality of the of the mortgage loans they were certifying, buying and selling.

The MBS marketing effort worked. The ratings agencies, paid huge fees solely by the investment banks, certified the Wall Street MBS offerings as mostly prime-grade investments. Congress, Fannie Mae and the Security and Exchange Commission greatly encouraged the MBS trade. Now, millions upon millions of these same mortgage loans are delinquent, some for longer than two years. Millions upon millions more American households still paying their mortgage have a property that is worth far less now than the mortgage loan balance.

It has been discovered that most of the loans in the Wall Street MBS packages and those held by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, in fact, did not meet federal regulatory standards, not even close. Just about every player in the real estate industry had a large hand in this fraud: mortgage lenders, banks, sellers, buyers, brokers, appraisers, lawyers, middlemen, federal and state agencies, Congress and last five Presidents. The result is a home foreclosure rate that is unheard of already and looking likely to accelerate.

But the same Wall Street banks that bought off the ratings agencies and the government in order to cheat their customers and got away with it could not stop themselves from also committing massive tax evasion and the blatant violation of state laws across the nation with almost all of their MBS offerings. This is the fraud that might place the majority of US home ownership titles into serious question.

Snakes in a House

American Banker

January 27, 2011

By Sara Lepro and Kate Berry and Marc Hochstein

Repossessed homes are often a target for vandals. But one such house on the market in Idaho has what amounts to a unique built-in security system.
The five-bedroom, two-bath home has become widely known as the "Idaho snake house."
A report in the Rexburg Standard Journal last week said the most recent owners of the home, Ben and Amber Sessions, were told by their real estate agent that the previous owners fabricated a story about the house being infested with snakes because they did not want to pay their mortgage.

But it turns out the story was no tall tale.

After the Sessionses began seeing a number of garter snakes around the house, they searched online for information. A query for "Idaho snake house" turned up a TV news report about their home and the ordeal the previous owners had faced.

The Sessionses have since filed for bankruptcy, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. has seized the home, the report said.

In December, an inspector estimated that 400 to 500 snakes were in the house. The latest assessment is that there are thousands, the report said.

The house is listed at $109,200, but if it weren't for the snakes, the listing agent estimated, it would be worth about $175,000.

"The real estate agent is disclosing the issue to potential buyers," JPMorgan Chase spokesman Tom Kelly said by e-mail.
Garter snakes are considered harmless to humans. But they are known to secrete a foul odor when alarmed. Who needs guard dogs?