I'm really seeing something wierd going on here:
- Mortgage Compaines blowing up.
- Mortgage companies thriving.
Clients are making the shift. B
ig box lenders are so big that they're collapsing on top of their own clients.
I'm dealing with a top three lender rignt now...
As an Attorney!
I've been contacted by the client. The lender had been accepting the mortgage payments, cashing them in and, oh yes.....reporting to the credit bureaus that they hadn't made a payment for nine months and therefore the big box lender began the foreclosure process.
I've spent hours upon hours with the client getting disconnected repeatedly. I'm an attorney looking to help my client, but many disconnections....we called again and again and the bank representative gave us their name and number. Each time we'd call back and invariably each extension was invalid, or surprisingly enough, "Crystal doesn't work at this extension."....can you say....
C'mon now!!!!
I call the president of our company and told him of the fiasco. He found a high up contact in that top three fortune 500 mortgage company to investigate the my client's allegations. What's such an paradox is that they're suing a client for foreclosure claiming that she's failed to make payments. In the mean time she's provided all the statements and cancelled checks to prove that she's never been late with them. As an attorney, I've told her that she has a cause of action against this mortgage company since they they're destroying her credit by reporting he not only as late, but also in foreclosure when the proof is contrary.
But Now??? How about an Update!!!!!
The latest as of this week???? This big box today agreed....to an extent and said the following...
We acknowledge that you've made your payments and made the payments on time. We just don't know where the money is within our company.
Are You Friggin Kidding Me!!!!! That's one caring mortgage company.
"We acknowledge that you've paid on time, but we're not ready to clear your credit or stop the mortgage foreclosure until we can figure out what we did with your money?"
There's a Major Shift Gooing on with Consumers now!!!!
Mortgage Companies are shooting up the list of the top 100 even in a market when big box lenders are collapsing and more are poised to collapse, great companies are rising to the top. Why? Because consumers are begging for someone to care about them.
It used to be that consumers wanted the lowest rate on the block. Now they want a good rate, a really good rate, but for the biggest financial transaction of their lives, they'll trade a little rate to have qualified people investing in their families. They want a relationship. They don't want crappy service for a lower rate.
There are a lot of great companies out there that offer great rates and exceptional service. They might not be the lowest rate in town, but they're fair and they will create a relationship with the client that will inevitably end up with a client for life. Big box???? Transactional, not relational. I'm sorry, I'll take relational over transactional any day. It may not be the cheapest rate in town, but to the client, it's a lot more cost effective. And with the biggest investment in your life isn't it good to have a relationship as well as a point of contact?
If you choose, you can find me here:
NMLS ID#158606 
An Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee
Banks can get away with everything. Your clients needs to file a complaint with the
Bear Stearns and its subsidiary, EMC Mortgage, have agreed in principle to pay a multi-million dollar fine to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that they engaged in unlawful practices while servicing consumers' home mortgage loans. The FTC-which works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid the-charged the two companies with misrepresenting the amounts borrowers owed, charging unauthorized fees-such as late fees, property inspection fees, and loan modification fees-and engaging in unlawful and abusive collection practices.
The proposed settlement requires Bear Stearns and EMC to pay $28 million to redress consumers who have been injured by the illegal practices alleged in the complaint. In addition, the settlement bars both companies from future violations and imposes new restrictions and requirements on their business practices. Specifically, the settlement:
Good article Ralph.
As I have been saying, the culprits were the Wall Streeters. More will surface on their "fruadulent" business practices. But it is not limited to just Bear Stearns and thier subsidiary mortgage operations, the same practices were used by Merrill Lynch and Lehman Bros.
Other mortgage servicing companies as well employed and are employing "fraudulent" pracitces. As I keep saying, the "real" problem is at the top. Clean them up and we can clean up much of the fraud.
However, the current economic crisis, is now world wide as many European countries are either in or going into Recession. But the cause of many of their problems are directly related to the billions of dollars of investments in our real estate backed securities.
We need not lose sight of the fact that not only were these securities fraudulently rated, there were in fact totally fraud loans with forged signatures on mortgage notes that were put into the various pools by Wall Street. This action was not just a mistake it was deliberate.
But here again, a $28 million fine to a company (JP Morgan) that just got a free gift of $55 Billion. The fine is just .051% of the "free Fed Gift". Notice no criminal or civil prosecution for wrong doing. The little guy would have been indicted, arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to time.
Where is the justice for all those affected?
Comment by Larry Rubinoff - September 10, 2008 @ 2:29 pm
Fear not, Larry; just yesterday JPMorgan Chase-which was accused of participating in fraudulent accounting practices that lead to Enron's collapse-was ordered to pay $2.2 Billion to make Enron shareholders somewhat whole again. CIBC got hit up for $2.4 Billion, Citigroup for $2 Billion, and Arthur Andersen, Lehman and Bank of America for a combined $600 Million.
Comment by Michael Anthony - September 10, 2008 @ 2:44 pm
Michael, thanks for that update and info. Monetary fines are ok yet the numbers don't do any harm to those companies. My real point is, if it is fraud then it is illegal. If it is illegal then someone should be punished.
One guy reported on in a previous blog got 330 years for defrauding people out of 24 million. I not saying he should have gone free but come on, 330 years and the fraud committed in accounting and probably in SEC filings just get the equivalent of a slap on the wrist.
If you have a seat at the table you are immune to prosecution for wrong doing. JP Morgan's fine you describe does nothing. The fact that they were handed Bear Stearns on a silver platter lined with $55 billion and got the Bear Stearns building which was worth more then the purchase price itself is an issue. Remember they only paid $250 million for the Bear but was handed $55 billion before the closing. So in reality, it cost them nothing. ANd the fines for wrong doing cost them nothing. There is still plenty of free money left over.
Let me make an offer here for Merrill Lynch or Lehman Brothers, both ailing as Bear Stearns was. I will pay their asking price if the Fed will give me $55B. What are my chances? I don't have that seat.
Comment by Larry Rubinoff - September 10, 2008 @ 2:57 pm
I am a victim of EMC. All the charges that the FTC made against them happened to us. I made countless calls to the FBI, FTC since 2002 & was blown off. I fought hard for years to prove all my payments were made. In the end- All payments were found except one. I lost 80,000 in equity & was charged 27,000 in late fee's, fines, legal fee's, force placed insurance, excrow messes & huge unexplained corporate advances. All because they "LOST" one payment back in 2002, when they bought the loans from the FDIC. (It was a Superior Bank loan)
We tried to make up the difference. We signed a forebearance aggreement & made double plus payments for over 2 years-only to find that our balance they "told" me was still owed was more than we had borrowed 7 years prior. All their fee's ate up the extra moneys sent each month, plus some.
Nothing would stop them from seizing my home. They continued to send threatoning letters & made daily collection calls demanding payments- for 3 full months AFTER they sold the home, until I had my lawyer send them them the proof that they already sold the home.
Over 3 years later they now find out that all the complaints that I made were true. They distroyed my life. They stole a multigenerational home from my family. They distroyed our credit & we have tried hard to recover from this-but to no avail- our credit is still trashed. All this because they were "ALLOWED" to continue on with their deception & terrorism of myself & thousands of others.
I have not heard even a whisper of news if the court accepted their settlement agreement. Not a word of how they are going to give us restitution. With the small amount settled, divided amongst all of us victims- it's pennies in comparison to what they stole.
Comment by Molly Madison - November 3, 2008 @ 11:27 am
I am also a victim or the verysame practices, fake documents home over appraised by over one hundred thousands, bait and switch mortgage terms, bumped up price of home by over sixty thousand dollars , stole ten thousand dollars that was to be cashed out. charge insurance when i already had it. majority of documents were never signed, they even signed some. this loan didnt originate through emc, but emc should have know when they took it something was wrong a single family appraised at about $350k then giving me a loan of $488k robbery, i have been dealing with this loan which almost bankrupt me to spend a 37k 401k and all reserves saved which was almost 20k , loan monthly payment was $3444.00 on a $40 k salary, they broker and appraiser and title company all were in cohoots and called the company broker worked for he has been fired and they dont know where he is , talked to a few other brokers there to see if they still had my loan and they said no but they knew that he had been fired months before i called for bad loan practices , no more like robbery . they sold my loan before i could even get the papers in the mail and then emc starting calling me before i had even received the first mortgage statement, i mean immediately three four phone calls a day . but before they sold my loand to emc they had sold it to sally mae same month i got loan and then sally mae to emc who now services took months to get copies from title company which was cut and paste nothing showed on my documents same sent to attorney general and bank of commissions, and ftc. now still waiting to see what these people will do to redress my loss.
Comment by barbara mills - November 23, 2008 @ 9:53 am
The fraud and cover ups are still on going. The government does not want information like this out to the public.
Even these bailouts are fraud laced with lies. Let's look at one of them.
The TARP was to be used to buy back bad loans from the banks. That is how it was sold to Congress and to the public. Now comes Secretary of the Treasury Paulson and says that this is not going to happen, the money is going to be used to help the banks prop up their capitalization and to fund their acquisitions.
I beleive there was never a plan as originally proposed as that plan was frankly not possible. How can you buy back loans from the bank when the bank doesn't own that loan anymore. The banks sold them either into the subprime secondary market which was to Bear Strearns, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Bros. Others were sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Either way the banks have been Paid In Full for the loans that were supposed to be bought back.
As to the fine of 28 million dollars, as I said in my earlier comment, just a slap on the wrist. No one mentions the fact that J.P. Morgan Chase got 55 Billion Dollars from the Fed to acquire Bear Stearns and EMC for a total purchase price of 250 Million Dollars.
Let's do the math: 55 Billion Dollars less the purchae price of 250 Million Dollars leaves a balance of 54 Billion 750 Million Dollars. Less the 28 Million Dollar fine leaves Chase/Bear Strearns/EMC with a total of 54 Billion 722 Million Dollars.
Not a bad days work for being found guilty. Keep up the good work Secretary Paulson. I am sure that your former employer - Goldman Sachs - is having the same type of business success while the rest of the country and the average citizen is going broke supporting this business plan rightfully called a TARP.
A TARP is used to cover things up like a damaged roof after a storm. This TARP is being used to cover the fraud at the highest levels of Corporate America. At least after a hurricane, FEMA gives TARPs out free to those in need. But then again, this TARP is free to Corporate Banking America paid for by you, me, our children and their children for years to come.
Comment by Larry Rubinoff - November 23, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
I am just a simple lay person who waited 4 months for Fifth Third BANK after applying for hardship assistance, and receiving confirmation from Fifth Third that they had my information (saved all emails and fax confirmations) . I made 2 payments, I work full time, and I have a devastating disease, and was hospitalized throughout the ordeal, but I did not here from Fifth Third until I was 4 months behind when Rita Marrara told me on 4/2/09-they could not help me because Bear Stearns owned my mortgage, -this information was never disclosed to me. Isn't it a law that your Bank inform you if they sell your mortgage?
they are offering me a 5% interest, which will still be difficult for me to pay, however , should I sign for the modification?
patricia 847-338-4745
Comment by Patricia A Johnson - April 21, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
EMC is currently so-call modification of my loan. Their requesting that be placed in a $1300 repayment loan program for 3 months continued on to 6 months. Due to EMC not having the federal guidelines in place, put me on another repayment plan for 6 more months and now I've received a EMC loan modification contact for payments of $1,719 for three months due on the June 1st, July 1st and August 1st, 2009. I feel their dragging this out for several months. I was told that the delinquent taxes would be paid and insurance as well. No one has contacted me regarding this matter. I have been in continual contact with EMC for several months. I will need to get away from this. I'm in the process of contacting the President Obama for clarity.
Help, help who do I turn too?
Comment by W. Maxwell - June 15, 2009 @ 3:30 am
My mortgage use to be with upland now it is with emc mortgage corporation. They have been sending us foreclosure notices back to back even though payments were being made. We went to mediatiion for the forebearance and an agreement was made. Now they are sending us foreclosure notices since janauary. Instead of the loan going down it keeps going up. The mediation was a joke because now they are saying we are not paying and we have kept the receipts. They are not posting any payments or leaving any paper trails. Emc mtg. needs to be audited immediately for i believe they are committing mtg fraud and theft to their customers. Help who do i turn to.
Comment by Judith Josey - June 30, 2009 @ 2:36 pm
Judith,
I fought the same battle and ended up contacting my local congressman' office. They (Congressman) were able to get EMC to modify my loan and work out all the details.
However, once the papers where signed and executed it took 10 days for EMC to claim I am in default and they are beginning foreclosure procedings. The first payment under the new mortgage isn't due for another 20 days.
Al
Comment by Al Cialone - July 2, 2009 @ 3:31 pm
To W. Maxwell, Judith Josey and Al Cialone:
If you will all contact me by email at lrubinoff@themortgagecorner.org I will try to guide you.
Loan Servicing companies have their own agenda - PROFIT. They are not concerned with you, the homeowner or the current state of our economy. In fact, they are contributing to our nation's economic cirisis each day.
Loan modifications by servicing companies are a sham for the most part. I say this because the vast majority of these attempts at modifications DO NOT SUCCEED, they are not done.
We are all led to believe that the "banks" are working hard at helping all of us in distress. But remember, it was these same banks that got us to this point.
I ahve so many people telling me that they have been offerred a loan modification by their bank. First of all, it is NOT your bank, it IS the servicing comapnay, basically a collection and records keeping company many of which are owned by the banks whose name they carry. EMC was owned by Bear Sterns - one of the prime participants in the meltdown. Bear was acquired by a large loan made by the Federal Reserve late on a Sunday evening. Long before anyone in Congress or the media could be made aware of what was happening. J.P. Morgan/Chase got the loan to buy the company which INCLUDED EMC.
The banks did what they did FOR PROFIT, they are doing what they are doing for PROFIT and to make the PROFIT they have to prey on all of us.
Your Congressman cannot help you but if all of us wrote our Congressmen perhaps the will of the people would force them into the investigations of the fraud they committed and are still committing against the American people.
We are being scammed by the banks on mortgages and credit cards. Little is being said about the credit card crisis but it is bad.
Take note America, there is still much trouble brewing and we are far from being out of the woods.
Comment by Larry Rubinoff - July 5, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
I too went from one original company to Superior, to EMC, which in now Chase. I don't think they have my original note. While doing some research I came across this GREAT source of the scam that is going on by Chase and other "pretend lenders." Check it out.
"Now that the bubble has burst "lenders" are trying to collect on loans they do not own, in most cases never lent a dime on the transaction, have no right to, or were paid 30 times over in bailouts, insurance, credit default swaps, etc..."
"In almost every case these "pretender lenders" do not and did not own your loan. Almost all loans during the boom were securitized and it was investors that put up the money. Not the banks. Now the "pretender lenders" may be trying to unrightfully take peoples homes by filing possible fraudulent assignments to process the foreclosures."
The author provides proof of JP Morgan Chase committing multiple counts of fraud, forgeries and Notary - Foreclosure Agent collusion and that's just in Florida.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/20916919/Foreclosure-Fraud-Guide-to-Looking-up-Public-Records-for-Fraud
Comment by Annie - November 1, 2009 @ 1:39 pm