JPM Chase Won't Evict 104 Year Old Atlanta Woman

Once the local media gets involved it is kind of tough for Chase (or Deutsche Bank) to foreclose on a 104 year old woman's house. The elderly lady has lived there for over 50 years with her 80 year old daughter. But somewhere along the line, a family member took out a loan on the home and didn't pay the mortgage. The bank recognizing a bad PR move around the holidays decided to call off the sheriff deputies and moving van in order score points with Atlanta's citizenry.

The man who foreclosed on Bank of America

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John Oliver of comedy central's "The Daily Show" filed a report on how the Bank of America foreclosed on a couple that had paid cash for their house. This Florida couple never had a mortgage let alone a home loan with Bank of America. Nonetheless, the bank foreclosed on the couple.

After they dealt with the issue at some level of expense, the married couple hired a rookie lawyer to try and get their money back from the North Carolina financial institution. The bank ignored their requests for months, so the couple foreclosed on their local BoA branch, hired a moving a company and went to the location with a Sheriff to foreclose and confiscate the banks furniture and other assets to get the value of their judgement.

Needless to say, after a few phone calls BoA cut the couple a check. While this skit has a lot of laughs, the story is all still true.

Banks Can't Foreclose on Some Homeowners in Massachusetts

Bloomberg recently reported that the Massachusetts Supreme court ruled against Wells Fargo and US Bancorp.

Essentially, the high court agreed with a lower courts ruling that the foreclosure process the banks imposed against some lenders was not valid because the banks could not prove that they were indeed owners of the note.

The judges acknowledged that the families were not paying their monthly mortgage payment; but unless the financial firms can "show the note" or otherwise prove that they were holders of the mortgage during the time of the foreclosure, then the proceedings can not go through.

Such judicial voiding of foreclosures is getting more and more common has homeowners' lawyers are asking the Countrywides & Bank of Americas of the world to "Produce the note"... At the very least such strategies may delay your eviction a few weeks or months, or as in extreme cases (such as those in metro-Boston) the foreclosures will be thrown out.

Consumerist Highlights the "Show the Note" strategy to delay foreclosure

Today the Consumerist blog the editors showed a story about how homeowners can delay foreclosure by asking the bank to show the note.

Beleaguered homeowners who can't pay their mortgages and risk losing their property to banks can try a Hail Mary pass to keep sticky-fingered bankers away from their real estate. They can ask banks to show them the promissory note that they signed during closing, promising to pay the mortgage. If the bank can't immediately dig up the paperwork, homeowners will most likely buy some more time.

CNN's Produce the Note Strategy to Delay Foreclosure

Whether you are facing foreclosure, have an underwater mortgage, or are just a concerned homeowner, it's important that you contact your bank and demand to see the original note on your mortgage.

Your home could be owned by the wrong bank, or you could even be paying the wrong amount on your mortgage.

This clip was recently on CNN and helps homeowners who are behind on their payments learn how they can search for a lawyer and ask the courts to have the mortgage bank or servicer produce the note (and hopefully they don't use a robo-signer).... This technique may be able to buy your family several extra months in your home.

California with nine kids Breaks Locks and Reclaims Foreclosed Homes

This local California family with 9 kids went to the extreme to keep their foreclosed house. They originally purchased the house many years ago for over $500,000 and eventually borrowed over $1 million on the property---Needless to say, after a little while they fell behind on their monthly payments and got evicted.

Well after foreclosure-gate and the wrath of the robo-signers signing fraudulently on loan documents the family of Jim and Danielle Earl hired a lawyer so that they could stay on Mustang Drive. Well they managed to get a locksmith to open up the house for them and they moved in---effectively squatting in their old residence. Which must tick off the investor who acquired the property, invested tens-of-thousands of dollars in fixing it up prior to selling it to a new owner... The Earls managed to break in before the new family took position.

In my opinion, the Earls are fully taking advantage of the situation... They borrowed $1 million and now want to own the home free and clear with out paying anything. I think they are delaying the inevitable; but this situation may cost the title insurance company a lot of aggravation seeing as how the title has been based to 2 different people after the Earls.

Will my state stop foreclosures?

According to Bloomberg the attorney generals of 40 states may choose to start legal action to stop banks from foreclosing on thousands of homeowners who have fallen behind on their monthly payments.

According to the article:

State attorneys general led by Iowa’s Tom Miller are in talks that may lead to the announcement of a coordinated probe as soon as Oct. 12, said the person, who declined to be identified because a final agreement hasn’t been reached. The number of states may change because several are still deciding whether to join the investigation, the person said.

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King said today in a statement that his state will join a multi-state effort. Lawyers representing the banks are expecting a more widespread investigation, according to Patrick McManemin, a partner at Patton Boggs LLP, a Washington-based law firm that represents banks, loan servicers and financial institutions. Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender, today extended a freeze on foreclosures to all 50 states.

How do I legally avoid or delay foreclosure?

Jeff Lerman, "The Real Estate Investor's Lawyer" , on Fox News, discussing "7 Ways To Legally Delay or Avoid Foreclosure".

And one of the most important ways to have the mortgage company or servicing company legally produce the original mortgage note. The homeowner is also well advised to show up for all court dates--Ask your lawyers, ask the judge what your options are---maybe even show up in court a few days early and watch what other people do for their cases... You'll be able to learn what works and what doesn't. Avoid what doesn't work and try to repeat was does work---Remember you're fighting to stay in your house and stop foreclosure---Or at least delay it.

Federal Truth in Lending Act may be able to stop your foreclosure

NBC News has recently issued a story about 50 lawyers that help consumers fight foreclosure. It follows people who have fallen behind on their mortgage, and then utilize the Federal Truth in Lending Act, which may be able to void the mortgage if a lawyer finds $35 worth of mistakes in the contract.

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In an extreme case, the Mosby's got their house mortgage fee, via suing the mortgage lender.

Stop Foreclosure--Show the Note

One strategy that borrowers can do to delay or stop foreclosure is to go to court and ask the lender to "Produce the note" or "Show the note"



The borrower needs to request the lender to "produce the note" in order to have the lending institution prove that they own the debt. There have been cases of homeowners getting foreclosed on by 2 different mortgage companies--each thinking that they have the first lien on the property.

This isn't a way to stay in your house for free, but can work as a bargaining chip to negotiate a workable payment plan with the mortgage company and stop your foreclosure.

Stop Foreclosure--Consider a Short Sale

If you have fallen behind in your mortgage payments and the bank has started the foreclosure process---do something about it.

One option to consider is asking the bank about possibility of a Short Sale on your home.

Suppose that you purchased a $320,000 house in 2007 and got a $280,000 mortgage on the property. There's a chance that real-estate prices in some areas (California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona) have dropped by more than 25%---That means your house is now worth only $240,000. Even if you have made a years worth of mortgage payments, you still owe ~$280,000 on your house that is only worth $240,000!

Call up the bank, ask to speak to the loss mitigation department (This works best if you're a few months behind in your mortgage payments), explain to the loss mitigation department your financial difficulties, and ask to get their OK to pursue a short-sale. This means that the bank will let you find a buyer in the marketplace who will buy the house for a value less than the outstanding mortgage balance. (Say $225,000 in our example).

This means, (1) you don't get foreclosed on (2) The bank doesn't want to own properties--they want to own loans that are paying off---The bank is better off b/c they never take possession of the property (3) The new home buyer is happy b/c they get a home at a fair price.

Call up your bank---Ask for a Short Sale

Welcome to Stop Foreclosure

This blog is meant to offer you tips and advice on things to consider for stopping or delaying foreclosure. I am not an attorney, nor do I claim to be an attorney. If you are going through the foreclosure process, it is best that you get legal representation and speak with an attorney.

The most straight forward way to stop foreclosure is to pay-off your mortgage, but more than likely, you don't have a rich uncle to help you out, and there's a good chance that your mortgage is underwater---meaning that you owe more on your house than what you could sell it for.

If that's the case, there's a few options you should consider--to delay or stop the foreclosure process.