I help people all the time with loan modifications. I am a certified mortgage planning specialist. As such, I understand the aspects of a good and bad mortgage and I understand the motivation of the Banks in "helping" the homeowner. LOL! They (Banks) have no motivation...
What I don't understand is how there are so many Lawyers who are now "loan modification" experts. When exactly did they start working in the Mortgage Business?
Notwithstanding, the best way to approach a loan modification is to get the bank to breach their fiduciary responsibilities.
Once again, Nice Work, Mandelman!!!!
Thanks Doc... By the way, I'm learning about the pooling agreements and using bankruptcy as a tool... stick around... this has only just begin to get interesting... Mandelman
Get real. Most of the people charging for modifications are ex mortgage brokers who put people into these c**p loans in the first place. They should be providing the service for free since they didn't get the borrower a decent loan the first time around.
ANY ex broker charging twice (once for the initial c**p loan and a second time to make it an un-c**p loan) is a scammer in my book.
MATTFOLEY...
Okay, fair enough... but brokers can only sell what the banks are offering, right? Plus, brokers are not held to the same standards as are federally chartered commercial banks.
And as far as who made the money as a result of the loans you speak of... I think you'll find that not only did the bankers make zillions more than any broker ever dreamed of by lowering their reserves in 07, but in addition, I don't recall any TARP or FDIC funds going to bail out brokers, do you?
As to the charging of fees... nothing is free... nothing. Obama's plan offers banks money for modifying mortgages AND the banks, including Chase, Wamu, and the rest, are charging homeowners "loan modification fees" of $500-$3,000... I have the paperwork to prove it, and you'll be reading about it soon.
It's the banks, man... it's the banks. You can direct your anger at your broker, you can direct it at "irresponsible homeowners," but it won't change the fact that it's the banks that have bankrupted our economy and it's the banks that stand in our way to recovery. Until we break their hold on our government, we will continue our slide toward depression.
Well done. While I don't think that folks should go it alone, nor are banks watching out for Joe Homeowner, I am slightly amused at all the "Loan Modification Experts" that have popped up. I agree with a previous comment as well... many of the sharks in the loan mod business are the Hacks that couldn't make it in the mtg world.
At the end of the day - Joe Homeowner needs to rely on some of their own good prudence and research who they are looking at doing business with.
My motto in the Loan Mod World? Value before profit and only profit from value! Period.
Chris Brown [aka The Implementer]
Hey Chris... I think it's safe to say that I, and every other reasonable and rational person on the planet would agree with your motto. But, if the government would simply regulate the field, wouldn't the market sort that out pretty darn quick. Sub-standard operators in every industry are identified and go by the wayside. I might take my car to a lousy mechanic, but I guarantee you that the mechanic in question won't be around long. Just a thought...
You might find it interesting that there were roughly 110,000 securities scams reported last year, but no one is telling me not to pay my financial advisor, or attempting to shut the industry down. I wonder why... hmm...
If a bank has a "fiduciary duty" to protect its own interests (under the guise of its shareholders), then how in the h_ll are they going to protect the Borrower's interests - its a classic case of conflict of interest? the mortgage loan is a contract - who do you want to represent your interests in contract negotiations - the people you are negotiating with? Banks are pulling out all the stops to discredit and eliminate loan mod firms that represent the Borrowers. They lose 3rd party authorizations or, in the case of one response I just received today from Bank of America, they are "unable to comply with your request for authorization to _______because the signature of the borrower on your request did not appear to match the signature on the original loan documents."[/b It is time to bring the President, his Administration and the Congress into the real deal world of loan modifications so they understand that the very taxpayers that bailed out the banks continue to be victimized by them day in and day out - it is patently UNCONSTITUTIONAL - as well as immoral, unethical and just plain evil.....[/i]
[b]Hey MIZZVHT...
It is all of those things... but check this out. It's from an article in Bloomberg about loan mods being reported to credit bureaus and causing people's credit scores to drop by 200 points...
Quote:
Consumers who are considering loan modifications should know the exact terms of their agreements, including whether there is a permanent or temporary reduction in the monthly payments, and be wary of signing a waiver of rights, said Barry Zigas, director of housing policy at the Consumer Federation of America in Washington.
Consumers should be wary of signing a waiver of rights? Consumers? That doesn't sound like something a consumer might want to have an attorney weigh in on? Apparently, not to Mr. Zigas. Here's his next line:
Quote:
In addition, they should always work with nonprofit housing counselors, he said.
Yeah, 'cause that's always who I go to when I wary of signing a waiver of my rights... a nonprofit housing counselor. As a matter of fact, that's what my parents always taught me when I was a boy. They said, "son, anytime someone asks you to sign a waiver of your rights, before you do, make sure you find yourself a good nonprofit housing counselor... and if possible try to get yourself a Jewish nonprofit housing counselor."
This guy Zigas is a clown. Here's the last of his quote from the article:
Quote:
Borrowers should also ask their lenders whether they are obtaining modifications through the government program or the lender's own program, and how the changes will be reported to the credit bureaus, Zigas said.
Would someone mind finding Zigas for me? Get me a phone number, an address... email... anything? This guy needs to wake up in the morning with a horses head lying next to him, but in lieu of that, perhaps I could just write him a letter, or two... or maybe one a day for six or seven years. I'm not proud... or tired.
Seriously... help find Zigas... and win fabulous cash and prizes...
Let's stop being naive about who did what. Brokers (including real estate brokers) made a lot of money. But so did the banks AND so did some of their employees. Did we all forget that only a couple of years ago WAMU was investigated for encouraging appraisal reviews that always passed? The appraisal review firm was to either say yes to every appraisal or lose the WAMU account. I even have witnessed many bank underwriters making double or more their annual income with cash donations from brokers to approve loans. Lenders did not perform audits on files to make sure everything made sense and why should they have when in reality they were playing with other peoples money they were lending out (securitization was a marvelous invention by Lenders). And in reality, when you look through the fog, lenders are working on cutting out the brokers completely so they can take full control of the financing world. They need to shurn a profit and soon or else they loose market share and shareholders and shareholders lost means money lost. And why is it that it is everyone's fault but the person that took the loan? Are we saying that all borrowers are completely ignorant? Money was easy to obtain and it fullfilled all the things that we wanted, tv's, cars, travel. We all had a good time and the good time is over for the moment. It will come back again, greed will make sure of that.
Well, Casi... Because I see a big difference between regular people and professionals. Regular people make bad decisions that harm their lives, professionals make calculated decisions that harm hundreds of millions or even billions of people in this country and around the world. Regular people want a house and some creature comforts based on what the professionals say is okay. Professionals want to make billions of dollars and are willing to lie, cheat and steal to achieve their goals.
The banks knew the cash flows they were sending to Wall St. banks were sub-standard. They knew that the underwriting standards had been abandoned, because they bought the sub-prime lenders and approved of their practices. The Wall St. bankers knew too, yet they used these cash flows to construct bonds that they knew would be improperly rated and sold them to investors around the world. Then they lowered their reserves for losses in order to have billions drop to the bottom line and hundreds of millions paid out in bonuses.
One group of people made some bad decisions in hindsight, the other committed criminal fraud on a scale never before contemplated.
As to Realtors and mortgage brokers... well, they made a bunch in commissions, but I'm pretty sure they've broken even by now, aren't you?
I'm not trying to be a jerk in this, and I do agree with you that there are many at fault to varying degree... but I don't think it's unfair to assess the situation in terms of who did what to whom and come up with one group more guilty than the rest. And it's the banks... no question about it.
Then let's talk bailouts. How much did the homeowners, the brokers and the realtors get in bailout funds? Let's see... carry the 3... oh yeah... none. And the banks... well, I'm going to need a calculator that goes into the trillions.
The banks would love nothing more than to shove all the blame onto the borrower. Banks have the resources to discern value of a property and they have the ability to nix any deal. If a bank lends an amount on a property, it is tantamount to an assertion by them that they would TAKE the property as payment FOR the property. If banks want to predicate repayment on amounts they assess as the value then jingle mail should constitute payment in full. If I give a home back to the bank in a condition similar to how I purchased it and the bank doesn't have to give me anything in return, how are THEY being shortchanged?
Thank you Carrierpigeon... I appreciate you saying so and I hope to see you around more often. I plan to write more of the same and I need someone who sees things clearly as you obviously do. The only way the banks are being shortchanged, is.... wait, there is no way the banks are being short changed... over changed, maybe.
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