Such a mortgage was #0016371056, my house at 350 Cee Run. To make up for occasional payment irregularities, I sent occasional excess payments. Computers kept the accounts, printing out exception reports when cash flow ebbed, but generally keeping mum when cash flow rolled. I was happy with the generally positive growth in equity, but PHH was actually growing cross with the exception reports. They finally called in their substitute trustee down in Texas, Barrett, Burke, Daffin, Frappier, Turner and Engel to straighten things out. We have a rocket docket down here, which is a hard train to stop once it gets under way. I enlisted a federal Chapter 13 Trustee, and we stopped the train while the situation was examined. This was at least the second time that BBDFTE had encountered such an obstacle, the first time being on 12 February 2007, Texas Case 05-90374, representing McCalla Raymer, representing Countrywide, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. At that time they were severely censured for a wide range of misconduct, including [Gasp!] lying to the court about an incorrect payment history. They were told to go and sin no more, and gained valuable experience they should have been able to share with PHH, their client in this remarkably similar case. For whatever reason, the sharing opportunity was missed. BBDFTE is once again stuck in an unenviable position by a client of ill repute, this time before the Western District Bankruptcy Court. Once again, we appear to be suffering through a lengthy ordeal costing the attorneys and their clients substantial time and expense, all to no point, while we await the intervention of a reasonable man. Or woman.
Mortgage banking has always been a lucrative industry. The steady solid growth of money lent at two or three percent, compounded to three or four percent, has enabled the REAL bankers to do the lucrative work of issuing initial public offerings, speculate in commodities, take arbitrage positions on the daily movement of the renminbi, hedge funds and take commissions going in and going out, and pull down returns that require crews of accountants to hide the gains from local tax authorities. But the mortgage people have always been treated like poor country cousins, and kept out of sight in the kitchen. The news is always so boring...did the Frankens send in their payment today? It's been three days now. How much do they owe now? $48,528.12? What is that thing worth anyway? $119,550? What if they don't pay up tomorrow? That's a Fannie Mae house right? What if Fannie Mae folds up Friday afternoon? Well, we won't know, that's the whole point. Who's in charge of this mess? Send in Jenkins, we need to find out a few things...and so it goes. The years pass. The Frankens keep sending in payments. Jenkins keeps scribbling account ledgers. Portfolio values keep fluctuating. Harnischfeger keeps worrying. Long periods of boredom, punctuated by bolts of stress.
Such a mortgage was #0016371056, my house at 350 Cee Run. To make up for occasional payment irregularities, I sent occasional excess payments. Computers kept the accounts, printing out exception reports when cash flow ebbed, but generally keeping mum when cash flow rolled. I was happy with the generally positive growth in equity, but PHH was actually growing cross with the exception reports. They finally called in their substitute trustee down in Texas, Barrett, Burke, Daffin, Frappier, Turner and Engel to straighten things out. We have a rocket docket down here, which is a hard train to stop once it gets under way. I enlisted a federal Chapter 13 Trustee, and we stopped the train while the situation was examined. This was at least the second time that BBDFTE had encountered such an obstacle, the first time being on 12 February 2007, Texas Case 05-90374, representing McCalla Raymer, representing Countrywide, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. At that time they were severely censured for a wide range of misconduct, including [Gasp!] lying to the court about an incorrect payment history. They were told to go and sin no more, and gained valuable experience they should have been able to share with PHH, their client in this remarkably similar case. For whatever reason, the sharing opportunity was missed. BBDFTE is once again stuck in an unenviable position by a client of ill repute, this time before the Western District Bankruptcy Court. Once again, we appear to be suffering through a lengthy ordeal costing the attorneys and their clients substantial time and expense, all to no point, while we await the intervention of a reasonable man. Or woman.
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If all efforts fail in preforeclosure negotiations, and your property comes up for sale, there are certain customs that must be followed. The mortgagor, or his Trustee, must appear physically to represent his interest. Pay attention, because this may be the only time you are physically able to meet. He has probably kept a low profile to this point. It may be an opportunity to question how he came into ownership of the property. Does he live nearby? Has he ever visited? What are his plans for the property after receipt of sale proceeds? The sheriff is nearby, in case of any trouble, so you can feel comfortable during the discussion.
The sheriff will read the property description aloud, in order to fully inform any prospective buyers and maximize the value on sale. This should take some time, and any questions must be raised at that point, for all to discuss and resolve. For instance, what is the neighborhood like? Are there any criminals or registered sex offenders living nearby? Is there a good internet? What is an appurtenance? Is there a new airconditioner outside? If it's sitting on paving blocks, is that attached to the house, or is it the property of the previous resident? Are there any utility easements not described on the county survey? Has the previous owner made any unrecorded agreements with anyone else in the community, such as free grazing or hunting leases? What obligations might pass to the new owner? Does the septic tank work? Who has inspected it recently? Are there any Indians buried on the property? This discussion may be lengthy. There won't be a court recorder, so I would recommend videotape. I have a hard hat with a video camera perched on top, so we can all remember the questions and answers later on. Or you might bring a friend to operate the camera. If the process is not followed correctly, you may ask to void the sale later on. It's always possible the mortgagor will pull the property from sale and reenter negotiations, maybe with a clearer understanding of the situation. Dual tracking is the term used for the process of extracting the last of your liquid assets before intended property seizure and sale. When you make a deal with Suzy or Fred on the telephone to send in a little money on account of you don't have any more, you may be fooled into thinking the money you send in is going toward reducing your obligation, when actually you are making a gift to your mortgagor and prepaying some of his expenses and fees. You're happy to delay the process, Suzy is happy to get an extra $100 or so, and the legal department proceeds to gather their documentation for the scheduled sheriff sale at the county courthouse.
Don't go there! Don't talk to Suzy on the phone. When she answers you might ask, 'Is there someone I might speak with who is responsible and able to make binding agreements on behalf of your corporation?' Or 'Suzy, do you mind if I record this conversation? Could I have your social security number for the record? Yes, a social security number is just something i use to verify your identity later on, just in case we both remember things differently. Yes, I realize in Pakistan you don't have such a thing as social security number, do you have some other form of identity verification? I'm sure there are other people named Suzy over there too. BTW, have you worked for XXXX very long? I didn't realize they had offices so widespread. Oh I see, you work for a service that collects information for a wide variety of companies. Listen, do you know much about refrigerators? Mine appears to be working, but it's making clicking noises occasionally, and I'm not sure exactly why. Usually it hums, you know. Well, it's probably nothing. Is your refrigerator over there running right now? OMG, well I guess you'd better go catch it, darling...' In preforeclosure, don't send money to anyone. Talk to these people in writing only. Your mortgagor is required to provide a single point of contact to deal with whatever issues may arise, and represent the interests of the corporation. My single point of contact was Melanie, who was never at her desk, but always available to return a call after the beep. We never talked. We did correspond, or I should say, I corresponded. I don't know if Melanie was able to type, or even if she actually existed. In preforeclosure, we have a muddy situation. As Kung Fu Tze used to say, the faintest ink outlasts the brightest memory. Ink. Here we sit, with a coffee and roll at the local wifi hotspot, starting out our project. This morning I sent out inquiries to 8 of 22 of the local attorneys here in Texas who may be interested in pursuing a class action against yet another crummy mortgage servicer, set up to insulate their clients from just this sort of expensive, time-consuming and risky process of seizing money and assets from their sheeple. I'm in the final stages of Chapter 13 bankruptcy, expecting to have my case either dismissed or discharged on October 8, 2013, unless we hear differently before then. In November of 2001, I entered into a 15-year mortgage with USAA, who elected to have their mortgage serviced by PHH Mortgage in New Jersey. PHH does business, or has done business in Texas, through 28 different corporate letterheads, all living at Bishop's Gate in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. We never met. We never talked on the phone. I peacefully made electronic payments over the years, well ahead of schedule. In 2012 the company stopped accepting payments, at that time two years prepaid, and started an attempt at illegal foreclosure and sale of the property. I claimed the protection of Chapter 13 bankruptcy on Monday before the scheduled sale on Tuesday. We have a 'rocket-docket' here in Texas, so it is possible for an aggrieved party to seize property quickly, in order to avoid lengthy discussion and expense while title is sorted out. Title issues have become complex over the recent years. It generally works out great, unless there are problems. So now my property is paid off, and I own it free and clear, about three years before expectation. PHH, and their trustee Barrett, Burke, Daffin, Frappier, Turner and Engel, et al. (Does Engel still work here?) have engaged in every form of fraudulent activity imaginable while we've been at loggerheads. Now I have the free time to devote to resolve the issue of collecting my own damages, and to represent a class here in Texas who may have experienced damages from similar unlawful activity. There seems to be a pattern of racketeer influenced corrupt organization here. |
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