Monday, April 26, 2010

In Cold Blood (w/ apologies to Truman Capote and the Clutter Family)


(Update: Considering the seriousness of this matter and the stakes involved, I'm keeping this post at the top of my index page until at least April 26th. Any new posts can be found directly below. If you have a blog, please write about this and shame these people into doing the right thing. This is my political soul sister we're talking about here.)

True crime can take many forms. It can be about serial murder, terrorism, rape, kidnappings. Yet, somehow, either through honest, innocent omission or perhaps by design, white collar crime such as the kind we’ve been seeing on Wall Street, especially in the last several years, never gets included in the annals of true crime. In fact, white collar executive crime hasn’t even been assigned a genre.

Truman Capote’s latter day classic “In Cold Blood”, arguably his best book, was about a mass murder that took place in Kansas when a pair of thrill-seekers named Dick Hickock and Perry Smith senselessly slaughtered the Clutter family in 1959. Is the comparison between this story of white collar crime and Capote’s classic about the Clutter family’s murder unnecessarily dramatizing the situation? Perhaps.

But how is losing your house to foreclosure, even after making your bloated mortgage payments in the wake of a predatory loan, not dramatic? What makes it even more dramatic is that the victim, in this case, is one of our own, Alicia Morgan of Last Left Turn B4 Hooterville.

Not too long ago, Alicia had written and published a too-neglected book entitled, “The Price of Right,” one of the most searing and methodical indictments of how the neocon wing of the Republican Party has led Middle America down the not so merry primrose path to economic, political and social hell. So in a cruelly poetic way, as with the nurse or doctor who finally succumbs to the illness they treat in their patients, Alicia and her family have now become the victim of the same predatory lending and harvesting practices that have become so common they’ve inspired a website called Shame the Banks. It’s a community of people who have horror stories to tell about their experiences with mortgages and Alicia has her own page here.

Long story short, our sister in arms has been living in the same house in Sherman Oaks, CA for nearly 20 years. It’s a house that was first bought by her husband in 1983. Well, some time ago, her husband took out a loan on the house to the tune of $400,000 (far more than the house has ever been appraised).

The deal was, you pay back the loan by making obscenely high mortgage payments for a year and a half ($3500 a month), every month without fail, and we’ll modify your loan and renegotiate your mortgage. To paraphrase Alicia, they pulled the money out of their asses even when they didn’t have it and didn’t miss a payment.

Then a strange thing happened on the way to the Promised Land. Suddenly their lender, which used to be IndyMac but was bought by a consortium called OneWest, didn’t want to negotiate with the Morgans or even their broker. Time after time, they’ve sent out requests to OneWest for RESPA documents through certified mail and have received no documents. What’s RESPA and why does OneWest not want the Morgans to have them?

Well, according to HSH Associates’ website, The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act is simply defined thusly:
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) is a consumer protection statute, first passed in 1974. One of its purposes is to help consumers become better shoppers for settlement services. Another purpose is to eliminate kickbacks and referral fees that increase unnecessarily the costs of certain settlement services. RESPA requires that borrowers receive disclosures at various times. Some disclosures spell out the costs associated with the settlement, outline lender servicing and escrow account practices and describe business relationships between settlement service providers.

RESPA also prohibits certain practices that increase the cost of settlement services. Section 8 of RESPA prohibits a person from giving or accepting anything of value for referrals of settlement service business related to a federally related mortgage loan. It also prohibits a person from giving or accepting any part of a charge for services that are not performed. Section 9 of RESPA prohibits home sellers from requiring home buyers to purchase title insurance from a particular company.

Bottom line: Alicia, her husband and their three kids will be evicted in less than 12 days with nowhere to go because the bank is going to put the property up for sale on April 26th unless a miracle happens and, frankly, I don’t think its name will be Dianne Feinstein.

But what incentive does OneWest have to do the right thing and to allow homeowners like Alicia and her husband to stay in their houses? Absolutely none and you have the federal government to thank for that, according to the Sacramento Bee:
The FDIC, which seized IndyMac in July 2008, sold the failed institution to Pasadena-based OneWest in March 2009.

As part of the deal, the FDIC agreed to absorb some losses from the troubled loan portfolio. That's after OneWest absorbs the first $2.5 billion in losses, the FDIC said.

But Sacramento bankruptcy lawyer Peter Macaluso claims the shared-loss agreement will reward OneWest for foreclosing on homes. Here's how, he said: The company bought IndyMac's troubled portfolio at a 30 percent discount. It can count on the FDIC eventually reimbursing 80 percent or more of its losses – and also can keep proceeds from the foreclosure sales.

Got that? Uncle Sam isn’t making it worth their while to keep homeowners in their homes even after they successfully jump through one hoop of fire after another. Quite the contrary: The federal government, through the FDIC, is making it more profitable to evict even responsible homeowners like the Morgans. In other words, this responsible family who always paid their debts never had a chance. OneWest never intended to deal with them or their broker in good faith.

There’s something seriously wrong with that. There’s something evil, twisted and wicked about not only someone actually having the cajones to think up shit like that but what’s even more disturbing is that it’s all fucking legal, as legal as vulture funds.

And that’s what this is, essentially. The Morgans' heavily-mortgaged house is a nontoxic asset that’s been swapped and bundled along with thousands of others much in the same way that life insurance policies are bought up literally at hospice bedsides for pennies on the dollar then sold back for obscenely huge profits. In the life insurance scam, the sooner you die, the more money they make. By the same token, the same principle can be applied to every other aspect of business, including real estate. The sooner the Morgans get evicted, the sooner they can reap huge profits over this house that Alicia’s husband’s been paying off for 27 years.

People, we’ve got to get the word out about this. Those ten lawsuits alluded to in that Sacramento Bee article means the Morgans’ story isn’t unique. Far from it. In fact, 10,000 mortgages are getting foreclosed on every single day in this land grab sponsored by the US government. Alicia’s family is a mere recurring symptom of a disease that has not only criminalized insolvency and poverty, it’s also victimized those who have had the decks stacked against them, prevailed against almost impossible odds, only to have that stone on their backs shot with a big-ass lightning bolt so they have to scramble down and start over. It’s like the myth of Sisyphus on steroids.

And we can’t let these cocksuckers get away with this. Alicia’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sister. Like me, she’s played a rigged game under bullshit rules imposed on her by psychopaths and sociopaths, emerged victorious and still is the victim of every dirty trick in the book to keep from modifying their predatory, misleading loan. And she’s one of us.

Time’s running out. All the money in the world won’t save them. And we have to shame this bank into doing the right thing and let them renegotiate their loan and keep their house. They have nowhere to go, no one to whom they can turn except for us. If and when the Sheriff comes to evict them, Alicia will fight like hell to stay in that house and I told her to get a video camera and to keep it rolling if it comes to that. Remember the first reel of Capitalism: A Love Story?

Yeah, it’s kind of like that. And not only does it hit too close to home, by the time the Dick Hickocks and Perry Smiths of IndyMac/OneWest are done, home will no longer even exist.

25 Comments:

At April 14, 2010 at 7:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

As a foreclosure inspector in Florida for all size lenders and
a foreclosure casualty myself I may be able to shed some light on this situation. First my heart goes out to Alicia and her family for the nerve racking months of trying to get answers and someone on the other end that can "deliver"
what they say. ( I learned if it sounded good...it would never happen ).
We all loose homes for various reasons. Mine was due to the stupidity of borrowing on my home
to finish rebuilding a fixerupper
for resale ( a money pit ).
Should have sold it and let someone else finish it. Ah hindsight. That's my story.
Alicia Continued next comment....

 
At April 14, 2010 at 9:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

OK. If her husband paid on the place for 20 years and purchased it in 83 that puts us to 2003.
If they got this loan is 03 and paid on it for 18 months that puts us at mid 05. Have they not made a payment since then? That would mean they are $199k in arrears?
What happened to the $400k?
I figure this: 63k in 18 months paymnts; 12k in settlement costs;
32k for a truck; 28 k for an suv;
30k for plasma tvs; 20k for furniture and redecorating; 25k for recording gear; 20k for pa system; 30k for instruments; and
other musician pay 25k total 210k
So that leaves 115k. where's that?
Ohhh..I forgot the credit cards!
Now, before you get booted out there are legal steps the bank must take...next comment.

 
At April 14, 2010 at 9:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

First: you can't go to a mortgage broker to fix this. The broker is
not negotiating your loan mod with the bank they are negotiating their fee for placing the loan!
You have to fix this yourself or with a lawyer(wouldn't trust them either). The state laws give you
rights; your loan agreement gives you rights; the fed gov gives you rights...learn them; know them and use them! If you have a letter from the attorney the bank is using(clerk of courts will have the name and number) talk with them
about where things are with your foreclosure. Remember the banks loan mitigation department(only ones who can change things)and the legal arm of the bank do NOT communicate with eachother.
You will have a hearing with a judge to determine foreclosure. If
you have made payments to the bank that have not been accounted for
bring your cancelled checks and
or paperwork. But if you are counting on a mortgage broker to save you...forget it.

 
At April 14, 2010 at 9:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Best to be talking to the attorney
for the bank if your hearing has been scheduled and ask if you can have an extra 30 days till school is out. Then see if the judge will
give you another couple weeks before the sale date is set( first call the sheriff's ofc or whoever
does the sales and ask how long from the hearing till it comes up for sale) could be another 30 days.
Then when the sale is done( go to the sale and find out if someone other than the bank bought your house - can always pay them some rent before you move )you can often
protest the sale and that will tie things up for another 30-45 days
while you petition the court another hearing date is set and the bank's lawyer does his refiling
after the judge says "no deal" or whatever. Meanwhile pack the truck and SUV and move the plasmas to your new home. Cause once it all
hits the fan the sheriff and the "preservation contractor" will be there to clean you and whatever out of your property.

 
At April 14, 2010 at 9:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you do not have anything but a LizPendens action against you there
is still time to work something out but the clock is ticking.
call 800-hopenow. They are the folks that Obama set up to help folks with this process. My son
has a loan with IndyMac and now
Onewest and has been able to get a new trial deal for 3 months and then they will redo his loan. He will save 400/mo in mortgage paymnt. BUT you will have to have
jobs...an income stream. Otherwise
move on don't waste time.
Good luck Alicia. JP has my email
here in Florida.

 
At April 14, 2010 at 9:47 PM, Blogger jurassicpork said...

I do? Who are you?

 
At April 15, 2010 at 7:47 AM, Anonymous Hospice CA said...

Very good articles and I am also interested more information about this topic.Thanks

 
At April 15, 2010 at 8:08 AM, Blogger jurassicpork said...

Follow the links, Hospice, follow the links.

 
At April 15, 2010 at 10:51 AM, Anonymous The Moar You Know said...

Came over here from Balloon Juice.

Read this for a lawyer's eye view of what they need to do:

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/panoramaexcerpts/Ali.html

Shorter version:
They need to get a lawyer, NOW, and have him call the lender and tell them (and mean it) that the family will declare bankruptcy without a loan mod.

I wish them luck. They have put themselves in a very, very bad situation because it's a second mortgage that is the problem and not the first. This is going to make modification very difficult.

 
At April 15, 2010 at 11:23 AM, Blogger jurassicpork said...

Kewl. Thanks. I'll pass the URL directly to Alicia.

 
At April 15, 2010 at 12:33 PM, Anonymous Realist said...

One thing I haven't the time to research right now (I'm about to return to rendering unto Caesar! and rendering ... and rendering...) is WHY Alicia and her husband took out such a dangerous loan in the first place. If it were for a medical reason, they have my sincere sympathies as I have just been through such a scenario myself. But if they were looking to leverage their money for greedy purposes, then I have to say welcome to the consequences of your ill-considered actions.

 
At April 15, 2010 at 3:32 PM, Blogger jurassicpork said...

I doubt it was anything like that. They're not greedy people. And musicians who'd appeared on one or two Neil Young albums deserve better than this.

 
At April 16, 2010 at 7:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good Point, "the moar you know"
BANKRUPTCY...It is a way to stall.
But these days you have to have been pretty savvy with your accounting and record keeping (oh,
don't forget filing those Fed Tax
returns for the 3 yrs) in order
to qualify. On my inspection route
I usually have about 20-30% try for the bankruptcy only about 2-3%
continue and then I simply do "bankruptcy" inspections. Same as usual except "no contact with
the mortgage holder". Usually
by the time that all happens and I run into the homeowner it's a friendly meeting as opposed to the first few visits to a disgruntled
"sucker" for some fast talking mortgage broker or realtor that could "pull strings" at get the financing".
As long as the second mortgage holder is not the first mortgage holder they may have already written it off their books facing the equity positions of most homeowners today.

 
At April 16, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

New thought for Alicia,

Start at the second mortgage holder. Get them to agree on a
reduced note and interest rate.
Also allow them to remain as a
second...or better yet offer them
the whole package.
If the second is with the first
lender there is no choice but to
consolidate.
I believe there is new assistance from the govt on jumbo loans or
something that helps lenders and homeowners strike a deal.

 
At April 19, 2010 at 2:26 PM, Anonymous No Blood for Hubris said...

Yikes.

 
At April 19, 2010 at 4:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

When you bought a house in 1983, and have lived in it since then, you should have it paid off. Only excuse might be medical.

Never, never, ever mortgage the equity in your home except for the direst emergency.

They could have had a paid for home!
Actually, it's not all that great. The very day I paid off my house, I felt like I was a houseguest in somebody else's house. I couldn't sleep, waiting for the real owners to come home and kick me out and bill me for damages.

You are what you owe.

 
At April 20, 2010 at 10:52 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry, can't feel a bit of sympathy. What on earth inspires a guy to take out a loan on a house which is nearly paid for, for much more than the house's appraised value? Did he want his family out on the street? Was he trying to provoke a divorce? Did his arithmetical literacy extend no further than "and a one, and a two, and a three"?
Oh, and that was a charming mash note you wrote to her blog, "I've always been a sucker for big, beautiful blondes".
Whatsamatter, getting tired of your internet-ordered concubine?

 
At April 20, 2010 at 10:55 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"And musicians who'd appeared on one or two Neil Young albums deserve better than this."

Now, there's impeccable financial logic. Unless you are implying that ol' Neil should bail them out.

 
At April 20, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Blogger jurassicpork said...

No. I'm saying that two musicians of such high caliber shouldn't have this happening to them.

 
At April 20, 2010 at 11:10 AM, Blogger jurassicpork said...

"Concubine?" Do people still use that word? You sound like the same crank who recently used the word "fortnight" instead of "two weeks."

I guess you got tired of masturbating in a dark corner and decided to troll me again. Fine. I can give better than I can take it. Bring it on, troll breath.

It doesn't surprise me that a miserable little fist fucker like you wouldn't have any sympathy for a family of five getting kicked out of their home of 27 years, even after it's been conclusively proven that their bank isn't acting in good faith, good faith that was promised them if they met the conditions of the loan, which they'd admirably met for years on end.

But Alicia's husband had a good reason for taking out the loan. I don't feel it necessary to explain to you the exact particulars. And they're hardly the only family that's been forced to take out a loan on their house and put a 2nd or 3rd mortgage on it. That alone is a good indication that there's something more seriously wrong than a few homeowners defaulting on their mortgage payments (which, I'd like to reiterate, isn't the case here).

If your misanthropy prevents you from helping them, fine. Just stay the fuck out of our way. Now go grab a box of Kleenex, a bottle of Jergens and go back to what you were doing.

 
At April 22, 2010 at 3:45 AM, Blogger Templemont said...

I have found some great citizen advocates in a group out of Florida that- Audits the Company on behalf of you and your attorney- they are specialists in documentation forensic pathology and chain of loan custody analysis and verification of bogus signatures or the lack of mandatory documents. What IndyMac/OneWest is doing is illegal in my opinion. They do not want to negotiate or help the homeowner at all. I know someone who is successfully beating IndyMac/OneWest so far. File for bankruptcy through a well recommended law firm that only handles bankruptcy. Then after buying as much time as possible- file a lawsuit (get the "right kind" of attorney) against IndyMac/OneWest. Then find a firm that digs through all the dirt and comes up with the truth. And the truth will set you free! More and more people are winning in court- worst case- they are offered reasonable deals just to get out of the limelight- because you have informtion and knowledge of laws that are viable but obscure- and with your attorney and the forensics inestigators- you end up in a position of great strength to negotiate- if you don't win completely. The fact is IndyMac/OneWest are not even the original loan originators: in my acquaintances case- the originator is a German Bank- Deutsch Bank!These corporate vampires are foreclosing because people are just letting them do it! Do not be one of the sheep. They are not nice- those aren't "pajamas", and your're not going into a restroom to take a "shower"! Wake up. They make their profits from differentials on large packages of "loans" that investors have "placed a bet" that you will foreclose and lose your house! Its like everybodyin the neighborhood buying auto insurance on the kid who just got his license and is the most accident prone person around! Thats derivatives! Also, OneWest/Indymac gets credit from some part of the Federal government for every loan or home they "lose". The more they foreclose- the more they make. But you can put the brakes on them fast by standing up and fighting. Many, many times- these criminals do not have the legal standing to foreclose. Often they have failed to perform a number of mandatory actions required for a true foreclosure. They have already lost several cases and are trying to settle a class action lawsuit out of court- out of the publics eyes. I am not a sheep. I am a sheepdog and will do everything in power to open a can of whup-ass on these idiots. A GERMAN Bank! Give me a fucking break. We stopped them in WWII and now we are going to let them take away our houses? Get real. Eventually, the highest elements of the new administration will realize that their plan, which I believe was truly meant to rescue homes was used by bandits and Nazis to steal American homes and then let them rot until they are worth nothing and uninhabitable.

 
At April 22, 2010 at 3:47 AM, Blogger Templemont said...

I believe that the highest levels have been so busy that this has been able to take place. When the hammer falls- I

think that IndyMac/OneWest are going to pay a terrible price and more than a few of their "executives" will end up

doing hard time. But don't wait for the day that the administration realizes how their plan was twisted into a cash

cow for market "hogs". That day may come to late for many. Stay in your homes! Fight these douche-bags! We

have rights as American citizens established in the Constitution. The laws that will help you are all in place. I do not

believe the highest levels of the administration, nor the majority of the judiciary are corrupt. I believe they want the

best for Americans. Unfortunately- there are a lot of people involved in finance who are corrupt and seemingly

sociopathic. They could care less if you live or die. They only respond to strong action. They act like wannabe

gangsters- but gangsters have a code they follow. They also are straightforward about what they are about and its

no secret. Gangsters have balls and act like MEN. They would never screw the huge number of people that

IndyMac/OneWest are trying to cheat- plus besides being basically decent to innocent non-mob civilians and

acting like gentlemen to the common honest man- they would never try a stunt like these financial creeps- because

it WOULD BE BAD FOR BUSINESS. I have said enough. I am very sorry that this family is being treated in such a

dirty way- they are citizens! I really wish I could help them right now- but I don't think I would be able to. I pray to

God Almighty that they are saved from losing their home and that IndyMac/OneWest gets exactly what they

deserve. There are far more of us than them. Don't follow the sheep! Be a sheepdog, or at least stay close to a

sheepdog. We sheepdogs are rather fond of the sheep we protect even though they are apparently unable see past

their pasture world- they don't even know what a WOLF is- and even though sheepdogs spend their lives

whacking out the motherless wolves- the sheep are oblivious to the fight. We understand that. They have their

thing- we have ours- keeping the sheperd happy and whacking every stinking wolf that trys to take out a couple of

lambs.

 
At April 22, 2010 at 7:15 AM, Blogger jurassicpork said...

Templar:

Thanks for the thoughts. Unfortunately for my Sis, their lawyer bailed on them last week and none of the attorneys they've contacted will touch this case with a ten foot pole. The zeitgeist seems to be this is a case the Morgans will lose, even though in my opinion IndyMac/OneWest is violating the law by not giving them the RESPA documents to which they're entitled by federal law. They're, essentially, avoiding them.

As for that little troll who's been delighting in cyberstalking me on my blog from his little hidie hole in Mountain View, California, don't worry about him. I got his IP and email addresses and I'll take care of him just like I'll take care of my psycho ex (who'd better start cleaning off her desk and updating her resume, stat).

I'm past the point of giving a fuck about consequences. When I see how people like Alicia and I and so many other people are getting pushed around, it makes me think that a person with nothing left to lose is the most dangerous person on the planet earth. After all, what's the incentive to play along by rules written by those who own the field when all you get is harassing, stalking visits from corrupt, inefficient police departments and eviction?

A person who's got nothing left to lose is a helluva lot more dangerous than someone with a job, career, 401(k) plan, health insurance, a mortgage and property. I'm tried of getting pushed around by delusional sociopaths and I'm getting just as sick and tired of seeing good people like Alicia getting evicted after paying their obscenely high mortgage on time.

It's time we started pushing back, hard, and making the system work for us for a change instead of against us.

So if you know something that the Morgans don't, a strategy that can help them save their house, please contact her at her place because the sheriff will be there in five short days.

 
At April 23, 2010 at 4:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a beautiful home. If you're looking for a Bankruptcy Lawyers in California, you should sell your home first.

Next, figure out what other assets you can sell off.

 
At April 25, 2010 at 12:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

And the first, second and last rule of sucessful middle-class life in America is, was, and will always be: Don't let anyone get a pice of your house, and once you have paid off a house (not that hard) you have a leg up.
And something to leave your kids, whenever you decide which kids from which marraige will inherit what.

 

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