I have been approached by this company and am unsure as well. They said they will find the discrepancies in my loan (for 1% of original loan amount) and give to their law people who will then assign a lawyer at $1000 per month (for about 9 months). I have researched the lawyers, the Founders and everything I can. All seems OK...but they are a newbie company. Basically not enough data to determine. The Rep I talked to was knowledgeable and explained well and answered my questions. I would go for it for sure except for...I am afraid of the process where I am not supposed to talk to the lender once the TRO (temporary restraining order) is filed, which means I'm not supposed to be sending the lender money, correspondence, nothing. That is the only part of this whole thing I am holding back on because at this time, I have never been late in my payments. Problem is, everything is going to change and soon--so I have to do something. Also, 9 months (10 if you include the audit the first month) is a long time to wait to see if you are a winner...almost like having a baby! I was told things would get worse before they got better--but they cannot guarantee that we will win. So what to do...what to do.
Thank you everyone! I have been holding off becoming a customer of these guys and am glad I listened to my gut. They were too positive I would win my case, they kept lowering the cost of the audit and raising the cost of the legal services. George Pulvino keeps trying, but the next time he calls, I am just going to tell him we went with someone else (and I did... me!). I've figured out how to make it all work without losing my home or even being late on one payment. By the time trouble comes-a-knocking, when all is said and done, I will be paying less for my house than if I went with US Loan Auditors/My Legal Service.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you who did get scammed, I hope Karma bites them ALL on the behind!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
"Neutral Consumer",
Please don't insult our intellingence by having us assume you are dealing with a legitimate agency. The people responding to this blog have been treated much differently, and therefore, have reason to complain. What you describe is simply idealistic at best. Honestly, your posting is as transparent as a piece of glass. Why don't you try posting by your real name, instead of something so vague as "Neutral Consumer". The complaints speak for themselves.
tmerch777 et al,
If a Loan Modification is all you want, then no, USLA is NOT for you.
If found this article from the WSJ that REALLY scared me regarding the total failure of Loan Modification programs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704541004575011420045962424.html
The truth is we are all in a world of hurt because of the current home loan crisis...there is no easy solution.
As far as the whole to-pay-or-not-to-pay mortgage thing, I will only go on the advice of my attorney...never on the word of some customer-service person over the phone no matter what company they are from...use your head people!
Keena33: I actually do legal research and writing for a living so yes, I research various issues excessively throughout the day. This issue being my primary concern at the time for obvious reasons. Sorry I was vague on the NY case. I actually saw this on the news the other night, went online to read up on it, and ended up uncovering a variety of new ground breaking cases similar to this. This one being only one example. The mortgage company was actually Deutsche Bank however after you read there is a relationship there with Ocwen. The Judge sites to the lender " If you want the property back you need to prove it's yours." Essentially the court found that the bank held an invalid assignment of the mortgage and note. Same legal concept that is discussed in my parent's civil complaint filed by this company. Does your parent's complaint discuss the same legal merits? I would be curious to know if all of their cases are being filed with the same legal grounds or if each case is widely different. I'm sure they are the same because that seems to be the winning argument.
Here's the site:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0, 2933, 577105, 00.html
After reading this refreshing article you will most likely get sucked into a web of additional ground breaking cases. Several of these mortgage companies are in lawsuits such as this and lots of them are getting wrapped into class actions. It's nice to see the homeowners having grounds to fight back finally. The only unsure part is how many are actually winning in court. Beings this was a headline topic on Fox unfortunately that might be a sign that it's a rare occasion.
Paying Attorney: I can only speak for my family when I say that we only paid the monthly $1000 once an attorney actually was assigned to the case. Otherwise, what would we have been paying for? I actually have to redact my earlier comment because after recieving my case status it was simple math so I can FOR SURE say that we only paid the monthly $1000 after the attorney recieved the case. In fact our complaint was filed within one month of her having our file.
My comments are strange compared to earlier posts? Why am I all of a sudden defending Mr. B?
I am sorry if any of my posts seem contradictory. This is the one and only site I have found with actual comments from actual clients and potential clients so that's why I have continued to post my status here. I am simply giving a play by play as to where our case is at, issues outstanding with this company, and any issues resolved. I am only trying to be helpful in the most honest way I know how. Did you only want me to post the negative experience I have with this company? I've said from the beginning that I refuse to post meritless one liners that aren't based on the truth as I know it to be.
Tmerch777:
I totally misunderstood your post. Monthly fee without the audit? Waah is Right! My apology for misunderstanding what you wrote. Gottcha though! We were told the same thing about not making a mortgage payment. We were also told that upon filing of the complaint there was a restraining order that was automatically in place that prevented the mortgage company from foreclosing, contacting us..etc. Unfortunately, the Judge has to make a ruling on the restraining order and until he does, there is nothing barring the mortgage company from doing whatever they want to do. We learned this the hard way when my parents were served with a foreclosure notice the day after Christmas. Yes there is more leverage in court if your loan is in default but it does no good if we all end up losing the house before a judgement is entered.
How I ended up on this site? Case#, Attorney Info? Court filed in?
My scenerio is very similar to yours. I researched the hell out of this company and found that they have a great standing with the BBB and I didn't find any other complaints during my initial searches of them on the internet. I also saw the tv, youtube, and various news articles they were in during their grand opening and other charity events they have participated in. All that was great but all I wanted to find was real people talking about real experiences with them. This is the only site until recently that I found. I wanted to research three areas in particular:
1- Cases won and Cases Lost
2- Answers to some of the questions I had regarding the technicalities of how this entire thing works
3- An update on my parent's case and where it currently stands in Federal Court
So far I have been successful at obtaining an update of my parent's case. I have explained the status in my earlier post if you are curious as to how the timeline proceeds initially with the case.
When I initially started posting here I was hoping to find customers either satisfied or dissatisfied with the outcome of their particular case and litigation. So far I have realized that I am probably the furthest along in litigation . So for now I guess I will use my experience to help others who are not as far along with this company. That is why I am trying to remain partial to the facts and only the facts of our case. I just want people to have a completely clear reality of what they are getting into. People who are getting ready to make a decision with this company have the right to not be patronized with biases one way or the other. They have a right to be informed with the exact ins and outs of what this is about.
As I said in my previous post, I would be more then willing and happy to share the complaint that was filed on behalf of my parents in Federal Court in November. Message me and I will email that to you. The complaint was very well prepared as you will read and the merits backing the case are stellar. I am not sure what your complaint will look like as far as the laws that will apply but as far as my parent's complaint that was filed, it's very well prepared. Where it goes from there is more of the question though :/ (still keeping my fingers crossed).
Keena33:
The article was posted by the NY Post on Friday, November 27, 2009. If the link has failed you, try going to www.foxnews.com type in the search box "Deutche Bank Mortgage". This should take you to the article. The heading of the article states "Judge Erases $525G Mortgage for N.Y. Couple, Citing 'Repulsive' Acts by Bank".
http://foreclosuredefensenationwide.com/?p=144 is another site that will set forth most of the recent cases similar to this one. Hope this helps!
I too have a clear conscience except I don't need my "reward" from the universe, , , , I need it from the mortgage company that has my parent's house on the verge of foreclosure. So as to make myself extra extra clear here, I am not promoting this company AT ALL. I too have issues just like the rest but at the same time I'm not going to blast somebody just for the sake of blasting them. There is such a thing as a "contract" so until and unless that gives, we're sort of stuck in it. So believe me I am going to seek out as much good in that as can be achieved. Soooo, I'm not saying that this company has at all achieved what they say they do, I'm only saying that the CONCEPT of suing your mortgage company in general IS achievable.
I was contacted by this company 12-3-09 I spoke to a rep. and was told that I needed to send my loan docs so they could take a close look at them to spot any wrong doing's on the part of the lender. I told the rep it would cost a small fortune to copy all the the docs at kinkos. He asked me to fed ex them to him and assured me that he would send them right back. I sent them on or about 12-6-09 and now he will not return the docs or my phone calls. Dont even think about dealing with nthis company in some was they are just as dishonest as the banks and so called lending institutions.
That's the definate catch 22. The concept of suing your mortgage company exists, , , , , however, , , , , you can expect a minimum of 3-4 years of litigation, thousands and thousands of dollars in fees and costs, dealing with big time corporate attorneys, and laying all of your trust into the Judge assigned to your case hoping he/she will rule in your favor. The initial sales pitch of "we don't take a case we can't win", "only one year in court", and "no need to make a mortgage payment" simply is false. The reality is that litigation is long and grueling and it costs ALOT of money and there is NO guarantee of any sort of outcome. PERIOD! Plus, the people who I referenced earlier had big time attorneys dealing with their cases against the mortgage company. They definately sent in the Big Dogs to fight their case. Even with this, it still took several years to win in court. I'm just not sure what the realistic odds of winning are when you are assigned an attorney who at the most may spend 2-3 hours a month on your case. So again, are these cases winable? Yes! but there are ALOT of factors that must be in play. The stars must be aligned perfectly in order to do so. It's refreshing to see homeowners fighting back but to say that's the average outcome would be pushing it. I think it's more like one in a million :/
Is it just me or does anybody else find it odd that not ONE attorney has come to this sight to offer any type of referral!?!? These cases are winnable but yet there are NO attorney's willing to take these cases on. IDK but if I was an attorney specializing in this type of law I would look at this disaster as some type of job security. No attorney I know of takes these types of cases. Have they just not caught up with the times? Just curious! It seems these attorneys would have already been flooding the court by now at the very least to address loans that outline predatory lending practices and various TILA violations. You can find an attorney on every corner to address all areas of law but this area of law, , , churp, , , churp, , , churp! Frustrating to say the least!
"despite the entry of three (3) separate court orders, refused to produce documents demanded by the borrowers which included documents setting forth the identity of the true owner and holder of the Note and mortgage, the complete chain of title to ownership of the note and mortgage, payment application histories, and documents as to the securitized mortgage loan trust"
You're right, this is exactly why this case won in court. Essentially the court was demanding the mortgage company prove they owned the note and mortgage. The court gave three chances for them to prove this but they couldnt. Obviously they couldn't because when the market took a crap all of these companies started selling off their toxic loans into a gazillion pieces. At the end of the day the homeowner is paying their mortgage to a mortgage company that has Zero rights to your loan, zero rights to collect money on the loan, and Zero rights to foreclose or do anything else with your home for that matter. Hopefully these newly arrived cases will bring some new hope to homeowners looking to sue their mortgage companies.
Cody and all, thank you for your honest opinion on this site. I am currently a client of USLA and previously I found no negative information, most likely because they are a new company I would suppose and they are charting new territory.
I was found by them while walking through the Sacramento Fair. At that time I had an interesting case going:
Back in 2008, our family ran into a situation where we were going to be short on a mortgage payment. As soon as we knew we were going to be late we notified Country Wide (IMPAC) in writing. IMPAC worked with us for a period of two months. We continued full payments after the one shorted payment.
December 2008 IMPAC sent us a letter indicating we were being granted a 3 month forbearance of my regular monthly payments, after which they would then reduce our rate to 4% for 5 years. At the end of the 5 years the rate would resume to the rate originally contracted.
That sounded good to me. As IMPAC asked I made the scheduled March 1, 2009 payment at the reduced rate. And all was good.
During May 2009 I received notification that Bank of America was now the servicer of our loan.
June 2009 Bank of America indicates I am severely past due for making smaller payments and for not making payments during the months of December 2008 through February 2009! I call to explain the agreement sent by IMPAC. B of A reverses the late charge, and as always I continued making my monthly payments on time never late at the reduced rate.
July 2009 I receive notification that Residential Credit Solutions is now the servicer of our loan.
August 2009 we received our payment to Residential Credit Solutions (RCS) back! RCS indicated the payment sent was reversed because it was a partial payment and that we were severely behind! They indicated once they received information substantiating the loan modification they would accept the payment. I immediately sent the proof, but they never accepted my payment. Later that month I received a call form RCS. They explained the loan modification from IMPAC was not done correctly/legally and therefore I was way behind on payments.
USLA
So, while wondering around in the Sacramento Fair and running into USLA, the subject of mortgages did catch my eye. I feel I still have a strong case regarding the original arrangement by IMPAC. USLA in concentrating on predatory loan practices. But now that I haven’t been making payments, I’m worried. I could never have afforded trying to make full payments and afford USLA services at the same time. And, RCS was not accepting payment arrangements setup by IMPAC.
Quite frankly all that I have read (and I have read all of the comments) make me very nervous and unsure of my situation.
"@ codyheather... This is NOT a common occurrence. There have been hundreds of thousands of these cases filed and only a handful of winners. "
Agreed! Like I said before, because these two cases are making national news, it's a great indicator that the likelihood of this happening often is unlikely :((
"California IS NOT a mortgage state. California is a Deed of Trust state. In a deed of trust state, the lender can foreclose without court approval. The only way to prevent a foreclosure is with a court order. The process of obtaining a court order to prevent a suit can be a long one (especially if either party wants to drag it out)."
Agreed! However, a ligitimate attorney/firm in CA would simply file a motion requesting and order to prevent the foreclosure during the course of litigation. A Court date would be set to hear arguments surrounding the motion and a Judge would then decide wether or not to reject or accept the request to halt foreclosure right? Of course it's not as easy but "IF" you are working with a legitimate attorney this would essentially be the appropriate steps to take. Or am I mistaken here?
"In the event of the rare chance of winning, a short term victory is seldom long lived. There are appeals that can be filed by the bank (and definitely will be) and the couple who won can still lose. If they do lose, they will be subject to paying attorneys fees for the bank. The attorneys that work for the bank bill at $400.00 per hour. They usually have more than one attorney working a lawsuit. The average civil litigation costs $95, 000 per case (per attorney). If you were to lose in an appeal, that is 2 lawsuits you would have to pay for. Keep in mind that the banks attorneys are high priced, top tier attorneys.
THIS COULD MEAN THAT THEY CAN LOSE THEIR HOUSE... AND HAVE TO PAY $500, 000+ IN ATTORNEY FEES!"
Agreed, Agreed, Agreed!
"You should know that the borrowers in the other case you cite DID NOT have their mortgage wiped out. As soon as DutcheBank can prove the chain of title, THEY CAN FORECLOSE on the property."
Negative! I cited two separate cases. Both held two separate outcomes/rulings.
New Jersey Case: In short, foreclosure must halt until defendants comply with the required discovery. Also, additional requests for sanctions, including dismissal, are expected to be filed in these cases. Rulings on these issues to follow...
New York Case: The Court erased up to $291, 000 in principal and $235, 000 in interest and penalties. Plaintiff's walk away from their home owing NOTHING
Here's a copy/paste of the article re: NY Case
Judge Erases $525G Mortgage for N.Y. Couple, Citing 'Repulsive' Acts by Bank
Friday, November 27, 2009
A Long Island couple is home free after an outraged judge gave them an amazing Thanksgiving present — canceling their debt to ruthless bankers trying to toss them out on the street.
Suffolk Judge Jeffrey Spinner wiped out $525, 000 in mortgage payments demanded by a California bank, blasting its "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" acts, the New York Post reported.
The bombshell decision leaves Diane Yano-Horoski and her husband, Greg Horoski, owing absolutely no money on their ranch house in East Patchogue.
Spinner pulled no punches as he smacked down the bankers at OneWest — who took an $814.2 million federal bailout but have a record of coldbloodedly foreclosing on any homeowner owing money.
"The bank was so intransigent that he [the judge] decided to punish them, " Greg Horoski, 55, said about Spinner's scathing ruling last Thursday against OneWest and its IndyMac mortgage division.
It erased up to $291, 000 in principal and $235, 000 in interest and penalties.
The Horoskis — who had been paying only interest on their mortgage — had no equity in the home.
Horoski, who had begged the bankers to let him restructure the loan, said, "I think the judge felt it was almost a personal vendetta." Dealing with the bank, he said, was "like dealing with organized crime."
OneWest said, "We respectfully disagree with the lower court's unprecedented ruling and we expect that it will be overturned on appeal."
It claimed it "has been extremely active in working with consumers on home loan modifications through the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program and other loan modification initiatives."
The bank is owned by a private equity group that purchased the failed IndyMac bank.
Yano-Horoski, a college professor of English and cognitive reason, and Horoski, who sells collectible dolls online, bought their 3, 400-square-foot, one-level house 15 years ago for less than $200, 000.
In 2004, court records show, they refinanced, paying off their original mortgage with part of a $292, 500 sub-prime loan from Deutsche Bank. They used what was left for health care and for his business.
The loan carried an initial adjustable interest rate of 10.375 percent, which soared to 12.375 percent.
It eventually ended up being either owned or serviced by IndyMac, and the bank sued the couple in July 2005 when they began having trouble making payments because of Horoski's health problems.
After a foreclosure was approved last January, Yano-Haroski successfully asked for a court settlement conference.
Spinner excoriated OneWest for repeatedly refusing to work out a deal, for misleading him about the dollar amounts at stake in the case, and for its treatment of the couple over months of hearings.
OneWest's conduct was "inequitable, unconscionable, vexatious and opprobrious, " Spinner wrote.
He canceled the debt because the bank "must be appropriately sanctioned so as to deter it from imposing further mortifying abuse against [the couple]."
The bank is involved in a similar case in California, where it's trying to foreclose on an 89-year-old woman, despite two court orders telling it to stop.
For more news, entertainment and sports coverage, click here for NYPost.com.
Either way it still doesn't change the fact that these are not cases being dealt with by any of the attorney's assigned by this company. It also isn't very settling that the only case referenced by this company has been in litigation since 06 and still no settlement. So it can be done we just don't know anybody it's been done for within the radius of aprox. 2, 461 miles.
I'm going to continue researching this company. The more I read on this site -- the more convoluted things become. It's 50/50.
I am a recent past client of US Loan Auditors/US Legal Advisors. We were 7+ months and over $7000. dollars into their "legal" process and still hadn't had any "legal" work done on our case. At that point the only thing we had was the loan audit for which we paid over $4000. - a very high price compared to other audit companies. I don't really think in our case it was a "scam", but the customer service was horrific. I think they want to do what they say, but in our case they proved over and over again they couldn't. Maybe if USLA had paid as much attention to customer service in their start-up months as they did to sales and marketing and public relations, much of our personal suffering through their corporate growing pains might have been avoided.
When we signed on, they were in the midst of creating new processes, moving to a new location and handling more customers than they thought they'd have, something I wish they would have disclosed before we decided to go into the second phase with them. But, I have pages and pages of documentation that shows I could not get a return call or email on many, many occasions from the people who were supposed to be our "case managers". The outside attorney they referred us to did their own research and said, contrary to USLA's statments that we were the "perfect" test case, that they did not think we had a case because statutes of limitations had run out. USLA, who said their $1000/month fees were for case management, knew nothing of this and many other things until I told them. They did offer to reassign our case, but by this time, (7 months into what we were told would be a 7-9 month process), we had lost faith that they could do anything they said they would do. In the end, after lots of high stress and disappointments, USLA did end up returning all of the monies we paid to them. I think if they were scammers, we would never have seen those funds again, but we had to be firm, persistent, obsessive about documentation and unrelenting.
Regarding not paying on mortgages, USLA never stated straight out NOT to pay our mortgage. But USLA reps did state over and over again to us that this was a strategy that many of their clients were using, and intimated in fact it might appear legally in our favor to "dispute" the legalities of our loan with retaining payments. Also, they stated that once we were filed in court, then the whole foreclosure process would be "frozen". After 7 months we never got to that point so I'm not sure if that's true or not.
From our experience, USLA is a middle-man. We would have been better served to hire our own attorney outright and pay them directly, although we now know that these federal cases are not often won so far. We, too, did our initial due diligence research on USLA, but didn't find any complaints about them at the time. I think that may have been because they were in a start-up phase and the information just wasn't out there. Now I'm grateful to see that others can be better guided.
Food for Thought...
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/closing_attorney_bank_lawyer_must_defend_suit_over_alleged_loan_fraud_by_ot/
I will continue to post articles that have to do with this subject. Very interesting!
More food for thought...
http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_cbj.jsp?sCategoryPath=/Home/Attorney%20Resources/California%20Bar%20Journal/June2003&sCatHtmlPath=cbj/06_TH_02_Predatory-Lening-3.html&sCatHtmlTitle=Top%20Headlines
Interesting!
Written in 2008 but there were 278 subprime-mortgage-related case in federal court...sure sounds legit to me
http://www.attorneymegasites.com/aaj-rss.php?NewsID=1099
Quote...
"The option ARM has proved especially problematic. “It’s a subprime product being marketed to everybody, ” said Jeffrey Berns, a Tarzana, California, lawyer, whose firm has filed 60 federal class actions against major lenders over option ARMs. He noted that these clients range “from doctors and lawyers to field workers.”
Interesting!
Wow...here is a case that was filed in California.
http://www.scribd.com/full/26236835?access_key=key-it6op5tku8j5u394cp0
Enjoy!
Sounds like Predatory Lending was pretty common back in the day...
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20011213_predatory.htm
Quote...
"It's a kind of financial apartheid, where minority and low-income borrowers pay more, even when they have good credit. Our families cannot afford to lose equity and lose resources in this way, " she added."
A forensic audit and TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) successfully stopped a Non-Judicial Sale...that is great news!
http://www.foreclosureindustry.com/tag/loan-audit-and-tro-stop-non-judicial-foreclosure-sale-in-california-tro-stops-foreclosure-sale-in-ca-desert-edge-legal-services-loan-audits-predatory-lending-allege-fraud/
Seems like these types of programs are working for some people.
Interesting...
Seems like Jerry Brown know that Predatory Lending was going to be problem too...
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2008/03/19/california-mortgage-fraud-scam-may-be-tip-of-the-iceberg-says-state-attorney-general-jerry-brown/
Interesting...
Very Interesting...
http://www.allbusiness.com/banking-finance/banking-institutions-systems-savings/12949911-1.html
Quote:
Finally, Supreme Court decision Cuomo, Attorney General of New York vs. Clearinghouse Association LLC provided some relief, ruling that the federal regulator erred in quashing efforts by New York state to combat the kind of predatory mortgage lending that triggered the nation's financial crises.
Interesting...
Jerry Brown, the Attorney General of California...sued Countrywide for Predatory Lending...and won a 3.5 BILLION dollars lawsuit!
http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/press/pdfs/n1582_draft_cwide_complaint2.pdf
Attorney General Brown must have attorney's fight for him and the people of California.
Interesting...
WOW...more and more people are suing their lenders...sounds interesting!
Quote:
"In a lawsuit filed against CitiFinancial and two other lenders, Tissue’s representatives allege it was a pattern of “unconscionable” predatory lending that violates federal laws, and they’re seeking to have the loan rescinded or renegotiated.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/mar/19/homeowner-sues-lenders/
Elder Abuse is terrible!
Quote:
"By summer of 2007, lenders had refinanced 79-year-old Tissue’s loan against her home seven times in three years; toward the end of that cycle, it took about 90 percent of her roughly $1, 100 monthly income to cover her mortgage payment, and she was facing a foreclosure over the debt of more than $120, 000.
ANOTHER...class action lawsuit...man they seem to be on to something here...
http://www.californiabankruptcyattorneyblog.com/2009/05/homeowners-file-class-action-predatory-lending-lawsuit-against-kb-home-and-countrywide-financial.html
Did somebody inflate your home values?
Quote:
"A lawsuit charges that builder KB Home and its exclusive mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial, misled customers into buying homes with inflated values..."
A Mayor in Memphis files a lawsuit over Predatory Lending...can all these people be wrong?
http://www.houserepos.net/blog/foreclosure/mayors-file-lawsuit-over-predatory-lending-that-exposed-borrowers-to-foreclosures/
Sure seems like there were a lot of people that were affected by this!
Quote:
"The Mayor of Memphis A.C. Wharton and Mayor of Shelby County Joe Ford announced that a legal suit had been filed last Wednesday 30th December 2009, against a firm for predatory lending that had exposed the borrowers to foreclosures"
Predatory Lending Lawsuits are on the rise!
http://www.woio.com/global/story.asp?s=11286179
Quote:
"Borrowers are looking to the legal system for help in keeping their houses, " said Gary Klein, a partner in Boston-based Roddy Klein & Ryan, which focuses on consumer law. "There are more cases pending than I've ever seen in my 23-year career."
Quote:
"To be sure, banks have faced unfair lending lawsuits for years and have paid millions of dollars in settlements. But the recent housing boom was fueled by questionable and exotic loans that many borrowers had no hope of repaying.
How to Sue Your Lender for Predatory Lending Practices!
http://www.foreclosureindustry.com/2009/10/how-to-sue-your-lender-for-predatory-lending-practices/
Quote:
"I’ve been doing loan audits for nearly a year now and find problems in 98% of the mortgage audits I perform. Some common things the lenders consistently screw up are miscalculated APR’s, undisclosed finance charges and missing disclosures required under TILA and RESPA.
I would caution you to get a REAL audit from a live person who has experience auditing files. They don’t necessarily need to have been a mortgage broker (in fact, I’d discourage you from using anyone affiliated with the mortgage industry to modify your loans) to be auditing, but I do think a legal or accounting background is important to understand the issues.
By the way, if your auditor uses software to audit documents, beware. I’ve been testing computerized software called Compliance Ease and if I were an attorney, I would not base a lawsuit on the findings of the software because it only focuses on a few narrow categories. Be sure to ask your auditor if a trained human is looking over the docs or if they’re just putting numbers into some software. I’ve audited some files manually and ran them through the software and on several occasions they have been in complete conflict."
Quote:
"The point is, until your loan has been audited, you won’t know how much leverage you have. Today I audited a client’s paperwork whose servicer is Aurora Loan Services and found a $10, 800.00 broker fee paid outside of closing. (See this post for more about Aurora Loan Services.) The broker on this loan understated this woman’s finance charge fees by a whopping $9, 500.00. Do you think this woman has a LOT of leverage to file a lawsuit against the lender for predatory lending? Absolutely."
Let’s say for the moment that you find gross violations of TILA and RESPA, and you’ve decided to file a lawsuit. You’ll need to find a lawyer who understands how to file these lawsuits and who is relatively aggressive and fired up. This is really important because the bank is going to roll out the big guns and hire the most expensive law firm in town to represent them, and your attorney can’t be intimidated by going up against a bank.
The cases that I’ve seen have typically been filed in Federal courts because TILA and RESPA are federal laws, and because the parties who would be pursued in state court, such as the mortgage broker, title company and real estate appraisers are probably all out of business. However, this is a legal call on the part of your attorney; sometimes the state courts are better from a strategic standpoint.
The next issue to consider is whether you live in a judicial foreclosure state or a non-judicial foreclosure state. If you live in a judicial foreclosure state, the lender will file a lawsuit against you to actually foreclose on your property. If not, the lender will likely send out a Notice of Trustee’s sale and attempt to sell the property on the courthouse steps.
REALLY INTERESTING!
Fremont Investment & Loan settle for 10 million dollar predatory lending lawsuit! Another win for the people!
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/06/ma_predatory.html
...
Quote:Fremont has also agreed not to foreclose upon unfair loans without certain protections for borrowers or originate unfair loans in Massachusetts. Those protections against foreclosure, which have been in place since the Superior Court issued a Preliminary Injunction in March 2008 are now permanent and also apply to the loan holders and servicers who acquired the Fremont loans since the injunction issued.
"The American dream of homeownership has turned into a nightmare for many borrowers because of predatory lending practices. We have vigorously sought to hold companies accountable for these practices, and today we have taken another important step toward achieving that goal." said Massachusetts Attorney General Coakley. "With the $10 million we have obtained through this settlement, we have an opportunity to provide consumers and the Commonwealth with additional relief from the predatory lending practices that have besieged our state and nation. We will continue to hold companies responsible for their role in the foreclosure crisis."
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There sure seems to be hope for people that want to pursue their lenders!
OMG...Ameriquest settles 29 class-action lawsuits
The now-defunct Orange County firm, once the nation's largest subprime lender, pledges $22 million to repay up to 712, 000 borrowers.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/27/business/la-fi-ameriquest27-2010jan27
Quote:
The agreement potentially affects 712, 000 borrowers from what once was the nation's largest subprime lender, based in Orange County. Many of the loans were from Argent Mortgage Co., an arm that funded borrowers through mortgage brokers.
Get all the details here:
https://ameriquestmdlsettlement.com
Litigation is the way to go! Power to the people!
A lawsuit filed Monday seeks class-action status for borrowers who sought loan modifications from GMAC but were denied the modifications without being given a written reason for the denial. The suit seeks an injunction against GMAC as well as attorney fees and damages from the economically bruised lender.
Quote:
"It's just sound business practice that isn't being followed here."
Quote:
"Lenders should expect a trend toward this kind of litigation, said Louis Pizante, an expert in real estate law compliance and CEO of the California-based Mavent Inc. Pizante pointed toward a December directive issued by the Federal Reserve Board explicitly stating that, under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, lenders must issue "adverse action notices" to borrowers when a modification request is declined."
http://nwitimes.com/business/local/article_40f10593-3165-51a0-a49c-c9f114a1dbab.html
This is really great for people that were taken advantage of! FIGHT!
Housing crash spawns big lawsuits
A flood of legal claims -- of fraud, discrimination, predatory lending and more -- has followed the sharp downturn in the real-estate market. Some borrowers are even seeking compensation for the hits to their credit ratings.
Quote:
Claims of fraud, discrimination and predatory lending have been brought by players ranging from individual homeowners to wealthy shareholders and state attorneys general.
Quote (sound familiar):
"The left hand often doesn't know what's going on with the right hand, " Costello says. He and his clients allege that groups within Washington Mutual weren't communicating as they should have.
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/StockInvestingTrading/housing-crash-spawns-big-lawsuits.aspx
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Can all these people being doing the wrong thing...by suing their lenders! Maybe it is better to just foreclose and be quiet!
Now a WHOLE city (San Diego) is suing Washington Mutual for Predatory Lending!
There are mayors, Attorney Generals (in 49 state), States and homeowners that are deciding to stand up and fight for the people...I love it!
http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/San-Diego-Sues-Washington-Mutual-for-Predatory/SoPNU6Jg0kK8GffpoWJmGA.cspx
Quote:
"The lawsuit seeks civil penalties and an injunction to stop further lender foreclosures on subprime mortgages statewide."
NICE!
Four Failed Luxury Resorts Accuse Credit Suisse of a Predatory Lending Scheme, Money Laundering and Naked Greed
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2010_1st/Jan10_CreditSuisse.html
Quote:
"A group of property owners from four failed luxury resorts -- including Tamarack Resort in Idaho -- has filed a $24 billion class-action lawsuit against Credit Suisse, alleging that the big Swiss bank engaged in a "predatory" lending scheme designed to force all four resorts into foreclosure and acquire the pricey properties for pennies on the dollar, while raking in "enormous" fees.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boise, alleges racketeering, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and more, and seeks billions in damages, including $150 million each for the states impacted by the failed resort projects.
Interesting...
Congresswoman Maxine Waters Calls for More Class Action Lawsuits to Prevent Foreclosures
http://loanworkout.org/2009/10/congresswoman-maxine-waters-calls-for-more-class-action-lawsuits-to-prevent-foreclosures/
Quote:
“We need aggressive action to force lenders to modify the predatory loans that they made. State attorneys general and civil rights groups are taking the lead in preventing foreclosures by filing lawsuits against the originators of these predatory loans, and I commend them for their action, ” Chairwoman Waters said."
A Congresswoman says that we should sue also!
You can get money back if you win your case in court! What!
Nearly 46, 000 in California getting Ameriquest restitution checks
Quote (does this sound like your loan):
The settlement resolved allegations that Ameriquest and its affiliates:
Misrepresented or did not adequately disclose the terms of home loans
Charged excessive loan origination fees and prepayment penalties
Refinanced borrowers into improper loans
Improperly inflated appraisals used to qualify borrowers for loans
That sounds like most peoples loans during this time!
How do you find out if you have violations in your loan documents?
VICTORY IN PREDATORY LENDING CASE!
$3, 000, 000 dollars JUDGEMENT! No I didn't write that incorrectly!
http://www.all-foreclosure.com/forum/messages/16941.html
Quote:
"I will now predict that the Guzman case portends a cascade of similar verdicts to follow."
We hope so! But how do we know if we have violations?
I've read all these pages twice and now I'm pissed off at what's going on.
1. The slander accusations and lawsuit. Yes, that was childish.
2. Pretending to be an F.B.I. agent "John McKay" That was ridiculous.
3. "Neutral Consumer" Who is only inquiring about USLA seems to much to say about the services. Must be on the phone constantly having impartial discussions with his buddy in Florida.
4. Bottom of page 4 ( Jordan Henderson) and top of page 5 (Brian Carlton) share their positive experiences with USLA. Yet both comments are posted by "JHener12" BUSTED!
5. Now we have "Interesting Articles." It is my suspicion this is an attempt to clogg up this discussion forum by changing the subject matter at hand. I can't fully clarify that yet since he discusses mortgage audits and audit software in which USLA does use.
It is only by people doing Internet searches by typing in a companies name followed by "scam" are the ones ending up at these forums.
It's a freedom of speech, rights to assemble, and rights to protest.
I am advising you to seist and desist from taking anymore manipulative or creative actions against this forum and or causing any other deterrences.
I'm largely upset to be reading such posts. I have much to ad in my own experience with your services and will be posting soon. I'm extremely disappointed to have to become fraud investigators investigating fraud investigators.
Since others are posting articles here's another
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1087713/countrywide_settlement_ends_lawsuit.html