Posted on 10/24/2010 9:01:13 PM PDT by rebel_yell2
Didn't we impeach a sitting president a decade ago for lying to a court about a much lesser matter? And why are these big-bank employees lying about these foreclosure actions? The answer lies in the subprime securitization gold rush that took place between 2004 and 2007. In their rush to move mortgages from origination to securitization (garbage to gold, the ultimate financial alchemy), the big banks created a "virtual" system for tracking who owned the mortgage notes. This virtual system, known as MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems), was founded back in 1997 to bring our nation's "archaic" land-title recording system into the 21st century. This system registered MERS as the "nominal" owner of the mortgage and supposedly let the real owners trade the associated promissory notes among themselves without having to worry about niceties of the land-title system, such as the need to prepare and record assignments when trading residential and commercial mortgages. Without MERS, the securitization machine would not have been quite as profitable. MERS boldly advertised that it would enable lenders to "save" by avoiding the filing fees (typically $25 to $50) required by counties across the country when ownership of real property is transferred. It now appears that lenders such as Countrywide and Washington Mutual took advantage of these savings by using MERS to track changes in ownership but failed to prepare and file affidavits of ownership with county courts, as required by law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Lots of litigation coming, as the issue of whether a real loan and real papers were signed. The added complication seems to be that too many cases of “created mortgages” are appearing.
So, both borrowers and lenders have fraud problems.
Bring on the popcorn.
And if Cap and Trade passes, another layer will be added to the inability to transfer title in a clear manner. If the home does not live up to super rigorous environmental standards that Lisa Jackson dictates, the home cannot be transferred. Somehow, having Bank of America or JP Morgan Chase saddled with millions of unsellable homes that they will have to bring up to Lisa Jackson and the EPA standards is payback once Cap and Tax hits them.
Great point semperfiwife,should be repeated across the land; ‘Cap and Trade passes, another layer will be added to the inability to transfer title’.
Why isn’t GOP making these kind of rational arguments????
I think that a large part of the problem is over-regulation. The more the government tries to micro-manage banks (or any other entity), the more difficult it becomes for them to operate in a rational manner.
What are we supposed to expect, when the regulations require that banks become free cash machines for their customers (e.g. having to give mortgages to those who have no way of paying them)? Maybe the only way for them to stay in business with a positive cash flow is through fraud?
I can’t wait to see if the insurance companies come up with equivalent fraud schemes, now that, by law, they are supposed to produce out of thin air money with which to pay for health care for people waiting until they have health issues before buying insurance.
Failed to prepare and file affidavits of ownership with county courts, as required by law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Someone is going to get hands spanked after 11/2 fine print experts on call.
The banks wanted to make these loans. They wanted the fees for servicing them and the fees for packaging and selling them.
You're only fooling yourself if you think big business doesn't like big regulations. In many cases they write the regulations. The real world isn't an Ayn Rand novel.
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