What happens when you run a fast food restaurant; let’s say an ice cream stand that makes a wonderful sundae; with handmade ice cream, carefully and lovingly crafted with the finest ingredients, local fruits and nuts, interspersed with handmade cookies, meticulously assembled, beautifully presented and sold for a very fair price. You are reviewed by a food critic, or better yet, your ice cream stand is featured in one of the ubiquitous national television food programs where it receives justifiable loving praise and exposure.
Result?... instant riches? More likely, the sundae, the product, suffers and may in fact lose its uniqueness under the crush of relentless demand.
Here is the foreclosure analogy; law firms, or as we call them on the foreclosure defense side, “foreclosure mills,” consisting of lawyers and paralegals who do nothing but represent lenders in foreclosures, (usually on residential properties) are able to churn them out (in the old days) on a consistent basis for a very reasonable fee; but then something terrible and unusual happened.
Mortgage loans, thousands of them, went into default, primarily because they were made to people who could not afford them from the beginning. This combined with the real estate market, where year after year, prices increased completely disproportionate to any type of inflation; and suddenly, the proverbial bubble burst, real estate values plummeted, and the number of foreclosures doubled, and continued to increase tenfold, twentyfold.
The result: these law firms (even if they hire more people and the foreclosure departments within the mortgage companies hire more people) must increase productivity geometrically. The only way to keep up is, like in the ice cream business, to employ short cuts.
Now, we have law firms (lawyers) doing bad things and/or knowingly letting their clients do bad things…like lying to a court.
The ROBO signing scandal manifested itself by the filing of false affidavits. The mortgage foreclosure business uses a lot of affidavits. These are sworn statements that are made under oath and are used to prove the facts in a foreclosure case. There is no way that it would be economically feasible to have trials with live witnesses in every foreclosure case. It would use too much attorney time, too much bank employee time, and most of all, it would literally bury the court system. The nature of what has to be proven in a foreclosure lends itself to the use of affidavits. These sworn statements establish the ownership of the mortgage and note, the status of payment or non-payment, and the amount of the principal, interest, and other monies that are due. Simple enough and normally not a problem because there is an old rule of evidence that business records, exactly the kind of records that mortgage servicing companies maintain, can be used to establish these facts.
Here is the rub. In order for these affidavits or sworn statements to be admissible in evidence and useable by a court, they must be sworn by a person who has actual personal knowledge of the information contained in the affidavit. In order, however, to process literally tens of thousands of these affidavits, the mortgage servicers and their lawyers decided that they would use Henry Ford’s invention of the assembly line and assign a “specialized” person to sign all of these affidavits. The problem is that the people who sign the affidavits prepared by others, and would swear that they have actual and personal knowledge of the facts asserted in the affidavits actually don't. In fact, the only personal knowledge they have is what they ate for breakfast.
There are various other deficiencies in these affidavits, but the bottom line is that the term ROBO comes from the word “robot,” and literally there was a person, sometimes even employed by the law firm, that would take the information generated internally by the mortgage companies, through mysterious and unknown processes and procedures, and fill in the blanks in a form affidavit when, if they had been a live witness, any first year lawyer would be able to establish that they lacked personal knowledge of the facts they were putting down on paper. Sometimes the paperwork that they would attach to the affidavit (if they bothered to attach any paperwork) would be documents generated specifically for a mortgage foreclosure affidavit which, at least in Florida, does not constitute a business record admissible in court.
From the beginning, defense lawyers would complain but mostly be ignored until we were able to establish that some of these affidavits were actually false or inaccurate. Initially, most of the errors concerned assertions regarding who the true owner of the mortgage or note was, which is a minor detail that has to be established because it is only the owner of the mortgage or note that is entitled to be a plaintiff in a mortgage foreclosure; one of those legal technicalities.
One of the other abuses was that the mortgage companies would routinely claim that they lost the original note, and include it in their foreclosure complaint as a separate count asking the Court to reestablish the missing note. It turned out that the note wast missing at all, but that in many cases the plaintiff didn't even bother to look for it. The problem was of course that, at least in Florida, and practically every other “judicial foreclosure” state, the existence and tendering of the note, or if it’s really lost, the reestablishment of the note, is a requirement to foreclose. In order to reestablish, the mortgage company had to file an affidavit saying they looked for the note and could not find it.
The problem was that they were being disingenuous when they filed these affidavits. Sometimes they lied when they stated in the affidavits what they did to look for them. Sometimes the affidavits were disingenuous when they stated who owned the note, and every once in a while, an attorney defending the homeowner was able to prove these affidavits were inaccurate.
When it was disclosed that the lawyers who were representing the banks were part and parcel of this process, some judges got upset, and when it became clear that these affidavits routinely contained falsehoods, even with respect to actual facts, or, in most cases, that the person signing these affidavits did not have personal knowledge of the contents, a great hue and cry was heard throughout the land.
To the best of my knowledge, I do not know of any lawyers or bank representatives who have been arrested or charged with perjury like Mr. Zimmerman’s wife, but I do know that congressmen, senators, judges and other very important people demanded an end to this. Low and behold the “ROBO signing” scandal.
Moral of the story? I don’t know if there is one. But I do know, that any time in the mortgage foreclosure process, when a defendant encounters a sworn statement, it would behoove that person to scrutinize the statement with a skeptical eye and make sure that every fact asserted therein is true, accurate, complete, and made by someone who has actual and personal knowledge of the statement that he or she is making. This is something that is easier said than done, which is why sometimes having a lawyer or consulting one is useful.
As that insightful observer of the American scene, Jerry Seinfeld said, “…a lawyer is basically the person that knows the rules of the country. We’re all throwing the dice, playing the game, moving our pieces around the board, but if there is a problem, the lawyer is the only person that has read the inside of the top of the box.”
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
THE MORTGAGE MODIFICATION UNICORN; PRINCIPAL REDUCTION
We do loan modifications; lots of them. It's our primary work in over 90% of the hundreds of residential mortgage foreclosures we have handled in South Florida in the last few years. The holy grail, the goal of most of our clients, when faced with a mortgage which has become “upside down” since the collapse of the real estate market, where the home is worth less than what is owed to the bank, is to obtain a modification of their mortgage, which reduces the principal balance or the amount of the underlying debt.
It is this reduction of principal balance that the “upside down” homeowner has been clamoring for since the beginning of the mortgage crisis and the real estate collapse in which the banks and lenders, for the most part, for most of the last three plus years, have been steadfastly refusing.
The initial public position of the banks, when confronted with this issue, was to complain that if they reduced the principal balance for the “deadbeat” borrowers (the people who weren’t paying their mortgages) they would have to do it for their “good customers,” (the ones that were paying their mortgages). This, they claim, would bankrupt them, would promote bad behavior, would turn every honest, hardworking, bill-paying, contract compliant, red-blooded American into a “deadbeat” and guarantee the destruction of the western world as we know it today.
Guess what? The banks are, selectively, quietly, in individual cases, offering and entering into loan modifications in which the principal balance is reduced and debt is forgiven. Wow!
The unicorn lives. It is white, with a flowing mane, and it is beautiful. Apparently there are males and females because they are breeding and their numbers are increasing. The real trick is how to capture this elusive and beautiful beast.
We have a theory about how to obtain a principal reduction on a residential mortgage, based upon our own empirical experience. (There will be future blogs on this subject.) But the threshold answer on how to obtain such a reduction, although simplistic, is often overlooked by both laypeople trying to negotiate their own loan modification and, in our experience, so called “professionals;"be they the various cottage industries that are sprung up like mushrooms after the rain, or the innumerable law firms engaged in this enterprise;. The secret is to ASK FOR IT.
Various analogies of this approach come to mind, but they cannot be repeated here because this is intended to be a “G” rated blog. So we will conclude this post by simply stating that asking cannot hurt, and while you are asking, if you can present a “package” – a “picture” of a situation where it might be in the mortgage company’s best interest to consider such a reduction, you might yet live to see and experience the miracle of the unicorn.
It is this reduction of principal balance that the “upside down” homeowner has been clamoring for since the beginning of the mortgage crisis and the real estate collapse in which the banks and lenders, for the most part, for most of the last three plus years, have been steadfastly refusing.
The initial public position of the banks, when confronted with this issue, was to complain that if they reduced the principal balance for the “deadbeat” borrowers (the people who weren’t paying their mortgages) they would have to do it for their “good customers,” (the ones that were paying their mortgages). This, they claim, would bankrupt them, would promote bad behavior, would turn every honest, hardworking, bill-paying, contract compliant, red-blooded American into a “deadbeat” and guarantee the destruction of the western world as we know it today.
Guess what? The banks are, selectively, quietly, in individual cases, offering and entering into loan modifications in which the principal balance is reduced and debt is forgiven. Wow!
The unicorn lives. It is white, with a flowing mane, and it is beautiful. Apparently there are males and females because they are breeding and their numbers are increasing. The real trick is how to capture this elusive and beautiful beast.
We have a theory about how to obtain a principal reduction on a residential mortgage, based upon our own empirical experience. (There will be future blogs on this subject.) But the threshold answer on how to obtain such a reduction, although simplistic, is often overlooked by both laypeople trying to negotiate their own loan modification and, in our experience, so called “professionals;"be they the various cottage industries that are sprung up like mushrooms after the rain, or the innumerable law firms engaged in this enterprise;. The secret is to ASK FOR IT.
Various analogies of this approach come to mind, but they cannot be repeated here because this is intended to be a “G” rated blog. So we will conclude this post by simply stating that asking cannot hurt, and while you are asking, if you can present a “package” – a “picture” of a situation where it might be in the mortgage company’s best interest to consider such a reduction, you might yet live to see and experience the miracle of the unicorn.
Monday, June 18, 2012
THE MUSIC STOPS ROCKING WHEN THE PROCESS SERVICER COMES KNOCKING
Okay, so you get served with mortgage foreclosure papers. I have several bits of advice that I want to give at this point, suggestions number 1, 2, and 3 are the same, hire a lawyer, preferably an experienced lawyer.
When we are hired, we almost always have two separate processes we go through that are somewhat independent of each other. One: we work on a loan modification and two: we litigate the foreclosure lawsuit. It is our position that they go hand in hand because, contrary to what has become an “urban legend,” in my over 35 years of experience, I have never witnessed someone getting a “free house.” Ultimately, unless the loan was never funded, the mortgage is going to be enforced at some point. Therefore, it is important, if you want to keep the house, that you try to modify the loan to the point where you can afford to keep the house. And although the loan modification process is normally conducted independently of what you are doing to defend the foreclosure, the ferocity of the defense that is mounted often favorably affects the terms of the modification you ultimately receive.
There are two types of defenses in a foreclosure or, for that matter, any civil litigation. There is what I call procedural or what non-lawyers refer to as “legal loopholes” and then there are actual factual defenses, which are dependent on the particular circumstances of the case. Regarding the first type of defense, the “loopholes,” (this is really a poor description of what is actually involved) in fact, these so-called “loopholes” are probably one of the most important reasons why our system has consistently resulted in a society which provides both freedom and prosperity to its members. Lawyers and other enlightened groups refer to this as “due process of law.” What it means is that there are rules, procedures that must be followed within the judicial system so that a decision which is proper, correct, and fair is achieved. These “loopholes” include the fundamental concept that all parties to a dispute are entitled to present their side of the story, that facts can only be presented when they are reliable, and that there should be an orderly process which ensures that everyone knows the procedure and has an opportunity to be heard; that the decisions that are rendered are based upon an unbiased interpretation of what the facts are, which are then applied to the established rules governing agreements, or in the area of tort law, the party wronged receives compensation from the wrongdoer. (You may have guessed by the last sentence that I am in fact a lawyer, but I assure you that as run-on sentences go, for lawyers, this one is a baby).
The first thing that happens in any lawsuit is for the Court to acquire jurisdiction over the parties. All this means is that the Court acquires the authority over the parties to make a decision. When you file a lawsuit as a Plaintiff, you submit yourself to the jurisdiction of the Court. The service by the process server is how, normally, jurisdiction or authority is established over the Defendants. There are a lot of myths about what is good service, and like everything else dealing with the law, volumes have been written. All I can say about service here is that 99 times out of 100, if the Complaint and Summons was left with a member of the human species at the house, this is usually good service. (Actually, in Florida, there is a type of service that can be obtained through publication, which has certain implications. A notice published in a small local newspaper that no one reads, avoiding the need of a process server to actually find a human being, if the Court can be satisfied that the Defendants are avoiding the process server). When you get served, you should get two pieces of paper, the Complaint, which is very thick and has lots of papers attached to it, and the document, usually two pages long sometimes three in South Florida because it is translated into various languages, called a Summons. READ THE SUMMONS. It tells you that you have 20 days to file a written response to the Complaint with the Clerk of the Court and to serve a copy to the Plaintiff’s attorney. If you don’t, then a default will be entered against you, which means that your procedural rights to contest the foreclosure are over, and it’s only a matter of time before you are apartment hunting.
What to put in the response is the $64.00 question and why my clients pay me the big bucks. The response will raise any procedural issues, but most importantly, will begin to tell your side of the story and set the ground work for making it clear that you will insist that the Bank PROVE everything they have to in order to enforce the Mortgage and Note. In Florida, all mortgage foreclosures are in equity where a particular set of rules apply. The bad news is that this means that you don’t get to have your case decided by a jury. (Whether you believe it or not, the downtrodden always do better with juries). The good news is that fundamental concepts, such as fairness, justice, reprehensible conduct can and should be considered by a Court of Equity. As a practical matter, this should mean that a Court should take into consideration bad conduct on the part of the Bank, which impacts upon the original terms and conditions of the Mortgage and/or how and when it will be enforced.
There are two types of defenses in a foreclosure or, for that matter, any civil litigation. There is what I call procedural or what non-lawyers refer to as “legal loopholes” and then there are actual factual defenses, which are dependent on the particular circumstances of the case. Regarding the first type of defense, the “loopholes,” (this is really a poor description of what is actually involved) in fact, these so-called “loopholes” are probably one of the most important reasons why our system has consistently resulted in a society which provides both freedom and prosperity to its members. Lawyers and other enlightened groups refer to this as “due process of law.” What it means is that there are rules, procedures that must be followed within the judicial system so that a decision which is proper, correct, and fair is achieved. These “loopholes” include the fundamental concept that all parties to a dispute are entitled to present their side of the story, that facts can only be presented when they are reliable, and that there should be an orderly process which ensures that everyone knows the procedure and has an opportunity to be heard; that the decisions that are rendered are based upon an unbiased interpretation of what the facts are, which are then applied to the established rules governing agreements, or in the area of tort law, the party wronged receives compensation from the wrongdoer. (You may have guessed by the last sentence that I am in fact a lawyer, but I assure you that as run-on sentences go, for lawyers, this one is a baby).
The first thing that happens in any lawsuit is for the Court to acquire jurisdiction over the parties. All this means is that the Court acquires the authority over the parties to make a decision. When you file a lawsuit as a Plaintiff, you submit yourself to the jurisdiction of the Court. The service by the process server is how, normally, jurisdiction or authority is established over the Defendants. There are a lot of myths about what is good service, and like everything else dealing with the law, volumes have been written. All I can say about service here is that 99 times out of 100, if the Complaint and Summons was left with a member of the human species at the house, this is usually good service. (Actually, in Florida, there is a type of service that can be obtained through publication, which has certain implications. A notice published in a small local newspaper that no one reads, avoiding the need of a process server to actually find a human being, if the Court can be satisfied that the Defendants are avoiding the process server). When you get served, you should get two pieces of paper, the Complaint, which is very thick and has lots of papers attached to it, and the document, usually two pages long sometimes three in South Florida because it is translated into various languages, called a Summons. READ THE SUMMONS. It tells you that you have 20 days to file a written response to the Complaint with the Clerk of the Court and to serve a copy to the Plaintiff’s attorney. If you don’t, then a default will be entered against you, which means that your procedural rights to contest the foreclosure are over, and it’s only a matter of time before you are apartment hunting.
What to put in the response is the $64.00 question and why my clients pay me the big bucks. The response will raise any procedural issues, but most importantly, will begin to tell your side of the story and set the ground work for making it clear that you will insist that the Bank PROVE everything they have to in order to enforce the Mortgage and Note. In Florida, all mortgage foreclosures are in equity where a particular set of rules apply. The bad news is that this means that you don’t get to have your case decided by a jury. (Whether you believe it or not, the downtrodden always do better with juries). The good news is that fundamental concepts, such as fairness, justice, reprehensible conduct can and should be considered by a Court of Equity. As a practical matter, this should mean that a Court should take into consideration bad conduct on the part of the Bank, which impacts upon the original terms and conditions of the Mortgage and/or how and when it will be enforced.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
BE PREPARED OR WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ACTUALLY FIND A HUMAN BEING ON THE PHONE WHO SAYS THEY WANT TO HELP YOU
Since the “mortgage crisis” and even before, the principal experience of homeowners or those who work, like my firm, with homeowners, in dealing with the mortgage companies, have been made to suffer the enormous frustration of repeated telephone calls, being placed on hold, filling out and submitting forms, and then following up, only to be told that the Bank cannot find the forms, and having to start all over again. That has really been the hallmark of the process, and the solution and key to success has been persistence. However, it is imperative that you be prepared for that cathartic moment when you actually reach a human being, at the precise confluence of the great time and space continuum, when need intersects with contact with a person who has the desire and authority to help. It does happen, really! Maybe not to you, but somebody eventually wins the lottery, right?
What does be prepared mean? In addition to having your loan information and the detailed prior notes of all communications and efforts in front of you, you need to be able to provide accurate information regarding your financial circumstances; income and expenses and, of course, have copies of everything that you have previously submitted in the loss mitigation process. It is appropriate here for me to mention a fact that must be kept in mind; it is a crime to lie to a federally insured lending institution in order to influence them in making a decision regarding a loan. Surprisingly, some people have actually gone to jail for this. With this in mind, it is important to assemble financial information that shows the hardship which caused your present difficulties, but you still have to show sufficient income to meet “reasonable” shelter expenses, including the modified mortgage that you are seeking, so that it now makes sense for the bank to turn frowns upside down.
A “reasonable mortgage payment” is the amount when combined with other “shelter expenses” equals 31% of the family’s gross income. “Shelter expense” equals mortgage payment, principal and interest, real estate taxes, hazard (windstorm, flood, fire, etc.) insurance, and condo and/or homeowner’s association fees. Most mortgage companies have a website where you can obtain the necessary forms so that you can do all of this in advance before you play the telephone roulette game with your lender. I strongly recommend this approach.
What does be prepared mean? In addition to having your loan information and the detailed prior notes of all communications and efforts in front of you, you need to be able to provide accurate information regarding your financial circumstances; income and expenses and, of course, have copies of everything that you have previously submitted in the loss mitigation process. It is appropriate here for me to mention a fact that must be kept in mind; it is a crime to lie to a federally insured lending institution in order to influence them in making a decision regarding a loan. Surprisingly, some people have actually gone to jail for this. With this in mind, it is important to assemble financial information that shows the hardship which caused your present difficulties, but you still have to show sufficient income to meet “reasonable” shelter expenses, including the modified mortgage that you are seeking, so that it now makes sense for the bank to turn frowns upside down.
A “reasonable mortgage payment” is the amount when combined with other “shelter expenses” equals 31% of the family’s gross income. “Shelter expense” equals mortgage payment, principal and interest, real estate taxes, hazard (windstorm, flood, fire, etc.) insurance, and condo and/or homeowner’s association fees. Most mortgage companies have a website where you can obtain the necessary forms so that you can do all of this in advance before you play the telephone roulette game with your lender. I strongly recommend this approach.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET BEHIND ON YOUR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS
Let’s be practical, enough complaining. It is still possible in this great country, at least in my little patch of paradise; South Florida, to fight back. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but falling behind on your mortgage payment does not mean you have to pack your bags and move out, not by a long shot.
The first thing to do is to contact the mortgage company as soon as possible, preferably before you fall behind, and ask for help.
In dealing with mortgage servicing companies, it’s helpful to be polite, but it’s more important to be to the point and to keep excellent records. You should have your loan statement and loan number; you should write down the time and date of the call, and you should ask the person you are speaking to, even if you have to go through three or four people, to tell you their name and ask them to spell it.
Under the various settlements that the mortgage companies have made with the various governmental agencies, the details of which will be the subject of various future postings, a universal complaint was how difficult it was for customers to deal with the mortgage servicers. One of the solutions, which most of the servicers profess to be implementing to correct this, is to assign to a customer a particular “loan preservation specialist” or “customer service representative.” Accordingly, in addition to collecting the names of the people you speak with and the correct spelling, you should try and collect direct telephone numbers, direct e-mail addresses, direct fax numbers, and the like. Half the battle is being able to deal with the same person who might actually remember something from the last conversation or communication.
The mortgage servicing companies refer to the process of helping customers retain their homes and salvage their mortgages and, hopefully their credit rating as “loss mitigation.” This label, which is universal in the residential mortgage servicing industry, should give you a good insight into what the process is really all about. It is not your “loss” that they are seeking to mitigate, it is the mortgage servicing company and the investor’s loss, and if applicable, the mortgage insurance underwriter’s loss. We will discuss this in detail in future postings, however, it is important to understand that a successful “loss mitigation” is where both sides derive a benefit. The homeowner gets to keep their house and the mortgage company minimizes its losses; presumably by modifying the loan so that they are better off in both the short and the long term than having to go through liquidation, where the property is foreclosed upon and sold at public auction.
It is easy to become cynical and in fact, disillusioned, when you get involved in trying to work something out with your bank. It is a bureaucracy that you are going to have to deal with in the worst sense of the word. We have all experienced the automated voice menu and how frustrating it can be. The process of trying to modify a residential mortgage loan is this on steroids, times three. Understand this from the beginning because the key to success is persistence, and the ability to keep your eye on the goal. It is also helpful to try and assume the calm personality of Mr. Rogers, coupled with the unsinkable good nature of Elmo, and don’t forget, keep scrupulous and detailed notes.
The first thing to do is to contact the mortgage company as soon as possible, preferably before you fall behind, and ask for help.
In dealing with mortgage servicing companies, it’s helpful to be polite, but it’s more important to be to the point and to keep excellent records. You should have your loan statement and loan number; you should write down the time and date of the call, and you should ask the person you are speaking to, even if you have to go through three or four people, to tell you their name and ask them to spell it.
Under the various settlements that the mortgage companies have made with the various governmental agencies, the details of which will be the subject of various future postings, a universal complaint was how difficult it was for customers to deal with the mortgage servicers. One of the solutions, which most of the servicers profess to be implementing to correct this, is to assign to a customer a particular “loan preservation specialist” or “customer service representative.” Accordingly, in addition to collecting the names of the people you speak with and the correct spelling, you should try and collect direct telephone numbers, direct e-mail addresses, direct fax numbers, and the like. Half the battle is being able to deal with the same person who might actually remember something from the last conversation or communication.
The mortgage servicing companies refer to the process of helping customers retain their homes and salvage their mortgages and, hopefully their credit rating as “loss mitigation.” This label, which is universal in the residential mortgage servicing industry, should give you a good insight into what the process is really all about. It is not your “loss” that they are seeking to mitigate, it is the mortgage servicing company and the investor’s loss, and if applicable, the mortgage insurance underwriter’s loss. We will discuss this in detail in future postings, however, it is important to understand that a successful “loss mitigation” is where both sides derive a benefit. The homeowner gets to keep their house and the mortgage company minimizes its losses; presumably by modifying the loan so that they are better off in both the short and the long term than having to go through liquidation, where the property is foreclosed upon and sold at public auction.
It is easy to become cynical and in fact, disillusioned, when you get involved in trying to work something out with your bank. It is a bureaucracy that you are going to have to deal with in the worst sense of the word. We have all experienced the automated voice menu and how frustrating it can be. The process of trying to modify a residential mortgage loan is this on steroids, times three. Understand this from the beginning because the key to success is persistence, and the ability to keep your eye on the goal. It is also helpful to try and assume the calm personality of Mr. Rogers, coupled with the unsinkable good nature of Elmo, and don’t forget, keep scrupulous and detailed notes.
Monday, June 11, 2012
REAL ESTATE CRISIS IN FLORIDA: FROM THE 99% POINT OF VIEW
I am an attorney that has been practicing law in South Florida since I became a lawyer in 1975. I started out as a Legal Services Lawyer for the first 5 or so years and then spent most of the next 25 years representing lenders, in connection with foreclosures of commercial and residential property. That part of my practice stopped completely in 2007, and I was winding my law practice down when the real estate bubble in South Florida burst, and I began my career representing homeowners. Little by little, old clients and friends began referring homeowners to me who were victims of the economic collapse we have all suffered through in the last 3 years.
My clients run the complete spectrum of the 99% of people who work for a living and have bought into the American dream. They include professionals; doctors, lawyers and engineers, as well as blue collar workers, construction workers, government employees, such as teachers and police officers and people who have worked in the hospitality industry. My background as an ex-bank lawyer, a family lawyer, and a general practice lawyer, with over 35 years of experience, has provided me with litigation skills and an inside-out knowledge of the foreclosure process; I couldn’t turn people down.
With many years of experience as a family lawyer in making “the deal,” it appeared that representing homeowners was a perfect fit for me. I’m frankly proud to say that my associate and I, and our staff of 6-7 have effectively represented hundreds of individuals and families and have effectively saved hundreds of homes, by ultimately obtaining some litigation “wins” in some cases and workable “modifications” in many others. My experience in the last 3 years at what is going on now has drawn me, almost forced me, to start this blog.
For most of the last 4 decades, I have been extremely proud to be an attorney as my profession. Despite the many critics, and general ridicule, I thought being a lawyer was the embodiment of the American dream and ideal. The rule of law and the justice system is the ultimate protection that is supposed to give every individual American citizen the same rights as every other citizen. The experience in the last few years, however, has left me deeply disillusioned, and the process I face on a daily basis in representing people whose home and life savings are at stake is, more and more, day after day, becoming more unfair and one-sided; slanted towards the lenders, all in the name of “economic expediency.” The idea of justice, of equity; a man’s home is his castle, the legal traditions that separate and order our Republic, are being ignored, pushed aside, and all too often just considered a nuisance, all in an effort, it seems to me, to help the lenders; whose conduct and behavior precipitated the economic collapse which we are all now facing.
The commentators, and even the general public, seem to criticize the “occupy movement” for its amorphous and undefined bitchiness… “what do they want?” What they want seems clear to me…they want this B.S., the tyranny by the moneylenders, the 1%, to stop. The irony is that the perpetrators who are indeed making “war” against the vast majority of us, use the loaded political term of “class warfare” to criticize anyone who objects. Are we really that stupid?
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