How to Solve Mortgage and Foreclosure Woes

Do you have an underwater mortgage (you owe more than the value of the property)?

Do you face foreclosure?

You can solve those problems with relative ease and minimize damage to your credit rating if you follow the below decision tree.

You have two battles to fight in the war against the bank over your mortgage. 

1.  On one side of the hill you have the foreclosure.  If you fight the foreclosure battle, you always lose because of several factors - you signed the note and mortgage, failed to pay, and must forfeit the collateral. 

2.  On the other you have the mortgage itself.  If you fight the mortgage, you can get the loan rescinded or get financial compensation or the house free and clear IF you find sufficient causes of action and prosecute them effectively.  The mortgage examination shows whether you have causes of action.

It's that simple.

Now you face a variety of courses of action depending on your financial condition and the mortgage exam results:

Mortgage Examination Decision Tree

1. If you are broke
   
1. go to Minimize Loss
2. Else (you are not broke)
   
1. get the mortgage examined
2. If the exam shows causes of action
1. Negotiate settlement with lender (may need to hire lawyer for $1000)
2. If you can accept the settlement
1. embrace the settlement
2. go to Enjoy Life
   
3. else (settlement unacceptable)
   
1. Sue lender for causes of action or file counter/cross claim
   
2. embrace the result
3. go to Enjoy Life
3. else (no causes of action)
1. go to Minimize Loss
   
3. Minimize Loss:
   
1. Do Short Sale, Deed in Lieu, or beneficial Loan Mod
2. go to Enjoy Life
   
4. Enjoy Life:
1. Live happily ever after
   

I imagine you signed a note and mortgage in which you admitted receiving a loan, having seisen (possession) of the estate, and conveying the estate to the mortgagee for purposes of the mortgage.  Article I Section 10 of the Florida Constitution forbids any law from impairing the obligation of contracts (like the note and mortgage) and Section 21 grants injured persons (including banks) the right to use the courts for redress and justice.  You must forfeit the house for defaulting on the note.  You might drag out the process through legal shenanigans, but I guess you will lose the house in the end at great expense to your fortune and peace of mind...

Unless you can prove that the lender or lender's agents injured you first.

The key to saving a house from foreclosure AND obtaining financial compensation lies in a comprehensive, competent mortgage examination, and negotiating with or suing the originating lender for the related causes of actions.  If the exam report reveals tortious conduct, legal errors, or contract breaches underlying the mortgage loan, those will provide a measure of opportunity to hammer the lender into a settlement.  Otherwise you don't negotiate from a position of power, and you lose.  Done right, settling or suing stops the foreclosure, of course.

I know only one mortgage examiner with any degree of competence.  He does not negotiate on price, period.  You fill in a non-disclosure agreement and a questionnaire.  You scan and zip them and all your mortgage and foreclosure related documents (plus loan app and appraisal) and upload the file to the examiner.  He invoices you $2500 by PayPal.  You pay with Credit Card or PayPal account.  7 business days later you receive the report.  If it shows causes of action (red ink), you or your attorney negotiate settlement with the originating lender and plaintiff.  If you like the settlement, you settle.  If you don't, you hire another attorney (fee or contingency) and sue.  The process might drag out a couple of years, but you will probably win (just like the mortgagee wins foreclosures).

• Go to the examiner's web site and click Get Started.
• Email a request for QUESTIONNAIRE. When you receive it, fill it in.
• Download and sign non-disclosure agreement.
• Scan those with all mortgage and foreclosure related documents (closing docs plus appraisal, loan application, etc.).
• Contact the Chief Examiner.  He will give you necessary details.
• Upload them to the location provided, pay the fee, receive the report in 7 business days
• Settle or sue for the causes of action in the report, or (if no causes) walk from the  house with short sale, deed in lieu, keys for cash, etc.

Some gentle reminders...

• I am not a lawyer and don't give legal advice
• NO foreclosure defense works - defenders always lose because the borrower breached the terms of the note and must forfeit the collateral
• Even if you win the foreclosure or do a loan mod, you end up owing more than the house is worth (typically) and having onerous repayment terms
• You can only save your house and obtain financial compensation by ATTACKING the lender and/or agents for injuring you
• You can only discover the bases for an attack through a comprehensive, competent mortgage examination
  
• You don't need to face foreclosure to justify the mortgage examination - lenders and their agents have cheated 90% of home mortgage borrowers over the past decade or so.
  
• $2500 for the exam is a cheap price to pay for the benefit of saving your house or getting compensatory and punitive damages. Look at these examples:
• *House free and clear, legal fees/costs paid, $2.1 million in punitive damages*- http://wvrecord.com/news/233771-quicken-loans-on-losing-end-of-3-million-predatory-lending-verdict
• *$250K compensation, $1 million punitive* - Wells Fargo lied on the loan application-- http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/08/11/story8.html?b=1218427200^1681713 <http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/08/11/story8.html?b=1218427200%5E1681713>
• *$10 million actual damages, $1.5 million mental anguish and economic damage*- Ocwen lied to borrower who missed loan payment - http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2005/11/28/daily20.html?page=all
• *reinstated $6 million punitive damage arbitration award*against servicer (8th USCCA W. Mo.Stark v. Sandperg, Phoenix & von Gontard, et al.) - http://mortgage-home-loan-bank-fraud.com/legal/Stark%20vs%20EMC.pdf

Contact me by phone (727 669 5511) or Email for further details. I'll put you in touch with the Chief Examiner after I have answered all your questions.

Yes, you may distribute this article Far and Wide.

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Bob Hurt 2460 Persian Drive #70 Clearwater, FL 33763-1925 (727) 669-5511 Visit My Home Page  ·  Email Me  ·  Visit My Blog Learn to Litigate with Jurisdictionary (Buy Now) Stay informed with Lawmen E-letter (Subscribe Free Now) Donate to my Law Scholarship Fund.

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AZ USDC Judge Enjoins Sheriff Arpaio to Stop Targeting Mexicans

http://www.scribd.com/doc/143572079/Arpaio-Ruling-America-s-toughest-sheriff-a-civil-rights-violator

24 May 2013.  Arizona United States District Court Judge G. Murray Snow issued a 142-page ruling (attached) denouncing the anti-illegal-immigration practices of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The federal government (ICE) gave the Maricopa County Sheriff Office (MCSO) the authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g) to enforce federal immigration law.  The Sheriff took the job way too seriously.  He rounded up Mexicans, often in lengthy traffic stops, jailed the illegal immigrants even though they had committed no crime, reported the jailings to ICE, then kept the Mexicans locked up till ICE told him what to do with them.  ICE removed his authority for that stunt, but he kept on doing it. 

Arpaio claimed he did it because Arizona law prohibits human smuggling, and that gave Arpaio the power to stop Mexican-looking people in traffic or public parking and demand their documents.  The judge pointed out that illegal aliens don't commit a federal crime by merely existing in the USA without authorization (illegally), so Arpaio had no reason to lock them up.  So the class of all people so stopped and detained had the right to sue.  In the lawsuit they asked the court to answer these questions:

1. whether, and to what extent, the Fourth Amendment permits the MCSO to question, investigate, and/or detain Latino occupants of motor vehicles it suspects of being in the country without authorization when it has no basis to bring state charges against such persons;
2. whether the MCSO uses race as a factor, and, if so, to what extent it is permissible under the Fourth Amendment to use race as a factor in forming either reasonable suspicion or probable cause to detain a person for  being present without authorization;
3. whether the MCSO uses race as a factor, and if so, to what extent it is permissible under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to use race as a factor in making law enforcement decisions that affect Latino occupants of motor vehicles in Maricopa County;
4. whether the MCSO prolongs traffic stops to investigate the status of vehicle occupants beyond the time permitted by the Fourth Amendment; and
5. whether being in this country without authorization provides sufficient reasonable suspicion or probable cause under the Fourth Amendment that a person is violating or conspiring to violate Arizona law related to immigration status.

The court found that Arpaio's minions intentionally targeted Mexicans and exceeded lawful authority in detaining them.  Starting at page 107, the court enjoined them to stop targeting Mexicans and stop enforcing federal immigration law.  It reiterated a prior 9th Circuit ruling that law enforcers may NOT detain persons on the mere suspicion they are in the country without authorization (illegal entry is a crime, but illegal presence is not).  Questions:

1. What do YOU think of this ruling and the associated law?
2. If someone exists IN the USA without authorization, does that not mean the person entered illegally - can you imagine anyone unwillingly entering the USA?
3. What law could fairly and dramatically reduce the number of illegal aliens in the land?

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Bob Hurt 2460 Persian Drive #70 Clearwater, FL 33763-1925 (727) 669-5511 Visit My Home Page  ·  Email Me  ·  Visit My Blog Learn to Litigate with Jurisdictionary (Buy Now) Stay informed with Lawmen E-letter (Subscribe Free Now) Donate to my Law Scholarship Fund.

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Oaths of Florida Lawyers and State Attorneys

Will wrote and asked:

The purpose of this message is to inquire about your previous challenge on the Florida oath of office issue. Questions:

1. What was the final outcome of your investigation?
2.  Did you develop any kind of final report?
3. Where do I look to find the the oath of judges of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida. Specifically Judge Gisela Cardonne Ely.
4. Since attorneys are "officers of the court" and courts are of the state, did you find any state requirement(s) for attorney to take an oath???

I answer as follows

1. I found out that many violations of oath-related laws exist, but the Florida Supreme Court justifies those by judges so long as they swore the public officer's oath.
   
2. Get the Loyalty Oaths in Florida report here:  http://bobhurt.com/articles/law%20-%20Loyalty%20Oaths%20in%20Florida.pdf.
3. Get judge oaths from the State Dept, Div of Elections, Bureau of Election Records, and from your judicial circuit's trial court administrator (11th circuit).
4. Normal attorneys must swear the Florida Bar Oath (below).  I know of no law requiring them to swear any other oath unless they take government employment or vote.
   
5. State Attorneys must swear :
1. Florida Bar Oath
2. Elector's oath, F.S. 97.051
3. Candidate's oath, F.S. 99.021 and 876.05-10
4. Public Officer's oath, Fl Constitution Article II Sec 5b; see also US Constitution Article VI Clause 3, and 4 USC 101 and 102  -  The Florida Constitution public officer oath  contains the words "I will support the Constitution and Government..." which I believe negates the oath to support the constitution and justifies the good old boys network.
   
5. Public employee's oath, F.S. 876.05-10 -  876.06 requires discharge of public employees who fail to swear the 876.05 oath, and 876.08 makes failure to discharge into a misdemeanor.  I know of no law that specifically punishes the failure to abide by the oath except for laws regarding treason and other crimes.
6. See http://leg.state.fl.us for laws, statutes, and the Florida Constitution.
7. Many if not most lawyers violate their oaths and bar rules (below). 

Florida Bar Oath

Oath of Admission to The Florida Bar

The general principles which should ever control the lawyer in the practice of the legal profession are clearly set forth in the following oath of admission to the Bar, which the lawyer is sworn on admission to obey and for the willful violation to which disbarment may be had.

1. "I do solemnly swear:
2. "I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Florida;
3. "I will maintain the respect due to courts of justice and judicial officers;
4. "I will not counsel or maintain any suit or proceedings which shall appear to me to be unjust, nor any defense except such as I believe to be honestly debatable under the law of the land;
5. "I will employ for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to me such means only as are consistent with truth and honor, and will never seek to mislead the judge or jury by any artifice or false statement of fact or law;
6. "I will maintain the confidence and preserve inviolate the secrets of my clients, and will accept no compensation in connection with their business except from them or with their knowledge and approval;
7. "To opposing parties and their counsel, I pledge fairness, integrity, and civility, not only in court, but also in all written and oral communications;
8. "I will abstain from all offensive personality and advance no fact prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which I am charged;
9. "I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay anyone's cause for lucre or malice. So help me God."

(NOTE: This form may NOT be used for admission purposes. You must obtain the official form from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners for admission.)

[Revised: 09-13-2011]

RULES REGULATING THE FLORIDA BAR - note 4.3.3

http://www.floridabar.org/divexe/rrtfb.nsf/WContents?OpenView

1 General

2 Bylaws Of The Florida Bar

3 Rules Of Discipline

4 Rules Of Professional Conduct

CHAPTER 4 (PDF) (153 PAGES) (JULY 1, 2012)

PREAMBLE

4-1 Client-Lawyer Relationship

4-2 Counselor

4-3 Advocate

4-3.1 Meritorious Claims And Contentions

4-3.2 Expediting Litigation

4-3.3 Candor Toward The Tribunal

4-3.4 Fairness To Opposing Party And Counsel

4-3.5 Impartiality And Decorum Of The Tribunal

4-3.6 Trial Publicity

4-3.7 Lawyer As Witness

4-3.8 Special Responsibilities Of A Prosecutor

4-3.9 Advocate In Nonadjudicative Proceedings

4-4 Transactions With Persons Other Than Clients

4-5 Law Firms And Associations

4-6 Public Service

4-7 Information About Legal Services

4-8 Maintaining The Integrity Of The Profession

5 Rules Regulating Trust Accounts

6 Legal Specialization And Education Programs

7 Clients' Security Fund Rules

8 Lawyer Referral Rule

9 Legal Services Plans Rules And Regulations

10 Rules Governing The Investigation And Prosecution Of The Unlicensed Practice Of Law

11 Rules Governing The Law School Practice Program

12 Emeritus Attorneys Pro Bono Participation Program

13 Authorized Legal Aid Practitioners Rule

14 Grievance Mediation And Fee Arbitration

15 Review Of Lawyer Advertisements And Solicitations

16 Foreign Legal Consultancy Rule

17 Authorized House Counsel Rule

18 Military Legal Assistance Counsel Rule

19 Center For Professionalism

20 Florida Registered Paralegal Program

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Bob Hurt 2460 Persian Drive #70 Clearwater, FL 33763-1925 (727) 669-5511 Visit My Home Page  ·  Email Me  ·  Visit My Blog Learn to Litigate with Jurisdictionary (Buy Now) Stay informed with Lawmen E-letter (Subscribe Free Now) Donate to my Law Scholarship Fund.

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UBUNTU Linux Phone and Tablet Coming Soon

WHAT??? UBUNTU PHONE?

http://www.ubuntu.com/phone
http://www.ubuntu.com/tablet

UBUNTU (pronounced ooboontoo) Linux works on smartphones RIGHT NOW, but Canonical (the developer) plans release of a smartphone and a tablet running UBUNTU natively.  Many people might want UBUNTU running on their smart phones.  Read about the feature mix at the above links.  And note:  Google's android IS a Linux application.  IT runs on a UBUNTU linux base in android phones and tablets.

The ideal smart phone and tablet have HDMI connectors for hooking them to a flat panel monitor.  The latest phone and tablet will have such a powerful CPU and sufficient memory (high speed 64G) to become the NEW DESKTOP COMPUTER.

I imagine you could have a nice business installing UBUNTU on smart phones and selling terminals - keyboard (with touchpad or mouse), monitor, and dock.  I imagine also that you will find a good market for touch screen monitors in such a setup.

I expect Canonical to announce the phone and tablet full product in November.  It wouldn't surprise me to learn that they are partnering with Google who now owns Motorola's cell phone division.

Don't see this as trivial.  Universities around the world run FREE BSD UNIX (very similar to UBUNTU Linux) for their servers and computer science classes and projects.  FreeBSD formed the basis for Apple's Darwin OS which forms the core of MacOS. IOS is a Darwin application like Android is a UBUNTU application.  So, I don't expect Apple to take Canonical's move lying down.  I imagine in due course Apple will create a phone/tablet that runs FreeBSD natively.  With the UNIX/LINUX running on all the smart phones, every university student with a smart phone will have a UNIX/Linux in pocket for doing school projects including computer science classes, programming, etc.  Smart Phones will really revolutionize education.

I hope Apple and Google will devise ways to allow teachers electronically (via wifi) to turn off all phone/text activity except as needed for school projects during classes.  Right now schools make students turn off their phones and put them away.  The time could come when schools will require every student to have and use a smartphone running UBUNTU/FREEBSD for classes.  Teachers can broadcast assignments, homework, etc, and students can use the voice capability or built in keypad to type lesson work.

Where does this leave Microsoft.  The company has shoved Windows down users throats for decades.  It has become bloated, slow, susceptible to virus infections, and remains quirky if not clunky with single user paradigm until introduction of the Metro interface for Windows 8.  I still have not gotten used to it.  And let's not forget the cost.  All but a few versions of UNIX and LINUX are free, and so are thousands of their application programs, including LibreOffice and OpenOffice.  But Microsoft Windows and Office still cost a pretty penny.  The time may come when even Microsoft will port its Windows apps to Linux.

More hardware companies have begun to bundle LINUX with computers.  They should, for economical reasons. Most choose UBUNTU or a derivative.  Google, Asus, Samsung, and HP partnered to produce inexpensive Chromebook which boot up Google ChromeOS, a Chrome browser shell running on UBUNTU.  Dell has recently announced the XPS13 I7 ultrabook running UBUNTU and featuring LibreOffice.   Maybe Michael Dell, with his company staggering under $15 billion in debt, has smelled the coffee of Google's Chromebook success.  Lenovo has certified its computers for use with UBUNTU, RedHat, Novell, and TurboLinux.  System76 specializes in UBUNTU laptop and Desktop systems.

Linux, particularly UBUNTU, is here to stay, and will become a driving force in consumer computers because of its cost ($0), speed, versatility, and the thousands of sophisticated applications available for it free.  It may soon dominate in smartphones and tablets, making them into the "new desktop computers" by plugging right into the home or business flat panel monitor.

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Bob Hurt 2460 Persian Drive #70 Clearwater, FL 33763-1925 (727) 669-5511 Visit My Home Page  ·  Email Me  ·  Visit My Blog Learn to Litigate with Jurisdictionary (Buy Now) Stay informed with Lawmen E-letter (Subscribe Free Now) Donate to my Law Scholarship Fund.

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A Contrast between Mortgage Examinations and "Making Homes Affordable" Programs

Troubled mortgagors suffer much confusion about the benefit of government loan programs.  They toss about to decide which would be best from them.  In reality, 90% of the mortgagors should never take such a program because they will fare better by attacking the lender for cheating them in the mortgage deal to begin with.

Here's the point:

1.  If the borrower defaults on a VALID mortgage loan (only 10% are valid in my opinion), through late or missing payments, the borrower ought to lose the house to foreclosure.  But the borrower should not leave the house except through selling it, giving its deed to the bank in lieu or foreclosure, or obeying court order to vacate the house.  Furthermore they might end up with a Zombie Title - persecution by homeowner associations, county officials, etc for allowing the house to become a danger to the community.

2.  If the loan has an invalid nature or the lender injured the borrower through tortious conduct, contract breaches, or legal errors underlying the mortgage, (90% of the situations in my opinion) the borrower ought to fight the lender through negotiated settlement or lawsuit for damages.  Doing this skillfully can result in the borrower getting the house free and clear and/or financial compensation (including legal fees and costs).

3.  Look at the terms of the typical loan modification to see why it amounts to a scam that cheats the borrower, leaving the borrower owing as much as 3 times the value of the house and facing an impossible balloon payment.  Take note that most loans these days are underwater, and the owner can only sell at a loss after 70 months in the house.  Do your own arithmetic on this with an amortization calculator.

• This amortization schedule calculator shows the problem with a $250,000 loan at 6% over 20 to 50 years in duration.  Take note that on average people stay in a house less than 6 years.

• http://www.mortgage-info.com/mortgage-calculators/amortizationschedulecalculator.aspx

Years	Payment	~ interest as % of first pmt	70-month interest	full term interest
20	$1791	71%	$80,160	$179,859
30	$1500	83%	$84,124	$289,595
40	$1376	91%	$85,797	$410,256
50	$1316	95%	$86,604	$539,607

• Spreadsheet program amortization templates
• Microsoft Excel provides a sample template that creates an amortization table
• You can download an amortization table calculator for LibreOffice at http://www.blandisd.net/downloads/libre_office/calc/Amortization.ots
  

4.  Overview all of the government's Making Homes Affordable (MHA) programs - http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov (HAMP, 2MP, HARP, UP, PRA, HAFA) here:

• HAMP - Home Affordable Mortgage Program - https://www.hmpadmin.com//portal/programs/fha_hamp.jsp
• watch this simple presentation - https://www.hmpadmin.com/portal/learningcenter/advisors/docs/checkmynpv_presentation.pdf
• HARP - Home Affordable Refinance Program - http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/programs/lower-rates/Pages/harp.aspx
• 2MP - 2nd Lien Modification Program - http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/programs/lower-payments/Pages/lien_modification.aspx
• UP - Home Affordable Unemployment Program - http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/programs/unemployed-help/Pages/up.aspx
• PRA - Principle Reduction Alternative - http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/programs/lower-payments/Pages/pra.aspx
• HAFA - Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives - http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/programs/exit-gracefully/Pages/hafa.aspx

5.  Remember that lenders have no obligation to make a worse deal for themselves than the present mortgage gives them.  For example, they might modify the loan to give you lower payments, but you will owe a big balloon a few years down the road (which you probably cannot pay) and most of each payment constitutes interest.  Furthermore, you have to waive any and all rights to litigate against them for cheating you in the original mortgage.

In summary, a government program puts most borrowers in worse shape than they'd enjoy if they negotiated with or sued the lender for the causes of action underlying the mortgage.  To do this, mortgagers MUST procure a competent, comprehensive, professional mortgage examination.  For FREE information about such an examination and how to use it to get financial compensation and/or the house free and clear, call me immediately.  I do not charge money for this service.

Bob Hurt
727 669 5511
Email Me

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Bob Hurt 2460 Persian Drive #70 Clearwater, FL 33763-1925 (727) 669-5511 Visit My Home Page  ·  Email Me  ·  Visit My Blog Learn to Litigate with Jurisdictionary (Buy Now) Stay informed with Lawmen E-letter (Subscribe Free Now) Donate to my Law Scholarship Fund.

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