Hat tip to jp for sending this along, excerpts from Housingwatch’s article:
The Earls, who admit to having fallen behind on their mortgage at one point due to a loss of income in Danielle’s business, say that they were working with the bank to catch up on their payments. However, she says, whenever they made a payment it was not being reflected on statements, even a $12,500 catch-up payment was not credited to the balance due. Ultimately, there was a $25,000 discrepancy between what they thought they still owed in arrears and what the bank said they owed.
The Earls originally purchased the house for $500,000 in March 2001. Due to some refinances to take out equity, they owed at least $880,000 on a no-interest mortgage loan by the time of foreclosure.
Garvin was not only the listing agent but also the acquisition and sales partner for his client, Conejo Capital Partners, the investors. He says that he purchased the home in good faith for $697,000 in January on behalf of his client, at an auction on the courthouse steps.
After gaining possession from the Earls through eviction in July, his clients spent $40,000 rehabbing the home. Carpets were replaced, appliances updated, and granite countertops added. “The living condition was disgusting,” he says. But once cleaned up, it went under contract to new buyers for $800,000.
Danielle Earl (pictured) says that she and her husband have been foster parents to 43 children over the years and they currently home-school most of their school-age children (six of whom are adopted). So she admits that the walls were probably a bit scuffed and in need of a paint job, and some of the carpet was worn. But, she says, she and her family only had a day to collect their things and have movers haul it away, so it’s not like they were leaving the home in a show-ready state. About arriving back home Saturday, she says: “It was such an emotional moment. Everyone started hugging each other and crying.”
Since possession doesn’t necessarily mean ownership, the Earls still have a battle on their hands, says Pines, who says they were denied a trial by jury to argue why they never should have been foreclosed upon — and their eviction from the 2000-built home was unwarranted.
“The bank used the usual fabricated and forged documents to foreclose,” the Earls wrote in their court petition, in which they describe signatures by bank personnel that do not match, from document to document — an indication to them that documents were not properly reviewed and were fabricated.
“We needed to get back in before the investor and the real estate broker moved in a new family,” says Pines. “I didn’t want to allow the situation to become worse, and we show up and we have to try to throw them out. Danielle and Jim would not have wanted to throw them out.”
Doh! And it begins.
This is very very entertaining BUT they better not be lying that part about signatures not matching from document to document! Two wrongs don’t make a right.
If they do have different signatures on bank documents then that listing agent is about to learn a painful legal lesson.
From CAR:
This halting of foreclosures is a voluntary action taken on the part of these lenders/servicers and has not been mandated by either the states or the federal government.
Some members have begun to report the immediate impact of this moratorium on transactions that involve foreclosed properties. Delays in escrow and the removal of listed foreclosures are temporary results of this moratorium.
The immediate impact on the market will be the slowing of home sales, which could put upward pressure on home prices in the short term. The long-term effect on the market is uncertain at this point as it depends how long the moratorium remains in place.
Assuming the moratorium is lifted in the next month, the flow of REOs to the market should resume, but the uncertainty created by the moratorium may cause hesitation on the part of buyers.
The participating lenders and servicers believe their internal review processes should take anywhere from a few weeks to 30 days to complete.
Seems to me that the title company would somehow be involved. Aren’t they making sure whoever buys has clear title?
Where can I get one of those no-interest mortgages?
Yes, this will slow down the whole market for a few months. Some freeloaders’ prayers are answered so there is a GOD. 🙂
I see prices go down after this fiesco.
If anything prices should go down now, during the uncertainty:
1. Last straw for quesy buyers
2. Last straw for ticked-off buyers
3. Last straw, it’s the holidays
In a perfect world, fewer buyers should mean lower pricing, but there are very few sellers dumping their LP. You have to hunt them down and lowball.
I’m thinking that w/shrinking inventory, those traditional sales might have a chance at getting their high asking.
Josie…if you’re correct about prices rising due to traditional sales, that’s going to present a major fly in the ointment. Loan mods for those underwater will be based on lower appraised values and if traditional sales raise the comps, well…oops, “guess we can’t afford it now, baby.” The upside — if the government was smart — is that they can use increased comps as a tool to avoid the moral hazard of principal writedowns.
Having said that, we’re WAAAAY beyond moral hazard, we’re way beyond criminal behaviors, we’re at banana (real estate) republic.
No sympathy for the “homeowners.”
people in glass houses should not be throwing stones.
according to the ventura county star, the family’s got some history of financial difficulties. http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/oct/12/simi-family-changes-locks-retakes-foreclosed/?print=1
–Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1994
–two back-to-back voluntary Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings beginning in February, a few weeks after their house was sold
–The Earls’ bankruptcy filing shows they have assets of between $500,000 and $1 million, and liabilities exceeding $1 million. Their listed creditors include the state tax board and the Internal Revenue Service.
looks like this lawyer from Encinitas is also naming the investor that currently owns the house in his suit. why? if he really has a case he should have the investor on his side both suing the bank.
is this Michael Pines guy world famous or something? otherwise why go 4 hours away to San Diego to find a real estate attorney to take your case? why can’t the Earls find anyone in Ventura or at least LA?
and where in the world is the $340k difference between the cash out refi of $880k and the original purchase price of $539k? how come no one bothered to ask the Earls what happened to that money?
“…and where in the world is the $340k difference between the cash out refi of $880k and the original purchase price of $539k? how come no one bothered to ask the Earls what happened to that money?”
—————–
Shhhhhh! You should know better than that, OCR. If somebody had asked them that, this poor family might not look like the “victims” they are.
Note how nobody ever asked how long they refused to make their mortgage payments. Whatever technical issues the banks might have, these people didn’t pay their mortgage, and the lender has every right to foreclose.
Keep repeating this: They are victims! They are victims!
We are all the victims, one way or another. Either you got took by the ponzi, or the bailout.
But some WFC executive is throwing parties at your former Malibu home.
However, she says, whenever they made a payment it was not being reflected on statements, even a $12,500 catch-up payment was not credited to the balance due.
There are lots of stories of this going around the blogs right now. No one cares because the people getting shafted are already “deadbeats”. But it’s more fraud, at worst, or bad faith, at best, on the banks’ part. Neither of which are acceptable. Or should be. As stated by others, outside of a Banana Republic that is. Banks swallowing payments is right up there with them using loan mods they never intended to give out (but were already paid by uncle Sam for) to suck more cash out of people, who if they were a corporate entity or just sharper about their own self-interest, they would be saving every bit of their cash.
ocrenter,
Yeah, they’re idiots. But that’s a sideshow to the real issues that needs to be addressed if this isn’t going to happen again. They clearly suck at math. The majority of humans suck at math. But breeding an entire country that doesn’t suck at math isn’t going to happen. That’s just reality. Obviously, if you can’t make your payments before refinancing, then at some point the cashed out money is going to run out and then you REALLY aren’t going to be able to make your payments. Duh. It’s a no-brainer and they are clearly short-sighted people. Most humans are also short-sighted. Also, just reality. One can work with that reality and create structures that take it into account so the majority thrives but still has access to credit, or we can all be screwed as a country, financially, forever, our sole entertainment mocking the stupid people, who will be stupid, forever. It’s going to have to make up for being screwed financially forever, so the mocking better be pretty good.
Why in the world were they offered a cash out refinance? That’s the only pertinent issue. Last I checked the banks entire line of business was supposed to be: being good at math and assessing risk.
http://www.freecourtdockets.com/Dockets/Michael-T-Pines-3-10-bk-296-California-Southern-Bankruptcy-Court-Docket-Page-1-53464-53464.htm
https://ecf.utd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0137-111
Here’s why the have an Encinitas attorney.
http://www.nctimes.com/business/article_0fd85e5f-4567-51ff-ae53-2f6fd7c95c93.html
Seems this ‘professional’ has found a new niche since his real estate investing business has tanked. He’s ‘helped’ more than one family break into their so-called homes.
First, the assumption by the press is that the $12,500 `catch-up`payment got them even. They do not say how far behind they were. Second, All the states`Attorneys` Generals joined the suit because it gives the illusion that they are doing something and more importantly, they get to split the settlement money.
@SWM,
That’s true, the 12.5K may not have gotten them up to par. But, it probably made them less deliquent. Using the American Rule of accounting, older debts get paid first, which mean a large payment might have made them only 30 days late and not 90. Big difference.
These people don’t sound terribly responsible or sympathetic. That said, if the bank is just pocketing the money, then its the bank that is in the wrong here.
“Ultimately, there was a $25,000 discrepancy between what they thought they still owed in arrears and what the bank said they owed.”
The discrepancy was between how far behind THEY thought they were and how far behind the bank thought they were. Their “catch-up payment” did not bring their loan up to date.
The question of paperwork improprieties by the bank aside, the real question is how much they still owe on their recourse refis after the dust settles on a more then justified foreclosure.
OCR – you answered your own question w/regard to what was done w/the 340k HELOC w/your latest video post.
I’ll help you a little more. We basically have a family of 11, 9 kids, dad that doesn’t work and mom who is part owner of a medical devices company. Clearly her salary is not sufficient to support them and their house. The HELOC is what they were using to pay bills.
It also doesn’t say how many of the kids are there kids.If they are all foster children, the state is giving them a big chunk of money each month. Really working the system.
from the ABC7 forum looks like others did some digging and found the 1st mortgage at 880k and a second at $130k. For total of $1.01 million on a house that is at best around $750k now.
as for the foster kids, going rate per “adoption forum” indicates $500-$700 per month per kid that the state pays foster parents. I believe 6 are foster kids, which means $3600 per month.
OCR – you are correct. I read three biological and six adopted children ranging from age 3 to 23. According to MSN
I think it’s quite a bit more if you take disabled kids. If you are working the system, you’ll be happy to take disabled kids and more money, and if they don’t work out, send them back.
They have had 43 kids? They are people farmers.
For $380K of free money that they got, they sure make a stink about $25K they say they deserve. Okay, how about make a trade. Give the bank back the $380K and I’m sure they’ll give you $25K no questions. Even by their side of the story, they’ve made $355K of profit in this deal and aren’t happy.
While it’s possible, I doubt they raised foster children out of the goodness of their heart. Getting paid to take care of children is not charity work. There are too many cases of profiteering, and these people seem to fit the bill.
After watching their Christmas light show, I think they are all mentally disabled.
Well, if they felt they had the “right” to take back their home, hopefully, they will feel they have the right to resume making mortgage payments.
I’m wondering if someone will call DCFS as a result of this article.
I guess now is about the time all the TV shows want to pay her money for an interview, next will be a book and a movie.
This makes me ill. I’m so disgusted.
maybe Disney will discover her talent and hire her for their holiday lighting.
Is their name Bando or Bandito?