We have a huge problem in Washington State and our Attorney General must take notice.
Washington State is home to one of the largest foreclosure mills in the nation: Routh Crabtree and Olsen and Northwest Trustee Services and their "family of companies". A true FACTORY of foreclosure efficiency. The herculean size and scope of this highly integrated machine is not to be believed. The endeavors of this group of companies is kept firmly beneath the radar of most of the media most of the time, but if you have suffered the ministrations of this monstrosity personally, you will know exactly of which I speak. It is a rabid, voracious consumer of property rights for not just homeowner's in Washington State who have the misfortune to have a mortgage, but in 15 other states as well. This is a conglomerate the likes of which people cannot easily comprehend.
Before I share with you the horror that this FORECLOSURE HYDRA has wrought upon thousands of people in our state, I offer full disclosure of my position:
I am NOT an "Anti-foreclosure Evangelist". I am not a hater of banks in general. I feel very strongly that foreclosure is an unpleasant, but necessary part of the process of loaning people money to own their home. Sometimes people don't hold up their end of the deal. The bank needs to recover it's losses and unfortunately, sometimes (SOMETIMES!) foreclosure is the only way. Usually not, but sometimes.
Banks are not charities. They are profit-driven businesses and should be allowed to make a profit. It's a great thing that a company will hand someone a LOT of money to own their own home. They should make money doing it. Their interests should be protected. People should be held accountable for keeping their promises to repay the loans as agreed, and if they do not and will not, then the house that is the collateral of the agreement should be sold to repay the debt. Pretty simple.
You will not see me marching in front of a bank executive's home with a sign protesting the evils of his company. You will not see me picketing in front of a borrower's house to stop the auction that is about to occur to take his home away. These are futile efforts in my opinion. They are noble, and well-intended, but they are a hopeless game of "whack-a-mole" that will do NOTHING to prevent the ongoing abuse of borrower's who did everything right and are getting screwed by the system. It's like putting out a house fire with a squirt gun. It won't work. These guys answer to no one.
For some reason, when complaints are filed, when lawsuits are brought they disappear into some great maw at our Top Cop's office, and this MUST STOP. No more letters saying, "We were unable to find a problem." "We were unable to document your complaint." These impotent responses are shameful and outrageous, enforcement is long over due. There is no time to lose, foreclosures are going to start ramping up again, and the principles of our "Trustees" are already shopping for a new airplane.
Any parent knows that having disciplined children is directly connected to enforcement of rules. A simple analogy, but perfectly appropriate. If cops never wrote tickets on the freeway, how many people do you really think would drive a safe speed? Not many. Without fear of repercussions, greed and lawlessness would overtake any aspect of our society. Foreclosure is no different, and there is a grotesque lack of oversight and enforcement of even our most basic and important laws. When will it end? When the Attorney General HIMSELF gets wrongfully foreclosed on? Probably. Then he will understand that not ALL borrowers can be heaped into the "deadbeat bucket" that is so handily proffered by the foreclosure mills in this state. Not everyone is a "deadbeat". Sometimes they don't have tens of thousands of dollars to throw at the lawsuit they must wage that will likely NOT stop the foreclosure anyway. IT IS OUT OF CONTROL.
WE MUST END THIS CORRUPTION!
It doesn't mean that we will stop foreclosures. It doesn't mean that people will get "free houses". It simply means that, as I say over and over again: Foreclosure should not be able to be initiated, facilitated, perpetuated or adjudicated by ANY entity who PROFITS from it. Period.
Judges cannot own bail bonds companies.
Foreclosure Trustees must NOT be owned and governed by people who profit from the SALE of the home. I know, it seems like common sense, doesn't it?
It's worse than you think. Northwest Trustee Services is part of a "Family of Companies" (their own term) that handles (and bills the borrower and bank) for all phases of foreclosure. They (the principles) own the process server who delivers the notices on the houses, they own the publication companies where the required legal notice is published, they own the title company that offers title to the bidders at auctions, they own the law firm that makes all decisions and defends BOTH the bank and the Trustee in disputes, and more. It is truly a FORECLOSURE MILL of high efficiency and high capacity. It is also highly ILLEGAL and against our Deed of Trust Act. They also own a few of our Representatives, but more on that later.
These firms spend big lobby dollars keeping their skids greased. They recently won yet another victory in that now the law says that a foreclosure trustee cannot be held liable for violations of the Deed of Trust Act and other violations until AFTER THE HOUSE IS SOLD! It's not a mystery why they wanted this. To borrow my attorney's analogy, this is like being repeatedly raped and being told that you don't have any damages because you didn't get pregnant! Their game plan is simple: litigate and harass the borrower until they run out of money, and be free from worry of liability. Recently, one of them sued a borrower's attorney for litigating against them because he said they "were in the public interest". REALLY? HE SUED THE BORROWER FOR DEFENDING THEMSELVES!
When our own wrongful foreclosure started 5 years ago, in our naive attempt to enlighten the "Trustee" as to why it was in error, we were answered by the "Law firm" of the "Trustee" Routh Crabtree and Olsen. The attorney, Joshua Schaer, who works for Routh Crabtree and Olsen, informed us that he asked the lender if there was a problem, they said "No" and so he would continue the foreclosure as scheduled. Isn't that a little like the referee in a basketball game saying, "Well, I will ask the other team if you fouled them or not."? Later, when we filed suit, our lawsuit was answered by the attorney for the LENDER, you guessed it: Joshua Schaer. Does that seem OK to you? I felt like the lady who got a speeding ticket from Andy Griffith, and demanded to see the Judge. When I appeared at the Justice of the Peace, Andy Griffith was sitting there and flipped his name plate over to say "Justice of the Peace". That's when I knew, this game is rigged.
When a borrower is served with a non-judicial notice of foreclosure, it sets in motion a chain of events that will culminate in the loss of his home. Non-judicial foreclosure means what is says: A judge will never see it. It happens under the scrutiny and oversight of a "Trustee" who is sworn to protect the rights of BOTH the borrower and the lender. BOTH of them EQUALLY. Nothing could be further from the truth in Washington State, and this lies at the feet of our Attorney General. The Trustees in Washington who share the same building as the foreclosure mill law firm are completely captured by the lenders. Borrowers are effectively incapable of stopping a foreclosure sale without costly intervention by an attorney who files a lawsuit. Not only must a lawsuit be filed, it must be done QUICKLY. Have you hired an attorney lately? It ain't cheap. It definitely is out of reach for most borrowers. Don't start telling me about "free help" either. Free help is about as good as it sounds. Not much help, and greatly under-staffed and under-funded. Most of them are not litigators, they help you apply for a loan modification. What about if you are being wrongfully foreclosed upon? Too bad.
Many lawsuits have been filed to exploit the undeniably obvious conflict of interest that exists within our stable of "Trustees" in this state, but nothing ever really changes. They flagrantly skirt the law and once in a while get their hand slapped, but the conveyor belt of foreclosures never skips a beat. Borrowers are churned through the machine at a profitably rapid clip, whether they deserve it or not, and rare is the time when one can escape. The goal of these trustees: SELL THE HOUSE. Whatever it takes, get it sold. That's what they are paid for. That is why the lenders call them out, the "Bouncers" of the mortgage world. They get a flat fee to get the house SOLD, not to oversee a "foreclosure action", not to make sure everything is as it should be, just SELL THE HOUSE.
I speak on behalf of all Citizens of this State who are outraged at the lack of oversight of our foreclosure trustees by the Attorney General. We watch as these vermin try to change our Deed of Trust act to "loosen up" the standards by which they can take someone's home to make it EVEN EASIER! Where is our Attorney General?
It is absolutely easy to take someone's home who isn't making their payments. We don't need it to be any easier. Our Deed of Trust Act is all it needs to be, if IT IS ENFORCED!
Mr. Ferguson, we humbly implore you to start enforcing the law. WRONGFUL foreclosures should NOT be happening and borrowers should not have to go through what they do to stop them. The deck is completely stacked against them. If a foreclosure is warranted, enforcing the law is not going to change anything, but when a foreclosure is wrongful, borrowers need to be able to appeal to a NEUTRAL party to make a determination, that is what our Deed of Trust Act says, but that is NOT what exists in your state. There is a reason why corrupt lenders call these "pit bull Trustees" to get this job done for them. They are the "hit men" of foreclosure.
Finally, it is discriminatory to create or foster an environment where only borrowers with a lot of ready cash can fight a wrongful foreclosure, but that is exactly how it is. You know very well, as do your citizens, that all of the "programs" to help borrowers have failed completely, again, because there is NO ENFORCEMENT. Please avail yourself of what is actually happening. Talk to local attorneys who oppose these companies in court, and learn the truth about what is going on. It's a holocaust of corruption in Washington State, and it's YOUR JOB to put a stop to it. Please stop asking Routh Crabtree and Olsen if they are corrupt. Seek another opinion. Stop in at Northwest Trustee Services and ask yourself how this tiny office can handle the volumes of foreclosures they process every month. Take the elevator up to the 3rd floor. THAT is your "Trustee".
Will you please investigate them in earnest? We don't need more foreclosures. We don't need easier foreclosures. We need enforcement.
The preceding blog post is my personal opinion, and the opinion of a great many others in my acquaintance and is offered as such. Thanks for stopping by, I invite your comments and contact.
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