Any good television western will give you the solution: Blow up the trestle.
Full disclosure here: Foreclosure is a necessary part of the housing market. The laws we have are more than adequate to assure that all parties' are protected from financial loss and default. Enforcement is the problem. It has always been the problem. The top cop has not been on the job, I am sorry to say. This problem lies at the feet of your Attorney General.
The avalanche of less-than-legal foreclosure actions could never have happened without the "Foreclosure Hit Men": foreclosure mills and their "affiliated" trustees. These guys have built a foreclosure machine that grinds through thousands of questionable "defaults" and the titles to these homes are delivered expediently to the coffers of "servicers" and banks that do not even have a legal right to have them. For many of these foreclosure mills, their principles own every company in the chain of "consumer protection requirement procedures" that have to occur, assuring that they control-and PROFIT FROM-that auction. A conflict of interest by someone who, according to the Washington Deed of Trust Act, is supposed to be impartial to both the lender and the borrower and assure that a non-judicial foreclosure proceeds according to the law? In the EXTREME.
It's undisputed that there are millions of broken chains of title that allegedly connect borrower's debts to their homes. The reason that these broken chains exist is beyond the scope of this blog and has been exposed ad-nauseum in grave detail. The bottom line though, as in most things is that these broken title chains exist for only three reasons:
1. Corruption
2. Greed
3. Opportunity
If the "greedy" were not aided by "corruption" then they would not have succeeded, but more importantly, they have opportunity by lack of law enforcement. They are dependent on each other, and are self-sustaining. It is a three-legged stool. You only need to get rid of one leg: opportunity.
The solution: Blow up the train trestle with some law enforcement.
Every Friday, middle class wealth is unceremoniously transferred from the American Citizen, to the Corrupt and Greedy. And what is the mechanism that delivers all of this wealth into the waiting laps of the greedy? That great "train trestle" over which it all must pass to arrive at it's final destination: Foreclosure Mills. The greedy persons solution to that pesky problem of "due process of law".
The Foreclosure mills are the interim pilot that navigates questionable foreclosures over that "due process of law" minefield, because they know the way and they "know people". They have built an industry of "specialized services" that creditors are completely dependent on to cash in on their distressed-borrower-lottery-ticket;
They own the Trustee
They own the Trustee law firm
They own the process server
They own the title company
They own the property preservation company
They own the news publication company
It's despicable... But it is human nature, because there is opportunity. It is ridiculous to expect anything else. If people can, they will.
States Attorney's General hold in their hands the golden key to put the home ownership train back on the track. While they certainly cannot end all wrongful foreclosure actions, they can lift the curtain of secrecy behind which these shady firms seem to enjoy complete immunity. There is simply no reason for these firms to fear regulation, because it is so infrequent that they are held accountable for even egregious misconduct. It is rare that a borrower has the financial might to stand up to them, and if they do, they don't have the stomach for it.
It's time to close the door on corruption.
The housing market will never recover until people feel safe again that they will not be mined for cash at the next turn in the economy, which is exactly what happened in 2008. I have lost count of how many people have told me they will NEVER finance a home again. I don't blame them, I know I won't, not from a large bank. A local credit union, maybe.
What can you do? Educate yourself. SHARE this blog post and other blog posts, get the word OUT. Do not elect corrupt politicians and hold the elected officials accountable. Do not sit silently on your hands and do nothing, and most of all: Do not assume that the law is being obeyed, MAKE SURE. Be a good American and demand justice.
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