That's It: The Gloves Are Off — AZ LEADS EFFORT TO SCREW HOMEOWNERS

Doesn’t it bother you that you pay your taxes for doing business in the state of Arizona or whatever state you hail from, but the Wall Street players made trillions of dollars in trading securities based solely (deriving value from)upon interests in real property situated within the boundaries of your state and never reported any income, much less paid taxes on it? Don’t you want to know why your representatives in the state capital and the other people you voted into elective office are refusing to pursue or collect taxes that are due and which would eliminate the state’s budget deficit and create a surplus? Don’t you want to live in a state that is financially healthy instead of being sickened by illegal practices in which out-of-state players come into your state, make money, and leave with all the money?

OK I AM ANGRY AND I PROBABLY SHOULD COOL DOWN BUT I DON’T WANT TO COOL DOWN. I SPENT WEEKS OF GIVING THE ARIZONA LEGISLATURE AND THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH HOURS UPON HOURS OF FREE TIME, INFORMATION AND STRATEGIES TO REVIVE THE STATE ECONOMY, PUT HOMEOWNERS BACK IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT, AND COLLECT BILLIONS IN TAXES FROM THE WALL STREET TYCOONS WHO CAUSED THE REAL ESTATE MESS.

Adam Driggs, Republican Chairman of the Arizona House Judiciary Committee (Good Guy) attempted to get the Republicans moving on a track that would show that they did care about the budget, that they did care about the average citizen and that they were the party who could convert from being the party of “No” to the Party of “Yes, and here’s How.” I warned him he would probably meet savage resistance and unfortunately I was right. His effort caved but not for lack of trying.

Governor Brewer just signed a bill directly contrary to interests of the state of Arizona, its citizens and its community banks and credit unions. The bill is obviously bought and paid for by federal taxpayer money speaking at state levels on behalf of the banks that are “too big to fail.” This bill REMOVES the protection that homeowners have against lenders seeking deficiency judgements.

So let’s boil it down to this: you go to a closing where the appraiser says your property is worth $300,000. The so-called lender says it has reviewed the appraisal and it independently verified that it is correct. So you take a mortgage for $270,000. Then you find out that none of what you were told at closing is true and the property is worth $140,000, which is all you can get on a distrssed sale. Soon after your “closing” (in which they failed to disclose key elements of the transaction) you get a notice that your payments are reset to a level higher than your gross income and you wonder how any “lender” would approve a loan that you obviously could not pay. They foreclose abusing the privilege of non-judicial sale instead of a proper foreclosure action circumventing your right to due process.

In Arizona since you owe $270,000, there is a $130,000 deficiency. Your home was sold to some “third party” REO company controlled by one of the parties in the securitization chain. The price was $140,000.

In Arizona, the lender was barred from going after that deficiency precisely because the lender is the the one legally responsible for the sufficiency of the appraisal and all other aspects of the loan.

Now the legislature and Governor Brewer have removed that bar, so in addition to have been defauded by the banks you are now being punished by the government that was set up to protect the rights of its citizens.

Make no mistake about it, this is a Republican contraption to further ruin the State and its finances. There are plenty of ways to correct the state and national economy, housing values and the ability of local banks and credit unions to take up the slack where the Wall Street tycoons have left a void. All of those strategies are not only being ignored they are being trashed in the name of lobbying money and possibly corruption.

Let’s say you are an ultra-conservative reopublican but you have not received any lobbying money and you have not received any of that taxpayer TARP money that Hank Paulson forced on a confused and unwilling congress and public. Let’s say you are concerned not about borrowers who were too stupid or greedy to look at the fine print, but that you are concerned as a citizen of the State and the Country about the mounting deficit. You don’t want taxes increased and you don’t want spending increased. Doesn’t it bother you that the Wall Street people who caused the mess are still calling the shots? What about their personal accountability?

Doesn’t it bother you that you pay your taxes for doing business in the state of Arizona or whatever state you hail from, but the Wall Street players made trillions of dollars in trading securities based solely (deriving value from)upon interests in real property situated within the boundaries of your state and never reported any income, much less paid taxes on it? Don’t you want to know why your representatives in the state capital and the other people you voted into elective office are refusing to pursue or collect taxes that are due and which would eliminate the state’s budget deficit and create a surplus? Don’t you want to live in a state that is financially healthy instead of being sickened by illegal practices in which out-of-state players come into your state, make money, and leave with all the money?

Start asking questions. Be relentless. I’ve been doing this 2 years so far and it is finally getting to critical mass. become part of the movement — if not for political reasons then for moral reasons — and if not for moral reasons then just plain common sense. Its time to rise up America!

Tags: bankruptcy, borrower, disclosure, fraud, Lender Liability, mortgage meltdown, predatory lending, rescission, securitization, trustee
Posted in bubble, Corruption, Eviction, securities fraud |