News of Note ...
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS –
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Q. How do I know if I have been a victim of mortgage fraud?
Without a detailed analysis of your mortgage, it is difficult to answer this question with a great degree of certainly. However, the most important thing to find out is whether your loan has been “securitized”. That is, whether it has been placed in a Trust with hundreds or thousands of other loans, a Trust from which stock certificates, called “mortgage-backed securities” are issued and sold to investors on the open market. Chances are, if you dealt with a “lender” who does not maintain “bricks and mortar” (an office, with a staff), in the community, or if you received a notice shortly after you signed your loan, that you should make payments to another entity, then you have a securitized loan, and are a victim of mortgage fraud.
Q. If I have been victimized, what can I do about it?
What exactly you should do will depend on the nature of the wrongdoing. If you are not in foreclosure, the starting point should be to send your loan servicer (the party to whom you make monthly payment), a request for information about your loan, called a “Qualified Written Request”. At the same time, if you have been victimized by violations of the Truth In Lending Act, you may have a right to rescind your loan. If you are in foreclosure, you will want to send a detailed set of written discovery requests (Interrogatories, Requests for Admission, Requests for Documents) to find out as much as you can about the origination and servicing of your loan. Chances are, by using this approach, you will be able to discover a number of legal defenses or claims you have to prevent losing your home.
Q. I can’t seem to reach anyone who can give me a straight answer. What can I do?
This is extremely common with securitized loans. This is so, since the party to whom you are making your payments (the loan servicer), does not own your loan. The answer again is to try to find out as much as you can about the handling of your loan through written request (e.g. Qualified Written Request or discovery requests, if in foreclosure), as quickly as possible. Depending on your circumstances, you may want to withhold further payments until you receive this information.
Q. I am facing loss of my home, Where do I turn?
You must seek out a qualified professional as soon as possible. It must be someone who knows what to look for to determine whether you have valid defenses or claims against your “lender”.
— McGOOKEY LAW OFFICES, LLC, – the Key to your Legal Counsel!
