Warning: Constant ABSPATH already defined in /home/public/wp-config.php on line 27
Florida Foreclosure Fraud — Why Now?
On-line Opinion Magazine…OK, it's a blog
Random header image... Refresh for more!

Florida Foreclosure Fraud

by Bryan

McClatchy has a feature on two of the people involved in the foreclosure fraud conspiracy in Florida – How 2 civilian sleuths brought foreclosure problems to light

PALM BEACH, Fla. — More than a year before lenders, law firms and document companies began owning up to widespread paperwork problems with their foreclosure filings, Lisa Epstein and Michael Redman already knew that something was wrong — very wrong.
…

Equal parts agitators, activists and advocates, Redman and Epstein have made their presence felt in Florida and nationally through their respective websites, 4closureFraud.org and foreclosurehamlet.org.

It is a conspiracy, and it involves politicians. As the article points out, two of the actions these people protested were laws being enacted in Tallahassee and then Washington that would have helped to hide the fraud.

It is important to understand that these two people are not lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, or in law enforcement. They are intelligent people who read the documents and immediately noticed they were fraudulent, even though they had no special training in mortgages or real estate law. That should give you an idea of how blatant this has been, and how corrupt the system is that processed these foreclosures.

It is irrelevant that people owe money, if it can’t be determined who the money is owed to, i.e. who has the note. If the person who holds the note isn’t getting the money, the debt isn’t being discharged. There have been cases in Florida where it isn’t clear that the mortgage used in the foreclosure actually existed.

This problem isn’t limited to people with mortgages. The problem is undermining the validity of all land deeds.

2 comments

1 Ame { 10.15.10 at 10:15 pm }

This has created a nightmare for title insurers, and could prove to be quite the challenge for prospective purchasers of foreclosed properties if they can’t get a clear title.

2 Bryan { 10.15.10 at 10:35 pm }

The title insurance companies could fail, because they would be out of their minds insuring under these circumstances. This calls into question all titles that have a mortgage associated since at least 2003. At best, title insurance rates will go up significantly.

I can believe that solvent small local banks or credit unions would want to give mortgages under these conditions, and why would anyone with the cash risk it?