FedUpUSA » legislation

Washington State Proposes Foreclosure Bill With Teeth!

Stephanie — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:45:36 +0000

23 (ii) A declaration by the beneficiary made under the penalty of perjury stating that the beneficiary is the actual holder of the promissory note or other obligation secured by the deed of trust shall be sufficient proof as required under this subsection. A violation of this subsection (7)(a)(ii) is a class C felony as provided in RCW 28 9A.20.020 and 9A.20.021.

Bingo. If this bill becomes law and you file a document foreclosing in Washington State claiming to be the beneficiary of a given mortgage and really aren’t, because, for instance, the trust never had the actual mortgage tendered into it, you go to prison.

It’s about damn time.

The bill is SB6199 and if you live in Washington State you can find your State Reps here: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

The Market-Ticker

Discussion (registration required to post)

If you’re not in Washington State, you should be sending a copy of this legislation to your own State Representatives.

Let’s Fix The Fraudclosure Mess

Stephanie — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:39:06 +0000

Here it is folks…. let’s push this as a singular piece of legislation that we want introduced and passed nationally on a state-by-state basis this coming year.

The Legislature finds that:

The practice of failure to accurately record the real parties at interest in mortgages and other secured real property transactions has led to clouded titles and foreclosure actions that are of questionable legality;and
The maintenance of clear, complete and accurate real property records forms the basis of private property rights and is a fundamental liberty interest secured under the State Constitution.

Therefore it is the law of this state upon the effective date of this legislation that:

All real property land title records evidencing an indebtedness shallrequire public filing at the county level documentary evidence of the indebtedness claimed to be secured by said real property;
All such filings shallname the real party or parties at interest with reference to the full legal name of the entity the security interest is in favor of;
Such filings shallbe updated on a contemporary basis when debt instruments are sold, securitized, traded or otherwise transferred, with a deadline of not more than thirty (30) days after the effective date of said transaction.
A release shall be filed and returned to the property owner within thirty (30) days upon the event of payment in full or extinguishment of the debt secured by the property by any means, including but not limited to payment through a credit-default instrument, swap, deed-in-lieu proceeding, insurance payment or otherwise. The release returned to the property owner shallinclude the original wet-ink mortgage documents marked “PAID IN FULL” and signed by an authorized signatory of the holder in wet ink.
In any action for foreclosure the moving party shallpresent to the court in their original filing:

The original, wet-ink mortgage agreement signed by the mortgagor and mortgagee or their agent(s).
A full, complete and correct accounting of all monies transferred, paid, or received in reference to the indebtedness, including all securitization cash flows, payments in kind from third parties, credit protection payments under default swaps owed or paid under events of default or other arrangements, sufficient to establish as a matter of forensic proof through accounting that the monies claimed to be owed at the time of the default and foreclosure that are prayed for are in fact owed and outstanding and have not been satisfied and that the economic injury alleged has in fact occurred.
Evidence of the full, complete and unbroken chain of assignments in the public records as required in items 1-3 above.
A true, certified, dated and correct copy of the Notice of Default meeting the requirements of (6) below.
Evidence documenting that any available Federal and State programs for foreclosure and default mitigation such as but not limited HAMP and HARP have been complied within in full and, if insufficient to resolve the default, the specific reasons for the failure or denial shallbe included in the initial foreclosure pleading.
A foreclosure action shall be commenced within 120 days of the event of default giving rise to the action under the contract of mortgage, except that the time shall be tolled during the pendency of any HAMP or similar program not to exceed 90 additional days. Due to the deleterious effects on neighborhoods and the certainty of title and property within this state a tardy foreclosure action shall be barred as contrary to public policy of this state. The barring of said foreclosure actions shall notoperate to prevent other lawful and permissible collection actions such as suits at law or in equity for recovery of money damages.

Any “Notice of Default” or similar tendered to a defaulting mortgagee shall set forth the amount(s) necessary to cure the default, if default can be cured or the mortgage redeemed, in exact dollars and cents and in the form of payment accepted, during any available cure period. A default shall be curable for at least 30 days following the Notice of Default. A mortgagor or the subsequent assignee or transferee shallbe required to accept payment at an office within the county where the property is located during the hours of 9:00 – 5:00 local time at least four days per calendar week, or if there is no such office at a designated office within 100 road miles of the property address.
A foreclosure action that is filed and fails to satisfy the requirements of (5) and (6) above shall be dismissed upon the pleading by the defense alleging said deficiencies, and upon sustaining such a defense the defendants shallbe entitled to all reasonable attorney fees and costs from the plaintiff.
Within 180 days of the effective date of this legislation all existing property records that bear a mortgage and do not conform with the statutory documentation requirements for chain of title under clauses 1-4 shall be brought into compliance. Any landowner or mortgagee may sue for quiet title once the 180 day cure period expires from the effective date of this legislation and such a suit shall be sustained, removing any mortgage cloud upon the title, with reasonable attorney fees and costs taxed to the defendants.

That should pretty much do it. Let’s make ramming this through our state legislatures our personal priority for 2012.

The Market-Ticker

Discussion (registration required to post)

More 'Disappearing Legislation' Courtesy of Bankers

FedUpUSA — Sun, 01 May 2011 17:12:31 +0000

I am positively speechless:

One thing though… from what Darrell explained to me, Carl Seel must have been in a very good mood the day of his unexpected tardiness, because even though he had been previously turned down twice for his own loan modification, two days before he showed up too late to propose the amendment, Ocwen granted him a PRINCIPAL REDUCTION that reduced his mortgage to $88,000 from roughly $190,000… that’s a reduction of approximately 56% give or take a few points one way or the other.

For those who are wondering what this is about, it ties right back to the series I’ve been doing on Arizona SB1259. The bill that Ms. McLain killed and which would have require mortgage servicers and debt-holders to follow existing law – you know, only foreclose on people when you actually own the debt in question?

And lest anyone think this is some sort of trite concern, we have multiple cases where we know these records are NOT correct and people HAVE been foreclosed upon in error, with not-the-least of them being instances where notes got sold twice. In fact, we have a former executive from TBW who seems to be headed to the pokey for his part in that practice. That statement, incidentally, is not an “allegation” any more – see, Mr. Fakas was convicted.

So what’s this new discovery about? Apparently Mr. Seel was intending to introduce an amendment that would basically restore SB1259 on top of another bill in Arizona. But somewhere along the way to the State House to do so, he got, well, “delayed.” And, if the allegation above is correct, he also, roughly at the same time, got an approximately 50% principal reduction in his mortgage.

Now perhaps there’s an innocent explanation for this….. second killing of that language.

But doesn’t there come a time where honest people demand actual investigations and answers?

I think we’re well beyond that point.

Ps: Trust me on this – you’ve not seen the last Ticker from me on this subject. Not by a long shot. If you’re an Arizona lawmaker, did something wrong in this regard, and think this issue is just going to wither away and die, you’re sadly mistaken.

The Market-Ticker

Arizona State Rep Nancy McLain (R-3rd): A Putrid Viper

FedUpUSA — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 04:23:38 +0000

Here’s the architect of gutting SB1259, which would have required that banks coming to foreclose prove they actually held the debt.

The original bill is here:

SB 1259 – Introduced Version – Arizona State Legislature via MyGov365.com

It was gutted and replaced with a completely unrelated bill after passing the Senate 28-2.

This is how you got screwed Arizona – through an in-your-face act of Monarchy by one Representative McLain, who arrogated the entirety of the Democratic process even within the committee she chairs to herself, and abused that authority to financially rape every Arizona homeowner who is facing foreclosure. Vote? What’s a Vote? We don’t need any stinking votes! McLain is the chair and she’s arrogated herself King!

You’re simply not going to believe the audacity displayed by this bag of venomous pus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfGwSBi_aUM

Only one question remains for Arizona residents: Are you going to sit for being screwed raw by this putrid viper or will you stand and do something about it?

The Market-Ticker

More On Bankers Making Legislation Disappear

FedUpUSA — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 21:37:44 +0000

Remember “Goodnight Banks”? Goodnight America

Anyone remember this Ticker?

The bottom line is this: Either the original issue of that mortgage and its subsequent securitization went through all previously-required assignments and you can prove it or your ability to convey a title via Trustee Sale is gone.

Awwww those poor widdle banksters that cheated on the rules…. looks like Arizona has had enough of their games and is going to body-slam them all in favor of their citizens. BRAVO!

Weeeeellll…. maybe not.

The Senate passed this bill, by the way, 28-2. But after it passed something odd happened – it disappeared!

Here’s the original:

SB 1259 – Introduced Version – Arizona State Legislature via MyGov365.com
SB 1259 – Introduced Version – Arizona State Legislature via MyGov365.com

And here’s what it got replaced by:

Senate Bill 1259 Relating to Fire Districts
Relating to fire districts?

How’d that happen? What sort of outrageous political corruption takes a bill that has been PASSED in one house of a State and before it gets to the other, the passed bill is replaced in its entirety with something completely unreleated?

(Incidentally, it’s the House that did that, if you haven’t figured it out yet. The problem of course is trying to determine who in the Arizona House did it. That, my friends, is “conveniently” not obvious.)

And by the way, this is real – it is not a hoax:

http://www.azleg.gov/Bills.asp?FirstBill=SB1251&LastBill=SB1300

There comes a time when it is apparent that there is no longer a rule of law in a state, or a nation. That time usually occurs right about when a law that is in the process of being passed, and in fact passes one house of a legislature by a 28-2 margin, and it then magically “disappears” without being considered by the other house and is replaced with something entirely unrelated.

When that happens within a State, it is then incumbent upon The Federal Government under Article IV of the Constitution to immediately intervene:

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.

Should The United States Federal Government fail to do so, it will have, by its refusal, admitted complicity after the fact. That is, The United States no longer has a functioning Constitution nor does it follow the Rule of Law – by its own hand.

It is not an accident, I’m sure, that the bill in question in Arizona would have simply required that anyone foreclosing on a home prove that they are in fact the lawful owner of the debt in question and therefore that they have the right to foreclose. That this bill, which was clearly by the vote in their Senate about to become law, was deemed “unacceptable” by certain people who have not been identified is further proof that we no longer live in a Republic, and that neither Arizona or the United States has a functional Constitution – or the Rule of Law.

Update: The original sponsor of this bill, Ms. Michele Reagan, was sued in 2010 by her lender over her mortgage when she tried to find out who actually owned it. It appears that in order for a “Striker” amendment to be passed in Arizona the sponsor of the bill must concur. Therefore, the obvious questions arise: Is Ms. Reagan still being sued, was the case previously settled, and is there a quid-pro-quo – or perhaps even something more overt – going on here?

Why would a lawmaker who was sued for simply trying to find out who actually owns their mortgage drop a bill that would require documentation of ownership before foreclosure?

It gets better. There are reports that the House Committee Chair, Nancy McClain, threatened to “not hear” the bill as passed. That’s right – the Republican (where are you Tea Party?) Committee Chair intended to kill a bill without a vote that passed the Senate 28-2! Why? Well gee, who do you think she was talking to? (cough-banksters-cough!)

I smell a big, fat, stinking rat.

The Market-Ticker

“Strange Happenings” in the Arizona State Senate. Can Bankers Make Legislation Disappear?

FedUpUSA — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 20:35:16 +0000

I oft times say “The oddities are odder with every other day.” This is a case of one of the odder oddities. One, that like the universe unfolding, is expanding in oddness. One that deserves an expansion of outrage.

The most recent development caught my eye in a short piece from Matt Weidner: Are the Banksters Powerful Enough To Make Legislation Disappear?. It caught his eye on popular blog site 4ClosureFraud. It caught their eye in an article posted to blog site “The Impode-O-Meter” by author Mandelman Matters.

At the core of the shocking new development is a bill, “State Senate Bill 1259? proposed by Arizona State Senator Michele Reagan:

“If you foreclose on somebody you should have to tell them who owns the property. People have the right in this country to face their accusers.”

In response to her bill the Arizona Banker’s Association threatened:

“If Arizona passes this, it will be the only state in the union that will require a production of chain of title. States that pass these types of laws will be riskier environments to lend in and more difficult environments to get a loan in.”

Apparently proving chain of title and that they actually own the homes they foreclose upon must be too onerous a requirement for major banks and servicers foreclosing on Arizona homes!

Before delving further, let me recap from my own writings. In March of 2010 Arizona State Senator Michele Reagan was sued by her lender, Colonial Savings Bank, simply for asking, who owned her note! I included the video in notes to Episode IV in my “Tale of Greed”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sah1Ji08wIw

Fast forwarding a year we find that Colonial Savings Bank was shuttered by the FDIC, having been wrapped up in fraudulent actions by executives at Taylor, Bean and Whitaker. The notes included under Episode IV: D-I-S-C-O-V-E-R-Y in a Nevada Desert goes into some detail of revelations in the trial of Taylor, Bean CEO Lee Farkas. In only the past week he was found guilty – on all 14 counts – of a $1.9 Billion fraud scheme! All of the other executives plead guilty without going to trial.

http://twainsthoughts.com/episode-iv-d-i-s-c-o-v-e-r-y-in-a-nevada-desert/iv-notes/

********************************

Here a few highlights:

According to a statement of facts submitted with his plea agreement, Allen joined TBW in 2003 as its CEO and reported directly to its chairman. He admitted in court that from 2005 through August 2009, he and other co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions that had invested in a wholly owned lending facility called Ocala Funding. Ocala Funding raised money by selling asset-backed commercial paper to financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas, and used the money to purchase TBW mortgages. The facility was managed by TBW and had no employees of its own.

According to court records, shortly after Ocala Funding was established, Allen learned there were inadequate assets backing its commercial paper, a deficiency referred to internally at TBW as a “hole” in Ocala Funding. Allen admitted that in an effort to cover up the hole and to mislead investors, he told a co-conspirator to produce reports that concealed the hole. He also admitted that he knew that these misleading reports were sent to Ocala Funding investors and other third parties.

Allen also admitted in court that he kept the chairman of TBW informed of the collateral shortfall, and that in the fall of 2008, Allen was told that the hole had been moved from Ocala Funding to Colonial Bank. At the time that TBW ceased operations, the hole was approximately $1.5 billion. According to court documents, as a result of the Ocala Funding fraud scheme, Freddie Mac, Colonial Bank, and Ocala Funding investors believed they had an undivided ownership interest in thousands of the same mortgage loans.

***

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp.’s former chairman, Lee Farkas, ordered data sent to Colonial Bank for nonexistent loans in an effort to cover up the company’s growing deficits, a company ex-president said.

Raymond Bowman, 45, testifying yesterday for the government in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, said Farkas in 2003 explained that the sale of “dummy” loans, known as Plan B, were necessary to prevent Taylor Bean from going out of business.

I told him I didn’t think it was a good idea, said Bowman, who pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy and to making false statements. Bowman said he thought the plan was unethical and possibly illegal.

***

By December 2003, Taylor Bean was overdrawing its account by about $150 million a day, the SEC said.

Bowman said “Plan B” was put into place by Farkas and Catherine Kissick, head of Colonial Bank’s Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division.

“Lee said we had two options,” Bowman testified. “Not do it and shut the company down. Cathy would lose her job and probably go to jail. Or, borrow money through Plan B, pay her back, and move forward.”

***

Desiree Brown, former treasurer of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, the mortgage lender allegedly behind the August 2009 collapse of Colonial Bank, pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to commit bank, wire and securities fraud. Federal investigators linked TBW to a $1.9 billion scheme that defrauded the Federal Housing Administration, private investors and the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Montgomery, Ala.-based Colonial Bank ($25 billion in assets) was TBW’s biggest lender.

Brown, 45, of Hernando, Fla., could face up to 30 years in prison when she is sentenced June 10 by a U.S. District Court in Virginia. And more charges are expected from a separate enforcement action filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Brown.

The fate of Lee Farkas, once at the helm of TBW, remains to be determined. Farkas’ criminal trial began April 4 in Virginia. Farkas has pleaded not guilty to the 14 counts of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud brought against him last year for his connection to TBW scheme.

***

As the former senior executive officer with Freddie Mac, Paul R. Allen joined the Ocala-based company initially as a consultant, eventually migrating over as the full-time CEO in charge of all company operations in August 2003.

As prosecutors began laying out his direct examination testimony for the jury Monday afternoon, Allen, 55, touched on the often grand promises extended by Lee Farkas, the company’s chairman, during his six-year run with the residential mortgage lender until it ceased all lending operations in August 2009 and eventually filed for bankruptcy.

For instance, when Farkas was leading a $300 million capital raise for Colonial BancGroup Inc. in 2009 so the bank could meet conditional approval for $550 million in TARP bailout funds, Allen said Farkas offered him a $5 million equity bonus that he could use to buy Colonial stock.

That figure stood out because in an average year, a typical bonus for him was about $100,000, said the former CEO. The TARP deal never went through and Allen never received that promised $5 million bonus.

***

On his part, Allen said he concealed the existence of this collateral shortfall on the monthly reports sent to credit rating agencies like Moody’s Investors. Established in April 2005, Ocala Funding sold commercial paper to investors to generate additional funding for Taylor Bean to originate and service residential mortgage loans.

By 2007, Ocala Funding restructured and brought in two new investors, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas. This helped funnel in $1.75 billion to the entity and pay off the old investors.

“Is that how you were supposed to use the money?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Connolly asked Allen.

“No, sir,” the witness replied.

A former senior executive at Freddie Mac, Allen described Farkas as “a micromanager” who reached “far down the organizational level to have one-on-one conversations with people.”

Following one such unapproved discussion with a Colonial official, Allen said Farkas fired off a single-line missive to his email inbox, which read, “I am going to KILL you,” an exhibit that was published for the jury.

***

“There was that hole and if we were caught between a rock and a hard place, we would go to them and say, we need Plan B [loans],” Brown testified.

“We were stealing money,” she added.

Speaking in a deep, almost flat tone, the 45-year-old Hernando resident told the jury that Farkas’ residence, complete with a cabana and swimming pool, was “beautiful” — “kind of like walking through Silver Springs attraction,” she said, which she described for the courtroom, as “like a garden.”

“I used to say, if he wanted to drive a different car to work each day, he could — for a month at least,” the witness said, adding that her boss did use company funds to pay housekeeping staff.

**********

With respect to the “disappearing” SB 1259:

The Bill: Reference Title:Foreclosures: Proof of Ownership

Introduced by Senators Reagan, McComish: Biggs

AN ACT Amending Title 33 Chapter 6.1 Article 1. Arizona Revised Statutes By Adding Section 33-807.02: Relating To Deeds of Trust.

SB 1259 -

01 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

02 Section 1. Title 33, chapter 6.1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes,

03 is amended by adding section 33-807.02, to read:

04 333-807.02. Nonoriginator foreclosures; evidence of title;

05 remedy; attorney fees

06 A. FOR ANY BENEFICIARY WHO IS NOT THE ORIGINATING BENEFICIARY ON THE

07 DEED OF TRUST, THE BENEFICIARY SHALL RECORD A SUMMARY DOCUMENT REGARDING THE

08 BENEFICIARY’S LEGAL INTEREST IN THE DEED OF TRUST THAT CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING

09 INFORMATION IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:

10 1. THE FULL NAME AND ADDRESS OF RECORD OF EVERY PRIOR BENEFICIARY ON

11 THE DEED OF TRUST.

12 2. THE DATE, RECORDATION NUMBER OR OTHER UNIQUE DESIGNATION OF THE

13 INSTRUMENT, AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTRUMENT THAT CONVEYED THE INTEREST OF

14 EACH BENEFICIARY.

15 B. THE SUMMARY DOCUMENT PRESCRIBED BY THIS SECTION SHALL BE RECORDED

16 AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE THAT THE NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE IS RECORDED

17 PURSUANT TO SECTION 33-808 AND A COPY OF THE SUMMARY DOCUMENT SHALL BE

18 ATTACHED TO ANY NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE THAT IS REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED AS

19 PRESCRIBED IN SECTION 33-809.19C.

20 FAILURE TO PROPERLY RECORD THE SUMMARY DOCUMENT THAT DEMONSTRATES

21 EVIDENCE OF TITLE FOR THE FORECLOSING BENEFICIARY AS OF THE DATE OF THE

22 TRUSTEE’S SALE AS PRESCRIBED BY THIS SECTION RESULTS IN A VOIDABLE SALE.

23 D. ANY PERSON WITH AN INTEREST IN THE TRUST PROPERTY MAY FILE AN

24 ACTION TO VOID THE TRUSTEE’S SALE FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION AND

25 IS ENTITLED TO AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES AS WELL AS DAMAGES AS OTHERWISE

26 PROVIDED BY LAW IF THE PERSON SUBSTANTIALLY PREVAILS, INCLUDING AN AWARD OF

27 ATTORNEY FEES FOR ANY INJUNCTION OR OTHER PROVISIONAL REMEDIES RELATED TO THE

28 CLAIM.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/48530405/SB-1259-Introduced-Version-Arizona-State-Legislature-via-MyGov365-com

***

“ForeclosureIndustry.com” (Feb 6, 2011):

http://www.foreclosureindustry.com/2011/02/arizona-action-alert-support-sb-1259/

Arizona Action Alert! Support SB 1259!

“All Arizona homeowners should be interested in these changes to the Arizona foreclosure statute. It would require the recording of a certification regarding the complete chain of title prior to any non-judicial foreclosure not conducted by an originating lender, or the sale would be voidable. Attorney’s fees would be awarded if a homeowner had to sue to enforce this.”

***

Not surprisingly MERSCorp hired professional lobbyists to fight the bill.

(Findsen Law) http://findsenlaw.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/lobbyists-and-mers-hire-lawyers-to-kill-arizona-sb-1259/

“The bill passed through the Senate Republican caucus yesterday. MERS has reportedly retained Tri-Advocates, via Squire Sanders law firm (thought they used Quarles Brady law firm in Arizona?) to kill our bill, SB 1259, on Monday. Why are they so afraid of truth telling? A foreclosing party should be legally authorized. It should be easy to come up with a summary of transfers that must have already occurred at foreclosure, for the conveyances of real property interests in the deeds of trust to be legal. I’m glad that we’ve had an opportunity to create new jobs for lobbyists in Arizona but SB 1259 should pass. It’s a no brainer for Arizona citizens who oppose the theft of houses, and support transparency.

The bill should get a vote on Tuesday or Wednesday by the full Senate.”

***

Suggested reading – under Case Filings listed in links on the rightmost column of this blog. In particular The Ibanez Decision, Professor Randall Wray on the Grossman Ruling, and Randall Wray’s Nightmare on Wallstreet.

***

“Foreclosure Industry.com” (Feb 16, 2011): Bill Passes Senate

***

Mandellman Matters (Feb 24, 2011): Bankers Apoplectic Over Arizona’s Republican Dominated Senate Passing Chain of Title Bill, 28-2

http://mandelman.ml-implode.com/2011/02/bankers-apoplectic-over-arizona’s-republican-dominated-senate-passing-chain-of-title-bill-28-2/

Frankly, I don’t know where to begin. There’s just so much to say. It’s like a cornucopia of… well, lots of stuff to say. Bankers everywhere must be walking in circles, muttering to themselves, perhaps breaking out in hives. And I have to imagine that banking industry lobbyists are in some kind of trouble with their masters today, with phones being slammed down after CEOs have screamed:

***

You see, the Arizona State Senate has passed Senate Bill 1259, sponsored by Michele Reagan, which would require the lenders that didn’t originate a loan to produce the full chain of title, or risk the foreclosure sale being voided. The bill now goes to the House for a vote, but with the Senate having passed it by an overwhelming margin of 28-2, it would seem that its passage is a fait accompli.

According to the Arizona Senate’s FACT SHEET FOR S.B.1259, foreclosures; proof of ownership, the Bill’s purpose is as follows:

“Provides a chain of ownership during foreclosure proceedings and allows reimbursement of lawyer fees for injunctions or court cases that fail to prove ownership.”

I urge you to read his full article.

Since the bill has been passed, it appears to have “disappeared”, at least on the list of sponsored bills presented on Arizona State Senator Michele Reagan’s website:

http://www.azleg.gov/MembersPage.asp?Member_ID=47&Legislature=49&Session_ID=87

********************

Matt Weidner: Are the Banksters Powerful Enough To Make Legislation Disappear?

“I love that reruns of the Sopranos are back on. Remember Tony Soprano and the guys and the dark humor of the mafia? If they didn’t like someone, they were whacked….disappeared. But as I woke up this morning, I read on 4Closurefraud something that really blew my mind. It was an absolutely disturbing post from Mandelman Matters where he suggested that the banksters were able to make an entire piece of filed legislation….DISAPPEAR. “

****************

Mandelman Matters:

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the AZ House of Representatives… After passing the Senate 28-2… S.B. 1259 Completely Disappeared

http://mandelman.ml-implode.com/2011/04/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-the-az-house-of-representatives…-after-passing-the-senate-28-2…-s-b-1259-completely-disappeared/

Arizona State Senator Michele Reagan, was first elected to serve in the Arizona House of Representatives in 2002. In 2010, she was elected to the Arizona State Senate. She is Vice-Chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee, and Chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Jobs Creation.

Well, as you might remember from the article I posted on February 23rd of this year, she and her husband were sued by their servicer, Texas-based Colonial Savings FA, when they sent the bank a letter last July stating that they were planning to rescind their loan due to violations of the Truth in Lending Act or TILA.

Apparently, Senator Reagan found herself having a dickens of a time finding out who exactly owned her note, and she wasn’t at all happy about it. So, in response, and working with Arizona attorney, Beth Findsen, she sponsored Senate Bill 1259.

***

But that’s nothing more than just the industry’s standard scary bedtime story, nothing to get too excited about… at least that’s what I thought at the time.

So, I posted my article on Senator Reagan’s S.B. 1259 this past February and waiting anxiously to hear about its passage by the House. The governor, smart money was already saying, would sign the bill upon its passage. This was going to be good… don’t you just love Arizona, was all I could think to myself.

It was perhaps a little over a month later when I found myself packing my suitcase, about to leave for the greater Phoenix area on my second annual pilgrimage to watch Major League Baseball’s Cactus League during Spring Training.

I called an Arizona foreclosure defense attorney, Don Loeb, who lives in Phoenix, and who had suggested that we meet for dinner during my stay in the Valley of the Sun, and while I had him on the phone, I asked him about the status of Senator Reagan’s bill, as I had been unable to find anything about its status online. In fact, when I had searched for information on-line, S.B. 1259 seemed to be about something about firefighters… I was sure I was doing something wrong.

What I heard Don say, however, made no sense to me whatsoever and it simply wasn’t sinking in for the first minute or two… Don said S.B. 1259 was gone, replaced by something having to do with firefighting… he said I needed to speak with Beth Findsen to get the details.

Click here to follow Mandelman Matter’s conclusions.

TwainsThoughts

hat tip: Implode-O-Meter, 4ClosureFraud, and Matt Weidner

Washington State Sells Out To The Banksters

FedUpUSA — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:53:49 +0000

There is a bill pending before the Washington Legislature that would “reform” foreclosure procedures. Among the provisions of SB-5275 is:

7 (a) That, for residential real estate property, before the notice of trustee’s sale is recorded, transmitted, or served, the trustee shall have proof that the beneficiary (bank) is the owner of the promissory note or obligation secured by the deed of trust. A declaration by the beneficiary (bank) made under penalty of perjury stating that the beneficiary (bank) is the actual holder of the promissory note or other obligation secured by the deed of trust shall be sufficient proof as required under this subsection.

Really?

A declaration?

Why not just produce the actual paper? It’s no harder than producing a declaration, right?

If you have it.

Why did the state do this?

It appears they were paid off.

Where?

Right here:

(2) For each owner-occupied residential real property for which a notice of default has been issued, the beneficiary issuing the notice of default, or directing that a trustee or authorized agent issue the notice of default, shall remit two hundred fifty dollars to the department to be deposited, as provided under section 11 of this act, into the foreclosure fairness account. The two hundred fifty dollar payment is required per property and not per notice of default. The beneficiary shall remit the total amount required in a lump sum each quarter.

In exchange for the $250 consumer financial rape fee the banks may present nothing more than a bare declaration that they have a properly-assigned and transferred note. No proof is required.

Now normally I might go along with this, but not now. Why not?

Because these very same banks have admitted to filing 150,000 affidavits in the last couple of years in which the person swearing to personal knowledge hadn’t even read the document. That is, they lied. That’s perjury, and it’s exactly what the banks can do in this case, should this bill become law.

Normally the threat of prosecution for perjury would be enough to stop malfeasance, but it isn’t in this case because not one criminal indictment has been issued against any of the individuals or firms involved in the former false swearing, and therefore I must assume that there will be no penalty for lying in the instant case here in Washington State either.

You’ve been sold out Washington State, and if you allow this bill to be passed, you’re going to be bent over the table by the banksters while they pay a token fee in the form of a “foreclosure tax” to the state – and you get screwed out of your house without them having to prove they actually own the debt that is secured by the property.

Your “representatives” at work.

The Market-Ticker

FLASH: Arizona SB1259 Passes The Senate

FedUpUSA — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:40:31 +0000

This effectively puts a stop to ALL illegal foreclosures. No proper documentation? Forget it.

Get your shovels for the banks….

The bottom line is this: Either the original issue of that mortgage and its subsequent securitization went through all previously-required assignments and you can prove it or your ability to convey a title via Trustee Sale is gone.

Awwww those poor widdle banksters that cheated on the rules…. looks like Arizona has had enough of their games and is going to body-slam them all in favor of their citizens. BRAVO!

Now to get this introduced and passed in all 50 states….. a refreshing instance of legislation that actually both defends property rights and fits on one page!

The result:

THIRD READ:	DATE	AYES	NAYS	NV	EXC	EMER	AMEND	RFE	2/3 VOTE	RESULT
Vote Detail	02/22/11	28	2	0	0					PASSED

TRANSMIT TO HOUSE:

02/22/11

On the way to the House…..

Put a fork in ‘em – they’re

The Market-Ticker

Two "S" Words For Saturday

FedUpUSA — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:53:54 +0000

The first one: STATE.

You know, that thing that has all of the powers of government not explicitly delegated in The Constitution to The Federal government? Yes, that thing. There are 50 of them in The United States.

Notice that we don’t call the nation “The United Federal Government.” We call it “The United STATES.” That’s because States have supremacy. Always have. They originally joined together under a promise of a limited Federal government, which was mostly about the common defense – and little more.

Now as for the second word….. Sedition.

–noun
1. incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government.
2. any action, especially in speech or writing, promoting such discontent or rebellion.
3. Archaic . rebellious disorder.

I’m going to draw the line between the word sedition and the act of seditious conspiracy; the latter is a federal offense. At least today, that line may still apply. It may be true, however, that as facts develop we will discover that this line has been crossed.

In America we have these things called elections. After the 2008 election Barack Obama was having a discussion with Republican lawmakers where they were objecting to some of his plans. They asked him why they should negotiate with a wall, effectively, and his answer was simple:

“I won.”

Ok. Fair enough. Elections have consequences, right, and one of the key points that Barack Obama himself has put forward time and time again as justification for his alleged “mandate” was that he won the 2008 election.

Never mind that he lied about virtually everything he said he was going to do. Among other things he said he did not come to Washington to favor the banksters, but in point of fact he has provided more Lewinskis to them than Monica ever did to Bill Clinton. His so-called Attorney General, Eric “Place” Holder, can’t even find a felony to indict and prosecute when they’re apparently admitted to under oath before the FCIC.

It is clear at this point that the game is to run the Statute of Limitations so that prosecution becomes impossible. That is, for those who elected Barack Obama, you by doing so – yes, this includes me – provided every bankster a “never go to jail” card for what they did.

In fact, Angelo Mozilo had the criminal probe against him dropped yesterday, if reports are correct.

Of course McStain was going to do the same thing. So it’s not like we really had a choice between “D” and “R” in this regard, right? Well, no.

We were also told our health insurance payments would go down. Mine went up – more than 20%. This, despite being told it wouldn’t. That we would get “relief.” Well, no, we didn’t get relief. We got cornholed.

After two years of this blatant abuse Americans had enough. They went to the polls again. And this time they threw a lot of Demoncrats out of office. One of the newly-elected politicians was Republican Governor Walker in Wisconsin.

He ran on a platform that, among other things, promised to do away with collective bargaining for teachers for all items other than pay. That is, pensions, health insurance, work rules, everything else. All those things, if they were going to be larded up on the public, would have to survive a public vote by the people.

What’s wrong with this, may I ask? Teachers are employed by the people. Did you notice your property tax bill? You’re the boss. You pay the check. You make the rules. And in a representative government, you hire people through the ballots to do as you demand.

Wisconsin did exactly that.

Governor Walker did exactly what he promised. Faced with a monstrous budget problem that was gimmicked and gamed by his predecessor to appear smaller than it really was (just as occurred in New Jersey with Governor Christie) he put forward a bill.

Remember now, the standard is “I won” when it comes to justification – by our own President.

Mr. Walker won.

So what did our President’s campaign organization – “Organizing For America” – do?

OfA Wisconsin’s field efforts include filling buses and building turnout for the rallies this week in Madison, organizing 15 rapid response phone banks urging supporters to call their state legislators, and working on planning and producing rallies, a Democratic Party official in Washington said.

Really?

Our own President’s campaign apparatus is attempting to prevent a vote from taking place? To overturn an election? To incite discontent against a duly-elected government, perhaps by importing people who aren’t actually Wisconsin residents? And to spread that discontent to other states?

Really? Our own President is doing this?

That’s textbook stuff folks. As in Mubarak’s textbook.

Didn’t we just see a government go down with our support in Egypt over this exact same thing? A government where the people said “do X”, government did “Y”, and the people rose? And let us not forget that in Egypt it was not the people who were shooting, it was government goons – rifles are prohibited from private ownership in Egypt.

These acts have a word folks: Sedition.

Just a month ago we heard from our very same President that we had a “responsibility” to tone down the political rhetoric. This, incidentally, is why these bussed-in protesters who aren’t Wisconsin residents are waving signs that claim Walker is Adolph Hitler and have targets on him?

To anyone who believes that these teachers are in some way deprived, I’ve run the analysis. The average teacher in Wisconsin receives about $86,000 in total pay and benefits annually. Like all teachers they also get three months off every year. That $86,000 has a huge benefit component, like all public employees – including pension and health care. But the important point is this figure is roughly $25,000 more than the average private-sector worker makes – even when you include the ridiculously over-compensated people like those at Goldman Sachs.

Here’s the reality folks: We’re broke. The States are broke and so is the Federal Government. We’ve allowed political hacks from both sides to make promises that can’t be kept. That’s a fact and no amount of spin is going to change it. We must cut the Federal Budget by more than half and at the same time raise taxes in order to start to pay down the debt.

Five entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare and Unemployment consume more than half of the entire Federal Budget. We borrow 42 cents of every dollar. You can cut to zero every other program, including defense, and we can’t balance the budget if we do not severely cut these five programs.

This is not a problem for the future, it’s a problem that must be solved right now. We could have cut the budget by 10 or 20% a decade ago, but we didn’t. Now it’s half. Soon it will collapse. And this same picture exists in the States.

The pension and health care cost issues are particularly severe. There is no solution to these problems that “keeps the promises” people believe were made to them. It’s not possible, no matter what you wish to believe or who is speaking. These are mathematical facts.

But today, the issue is this: We have a President who is attempting to overturn the results of an election in a State. That election was held, the people spoke, and the majority of Wisconsin residents support what Governor Walker is doing. The President has exactly zero right to interfere in the sovereign matters of a State’s Government in violation of the expressed will of The People and by doing so he has, in my opinion, committed an impeachable offense.

There are also serious issues in Wisconsin with the Teachers and also with State Senators. If you are a parent with children in a Wisconsin school you must demand that any teacher who falsely called in sick to protest be debarred from teaching your child. It is absolutely essential that our children understand and be taught that the representative process of government is sacred and that violating that premise is unacceptable. No parent who honors our form of government can permit their child to be instructed by a teacher who participated. I therefore call upon all parents to perform a “KidOut” and demand these teachers be immediately fired and replaced, or their children will not return to class. There are millions of unemployed people in this nation and many are qualified to teach. There is no shortage in the labor pool. Force the Superintendents to fire every one of these teachers – right now.

Second, Governor Walker needs to sign an executive order declaring a State of Emergency and ordering the Senate to come to order. If the Democrats refuse he should then declare their seats abdicated and hold special elections. The Democrats need only lose one seat in that special election to be irretrievably screwed. It is fine to disagree but the fact remains that a legislator has a job, and that is to legislate. That means showing up, speaking your peace, debating in a civil manner and voting. That’s how we do things in America.

Finally, to those in Organizing for America who are playing these games, let me make this very, very clear: You set the standard in 2008 when your President, who heads your group, said “I won” as justification for refusing to compromise on his bills. Well, this time you lost. Live to your own standards or you risk the people deciding to shut down commerce. To de-fund the government and your goon squads by doing an entirely-legal thing – deciding to cease all commerce and demonstrate via peaceful means exactly as was done in Egypt.

Government exists only because it has a believed ability to raise revenues via taxation. That’s what allows government at all levels to sell bonds and transact business.

We the people, via peaceful and lawful means, always have the right to revoke that belief among those who buy those bonds and transact business, and I believe we are not far from a critical mass in this country of people who are willing to do exactly that, particularly when our government refuses to honor the just results of a fair election of representatives and governors.

I call upon all Ticker [and FedUpUSA] readers to call Darryl Issa’s office Tuesday, along with their Representative and Senators, and demand an immediate halt to this interference in the affairs of Wisconsin and other States. And while you’re at it, demand that Mr. Issa issue subpoenas and find out exactly where the money came from for those buses, where the people came from, and who’s coordinating what.

There may be a federal offense in there.

Speaking of which, is it time to impeach Eric Holder yet?

Representative Darrell Issa

Phone: 202-225-3906
Fax: 202-225-3303
E-Mail

Find Your Representatives

The Market-Ticker

Arizona: No More Fraudulent Transfers of Property

FedUpUSA — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:50:04 +0000

Well what do we have here?

A. FOR ANY BENEFICIARY WHO IS NOT THE ORIGINATING BENEFICIARY ON THE DEED OF TRUST, THE BENEFICIARY SHALL RECORD A SUMMARY DOCUMENT REGARDING THE BENEFICIARY’S LEGAL INTEREST IN THE DEED OF TRUST THAT CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:

THE FULL NAME AND ADDRESS OF RECORD OF EVERY PRIOR BENEFICIARY ON THE DEED OF TRUST.

THE DATE, RECORDATION NUMBER OR OTHER UNIQUE DESIGNATION OF THE INSTRUMENT, AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTRUMENT THAT CONVEYED THE INTEREST OF EACH BENEFICIARY.

THE SUMMARY DOCUMENT PRESCRIBED BY THIS SECTION SHALL BE RECORDED AT THE SAME TIME AND PLACE THAT THE NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE IS RECORDED PURSUANT TO SECTION 33-808 AND A COPY OF THE SUMMARY DOCUMENT SHALL BE ATTACHED TO ANY NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE THAT IS REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED AS PRESCRIBED IN SECTION 33-809.

C. FAILURE TO PROPERLY RECORD THE SUMMARY DOCUMENT THAT DEMONSTRATES EVIDENCE OF TITLE FOR THE FORECLOSING BENEFICIARY AS OF THE DATE OF THE TRUSTEE’S SALE AS PRESCRIBED BY THIS SECTION RESULTS IN A VOIDABLE SALE.

D. ANY PERSON WITH AN INTEREST IN THE TRUST PROPERTY MAY FILE AN ACTION TO VOID THE TRUSTEE’S SALE FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION AND IS ENTITLED TO AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES AS WELL AS DAMAGES AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW IF THE PERSON SUBSTANTIALLY PREVAILS, INCLUDING AN AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES FOR ANY INJUNCTION OR OTHER PROVISIONAL REMEDIES RELATED TO THE CLAIM.

It’s about damn time.

That ought to put an immediate and complete stop to the crap that banks continually run about having “substitute” documents or having an assignment when they really don’t. Note that this bill (which apparently was just voted out of committee 4-0 in the Senate, and which has a companion in The House) will put an absolute stop to any foreclosure where the originator of the note did not transfer it properly (that would be, I’d argue, most of them) and it will render void upon suit by any person who is foreclosed upon and discovers that the note was never properly conveyed.

Ex-post-facto “cleanup” BS games will be rendered impossible by this bill.

The bottom line is this: Either the original issue of that mortgage and its subsequent securitization went through all previously-required assignments and you can prove it or your ability to convey a title via Trustee Sale is gone.

Awwww those poor widdle banksters that cheated on the rules…. looks like Arizona has had enough of their games and is going to body-slam them all in favor of their citizens. BRAVO!

Now to get this introduced and passed in all 50 states….. a refreshing instance of legislation that actually both defends property rights and fits on one page!

Hattip Halfbrite

The Market-Ticker

SB 1259 – Introduced Version – Arizona State Legislature via MyGov365.com