LOL...Git-R-Done!

That is one of the funniest stories I have read in quite a while. The banks and financial institutions regularly hide behind legal documents, regulations and laws. This time they got bit on the backside! Kudos to the brave and resourceful homeowner who had not missed a payment! Hope the 'rest of the story' turns out well for him.

I'll be chuckling about this one for the rest of the day...

This is beautiful. I hope he goes to the meeting as goth-ed out as possible. Seems like there should be a way to go for compensatory damages.

This is an awesome story. I hope he continues through with this and sells their building. That is probably the only way they will learn.

Have a meeting coming up with the bank on a piece of commercial property (3 partners). Our note comes due next November. Our mortgage is greater then current value per square foot. The bank will probably want us to put more capital into the building. We'll respond ---here's the key or work with us. We'll point out that we have never missed a payment, whereas many others of their customers turned their keys over and essentially walked away from their responsibilities. Also a guarantor (fairly large amount) of a mall owned by my brother. My brother's negotiating with them and it's a similar situation---banks do not want property back but you don't on the other hand have to dance to their tunes.

We'll respond ---here's the key or work with us.

#5 | POSTED BY MATSOP

While that is certainly your right as a loan is nothing more than a business agreement with the obligations and conditions spelled out, I would encourage banks to not do any business with you in the future or to adjust your rate accordingly if you follow through on this threat. In essence what you are doing is causing rates to go up for every other borrower as banks will adjust their interest rates across the board to account for the higher default rate. You will be costing those people that do follow through on their obligations more money. I would say the same to those defaulting on your residential mortgage - it is your right - but I hope you never receive any credit ever again in your lifetime.

Payback's a bitch, ain't it? :)

@Jacque Strap - blame the banks and the sub-prime lenders for fucking everything up, not those honest ordinary people fighting back against the iniquity of the atrocious way the banking industry has behaved.

@Jacque Strap - blame the banks and the sub-prime lenders for fucking everything up, not those honest ordinary people fighting back against the iniquity of the atrocious way the banking industry has behaved.

#7 | POSTED BY GRUNTFUTTOCK

I do blame the banks. If it was up to me, they should have been forced into bankruptcy and the US gov or new investors could have picked them up for pennies on the dollar like any other failed business. However, it is also the fault of buyers taking out loans that they could not afford - no bank put a gun to their head and forced them to take out a loan. We need to go back to the old days - you want a mortgage, then the local bank holds it - and calls your employer, etc to actually verify information. This system is the best for everyone long term - but it will come down hard on everyone that defaults either because the financials turned sour or because the loan could not be afforded in the first place. This is exactly as it should be.

What this guy is doing is funny as hell only because he played by the rules and the bank apparently screwed up. As for those who would say "my property ain't worth what it once was so here's the keys", I would say that you are the problem with the mortgage and credit industry. I hope the next home you live in is a cardboard box in North Dakota.

Where in the hell is 1341 Dleaware Ave?
I couldn't find it anywhere on the map.

#6 | Posted by Jacque_Strap

Jack, if you notice, we're not pitching the key and walking like many others--we're willing to meet them halfway if they will. It's very simple; we haven't walked in the past when many others have and have never reneged on any payment. But we're also not going to enhance their profits at our expense when they're at the epicenter of causing this problem. It's very simple--we'll continue to pay them over time at our current rate or a lower rate and won't default as long as they don't squeeze us for more capital to bail their sorry rearends out. Eventually, our debt/equity ratio will once again be in line and both parties should be content to know they both benefitted over time from helping each other out.

@ Jaque Strap

I agree with you but surely is the bank's responsibility to ensure that anyone borrowing from them for whatever reason has the means to pay them back? To turn your argument around, no lender put a gun to the banks' head and forced them to give them a loan. It was, plain and simple, the fault of the banks who got greedy. As taxpayers, we're the one's who are bailing these bastards out. Here in the UK, banks like the Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock et al are now in the hands of the taxpayer - and still the bankers pay themselves enormous bonuses.

To quote Whoopie Goldberg, "He who is without shit on their sneaker, take the first step on the white rug".

As taxpayers, we're the one's who are bailing these bastards out. Here in the UK, banks like the Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock et al are now in the hands of the taxpayer - and still the bankers pay themselves enormous bonuses.

As I said, the bailout never should have happened. I really hope the people of Iceland fight the banker robbery act they are currently attempting. With that said, in the US at least, there was government pressure to give out loans to people that banks would not historically lend to - historically, they didn't lend money to these people because they had a high likelihood of default (and that is exactly what happened). This is not 100% of the problem - probably only 20% of the problem - but there was someone forcing the hands of the banks. I am not defending anyone in this - banks should have failed and delinquent borrowers should be tossed on their asses.

BTW, I hate Whoopie Goldberg, but that is a good quote.

"It was, plain and simple, the fault of the banks who got greedy. As taxpayers, we're the one's who are bailing these bastards out."

Think you may have missed a step between the greedy banks and taxpayer bailing out? Obviously you know fannie/freddie approved the so called greedy banks loans, so much that taxpayers have to bail them out.

There are a couple of thing I find interesting in this scenario. My guess is the bank screwed up the address or account numbers. The only way they could actually take money for his hazard insurance is if he is impounded. If he pays his own every six months, Wells has nothing to do with it. Also, the fact they asked for a $1 million in coverage for a $188k house not in any type of re-fi or purchase transaction is bizarre. Normally the set replacement costs is the minmum needed and asking for an increase in coverage I believe is illegal. When I screwed up on the amount of coverage after the loan was funded, we ate the extra premium and could not charge the borrower once the loan closed.

Either way this guy's 15 minutes of fame will end next month, when a judge clears it up and once the clerical or accounting error is corrected. I really think the bank was confusing this goths with another account.

What this guy is doing is funny as hell only because he played by the rules and the bank apparently screwed up. As for those who would say "my property ain't worth what it once was so here's the keys", I would say that you are the problem with the mortgage and credit industry. I hope the next home you live in is a cardboard box in North Dakota.

#9 | Posted by bogey1355

Then the Mortgage Bankers Association is also part of the "problem" and should move into a cardboard box.

Strategic Defaults are OK for The Mortgage Bankers Assoc but not the "little people" like you and me?

"or walk away with the least damage and purchase another home in two years?"

Why am I surprised someone like Dooonerboy is not smart enough to believe anything this tool says, but to actaully bring it here. Trust me, if you walk away from a home, you will not be getting a morgage two years later. Not sure if this clown thinks the debt they walked away from somehow disappears, and will probably have to be resolved before any lender even thinks about risking a mortgage.

However, it is also the fault of buyers taking out loans that they could not afford - no bank put a gun to their head and forced them to take out a loan.

Bullshit, Jacque Strap

People default on their mortgages all the time. So what was different this time?
Quite simply, the defaulted mortgages wouldn't have been a problem if the banks hadn't
(1) aggregated risky mortgages into investment vehicles
(2) acquired pie-in-the-sky AAA ratings on said vehicles
(3) traded said vehicles amongst themselves at up to 30x leverage

This guy has got it right. The appropriate response to this crisis would be the homeowners to foreclose on the banks. They have sufficient leverage to do it. Unfortunately they cannot see the forest for the trees, and who can blame them when they would like to continue living in their particular tree.

As for those who would say "my property ain't worth what it once was so here's the keys", I would say that you are the problem with the mortgage and credit industry. I hope the next home you live in is a cardboard box in North Dakota.

The problem with the mortgage and credit industry is its customers?

What a bizarre line of business, where having customers is a problem.

What a bizarre line of business, where having customers is a problem.

???

He didn't say all the customers were the problem. The implication was clear (at least to the cognizant amongst us) that customers who walk away from their mortgage are the problem.

Glad to help you out there, snoofy.

Well, it's a pretty poorly run business then. Looks like the problem with these businesses is they exercised very poor judgment. Not only of their customers, but they overvalued the item they're holding as collateral.

Oh well, better luck next time, entrepreneurs.

FTA: At trial, Wells Fargo didn't send anyone to represent themselves, so Patrick got a default judgment against them for $1,173. They eventually sent him the amount, but they had still had not responded to his letters or agreed to fix his premiums, as required by law. So he filed for a sheriff's levy. This directs the sheriff to seize and sell the debtor's property to pay up. In this case, it was the local branch office of Wells Fargo mortgage, the ones who had been ignoring him all these years.

To get the levy, he presented the court clerk with his default judgment and got the Writ of Execution and the Instructions for Levy which he delivered to the sheriff's office. He paid them a $50 deposit to cover their administrative costs. A local sheriff then went into the Wells Fargo branch office and took an inventory and posted notice that nothing could be removed. The court also gave him several posters which he was expected to xerox and post around town.

I wonder if the house or neighborhood has been designated as historic? That may explain why the bank wants it insured for it's full rebuild cost. Seems to me they it should be insured for what it would cost to build a new home of similar size and quality at most, or at minimum to balance of the note.
If I were him I'd give the bank some of f their own medicine and refuse to work with them. Make them liquidate the branch office or write the note off without a negative impact on his credit. Sometimes there's a price to be paid for bad behavior.

Well, it's a pretty poorly run business then. Looks like the problem with these businesses is they exercised very poor judgment. Not only of their customers, but they overvalued the item they're holding as collateral.

Oh well, better luck next time, entrepreneurs.
#20 | Posted by snoofy at 2011-02-23 04:29 AM |

No kidding Poofy? Who is on the hook for those unperforming or non performing loans? The banks? Nah, they leveraged and sold them off a long time ago. The brokers who originated and funded under the banks line? Nah, they have been paid and past the one year buy back agreement for default. Who does that leave...? Oh yeah, fannie and freddie who GUARANTEED the loans were insurable and sellable on the open market. Now let's see, who pays or funds fannie/freddie...? Oh yeah, the fucking taxpayers.

"I wonder if the house or neighborhood has been designated as historic?"

The note holder, bank, lender etc cannot simply force anyone to increase their coverage when they feel like it. This was a clerical error and the bank was mistaken and issued the notice to the wrong account or address. There was no reason for Wells or their impound department to alter anything in regards to the hazard insurance eight years later. Unless he was in the process of a re-fi, and his current rebuild costs needed to be adjusted after eight years. The bank simply made a mistake and ignored the guy instead of addressing his complaint.

Being Goth maybe he can call upon Nirdu the King of the Wana and Nirda's brother, and father to Ing Fro and Walburga Frouwa. Together they can go to war and strike down Wells Fargo forever.