Tell the lender, "Produce the note!'
by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com
Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime
Deadline Newsroom - Some struggling homeowners facing foreclosure and looking to get an aloof lender's attention, are using a little guerilla "gotcha" tactic to at least delay the procedure.
A delay could give a homeowner time to financially rescue their home from repossession or put pressure on the lender to negotiate for a refinance or mortgage modification.
Hundreds of thousands of original mortgage notes are stored away in some distant warehouse or, perhaps, even destroyed.
Asking the lender directly to produce the original note or filing a legal request can shake things up, consumer advocates say.
Critics dismiss the tactic as only a stalling strategy. The original note is electronically retained and will eventually be found.
Judges are likely to accept the digital documents, or even other lender rendered documents as evidence.
But that could also take time.
"This process is not intended to help you get your house for free. The primary goal is to delay the foreclosure and put pressure on the lender to negotiate. Despite all the hype about lenders wanting to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, most borrowers know that’s not the reality, says Chris Hoyer, a Tampa lawyer and publisher of the Consumer Warning Network Web site.
The network is promoting the produce-the-note tactic and offers free court filing documents and other step-by-step information to help homeowners use the strategy.
Hoyer says an attorney in Rhode Island is successfully using the tactic to delay foreclosure proceedings.
He also reports as many as 14 foreclosure cases in Ohio brought by investors were dismissed after lenders failed to produce proof they owned properties they were trying to seize.
"Everybody should use it. Everybody should put the lender to the task of establishing that it owns the debt that it claims you owe it," says Hoyer.
Don't become a foreclosure victim. Read more foreclosure news that really hits home.
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com
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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop. Perkins is also a National Real Estate Examiner. All the news that really hits home from three locations -- that's location, location, location!
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2 comments:
Although a loan does not start out as income to the borrower, it becomes income to the borrower if the borrower is discharged of indebtedness.
Make sure to know the state of your finances before contacting your lender. Determine how much income you're bringing in each month, how much you're paying in bills and where you can cut costs. Just a tip!
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