All these "toxic assets" are being swept around to different places...written off, taken off the balance sheet, transferred to the government...etc. etc. etc...who is still servicing the mortgages that are included in these "toxic assets"? Is it possible that the mortgages are no longer being serviced and mortgagees have simply stopped paying?
No...the forclosure process kicks them out. It is possible that after they are kicked out, they could move back in, and nobody might know for years that the house is supposed to be unoccupied.
I wonder if I could call my mortgage servicer and ask who owns my loan. If they don't know, can they legally evict me? I know they can start the process, but in court, if the actual owner of my mortgage cannot be identified, how can I be evicted to satisfy an obligation to an unknown party?? Isn't the mortgage servicer acting on behalf of the obligee? If the obligee is unknown and un-findable, can there still be an obligation???? Just musing here.
I read an article on laywers helping their clients use such backdoors to not get kicked out. I believe it is true in order to evict you they need to hold the loan in physical possession. Most don't.
a buddy i was just speaking with in Sacramento hasn't paid since October. he is currently in negotiations with the govt. in conjunction with his mortgage broker to get a lower interest rate (he has a ridiculous 9%) but will have to pay one month's rent in good faith. after that, he has been told that he could get another 6 months until the actual deal goes through and he has a new mortgage. he would not have to pay the missed payments over $25+k but would start fresh, taking off the principle from where it was in October, 2008. unfortunately for him, he is not having the principle reduced, which seemed completely wacked to me that such could even be an option. then again, if the bank takes it, there will be a $200k loss of principle so it may actually be on the table sometimes. the whole thing is crazy and yes, when the new mortgage is written up, he will have stayed in the house for over a year for one month's payment.
It started years ago really. Some people fought eviction by demanding in court to see proof that the lender actually held the loan and many cannot. The lending cycle is so volatile that most of it's really done by trainees and then loans are sold and moved all over the place and there is more chance for incompetence to show up. I've heard of one fight that has gone on for nine years, maybe ten by now... I suppose that the game then morphs into one of the lender trying to run up your legal costs to get you to quit, and they probably play dirty tricks like most collection agencies do but you could threaten to fight them "on principle" even if you are out of the house to block them from selling it... sort of put a cloud on the title... Tension like that could make a marriage difficult maybe, other than that, people should probably pursue their rights in court..
"Are people getting away with not paying their mortgages for months? years?" Yes. Many People. Many, many, many people.
Some scammer was going around the country claiming that banks couldn't tell who owned your mortgage (because of tranching and other structuring) so they couldn't foreclose and kick people out. Of course, you could sign up for the $$$ seminar and learn how to help other people do this for a fee. AIR, the usual gang of soft minds in this forum bought into the idea as well. No word on whether any of them shelled out a stack of greenbacks for the course.
I get the impression that since banks are paying little to no interest on borrowed money, they're willing to let many of these people just occupy the houses without paying just so they remain occupied/maintained since it looks better for the neighborhood, helps keep property values steady and reduces vandalism.
No need for a course how to. It's really simple. Just file a defense to the forclosure action and an affirmative counterclaim. I know someone who didn't pay for 3 years and was able to get million dollar mtg reset with much better terms and much lower payment. They almost won and may have had they not settled. The banks are Ill equiped to fight back if you launc a defense and counter action. Must homeowners just roll over and give up. Bank quickly moves onto to weak if you fight back