oh jeez, that video is a tearjerker

To The Phones!

I thought it brought the stakes of things home in a nutshell.

Christy, you have some important links embedded in the text of you post that are not visible without mousing over them.

Hmmmm…I can see them fine on my screen. What browser are you using?

Oh, Christy…wow…so many tears. Uffdah! The video. The whole concept of people having to make these decisions. And not just the elderly. I used to be staff writer/grant proposal writer for a non-profit that trained women for work that would move them from poverty to self-sufficiency. So many heartbreaking stories. And that was before the economy tanked.

You truly have a heart of gold, girl. I am not elderly, but I sure as hell am creeping up on it. People of your generation who get it (and it seems that in this circle the wagons era the number is small) are the best hope for folks like the woman in the video. Uffdah. Time for a weep break. brb

My congresscritter is on C-span now talking about this. Ed Perlmutter

I’m on FF and I have trouble seeing your links, too. Not enough contrast

digg it pups.

Just went through the post and did an underline on all the links. Does that help folks on firefox? I’m on safari and the links stand out great for me.

I would say that it’s not only the mortgage crisis that’s a feminist issue, but the financial crisis. Ask yourself: As the states retrench, who’s going to get hit?

What she said only IE. Could links be bolded?

Yeah, the YouTube is a heartbreaker isn’t it? I know our local food banks and homeless shelter are really strapped. And I’m sure it’s that way everywhere right now. Demand is enormous right now, and donations are down pretty much across the board in a lot of places.

Christy, you are highlighting one of the areas of “collateral damage” (sorry) of this whole housing mess that the Rick Santellis and other self-righteous blowholes don’t want to know about or even acknowledge. These home lenders, mortgage servicers–thieves–knew how to prey on people. And people of a certain age are juicy targets. It’s painful to say this, but you know what? Many of them didn’t understand. They didn’t know what they were signing. They just believed what the nice person told them. My grandma was like that (long descent into Alzheimers) and my mom is walking that same path. Whether it’s magazine subscriptions or mortgages it’s the same thing–taking advantage of people.

that helps! You kids with the young eyes.

Helps a bunch. Thanks.

Refresh for me and see if the underlining helps you.

the video is stunning.

i’m on safari and only a couple of the links are visible. without raven’s comment, i would have had no idea there were more links.

I have one of these loans and have written numerous diaries on the topic. My point over and over again is that there is a substantial amount of accounting fraud in these loans. Over and over this point gets ignored. I am so tired of seeing this point left out of the discussion that I want to scream when I see posts like this that are “supportive” but totally leave out the criminal behavior. I wasn’t stupid. They violated TILA and RESPA laws in the form of refusing communication with me when I was 30 days late (because my ex quit paying child support suddenly after 10 years of steady payment). When they refuse to speak with you, take your calls, answer your faxes, when they return your checks, it forces you into foreclosure or into bankruptcy.

This behavior is a violation of TILA laws. I have linked so many times to stories that document this complaint. What fascinates me is that this is never mentioned in news story after news story. Many people might have been able to pay their way out of foreclosure if these banks had not engaged in a standard set of illegal behaviors. This included racking up huge fees while refusing to work out the loan, putting you in foreclosure for 6 months while the fees would pile up, refusing any and all communication and then sending a refinance at one week before the sale date that would refinance at 23% interest. This is a racket and included law violations as well as accounting fraud. In some cases complaints are that the missed payments were in error but folks could not get anyone to speak to them about it or straighten it out.

There is a class action lawsuit against GMAC Homecomings financial (bailout recipient) that lists the illegal behaviors.

I want the truth told. These banks engaged in fraud and they are not being held accountable. I don’t want a handout. I want them to follow the banking and finance laws that exist. I want cram down legislation that would allow my bankruptcy judge to get rid of fees that he cannot erase at this time. Fees for cashing my paper check…yea, 10 bucks a shot, and fees for property inspection, legal fees for law suits against me that I won, that the judge asked the fees be removed and that they just put on the end of my loan. (as I was warned by my lawyer that they would do since these fees remain unregulated).

If you follow the links in my story you will find every bit of proof you need that fraud has occurred on a massive scale. If you are going to present this issue in a way that makes others want to be supportive we have to get past this notion that homeowners were stupid losers and make it clear that these banks violated laws and committed fraud. They are also guilty of accounting fraud, errors in payment histories. And according to William Black and Paul Krugman we cannot get our economy straightened out until we face the truth and the bottom line in regard to the paper work behind these loans.

If you want to help people like me start telling the truth about fraud. You can read all my articles on my experience here.

http://www.dailykos.com/user/wavpeac

spoke too soon. refreshed and the underlining pops them all out now.

I saw that a lot through the Lilly Ledbetter battle — far too often, people had no concept of the impact lifetime inequality could bring, especially in terms of a reduced pension on top of the already lower wages. Often pensions are based solely on wage earnings — as are social security earnings — when you are trapped in a job that pays you less or when you haven’t had much of a job because your duty was in the house not earning much for most of your life because that’s what women did?

Your retirement money doesn’t go very far. Especially if you also have to deal with a catastrophic illness and expensive medications and the Medicare donut hole and…well, you see where this gets dicey already, don’t you?

Mornin’ Christy and firedogs,

found in a link from Jane’s post yesterday

decision to suspend consideration of the vote until this week — until after HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan addresses the caucus on Monday night

checked over at Kagro’s and other inside baseball type places this morning and can’t find any reportage on the going’s on as of yet

Oh, and please do let us know if you hear back from any reps on their position on these issues. We’re trying to track public statements where we can find them…thanks!

fair trials!

you are doing a great public service by educating us on this. and people like black are backing you up on it.

from naked capitalism:

William Black is a former senior bank regulator, best known for his thwarted but later vindicated efforts to prosecute S&L crisis fraudster Charles Keating. He is currently an Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

i highly recommend the three articles i know about re black:

William Black: “There Are No Real Stress Tests Going On”

Why Is Geithner Continuing Paulson’s Policy of Violating the Law?

The Two Documents Everyone Should Read to Better Understand the Crisis

all the evidence is that there has been massive fraud at all levels and that the banksters’ bailout is attempting to cover it up.

I’m grateful that Raven took your title to heart and spoke up! Up until this post, I thought it was just me. Love the underlining. I’m on FF too and have been mousing to get the links. When I remembered to, that is.

I’m an elder-Boomer. I have watched my life savings/investments largely evaporate. Investment guri were big into “just hang in there” long enough to watch half or more simply disappear.

As the months fly by, even those of us not technically impoverished wonder how we’ll make it through those golden years we were schooled to believe in. Women and men. My adult kids all have jobs in jeopardy (doesn’t everyone?).

Now I see that Madoff wants to hang on to his penthouse and a boatload of his money. Jeebus. What a piece of work.

You know, I get that I have other issues in play, but I gotta tell you that this is literally depressing stuff. Even so, I need to get my ample arse out there to help people who have worse problems with this than I do. We gotta, pups. We gotta, old dogs.

Booyah and thanks!

Brrrrr….it is a balmy 12 degrees outside at the moment. And that’s after the sun has warmed things up a bit.

Talked about fraud a bit yesterday — it’s been a huge, huge part of the problem. No question. Given that I’m juggling about 80 things at once, though, I cannot put every piece of the puzzle in every single post that I write. Sorry, but there it is.

What you’ve been through absolutely sucks. And I’m sorry you are still dealing with it.

Just signed the petition, and after I submitted it, a pop-up showed the subject line for this to be “urgh those bankers.” While true, I suspect it is supposed to read “urge”?

Other than the fact that Sarasota is nowhere near the panhandle….

I appreciate what you are doing it’s just so invalidating that this fraud as document so well by William Black is not being mentioned. I was the victim of a crime…not ignorant, stupid or vulnerable. I am a smart master degree level woman who bought her house on her as a single mom of four kids. I put myself through graduate school working two and three jobs at a time. I was steered into this loan by a broker “friend”. Three different big banks (all of who turned out to be part of this sub prime scam told me that because I was buying the house without a second income would have to be sub prime despite my credit rating average of 750). I did my homework and went to at least three banks in town who told me the same thing. Then I ended up with this sub prime loan. Which would not have been a problem if my ex had not sued me for custody (which cost all of my savings to defend their right to stay in their home) and then quit paying child support within a year of losing his case. When he quit it was sudden and caused me to miss the first payment. Once I had begun down that slope they engaged in one criminal behavior after another.

I know you are on my side but the fraud is the story. If you follow my links you will see that accounting fraud contributes so frequently you wonder out loud how this could continue. Gmac in some cases paid the wrong person’s taxes, or didn’t count payments or messed with the escrow and people have lost their homes. Millions have lost their homes due to illegal behavior. Black knows this is true. But if feels like massive denial about the problem. I have been fighting this now for 7 years. I was so proud of myself when I bought my home.

This feels worse than sexual assault to me because it affects my kids, my health, my livelihood. (today when I apply for a job I worry they will do a credit check and my bankruptcy sits there). The implications of this on my life have been far reaching and so much more than most people can imagine. It’s not just losing a house, its the credit, it’s that the fees are so jacked up that even if I sold it, I would owe them. It’s the illegal behavior and the constant reporting to Attorney general, the FDIC and being virtually ignored. I am hanging on only because I had enough knowledge to go to the internet and learn and investigate. The lawyers I went to back in 2003 had no clue and most gave me very bad advice.

I just want the story told with the fact that these banks have broken laws in the servicing of these loans and in most cases have “caused” these foreclosures. Certainly, lost jobs increased health care costs have contributed. Certainly innocent people were preyed upon. But the shame of this, the constant finger pointing at us…is so hard to bear.

I wasn’t dumb, I needed a home and no one would give me a prime loan and used the excuse that I was a single income buyer. Do you think men went sub prime for this? I doubt it.

I just wanted to use this venue to educate…I do appreciate all you are doing for the topic.

Christi, I know more than I should about foreclosure.

You are right, the key is political action. There is damn little an attorney, even working flat out, can do to delay a foreclosure. Normally, there are very few facts at issue and
as a result summary judgments are routinely and quickly granted. The sherriff sales quickly follow. In most cases the judgmants are in rem and this severely limits or does away with the redemption period. In a matter of months people can be on the street.

The political help could come from the state legislatures. Foreclosure for the most part is handled in state courts. The first step might be for legislatures to impose a six month foreclosure moratorium for single familty – owner occupied homes with certain conditions designed to prevent wholesale abuse. This has occurred in other states in the past.

The legislature might also consider giving those foreclosed a preference in leasing the foreclosed homes with a first right of refusal when the bank finally sells them.

Jane’s up with
Hello, Suckers: CNBC Santelli Rant, Right.Org, and the Smell of Astroturf in the Morning

I just left a message at my rep’s office, Frank LoBiondo because the guy answering the phones could not comment on it. He said someone will get back to me. He took my name, address and phone number.

Too funny on his site he justifies not voting for the stimulus bill because it wasn’t the best bill that Congress could come up with. I’m in his district by a hair so my end of the district doesn’t matter to him. I’m 60 miles away from the shore area which is where his votes are.

A big part of his statement is that casino related projects were left out of the package, and a lot of his district is around Atlantic City. He justifies that it wasn’t fair to the casinos and the small businesses to support one industry over another, and that’s just not fair to the people in his district.

And doing nothing is?

NJ is a state that has its political power based in the north and the south (where I live) always gets the short end of the stick. He makes a point about the money to going to our capital, Trenton, and not finding its way to the south. This is true, the Democrats do this as well so it’s shot at the state government, however to justify not helping people by using it fits into the Republican’s new m.o.

Just Say No.

Nancy Reagan would be proud to see his signature slogan reinvented to support the failed policies of her husband for a new generation.

Selise…you have been on this from the beginning and I so appreciate the way you back this story up. I have become battle weary from listing these links. I did a story and it’s in the link above on Black testimony before the agriculture committee and also the huff po peice. I appreciate putting these folks in a sympathetic light but I think people would be fighting the idea of bail out less if they understood that these banks broke the law in servicing these loans and caused these foreclosures. Thank you for linking to William Black.

G’Morning Christy & Friends !

I was in the Ft. Myers area last fall for a brief visit and saw the devastation first hand. There were so many unbuilt or partly built homes and I knew that every one of those represented a family in dire straits.

My relatives who live there talk about all the problems that people are facing and are in shock that this has happened in America. The scale of it is heart wrenching.

It was – 18 F this morning in Toronto. Usually, it is about 52, this time of year.

wavpeac – i really appreciate that you have not given up on us, especially given the toll it must take on you. sometimes it takes awhile for stuff to come together as we think these things through. as far as i can tell all the evidence is on your side – this has been a massive case of fraud at all levels. so it’s not only about taking care of each other (as if that wasn’t enough), or the economy, it’s also about justice and fairness that these crimes must be uncovered and dealt with. they go to the core of who we are and how we organize our economy. thank you!

p.s. i don’t think i caught that black testimony before the senate ag committee (it’s not listed on their website, which is probably the worst of all committee websites). so thanks for that too – i will go back and see if i can find a transcript.

fair trials!

Redd,

I dropped an e-mail to my Congresscritter yesterday. He’s a likely Bluedog (and I really regret having signed his nominating petition, but I believe in contested elections…) being from the o’l patch in Eastern NM (yeah, I’m talking Harry Teague here).

I told ‘critter Teague that I am watching what is happening on HR 200 and will be particularly watching his actions. I’ll let you know what (if anything) I hear back from the ‘critter.

it’s linked to one of my articles on fraud…on the dkos link. It’s in the first paragraph and should be easy to find. Fascinating…he talks about control fraud at the top of the corporate level.

Fresh posty goodness for anyone who wants some…

Thanks much!

My buddy from Tallyhassy informs me that the Florida Legislature is now in session and that “help is on the way.” The Florida Legislature? In session? Jeebus Haitch Xmas, we are truly doomed.

Currently, there is a glut of REO assets around the country as foreclosures far outpace the demand for housing sales in the current market. How many senior citizens and other hardworking Americans have to become homeless before Congress will act on H.R. 1106 or some other effort to help regular folks?

I’m about ready to support a squatters’ movement. It’s horrendous to have people homeless while — other homes sit empty!

I see Dean Baker in his post just up at main page suggests that foreclosed homeowners would be better off moving into these empty properties than trying to renegotiate a new mortgage that will never get them equity.

That’s a step or two away from squatting, of course, but good grief.
If we were living in early historic, non-”civilized” times, without formal law, if someone in the village lost their home (hut?, cabin?) to fire or earthquake or something, and there was an empty one with no family to live in it, I doubt there would have been hesitation to move into the empty one.
But now we’re a huge society with only the rule of law to cling to, and that means if you don’t have the right legal documentation, or money, you are out in the street or your car, while houses, not to mention enormous mcmansions, sit empty.

I pass a number of new McMansions in my area, built after tearing down the older smaller houses, dominating the older neighborhoods they sit in. My DH and I were driving by one o those areas last weekend, noticing the houses are huge but barely any distance between them, or any yard.

We were discussng the psychological/status reasons people would choose such ways to live – you just gotta have 4000 square feet even tho’ your neighbors are 6 ft. away from your windows? Otherwise you’re a failure or something?
I can’t help thinking of how after the Russian Revolution the huge townhomes and palaces of the nobility and the rich were divided up into small apartments for the poor who had been living in squalor in “lower depths” slums.
It’s starting to look like a good idea. How many families can live in a 5000 sq ft. McMansion, now that the “owner” lost his banking job and can’t pay the giant mortgage?

Yeah, yeah – I’ll call Rep. Lamar Smith – all the good it’ll do.

wavepeach – you are absolutely right about the fraud and criminal behavior – but please don’t fault Christy.
FDL is one of the major sites that does discuss this issue, and provides many links to other blogs/sites that also do so.
If I get a chance I’ll search some links for you.
Believe me, as a former legal aid lawyer (long ago), I do understand your frustration. But everything can’t go into every post—look back through FDL and you’ll see that your issues are here, or there are links to places that focus on them.

Of course, the MSM doesn’t mention it much, except maybe for Keith and Rachel.But then we don’t expect much better from MSM, do we?
Best of luck to you; I hope things work out for you better than it appears to be doing now.

Christy, thanks so much for focussing on this aspect of both issues.

Having worked so long with low-income folks, I’m constantly astonished at the ignorance of the average middle-class person of the effects of taken-for-granted practices on folks who may have been just a little less lucky, but who – like a certain fromer pres. — think they hit a triple all by themselves.

To me it was obvious why it was ridiculous to argue that she should’ve filed her claim after the first discriminatory paycheck — yet remarkable numbers of folks seemed to not know that employers go to great lengths to keep pay info secret. I’ve seen companies that make it a firing offense to disclose pay information to fellow employees. The employers obviously know the effect of information.

I really hoped to feel less despair after the inauguration – unrealistic, I suppose. Should’ve known the die-hard wingnuts (in Congress and out) would keep up their usual antics. Not to mention the trad media. Without FDL, Keith & Rachel & Jon & Stephen Colbert, TPM, Think Progress, Krugman and Baker, etc., I would be really depressed!
I’ll go to the phones in just a little while, and I see I have an email from SEIU–they probably hve a petition? I’ll sign that, and call my local MoveOn group and see what’s next up for us.
Thanks again for keeping us going out here in the hinterlands.

I didn’t mean to sound like I was faulting Christy. I don’t. I am grateful that she covers all the issues she does. I just think that fraud should be mentioned every time we talk about this issue because the evidence I have gathered and others too, suggests that the bankers caused this with their own policies and actions. Yes, some folks bought homes over their heads but once you have missed a payment in a sub prime loan…the loan sharking begins and the TILA and RESPA laws went out the window. I appreciate all that Christy does. Seriously. It’s just that I want to see fraud get as much play as exists in the market and stats regarding housing losses. Lots of folks don’t know what the TILA and RESPA laws are or that they have been violated.