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In previous articles, I wrote about how I dig deeper when I find TILA and RESPA violations for sources of relief for homeowners looking to sue their lenders and other parties. One very interesting place I have found when looking for relief is in foreclosure complaints and notices filed by lenders.

I do find many errors that could be used to delay a foreclosure process, but that isn’t actually my goal. My focus is on finding the story behind what actually happened to find relief for a homeowner. Delaying an inevitable foreclosure isn’t my idea of providing relief.

For Example, I recently audited multiple mortgages with defective foreclosure notices and court filings. One such notice explicitly failed to state recording numbers or include a copy of the recorded Deed of Trust that was being foreclosed on.

This raised an interesting question. Why would a lender fail to include or reference a Deed of Trust that it was attempting to foreclose on? I did a more in-depth look at records online and found that the title company waited beyond the allowed time to record the mortgage. At this point, alarm bells started to ring in my head. Something was wrong with the construction of the Deed of Trust that prevented it from being immediately recorded.

A review of the borrower’s story revealed they didn’t know anything about changes to the Deed of Trust. A review of the borrower’s copy of the Deed of Trust revealed that it was defective and different from the recorded Deed of Trust. Therefore, the Lender, Escrow, or both changed the Deed of Trust after signing and recorded the altered version. The foreclosing attorney probably saw the fraud and decided not to include the recorded deed or reference to it.

Because my audit looks beyond apparent errors, yet another homeowner finds a solid backing to sue his lender, title company, and the foreclosing attorney for fraud. More importantly, local state statutes will likely allow him to discharge his unsecured mortgage in bankruptcy, as without a legal Deed of Trust local law treats it as unsecured floating debt. Goodbye mortgage!

Obviously, with the amount of time it takes to look at a mortgage transaction in depth, I can’t help everyone out there who needs it. However, I do my best to help those in need, one at a time, one-on-one. If you are in need of help, contact me here.

Earlier I talked about TILA and RESPA forensic loan audits and how they are limited in their ability to provide relief to homeowners who were victims of predatory lending. In this article, I am going to explore a bit on how we have gone beyond RESPA violations within the HUD-1 Settlement statements to actually help homeowners.

The HUD-1 Settlement Statement is typically a line item receipt of the funds for the loan, complete with parties involved, and who is paying and receiving money. Preparation of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement is governed by RESPA, or the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. A violation of RESPA for improper preparation of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement is typically subject to a one-year statute of limitations in which to make a claim for damages.

One common violation I find is not reporting the seller’s identity on the Hud-1 Settlement Statement. This is a clear violation of RESPA, Appendix A that states fill in the names and current mailing addresses and zip codes of the Borrower and the Seller.

To a straight TILA and RESPA forensic loan audit, this seems like an innocent omission, and is typically beyond the 1-year statute of limitations to sue over. However, to my experienced eye, I have helped many homeowners recover from fraud that this little omission is covering up.

Digging deeper through purchase contracts, building contracts, and county records, I have found several occasions where the omission hid undisclosed multiple flip transactions and an inflated property price for the homeowner to sue over. Digging deeper, I have also found the same omissions on other documents prepared for the loan that show illegal conspiracies between title companies, sellers, and others to defraud new buyers. Digging even deeper, I have even gone through title records and stories to verify relationships between parties conspiring to defraud new buyers. This provided many defrauded homebuyers that came to me for help with the proper evidence needed to sue for recoveries.

When I perform a forensic loan audit, I go beyond simple TILA or RESPA violations. Often, the violations are past the period to sue over. More important, simple violations are just the visible tip of an iceberg. That’s why you need to contact me if you need help. I have a decade of experience originating, auditing, and doing quality assurance on mortgage loans. Because of my experience, I am able to tell which simple errors are simple errors, and which ones may be hiding relief for your home.

If you are in need of mortgage litigation support or mortgage forensic audits to help keep your home, contact me here. If you are a lawyer looking to provide your clients with better service and an improved chance of keeping their home, contact me here.

I’ve redone several forensic loan audits for people who have obtained forensic loan audits through other sources. The most common mistake I see in other audits is that they fail to see the big picture that is required to find things that can actually help a homeowner. Let’s quickly look at why my forensic loan audits are more thorough than a simple TILA and RESPA review.

A TILA violation, for example, can be used to offset a foreclosure judgment, or possibly rescind a loan within three years. While this sounds great in theory, most people would rather avoid a foreclosure and foreclosure judgment altogether over having a reduced judgment against them. Very few people are even able to take advantage of a rescission as they have insufficient cash or equity to give the lender their original loan amount back.

RESPA violations also have a very short 1-3 year statute of limitations in which to take action, and are often unusable as a source of relief when found.

Often, the actual core mortgage documents reviewed by a TILA and RESPA forensic loan audit are not the source of relief for homeowners. The surrounding documents, receipts, correspondence, and stories paint the picture of what really happened.

As an example, on January 26, 2011 an Attorney, Title Company Employee, and Builder in Texas were found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering in a construction mortgage fraud scheme. The core mortgage documents (Deed, Note, Truth In Lending, HUD, etc.) were not the source of this conviction. It required stories, records, surrounding documents, and accounting of funds to prove the fraud.

Another common reason TILA and RESPA forensic loan audits fail is the large amount of predatory and unfair loans put together by large financial institutions with very savvy computerized document systems. These very expensive computerized document systems are less likely to make mistakes that will be uncovered in a TILA and RESPA forensic loan audit. The actual story, advertisements, loan application, bank statements, surrounding documents, and credit profile reveal if loans are predatory, deceptive, or unfair.

For example, when the Attorney General of California sued Countrywide on behalf of homeowners in California, TILA and RESPA violations are ignored, and the AG focuses the lawsuit on unfair and deceptive practices.

This is why when I perform a forensic loan audit, I examine all the available documents and often request you to find additional key documents from specific sources. The fact that a TILA or RESPA violation occurred is important, but the more important reason is to understand what purpose or fact said violation is hiding, and what sources of relief for homeowners we can find.

If you are in need of mortgage litigation support or mortgage forensic audits to help keep your home, contact me here. If you are a lawyer looking to provide your clients with better service and an improved chance of keeping their home, contact me here.