Well, perhaps an actual forensic study of foreclosure files conducted in San Francisco of foreclosures from 2009-2011 will finally put to rest all those comforting reassurances that it was all only a little "sloppy paperwork" concerning a few deadbeats that would have been foreclosed on anyway.
Gretchen Morgenson in todays New York Times blows the lid of that canard and reveals that 84% of the files contained clear violations of law.
Please read the complete story at the link and then follow below for discussion
Wow!
In a significant number of cases — 85 percent — documents recording the transfer of a defaulted property to a new trustee were not filed properly or on time, the report found. And in 45 percent of the foreclosures, properties were sold at auction to entities improperly claiming to be the beneficiary of the deeds of trust. In other words, the report said, “a ‘stranger’ to the deed of trust,” gained ownership of the property; as a result, the sale may be invalid, it said.
In 6 percent of cases, the same deed of trust to a property was assigned to two or more different entities, raising questions about which of them actually had the right to foreclose. Many of the foreclosures that were scrutinized showed gaps in the chain of title, the report said, indicating that written transfers from the original owner to the entity currently claiming to own the deed of trust have disappeared.
Banks involved in buying and selling foreclosed properties appear to be aware of potential problems if gaps in the chain of title cloud a subsequent buyer’s ownership of the home. Lou Pizante, a partner at Aequitas who worked on the audit, pointed to documents that banks now require buyers to sign holding the institution harmless if questions arise about the validity of the foreclosure sale.
Now this is what one single audit in one county conducted at the behest of one county recorder discovered. One county! Widespread, pervasive, systemic, illegal foreclosures. Procedures and processes so bad that banks are requiring subsequent buyers to hold them harmless for all the chaos they have caused regarding the legitimacy of titles and land recordation in this country.
After reading this article about what was discovered by one man in one county, what do we think about the mortgage settlement announced with so much fanfare by the President and HUD and The Justice Department? Heckova job is what I think, putting it in the mildest possible terms.
There is no "turning a new page". There is no "looking forward". This was one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated and the ridiculous settlement and the apologias offered for it (right here on Daily Kos) are completely unacceptable.
I will pull two sentence out of the diary offered here yesterday by the Secretary of HUD, Shaun Donovan with a shared byline with Eric Holder:
Holding Banks Accountable
Some have asked why we don't address these actions by taking the banks to court. But rather than pursuing hundreds of lawsuits with varying degrees of success, the goal of this settlement has been to benefit struggling homeowners and to do so now - not sometime in the future, when it may be too late to help many families.
Yes, some have asked that question about why the banks have not been prosecuted for wrongdoing. We understood it was a JUSTICE Department investigation, not just one more ineffective bailout orchestrated by HUD. We didn't understand that the "goal of the investigation was to benefit struggling homeowners". Silly us. We thought it was about actually about Justice, the Rule of Law, adequate victim compensation, fines and penalties that are punitive enough to stop further criminal wrongdoing, even possibly (gasp!) criminal charges against actual real live living perps.
Something I haven't even really seen discussed is that the settlement doesn't even cover those with mortgages held by Fannie, Freddie or the FHA which are a majority of the mortgages in the country. Which makes the settlement an even greater joke than it already is.
Will the Mortgage settlement help you
This story in today's New York Times will explain to those who continue to labor under the delusion that these actions were unethical but not illegal, that they just involved a few deadbeat homeowners, that they have no farther reaching consequences if they are not corrected, that they are just flat out wrong.
These banking miscreants have corrupted the courts and the entire concept of clear title and home ownership in this country. The settlement took too long and did too little. My understanding is that it hasn't even been drafted yet. It is my belief that we should reject the settlement as outlined and demand better.
I think the job performance of those involved has been poor enough that they might consider resigning