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America's
Foreclosure
Epidemic
Foreclosure
Victims Turn Tables on Lenders
Just two months ago, Outreach
Housing LLC officially unveiled its groundbreaking initiative - a
loss-mitigation organization specializing in assisting victims of the
self-enriching lending industry. As of February 8, nearly 500 case files
referencing lender violations were filed on behalf of homeowners
currently being threatened with foreclosure, thanks to the synchronized
legal and mediations services of Outreach Housing. Today, 100 percent of
these enrolled homeowners still own their homes.
Blair Wright, Director of Outreach Housing, agrees with statements made
by Edward M. Gramlich, former Federal Reserve governor, when he warned
nearly seven years ago that a fast-growing new breed of lenders was
luring many people into risky mortgages they could not afford. "Why are
the most risky loan products sold to the least sophisticated borrowers?"
Mr. Gramlich asked in a speech he prepared last August for a Federal
Reserve symposium. "The question answers itself - the least
sophisticated borrowers are probably duped into taking these products."
According to Wright, borrowers who don't have the resources to qualify
for these loans have been "taken" by overpriced lending terms that have
now led to the loss of equity through the foreclosure process and have
destroyed the homeowner's credit, wrecking the homeowner's chances of
being able to purchase a future home. "Despite the mortgage lender's
fiduciary responsibilities to our communities, they have recklessly
promoted 'defective products' that were destined to fail. This is truly
the 'Great American Rip-Off.' People not personally facing foreclosure
should be concerned about this because these lender violations are
directly contributing to the nation's miserable real- estate market and
depleting values," he says.
The case files included 494
homeowners, who either were or are currently in-default on mortgages,
and include those who had foreclosure sale dates scheduled. In analyzing
the files, Outreach Housing has outlined lender violations in respect to
federal lending acts and regulations. Cases include the exercising of a
homeowner's right to cancel the mortgage transaction with additional
claims for broker fraud, violations of the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA),
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), and Deceptive and Unfair
Trade Practices Act (DUTPA).
"Sophisticated lenders and their representatives have made false and
misleading statements about the nature of these defective loan
transactions and covered up the fraud by not abiding by the required
TILA and RESPA regulations," Wright says. "Failure to meet the
requirements regulations can extend right-of-rescission up to three
years from the loan closing date."
Joining the litigation efforts of Outreach Housing are attorney H.
Richard Bisbee, former Deputy General Counsel, Chief Administrative
Counsel and Chief Banking Counsel for the Florida Department of Banking
and Finance, and attorney William Reeves, former Director, General
Counsel and Chief Trial Counsel for the Florida Department of Banking
and Finance.
About Outreach Housing LLC
Outreach Housing is a grassroots organization that helps homeowners fend
off aggressive mortgage lenders and defend themselves in the event of
erroneous lender practices. Outreach Housing comprises several teams,
including loss mitigation experts, mortgage analysts and legal support
groups involving a network of 3000 attorneys, which together deliver a
counter- offensive approach to homeowners facing foreclosure. Offering
resources to address $1.2 billion in defensive relief, Outreach Housing
provides lending- industry victims a defensive solution, which enables
them to
avoid foreclosure and keep their homes.
SOURCE Outreach Housing LLC
March 08, 2008
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