My mortgage has been with America's Servicing Company since November. I've made all payments on time so far (so now they're trying to "flip" me to Wells Fargo, but I'm on to them, thanks to this website, so I declined. Here's the beefiest part of my story:
My ex-husband and I wanted to refinance, but his credit was too horrible. I got a call, unsolicited, from Paradise Lending (a local Broker) offering a low rate. Paradise qualified us and quoted a rate based on our combined incomes, but said my Ex could NOT be on the mortgage because of his credit, but that was "okay" since he'd be paying half the mortgage anyway. They also said that the Lender, BNC Mortgage, required my Ex to sign a QC deed quitclaiming his interest (50% joint tenant) to me. Naturally, that wouldn't fly with the Ex, so Paradise said "don't worry, you can put him back on title as soon as the loan goes through escrow".
So Paradise sent me a loan packet including 2 deeds (one to me a Tenant in Severalty, one from me to Ex & I as Jt. Tenants). What they DIDN'T tell me about is the "Transferability - Due on Sale" clause that FORBIDS me to put him back on title without ADVANCE WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM BNC (which clearly didn't exist), which clause allows BNC to accelerate the debt and... Ultimately foreclose.
Paradise then told me "they" were opening escrow, but the cover letter to open escrow is from BNC... And it only enclosed ONE deed (guess which one). Paradise Lending never told BNC about the QC to put Ron back on title because they KNEW it wouldn't fly. However, the recording fees on the HUD show 2 deeds recorded and one mortgage... Which means Paradise slid the 2nd deed into escrow behind the Lender's back and w/o telling me that if the Lender ever found out, they could take my house.
It gets much worse. When ASC assumed the mortgage, the RESPA notice provided no loan info so I could not send a payment with loan info to allow it get posted to my loan account (I believe they were trying to deter me from making my first payment to them on time, right out of the gate).
Then, they tried two of their known scams on me: (1) trying to assess me $2,700 for "windstorm and hail coverage" they allege my policy "excludes" (but it's always been included), and even after being sent proof 5 more times after they acquired my mortgage, they assessed me the $2700 and said they'd be increasing my monthly pmt or take it from my escrow account. The sequence of events went like this:
1/28/05: My insurance company (HIG) send ASC, by mail, my insurance policy and declarations page show, among other things, I had windstorm and hail coverage ("W/H").
3/2/05: HIG sent ASC the policy AGAIN, but to a different address than ASC had first specified, and also faxed it to a number that had never been provided by ASC.
3/14/05: ASC generated a generic form letter claiming the policy HIG sent "excludes" W/H and advising to obtain the coverage and provide proof of it w/in 30 days. I received the notice on 3/22.
3/23/05: I called ASC and explained I just got the notice and would send the proof asap, I was calling HIG as soon as I hung up. They confirmed that if they got the proof, there would be no insurance secured for me. I called HIG, they faxed the policy to ASC (again), I called ASC back, and ASC confirmed receiving the fax and no insurance would be purchased for me.
4/18/05: I received a "Notice of Temporary Insurance" that ASC generated back on 4/11. Note that they generated the notice three days BEFORE the supposed 30-day period to send proof of coverage would have expired)
4/19/05: I wrote ASC a long letter telling them, basically, how deceitful they look, and once again (the fifth time now) sent a copy of the W/H policy. I demanded they acknowledge receipt of it in writing.
4/26/05: ASC sent me a letter confirming receipt of the W/H policy.
6/1/05: I got a notice dated May 17, called "Wind or Hail Insurance Coverage Placed by Lender". It said that because I "failed" to provide evidence of W/H as required, and since "we have not received evidence of acceptable W/H...", they were enclosing for me "evidence of W/H insurance which has been purchased on your behalf... Your house is now insured by WNC Insurance Services... The annual premium is shown onthe evidence and will be charged to your escrow account. If you do not have an escrow account... Your monthly mortgage payment may be increased to include the cost of this insurance." Bla bla bla. I blew my top.
6/2/05: I called ASC and Deanna in cust. Service said the copies of W/H my insurance agent and I sent were "expired". Now, that is just total B.S. — I had the policy in my hand and was looking at the effective dates from 2/05 - 2/06, and I KNOW HIG didn't send them an expired policy twice. I told Danielle how stupid ASC looks, because they've confirmed verbally and in writing that they received the required proof of coverage. She argued with me, so, exasperated, I finally gave up and just faxed it to ASC again (of course, the insurance office for ASC is in a different state than where Danielle was, so I had to wait for one office to input it into their system and then call the other office back and hope they finally got it right. I did fax the policy, along with a poignant cover letter telling they'd better not even THINK about increasing my payments or touching my escrow account.
6/5/05: I called back and confirmed ASC had "updated their system"... They had.
I haven't heard from them since, except to increase my payments by $3/month for a $47/year "shortfall" in the escrow account, and that was legit.
That aside, I'm facing foreclosure anyway because my Ex and I broke up and he moved out, so I'm footing the whole $2,026/month payment myself. I've managed for a year to stay current, but I recently became unemployed and lost a tenant (I'd rented 2 rooms to help make the mortgage), and ASC forecloses in 60 days (which is 50 days from now), so it's inevitable unless I find work immediately, but I've sent out almost 200 resumes and had over 30 interviews in the past 6 months, and still no job (I'm either unqualified — not a mechanic or boat captain or nurse or in construction, or I'm overqualified, for the type of jobs this town offers).
Anyway, in researching how to stop foreclosures or how to get emergency mortgage assistance, I was directed to parts of my loan paperwork. Therein, I discovered the blatent and total fraud that might save me... I hope. I was set up even before escrow closed so that the lender could foreclose on me even before the first payment was due, or later, even if I'd never been late:
Last year, my ex-husband and I wanted to refinance, but his credit was too horrible. I got a call, unsolicited, from Paradise Lending (the local Broker) offering a low rate. Paradise qualified us over the phone and quoted a rate based on our combined incomes, but said my Ex could NOT be on the mortgage because of his credit, but that was "okay" since he'd be paying half the mortgage anyway. They also said that the Lender, BNC Mortgage (the first mortgagee, who assigned it to Option One, who assigned it to ASC, all within 3 months), BNC required my Ex to sign a QC deed quitclaiming his interest (50% joint tenant) to me. BNC didn't want him on title. Naturally, that wouldn't fly with the Ex, so Paradise said "don't worry, you can put him back on title as soon as the loan goes through escrow".
So Paradise sent me a loan packet including 2 deeds (one to me a Tenant in Severalty, one from me to Ex & I as Jt. Tenants). What they DIDN'T tell me about is the "Transferability - Due on Sale" clause that FORBIDS me to put him back on title without ADVANCE WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM BNC (which clearly didn't exist), which clause allows BNC (or assigns) to accelerate the debt and ultimately foreclose.
Paradise then told me "they" were opening escrow, but the cover letter to open escrow is from BNC... And it only enclosed ONE deed (guess which one). Paradise Lending never told BNC about the QC to put Ron back on title because they KNEW it wouldn't fly. However, the recording fees on the HUD show 2 deeds recorded and one mortgage... Which means Paradise slid the 2nd deed into escrow behind the Lender's back and w/o telling me that if the Lender ever found out, they could take my house.
The broker, Paradise Lending, knew damned well I could not qualify for, or pay, this loan on just my income, so they must have added my Ex's income on MY loan app somehow (they did it over the phone, and never have sent me a copy of it). There are other shifty things, to, but those are the biggies.
I'm wondering, can I use the Put-Ex-back-on-title/Transferability-due-on-sale fraud to turn the tables and preempt a foreclosure? If I were to call ASC and just happen to let them know Ron's back on title, and they try to foreclose under the Transferability... Clause, (versus for a reason of delinquency), and I then sue Paradise for knowingly setting up/causing the foreclosure, would that be an affirmative defense and stall the foreclosure (while the lawsuit with Paradise is going on) long enough to give me time to get back to work and get that room rented out? Seems to me that if ASC forecloses because I put Ron back on title at the same time I took him off, and I did so at the explicit direction of the Broker who knew darned well it could get me foreclosed on the day after escrow closed, well... It's the Broker's fault I'm being foreclosed on, not mine. Right?
Thoughts, anyone?
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