Irvine Housing Blog

“As for the value of the upgrades, that’s very hard to say but unless they expanded the square footage, they probably didn’t increase the value of the house much if at all.”

That is a truth no home owner wants to accept.

Misstrial is a shill working…a working for a bankster.

They would like you to think the bank actually has the note to your house. The truth is they most likely don’t. MERS does…

There are two ways to find out if you have MERS on your mortgage.  The easiest way is to look in your copy of your closing documents to find a piece of paper which says you allow MERS or Mortgage Electronic Registry Service to be listed on the mortgage or deed of trust.  If you have that,  there is a pretty darned good chance you have MERS on your Mortgage.

Ultimately,  you will have to take a short trip to the recorder’s office at the county courthouse and do your own title search.  If you find MERS on your mortgage,  get a stamped copy of it from the recorder,  thank them nicely and leave. Don’t flip out on them,  if anything,  educate them,  let them know about MERS.  Odds are,  they haven’t a clue.

You can go to MERS’s own website and look it up for yourself,  but experience has shown this information isn’t reliable.  The only thing that matters is what is listed at the courthouse.

If you have been reading this website & blog,  you know MERS on your mortgage and doing nothing about it is not a good thing.  The system of MERS & securitized mortgages has so shattered ownership,  there is every reason to believe you will not receive clear title once your obligation is complete unless you take action.  So what do you do?

The steps I am about to outline are the view from 50,000 feet.  What happens at ground level is not discernable until you,  yourself,  go through it.  What I am saying here is that while it may seem simple,  it isn’t.  You need legal representation.

As in everything which involves the courts,  process is everything and if you don’t proceed with the process correctly,  or if you are challenged in any way and you don’t proceed with the challenge correctly,  you can damage your case irreparably.  Do not try this at home.  Find competent legal assistance.

Here’s what you do and here is a reasonable expectation of what could happen:

  1. Mail a form letter in accordance with 15 USC sec. 1641(f)(2) (which is part of the Truth in Lending Act(TILA)) requesting the chain of title information to the note and Deed of Trust which, by Federal law, the lender or servicer must give you. The loan servicer will probably blow you off.  The filing is free and even though you can do this part yourself,  it is better you have an attorney do this for you.  Two reasons:  first,  and most importantly,  the lender or loan servicer is less likely to blow off a letter from an attorney requesting this chain of title information than he is a letter from you and second, the attorney can craft a series of interrogatories in a discovery request which you probably cannot.  These two letters should cost you between $250 & $500.  For all those DIY types who want to get in there and roll up your sleeves,  this is the only step in this process you can possibly think about attempting yourself.  It does not involve the courts but it is a big step towards the courts.
  2. When you are blown off,  have your attorney sue the servicing agent & lender to prove this chain of title.
  3. Send your monthly mortgage payment to the court in an interpleader arrangement.  That way,  the other side cannot move for default or foreclosure during the process you are all about to endure.
  4. At trial,  if the defendants prove to the court’s satisfaction they are indeed able to prove chain of title information,  the court will release all back payments to the other side and you should continue with your obligation as before.
  5. If,  at trial,  the defendants are unable to prove chain of title,  have your lawyer move for quiet title in your name and ask the judge to order all the money you have set aside be returned to you.
  6. If you are really ballsy,  request the return of every mortgage payment made during the period where the title is clouded.
  7. Assuming all of the above and you are granted your order,  you will end up with clear title to your house,  no more mortgage payments and and windfall of cash you can do with as you please.

This is a highly technical legal process based upon the legal precedent outlined elsewhere on this site.  Do not try this yourself.  This is complicated securities law and even if you study it,  you aren’t qualified to present it in court. There is a history on the net of several spectacular crash and burns of the DIY set.  You need a litigator.  Open the yellow pages and look under attorney specialization for a real estate attorney,  a bankruptcy attorney,  or a general business attorney.  These areas of specialization are more likely to understand the nuances of these ideas and principles than other specializations. 

Get on it!

Great post. Thank for taking the time to write it.

It’s a contract.  Just like any contract, it’s a bargained for exchange.

I don’t know of a business that would stay operational for long if they continually breached their contractual obligations, but sometimes, the consequences of breaching a contract are less severe than actually fulfilling the obligation.

Personally, I think that the “rational” decision for many underwater homeowners is to walk right now, but I certainly understand why someone would continue to make payments and feel uncomfortable breaking their promise to pay.

At the end of the day, we aren’t all always rational decision makers creating predictable efficient markets.

“My comment must have really touched a nerve for you to respond with an attack on my character.”

It did touch a nerve.  I hate hypocrisy.  To believe that exercising an option to not pay on an asset and forfeit it is somehow dishonest while selling someone an asset that you believe will depreciate significantly, leaving them in likely dire financial straights isn’t is hypocritical.

“Were you duped into buying?  Were you coerced into taking out a toxic mortgage?”

I had the opportunity to purchase back in 2003.  I made the decision not to because I felt homes in Orange County were overvalued.  I encouraged several friends to continue renting rather than buying.  I’m still renting, because I don’t think house prices have bottomed.  In the intervening years I have lived in a beach community, paying far less in rent than had I bought.  I used the same basic thinking to use that saved money for investment purposes, and did a pretty good job of timing the collapse and rebound of the DOW, so I’ve done much better for myself than most people around me.

I have no issue with people who bought low and sold high.  That’s how good investing works.  However, I also have no problem with people who choose to quit paying and allow the bank to foreclose.  I do take issue with people who don’t pay and expect to keep their house, and I do take issue with people who pass moral judgment on people who choose to exercise an option spelled out in the contract.  The whole concept of being true to your word is based on situations with no collateral.  In that case, their is an agreement to repay because there is a one sided asset trade.  This doesn’t occur in a mortgage contracts, so one’s word has nothing to do with any of it.

I so tire of the “holier than Thou” attitude that is expressed by certain members….like awgee.

You talk about your bullshit ethics and morals, and then turn around and accuse someone of “feeling guilty” because they called you out. More manipulation and mind F#$% games.

Your morals and “papa taught” crap is not mine. nor do I give a sh1t about them, I’m not preaching my morals and ethics or using words to manipulate others, you are. It’s crap, STFU, and to answer your accusation that is most assuredly coming, no I’m not feeling “guilty”, in fact, I’m a pretty good human being, just tired of judgmental pricks.

Same O same O for hypocritical OC. Let’s get more of a police fascist state by ENFORCING certain people’s morals, especially for non-existant crimes.

Why would they become worthless in 2 years?  They will still work fine.  Sure, they will be replaced with newer, better, less expensive models, but that doesn’t cause them to explode into puffs of dust.

Who cares about the ‘material-girl’ wife. Take her to the Newport mall and leave her there… Move to Mexico and live for 1/4 of the price of OC. Move on with your life. OC is 10x over priced and ain’t coming back anytime soon.

I didn’t write “useless”, I wrote “pretty much worthless”. Try to sell one and see what you get. You may indeed be able to continue using it, though from what I have seen during many years, very few of the people buying them now will still be using them in 2 years. The coolness factor, latest and greatest, impress and one-up your family and colleagues possibilities will be long gone. The utility will also be much less, as the amount of data to handle keeps going up, formats change, speed requirements increase, etc., etc.