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ECONOMIC COERCION? I was divorced 3 years ago, received our corp with a host of hidden bills and home with 2 mtgs, the first in foreclosure. I caught up all payments except the 1st on the house with Countrywide, waiting to mediate. The community bank has ties to my ex and worked to foreclose since I got the corp so he could take it back. 6 Months after divorce they refused to refi my biz credit line unless I guaranteed the 2nd mtg home equity with my biz and add it as collateral. They slipped in my home equity changed from 20 to 1 year. It was not notarized until later and my ex who is on both and personally guarantees signed nothing. A few months before both mtgs 1 yr balloon was up they said they were renewing neither unless I agreed a scriveners error was made on a mtg on a property my ex took and belonged on a shared piece we had that coincidentally got a sales contract a few weeks later. They had nothing to support this claim. All docs and title insurance had his property description and parcel but I again had to agree. My credit is ruined, I had no where to go. They took all my money, paying down my home equity mtg, held the rest as a reserve for pmts., writing a letter 2 months later they were starting foreclosure if $22,000 in unpd property taxes wasn't pd in 3 weeks they knew at the refi was unpd. My ex's name is XXXXX XXXXX on 2 of the 3 loans I have with them. I don't know how he was released and I was never notified. Now the second 1 year refi they did is almost up and though my payments are current they have made it clear they intend not to refi them. My home is still in foreclosure, my credit ruined. What can I do? The last refi they had me sign papers leaving me no outs such as bankruptcy and put if foreclosured and auction doesn't cover the amount owed they can take more than allowed by law from any future paychecks.They reported to all 3 credit bureaus (normally they use 1) 60 day late pmts making my credit even worse, during the wait for the 1st refi when they told me not to pay until papers were done. Its uncorrected though they repeatedly promised to. I've had nothing but problems from the start. On my receiving the corp, finding the mtgs unpd I called our loan officer. said I hadn't known, promised to pay all in 5 days. I received a rude voicemail 3 days later from him, accusing me of stealing my own corp funds,(which he had from a reliable source who turned out to be my ex) threatening foreclosure. I pd all pmts a day before I promised to him personally without receiving an apology.
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Florida
I am sorry for you terrible treatment by the bank. They should work with you to find solutions instead of undermining you. You state that the bank wanted property, which raises other questions. Banks are required to deal fairly with customers or face serious consequences. They actually have a fiduciary relationship with the borrower. One area of law has developed to address this. It is called "Lender Liability". It first gained traction in the '80's and is increasingly popular today. Just dropping the term Lender Liability with your lender should evoke a reaction. You can sue the bank, but you will have to pay a lawyer to get it going. This is a complex case, but it seems they have dealt with you unfairly. There is also a suggestion that you ex is in the background.
If you would like to learn more about Lender Liability, you can check out this article:
http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Oct/1/131214.html
As I stated, they should work with you to resolve this. It is in their best interests, since they will get paid. Refinance is an option. As you state, credit is an issue, but if you do have an income, at least a modification is in order. You have been dealt with unfairly and the bank should not get away with it.
Hope this helps.
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thank you so much. Knowledge really is power. I will read up on it. My mtgs are all currently paid but I used the reserve they took from me on my property sale after I had unforseen non-reoccuring expenses I had to pay.. This infuriated the officer I deal with who told me that wasn't what it was intended for. wanted to know how I was going to pay after this. As I have found a way to pay for 3 years despite the trouble they gave me and high payments I didn't think the question was warranted.. If not what is a payment reserve intended to be for? I ask him why they try and make it so hard for me to pay, making my payments high, doing only 1 year balloons incuring high closing costs
No problem.
I also ask why they wanted my building so bad. It is in terrible maintenance condition and won't bring much at auction. He slipped and said something leading me to believe they already have a plan and want it to end up in someone's hands at a fire sale at my expense. He tried to cover and said he would call me back that he hadf to go figure out what they could do with it when they got it back. A premature statement when my mortgages are current.
Whoah. You have a case. He would be high on the deposition list.
SORRY i MISSED YOUR REPLY. SO YOU BELIEVE i HAVE A CASE? THEIR ATTORNEY, WHO WROTE THE FIRST MOD THEY MADE ME SIGN WAS MY FORMER PERS/CORP ATTORNEY AND PARTNER OF MY EXS DIVORCE ATTORNEY. hE HELPED MY EX DURING DIVORCE AND WAS INVOLVED IN AN UNDISCLOSED LLC WITH HIM GIVING HIM MONEY WHICH BOTH HE AND MY EX ARE TRYING TO DENY IN THE VACATING CASE I HAVE GOING ON.
Yes. There are issues of lender liability, the attorney is their agent, so his conduct is relevant. If they are conspiring to bring you down and take your property, and you can prove it, then you can win. You need proof. You have some proof already. Wonder what that little banker would say under oath in a deposition.
Question now is whether you can afford to start a case like this. If you found the right attorney who would be willing to go on a contingency basis, then you might consider it.
Unfair trade practices are in here too. I really like the Lender Liability. See if you can find a lawyer near you that has experience in that area.
thnks so much for your help. it is really informative and helpful. unfortunatly thanks to them i in no way have money for more attorneys and barely squeeze thru the month after paying the mtgs. i doubt i can find a contingency attorney but will try. i reported them once to the FDIC who investigated them. They sent me a report showing the bank lied to them on a lot. I didn't refute it as at the time had just negotiated the 2nd refi. would they handle anything related to lenders liability or fiduciary duty? (I read the info on your link)
if unfair trade what about a consumers advocacy group? would comptroller of currency get involved?
I may not have money to sue but can sure make their lives miserable
Do not know about FDIC, consuers advocacy goup or comptroller of currency. Mabye they would, maybe they wouldn't. You can certainly try.
thanks for all your help!
Experience: Attorney for business formation, business sales, tax, partnerships, sole proprietors and buy/sell agreements.
The bank did not apply my reserve to my past due mtgs as i ask them to do last week. i have a message the president - who handles my loans himself, wants a meeting with me.As i have said, they want my building and am looking for a contingency attorney but if unable to find one do u have any suggestions for what i should/shouldnt say or anything i can do? the only thing they really have on me are my unpaid property taxes which i planned on paying with the money from my property sale. they were aware at the closing they were unpaid but instead of paying them chose to pay down my home equity 50g. had this not been done i could have paid the taxes, had enough to get the rest of my building operational and generated the money for the mtg.
You can tell him that you want to use the 50k to bring the taxes current as you planned. See what he has to say. No matter what, do not go defensive on him. Tell him you like him and the bank team and that you want to continue working with him. Be coy and let him talk a lot. Smile as much as you can. This is an excellent opportunity to gather information. If you play it right, he might slip. Pregnant pauses are ok, as he may feel the need to start talking. Who knows what he will say, He is a potential witness.
Tell him you are doing well and everything is coming together.
Make sense?
If you get the money to pay the taxes, you win. He might say no, but you can try. It was your intention to pay the taxes with that money and you have plenty of cash flow to service the debt,
Meantime, you need to find someone to take your case.
Do not show your cards.
Good luck.
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Should I not bring up lenders liability at all? What if he says they are going to go ahead, as I think he will, and foreclose before the balloon in Aug? I already used some of the reserve and am a month behind in payments which is why I wanted him to use the remaining for last and this months payments. I had unforeseen expenses and a robbery that set me back. With the pmts $5100 a month it only took a few times to use what they held.I do have cash flow but honestly not enough to comfortably make this high pmts unless i can get the rest of my business operating, nothing to put aside for the tax, why i needed the 50g they took to pay them and get the business in operation. i think they only refied in aug to get the additional 50g, 30g and still planned to take the building only 80g richer. i already met with him and ask for the years to be extended, interest reduced or at least 1 made interest only. Instead I got the 3 yr agreed balloon shortened to 1 yr according to the refi if my reserve fell below 3 months payments and interest increased to 18% after a late pmt was made.I am desperately searching for a contingency attorney but have doubts of finding one after so many rejections. I have tried to include honestly all facts to you without being one sided. Does it sound that I have a strong case and could win any money so an attorney would take it on contingency? What are the strongest points I should tell the next attorney I speak with?
did u mean tell them pay taxes with the 50g they pd the home equity down with?
Can you hold off on taxes until things straighten out? How long do you have before the town comes along? Seems like that is what you want to do.
If you can find some money for a retainer, maybe that will get someone's attention. Seems like the way things are going you are going to need a foreclosure attorney first.
Foreclosure attorneys can buy time.
Just wanted to update u as down the road I'm sure there will be more questions, a few months ago I consulted a well known feared attorney re biz reorganization bankrtcy. I again called him and he put me in touch with a corp turnaround attorney who was a former banker for a large well known company. He said he could talk banker language and try to see if they were treating me unfairly and would be the best to bring up lenders liability and any other possible claims or events that could be reported to any federal agencies. After speaking with him he is willing to work with me on price. So - we will see what happens.Thanks again for your help.
Perfect. Sounds like you have a good guy. Let's see what he does.
Good luck!