Amy Goodman: Facing Foreclosure? Don't Leave. Squat.

[marmar]

via AlterNet:




Facing Foreclosure? Don't Leave. Squat.

By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!. Posted February 6, 2009.

In a recent interview, Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur told Americans: 'Be squatters in your own homes. Don't you leave.'




Marcy Kaptur of Ohio is the longest-serving Democratic congresswoman in U.S. history. Her district, stretching along the shore of Lake Erie from west of Cleveland to Toledo, faces an epidemic of home foreclosures and 11.5 percent unemployment. That heartland region, the Rust Belt, had its heart torn out by the North American Free Trade Agreement, with shuttered factories and struggling family farms. Kaptur led the fight in Congress against NAFTA. Now, she is recommending a radical foreclosure solution from the floor of the U.S. Congress: "So I say to the American people, you be squatters in your own homes. Don't you leave."

She criticizes the bailout's failure to protect homeowners facing foreclosure. Her advice to "squat" cleverly exploits a legal technicality within the subprime-mortgage crisis. These mortgages were made, then bundled into securities and sold and resold repeatedly, by the very Wall Street banks that are now benefiting from TARP (the Troubled Asset Relief Program). The banks foreclosing on families very often can't locate the actual loan note that binds the homeowner to the bad loan. "Produce the note," Kaptur recommends those facing foreclosure demands of the banks.

"Possession is nine-tenths of the law," Rep. Kaptur told me. "Therefore, stay in your property. Get proper legal representation … (if) Wall Street cannot produce the deed nor the mortgage audit trail … you should stay in your home. It is your castle. It's more than a piece of property. … Most people don't even think about getting representation, because they get a piece of paper from the bank, and they go, 'Oh, it's the bank,' and they become fearful, rather than saying: 'This is contract law. The mortgage is a contract. I am one party. There is another party. What are my legal rights under the law as a property owner?' "If you look at the bad paper, if you look at where there's trouble, 95 to 98 percent of the paper really has moved to five institutions: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wachovia, Citigroup and HSBC. They have this country held by the neck."

Kaptur recommends calling the local Legal Aid Society, Bar Association or 888-995-4673 for legal assistance. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/rights/125533/facing_foreclosure_don%27t_leave._squat./

[southern_dem]

1. WOW

That's about all I can say to this. Gutsy statement from Rep. Kaptur.

[KharmaTrain]

2. Show Me The Deed....

The downside of Congresswoman Kaptur's plan is the power of the banks and courts in many parts of the country. The risk is that if the bank does come up with some kind of paperwork, you're probably stuck with extra costs...the bloodsuckers.

Bottom line are the banks are virtually insolvent and the housing mess and glut is a major problem. We won't be able to stimulate the economy with people people kicked out of their homes, losing jobs and incomes. There needs to be readjustments on the balloon mortgages, a cap on interest rates and low interest loans to make sure people stay in their homes. Yep, the banks are gonna have to eat those outrageous high interest and late fees...or even better, set up a new RTC or FSLIC that strictly handles the real estate crisis.

[juno jones]

3. Wish this advice had been availiable a year ago when I went thru this.

Of course the funny thing is, post-bankruptcy, I keep getting debt collectors from assorted companies I never heard of coming out of the woodwork trying to collect debt on the house that was discharged in the bankruptcy. It makes me wonder how many people thought they owned that house.

It's gonna give me great pleasure to refer them all to my lawyer.

If anyone out there is facing this situation, do this. There's a good chance that you may come out with your home.

edit to add: Give friends who might be in this situation a heads up about this as well. It seems to be a scam as these companies are panicking in the wake of the collapse. Not only have we been approached about alleged debts related to the house, but we have gotten letters alleging debts from the distant past (20 years or more) that either are non-existant, doubtful, or repaid many years ago. They're just fishing for money now and I could see older folk especially getting intimidated into paying off debts that don't exsist or are owned by multiple companies, all of who are pressing for the payment.

[closeupready]

4. Back to the 70's.

Thanks, George Bush. :mad:

[Orwellian_Ghost]

5. K&R

[AllyCat]

6. Sending to my Dad and his wife

They are going through it right now and have no idea where they will go (we live halfway across the country).