CAUSE, Inc.

It is the contention of CAUSE, Inc. that to seize a property in Foreclosure Action when the investor/lender will gain more income from keeping homeowner in home with a loan modification which reduces interest or principal (a loss but not a greater loss than the unsecured difference between current market value and the amount reduced to) violates the Fourth Amendment.

Historically the Fourth Amendment was prompted in its inception by British general warrants (called Writs of Assistance), in which the Crown would grant general search powers to British law enforcement officials. These officials could search virtually any home they liked, at any time they liked, for any reason they liked or for no reason at all.

But when one looks at current circumstances in this Countries Mortgage Crisis, where secure neighborhoods are thrown down scale with increasing non home owner occupants, more crime, less responsibility; when your next door neighbor may well be a vagabond who broke into the Foreclosure home which has been sitting there for two years; is this not applicable? When you can’t modify your home loan because the value is now 50% of what it was when you bought it, yet your credit is good and you’ve been making your payments, is this fair?

One cannot declare the Fourth Amendment, as so many try to do, as ‘historical’ and not applicable currently because the British or Police aren’t trying to bang down our doors unreasonably.  The Fourth Amendment doesn’t only apply to Police when they are being ordered by Courts who have allowed Foreclosure due to ignorance or no set procedure for sorting all of this out.  Ironically many of the entangled loan modifications are not from American Lenders who aren’t being cooperative, but indeed are from Foreign owned investments, purchased as securities or in pools of mortgages.  I’ve spoken with many of the Servicing Managers in such Foreign owned companies and frankly they don’t care about the US Constitution, and don’t lose sleep over Foreclosure if the property owner doesn’t agree to Short Sell.

Property Owners do have rights in the United States of America.  Many of the States (Philadelphia, Ohio, California and others) hardest hit by the Foreclosure Crisis have also acknowledged this in their amended codes.  Regardless of amended codes, our Constitution supersedes State codes and should be fought for. All one has to do to see how similar this is to those British knocking down doors is to look back on the chain and see that the Foreclosure caused the Eviction.  The Eviction prompts Police to knock on doors - but it is unreasonable if the Foreclosure was done before one really evaluated that this homeowner couldn’t at least continue to pay what a new owner would pay on a half price home.

In the State of California, legislation has determined

"a servicer acts in the best interests of all parties to the loan pool or investors in the pooling and
servicing agreement if it agrees to or implements a loan modification
or workout plan for which both of the following apply:
   (1) The loan is in payment default, or payment default is
reasonably foreseeable.
   (2) Anticipated recovery under the loan modification or workout
plan exceeds the anticipated recovery through foreclosure on a net
present value basis."

Demand your rights to be heard.  Demand your right to be able to get a modification if it will then make you be able to keep your home and is a better deal for the lender than to kick you out and sell the property for half price at auction.

At the same time, it is also the responsibility of all Americans to keep our Country in tact and working.  Lenders will no longer lend money to those wanting to buy a home if one can just demand a loan modification after having falsely reported ones income when getting into the home to begin with.  Keep your noses clean.  This is your Country and your chance to make a difference, be it good or bad.

I hear many complaints from solvent Americans that they too should be able to participate in loan modifications.  Frankly, good credit, good Karma and good will all depend upon one’s integrity.  Unfortunately to lower payments for all, during this incredible crisis, isn’t workable.  Do you really want your grandchild’s grandchildren paying for this up the line.  For those who have money, learn your lesson and move on.  If you do this you may find many doors opening up for you.  There is so much more available income property (for instance), but if you insist upon pretending that your income is low and you are in trouble and the fact is that you are not, this helps no-one, and especially does not help you.

In the final analysis, this bubble ‘reset’ needed to happen for our Children and our Children’s Children.  Let’s try to be graceful about it.  But where you are being threatened with losing your home and you can indeed pay, but just not as much, please browse this blog and if you can’t find your answers here, give me a call.

Connie Saunders

800-616-4255