Evading State Laws: The Purpose of Using Trusts Years Past the Mortgage Meltdown

Licensed Private Investigator Bill Paatalo in a Blog post from just yesterday Sep. 8, highlights the case of mortgage servicer New Residential Investment Corp (New Rez), using trusts to enforce their mortgage servicing rights --- since so many states otherwise require mortgage-related entities who purchase, hold, enforce or sell residential mortgage loans, to maintain licenses to do so within their jurisdictions. So servicers like New Rez get around these licensing requirements by continually maintaining the appearance or illusion of ownership (through assignments of rights or interest) by presenting homeowner transactions as being individual mortgage loans in a trust. And in particular, they use one named but not necessarily controlled by a national bank. Since most banks are not subject to state licensing requirements of the sort at issue here they are evading the requirements of state regulation. Consumers suffer because judges presume that the parties involved have all complied with conditions precedent and estate statutes governing administration, collection and enforcement of alleged debts. As always, Bill is getting much of his intel through the discovery process in the cases he handles, more proof that discovery is the key to advancing homeowner rights in foreclosure. Attorney Charles Marshall will recount the latest developments in the mess of the Covid world, from the status of various foreclosure and eviction moratoriums to the latest in court practice, particularly in California.