Yet another problem has begun surfacing in the documents banks have been using to foreclose on homes: false notarizations. Notaries have been attesting legally to signatures they didn't witness, sometimes by people who didn't actually sign, and it's adding to the tangled mess of ownership confusion.
On Oct. 20, New York courts ordered attorneys for foreclosing banks to swear they'd personally confirmed that their documents are true and accurate. But a Brooklyn judge has taken things a step further. Since the banks aren't complying, he has started throwing out foreclosure cases.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Martin Glenn denied Wells Fargo's request for permission to foreclose on Tandala Mims's house in the Bronx for a second time on Thursday because he still wasn't satisfied that Wells -- as opposed to some other bank -- had the right to do so.
Most people raising the issue of false mortgage documents are homeowners facing foreclosure. And banks often respond that botched paperwork is a mere technicality -- nothing to worry about. Then you find a case like Wells Fargo's attempt to foreclose on Tandala Mims of New York.
Home sales tumbled this summer, and foreclosed properties bore the brunt of the pain. Sales of foreclosed homes plunged 31% from the year-ago period -- and 25% from the previous quarter. Prices for these properties also fell more than other homes.
Sworn testimony in a recently concluded mortgage case may spell big trouble for Bank of America. If what one bank employee said proves to be accurate, paperwork problems at mortgage provider Countrywide could leave Bank of America on the hook for billions.
This week, the Congressional Oversight Panel recommended that the nation's big banks be stress tested again, because if problems with mortgage-backed securities are widespread, the consequences could be dire. Now, the Fed has agreed to run those tests, which it wouldn't do if it wasn't worried.
The "robo-signers" at banks who signed thousands of foreclosure-related documents were essentially lying under oath. But perhaps even worse were the lawyers involved: They're the ones who should have known better and put an end to the practice -- but didn't.
Wells Fargo still won't admit it, but its employees' testimony makes it clear that, like GMAC, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and OneWest Bank, they have a problem with their foreclosure documents. But the solution isn't just a better documentation process: It's time to bring back cram downs.