"Foreclosure Factory" Draws Critics

It’s a one-stop foreclosure shop. Under one roof is a law office, title company, and auction house. They act as their own notaries and can foreclose. Its owner and several of his top attorneys are even VPs at the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc (MERS) which gives them the ability to transfer mortgages from owner to the other. The Boston Globe profiles a local law firm that has attracted criticism from homeowners and consumer advocates for its vertically integrated approach to foreclosure that can speedily ride over homeowners who thought they were in the middle of working out a deal with the bank.

Not surprisingly, the firm is very popular with the big banks.

By most accounts, the firm is full of pretty nice guys who are polite about how they go about their business. The only problem is that their business is getting homeowners out of their houses and reselling the house as quick as possible. Here’s one of the stories:

One of those homeowners, Edwin Mejia, sued…after the lender took his four-bedroom Colonial in Methuen days before he was scheduled to sell it at a profit. Mejia, 38, said [the firm] cut him out of the deal by selling the property at auction for $30,000 lower than the price he had agreed on – with the same buyers. Mejia lost the house, any equity he had in it, and says he is now saddled with the stigma of a foreclosure that should have been avoided.

Some homeowners who felt they were getting bulldozed by the firm have had success in suing them and getting an injunction to stop the foreclosure proceedings. If you feel you are getting unfairly forced out of your home it’s a good idea to talk to a consumer lawyer who specializes in foreclosure cases.

Building an empire, one home at a time [Boston Globe] (Thanks to Mike!)

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