Reply #13: ‘Produce the note’ trick stalls foreclosures

[struggle4progress]

Updated: 10:27 a.m. February 24, 2009
‘Produce the note’ trick stalls foreclosures
Homeowners’ simple request forces banks to prove they have mortgage paperwork
By MITCH STACY
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, February 24, 2009

ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. — Kathy Lovelace lost her job and was about to lose her house, too. But then she made a seemingly simple request of the bank: Show me the original mortgage paperwork.

And just like that, the foreclosure proceedings came to a standstill ...

During the real estate frenzy of the past decade, mortgages were sold and resold, bundled into securities and peddled to investors. In many cases, the original note signed by the homeowner was lost, stored away in a distant warehouse or destroyed.

Persuading a judge to compel production of hard-to-find or nonexistent documents can, at the very least, delay foreclosure, buying the homeowner some time and turning up the pressure on the lender to renegotiate the mortgage ... http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2009/02/24/produce_the_note_foreclosure.html