Category Archives: evictions

Action: Nationstar 7 Take on Fortress Hedge-Fund Billionaire Peter Briger to Save Foreclosed Homes

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For Immediate Release

Contact:

Nationstar 7 Take on Fortress Hedge-Fund Billionaire Peter Briger to Save Foreclosed Homes

Growing Number of Nationstar and PNC Bank Homeowners Stand Together Against Mistakes in Foreclosure and Loan Modifications

SAN FRANCISCO — This Monday, August 27, members of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Occupy Bernal, and supporters will protest at Fortress Investment Group, majority owners of Nationstar Mortgage, and at PNC Bank offices in San Francisco for foreclosing on and attempting to evict eight San Francisco Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters (FEFs).

Homeowners facing foreclosure and eviction will call on billionaire Peter Briger, Board Co-Chair of the Fortress Investment Group, to halt Fortress’ “Great Liquidation” strategy for acquiring distressed credit, which they refer to as “Financial Services Garbage Collection”.

Seven of these FEFs, known as the “Nationstar 7”, have made repeated attempts to reach Nationstar in the last month, when Aurora Loan Servicing sold their entire loan portfolio to Nationstar. A recent Denver Post article reports that this sale was a re-branding attempt by Aurora, perhaps in an attempt to avoid lawsuits from Aurora mortgage holders nationwide. So far, Nationstar has responded only with eviction notices, such as the one received by Nationstar 7 FEF Denise Collins scheduled for this Wednesday, August 29.

“Billionaire Peter Briger over at the Fortress better not try to take us out with the trash,” said Denise Collins. “We’re not garbage — we’re homeowners trying to make our payments and take care of our families.”

PNC Bank previously postponed the eviction of Yin Wong and her family six times, but instead of following up with an offer of a fair deal loan modification, they have issued another eviction notice for this Wednesday, August 29.

Press Conference

WHEN: Monday, August 27 at 12:00pm (noon)
WHERE: Fortress Investment Group Offices, One Market Plaza, Spear Tower, San Francisco, CA
WHO: ACCE and Occupy Bernal Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters, the Nationstar 7, Yin Wong, and supporters

PNC Protest–

WHEN: Monday, August 27 at 10:00am
WHERE: PNC Bank Offices, meet in front of 575 Market St., San Francisco, CA
(at 11:00am, a march to One Market Plaza)

Nationstar Protest–

WHEN: Monday, August 27 at 12:00pm (noon)
WHERE: Fortress Investment Group Offices, One Market Plaza, Spear Tower, San Francisco, CA

Background on Nationstar Cases

Nationstar is one of the largest home mortgage loan servicers in the United States. The Fortress Investment Group, a humongous hedge fund operation run by many former Goldman Sachs employees, owns 77 percent of Nationstar. James Briger is a billionaire hedge-fund strategist, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fortress Investment Group, and a former partner at Goldman Sachs, known for its role in financial malfeasance that led to the current economic crash.

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office previously investigated the role of Fortress Investment Group in the wake of housing advocates’ concerns that tenants have been issued a high volume of notices warning that they could face eviction due to unpaid utility fees just after Fortress acquired a controlling interest in the 3,221-unit San Francisco residential compound at Park Merced. Housing activists report that Fortress is evading San Francisco rent control laws, forcing out current tenants to renovate or build new units without rent control protections.

Kim Mitchell purchased his home on 8 Le Conte Cir. in 2005, after living in Bayview Hunters Point his whole life. When Kim’s loan payments begin to increase, Kim called Aurora to apply for a modification. He was told that he needed to be behind for 6 months to qualify for a modification. After 6 months of holding on to his payments, he applied for modification and entered into a trial modification. He paid on the trial modification for one year, never missing a payment. In December 2010, Kim reached out to Aurora about his last payment and if he was going to receive a permanent modification. He was informed to not to bother sending this last payment in as they were not going to approve his modification request because he was missing paperwork.

“After three years of fighting for my home, Aurora let me believe that if I got behind, I would qualify for a modification,” says Denise Collins, an ACCE FEF who is also one of the Nationstar 7. “They had committed to rescind my foreclosure and modify my loan, but a week before Aurora ‘sold’ its loans to Nationstar, they told me they had changed their mind and I no longer qualify.”

In mid-January 2011, a potential buyer approached Kim Mitchell’s home and informed him that his home was up for auction that day. This was the first he had heard of a sale date after a year of paying on a trial modification. However, it’s still unclear who exactly homes the note on the home as Aurora Loan Services, according to its website, is closed and “transitioned all accounts to new servicers”. Aurora continues to be named as the party evicting Kim Mitchell.

But according to the Denver Post article on July 5, 2012, as many as 1,400 Aurora Loan Servicer employee would be retained as employees to Nationstar.

“At this point, I’m not sure who is evicting me, Nationstar, Aurora…” said Kim Mitchell, “We’ve tried to call both. But I’m going to fight to keep my home.”

Last Wednesday, August 22, 2012, about 40 ACCE and Occupy organizers showed up at the Mitchell’s home and succeeded in pressuring Nationstar to fax the San Francisco Sheriff to postpone the eviction of Kim Mitchell and his family that day.

The activists are now continuing to pressure Nationstar to rescind the foreclosure and offer Kim Mitchell, as well as the rest of the Nationstar 7, affordable loan modifications.

Nationstar and PNC Bank Foreclosure and Evictions Fighters will be available for interviews at the press conference.

The Nationstar 7 are Denise Collins (60 Garnett Terrace), Vivian Richardson (1479 Quesada Ave.), Mike Doyle (1471 18th Ave.), Daniel Pociernicki (324 Bocana St.), Sherrell Fennell-Murphy (400 Alemany, Unit 5), Kim Mitchell (8 LeConte Ct.), and John Nolan (1175 Palou).

Background on PNC Cases

PNC Bank is illegally foreclosing on the home of Yin Wong, a disabled senior, after National City Mortgage sold the loan on her home to PNC Bank. The first she heard of PNC’s purchase of the loan was a foreclosure notice in the mail. Even though Yin Wong has the money to pay the loan and has tried to get PNC Bank to accept it, PNC has refused and has pushed eviction proceedings forward even after four prior court appearances during which the Superior Court judge urged PNC to correct the problem. Yin Wong has tried over and over to work with PNC, but PNC has refused to work with her.

“I paid every month,” said Yin Wong, ACCE Foreclosure Fighter, “PNC never called or talked to me until they foreclosed on my home. PNC is trying to steal my home.”

PNC Bank did the exact same thing with the Cruz family in Minneapolis… thousands of people protested their eviction, organizing to re-occupy their home with dozens of arrests.

Organizations and Campaign

ACCE is the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and is a network of dozens of community based organizations across California working in 14 different counties to raise the voice of low income, immigrant and working families across the state for better jobs, schools, healthcare and housing. In San Francisco, ACCE chapters work in the city’s lowest income communities to bring accountable and transparent investment back to their communities to achieve these goals. For more information visit www.calorganize.org.

Occupy Bernal is a neighborhood-based Occupy currently focusing on preventing the banks from throwing our neighbors out of their homes. Web: www.occupybernal.org

Occupy the Auctions/Evictions is a campaign to halt for-profit and predatory evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosure auctions in San Francisco and beyond. Web: www.occupytheauctions.org and www.occupyevictions.org

Updates and Photos

For updates, photos, and for this release on the web: http://occupytheauctions.org/wordpress/?p=4096

ACCE and Occupy Protest Foreclosures at Noe Valley Bank Branches

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Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters and supporters from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Occupy Noe, Occupy Direct Action Workgroup, and Occupy Bernal protested against foreclosures of neighbors homes at three bank branches on the afternoon of Saturday, August 11, 2012.

The protestors presented a list of demands to bank managers at the local Noe Valley bank branches for Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase. The managers at Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase faxed the demands as requested by the protestors, but the branch manager at the Bank of America branch refused to do so, so the protestors closed down the bank.

Coverage:

Steve Rhodes at Bank of America

Steve Rhodes at JP Morgan Chase

Letter to Editor of San Francisco Chronicle About OccuPride and Wells Fargo

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Stardust sent this letter to the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, which has not yet been printed:

At the 2012 San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade, thousands cheered the OccuPride occupation of the Wells Fargo Bank float. Forty spirited Occupy activists from Occupy SF, Occupy Bay Area United, ACCE, and Occupy Bernal leapt the barricades to celebrate LGBT freedom and protest bank abuses.

We – LGBT and straight folks of many ethnicities and foreclosure and eviction fighters battling Wells to save their homes – chanted with parade spectators along the parade route to let Wells know what we think about predatory lending and greedy, discriminatory foreclosures that trash vulnerable communities: “Stop foreclosures, save our homes!”, “Happy Pride! Take your money out… of Wells Fargo!”

LGBT liberation pioneers like Harvey Milk refused to sell our rights to the highest corporate bidder. Harvey led the fight for an end to racism and sexism, and against greedy landlords, housing speculators, anti-union bosses, and discriminatory corporations like Coors. We marched in his footsteps, and for his and our demands.

OccuPride led with a demand of the 99%: “Community not commodity!” Wells and the other 1%-ers think they own us, our country, our economy, and our political system. They think we’ll let them throw our neighbors out of our neighborhoods. We let them know loud and clear that we won’t.

How We Work with Foreclosees

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Download a Word format of this document

6/13/12

BECOMING A FORECLOSURE FIGHTER
WITH SF ACCE AND/OR OCCUPY BERNAL

GETTING ASSISTANCE BEATING FORECLOSURE, PROPERTY AUCTION, AND
EVICTION

WINNING AN AFFORDABLE LOAN MODIFIICATION

Here’s what we tend to do to help someone in foreclosure – but is still short of property auction or post-auction eviction – who might become foreclosure fighter, if they’re loan is with Wells Fargo. If they are with another bank, SF ACCE may also have the ability to also help them engage in direct negotiations with someone with power at their lender – B of A, Chase, Aurora, for example. SF ACCE has also helped people fight evictions, and reclaim their homes after an eviction. But those fights are not discussed in this memo.

A. Help them get hooked up with a nonprofit HUD-certified counselor, who can:

1) submit their loan modification request, once the counselor has a 3 rd party
authorization, and some financial info;

2) engage in conversation with the lender to help them get a modification;

3) help them figure out if they have the income to qualify to a loan modification with their current income; need to increase his income, or need a principal reduction to modify; and

4) help them get their auction date postponed, find out if it actually is postponed, and until when.

I have attached my roster which has the contact names and info at the two nonprofit counselors we use – MEDA and SFHDC – as well as some other useful folks. MEDA recently told Grace that they are no longer accepting clients, but Ed Donaldson at SFHDC available. MEDA has bilingual staff.

B. Help them into “escalated” review under the WF CEO’s office. Up until now, that has virtually guaranteed that WF will postpone their auctions date/s until the end of that review, although we often don’t find out that one has been postponed until the day before or even the morning of. Getting them connected with Pelosi’s Office and her staffer Alex Lazar should do get them into this escalated process, as well as get him a single point of staff contact in the CEO’s office. This assistance also requires a 3rd party authorization form, for Pelosi’s Office and becoming a counseling client.

C. Help them get onto the Mayor’s Office/staffer Jeff Buckley’s list of cases which he is pursuing individually with the lenders. This assistance also requires a 3rd party authorization form for the Mayor’s Office, and becoming a counseling client.

I have attached 3rd party authorization forms for SFHDC, Pelosi and the Mayor. This form authorizes a 3rd party to engage in conversation with the lender about his modification request, and their case in general. Someone who receives 3 rd party authorization has no power to make decisions on a loan modification request. The foreclosee reserves that right entirely for themselves.

D. Help them get into an ongoing conversation with that single point of contact at Wells Fargo.

E. If and when they receive a trustee’s notice of property auction, in addition to helping them get it postponed and/or blocking it, we need to help them track when it is scheduled to occur.

A lender carries out a property auction through a trustee. The trustee is required to make only a single public notice, with the SF Recorder/Assessor’s Office, of an auction date – the first date when they can carry out an auction. They are not required to report any subsequent changes in that date. OB and SF ACCE have paid for access to a data base that purports to report rescheduled auctions, but sometimes it is faulty and/or takes a few days to report the new date. Even a verbal statement by a lender’s staff person that they have postponed the auction date is sometimes not accurate. The best way that we have found to track an auction date is through the phone number and/or website contained in the trustees notice of the initial auction date.

F. Finally, how do you see if the foreclosee will become/help a person become a foreclosure fighter?

Becoming a foreclosure fighter helps a person: 1) save their own home in foreclosure, AND 2) win reforms and ideally permanent structural changes in the current predatory, unfair and largely racist foreclosure system. We aren’t counselors. We are leaders in fighting organizations. With our current power, we can’t help everyone who is in foreclosure. We can help individual foreclosees, if they fight. We can only win the complete restructuring of the foreclosure system by organizing and building the power to win on individual cases, and reforms of the foreclosure system – like a moratorium, or the postponement of auctions or evictions, or the reoccupation of homes form which folks have been evicted. It is only by fighting with power that we can change the entire foreclosure system into one that is fair, just and non-discriminatory.

We can only win if the people in foreclosure step up and fight for themselves, and other people in the same fix that they are in. We must help them become leaders in the fight. And it is only by them become the face and voice of the fight to end the foreclosure crisis that the lenders, the public, and potential allies like the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor will ever understand who is being hurt by foreclosure, and what it is doing to our communities.

So, sadly, we must pick and choose with whom we will work. We will work with them if they fight, and become active members in and leaders of our organizations. In developing foreclosees into foreclosure fighters, we are not hurting their ability to win their individual cases. Only 13% of the foreclosees who work with an SF HUD certified nonprofit counselor “escape” foreclosure by attaining a loan modification or some other settlement. The counselors tell foreclosees that they will increases their chances of winning if they: 1) fight back, and 2) join an organization like Occupy Bernal and SF ACCE. Lenders pay at least some attention to foreclosure fighters because they want them – and their organizations – to go away! As you can see, the small changes we have won, and the process above, has helped individual foreclosees help themselves.

SF ACCE has helped foreclosure fighters win loan modifications, even for ones that lenders have evicted from their homes. OB has helped foreclosure fighters win modifications, but so far only for people who had the income to qualify anyway.

We must test the folks that we try to help. Tell them straight up that we can’t “save” them, but we will help them fight back. And that we want them to become foreclosure fighters. Tell them what we mean by that term. Give them opportunities to do so. Invite them to the next meeting of our organizations. Ask and train them to speak to their neighbors; the media; elected officials; and representatives of the lenders. Give them the opportunity to participate in the planning of actions against the lenders, and active roles in those actions.

Attachments: Buck’s roster; 3rd party authorization forms for SFHDC, Mayor and
Pelosi’s Offices.

By Buck Bagot – 415/385-0389 OR BUCKB@DEVINEGONG.COM.

For more information, go to www.occupybernal.org, www.calorganize.org, or
www.occupytheauctions.org.

Excelsior ACCE Action Urges End to Foreclosures, Divestment from Banks in San Francisco’s Mission Neighborhood

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On June 6, 2012, the Association of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Excelsior chapter protested three bank branches in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. Bank of America closed their doors and locked patrons inside for about 20 minutes. Protestors also visited Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase, urged banks to stop foreclosures and evictions, and urged bank customers to divest from banks and switch to credit unions. Occupy Bernal and Occupy SF organizers joined ACCE for the protest.

Occupy Bernal and ACCE Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters Join Forces

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Occupy Bernal and ACCE Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters and supporters joined forces at a meeting on May 31, 2012, to plan strategies and tactics for stopping predatory foreclosures and related auctions and evictions.

May 31: Occupella Joins the Wild Old Women at their Weekly Bank of America Protest

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Update: A fabulous time was had by all, except perhaps the Bank of America security guards who locked up the front door of the bank branch once the protestors arrived.

WHAT: Occupella joins the Wild Old Women at their weekly Bank of America protest

WHEN: May 31, noon.

WHERE: Bank of America Branch, 3250 Mission Street @29th Street, San Francisco

WHY: Occupy Bernal is again in the press, under headlines such as “Occupy Bernal Blocks Auction of Foreclosed Home in San Francisco” and “Occupy Bernal Succeeds in Stalling Foreclosures.” On Thursday, the hilltop neighborhood’s famously fierce senior women invite some musical friends to celebrate, protest, and make noise, as part of their notorious weekly visits to the bank. Some say the future of Occupy is in local, neighborhood-based work — on Thursday May 31, the Wild Old Women and Occupella show how it’s done.

WHO:
Occupella describes itself: “Informal public singing at Bay Area occupation sites, marches and at BART stations. We sing to promote peace, justice, and an end to corporate domination, especially in support of the Occupy movement.”

IMG_5205_1

Contact: Tita Caldwell, titacal@aol.com; 415-505-9391

Press:
“In addition to some original material, Occupella rewrites well-known songs with Occupy-relevant lyrics.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/occupella-san-francisco_n_1413626.html

“The group … hopes commuters will walk away with a song in their head, or better yet, join in and sing.”
http://missionlocal.org/2012/04/occupella-sings-in-the-mission/

The Wild Old Women describe themselves: “Our action was started in December 2011 by a group of nine women who live in affordable senior housing in Bernal Heights.  Since then we have “occupied” the sidewalk in front of the Bank of America every Thursday from 12 – 1 p.m.  We have been joined by friends and political allies, as well as strangers who have stopped and talked to us. Our object is to protest the bank’s practice of foreclosing on people’s homes, and of raising the fees of low income people. We are also acting in solidarity with the Occupy movement, and are happy to be part of Occupy Bernal.”

Press:
“It was a slow-moving Occupy Wall Street protest, but it was an effective one.”
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/01/05/wild-old-women-close-san-francisco-bank-of-america-branch/

“There’s no chanting, tents, or tear gas, and certainly no cops in riot gear. Rather, the Wild Old Women hold signs and hand out pamphlets, trying to talk to people and convince them to move their money out of the big banks.”
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/01/wild_old_women_tita_caldwell.php

Photos:
http://occupybernal.org/wordpress/?attachment_id=212

http://occupybernal.org/wordpress/?p=238

http://occupybernal.org/wordpress/?p=190

Occupy Bernal is a neighborhood-based Occupy currently focusing on preventing the banks from throwing our neighbors out of their homes. Web: http://www.occupybernal.org

To sign up for the Occupy Bernal press list and/or obtain photos and video of the event, see http://www.occupybernal.org/press

Bernal Block Party Foreclosure Fighter Fiesta: Connecting Neighbors to Keep Our Homes

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Thanks so much to Beth and Annie for facilitating an amazing Bernal Block Party Foreclosure Fighter Fiesta today. The event brought together the neighborhood and the community supporting the Foreclosure and Eviction Fighters (FEFs) to enjoy each other’s company and join the campaign to save our homes from bank foreclosures and evictions, along with some great food and music. Beth and Annie presented Good Neighbor Awards to the FEFs. The list of people to thank is so long… everyone who helped out deserves a tremendous thank you!

Link: Video (thanks to Selene Naxou!)

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Unanimously Passes Foreclosure Moratorium Resolution

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The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on April 10 voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling for “support for state and federal measures to protect homeowners and suspension of foreclosure activities in San Francisco”. The resolution supports the Homeowner Bill of Rights legislation before the state legislature and urges city and county officials and departments to protect homeowners from unlawful foreclosures. The resolution also urges all mortgage and banking institutions to suspend foreclosure activities and related auctions and evictions until state and federal measures to protect homeowners from unfair and unlawful practices, as well as provisions for principal reductions, are in place.

Supervisor John Avalos proposed the resolution with co-sponsors Supervisors David Campos, Malia Cohen, Jane Kim, Eric Mar, and Christina Olague. Amy Beinart and Stardust of Occupy Bernal wrote the original draft of the resolution.

Link: The Resolution As Passed