kellidudley
Kelli Dudley is the only lawyer whose message is so powerful she was forbidden to talk to her own client, co-counsel, or the community for nearly 16 months.
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Wednesday, January 12, 2022
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Supporting Artists and Tenants to Preserve Housing
https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/casa-inmigrante-diy-biblioteca-social-reconstruir-csdc-eviction/Content?oid=89705511
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
RENT STRIKES: Work with Neighbors and Community Organizations
A new post is available at www.kellidudley.com
Monday, March 16, 2020
NO “NOVEL” MORTGAGE SCAMS: Beware of Attorneys and Others Who Exploit Crises
While the Coronavirus is known as “Novel,” there’s nothing
new in the world of mortgage scams. As homeowners lose work due to closures,
self-isolation, quarantines, or infrastructure breakdowns, “SAVE YOUR HOME”
attorneys are gearing up to steal money and cost people homes. They are the
real virus and must be isolated—if you sneeze these boogers into your elbow,
burn your shirt. People in a weakened, panicked state will be particularly
susceptible to the new wave of scams.
I fought against lawyers and others who unethically caused
homeowners to lose their homes after the economic crisis of 2008. Despite being
given every chance (with exhibits and witnesses I offered alone), the
organization that disciplines attorneys, the courts, and law enforcement failed
to put scammers in the slammer where they belonged. Most scammers got a slap on
the wrist, if that. In some cases, the courts did reasoning acrobatics to paint
me as the villain for pursuing justice for people who wrongly lost their homes
and thousands of dollars in fees for illusory (or damaging) services. One
court went so far as to bar me from talking to my own client, co-counsel, or
the general public (about foreclosure) for nearly 16 months! This is
well-documented at www.kellidudley.com
and in my book: INIQUITY:
How courts systems, lawyers, and legal aid organizations cheated homeowners in
foreclosure. My book is available at
no cost on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. In addition, you can get a free copy by
joining Mercari here and using your
free $10.00 to purchase the book there. After joining and getting the credit,
you can search for my book here.
(My current pricing includes shipping and will leave you with some extra
money.) Similarly, you can join www.Poshmark.com
with code KELLIDUDLEY and order
my book with your $10.00 gift, but there will be a slight remaining cost
with shipping.
Leading up to the economic collapse (and largely a cause of
it), there were “easy mortgage” signs and storefronts. These were especially
located in vulnerable neighborhoods, like those not served by mainstream
brick-and-mortar banks. As soon as the economy collapsed, the very same buildings
and signs changed to “SAVE YOUR HOME,” “REFINANCE,” “MODIFICATION.” The
scammers simply re-branded. Mortgage foreclosure scammers have a long history
of changing their stripes. Prior to 2005, many of them made their bread and
butter scamming people to pay for a bankruptcy, taking the money, and only
filing a “cover sheet”—never completing all the steps to do a competent bankruptcy.
After bankruptcy was reformed in 2005, the scammers knew they could not stand
up to scrutiny. Many slimed over to “foreclosure defense” and re-branded as “SAVE
YOUR HOME” lawyers. They proceeded to take large monthly fees and do nothing, often
not even filing an appearance in the court case. Sometimes, their work was so
incompetent as to cause people who hired the scammer lawyers to lose their
homes faster than someone who ignored the foreclosure process completely. Their
pleadings, when they bothered to turn any in, were so incompetent—in today’s atmosphere,
they might have utility in solving the toilet paper shortage.
It is easy to predict the scams that will be aimed at homeowners
in the pandemic. With the virus threatening lives, “SAVE YOUR HOME” predators
threaten homes, savings, and sanity.
First, scammers are going to tell people to miss their mortgage
payments. They may cite other countries or jurisdictions that have offered some
mortgage relief, telling people the same has happened or is about to happen in
the United States. It is highly unlikely mortgages will be “cancelled” in the United
States. Aside from the immense control mortgage companies and banks exercise
over every level of government, taking away a mortgage lien would likely run
afoul of the Constitution. Even during the financial crisis, efforts to coerce
lenders into negotiating with homeowners were based on coddling them and were
spotty at best. However, scammers will make loan forgiveness sound like a “done
deal.” The scammer may demand money up front to arrange some “forbearance,” “modification,”
or “forgiveness.” They will do nothing (or worse).
Next, scammers playing the longer game will, as above,
misrepresent the likelihood of mortgage relief to induce the homeowner to pay
the lawyer “instead of” their mortgage (a phrase actually used by these criminals
in the prior crisis—some even tie the monthly retainer fee to the now-unpaid
monthly mortgage amount). They will wait for the homeowner to go into foreclosure,
then charge more to “defend” the mortgage. They will do nothing, incompetently
defend the mortgage, and—at best—ultimately offer an illusory “resolution.”
These illusory resolutions are covered extensively at www.KelliDudley.com or in a free
Medium article. Generally, they include deeds-in-lieu, short sales, and
similar solutions that include an economic benefit for everyone but the
homeowner who is forced to move.
Finally, scammers will offer incompetent bankruptcies. Most
typically, they fail to explain the difference between a Chapter 7 and Chapter
13 bankruptcy, causing the homeowner to agree to a bankruptcy that involves
giving up the home while the lawyer falsely promises to save it. Since the scammer
I knew who most splendidly pulled off this scam became a judge, it is unlikely
anyone will crack down on it soon. It is covered extensively in my book
and on
my blog.
It is important homeowners keep up payments during any
crisis. No matter what scammers want you to pay them to believe, mortgage
documents do NOT contain clauses letting you off the hook—or even giving you a
break of any kind—in medical or other emergencies. The government has little
power to force mortgage companies to negotiate, let alone force them to “forgive”
mortgages. To the contrary, mortgage law is bought and paid for by the mortgage
industry. In addition to hiring powerful lawyers, mortgage industry
representatives do everything from write statutes and regulations governing
mortgage foreclosure to drafting the documents given by “free” legal assistance
programs to unrepresented homeowners.
If you have trouble with your payments, speak only with a
reputable lawyer or a FREE HUD-certified housing counseling agency.
HUD-certified housing counseling agencies can be found at https://apps.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/fc/.
DO NOT hire a “SAVE YOUR HOME” lawyer with a high up-front cost, monthly
retainer, “pay me instead of your mortgage” plan, no written retainer contract
clearly outlining your rights and responsibilities and how money will be used, or
“housing counselor” who does not work for one of the agencies listed at the HUD
link. Toilet paper or not, flush these scammers before they infect your home!
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
Monday, July 29, 2019
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
INIQUITY: How court systems, lawyers, and legal aid orgs. cheated homeow...
INIQUITY: How court systems, lawyers, and legal aid orgs. cheated homeowners in foreclosure
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