SAN DIEGO, CA. Community and labor leaders from San Diego and Los Angeles are rallying around June Reyno, the Mira Mesa woman who is taking a controversial stand against being evicted from her home of 19 years now in foreclosure. Initially Reyno chained herself to a front porch pillar in a dramatic show of defiance to any Sheriff’s eviction action, an act that has generated alot of interest in the blogosphere, both pro and con.
Now a group calling itself the San Diego Ad Hoc Campaign against Foreclosures and Evictions has stepped forth and declared its support of the Reynos. The Ad Hoc group has called a press conference for Thursday, October 30th at noon at the Reyno’s residence, located at 10169 Presley Street, in the Mira Mesa area of San Diego. Spokespeople from a variety of backgrounds will speak on her behalf at this press conference. In a press release, the Ad Hoc group states:
Homeowner chained to her home demands justice! (June Reyno’) courageous stand against an unjust eviction and for a national moratorium on foreclosures and evictions has prompted statements of support from San Diegans and others across the nation.
Community and organizational support is growing quickly for June Reyno, Filipino American homeowner, in her effort to maintain possession of her home of 19 years. San Diego and Los Angeles political, community and labor leaders will speak out on her behalf.
June Reyno has has written statements for the press. They include the following:
“People are becoming homeless by the minute in our own communities and across the nation,” writes June Reyno in her previous statement to the press.
“Banks made risky investments in mortgage-backed securities, putting the hard-earned money of their depositors on the line. Americans, under the $700 billion bailout … received a billing statement from the banks to pay the debt of unscrupulous lending institutions. …
“This fleecing and deception of Americans by our governmental system must stop today.”
Her supporters say that Reyno goes on to point out that the continuing mortgage-based manipulations of the major financial institutions are hidden from the public. She has evidence that in her own case, her right to repurchase her home is being denied because the corporate title holder intends to make a bigger profit from a different buyer.
The following people are scheduled to speak at the press conference: Rosie Martinez, executive board member of SEIU Local 721; John Parker, West Coast coordinator of the International Action Center; Paul Valen, Anakbayan San Diego; Gloria Saucedo, director of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional; Kathy Hughart, Crown Point Shores Condominium Assoc.; Martha Rojas, co-coordinator of Labor-Community Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions; and a representative from BAYAN-USA. For more information on the press conference, Kathy Hughart at (619) 922-7535 is available.
June Reyno’s stance is a controversial one as critics have found public records showing that June Reyno ran or runs a business that helps homeowners avoid foreclosure, and whether her action is actuallly a con to get her house remortgaged. Other questions have arisen about dealings surrounding the house at issue. These questions involve sales of the house – including a sale in 1999 despite her claim that they have had it for nearly twenty years. There are also questions about what happened to the money – quite a good sum – that the Reynos gained in mortgaging the house.
Despite her detractors, June Reyno’s stance has touched a lot of people, sympathetic to her cause, who see her as a symbol of the larger problems affecting homeowners fighting foreclosure across the nation.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Before you do irreperable harm to your organization you need to research those you are trying to help…
http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/2008/10/june-reyno-you-have-seen-no-anger-yet.html
is that thursday oct 30th (as in today) or wednesday oct 29th (as in yesterday)?
Our apologies: originally the post said the press conference would be on the 29th, but it is on Thursday Oct. 30th – sorry for the confusion.
This person is clearly under a lot of stress and is in distress. She needs help. 1st she needs emotional counseling to be sure she doesn’t do anything irrational. Once she is stable, she really needs some financial guidance. Someone needs to sit down with her and look at the realities of this situation. What is her family income? She was paying $4,000 a month for a mortgage which would be reasonable if she had a family income of $192,000 or so. With the adjusted rate of $5,800, they need to be bringing in closer to $275,000. If they were relying on the real estate market for that income, it may be gone and won’t return any time soon. If she doesn’t have the income to pay for the house, it might be time to let it go. This will really be best for them as it is clearly causing great stress, anger and unhappiness. There are many places for rent on craigslist in that area for around $1000 a month. They might find it relaxing to take a year or 2 off from the stress and move into some simpler accommodations. This would give them a chance to clear their debts and save up some emergency cash. I think they will find they don’t miss the stress and pressure of trying to keep up with such heavy mortgage payments.
http://junereynosales.com/
While I agree that unjust foreclosures are an issue, I’ve got to take exception to the particular case everyone seems to be rallying around. A quick public records search shows the person in question is a real estate licensee, and that the house in question has been refinanced at least 3 times since 2004, with the owner pocketing more cash with each subsequent loan. I’ve got all the sympathy in the world for people duped into signing for loans with terms they didn’t understand by shady loan agents who pocketed thousands and sometimes tens of thousands on such deals. This case, though, looks to me like a situation where someone, especially with the equivalent of a full college semester’s worth of education on the subject and a professional certification, should’ve known better.
On top of this, the bank has held title to the property (and likely has been pursuing eviction) since early February, meaning, including the default period mandated by the state, it’s been a minimum of 13 months since Ms. Reyno has paid a single penny in housing costs. If she was attempting to purchase the house back from the bank for significantly less than she was loaned in 2006, the bank would’ve been prevented from selling her the property at a loss without an agreement from another bank whose $100K+ second lien was wiped out at the time of the foreclosure.
I’d love to talk about the blame and punishments that should be heaped upon irresponsible brokers, lenders, and appraisers for their role in this mess, but not without admitting that there were irresponsible consumers out there as well.
She’s complaining about banks being bailed out, not people. BUT the bank wouldn’t need bailing out if she didn’t rob the bank of half a million dollars.
She already got her money!!
Sorry, but get her out of the house. I wish I had all the money she got. She is a prime example of why we all in the mess we are in today
June Reyno knew exactly what she was doing. This is what she does for a living – Real Estate. She knew she was refinancing into a risky loan. She pocketed the cash with each refinance. I’ve also heard that she owns several other homes, so she’s hardly being “unjustly evicted”. This is just another example of a person who robbed the system for every dime she could get, but won’t take responsibility for her actions now that the bubble has burst.
Frankly, I think the state should begin investigating June Reyno for fraud, and see if she’s been breaking any laws during her years as a “real estate professional”.
Commenters note – I just unapproved a comment that used a derogatory word for another fellow human while calling themselves libertarian. Please discuss the issues but don’t stoop as low as Karl Rove.
This is a scam…She refinanced for over $670,000..She knew what she was doing…The major media outlets were scammed!!!! SHe is why we are all in trouble…..taking on toooo much debt to handle…the people like me who are conservative with 30 yr fixed mortgages should be rewarded, not these bums who get to “walk away” from debt.
So, Frank Gormlie, you feel the need to remove an entry on here since it insulted a fellow human being and then you insult Karl Rove who has nothing to do with anything in this story. The bottom line is this woman is professional real estate person and is scamming the system and the people who have come to her defense. She should be put in jail. And just FYI I am a homeless disabled vet. This whole story sounded fishy to me from the beginning and now the truth is coming out that she owns homes in Palm Springs and San Bernardino and is probably trying to pull this scam there too.
Dave H – I wish Karl Rove had nothing to do with the deregulated world of banks and corporate institutions and their political enablers, the leadership of this nation for the last 8 years, but, … Karl Rove was instrumental in the elections of George W, who carried the Reagan ‘revolution’ into the 21st century, a revolution that devolved into a frenzy of corporate and bank / wall street greed which has brought us the worst economic meltdown since the Depression.
The Federal mortgage plan and bailout would reward the reckless and punish the prudent and seemingly supported by you and your organization
Consider the lesson it imparts to promote bailouts to cheats like June Reyno . City by city, neighborhood by neighborhood, people who live beneath their means and manage money carefully will see more careless neighbors supported by federal decree and demand by irresponsible organizations like you. Those who are current on mortgage payments, but still squeezed, may be tempted to let two or three payments slide, so they can negotiate money-saving terms on their own mortgages as they see cheats like June Reyno get a bailout.
We are becoming a nation of people who feel it is not only okay but justified to cheat, lie, and swindle each other and the rest of the population. Personal responsibility is discouraged by the government and the mainstream media. White collar crimes are rarely prosecuted because FBI is so stretched. Our nation is eating ourselves from within just to keep a facade of prosperity. Hope is being replaced by anger and desperation. Welcome to the new dawn.
Try Again Frank,
Quit trying to just blame GWB. This financial services meltdown was bipartisan in nature. Republicans may have pushed for deregulation but Democrats helped enable it as the Republicans have never had the 60% majority required to pass legislation without the risk of filibuster.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm-Leach-Bliley_Act
This BIPARTISAN filibuster proof bill signed by Bill Clinton enabled the combining of financial services which allowed banks to sell services they were previously unable to such as CDO’s. Senate vote was like 93 in favor of passing the legislation. Guess what that means DEMS as well as REPUBS are responsible.
After this act passed the sales of CDO’s grew at an exponential rate.
Don’t also forget the complicity of Senator Frank and Dodd in their staunch defense of Fannie and Freddie. They claimed that no new regulations were needed and that they were in fine financial health.
Of course all the defaulted CDO’s and Credit default swap pain we are feeling would have been prevented if PEOPLE WOULD PAY THEIR MORTGAGES. CDO’s don’t default without NONPAYMENT.
The house of cards only falls through lack of payment.
Lots of intelligent investors went upside down due to predatory devaluation of real estate by banks. June did not walk off with the money she borrowed she invested in her elder care programs senior care facilities, and then the market took a dump, and she lost all nine properties including her home of 20 years.
June like millions of others is a victim of predatory lending who fought hard to retain her property against very professional bank attorneys. Whether to fight the bank for possession of your house, or move out and just attempt to recover from your losses, put it all behind you and go on from here is a choice only you can make. I cannot even suggest what I would do in your shoes without reviewing the entire mortgage loan transaction. Litigation is never cheap and June went through her remaining resources very quickly!
Kokopelli Workshop Foreclosure Relief Project works to prevent unfair leverage of distressed homeowners in foreclosure and to provide information to help them spot, stop and avoid being taken advantage of. If send us a report we will investigate whether you may have been a victim, and we will assist you to get the information to the appropriate enforcement agencies (FBI, HUD, FTC The Attorney General , and Better Business Bureau)
Kokopelli Community Workshop has implemented a special foreclosure workshop to help individuals and families whose homes are in foreclosure or who have predatory sub-prime mortgage loans about to enter an adjustable rate understand their options; including but not limited to all forensic loan audits, bankruptcy options, short sale opportunities, legal stays against foreclosure, and to help those in need to thoroughly review understand and review the financial and legal consequences of all creative rescue schemes that they may have taken under consideration, in a protected and legally sanctioned environment.
Victims of Predatory Lending
The definition of predatory lending involves who really benefits in the mortgage transaction. The fact that the homeowner does NOT benefit is what turns a legal mortgage into a predatory lending practice which can and should be reported. There are many resources where one can report mortgage fraud and predatory lending. If uncertain whether a mortgage action is legal, or actually fraud or a form of predatory lending, then one should still report it and find out for sure. In many cases only a fine line divides actual fraud from an ethical and legal transaction
Some criminal predatory lending tricks;
Steering & Coercing
Predatory Lenders use quite a number of different abusive practices when putting together a subprime loan. The possible targets for these practices are the elderly, low-income, or minority homeowners who, in many cases, would actually qualify for a regular prime loan. Fannie Mae estimates that possibly up to 50% of the subprime refinanced loans could have been prime loans – saving the borrowers thousands of dollars in fees and interest rates. The abuse of subprime loans in minority neighborhoods is evidenced by a government study in an African-American neighborhood showing over 51% of the refinanced mortgages being subprime, compared to only 9% in predominantly white neighborhoods. Borrowers are often subjected to very aggressive sales tactics to steer them or coerce them into refinancing when it isn’t in their best interest. Many states are attempting to set up predatory lending laws to avert this type of activity.
Excessive Fees
A refinanced mortgage can be packed with excessive fees and/or unnecessary fees. A regular mortgage usually will have loan fees below 1% of the total loan amount. A predatory mortgage can have loan fees in excess of 5%. These excessive costs are tucked into the loan amount so the lender can easily disguise them, and these fees can put thousands of the homeowner’s dollars into the predator’s pockets. This practice falls within the definition of predatory lending.
Insurance and Other Unnecessary Products
Predators often add insurance and other unnecessary products to the loan amount. The insurance they either insist on or intimidate the borrower into buying can include regular mortgage insurance, fire and hazard insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and health insurance. The insurance can be extended to include all family members, not just the borrowers themselves. The premium for these items is also added onto the loan amount where the cost is not easily spotted by the borrower. And, of course, the predator earns large commissions every year on the premiums paid. A variation of this happens when three or five years of premium are paid in advance.
Abusive and Abnormal Prepayment Penalties
Only about 2% of normal conventional mortgages have a prepayment penalty that might be difficult to meet. Up to 80% of subprime mortgage have an abusive prepayment penalty. Why? This is one more way the predators can gouge an unsuspecting homeowner. The prepayment penalty is a fee the lender requires the borrower to pay if the borrower should pay off the mortgage loan early. The subprime borrower usually has less-than-perfect credit when originally taking out the mortgage, and the prepayment penalty is hidden in the fine print. Over the next few years the borrowers may manage to improve their credit and want to obtain a new mortgage that has lower interest and lower payments. However, the prepayment penalty on the original mortgage (which often equals 5% of the original loan) is so high that it eats up any equity the homeowners have built up and can even leave them owing more money. Homeowners often are trapped into keeping the original, high-interest mortgage. This is also another case where the lender gives a kickback to the mortgage broker for helping to include the high prepayment penalty in the mortgage. In the future, when the homeowner has to pay the prepayment penalty, the mortgage broker pockets more money.
Because the predators using high prepayment penalties channel the borrowers into subprime loans, the honest conventional lenders lose a great deal of prime loan business. This indirectly affects the fees they need to charge their regular prime borrowers. Everyone loses when predatory lenders have their way.
Loan Flipping
Another form of predatory lending practices occurs when Con-Artists find a homeowner whom they can talk or coerce into refinancing their mortgage, even though the homeowner gains nothing from the transaction. The process is called loan flipping. While the transaction might put a few thousand dollars into the homeowner’s bank account, this amount is easily eaten up by the excessive fees, higher interest rate, and prepayment penalties of the new mortgage. A serious danger with loan flipping occurs when a balloon payment is inserted into the fine print. While the homeowners originally may have had twenty or thirty years to pay on the mortgage, under the loan flipping they might be signing for a two, three, or five year balloon payment. At the end of that time they need to find a way to refinance the house again or lose it completely. Of course, the ‘expert Con-Artists’ will be only to glad to do another loan flip and refinance it for them – once again pocketing thousands of dollars in the process and leaving the homeowner with even less equity in the property than before.
Mandatory Arbitration
Another practice that falls within the definition of predatory lending happens when a lender hides words in the fine print that make it illegal for the homeowner to take legal action against the lender. The borrowers sign away their rights to sue the lender for any fraud, predatory actions or illegal actions. The only right the borrowers have is to take their grievances to arbitration. The arbitration process is totally in the hands of the lenders, usually conducted in secret without the borrowers having adequate representation. Although the borrowers can usually have legal counsel, they find it difficult to find anyone who will represent them because the lawyers are not guaranteed payment of their fees in arbitration like they are in court. Many arbitration cases are handled over the phone and when a small individual is pitted against a large corporation and the proceedings are confidential with no stenographic or written record of the facts, the borrower is at a true disadvantage. Most arbitration decisions are binding and the borrowers cannot appeal them.
More than 50% of the lenders are now including mandatory arbitration in their loan documents, and the borrowers remain unaware of the implications. Lenders favor arbitration because it eliminates a borrower’s rights to do a class-action suit against the lender. The Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Truth in Lending Act have no bearing in an arbitration situation, only if one can go to court. And, some lenders keep their right to go to court but prohibit the borrower from doing so. The fees for arbitration can also be more expensive than filing a small claims court suit. Overall, the borrowers who sign a mandatory arbitration contract are bound to a very lopsided arrangement that rarely is in their best interest.
The major arbitration administrators that a borrower can utilize are the National Arbitration Forum, the American Arbitration Association (ADR), and Jams Endispute.
Predatory Lending Laws
Predatory lending laws are slowly being integrated into the legal systems of the federal government and the individual states. More than 35 states have already placed a legal limit on the maximum prepayment penalty that a homeowner should have to pay, and over half of the states have taken steps to limit predatory lending practices during the last five years. While the definition of predatory lending varies in each state, the awareness that individual citizens need to be protected by predatory lending laws is growing.