Yesterday’s decision by the MA Supreme Court upholding the basic premise that the true owner of piece of real estate is the last legitimate signer on the actual title to the property and that title must be presented to prove ownership before a foreclosure can take place has been widely decried in the financial press as a grave injustice to the bank’s right to unlimited profits no matter what they did to find themselves in such sorry shape..
“WHILE THE BANKS may HAVE FAILED TO SATISFY the letter of THE LAW….” is a typical lead in to a conclusion like “With this ruling, you’re left with the problem that people who didn’t pay their mortgages get to keep their houses BECAUSE OF PAPERWORK MISTAKES”. [Emphasis mine]
To these writers banks purposely throwing the title to their borrower’s homes in the garbage is considered a ‘paperwork mistake’! This is really about the rule of law, the foundation of our country, what makes this the greatest place on earth to live…. and the only thing left between us and being a banana republic.
When expediency, ‘the markets’ and bank profits are put ahead of the rule of law we’re all screwed. Yes, the Fed is busy printing money 24/7 to debase our currency as quickly as possible and the President just installed another handful of Wall St. bankers in his administration but as long as we have the rule of law there’s hope. With ownership of our homes, our savings and our investments secure from unreasonable seizure we’ll find a way to muddle through. When that protection is gone our families safety and security is gone. If you don’t want to be reduced to protecting them with brute force the rule of law must be upheld.
Clearly people who aren’t paying their mortgage can’t stay in a house forever but they can’t be thrown out until the bank gets its legal ducks in a row.
