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My guest today is David Petrovich, Executive Director of the Society For Preservation of Continued Homeownership [SPOCH]. Welcome to OpEdNews, David. Please tell our readers what SPOCH is and how it works.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to tell you and your readers about SPOCH. The real story, however, is about misinformation parroted by the fawning corporate media about how "lenders don't want to foreclose - they want to help!" which is total crap.
SPOCH is a non profit, tax exempt organization founded 12 years ago to provide at-risk (of foreclosure) homeowners a resource to learn the unvarnished truth about the foreclosure process,including foreclosure time frames, options and (non) foreclosure alternatives, and client-specific information so homeowners who experience emotional and financial hardship are able to make informed decisions .. not short sighted, knee-jerk, reactions. We are also able to assist homeowners (on a case-by-case basis) with specific hands-on help acting as a liaison between borrower, lender, and other third party stakeholders. Our Board of Advisors includes a CPA, a couple of MBAs, real estate and financial professionals, and an attorney who was an FDIC regulator. We work from a small office in New Jersey, but SPOCH's out-reach extends to 48 states.
Right up front, I think its important for you to know SPOCH is independent and doesn't accept funding or compensation from the loan servicing industry or any government sponsored agency. We rely on occasional, small, tax-deductible contributions, dedicated royalties, and fund-raising activities. Without an "employer/employee relationship" which is shared directly or indirectly by MOST counseling organizations dependent upon government or industry funding, SPOCH can fully advocate for its clients. We don't have to worry about loss of funding from "the hand which feeds us" simply because we recommend challenging the lending industry for its predatory practices including the circumvention of Truth In Lending laws, and running roughshod over consumers' rights in its pursuit of unconscionable profits. But I'll get back to that.
The majority of borrowers at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure are truly unaware of what lead to the current mortgage crises, including but not limited to the financial industry's deregulation, its unconscionable profits, the shortcuts taken by the profiteers, and how the government and its agencies are protecting bed-partner Wall Street's interests while facilitating financial terrorism on Main Street.
I'm glad to hear that SPOCH doesn't accept funding from the industry. That certainly strengthens your independence. Before we jump further into the foreclosure mess, please tell our readers a little about your background, David. You worked in the real estate field for many years before starting SPOCH, didn't you? How did that experience help you do what you're doing now?
Sure, but please call me Dave. My mother calls me David, in a tone that sets me on edge.
My folks, who were
schoolteachers, had a part-time, general contracting business while I was
growing up. Each year they selected a single, uniquely desirable, residential
building lot. They would then design and cause a house to be built
upon that lot during the summer, and try to sell it before school began in
September. I spent my summers working with and learning from the various
tradesmen all aspects of the process... including site acquisition and
finance,cost-estimating, construction loans, purchasing materials,
subcontracting, project management, etc.
I mixed concrete, laid block, learned framing, roofing and siding, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, flooring and painting. I learned about code inspectors. Years later, after a particularly bad experience with an abusive building code inspector, I studied and sat for the state subcode officials exam. Though I never used my license, I vowed never again would I let an overreaching subcode official take advantage of my ignorance, and willingness to comply.
By the time I was in college studying psychology and finance, I was spending more and more time working than in school. I dropped from full-time to part-time to no-time, but began what seemed a lifetime of evening classes. I took the real estate exam in 1985 and tried to sell houses at a time interest rates for an FHA or VA loan exceeded 22%. I had a great real estate mentor who taught me to identify motivated sellers, which included those who were forced to relocate due to job change, those mired in divorce, families settling estates, and those who faced mortgage foreclosure.
I write about many of those career shaping moments in my recent book, Fight Foreclosure: How to Cope with a mortgage you can't pay, Negotiate with your lender, and Save your home (Wiley & Sons). 25 years ago, my father-in-law faced mortgage foreclosure. I was watching a train wreck in slow motion, powerless to stop it.
I got a mortgage solicitors license, a P&C insurance license, and certification from The Appraisal Institute. With help from my folks, and my new bride, I set out to acquire, rehabilitate and resell existing, distressed homes. I concentrated on purchasing from homeowners who faced mortgage foreclosure who had VA or FHA (then assumable) loans which I did, successfully, until a serious injury and subsequent surgeries forced me to hang up my hammer. I had become quite proficient in purchasing foreclosures by working with the sellers (and their lenders) to resolve their housing and finance problems. In more cases than not, I was able to resolve their mortgage difficulties which allowed them to keep their homes. Those successes, though financially unrewarding, were satisfying and, years later, became the basis for SPOCH's mission which was to preserve continued homeownership.
One of my workout proposals was noticed by a new VP at GE Capital Mortgage (then the second largest mortgage loan servicer in the US). He flew from St. Louis to NJ and (despite my then and now shaggy, thinning hair and white beard)hired me for his prototype program to deal with non-performing mortgages. I worked a portfolio that included about 7,500 "bad" loans in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania...and New England on as "as-needed" basis.
In addition to field responsibilities, which included establishing borrower contact, devising and implementing loan workouts, assessing market conditions, and reviewing appraisals, I became the regional mortgage loan servicing expert who represented the lender in Federal Bankruptcy Courts. My role was to testify to the Court specific on debtors loan origination, servicing (collection and application of payments, attempts to resolve delinquencies, etc.), and foreclosure.
I traveled periodically to the St. Louis HQ for meetings with FNMA (Federal National Mortgage Association) FHLMC (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Company) and the FHA (Federal Housing Administration). The result of these meetings between the country's second largest loan servicer and GSEs (Government Sponsored Entities) and HUD became the basis for loss mitigation practices still in use today. Not to say GE was the sole contributor... Citibank's HQ was just across the street. Early on, I saw the cozy relationship between government and Wall Street capitalists.
