Local resident chronicles horror story of home buying
This first-person account from a Bowie woman who's a single parent vividly describes how the Metropolitan Money Store's allegedly false promises to save troubled homeowners from foreclosure backfired on the innocent.
An undetermined number of homeowners in Bowie, Mitchellville and Glenn Dale have unwittingly fallen victim to this Lanham-based company and other allegedly crooked foreclosure rescue outfits, according to lawsuits, and published and broadcast reports. The writer is a party in one of these suits, filed last year in Prince George's County Circuit Court. The Blade-News has verified her identity.
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It's the worst thing that could happen to a home buyer, and a first-time home buyer at that. I hope my story helps others before they get scammed and become victimized like me and other homeowners in the Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia metropolitan areas. It's embarrassing to talk about it because I thought I was smarter.
It happened during a time in my life when I was suffering from stress and depression. I'd lost my job, which I held for more than 16 years, due to downsizing, and had to take another job that paid half the salary. I'd lost a niece and five of her children in a fire tragedy; I used most of my savings to help with burial costs. To top everything off, I had some breast health problems that were costly because I had no medical insurance for a while.
As a result, I got behind in my mortgage payments and began receiving letters that I was facing foreclosure. I attempted to refinance but my credit wouldn't allow me to. I saw Metropolitan Money Store advertisements on TV and called them for a free consultation. I went in and they communicated to me about my credit score being too low, and recommended that I get into a program they had that was helping people like me, people who needed to clean up their credit in order to pay off debt and stop foreclosure.
I started asking questions about how the program worked. They handed me a glossy, well-put-together brochure on what they described as their highly successful "foreclosure reversal" program. They said the program was for homeowners experiencing any kind of foreclosure, such as multiple notices of default or upcoming auction. Their attorneys, they said, can take immediate action to postpone the sale and give adequate time for the program to work.
Here's how it operated. The Money Store would retain an investor who, through a loan, would pay off the mortgage. Thirteen months of mortgage payments would be placed in an escrow account. The investor's name would be on the property title for 13 months; within that time, I'd be able to improve my credit and obtain a more favorable mortgage. Afterward, the investor's name would be removed from the title. At no time did they ever communicate to me that the investor would, in essence, own the home.
I asked for assurance that after one year, my name would be put back on the title and the investor would have no claim to the house. They reassured me, in fact were adamant, that the investor didn't want to own any property and that the Money Store's only goal was to help me.
It sounded legitimate. The Money Store was located in a nice building with marble floors and big luxurious conference rooms. The people acted very professional and seemed sympathetic and caring. So I went ahead and signed the papers. During the first two months, the Money Store paid off all my debts. So I was comfortable that things were going the way they should. Five months later, however, the so-called investor showed up at my door stating that she was going to evict me because the mortgage company hadn't received any payments. Then I found out that the payments I owed various creditors hadn't been made, either.
I was shocked and afraid. I started investigating. In mid-2007, I saw a Washington Post story about the Money Store describing other people in my predicament. I contacted an attorney and added my name to a class-action lawsuit against the store. One of the Post stories was about a fabulous wedding the company owners had at the Mayflower Hotel. It made me sick to my stomach to read about it. In fact, I remember the guy who helped me fill out paperwork at the Money Store said he had this big wedding to attend.
Later, I learned that the so-called investors from the Money Store were "straw buyers" working with the Money Store to rip me off of all my home equity and take out a second mortgage on my home.
I was happy to hear about the recent criminal indictment against the alleged Money Store conspirators. As for the civil suit in which I'm a plaintiff, I hope me and my 32 co-defendants prevail so I'll be allowed to refinance and have my name put back on the title where it belongs. I'm still trying to work with my creditors to pay off my debts and clean up my credit in order to finance the home into which I've poured so much money and love. I hope my experience helps others be smarter than I was, especially now with the high foreclosure rates and current shaky economy. No matter how desperate you are, please thoroughly investigate any companies that say they can help you save your homes or get out of debt. You could be next.
