<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Brilliant wording and thinking, Ellen--short and to the point.<div>Thank you,<br><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div style="font-size: 12px; ">Linda</div></div></div><div><div><div style="font-size: 12px; "><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span>Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:07:26 -0700<br>From: ELLEN ROSSER <<a href="mailto:ellen.rosser@gmail.com">ellen.rosser@gmail.com</a>><br>Subject: [Occupymendocino] the presentation to BOS about foreclosures<br><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>and<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>owed recording fees<br>To: occupymendocino <<a href="mailto:occupymendocino@lists.mcn.org">occupymendocino@lists.mcn.org</a>><br>Message-ID:<br><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span><<a href="mailto:CAFGqSt7+pz7LL0Z4NHzCDV1Na5VkWfiVtNg09VLFbRQrfdVGgA@mail.gmail.com">CAFGqSt7+pz7LL0Z4NHzCDV1Na5VkWfiVtNg09VLFbRQrfdVGgA@mail.gmail.com</a>><br>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"<br><br>* MERS OWES THE COUNTY RECORDING FEES*<br><br>**<br><br>* From 2009 to 2012, there were 2,342 foreclosures in Mendocino County.<br>Most of those foreclosures were by the big banks which violated the law and<br>settled with the States Attorney Generals in December 2012 in the National<br>Mortgage Settlement: Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, J.P. Morgan Chase<br>and Wells Fargo. *<br><br>* During that time those foreclosures caused a loss of home values in<br>Mendocino County of $735,926,660 with a resultant loss of $4,489,153 in<br>property taxes. Moreover, there was a cost of approximately $24,143,932 to<br>the local government for costs related to the foreclosures including costs<br>for maintenance of blighted properties, sheriff evictions, inspections,<br>public safety, trash removal, unpaid water and sewage charges, and other<br>costs. In other words, it cost the county approximately $19,229 for every<br>foreclosure. *<br><br>* Thus, as is relevant to our request for an audit of foreclosure<br>deeds, Mendocino County lost at very least over $100,000 in recording fees,<br>and probably much more since some mortgages changed owners a number of<br>times and the big banks used MERS (Mortgage Electronic registration System)<br>instead of recording change of ownership with the County Recorder as they<br>were legally bound to do. It is estimated that 75% of the foreclosures<br>went through MERS: that is, 1756 of the deeds in foreclosure cases were<br>not properly recorded. MERS therefore owes the county those recording fees.<br>*<br><br>* We are requesting, therefore, that $15,000 be put into the budget to<br>fund an audit of all deeds of foreclosed property from 2009 to the present<br>to find all evasions of recorder's fees though the use of MERS. We expect<br>the county to recover those lost fees by suing MERS for illegally evading<br>the payment of the requisite recording fees. Although the big banks<br>settled with the states Attorney Generals on some issues, cases involving<br>MERS are still viable. Therefore we would like to see the county to<br>investigate and recover the money owed to it. *</div></div></body></html>