Buying Foreclosed Property from a REMIC Trust

First, understand that the Depositor sold all the property into the Trust vehicles in 2004-2005 and has no direct ownership interest after that. The Park Place name is in the title because it created the trust and is called the Depositor. The Depositor also filed all the paperwork for the trusts with the SEC.

The Depositor and with the Underwriter sold the security certificates to investors. The "2005-WCW1" is an example of the specific name of the individual trust vehicle. All the Park Place trusts have Wells Fargo Bank N.A. as the trustee and the trustee runs the trust.

Park Place Securities, Inc., incorporated in Florida, is not the original depositor, but is a successor corporation due to the fact that the original has totally violated the Pooling and Servicing Agreements by not maintaing proper corporate standing in all states in which the trust owns property and thus no longer has any standing. Our mere existence in multiple states is prima facie proof of that.

A company or individual who breaches a contract then has no standing to enforce it or benefit from it. In many REMIC trusts, the Depositor no longer exists, just like most of the original lenders are out of business. The lenders were never part of the PSA. The Depositor was critical as only the true sale by the Sponsor to the Depositor made the trust bankruptcy remote, without which it was not a REMIC trust at all. The Trustee would then issue the security certificates to the Depositor who worked with the Underwriter to price and sell them to investors. Only the Depositor could deposit anything into a REMIC trust.

Bank of America (BofA) is the Servicer by merger with Countrywide Home Loans Servicing which was the original Servicer under the Trust PSA (Pooling and Servicing Agreement). Sometime later in some trusts the servicer was BAC Home Loan Servicing. BofA is responsible for collecting mortgage payments and foreclosing. However, they don't want to do that and have hired Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. to handle those fiduciary duties.

They are supposed to foreclose in their own name, but then they have to plead the source of their authority which is the PSA and that opens the PSA to challenge by the borrower. That is the last thing they want, so they foreclose in the name of the Trustee.

Foreclosures are done in the name of Wells Fargo, but are actually conducted by lawyers working for Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. Many times Wells Fargo does not know and is not even informed that the property is being foreclosed as that is the role of Bank of America which is supposed to pay the full amount of the promissory note to the trustee for distribution to the investors.

In reality, Wells Fargo is not supposed to foreclose at all. That would be a conflict of interest and a violation of its fiduciary duties to the investors and contrary to the PSA. Thus, foreclosing in the name of Wells Fargo makes the investors liable for the costs of the property until it is sold to a third party and that is NEVER supposed to happen.

The process of SPS foreclosing in the name of the trust often leaves the property in limbo. It is a zombie property or zombie foreclosure. We get calls and letters from city code enforcement agencies and neighbors complaining about the zombie properties on a regular basis.

Wells Fargo has told people to call us, but we have nothing to do with the foreclosure or the auction purchase. Actually we don't really know who in particular even buys the property back for the trust if it does not sell at auction. We have no idea what the contract is between BofA and SPS, so we have no idea who actually has authority to sell the property. We would love to see one.

We have no special insight into who you should contact in particular.

At this time we have no telephone numbers or other contact information for offices or individuals that have the authority to sell foreclosed property from the trust.

We assume that if you know the property was part of a Park Place trust, you know what court the foreclosure was conducted in. It is fairly easy to look up that foreclosure on the website of the Clerk of Court for the relevant county and see what attorney made an appearance in the case. It might even identify the law firm. We would suggest contacting that attorney.

Bank of America should have foreclosed and if the property did not sell at auction, it is supposed to then be in the name of Bank of America, and they would be responsible for selling it. Due to the fact that BofA doesn't want that expense -- though they are contractually obligated -- they contract this away to Select Portfolio Servicing who forecloses in the name of the trust and that improperly leaves the property in the name of the trust.

Park Place has no ownership interest in the foreclosed property and can do nothing to assist you. We suggest a Google search for a SPS office in your area or contact the attorney who conducted the foreclosure action.

SPS and the banks have a system of allowing specific local real estate agents the rights to sell bank owned property. Talking to real estate agents or a local association of relators will likely reveal this information. Hiring your own real estate agent is probably the best way to go, as that person will have that information and so you are represented in the transaction. The buyer should always have his own real estate agent. Always pay for a proper home inspection by an inspector of YOUR choice and make sure the inspector is not beholden to the seller or seller's agent in some way.

Under the PSA, the money from a sold foreclosed property is supposed to go to the trustee Wells Fargo for distribution to the investors. We seriously doubt that it does. Keep in mind that nobody involved with the Trust has ever spent a nickel on that property other than legal and other foreclosure costs. The investors money was used to purchase the note. No bank spent a dime buying it. They never spent any money at the auction if they bought the property because it did not sell for an adequate price. They simply used their foreclosure judgment to buy it.

If anyone reading this finds out appropriate information we would appreciate being advised.

Important: If you intend to purchase a property that has been sold back to the bank at a foreclosure sale, we strongly urge you to obtain TITLE INSURANCE.

Hire a reputable home inspector. Be certain the house has never been used as a meth lab or grow house. These properties have special problems that can bankrupt you.

If a condo, be sure to find out how much is owed in maintenance fees, taxes and other costs which then become your responsibility. Be sure to make certain there are no junior mortgages or liens on the property. Also be certain to find out about unpaid taxes, maintenance fees and any other hidden gotchas.

Most people think the only way to get a loan for a house is from a bank. That is not true. There is an entire industry called P2P Lending, or peer to peer lending. Individuals invest in a fund and make money from the interest payments on the loans that are made to businesses and consumers, which is a better deal than most other investments. These funds do not have the same credit standards as banks. It is also called real estate crowd funding.

If you go this route, be certain the lender meets the regulatory requirements for your state. A range of requirements for the originating, brokering and servicing of loans exists on the state level.