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Help please. Forfeiture, I have more than enough money!

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somajr

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?Washington.

I have been served with a forfeiture notice in Washington State. I was admittedly two payments behind and had made several late payments in the past. However, in the notice from the contract holder, they ballooned the balance to cure over double! My attorney has went through the numbers and as far as he can see they have inflated the balance by about 10,000. My true # to cure is about 5,000....they want about 18,000 with atty fees. He has said that this is "material non compliance" We have filed a lawsuit and have moved to enjoin the forfeiture to the lawsuit. I have had two attorneys and an accountant verify all the numbers besides myself.

1. Has anyone ever heard of a seller on a contract get away with completely misrepresenting the finances and getting away with it (in court). Let me add that on the seller's schedules my payment history is accurate! However they have pulled a number out of a hat that is far and above an actual debt and are trying to get away with it. Their only explanation for the 10k difference will follow. I don't want to be blindsided on this.

2. The second question is....I made several late payments....I would then make lump sum payments. ie 4 x monthly payment. Other than late fees would catch me up to date. On a car loan if you make payments ahead without specifying what the payment is for....you then skip a payment you are still late because they apply the payment to the end of the loan (unless you specify). I have talked with a CPA and she stated that GAAP states that any payment made is applied to the oldest debt owing. There is no need to specify what a payment is for if you are two or three months behind and make a large payment to catch up. The seller is attempting (because of my lawsuit) to attempt to explain away their mistake by saying.....I missed month one and two but made a large payment on month three....I still owe for month one and two.

Let me add that I am not broke by no means. I have posted $10,000 to the court to cover what we think is the right amount. I am just not willing to take this crap from anyone and pay what I don't owe. Everyone has told me that the seller needs money. Has anyone in the world heard about such a misapplication of payments and could the seller pull this off in court?

Thanks
 
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pojo2

Senior Member
What is your attorney doing for you? Ask him/her these questions after all they have all the paperwork and contracts right at hand, no one here does.

Your payment habits are usually acted upon WAY before a 4 month period could go by.
 

somajr

Junior Member
My attorney has file a lawsuit against the lender for "material non compliance" They have completely mis represented how much I owe. Each time I attempt to get them closer to the real # they raise their attorney fees...effectively punishing me for trying to get them to tell the truth. The forfeiture statute in washington state allows for even a reasonable estimate of the debt. My attorneys feeling is that when the actual debt is about 5000, a statment that the debt is 13,500 to cure + attorneys fees. There is something really wrong......he called it extortion!

The lender made a statement on a document that "I hadn't made any payments during the entire year of 2004" I had in fact made $8,000 in payments during that year. By check never cash. She cashed them and has put it on her amortization that I have made those payments.

I think what happened here is that the seller thought that I was broke because of my payment history and padded the debt thinking I would just give up. I fell behind because of bigger problems and didn't really care about the late fees. This was kind of a small thing to me. However when I saw that she was lieing I fought back.

I came here because my attorney told me to find an example of another sitation like mine. Where the lender obviously exaggerated the debt. He said that he needs this to show the court how the situation was similar and what the outcome was. He has stated to me that he was unable to find it in washington case law. It is my thought that most lenders are probably not this reckless with debts. I would think that a lender wouldn't let things get this far. I mean if they made a legitimate miscalculation. Once you show them that you have evidence that they are wrong I would thing that they would adjust. The federal fair debt collection act clearly states that you can't ballon up a debt to collect. You may add fees but they are increasing the underlying debt against their own amortization, then adding fees. Most lenders have a computer or at least a calculator.
 
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somajr

Junior Member
Pojo,

This is a private seller holding a recorded contract. Not really a professional lender. That is why I think that she can just throw numbers out and say that is what I owe. Everyone tells me that she took this property from her husband and divided it now she is after me. Maybe she got away with misrepresenting things in that situation and won. I am just hoping that the court doesn't feel sorry for her or think that she just made a simple mistake and anyone could do that.
 

pojo2

Senior Member
IF your attorney said this

>>I came here because my attorney told me to find an example of another sitation like mine. Where the lender obviously exaggerated the debt. He said that he needs this to show the court how the situation was similar and what the outcome was. He has stated to me that he was unable to find it in washington case law.<<

get a new one!!! That's what you are paying him or her for.

Oh please just because it is a private individual does not mean they may not charge the appropriate fees to collect. Her ex or current or whatever husband has nothing to do with your question or anything else.

Stop painting yourself as someone who had a perfect payment history and face facts.

The longer the things takes to resolve the more his/her attorney fees will be and there is noting to say she can not charge interest on the loan until that issue is resolved.
 

pty

Member
pojo2 said:
IF your attorney said this

>>I came here because my attorney told me to find an example of another sitation like mine. Where the lender obviously exaggerated the debt. He said that he needs this to show the court how the situation was similar and what the outcome was. He has stated to me that he was unable to find it in washington case law.<<

get a new one!!!
That's exactly what I was thinking.
 

somajr

Junior Member
Pojo,

I am not here painting myself as a person that has a perfect payment history. I said that I made late payments.

What has happened is that the lender took an amount to her attorney that was inflated. The attorney has been fighting me based on this inflated amount. The total debt is very easy to calculate. My 11 yo son was able to do it in his head.

There are late fees which are (times late x 29.86) easy to calc
Payments made vs. payments owed. (25 owed vs 23 made)
Then add atty fees to be paid..easy right?
Oh please add 10,000. for kicks!


Please don't miss my point. I am not trying to conflict with you. The lender has told her attorney or something......that I owe 10,000 more than the documentation shows. She also said on a sworn statement that I hadn't made a payment for 12 months. This is contrary to her own payment schedules. Which show that during this period I made a total of about 8,000 in payments.

Am I missing something or not explaining this correct? I am just asking...has anyone here ever seen a situation that a lender has inflated a debt and got away with it....even in the face of their own documentation. I am not talking about attorney fees.....I have left that out (atty fees) because that is up and above the debt and will have to be paid.

I trust my attorney. I have access to him any time I wish. However good they are......they don't have a crystal ball. They don't know how a crediter might conscrew the facts to make it go their way. That is why I came here.....to talk with people that may have seen something like this b4. That is all. My attorney has said that he has never seen an attorney get involved with going along with such looseness....especially when it can be proven so easily what the numbers are. He said that he has fired clients that he has have lied so blatently to keep his reputation.
 

pojo2

Senior Member
>> trust my attorney. I have access to him any time I wish. However good they are......they don't have a crystal ball. They don't know how a crediter might conscrew the facts to make it go their way. That is why I came here.....to talk with people that may have seen something like this b4. That is all. My attorney has said that he has never seen an attorney get involved with going along with such looseness....especially when it can be proven so easily what the numbers are. He said that he has fired clients that he has have lied so blatently to keep his reputation.


Honestly everytime you post I can onlly say get a new Atty this one is not worth the pwper his/her letterhead is on.

Let a Judge decide whose figures are correct. You have been deliquent so many time you have no idea what fees may have been added over the years. Get out your contract and read what fees are allowed.

Then GET A BEW ATTORNEY this one is W O R T H L E S S! How much more can we say we do not have your contracts before us and have not idea, and neither do you, what you signed.
 

somajr

Junior Member
I don't mean to get into it with you. Maybe I have made you think that my attorney is the problem. If I somehow ran things together.....that wasn't my intent. This is a simple land contract. Each side has agreed to what the fees are. Each side has agreed at this point to what the debt is. What has transpired is the each time my original attorney tried to communicate and let the seller know that her figures were....they would admit that they were were wrong...but then raise the atty fees. The reason that I switched attys b4 was simply that the atty that filed the lawsuit for me is next to the courthouse.

Like I tried to say b4....the sellers schedules reflect the correct payments. There is a standard amount for late fees....it is in the contract....in plain english....let me put it a different way....14 months into the contract....the seller said that I was 10,000 behind after. The only way to get 10k behind on a 600.00 per month payment is to.....not make any! I do know what the fees are.


Maybe you have no intention of answering my question. It is simply Has anyone here heard of a seller balloning up a debt and getting away with it? If you have something to add that is not simply get a new atty (my atty is just fine)...lets talk
 

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