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Housing fraud alleged
...the developers and 10 other businesses used predatory lending, fraud and unfair business practices against Spanish-speaking homebuyers over the past two years...mortgage broker firms Universal Mortgage, IRA Mortgage and Creative Mortgage placed the plaintiffs in subprime loans instead of placing them in the best loans possible, then took undisclosed and excessive commissions from them...the plaintiffs are suing Countrywide Financial, New Century, Cameron Financial Group and Wells Fargo banks, saying they approved illegal and unfair business practices committed against the plaintiffs.
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Housing fraud alleged
Developer, businesses target of lawsuit claiming unfair practices
By VICTOR CALDERON
The Salinas Californian
A federal lawsuit filed Thursday against an east Salinas housing development alleges that the developers and 10 other businesses used predatory lending, fraud and unfair business practices against Spanish-speaking homebuyers over the past two years.
As first reported Friday afternoon on TheCalifornian.com, the complaint alleges that the developers of Tuscany at Monte Bella, a housing development in east Salinas opposite Alisal High School, engaged in a scheme to unfairly target Spanish-speaking homebuyers. The suit says Valley Community Homes and Norm Yop Realtors used a massive advertising campaign and deceptive sales practices to dump unsold home inventory. |
The development has more than 850 homes on about 200 acres.
"Many of the critical terms that were orally promised in Spanish were different from the English documents given to our clients for execution," said Sergio Parra, a Salinas attorney helping prosecute the case. "Unlike the common perception of today's mortgage victim, (the) plaintiffs are actually credit-worthy buyers who paid huge-down payments for their homes and qualified for much better loans than actually given.
Officials at Monte Bella could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon, and the families have declined to comment, Parra said.
The lawsuit names Beatrice Gonzalez and Jose Urtiz, Jorge Aguirre, Eleazar and Rocio Becerra and J. Guadalupe and Teresa Contreras as the plaintiffs, who Parra said are all in danger of falling into foreclosure on their homes.
Each of the plaintiffs claim they purchased their homes at Monte Bella for more than $700,000 each, constituting a portion of the dam-ages they seek.
The plaintiffs were allegedly told that because the demand was great, they'd be required to make multiple 1 percent payments to buy homes in Monte Bella.
Subsequently, the plaintiffs said they felt pressured and hurried to sign contracts that were written in English and supposedly translated to them in Spanish.
Requests for a promised 105-percent guarantee that the homes would not lose value on the market have been rejected for all four parties, according to the lawsuit.
In addition to compensatory damages, the lawsuit also seeks punitive damages, rescission of all contracts, attorneys' fees and injunctive relief to enjoin defendants from further violating the law. The plaintiffs haven't decided the specific amount of damages they will seek, Parra said.
The complaint says Salinas-area mortgage broker firms Universal Mortgage, IRA Mortgage and Creative Mortgage placed the plaintiffs in subprime loans instead of placing them in the best loans possible, then took undisclosed and excessive commissions from them.
Along with these brokers, the plaintiffs are suing Countrywide Financial, New Century, Cameron Financial Group and Wells Fargo banks, saying they approved illegal and unfair business practices committed against the plaintiffs.
Contact Victor Calderón at
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http://www.californianonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071110/NEWS01/711100339/1002 |
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