At the Michigan Democratic Party’s Nominating Convention this past weekend, Democrats passed an important resolution condemning the unethical and damaging foreclosure practices of Republican Congressional candidate David Trott and demanding a repeal of a law that allows vulture foreclosure firms like Trott & Trott, P.C. to immediately foreclose on homeowners.
The resolution outlines a loophole that was passed by the GOP-led legislature and signed into law in 2013 that reduced the “redemption period” after a foreclosed home’s title is sold at auction from 180 days to 60 days, a move that benefited firms like Trott’s. The legislation also included a loophole “allowing his companies, as agents of the foreclosure sale purchaser, to inspect premises inside and out without notice, and to ‘immediately commence summary proceedings’ for eviction based on a broad range of supposed rationales, or simply because foreclosees refused to allow inspectors to invade their homes and violate their privacy.”
Trott lobbied hard for this loophole for the obvious reason: he and his firm stood to make an enormous amount of money by using it. And use it they did, foreclosing on an enormous number of homes during the Great Recession. That economic collapse was largely due to the implosion of subprime mortgage market, mortgages that Trott himself once described as “perfectly appropriate product[s]” that “a lot of borrowers are real successful in”. In other words, he was promoting financial instruments that ultimately led to a massive financial boon for him and his colleagues.
Trott is trying to distance himself from the firm that bears his name, cashing out for an unspecified amount of cash. However, Democrats know that this despicable man has caused untold grief and has impoverished countless people in our state while raking in millions of dollars in the process.
Voters in Michigan’s 11th District have a clear and distinct choice to make in November when they choose their member of Congress: David Trott who has profited handsomely from the misfortune of others or Democrat Bobby McKenzie who will stand up for the residents of our state and their District.
Bobby McKenzie, photo by Anne Savage
If you want to make sure that vulture profiteer David Trott doesn’t get to have a role in tipping the balance of power in our country toward wealthy individuals and corporations, please make sure you’re supporting Bobby McKenzie. You can learn more about his candidacy at his website and make a donation HERE. Trott is a multi-millionaire who has dumped over $2 million into his campaign to buy the 11th District Congressional seat and has received contributions from other wealthy predators like Donald Trump and Mitt Romney so McKenzie needs our help.
Here is the MDP resolution, in full:
Resolution to Condemn Unethical Foreclosure Practices and Demand Repeal of “Foreclosure and Eviction King” Dave Trott’s “Immediate Eviction” Loophole
WHEREAS, foreclosures deprive Michigan families their largest and most important asset, produce neighborhood blight and reduce property values in our neighborhoods; andWHEREAS, excessive foreclosures and evictions undermine banks and other financial institutions, cast doubt on the assets underpinning our financial system, and were one of the prime causes of the Great Recession at the end of the last decade; and
WHEREAS, in March 2009 President Obama created the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), a program designed to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure by enabling mortgage lenders to negotiate with borrowers on the principal and interest rate of their mortgage – but it remains a VOLUNTARY program for bank and lenders, comparatively few homeowners have been able to take advantage of the program; and
WHEREAS, in 2013 foreclosure and eviction attorney Dave Trott, a heavy donor to the Michigan Republican Party including many members of the Michigan House and Senate, lobbied hard for legislation to reduce the “redemption period” after a foreclosed home’s title is sold at auction from six months (180 days) to two months (60 days) – bills that would greatly benefit his privately-owned companies dedicated to advertising, processing and implementing foreclosures, and evicting Michigan families; and
WHEREAS, in July 2013 Governor Snyder signed a series of bills that, while retaining the 180-day redemption period in most cases, added a loophole that again directly benefited “foreclosure king” Dave Trott – allowing his companies, as agents of the foreclosure sale purchaser, to inspect premises inside and out without notice, and to “immediately commence summary proceedings” for eviction based on a broad range of supposed rationales, or simply because foreclosees refused to allow inspectors to invade their homes and violate their privacy; and
WHEREAS, Governor Snyder, acknowledging the concerns raised by Democrats and many other groups about these broad new inspection rights, and how they can supersede negotiations to redeem the home through short sale or negotiated settlement under programs like HARP, sent a letter to the Legislature urging follow-up legislation to specify the terms to better protect forecloses – but the Republican-dominated Legislature ignored this request from a Republican Governor and has not acted:
WHEREAS,, many media reports have documented the practice of “robosigners” of critical documents, and detailed mortgage industry practices that violate the rights of homeowners; and
WHEREAS, major mortgage lenders (Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and others) have settled cases of massive mortgage fraud with the U.S. Department of Justice for nearly $100 billion in total, demonstrating that many of the foreclosures and evictions processed in Michigan by trial lawyer Dave Trott’s firms were based on misleading documentation or outright fraudulent activities, and that many of these documents came from Trott-owned companies acting on behalf of lenders:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party strongly opposes the use of “robo” foreclosures and other unethical tools used by mortgage lenders and their agents (such as Trott & Trott, P.C. and other firms wholly-owned by trial lawyer Dave Trott and his family) to process thousands of foreclosures on Michigan homeowners; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party strongly encourages mortgage lenders and homeowners to work together, using the HARP program or other similar tools, to modify troubled mortgages before initiating foreclosure actions – reaching agreements to cut the loan principal when the property value has fallen below the mortgage amount, or to reduce the subprime interest rate to a more reasonable level; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party demands that the Michigan Legislature immediately take action to amend Public Act 104 of 2013 to repeal Dave Trott’s new rules for “no notice” home inspections and ill-defined standards to initiate immediate evictions, or to at least define and clarify home inspection rules during the foreclosure redemption period, in accordance with the letter sent by Governor Snyder and to reflect concerns raised by affordable housing advocates and other community leaders; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Michigan Democratic Party strongly endorses enforcement of existing Michigan law that requires a court proceeding before a foreclosure, and condemns the practice of using “trash-out squads” to remove any portion of a home or property prior to said court proceeding as a vile practice in violation of the law.
