For immediate release, August 26,
2004
For more information contact:
Cynthia Taylor H: 226-9909 W: 235-1567
Danny Wagener 255-0800
Victims liable for $1.3
million in “worthless mortgages.”
Approximately 25 people attended a meeting
tonight to discuss the concerns and complaints of customers of Metropolitan
Mortgage and Lenders’ Management and work to resolve their
issues promptly so that more former customers of the Wolford Group
DO NOT lose their homes.
Wolford victim and Des Moines Citizens for
Community Improvement (CCI) Contract Sales Task Force member Cynthia
Taylor, who obtained a traditional mortgage brokered by Metropolitan
Mortgage to purchase her home from Wolford stated, “I paid
Metropolitan Mortgage and Lenders’ Management $7,000 in fees
and they still failed to properly close my loan, and they still
have not produced me with the title opinion that I paid $470 for.
I don’t want to have to tell my daughter that we are losing
our home because someone else made a mistake that they won’t
fix.” Ms. Taylor is still legally liable for a $140,000 mortgage,
even though it is a worthless mortgage-- worthless because Lenders’
Management failed to take steps to assure that the money was properly
applied.
Mr. Winterfeld verbally committed to attend the meeting, but failed
to show up for his meeting with CCI and those customers that have
been given what we see as worthless mortgages and are in serious
jeopardy of losing their homes.
CCI will be sending a letter to Mr. Winterfeld
asking him to establish a bond or a pot of money from which CCI
members can collect damages to pay off the first lien holder of
these properties. CCI also plans to put pressure on Mr. Winterfeld’s
business associates, so that they can assist victims in getting
him to do the right thing and save their homes.
The Task Force also asked Ron Isaac
with the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) to investigate Lenders’ Management. Mr. Isaac responded
that he will be seriously looking into the issue and will be in
contact with CCI, representatives of the Iowa Attorney General’s
Office, and the Iowa Division of Banking.
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