I appear to have sparked some controversy over my comments that were directed at modifications and servicer advances --- subjects that are not necessarily related. But they could be related -- as where the homeowner seeks a modification on which there have been servicer advances.

So to answer some questions about Modifications, I will first state that no article on any subject on this blog is intended to be a complete exposition of an issue --- if it was, each post would equivalent to a treatise several hundred pages long. That is why we say don't use any one article as the authority for your situation and to get advice from competent licensed professionals who can service your needs based upon your information.

That said, there have been numerous comments about modifications, some of which have correct information in them. Like anything else found here, you should check with knowledgeable licensed professionals before you act on anything --- especially the comments posted by people who have their own axe to grind. One thing is true --- modification has a lot of moving parts and it isn't as simple as anyone would like it to be. There are also tax issues that effect the calculations which I have not yet explored on these pages.

Modification is a sub-specialty of law in which I do not claim any rights. But that is the point. Most of the people who are giving opinions on modification are not lawyers, nor accountants, nor trained, licensed individuals in any area of any discipline. They have some experience, and that experience has molded their perceptions but they don't know enough to conceive of solutions outside the box in which they operate. And some of them are on the payroll of banks who are waging a PR campaign in which they are spending billions, in one form or another, to make it look like the loans are real and the modification of them is the right way to go.

Modification IS a real option as long as you get something real. Qualifying for a modification takes time, expertise and the ability to present a credible threat in litigation, which is why I favor lawyers over anyone else doing modifications. The cost-benefit analysis should be done by someone who does this all day long and who is constantly researching options.

I write about bits and pieces. Attorneys who have well defined departments that handle modifications, short-sales, hardest hit programs, and other programs that offer assistance are miles ahead of me and any of the comments I have seen on my writing about modification.

As to servicer advances there is a small debate going on but I stick with my analysis. If the creditor has indeed received payment on the account of the loan that is being collected or foreclosed then there is either no default or the notice of default, notice of acceleration and/or the lawsuit itself and the evidence submitted are wrong as to amount.

The fact that there COULD be a claim against the borrower for unjust enrichment is irrelevant. First, even if the claim exists, it is not secured by the mortgage nor described by the note. Second, it is not likely that those claims will ever be brought.

And lastly --- and I do mean lastly --- thank you for your various invitations for a debate. My answer is no, I will save that for court or a seminar in which we cover the four corners of the issues. I will not "debate" issues of law with non-lawyers, or anyone else that lacks credentials to challenge anything I have said. And if you have reading this blog for years you can see how I have evolved in my own thinking and analysis causing me to reverse some prior strategies that I had suggested.

But the basic information about securitization presented here is, to the best of my knowledge and belief (see about Neil Garfield), still completely correct and facts and decisions on the ground have proven me right in each case. At first everyone scoffs, then  they end up arguing for it. They scoff because some of these things are counter-intuitive --- i.e., they seem impossible. That doesn't make them any less true. I was right about everything, factually in 2007, legally in 2008 and I believe I remain so. It is taking the judicial system a long time to catch up because of the intense complexity and opacity of the "securitization" game.