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Santa Clarita Realtor Richard Szerman - Alta Realty Group
Santa Clarita Realtor Richard Szerman of Alta Realty Group.

Santa Clarita Realtor Fights Rise In ‘Zombie’ Second Mortgages Forcing Families Into Bankruptcy

As an increasing number of second mortgages that homeowners thought were erased come back to haunt them, a Santa Clarita realtor is fighting debt collectors he says are unfairly forcing families into bankruptcy or foreclosure.


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Many homeowners reportedly received letters during the recession telling them their second mortgages were “charged off,” and are now being forced to pay what they owed — with interest — or risk losing their house.

“If you got one of those letters and you thought, ‘Oh great, I don’t have to pay my second anymore,’ … unfortunately that’s a misconception,” said Rich Szerman of Alta Realty Group, who offers free foreclosure defense services to the public. “In the world of mortgages, what it means is, they’ve just sort of paused it.”

Related: Foreclosure Battle Continues For Saugus Family, Ends With Heartbreak For Dana Point Couple

The “dirty little game” the banks are playing, according to Szerman, legally allows them to take a tax writeoff on the second, which they then sell to another company that typically holds onto it until they see an opportunity to collect.

“They’ll sell it off to somebody else and so on and so forth, until it gets to the point where they think, ‘Well you know what — I think your house has equity now, so you remember that second that you thought you got rid of five, 10, 12 years ago? Guess what? You still owe us,’” Szerman said.

Not only are these second mortgages seemingly rising from the dead to haunt homeowners, but the interest they haven’t paid over the years is typically compounded and added to their total debt.

For instance, Szerman is currently working with a homeowner who owed $60,000 on a second mortgage that was charged off 11 years ago, and was recently informed they now owe $210,000.

To make matters worse, the debt collector is demanding $78,000 upfront and payments of $1,400 a month for the next 20 years.

Like most homeowners in this disturbing situation, Szerman’s clients were essentially left with two choices: lose their house, or file for bankruptcy.

“It is ridiculous to put people in that position, but that’s what these banks do, and we’re seeing more and more and more of them,” Szerman said, noting nine similar cases have cropped up in the last week alone.

While Szerman noted reasoning with the banks has become much more difficult in 2017, he is determined to fight for his clients and find an alternative solution whenever possible.

“You call me and we’ll work it out,” Szerman said of homeowners who find themselves with a “zombie” second. “We help you totally for free — there’s no charge to this. We’ll be happy to help out. This is what we do.”

To contact Richard Szerman of Alta Realty Group for free foreclosure defense services, call 661-253-3000, email richszerman@gmail.com or click here.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

KHTS AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio

Santa Clarita Realtor Fights Rise In ‘Zombie’ Second Mortgages Forcing Families Into Bankruptcy

3 comments

  1. Expect more of this (un)kind sort of thing with so many of those ‘pesky regulations’ put in place to protect us being done away with by this current (mis)administration as part of his “Make America Great Again” snake oil pitch. Look at who this benefits and who is left in ruins; even his supporters. Happy now?

  2. There is no such thing as free money. If you take money from a lender, you will have to pay it back eventually.

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About Melissa Lampert-Abramovitch

Melissa Lampert-Abramovitch has been writing for KHTS since Feb. 2014. She currently writes “Community Spotlight” and feature stories, and coordinates all aspects of both the”KHTS Adopt a Pet” video feature series and “Top Things to Do in Santa Clarita.” She is the creator of “KHTS Adopt a Pet” and acted as News Editor from 2019-2020, as well as Features Director and Newsroom Manager from 2016-2018. A former Valley Publications Staff Writer, Melissa was a contributor to the Santa Clarita Gazette and Canyon Country Magazine from 2015-2016. She has published feature stories with Pet Me Magazine, The Pet Press, The Signal, COC's Cougar News, and KJAMS Radio.