by David Chapman
Staff Writer
An attorney who represents the foreclosed got her chance to tell a group of Realtors some plain truth about the problem last month.
As a foreclosure expert and attorney with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, much of April Charney’s time is spent in courtrooms or in front of other attorneys discussing foreclosures and educating on how to become trained in assisting homeowners.
She’s traveled all across Florida and other areas of the country to talk of the severity and need for action against the crisis, but last month she found herself in a place far from any courtroom or classroom.
Instead, she was in front of close to 100 different Realtors and members of the real estate community at the Plantation Country Club as the keynote speaker for the Ponte Vedra Council’s quarterly meeting.
The Council wanted to hear from an expert on the other side of an important industry issue, said Council Chair Terrell Newbury of Coldwell Banker Devonshire.
“I think Realtors tend to perceive the world as half-full,” he said. “We felt like it’s an issue we felt we could learn about from April and gain a better understanding of what’s going on.”
The first part of Charney’s hour-long discussion focused on how the problem came to exist through inflated values, varying and often deceptive investment instruments and lack of consumer credit literacy among others.
Originating mortgage loans are bundled, then converted to securities and exchange hands so many times that it’s difficult to know who actually holds the note, she said, and has created a nameless, faceless entity trying to collect.
“It’s a Ponzi scheme,” said Charney. “The largest I’ve seen in my almost 52 years of life.”
There’s much more to be learned, she said, and challenged the group to educate themselves and speak to their elected officials to “stop the madness.”
“We need to be doing something about this,” said Charney.
She did lay some of the blame on some consumers who “had stars in their eyes” and bought more than they could knowingly afford, but added that consumer credit literacy at earlier ages could help future generations see through deceptive credit offerings and practices and to better live within their means.
The abundance of credit and availability to the masses from 2000-07 was a “drug and everyone was taking it” and the need for a new model of sustainability is needed, she said, including real estate.
She anticipated 6-10 million more foreclosures – including massive commercial property foreclosures – in the next two years as five-year interest rates on originating loans come to a head across the country. Still, she’s hopeful that advocates can “change these contracts” through education and working with financial parties to the benefit of everyone.
Not generally the type of message they receive at functions, Newberry said 75 percent of the attendees he talked to had positive comments and alluded to Charney’s message being something they needed to better understand.
“You have to expose yourself to both sides,” he said.