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El Paso Homeowner Fights Bank of America

POSTED: Thursday, December 8, 2011 - 5:41pm

UPDATED: Monday, January 14, 2013 - 4:44pm

EL PASO – One El Paso homeowner refuses to go down without a fight. Back in May, we told you about a woman who is going up against Bank of America. She said the bank told her she'd qualify for a home loan modification; but almost two years into the process, the bank denied her request. Now, she's fighting to keep the roof over her head.

Laura Marquez said the past few years have been an emotional roller coaster.

"Since 2008 when I got laid off, that's when it started and that's when I said, 'Oh my god! What am I going to do?'”

Right after she lost her job, she called her mortgage lender - Bank of America, to see how she could keep her home. She applied for a loan modification, and while that process was underway, the bank put her on a trial payment plan. But Marquez said after that, she didn't hear back from the bank for over a year.

“They sent me a letter in May of 2010, saying that I was denied...I called right away and said, 'What? You denied me? What's the reason?'"

According to Marquez's attorney, she got a peculiar explanation for being denied.

"A representative with Bank of America told her off-the-cuff...one of the investors told them to deny her loan modification. We found that outrageous," said Attorney Richard Roman.

With her time and options running out, Marquez is taking Bank of America to court.

“I want to keep my home, I really do; that's number one. But now I want justice."

Richard Roman said his client's biggest problem is with Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems-- or MERS. The company acts as the mortgagee and lender on home deeds in county land records. MERS tracks mortgage ownership for millions of homes across the country. Roman said that creates a problem in foreclosure cases.

"There's a lot of people out there that have made a lot of money on all of these mortgages that were bundled and they have since washed their hands of any responsibility of those mortgages,” said Roman.

Roman said with so many mortgages in El Paso County going to MERS, county leaders are silent, instead of addressing a huge problem.

"There has been in our community, it seems to be, zero outrage despite the ravaging effects of this foreclosure tsunami,” stated Roman.

Meantime, Marquez said she hopes other homeowners in her situation will also choose to fight back against the banks.

"We can gripe and...they're the big people, we're small. We have no money to fight...and they're just letting them have the houses."

Marquez will appear in court against Bank of America later this month.

Here's a previous version of this story: http://www.ktsm.com/news/troubleshooters/troubleshooters-el-paso-woman-f...