The following is an excerpt from the May edition of Mortgage Technology magazine. To read the full story and much more,
The problems for Merscorp Inc. began with questions from the lawyers representing delinquent and defaulted mortgage borrowers fighting to avoid foreclosure: Who, or what, is MERS Inc., the company whose name kept popping up on deeds of trust in the public land records and in foreclosure lawsuit documents?
The legal questions surrounding the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems are numerous and the answers vary from state to state. While this fight has raged on, it’s been largely unclear how much, if anything, would actually change at Reston, Va.-based Merscorp.
Then in April, after federal regulators handed down consent orders to 12 mortgage industry participants, including MERSCorp, it became clear that change is indeed coming to MERS. What will the new MERS look like? Among the prevailing theories, two possible scenarios stand out:
MERS 2.0—a reboot of the company, complete with a review and overhaul of its policies and procedures.
A second alternative, and an arguably more radical option, is Life After MERS—a world where Merscorp no longer exists, forcing the mortgage industry and officials from municipal, state and federal governments to unwind MERS and move forward with an alternative.
To read the full story, download the latest free e-edition of
