Finance Litigation

What are my chances of winning a lawsuit against a predatory lender?

We got into a home loan where we were lied to about a lot of stuff. They never told us it was negative-amoritization loan, and the first set of documents say nothing about that, only the closing papers briefly state something about it. Also, they really over-stated our income, they gave us a split loan, which has a balloon payment and a 14.125% intrest rate on the second loan. They told us that this was the only way they could finance us. We were lied to about a lot of things, particularly the negative amoritization. In the loan explanation it says P&I payment $930 for our first loan. It says nothing about how that is actually less than the minimum intrest amount and that our loan will increase. We signed the papers before we were aware of the negative amoritization, because the notary told us that everything we needed to know was in the first documents given to us. Anyway, if I try to take this to court, what can be done for me, and do I have a good chance of winning the case?

Public Comments

1. it sounds like loan sharking. lenders take advantage of poor credit borrowers by offering them class c loans which actually have payments higher than necessary. however, if you have all the information in front of you, you are burdened with being aware of all the caveats before you sign. you can attempt to sue based on breaching truth in lending laws, especially since he falsified your income to get the loan through underwriting. speak with an attorney and have them look over the loan docs and see what he says with regard to your state laws.
2. you probably dont have a case, because scum like this have their butts covered. unless your documents clearly have loopholes in them, and they usually dont, they have you. when you sign anything make sure you read each document carefully, and if you dont completely understand it, take the contract elsewhere for a 3rd party interpretation. scum like that rely on people who dont read the fine print. I would still take it to a lawyer, and if nothing else, get the lender closed down, or get you help in finding someone to take over the loan in a way that is more appropriate for you. good luck
3. Honestly, these guys use forms that entire armies of lawyers have written, reviewed and approved. Your signature or initials are most likely on every one of them too. Try to see if an attorney at Legal Aid will review the documents for you to see if you have a case. My guess is that you don't. Did you have an attorney of your own represent you at closing? For $400 you could have known what all the small print was about and exactly what you were getting yourself into.
4. i do not think you were lied to. i think you were so set on getting the house that you just did not hear what they were saying.it happens to many people with border line credit.they will jump at anything to get what they want. you do not have anything that you can sue for. you signed the papers so it was your responsinilty to read and understand