HR 3808 defeated

Thankfully, HR 3808 was defeated, and for this reason I removed the label of Financial Ground Zero from the last post.

In a surprise move to me, the Democrats are the ones that opposed the bill, nearly all Republicans voted to over-ride. Very interesting, and possibly a warning of what is yet to come once republicans take office.

HR 3808, represents it is improving process by allowing electronic records legal and interstate paperwork binding. The problem I have with it is, it's retroactive to past mortgages. Currently when a mortgage is signed, the physical legal papers signed are the proof of ownership, and historically must be maintained. In the event the paperwork is lost, burned, or eaten by the banks pet dog, there are legal processes that can be triggered to re-establish ownership.

The reason I opposed the bill is the retro-active nature of the bill. If the law changes stating NEW mortgages are recorded electronically or out of state documents are deemed legal, I am not vehemently opposed.

New mortgages originated under new guidelines, will give the opportunity for the lawyers involved to ensure all items are in order. When I purchased my house, I paid a lawyer to represent my interests and ensure the legal paperwork was in order. I am OK with creating an electronic process to record my house purchase, and it could involve interstate documentation. I do work in the computer industry, and change is required to be acceptable (if not preferred).

What I opposed was to change the agreement I made when I purchased my house, retroactively, to state the paperwork and process I paid my lawyer to review, was no longer required to prove home ownership.

The purpose of the bill wasn't to just merely change process to a computerized recording system, it was to cover up the problems with the book keeping an legal process the banks used.

In short, the combination of being retro-active, to NOT recording the votes for or against the bill, and the adopting out-of-state papers that are not easily verifiable - retroactively applied, just smelled to me to be abuse of law and power.

Thank you for those who took action and called your representatives. Each call lets your representative know you are paying attention.