MERS & AgencyMortgage Electronic Registration Systems,
Inc.’s Agency Status
Tim A. Bryant Revised May 2013
MERS Mortgage - as a “separate corporation” acting asnominee for lender, wielding powers to contract, power ofsale & foreclosure, legal ownership of the collateral, etc. Mortgagee under “this security instrument”?....
...Well, maybe only until page 5....
We wouldn’t want to be committing insurance fraud now,would we?
MERS does not act solely as nominee for theLender, nor ever intends, to when originating themortgage.
...and the Borrower may even be paying formortgage transfers away from the mortgage’s“Lender”, the secured party....
...to an entity that may not even be a MERSmember.
Mortgage - as nominee, holds “legal title” to the collateralpledged as security. (I love the “borrower understandsand agrees” part. Judges still have no understanding ofwhat MERS means.)
What is Legal Title?
“Ownership of property that is cognizable or enforceable in a court oflaw, or one that is complete and perfect in terms of the apparent right ofownership and possession, but that, unlike equitable title, carries nobeneficial interest in the property.”
West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008
MERS System Terms & Conditions
MERS Electronic Tracking Agreements
Membership Terms - Nominee “in an administrative capacityonly”, for the beneficial owners “from time to time”. MERS only
rights are in the “Governing Documents”, not the mortgage.
So how does MERS inoculate against the recording ofassignments, when it acts “solely as nominee for Lender”? Once again, it never acts in that capacity.....
When a Warehouse Lender is involved, MERS acts asnominee for the Warehouse Lender, not the Lender stated inthe mortgage, who has previously pledged all their, right,title, and interest away, and is owed nothing.
While concealing the identity of the warehouse lender asthe true beneficiary from the public records, MERS thenenables the warehouse lender’s employees to “wield all ofthe powers” of MERS, as agents of MERS in the underlyingloans.
....and sometimes even the state regulators can be MERSmembers.
MERS has no legal capacity to enter into a mortgage with aborrower. They cannot be a “mortgagee of record” withoutencumbering it, or creating a security interest. They alsocannot transfer or assign the mortgages or the notes.
MERS is never given authority to contract withhomeowners. There is no blanket agency for MERS to actfor lenders. They can never act for the lender’s successorsand assigns, just the parties to the Electronic TrackingAgreements.
The Electronic Tracking Agreements are the contractsreflecting MERS authority. The MERS System MembershipRules are just what they say..Rules for the operation ofthe MERS electronic registry, owned by MERSCORPHoldings, Inc. It does not evidence any contractualauthority given by the Lender.
Membership Rules - Nominee for member Servicer, anagent of the Lender, despite MERS not being a nomineeof the non-member Lender.
Membership Rules - nominee (as limited agent). MERSCORP Holdings grants itself nominee status as well. Can now act absent the instructions of the beneficialowner.
Membership Rules - as principal, for the member’semployees, designated as agents of MERS, uponrequest from the member, as principal, to MERS, asnominee. (You can shake your head now !)
...and indemnifies itself against it’s own actions.
Grants itself powers it disclaims in it’s Terms & Conditions,through a “corporate resolution”.....
Evidence of “certifying officer” authority, per April 9, 1998meeting of the Board of Directors...
...to which Hultman doesn’t even know if the Boardgranted such authority....
Deposition of William Hultman in Ukpe v Bank of New York et al, NJ,April 7, 2010
Except that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.became MERSCORP, Inc in 1999....
...and an entirely new Mortgage Electronic RegistrationSystems, Inc. was incorporated.
...to which William Hultman was fully aware, because heincorporated the current Mortgage Electronic RegistrationSystems, Inc... in 1999.
The Corporate Resolution is an impossibility and a nullity, asthe current corporation did not exist at the time the Boardof Directors allegedly passed the resolution.
...and admitted, under oath, that the “MERS” in thecorporate resolutions, no longer exists....
Deposition of William Hultman in Ukpe v Bank of New York et al, NJ,April 7, 2010
Membership Rules - nominee’s employee as agentfor the member, upon request of the nominee, asprincipal, to the member, as agent, solely for the
purpose of designating the nominee, as mortgageeof record, in the nominee’s mortgage contracts with
borrowers. (On behalf of the member? OK toscratch your head again.)
Membership Rules - principal, as nominee for thenominee, in legal actions initiated by the principal,in the name of the nominee, to which it acts solelyas nominee for the principal, to which it shall notifyMERSCORP Holdings, who is neither a nominee orprincipal named in the mortgage. (Whew !!!)
Membership Rules - as principal to members, controllingthe agency relationship.
What was the sole purpose of MERS contracting with theborrower in a mortgage?....
....Power of sale, to secure the Lender’s interests. Now, let’sbacktrack again to their authority...
As of July 22, 2011, MERS expressly disclaimed the solepurpose, and consideration, of the mortgages. Everymortgage that remained in the name of MERS asmortgagee became functus officio, of no more effect.
While on the subject of MERS legal authority. They claim it’srights under the mortgage transaction is derived from it’sagreements. Let’s look at the terms under the membershipagreement and electronic tracking agreements...
MERS mortgage governing law for all rights and obligationscontained in the security instrument.
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