Their are various reasons for reassignment. But the issue is the need for random draw upon such. And the main reason reassignments are handpicked is corruption. We believe that due process protections are infringed upon when judges are arbitrarily assigned and reassigned to cases.----Kathy Wray Coleman--In Cleveland Municipal Court judges are sometimes assigned personally, and that too is typically due to case fixing, research reveals. A state law precluding it is necessary.

The deflated appraisals are illegal and designed to assist mortage companies and corrupt politicians in getsting houses at a cheaper price and one that is illegal..  And if the house typically sales in the community for $200,000 and then they foreclose and  appraise it at $60,000, the homeowner is hurt. Nothing about the process is legal and independent homeowners should be able to submit certified appraisals to deal with the corrupt appraaisals  left  behind by the guilty plea of former Cuyahoga Sheriff Gerald McFaul, a disgrace---Kathy Wray Coleman--The lawfirm of Bricker and Eckler is representing some of the mortagage companies and the foreclose and then buy the houses back at a deflated price per illegall appraisals and then hand the bill to the former homeowner.  And Bricker and Eckler is under under contract by the county to to assess potential malfesance by county employees when some of their attorneys are corrupt to the bone.--I spoke with a person in the office of Sheriff Bob Reid and he agredd that some of the activity is illllegal, And County Prosecutor Bill Masons office told a concerened person to file a criminal complaint as to  alleged fradulent appraisals. --County corruption, is widespread even if house values were unflated by the county recorder.

Let's think about home values. 

I write this because you have heart..........and you have brains.  It's human to have heart, and dishonest to not use our brains in pursuit of our hearts' sense.  Use both.

An old lady landlord of mine was trying to sell a small apartment building.  She was in a hurry to sell--"I'm so old, that when I go to the store, I don't buy no green bananas.", she said.  I thought she should hold out for better offers because I thought the building was worth more.  She answered "Something's worth what someone will give you for it.".  She was quite a woman.

Now the love of my life and I go house shopping.  A home is priced and we make an offer.  Our thinking is that we can resell and recover our investment down the line when we're ready.  With luck, we might even make some money.  As in most business, it comes down to "Buy low.  Sell higher."  Maybe part of the "sell higher" is that we're going to put added value through some sweat equity into the place--do some remodeling and fixing.  Still, if we pay too much for those things, it's going to be hard to recoup it later.  Again--don't overpay. 

Here's where appraisals matter a lot.  Realtors look for the prices that similarly situated homes have been getting and try to price a home accordingly.  Buyers and sellers do the same.  You find the perfect place.  You have your down payment--I hope.  You go to a bank and apply for the loan.  If approved, the bank cuts a check to the sellers and they're on their way.  They hand you the keys and leave with memories. 

Now, you and the bank are partners of a sort.  Without them, you're still paying rent or living with Aunt Mimi and those six cats--including the one with no tail, one eye, and three legs called "Lucky".  As to this little arrangement with your friendly banker, the bank has to roll the dice.  You see, say they've cut that $60,000 check to the sellers of that great place on the West Side.  Their chief protection is the purchase money security interest--the mortgage-that the buyer gave to them.  To make it less risky for them they require deposits on homes so that they aren't financing 100% of the purchase.  In my youth, 10% was standard.  The first time I purchased the bank made me cough up a money hairball to the tune of 20%!!  Ack! Ack!  I can still feel the bolus.  Do you know how hard it is to get me to fork over hard-earned beer money?

The standards on down payments have gotten real low, I hear.  But, apparently, it enables people to become owners more easily.  It took quite awhile to save up that deposit, I remember.  What I also remember is that it committed me to taking care of my property because I had sank some large cash up front into the place.  It also meant that I had to be convinced that I was getting a fair price on the house.  This reassured the bank, too.  They only forked over 80% over the purchase price.  Still, they wanted an appraisal to be fairly accurate, so that, if need be, a resale of the home upon foreclosure would bring in enough to cover their ass--ets. 

So, the upshot was--both me and my friendly West Side banker had a shared interest in not paying too much for the house.  We both wanted an accurate appraisal.

Is an appraisal a guarantee?  Of course not.  Yes, real estate generally trends up.  And location is so important.  But there are exceptions to general rules--those exceptions usually "prove" the rule, general though it may be.  Across the nation, a few basic underlying factors contributed to an unprecedented buying binge.  Of course, sharpies saw their opportunities.  Nothing new there, or necessarily, illegal.  And, please note--not all "sharp" practices SHOULD be illegal. 

The binge went on as long as we could keep pumping air into those prices.  Public tax coffers got nice and fat.  Public budgets got fat, too.  How long could it go on?  Well, how long can speculative bubbles last?  Ponzi schemes eventually run out of new marks....er......buyers, I mean.

So, now we all question low appraisals.  There is a solution---if you think your appraisal is a lowball---find a buyer yourself.  An appraisal takes a crack at assessing the near-term market.  It's imperfect.

This brings me back to that landlady.  How I hated when she was right.    She did not like to be taken advantage of.  Who does?  But, she really was a businesswoman, and, lady.  She took her lumps on occasion.  It's the rare business person who doesn't, if she or he is honest. 

With honest reflection, we can learn.  Mistakes happen.  Move on.  Losing a home is likely a hard experience for many.  Especially if it happened because a stream of income that was the basis of paying monthly mortgage payments was interrupted through no fault of a borrower, as in the case of long-term health emergencies. 

Let's all think and look at our own roles in these issues before we point fingers and make vague, sweeping statements about officials or professions.  That's a disservice to them and you.  We can do better.

God Bless You and Yours