MERS changes its rules.

MERS, the electronic mortgage registry that was supposed to simplify the foreclosure process for lenders, is facing multiple investigations for their role in tens of thousands of problematic foreclosures, Reuters reports.  The attorneys general of Delaware and Massachusetts have launched investigations.  County recorders and clerks in several different states have raised concerns that MERS does not record the proper paperwork as required by state laws.  MERS services 32 million, or 60%, of the country's mortgages.

In response to the increased scrutiny, MERS has changed its rules.  Its members are no longer allowed to file suit in MERS's name.  They must also now obtain and record mortgage assignments before filing suit.  The current robo-signing controversy involves the mass production of mortgage assignments, oftentimes long after the suit is filed, by MERS's members.  That will change, but only slightly.  MERS is still going to prepare the assignments, but they now just require the assignment as a prerequisite to filing suit.  So the robo-signing will now just take place at a different stage in the game.  

Plus, the legitimacy of the assignment will still be at issue.  They just won't be in the court file. You'll have to go to the recorder's website to get a copy.  But the homeowner can then challenge the assignment as part of the case.  I don't have any specific pointers for attacking the assignments off the top of my head, but I can tell you that the first thing you should look for is the name Linda Green anywhere on the document.  Anyone who doesn't know that name should click HERE, or google it.