You Stop Your Foreclosure By Acting Like Michael Corleone Not Joan Crawford

If you want to stop your foreclosure you need to let go of all emotion. It’s harsh but it is exactly what I tell my potential clients.

I tell them I don’t care if it’s where you raised their kids or if Fluffy the Cat is buried in a shoe box in the backyard. I tell them I don’t care because the bank doesn’t care and the judge doesn’t care. Everyone involved in the foreclosure looks at the foreclosure as nothing more than a business negotiation or a contract dispute. It’s about money and nothing more. So quit acting histrionic and emotional.

“If you ask me, fear, anger — two sides of the same coin. You gotta let go of both.” – Captain Kara Thrace, Battlestar Galactica

When I tell my clients to quit getting emotional. The wife starts getting all Joan Crawford on me with her tears flowing like Niagara Falls. Then the husband begins calling me a heartless asshole. 

I explain to them that their histrionics are exactly what the bank wants to see. If they don’t want to lose their home then they need to quit acting like a battered woman in a Lifetime Channel movie.

I usually tell them I’m leaving the conference room. They have 15 minutes to pull themselves together and purge the emotions out of their system. When I come back if they are still in the room then I know they are serious about saving their home.

I explain to them that the only difference between an average homeowner and someone like Donald Trump is the dollar amount of the debt.

It’s A Business Negotiation. Not A Marriage Break-Up

Banks and corporations renegotiate debt obligations all the time. Creditors pound their chests and threaten billionaires just like they do with average homeowners. Bankers try to bully everyone and they’ve been doing it since the days of Medici Family. Lenders will manipulate, lie, cheat and steal when it comes to their own self-interests just like everyone else.

I also explain to my clients that guys like Donald Trump come out on top because they don’t get emotional. They don’t cry, they don’t make sarcastic comments at mediation hearings and very rarely do they cry about their troubles in public. They approach it like a poker player or a military strategist.

I tell homeowners to channel their inner Obi-Wan Kenobi. If you remember Kenobi told Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi, “Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor.” 

Emotional outbursts and histrionic rants on the internet give the banks and their lawyers the insight about the mind games they can play on you to manipulate you. 90% of all foreclosure cases are lost because people lose their focus and allow their emotions dictate their actions. Homeowners post incendiary and inflammatory statements about the lender or the lender’s lawyer on social media. This only creates serious problems for your case but could set you up for a defamation lawsuit.

Be Stone Faced Like Michael Corleone

The key to any successful foreclosure defense strategy is to turn the tables on the lender. You need to get in the mid of opposing lawyer and let them get emotional. The best way to do that is for you to shut the fuck up and do not post things on social media.

I tell homeowners to let their lawyer do their talking. Any skilled lawyer knows how to play Jedi mind tricks. The attorney and I will also tell you if your case has any merit and it is one that may garner media attention. We tell clients to let us or someone with experience handle the media.

I then pop in a DVD of The Godfather II. I fast forward it the scene when Senator Geary tries to shake down Michael Corleone for a bribe. Michael calmly responds with, “Senator? You can have my answer now if you like. My final offer is this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming license, which I would appreciate if you would put up personally.”?

Senator Geary walks out of Michael Corleone’s Lake Tahoe compound in a huff but Michael kept his cool.

I then explain how after showing some restraint, some patience and getting some information about Senator Geary, the Corleone Family get their casino licenses and Senator Geary essentially becomes Michael Corleone’s bitch.

I remind them that people who win keep their cool during the foreclosure process. We may not always choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we handle them.