Upon the advice of his attorney, sheriff's candidate Bob Guimont said he has stopped making payments on his Carson City home, prompting the lender to file a notice of default.
"When the housing market took a dive we were $100,000 upside-down on our loan," said Guimont. He said he had a pending payment where he would have to cover the difference between the appraised value and the loan, so he went to the bank to see if he could refinance.
"We contacted the bank twice and they straight up said they wouldn't help," said Guimont, who faces incumbent Sheriff Ken Furlong in the November election.
Guimont's attorney, Mark Mausert of Reno, said Guimont is one of thousands of Nevadans who fell prey to predatory lending.
"I advise every single one of my clients to stop paying on their mortgage. We are suing all of the major lenders," said Mausert. "Bob acted pursuant to my advice."
By not paying the mortgage on his property, Guimont has forced the lender into mediation, said Mausert.
"All (Guimont) wants is certainty and fair resolution," said Mausert.
"We want them to work with us on our appraised value," Guimont said. "I have never missed a house payment. I have good credit. (Before this) all of my payments have been automatically taken out of my account. If the housing market would not have gone sideways we would not be having this conversation," said Guimont.
Mausert blames the lenders and insurers for the devaluation of properties, saying they handed out loans to people who could not afford them, got insurance against the risky loans and made 10 to 30 percent more when the homeowners defaulted.
The borrowers who could not pay their mortgages lost their homes to foreclosure, the lenders received large insurance payments, and the insurers, like AIG, were given a bailout by the federal government, said Mausert. In the interim, responsible homeowner like Guimont also fell victim when the foreclosures brought down property value, he said.
Mausert said he was able to have one default notice against Guimont killed and he intends to the do the same against a second default notice filed June 3.
"If we can't, then we'll be suing (the lender) for fraud, breach and racketeering," he said. "People should give (Guimont) a pat on the back because he's fighting the mortgage companies. It's unpatriotic to pay the thieves more money. The patriotic, decent thing to do is to force these guys to start modifying mortgages so Nevadans can stay in their homes. In Clark County, 81 percent of the homes are upside down. That's insane. Stop paying your mortgage, slam them into mediation."