"Maria Martinez, guess what her first language is?" she asks.
But that question doesn't really answer ours.
Daniel Kramer
Gertrudis Cortez financed a house so her kids would have a place to stay.
Daniel Kramer
No one told the Pardos that a fence and a driveway were going to pop up behind their house.
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"I can't imagine that my clients would not explain a contract to somebody, because there has to be a meeting of the minds," she says. "If you sign papers at a bank and you don't understand the full import of what's going on, that's not going to stop the bank from coming after you."
Cain offered to put the Press in contact with a few of Markman's satisfied customers, and we happily accepted, so long as their situations were roughly equivalent to those of the families; we didn't see much good in talking to, say, a family of English-speakers in Kingwood who had a much better chance of understanding exactly what they were signing.
We spoke with Maria Chavez, who says she financed her first of three houses from Markman 15 years ago, and that she expects to receive the title to the first one next month.
"Mr. Markman has been very good to us," she says in Spanish. "He's been very nice. In fact, we're looking at getting another house for my oldest son."
When asked about taxes and insurance, she says, "I don't pay that. Mr. Markman does. He said that because I don't own the house yet, I don't have to pay that and he is paying for it. He told me just the other day that all those fees were current, the taxes and insurance and everything."
We spoke with Jose Moreira, who says he financed a house from Markman two years ago.
"I've never had any trouble," he says in Spanish. "Right now I owe Markman-Martinez for three months, but Maria Martinez hasn't said anything to me. She hasn't said, 'You have to pay or I'm going to get you out of the house.' "
As for the lawsuit, he says, "I think the people who are unhappy with Markman are the ones who don't like following the rules."
And we spoke with Felipe Del Aguila, who says his grandfather financed a house from Markman in 1989.
"We just did the payoff a couple of weeks ago and we're just waiting to get our papers," he says in English. "Truly we've been satisfied with Markman."
When asked if he has any idea why his experience was different from those in the lawsuit, he says, "My father has been living in the States since 1960, so he knew about the system already. You buy a house for $27,000, like the one we bought, when we're finished paying after 30 years, you're going to be paying, like, $75,000 for it.
"These people probably doesn't understand that system."
Alberto Carmona didn't understand what he was getting himself into when he financed a $24,000 duplex from Markman in 1994.
The Mexican immigrant had no idea his payments were going to increase. He knew nothing about insurance or taxes. He hadn't a clue that payments would be misapplied.
Of course, this is just his word, but there are two pieces of evidence that make him seem credible: his legs, which he can no longer use, made lame after he was shot in the back over a woman a few years before he financed the house.
Which brings us to the question, Why would someone on a fixed income knowingly sign a contract that would eventually price him out of his home? The key word here is "knowingly," and if you can think of an answer, you'd make one hell of an attorney.
The lawsuit alleges that Carmona's annual payment went from $3,000 in 2002 to almost $4,000 in 2003, and that the next year saw another bump of $300.
"I have to make the payments because I wouldn't like for them to chase me away from here," the 53-year-old says in Spanish, clinging to a house many people wouldn't think of fighting for.
The white duplex is one of many in a row on Love Plaza in the Fifth Ward. Inside, cracked tiles have been removed from the floor, making a concrete pathway for his wheelchair. Every wall could use a coat of paint.
"I started to fix the house," he says. "Everything was broken. I was trying to fix things, but there were too many things that were broken."
He says he's now quit making repairs.
"It's like everything is pretty on the outside but the heart of this is rotten," he says.
"I don't want to say only bad stuff," he says of Markman, "but what else can I tell you? As a person, he leaves much to be desired."
