Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

An Ohio jury has awarded a Fort Benning solider $20 million in damages over mortgage account errors made by his mortgage servicer, PHH Mortgage Corp. Jurors took a little over 6 hours before coming back with a verdict ordering the mortgage company to pay $1 million in compensatory damages, $575 for out of pocket expenses, $350,000 in attorney's fees and an additional $20 million in punitive damages. The plaintiff's attorney called the verdict and the award "necessary to get the company's attention."

The U.S. Army sergeant bought a home in November 2007 and set up automatic monthly payments through his mortgage servicer to avoid any payment mistakes while he was on active duty. No complications occurred during the first 18 months of payments but the sergeant started getting repeated phone calls telling him that he had been missing payments and that his account was being reported as "seriously delinquent" to the credit bureaus. The sergeant made numerous phone calls to PHH, which the jury was allowed to hear, where he would hold for up to 55 minutes before actually talking to a representative, in or to try to clear up the mistakes.

He would always be told that the errors were being corrected but nothing was ever done to correct the mistakes. At trial, PHH mortgage accused the sergeant of lying and intentionally filing out forms incorrectly. Apparently the jury was not swayed by PHH's claims. While members of the military are given additional mortgage protections when they are on active duty, this case stems from the errors that can be made in any homeowner's mortgage.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit where you believe errors were made by your mortgage company, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what options may be available to you.

After freezing hiring and facing the possibility of furloughs for staff statewide, the Florida court system has announced that it is facing a $72.3 million budget deficit due to what they are calling a shortfall in filing fees after the numbers of mortgage foreclosure cases being filed dropped dramatically. Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady has written letters to Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders requesting special monetary appropriations to ensure that the court systems can continue to operate through the end of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Chief Justice Canady stated that the deficit is from an unanticipated drop in filing fees and not from overspending. Filing fees were expected to cover $370 million of the $462 million court budget, with $293.7 million of those fess expected to come from foreclosure filings. Lender placed moratoriums due to the robo-signing scandal and the recent firings of Florida Foreclosure Mills by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. State budget officials are confident that filing fees will meet or exceed expectations for the next fiscal year and have already appropriated an addition $50 million to cover the budget shortfall, with the remaining funds to be shifted from within the existing court system budget.

It is somewhat surprising that with the thousands of foreclosure cases filed in Florida that the court system is facing a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall due to a short-term foreclosure moratorium. Even more surprising is the belief by legislators that the filings will pick up enough in the next year to cover that shortfall! If you are currently facing, or will be facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit in the future, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

New Naples state representative Kathleen Passidomo has filed her solution to the breakdowns in the foreclosure process statewide: a comprehensive bill designed to speed up and simplify the foreclosure process while giving troubled borrowers extra foreclosure protections. Her "Florida Fair Foreclosure Act" would require mortgage companies to provide detailed notices to borrowers that they are in danger of losing their home and ascertaining whether or not the homeowner wants to actually keep their home.

For those homeowners who don't want to or can't afford to stay in there home, there would be an alternative process to foreclosure. Rep. Passidomo believes this new process would be much more efficient in time and resources because "you won't have to go through all the steps of the foreclosure." The bill would also require that lenders provide the original note and mortgage to verify they own the mortgage as well providing information on sources of assistance to those homeowners who want to save their home. Rep. Passidomo represents Collier County, an area that has been consistently the hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Even though the "Florida Fair Foreclosure Act" has been submitted, it is still a very long way from any sort of vote. It must pass through various legislative committees before it can be decided upon. If you are currently facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to determine what foreclosure defenses may be available to keep you in your home.

Recent housing numbers show that Florida has the highest percentage of unoccupied homes with nearly 20% of homes in the state being vacant!! The Census Bureau data uncovered that 1.6 million homes, or 18%, are sitting vacant. That percentage accounts for a 63% drop in occupancy rate the last 10 years. The mortgage bubble and the growing population made Florida one of the nations hottest real estate markets, but the amount of unoccupied homes threatens to make Florida one of the most depressed markets for decades.

The hardest hit county in Florida has consistently been Collier County, where 32% of home sitting empty. Real estate industry insiders predict that home prices in these areas will takes decades to recover to their pre-bust levels, with Naples (Collier County) not expected to recover until the late 2030's. Collier is followed by Lee County (30%) and Sarasota County (23%) as counties with an over 20% vacancy rate. The other usual suspects the nations highest foreclosure rates also had high vacancy rates: Arizona (16%), Nevada (14%), California (8%).

It seems as though each day brings new news about the depths of the foreclosure crisis, especially here in Florida. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defenses may be available to you and possibly keep you in your home.

Fannie Mae has just filed a lawsuit in Florida court alleging that Ben-Ezra & Katz is refusing to turn over the files on more than 15,000 foreclosure cases that the foreclosure mill had been handling for the federal mortgage giant! In the notice of termination of the employment agreement provide to Ben-Ezra & Katz, Fannie Mae asked the firm to "immediately being transferring all documents, records and related work products created and/or complied under the agreement." The suit, brought in Broward County, states that Ben-Ezra & Katz, hired in by Fannie Mae in July 2008 and fired in February 2011, has failed to deliver the case files after repeated requests from Fannie even though Fannie Mae "stands ready, willing, and able to accept."

The full emergency complaint from Fannie Mae is posted below.

Federal National Mortgage Association aka Fannie Mae vs Ben-Ezra & Katz, P.A.

The Florida Attorney General's Office has just announced that it has settled its investigation into their foreclosure related practices with notorious Florida "foreclosure mill" Marshall C. Watson. The settlement calls for a $2 million payment and imposing certain business conduct requirements. Half of the $2 million payment will go to the Florida Bar Foundation to continue the Florida Attorney General Mortgage Foreclosure Grant Program which provides funding for legal aid attorney positions that represent low-income homeowners facing foreclosure throughout the state. This is the first such settlement stemming from the investigations. In the last year the Florida Attorney General has announced investigations into the foreclosure practices of eight "foreclosure mills."

To read the full Information Release from the Attorney General click here.

When the Florida Supreme Court set forth the requirements for homeowners eligible for the Residential Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation program, the intent was to give all homeowners facing foreclosure on their residential homestead the opportunity to achieve directly negotiate with their lender in an effort to save their home. The Court put the burden directly on the lenders and their attorney's to identify whether or not the property they were seeking foreclosure on was a homestead property by simply looking at the tax records, stating that "a homestead residence mean a residential property for which a homestead real estate tax exemption was granted...prior to the filing of the suit to foreclose the mortgage."

Effectively, the Court is saying that if a property does not have the homestead exemption that they are not eligible for the mediation program. A Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer has encountered this problem relatively frequently but for those homeowners without legal representation it may go unnoticed. If the property being foreclosed on is, in fact, your homestead, you cannot be excluded from the mediation program solely because you fail to take advantage of a tax benefit! All that must be done for the court, is show that your home is your homestead, which can be done through various means.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and have been excluded from the mediation program, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today. It may not be to late to utilize what may be a effective foreclosure alternative as a means of saving your home.

Last week the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) filed suit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development containing allegations that a new rule created by the Department in 2008 is allowing lenders to charge newly widowed individuals to quickly repay their loans or face foreclosure. This has caused many to examine the role of reverse mortgages in real estate and estate planning. The idea behind reverse mortgages is simple; allow older people who are cash strapped but have large amounts of equity in their home to use that equity to sustain them through their older years. After the death of the homeowner, the house would be sold and the amount lent or the amount the house sold for would be paid back to the bank, whichever was less.

A rule change by HUD in 2008, as a result of falling home values nationwide, effectively allowed lenders to foreclose on the home upon the death of the borrower, if the estate or the widow wants to keep the home but cannot pay back the loan immediately. The rule change forces widows to pay back large sums of money very quickly, even if it for more than the home was actually worth. To date, this situation has only affected a handful of people according to the AARP but a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer can help you avoid the potential for reverse mortgage surprises.

While reverse mortgages were intended and designed to help older Americans through their later years, they have been a foreclosure nightmare for some. To discuss your options if facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer . For Estate Planning options to prevent a reverse mortgage foreclosure contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer today.

The Obama administration is solidly backing the mortgage modification aspect of the settlement proposal made 50 state Attorneys General to the "big 5" mortgage companies. In what has been described as a "shock and awe approach", the Administration is said to be seeking to force those mortgage servicers to reduce the monthly mortgage payments for roughly 3 million struggling homeowners and is seeking that remedy within the next 6 months!

Industry insiders have estimated that such a proposal could cost the companies as much as $30 billion. The effects of a settlement like this could be extremely far-reaching, with an estimated 4.7 million delinquent homeowners nationwide who have not been served with a foreclosure. The five largest mortgage companies handle 3 out of every 5 U.S. mortgage loans. The Obama administration remains in support of mortgage modifications where a reduction in principle is present, a method that experts believe is the most effective way to modify a loan.

While this is good news, any deal on a potential settlement of "robo-signing" and other mortgage abuse claims is still far down the line. If you are facing or will be facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today.

Last week the Attorneys General from all 50 states presented their proposed settlement to the 5 largest mortgage servicers, Bank of America, Wells Fargo; J.P. Morgan Chase; Citigroup and GMAC/Ally, in order to settle the widespread claims of foreclosure misconduct that arose late in 2010. The proposed settlement addresses 5 major areas of concern: loan modifications, foreclosure proceedings during loan modifications, standards of conduct for mortgage servicers, fee restrictions and servicer contact.

The Attorneys General have requested a substantial increase in the amount of loan modifications that include a reduction in the principle amounts of the loans, a move which lenders have been strongly opposed to in the past. Also included in the settlement proposal is the requirement that lenders do not initiate a new foreclosure, or continue to pursue a pending foreclosure while a homeowner is being considered for a mortgage modification. The settlement also addresses one of the most frequent complaints about lenders, they would be required to provide a single point of contact for homeowners who are facing potential foreclosure. Standards of Conduct would also be put in place for lenders in order to avoid improper foreclosure practices, such as "robo-signing", as well as limits on the amount of fees and costs that lenders will be allowed to charge when a homeowner defaults on their mortgage.

This settlement proposal from the Attorneys General goes a long way toward addressing many of the most common complaints and concerns of struggling homeowners, but will the lenders accept it and does it go far enough? That is a question that can only be answered with time. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what foreclosure alternatives may be available to you.

Raymond Bowman, the former head of defunct Florida mortgage lending company Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, has plead guilty to charges of conspiring to commit bank, wire, and securities fraud and lying to federal agents about his role in a fraud scheme to which caused the failure of both Taylor, Bean & Whitaker and Colonial Bank. Bowman faces up to five years in prison for the lying to federal agents charge and five years for the conspiracy charge.

As part of the fraud scheme that Bowman has admitted to being a part of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker used falsified documents when sending mortgage data to Colonial Bank, and its subsidiaries, for loans that did not exist or that had been sold to other parties. Taylor, Bean &Whitaker caused Colonial Bank and Freddie Mac to believe they individually owned loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Using these fraudulent practices Taylor, Bean & Whitaker was able to artificially inflate the value of its mortgage servicing rights by billions of dollars.

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker initiated thousands of mortgage loans in Florida but its lending practices led to many of those loans being worthless. The company filed bankruptcy during the summer of 2009. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit where Taylor, Bean & Whitaker initiated your mortgage loan, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure alternatives may be available to you.

In yet another blow to the Florida Foreclosure Mills, Federal mortgage giant Freddie Mac has announced that it is pulling its cases from the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson. A statement from the Fort Lauderdale based firm announced that "Freddie Mac and our firm mutually decided to part ways" and that all cases Freddie Mac files will be removed from the firm. Freddie Mac spokesman Brad German stated that "going forward our servicers will be directing business to other counsel" but that the Marshall C. Watson firm will continue to work with Freddie Mac to guarantee that the existing foreclosure files will be transitioned smoothly and quickly.

In November 2010, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that they were firing Florida Foreclosure Mill the Law Offices of David J. Stern and this announcement comes roughly one month after Fannie Mae announced that it would no longer be using Fort Lauderdale based Ben-Ezra & Katz. The Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson are still on the list of retained attorneys for Fannie Mae.

The removal of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cases from Stern turned out to be the death nail for that firm as it announced last week that it was stopping all foreclosure related business. So far, Ben-Ezra & Katz is still does not appear have been hampered by the withdrawal of Fannie Mae cases, as it continues to maintain its foreclosure operations. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit from one of the Florida Foreclosure Mills, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

Foreclosure Fraud on Fox news

 

The House Financial Services Committee voted last week to end two federal mortgage programs, both managed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, citing disappointing results as the primary reason for their ouster. The programs, one intended to deliver emergency funds to homeowners who have lost their jobs and another to lower monthly mortgage payments to "underwater" homeowners, have been labeled as massive disappointments by many. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, whose committee voted to eliminate the programs, stated "Congress needs to stop funding programs that don't work."

The Federal Housing Short Refi Option program, designed to force lenders to write down at least 10 percent of the mortgage principle on homes whose values have fallen dramatically, has been available since September 2010 but has only received 245 applications and modified 44 loans. House Republicans remain adamant that they will end the often-criticized Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) which has fallen far short of initial expectations. HAMP was originally intended to benefit 3-4 million homeowners but to date, only 600,000 borrowers have received permanent mortgage modifications under the program.

While most of the federal foreclosure prevention programs fell short of what many would call even modest success, they have provided at least some benefits for struggling U.S. homeowners. If you are one of the thousands of Floridians facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure alternative options may be available to you.

The Miami Herald is reporting that many South Florida facing foreclosure are having to overcome yet another hurdle in the fight to save their homes, their lenders are not providing the necessary, required paperwork to begin the mediation process. When the Florida Supreme Court created the Residential Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation program in 2010, it set forth requirements that each side must complete before a mediation can take place. Lenders must provide four essential pieces of information to the mediation program manager before a mediation can take place: (1) documentary evidence the plaintiff is the owner and holder in due course of the note and mortgage sued upon, (2) a history showing the application of all payments nu the borrower during the life of the loan, (3) a statement on the plaintiff's position on the net present value of the mortgage loan, and (4) the most current appraisal of the property available to the plaintiff.

According to the Herald, many of the scheduled mediation sessions in Broward and Palm Beach counties are having to be cancelled because lenders can't provide even this most basic of paperwork. This is a troubling trend not only because it leaves struggling homeowners in limbo but also because when borrowers do not comply with foreclosure rules they are kicked out of the program but when lenders don't comply nothing is really done. An attorney who represents Florida "foreclosure mill" Shaprio and Fishman says that the failure to provide required paperwork is not purposefully done to delay mediation, it happens because lenders are overwhelmed and "paperwork is not easy to find and not always clean."

A December release from the Florida Supreme Court showed that only about 6 percent of cases referred to mediation are actually resulting in settlements between homeowners and their lenders. A Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer hopes that the Florida Supreme Court doing what other state supreme courts are doing, making the necessary changes to get mediation programs working as intended in order to help besieged homeowners. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today.

Bank of America, the nations largest servicer of home mortgages, has declared that it is against writing down the mortgage debt of borrowers whose home are underwater and who have defaulted on their mortgage loans. Federal agencies, along with Attorney General's from all 50 states, are making a sustained push for a settlement over the robo-signing scandal that arose in the fourth quarter of 2010. Experts estimate that more than $1 billion in mortgage debt is underwater and many want much of that debt to be included in any sort of settlement.

But Bank of America has voiced its opposition to that sort settlement. Bank of America CEO Brian T. Moynihan stated that "there's a core problem that if you start to help certain people and don't help other people, it's going to be very hard to explain the difference...our duty is to have a fair modification process." The head of Bank of America's Legacy Asset Servicing Terry Laughlin, whose department services delinquent mortgages or mortgage in default, voiced his fear that such a settlement would encourage borrowers current on their mortgages to intentionally default.

While Bank of America opposes writing down underwater mortgages, it continues to point to its "success" in modifying mortgages under HAMP, which appears to run counter to the most recent HAMP numbers. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit from Bank of America, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what foreclosure alternatives may be available to you.

A local North Carolina Register of Deeds has announced that he will be consulting with the NC Attorney General's Office and the NC Secretary of State in order to recoup and estimated $1.3 million in lost revenue due to unrecorded mortgage assignments carried out through the MERS System. Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen points to the fact that since 2005, 47,552 deeds of trust have been recorded in Guilford County alone and the average loan on the MERS system is transferred between 2 and 4 times. Using the relatively conservative estimate that loans in Guilford County would be transferred twice, the lost revenue of $1,331,484 for the county.

Thigpen reasons that as the elected register of deeds he has "two primary responsibilities in land records: a sworn duty to protect the chain of title and a fiduciary responsibility to collect recording fees...MERS has undermined both." Thigpen also states that the lost revenue prevents local elected officials from reducing budget deficits and "maintain core services such as public education and public safety in this time of financial crisis." Currently, MERS is facing suit in California alleging that MERS members circumvented the land recording system and avoiding paying the state $60-120 billion in land recording fees.

Within the last few weeks MERS has instructed its members to stop foreclosing on homes in its name, certainly due to court rulings in several states that MERS lacks standing to foreclose on homes and suits questioning the validity of mortgage assignments made through the MERS system. Current estimates show that MERS may be involved in 60% of all US mortgage loans. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit where MERS is involved, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

To read the full Release from Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen click here.

The latest housing numbers from national foreclosure statistics company RealtyTrac showed a major drop in the percentage of foreclosure notices filed in February. The February numbers showed a 14% drop in foreclosure notices from the January numbers and constituted a 27% drop from February 2010. RealtyTrac said that the 27% drop was the biggest year-over-year drop the company has ever recorded! Industry insiders are cautioning against too much optimism that the housing market is pulling out of its 4-year funk by stating that much of the decline can be attributed to factors not related to housing recovery.

RealtyTrac CEO credits much of the decline to robo-signing scandal as well as the incredibly harsh winter weather experienced by much of the country. The fact that more than 225,000 foreclosure filings were made during the month of February, Zillow's numbers show ing that 30% of borrowers with mortgages are underwater and home prices continue to decline in much of the country are further evidence that the foreclosure crisis may not have turned the corner. Nevada, Arizona and California remain the top three states for foreclosure filings but Florida saw a 65% drop in its foreclosure rate. Again, industry insiders point to the fact that Florida is a judicial foreclosure state as a reason for the precipitous decline, as many lenders are reluctant to file foreclosures until the robo-signing scandal is resolved.

While these numbers seem to be a silver lining on the dark cloud of the foreclosure crisis, thousands of Floridians are still facing foreclosure on their homes. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a

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Posted In: Banks , Fernandina Beach Foreclosure , Foreclosure Defense , Foreclosure Laws , Foreclosure Mills , Foreclosure News , Foreclosure Timeline , Jacksonville Foreclosure , Orange Park Foreclosure , St. Johns Foreclosure

In a relatively shocking turn of events HSBC Bank USA and HSBC Finance Corp. have quietly announced that it has stopped "all home foreclosures until further notice" and may be facing fines after federal regulators found "certain deficiencies" in the company's foreclosure procedures. This news comes as a surprise as it was only a few months ago that HSBC stated that it would not suspend its foreclosure practices and that it was not affected by the "robo-signing" allegations.

The announcement of the suspension of its foreclosures came in its annual financial report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, called a 10-K, when it stated it "suspended foreclosures until such time as we have substantially addressed the noted deficiencies in our processes." HSBC spokesman Neil Brazil stated that it is expecting federal regulators to impose a consent order mandating the procedural steps the company must take in order to fix its foreclosure problems. Brazil also announced that the foreclosure suspension actually took effect in December and that the company will be changing its "affidavit and notarization procedures, tightening oversight of outside law firms, reviewing how it uses the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems."

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit were HSBC is the plaintiff, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary case review and to determine the possible effects that this announcement may have on you.

A South Florida Boy Scouts of America Council is now facing the foreclosure of its Palm Beach Gardens headquarters. The Gulf Stream Council, which provides scouting operations to seven South Florida Counties and more than 31,000 scouts and 3,100 volunteers, was served with its foreclosure lawsuit on February 25th. T.D. Bank is the lender bringing the foreclosure suit against the property, secured by a $770,000 mortgage in 2007 with Riverside National Bank of Florida, after it acquired the assets of the now defunct bank. According to records, the Gulf Stream Council operated under a $600,000 budget shortfall in 2009.

It seems as though no one is immune from the economic struggles that caused the foreclosure crisis. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what foreclosure alternatives may be available to you.

The Nevada Supreme Court has recently revised the rules that created and governed the troubled state's foreclosure mediation program. The new rules, which go into effect March 1, 2011, are intended "to clarify and streamline the processes" of the program in order to help more borrowers facing foreclosure. One of the rules created with regard to the foreclosure mediation program is the rule giving judges the ability to modify mortgages if the lenders do not comply with mediation program guidelines.

Among the other foreclosure mediation rule changes are: an expansion of time, from 15 to 30 days, for a party to file a petition for judicial review after receiving a mediators statement after mediation, allowing homeowners to send someone to represent them during the mediation process as long as they are Nevada attorney's or qualified under Nevada law, the creation of an advisory committee to make recommendations to the Nevada Supreme Court regarding the mediation program, as well as a clarification of many of the foreclosure mediation forms used by the program.

Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael L. Douglas stated that periodic rule changes "have always been anticipated" and that the "intent is to ensure that the program works for those who need and use it-both homeowners and lenders." Lets hope the Florida Supreme Court takes the same view when dealing with the issues that have plagued the Florida Mediation Program. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and are considering or pursuing mediation as a foreclosure alternative, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today.

The precipitous rise and subsequent fall of the Law Offices of David J. Stern seems to have reached rock bottom this week. In an SEC filing relating to DJSP Enterprises, the firms non-legal arm that handles real estate work, came the announcement that DJSP does not expect to obtain any future work from the firm, its largest and primary client. The Stern office sent a letter to Florida judges stating that they are stopping all foreclosure related operations in the State of Florida as of March 31, 2011.

The firm and its foreclosure practices have been under investigation since late 2010 and the Stern firm was fired by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in February 2011. Jeff Tew, the attorney representing Stern, said the firm is not officially closing but many attorneys point to the loss of Fannie and Freddie business has in effect shut the firm's doors. In his letter to Florida judges, Stern stated that the firm still needed to withdraw from more than 100,000 cases statewide, but "we have been forced to drastically reduce our attorney and paralegal staff to the point where we no longer have the financial or personnel resources to continue to file Motions to Withdraw in tens of thousands of cases that we will remain as counsel of record."

There is no word yet on the effect of the closing on the fraud investigation from the Florida Attorney General's Office. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit where the Law Offices of David J. Stern is Plaintiff's attorney, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what defenses may be available to you.

To read a copy of the Letter to Judges from the Law Offices of David J. Stern click: Stern Letter.pdf

Two of the nations largest banks and mortgage lenders, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, have recently made statements that they are expecting large fines from multiple investigations in their foreclosure practices which are currently being conducted by state and federal authorities. The probes began in the fall of 2010 amidst numerous allegations of "robo-signing", approving and signing thousands of documents related to a foreclosure without actually reading them or verifying their accuracy.

Both banks temporarily halted foreclosure proceedings as they reviewed thousands of foreclosure documents and both banks corrected and re-filed many foreclosure documents as a result of those reviews. While the banks have made efforts to clean up their foreclosure documentation issues, it is not an easy fix and the problems could persist and hang over the lenders for several years. Federal regulators have indicated they could seek as much as $20 billion in fines from the lenders to settle the probe and Bank of America has stated that the probe could lead to "significant legal costs in 2011."

Hopefully these forthcoming fines as a result of the investigations will lead banks, both large and small, to permanently clean up their foreclosure practices and fix the outstanding foreclosure documentation issues. If that happens it can only come as good news for homeowners facing foreclosure. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to explore what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

A Philadelphia man has taken one of the tools a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer uses in the foreclosure fight and used it to "foreclose" on his local Wells Fargo Mortgage Office. When the Philadelphia man got a notice in his monthly mortgage statement that his insurance premiums were increasing by $500 per month because Wells Fargo was forcing him to insure his home for $1 million, a home he purchased for $180,000 in 2002 and had been paying faithfully since, he used one of the legal tools available to all homeowners...he sent Wells Fargo a Qualified Written Request asking for a detailed explanation of the reasons behind his premium increase.

Under Federal Law, lenders must acknowledge a Qualified Written Request within 20 days and respond with an explanation or fix the issue within 60 days. If lenders do not respond within the allotted time, they can be sued for $1000 and all fees and costs by the homeowner. That is exactly what happened in this case. The homeowner got a $1173 judgment against Wells Fargo, who failed to even show up at the hearing, and then failed the pay the homeowner to satisfy the judgment. Eventually the homeowner decided to file for a sheriff's levy, which instructs the sheriff to seize and sell the debtors property to satisfy the judgment. The local sheriff took the levy to the local Wells Fargo Mortgage office in order to notify them of the levy and sale date, inventory all the contents of the office, and post a notice preventing anything from being removed from the office! Wells Fargo has since sent the homeowner a check for the judgment but has refused to talk to him about the insurance premiums or correct the situation.

This is one of the most humorous examples of homeowners fighting back against the large banks. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to learn about Qualified Written Requests and many other foreclosure tools that may be available to you.

In January, a 61 year-old Illinois woman received a letter from Bank of America that her loan was in default and that she owed almost $64,000 on her mortgage plus late charges and fees. The problem was, she had paid off her mortgage in November 2010, 24 years early! In early November, the woman called Bank of America to get the pay-off amount for her mortgage because the payments had been leaving her with too little spending money each month.

Then on November 13, 2010, the woman went to the bank and obtained a cashiers check for the pay-off amount, gave it to the mortgage representative and assumed all was well. Her worries began about a month later when she still hadn't received any paperwork documenting that her mortgage had been paid off. She contacted Bank of America who told her that everything was fine so she assumed "it was settled." That lasted about a month until she received the letter telling her that the mortgage was in default and Bank of America stated they "want to help you avoid foreclosure."

The woman has contact Bank of America multiple times and is optimistic that she will prevail because she fully paid off her mortgage and has all the documentation to prove it. This is just another example of the servicing problems that often push people into foreclosure. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

Eleventh Circuit Court Judge Israel Reyes has taken aim at lenders in order to clear his foreclosure backlog of almost 3,000 cases. Judge Reyes has given the foreclosing mortgage lenders a choice, quickly bring the cases to an end or dismiss them and walk away. The Judge even went so far as to tell one plaintiff's attorney "it's either settlement or trial today...this case is over a year old." According to a Bloomberg report, most lenders are choosing to walk away from the cases.

In most cases lenders are either voluntarily dismissing their cases or intentionally not showing up for hearings because they lack to evidence to prove they own they loan in order to prevail in a trial. Lenders are able to voluntarily dismiss a foreclosure case once and refile it but if the case is dismissed a second time the case cannot be refilled, which stops the lender from ever being able to take the home. The Eleventh Circuit Court serves Miami-Dade County, one of the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Judge Reyes represents what hopefully will be a switch towards putting the burden on lenders prove they own the loans they are attempting to foreclose on and get these cases off the dockets. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

According to the Florida Attorney General's website, the Economic Crimes Division of the AG's office is now investigating notorious "foreclosure mill" Ben-Ezra & Katz. The website lists the subjects of the investigation as "Ben-Ezra & Katz, P.A. and Marc A. Ben-Ezra, individually and Marvin Katz, individually." The website also lists the allegations or issues being investigated as "violation of Florida Statute 501 Part II, appears to be fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases. These documents have been presented in court before judges as actual assignments of mortgages and properly prepared affidavits that have later been shown to be legally inadequate and/or insufficient. Presenting and preparing faulty paperwork to use to foreclose; to collect attorney fees and to create affidavits of indebtedness."

The "foreclosure mill" is just a few weeks removed from being fired by Fannie Mae and has been forced to lay-off almost half of its lawyers and support staff. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit where Ben-Ezra & Katz is opposing counsel, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to explore what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

To view the Florida Attorney General Website announcing the investigation click here.

A funny proposal about instituting a MERS like system to replace the traditional marriage recording system has been floating around recently and it shows just how arbitrary, ineffective and useless MERS actually is. The new system would be called "SERS" or the Spouse Electronic Recording System and would replace the tradition marriage recording system with a paperless system that allows for greater freedom to those people who would like to "leave their options open!"

Under the SERS system a SERS member could paperlessly "record" their marriage naming themselves as a nominee for a marriage without actually naming their spouse until just before the end of the marriage, which effectively says to the world "yes I am married, but I'm not saying to whom I am married." This gives SERS members the stability of the institution of marriage without the specific commitment of marriage.

SERS members will only be able to be married by official SERS officiants, but that shouldn't be a problem because almost everyone already is or can be a SERS officiant, all you must have the required officiant certification fee. The SERS system also allows unlimited marital swaps without notifying the spouse about the swap ahead of time. A Jacksonville Divorce Attorney and a Jacksonville Family Law Attorney think recording marriages through a SERS system would create the same sort of chaos and crisis in marriages that is did in the housing market.

Obviously, talk of the creation of a SERS system is purely for entertainment purposes but isn't it foolish that such a system exists to "record" and track the ownership of millions of mortgages! If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

A former employee of Florida "foreclosure mill" Shapiro & Fishman has instructed the firm to stop using her electronic login information and electronic signature to file pleadings with her name on it, months after she voluntarily left the firm!! The attorney left the firm on July 31, 2010 to pursue another job opportunity but apparently the "foreclosure mill" used her electronic signature and log-in information to file legal pleadings up to December 14, 2010.

In her letter to Shapiro & Fishman, the attorney asked that the firm "determine how many documents were improperly filed using her electronic signature" and she requests that the firm "withdraw those documents immediately." She also asks for certification that all documents filed under her name have been "withdrawn and properly resolved" and the firm take full responsibility for its actions. A Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer wishes her luck getting those assurances.

Will this practice, that many are now calling "robo-lawyering", be the next
wrinkle in the fraud many "foreclosure mills" are perpetrating on Florida courts and Florida homeowners. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit from one of the Florida "foreclosure mills", contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or an Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what defenses may be available to you.