Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

The new Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced that it will begin testing a new standard mortgage foreclosure form beginning in May. The forms will be major revisions of the two forms that borrowers receive when taking out a new mortgage loan. Consumer advocates believe the old forms are confusing to many homeowners and one of the major initial tasks of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is to "make mortgages more consumer friendly" and to make the costs associated with taking out a mortgage more clear,

The new forms will be overhauls of the forms required under the Truth in Lending Act of 1968 and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974. Consumer advocates believe that the forms are confusing and too lengthy for many homeowners to fully understand. Officials with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have been working diligently on the format and content of the new forms with members of banks and others in the housing industry.

While many people will call these efforts little more than a trivial step toward fixing the foreclosure mess, clear understanding of the costs and ramifications of purchasing a home is an important step. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you believe that you were a victim of predatory lending, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what defenses may be available to you.

According to a Tampa Tribune Report, a Tampa U.S. Coast Guardsman returned home from deployment in late 2010 to find that Wells Fargo had foreclosed on his home and it was scheduled to be auctioned on the next day! Despite the protections afforded active duty military under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which protects the homes the military while they are away, Wells Fargo told the court that it could not find the Guardsman, had the court appoint a guardian ad litem in accordance with Act, and proceeded with the foreclosure anyway.

Both Wells Fargo and the court appointed guardian ad litem were aware the homeowner was a member of the Coast Guard and reported to the court that they were unable to locate the guardsman and the plaintiff's pleadings appeared to be in compliance with Florida law. In response to a question from the Tampa Tribune regarding the case, the guardian ad litem stated "I don't think of the Coast Guard as deploying people...it seemed a minimal chance he was overseas." The Guardsman is currently still living in the home and has asked the court to set aside the foreclosure and allow him to defend his case.

This is just one of the many recent reports of mortgage lenders ignoring the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by wrongly filing and pursuing foreclosure actions while military members are on active duty. If you are an military member and are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

To read the full Tampa Tribune story, click here.

The law firm of Ben-Ezra & Katz is shutting down its operations. This was confirmed by a spokesperson of the firm. The firm has given layoff notices to 146 of its employees. Additionally, the company will layoff 8 of its employees that work for the title company run by the firm. As recently as February of this year, Ben-Ezra & Katz had almost 600 employees. The company's demise began in February when the company lost all of its foreclosure business from Fannie Mae due to the mishandling of Fannie Mae's foreclosure files. Ben-Ezra & Katz is the second Florida foreclosure mill to shut its doors in the past two months. The law offices of David J. Stern shut down its foreclosure operations in late March.

Update: The Palm Beach Post has more information on the firm

The FDCPA is an Act that Congress passed in response to a growing number of abusive collection practices that creditors used to collect consumer debts. The act provides guidelines that creditors must follow when trying to collect debts from consumers. Before mentioning the restrictions that are imposed upon debt collectors, it is important to distinguish whom the Act applies to. The Act applied to debt collectors: any person who regularly collects debts that are owed to others. This also applies to attorney collectors. However, in-house collections are not covered. So if the collection department from your favorite store is contacting you regarding your credit card with them, they are not covered by the FDCPA. (They are governed by the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act.) However, if that same store used an outside collection agency, that agency is governed by the FDCPA.

Some restrictions that the FDCPA puts on debt collectors are:

1. Debt collectors cannot contact a third party who does not owe the debt, such as your employer, relative, or friend.

2. Debt collectors cannot threaten to turn over your account to an attorney, garnish your wages, or repossess your property UNLESS they have an actual intention of doing so.

3. Debt collectors must call between 8am and 9pm, unless you give them permission to do otherwise.

4. Debt collectors cannot use obscenities, insults, or racial slurs.

5. Debt collectors cannot threaten to arrest you if you do not pay the debt.

These are just some of the major rules of the FDCPA, there are many more. If you feel that a creditor has violated this law when trying to collect from you, contact a Jacksonville bankruptcy lawyer today for a consultation.

The Department of Treasury Comptroller of Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Housing Finance Agency have entered into a consent order with MERS, wherein MERS is being forced to correct the errors that have plagued foreclosure processes nationwide. In a just released 9 page document, the federal regulators found that MERS has committed serious errors and have experience multiple failures of its operations.

The consent order states that MERS employed unsafe and unsound business practices and exposed MERS members to "unacceptable operational, compliance, legal and reputational risks." Also included in the order are two findings related to MERS tracking and registering mortgage loans along with initiating foreclosures. Regulators found: 1) MERS failed to exercise appropriate oversight, management supervision and corporate governance, and have failed to devote adequate financial, staffing, training and legal resources to ensure proper administration and delivery of services to Examined Members.
2) MERS sailed to establish and maintain adequate internal controls, policies, and procedures, compliance risk management, and internal audit and reporting requirements with respect to the administration and delivery of services to Examined Members.

The Consent Order also lays out detailed requirements for MERS to clean-up its operational practices to prevent any future break-downs going forward. This is the first major finding that MERS foreclosure processes were flawed. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you had a MERS loan, contact Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

Coming on the heels of the announcement of the settlement between the 14 U.S. mortgage servicers and homeowners, one U.S. Senator is trying to ride that tide into stronger mortgage servicer regulations. Senator Sherrod Brown has introduced the Foreclosure Fraud and Homeowner Abuse Prevention Act of 2011 which proposes certain "expanded access to foreclosure prevention services, while increasing protections for homeowners and investors in mortgage-backed securities."

In a release from his office announcing the legislation, Senator Brown states "this foreclosure crisis affects all of us-homeowners, families, neighbors, and state and local governments. It is clear the current system isn't working and unfortunately federal regulators have failed to bring meaningful reform to the mortgaging servicing." The legislation is endorsed by several consumer advocacy groups and U.S. House of Representatives Member Brad Miller has introduced companion legislation in the House.

A Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer hopes that this law has the desired effects and helps prevent the types of abuses that mortgage servicers have carried out over the past several years. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and feel that you have been a victim of servicer abuse, 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 a synopsis of the Foreclosure Fraud and Homeowner Abuse Prevention Act click here.

NO. When you file bankruptcy, an automatic stay is put into place that blocks creditors from trying to collect from you. A creditor cannot call or write you to ask for you to pay a bill and they cannot repossess your property. A Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney can probably get this property back for you. If the creditor knew about the bankruptcy, which is likely, then your bankruptcy attorney can actually sue the creditor for monetary damages due to FDCPA violations.

The percentage of Homes in the Jacksonville, Florida metro area that received foreclosure-related notices in March was lower that those who received such notices in February. A 11 percent drop was recorded between March and February and a 57 percent drop was recorded from March 2010, according to RealtyTrac.

This is the lowest it has been in the Jacksonville area for the month of March since March 2008. In the first quarter of 2011, foreclosure activity dropped by 25 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010 and by 50 percent from the first quarter 2010 to 3,900 in the Jacksonville metropolitan area. Nationwide, foreclosure-related notice mailings were down 15 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010 and by 27 percent from the first quarter of 2010.

While these latest foreclosure numbers are seem to show a significant improvement in the overall housing market, many industry experts believe that this is only temporary slowdown and that filings will pick up as 2011 continues. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary case review.

The federal government ordered 14 of the largest mortgage lenders in the country to reimburse homeowners that had their homes improperly foreclosed upon. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citibank were among the 14 mortgage lenders named in the federal joint report. The joint report was created by the Federal Reserve, Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Two servicers, Lending Processing Services (LPS) and MERSCORP, were also named in the joint report.

The agreement is still pretty vague. The lenders will have to "remediate all financial injury to borrowers caused by any errors, misrepresentations, or other deficiencies." Additionally, there has been no maximum or minimum amount of damages identified in the report. Many lawmakers feel that the agreement is too lenient on the lenders. We will have to wait and see the effect this agreement actually has on lenders and homeowners that were wrongly foreclosed upon.

It is always good to have a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney review all documents associated with the foreclosure process. If you are contacted by your former lender about a settlement agreement, it is imperative that you have the settlement agreement reviewed by a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer.

The Law Offices of David J. Stern handled more foreclosure cases than any other law firm in the state of Florida. Last Fall, David J. Stern lost all of its foreclosure clients in a 21-day period. On March 31, 2011, Stern ceased all foreclosure operations. On that same day, Stern sent a letter to many of the judges handling his firm's foreclosure cases stating that the judges should handle his withdrawal from his former cases as they deemed best. Stern did not follow the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and properly withdraw from the firm's cases.

Stern has responded to criticism from judges by claiming that his company went "above and beyond" reasonable expectations in handling his firm's exit from the foreclosure industry. Additionally, Stern claims it would be physically impossible to notify all of the Defendants by mail about his firm's withdrawal and that the firm does not know all of the Defendants' email addresses. Stern also blames the banks for terminating his representation without notice and did not allow him time to create a succession plan. It is hard to feel sympathy for Stern since he would still be handling the cases if he had simply abided by the fairly straightforward Florida foreclosure laws.

If your home is in foreclosure, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer to assist you throughout the foreclosure process.

According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings have reached the lowest levels that we have seen at any time in the last three years. The new data released by RealtyTrac reports that 681,153 foreclosures were filed in January, February and March of this year. Those statistics show a 15 percent decrease from the last quarter of 2010 and 27 percent decrease from the same time a year ago. Unfortunately, RealtyTrac's CEO believes that there is a probability that foreclosure activity will increase as the servicers and lenders re-organize their foreclosure procedures and begin to work on the the backlog of foreclosure cases.

Senator Al Franken of Minnesota has proposed The Homeowner Advocate Act of 2011. The Act would create the Office of the homeowner Advocate. The primary purpose of the Office would be to protect homeowners that are seeking mortgage modifications through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The Office's main functions are to assist homeowners with HAMP modifications, provide housing counseling and providing housing lawyers to assist in resolving problems arising under HAMP. If the Act passes, the Office would be funded by money that is already allocated to HAMP administration but not already committed.

If you are being considered for a HAMP modification, it is important to have all of the modification documents reviewed by a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer to ensure that you receive the best possible modification.

Yes. When you file bankruptcy, you have the option to keep or surrender secured collateral, including real property. So you can decide, with the help of your Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney, for each property that you own what would be in your financial best interest: to surrender the property to the creditor or to retain the property and continue payments. But be mindful that in Florida, you can only take one homestead exemption in bankruptcy.

If you are behind on your payments, this can be cured. You can pay the arrearages that you owe through your Chapter 13 Plan. Talk with a bankruptcy attorney today to decide if keeping both a homestead and rental property would be in your financial best interest.

According to Bloomberg, federal regulators are close to reaching an agreement with mortgage servicers to change their foreclosure procedures. The agreement comes after it recently became public that servicers were using robo-signers to fraudulently create foreclosure documents. According to the New York Times, under the deal servicers will provide a single contact point to every homeowner and they will no longer pursue foreclosure proceedings while the homeowner is seeking a loan modification. Additionally, the servicers must hire more lawyers to oversee the foreclosure process and increase quality control. Shockingly, Bloomberg says that the agreement includes no fines.

It is unknown how this agreement will affect the investigation being undertaken by numerous state Attorney Generals across the country. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller claims that any agreement reached between federal regulators and servicers will have no impact on his state's demands.

CitiMortgage, Inc. is the Defendant in a class action lawsuit that alleges that CitiMortgage denied borrowers permanent loan modifications under the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The class action has been in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The class contains homeowners in Pennsylvania with mortgages serviced by CitiMortgage that entered into trial modifications and complied with the terms of the trial modifications only to later be denied a permanent HAMP modification. The class action complaint alleges that CitiMortgage had a contractual obligation to permanently modify loans that the company serviced if the homeowners qualified for HAMP.

If you are being considered for a HAMP modification, it is important to have all of the modification documents reviewed by a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer to ensure that you receive the best possible modification.

The Attorney General of Washington has been investigating unlawful business practices by foreclosure trustees for the past six months. The Attorney General's office discovered another problem that makes it much more difficult for homeowners to halt foreclosures. Homeowners are finding that it is difficult and, in some cases, impossible to contact the trustee. Washington law requires foreclosure trustees to maintain offices in the state and local phone numbers.

Attorney General Rob McKenna said, "Foreclosures run on strict timelines, and homeowners need a human who they can talk with face to face when there's a problem. They need an office where they can make last-minute payments or show documents that may prove reasons for stopping forced sales." McKenna also said, "some of the largest trustees are not in compliance".

Under a chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can keep your home by reaffirming the debt. This means that you will, through a Statement of Intention, tell the creditor that you wish to keep the property and will continue to be liable for the loan.

If you are behind in payments, however, you will probably want to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy. This will allow you to keep your home and pay the arrearages that you owe through your chapter 13 Plan. This Plan will be anywhere from 3-5 years in length and will allow you to catch up on all the monies owed to keep your house. You can put all your creditors in the Plan, including liens by homeowner's associations, second mortgages, tax debt, etc. You can even, through the Plan, catch up on arrearages for your vehicle.

If you are thinking of filing bankruptcy and you want to learn more about how to keep your home, contact a Jacksonville attorney today for a free consultation.

A statewide review of foreclosure cases recently completed by the Palm Beach Post shows evidence that foreclosure judges across the state are growing tired of the practices and tactics utilized by plaintiffs and are starting to put forth allegations of fraud on the court. The numbers of foreclosure complaints being dismissed by judges for questionable paperwork with some judges going so far as to award homeowners their home free and clear as a result of plaintiffs errors.

The Florida Bar Association, the Florida Attorney General's Office and Federal authorities have investigated eight of the Florida "foreclosure mills" amidst widespread allegations of both signature and document fraud. The Palm Beach Post report highlights several instances where Florida circuit court judges have heavily criticized plaintiff's attorneys, in open court, regarding their "shoddy" practices.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you believe that you have been a victim of fraud, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to have your case reviewed and see what foreclosure defense options may be available to help save your home.

To read the full Palm Beach Post article, click here.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a legislative proposal that would authorize bankruptcy courts to order mediation between homeowners and lenders before proceeding with the foreclosure process. The potential legislation, titled the Limiting Investor and Homeowner Loss in Foreclosure Act, passed by a slim 10-8 margin and would give the federal bankruptcy judges the ability to order the homeowners and their creditors to mediation in an effort to open the lines of communication between the two sides in hopes that the sides will survey options other than foreclosure.

The legislation would not give bankruptcy judges the authority to modify mortgages of write-down or "cram-down" mortgage principle like other foreclosure prevention measures that have failed gain approval over the last few years. The bill is modeled after a similar law being used in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island bill does not require settlement, just "good faith negotiation". To date, the law has been credited with saving at least 120 homes from foreclosure.

It seems as though the members of the House and Senate are now hearing the cries of struggling homeowners and are beginning to do something about it. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure alternative options may be available to you.

Lender Processing Services (LPS) was the subject of a segment about fraudulent documents used in foreclosure that aired on 60 Minutes. In response to the 60 Minutes episode, LPS released a newsletter claiming that the company has added new software which ensures the validity of the documents used in foreclosure actions. According to LPS, this software will require the person signing the affidavit to answer questions to "ensure the proper level of review has been completed."

This press release must be viewed with some skepticism because of the track record of LPS and its former subsidiary docx. But hopefully the company will stop the robo-signing of affidavits that has become so prevalent in the foreclosure industry.

No, unless your debt was secured by the house. Most all credit card debt is unsecured debt. A creditor cannot take your house for unpaid unsecured debt. If a creditor comes to you later and asks you to sign something that puts your house or car up for collateral for your current credit card debt, DO NOT sign it. If you think that you might want to sign this agreement, at least consult a Jacksonville consumer law attorney first to know your legal rights and the consequences of signing such an agreement.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a challenge to the Florida foreclosure courts in the Lakeland, Florida. The lawsuit claims that the foreclosure courts are biased in favor of the lenders and that the courts do not provide the same due process that individuals in the regular civil courts enjoy. The case requests that the court review the procedures used by the foreclosure courts in southwest Florida.

Florida foreclosure courts were created in 2010 in reaction to the foreclosure crisis in the state. The purpose of the foreclosure courts was to prevent the regular circuit courts from being overloaded with foreclosure cases. According to the ACLU's filing, the foreclosure courts focus on clearing the cases has put the homeowners at a disadvantage because it gives the homeowner less time to develop their case and it limits the homeowner's ability to present a defense. Additionally, according to the ACLU Complaint, the foreclosure courts have a quota of cases cleared that it must meet every month despite the fact that most of the cases have questionable paperwork. In response, a spokeswoman for the 20th Judicial Circuit stated that there were no such quotas but there was a goal to clear as many cases as possible.

If you are facing foreclosure in the state of Florida, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer prior to appearing in a Florida foreclosure court to ensure that your rights are protected.

YES. The creditor is bringing the claim against you and if you do not defend yourself, the judge will very likely issue a default against you. This may be frustrating for you, since you think the debt is no longer valid, but it will be much more frustrating to try and get the default set aside later. The judge probably does not know that you have already paid that debt and the creditor is certainly not going to tell the judge that this debt has already been satisfied. You must go into court and prove that you have paid this debt to get the case dismissed. A Florida consumer law attorney can help you with this representation and often times can appear in court on your behalf.

If you already have a judgment or garnishment, contact a Jacksonville attorney now to find out what your legal options are.

The U.S. Treasury has just released the latest numbers on short sales and deeds-in-lieu completed through the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program. Through the end of February 2011, 4,488 homeowners completed a short sale or deed-in-lieu under the HAFA program. In addition to the completed short sales and deeds-in-lieu, the report shows that 10,177 homeowners have tentative agreements in place with their servicers to complete the transactions under HAFA.

Under the HAFA program, eligible homeowners who are unable to afford their current monthly mortgage payment and are "interested in transitioning to more affordable housing" receive a one-time, $3,000, payment to aid the homeowner in relocating in exchange for completing a short sale or deed-in-lieu. The Treasury report also includes the newest statistics on the much-maligned Home Affordable Modification Program. Since the program began in 2009, over there have been over 1.5 million trial modifications started but more then 746,000 of those modifications have been cancelled.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and one of the foreclosure alternative programs has failed you, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary case review.

To view the entire Treasure report click here.

An upstate New York grandmother, living in her home with her children and grandchildren, has been forcefully evicted from her home by Bank of America. Along with evicting the woman, the SWAT team arrested at least six protestors and neighbors who were on hand to try to prevent what they believed was an improper eviction. The mortgage issues arose when her husband, the sole homeowner, died in 2008 and failed to write a will, bequeathing the home to his wife. After his death, a legal battle ensued between the grandmother and the bank as to who now owned the home. The grandmother says she was willing to make mortgage payments and even went so far as to attempt to make a payment, but her check was returned because the property was not in her name.

Bank of America maintains that mortgage payments were delinquent before the death of her husband, but the grandmother says she met with "the housing counsel, the local HUD approved mortgage counselors, and attempted to engage with Bank of America." A Florida Estate Planning Lawyer writes about the potential drawbacks of dying without a proper will in one of his blogs. After speaking to "high-level" political representatives who have reached out to Bank of America and Fannie Mae, who actually owns her mortgage loan, on her behalf, the grandmother says she is confident that her home will be returned to her.

This is another example of the potential pitfalls and potential abuses that struggling homeowners face when attempting to deal with a faceless corporation like Bank of America. Meeting with a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to ensure proper estate planning has been done, could have ensured that the house passed correctly and this sort of thing did not happen the grandmother. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit from Bank of America, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a

In what is becoming a bit of a trend, another state official has come to the realization that counties and states nationwide has been robbed of millions of dollars in recording fees through the use of the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) system. Now, one is seeking to take action. Southern Essex District Register of Deeds John O-Brien has requested that all deposits from his district be removed from Bank of America and no future deposits be made to the bank, until they drop the MERS system.

O'Brien estimates that his county alone has lost out on more than $22 million in fees as a result of MERS and that Massachusetts overall could have lost out on as much as $200 million in fees. In his letter to the Massachusetts State Treasurer requesting the removal of his districts deposits from Bank of America, O'Brien stated he wants the deposits shifted to a community bank that does not utilize the Mortgage Electronic Registration System.

Finally, public officials nationwide seem to be catching on to the missed fees and potential for mortgage fraud caused by MERS. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you had a MERS loan, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today to explore what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

Almost any debt that you owe when you file a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy or a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can get discharged in a Florida bankruptcy. There are a few exceptions for debt that cannot be discharged. The most common examples of non-dischargeable debts are student loans, federal and state taxes, some government fines, alimony, child support, etc. A personal loan is dischargeable unless it is secured by collateral. In other words, if you secured the loan with your house or car or other item, then you must either pay the debt or surrender the item. If the price of the item does not cover the full debt, the deficiency amount would still be discharged. However, if the personal loan is unsecured, it can be totally dis-chargeable.

To discuss which loans will be dischargable and which will not, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer to discuss your situation.

In these tough economic times, this is a common question clients ask their Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer . In Florida, a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can help a debtor keep their home or car if they are behind in their payments. In a Florida Chapter 13 Bankruptcy , the debtor repays the arrearages that they owe through a chapter 13 Plan that can span 3-5 years. This helps the debtor cure their default amount and save their home.

Also, when a debtor files a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, an automatic stay is put into place that prohibits creditors from trying to collect from the debtor. The automatic stay will stop the foreclosure proceedings. If the debtor fulfills the chapter 13 Plan, the home loan will be brought current.

If you have a second mortgage and the home is worth less than the primary mortgage, a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will strip the second or third mortgages and you will own nothing on these loans.

This is great news for those behind on their mortgage payments! Speak with a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer now to discuss how to save your home.

What is a bankruptcy trustee and what do they do? A Florida Bankruptcy trustee is appointed by the Court to represent and protect the creditors. The trustee will review your bankruptcy filings, look for signs of abuse, and often liquidate assets or collect on potential claims. The trustee is not a judge ands as such will not rule on motions or grant bankruptcy discharges. It the trustee's job to maximize recovery for the creditors. Your Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer will know how to list assets in a way to maximize your exempt assets and allow you to keep the largest amount or most desirable property.

The client will be assigned a Florida trustee and will meet them for the first time at the 341 Meeting of the creditors

Contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer to discuss how to structure your bankruptcy to discuss your situation and achieve your goals.

In another turn in the settlement talks going on between federal regulators and the five largest mortgage servicers over foreclosure abuses including allegations of "robo-signing", the two sides are negotiating a potential "cash for keys" program for delinquent borrowers. The program would pay homeowners who are at least 90 days behind on their mortgage payments $1,000 to seek independent financial advice and up to $20,000 as a fresh start payment toward the costs of a new home.

The program would require homeowners to vacate their homes quickly and to leave them in good condition. Along with the "big 5" mortgage servicers, there has been talk that federal mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be included as a part of the new "cash for keys" program. Rumors coming out of the meeting stated that the proposal was "rejected strongly" by bank officials.

A federally mandated and servicer approved cash for keys program would be a major help for thousands if not millions of struggling homeowners. 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 for you.

Amid pressure from the Obama administration to put programs into place allowing underwater homeowners to refinance into smaller, government backed loans, quasi-federal mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have stated that they will not be writing down principle loan balances...unless someone else picks up the tab. Edward DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, stated that reducing loan balances on loans would be damaging to the companies but "should a source of funds outside the companies emerge to cover some portion of the costs associated with principle" they would re-examine their stance.

DeMarco also gave several more reasons that Fannie and Freddie not writing down loan balances: according to their statistics, only 10% of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned loans are actually underwater; most underwater homeowners are still paying on their loan; and that the companies do offer forbearance plans for struggling homeowners which don't require payments, but those payments are not ultimately forgiven.

While this stance is not beneficial for many homeowners, at least the topic of forgiving mortgage principle is being discussed openly. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what foreclosure alternative or mortgage modification options are available to you.

A former Lender Processing Services (LPS) employee, Adrian Lofton, gave a sworn statement to a New Jersey court investigating mortgage fraud. In his statement, Mr. Lofton alleges that LPS employees sometimes altered the bank's records. When a mortgage goes into default, LPS becomes the manager of the loan. The problem is that LPS employees are then given access to the bank's entire database to reconcile any inconsistencies on the account. Because LPS employees were encouraged to work as quickly as possible, corners were cut and files were manipulated.

Some of the manipulation that has taken place on these mortgage files may never be discovered. Therefore, it is very important that you contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer if you are in default on your home mortgage. You should have your loan documents reviewed for inconsistencies between the amount that LPS claims is due and owing and the amount that you actually owe.

Chase Home Finance has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Fort Lauderdale against Ben-Ezra & Katz. Ben-Ezra & Katz was the former legal counsel for Chase. The lawsuit alleges that Ben-Ezra & Katz has refused to hand over files from Chase's foreclosure cases. The Mortgages and Promissory Notes contained in these files are valued at over $400 million. If Chase cannot recover these files from the law firm, Chase will not be able to proceed with any of the cases that are currently pending in court. The lawsuit requests that the court issue a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction requiring Ben-Ezra & Katz to hand over the foreclosure files. Chase claims that the contract between the two parties had a clause that required Ben-Ezra & Katz to return the files immediately after the contract terminated. Ben-Ezra & Katz claims that it has not handed the files over to Chase because Chase owes the law firm more than $5 million.

The fourteen top U.S. mortgage lenders are reportedly near an agreement with federal regulators which would call for an servicers to completely revamp their foreclosure practices and handling of delinquent borrowers. The investigation and impending agreement stems from numerous allegations of foreclosure abuses, most notably rampant "robo-signing" that has plagued the foreclosure process. Insiders have stated that the regulators, which include the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Reserve, could potentially announce the agreements as early as next week.

This round of agreements will likely come before any agreements made arising from the investigations being carried out by the 50 state attorney's general into the foreclosure practices of mortgage lenders. Any deal agreed to upon by the two sides will likely include new, mandatory minimum default servicing requirements as well as monetary penalties. Head of the Office of Comptroller of Currency John Walsh has stated that the banks emphasized "timeliness and cost efficiency over quality and accuracy" when pursuing foreclosures and they banks did not promote an environment "is consistent with conducting foreclosure process in a safe and sound manner."

Hopefully this settlement will be good news for the millions of struggling borrowers nationwide. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today.

Nevada, Maryland, Missouri and Illinois are all considering legislation that would prohibit residential real estate appraisers from using foreclosures and short sales as comparable sales. Currently, appraisers are using the sales prices of foreclosed and short sold homes in the appraisal calculations for non-distressed properties. This causes the appraisal value of the non-distressed or newly built homes to decrease significantly. In some instances, it results in a newly built home being appraised at a lower value than what it cost for the builder to build the home. If the appraisal value is lower than the sales price of the home, it is very difficult for a potential home buyer to obtain financing to purchase the property. We will have to wait to see if any of these laws pass, and, if so, what effect they will have on the depressed housing market.

Freddie Mac will no longer allow loan servicers that are managing Freddie loans to foreclose on a piece of property in the name of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS). This directive goes into effect on April 1.

The directive reads as follows, Freddie "eliminated the option for the foreclosure counsel or trustee to conduct a foreclosure in the name of MERS. Effective for Mortgages registered with MERS that are referred to foreclosure on or after April 1, 2011, Servicers must prepare an assignment of the Security Instrument from MERS to the Servicer and instruct the foreclosure counsel or trustee to foreclose in the Servicer's name and take title in Freddie Mac's name." Additionally, in states that require a servicer to record the assignment, the servicer is responsible to pay those fees. If your lender has initiated a foreclosure action on your home in the name of MERS, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer.

60 Minutes reported that after 6 consecutive months of falling home prices, there is little question about a second housing drop. With home prices similar to those of more than 10 years ago.

It appears that the banks that are trying to help homeowners are actually creating much of the problem by "fouled up paperwork". In some cases it appears to be an intentional fraud reported a homeowner who is fighting their foreclosure.

Follow this link to read more on 60 minutes and the Mortgage Paperwork Mess

Florida housing expects to move forward with a statewide implementation of the Florida Hardest-Hit program by the middle of April (within 2 weeks). Homeowners in all 67 counties can apply for assistance from the Florida Hardest-Hit program on their website http://www.FLHardestHistHelp.org

There have been several websites what appear to be copycat websites

See the video below

Mike Elewski, an Ohio homeowner, was struggling to stay current on his monthly mortgage payments. He contacted Wells Fargo and requested that they modify his loan because he could no longer afford his payments. Wells Fargo told him that they do not negotiate with homeowners unless they are behind on their payments. So he stopped paying his loan for a few months and ended up in foreclosure.

Mr. Elewski was then convinced that he could keep his home when a judge ordered mediation between him and Wells Fargo. That hope disappeared when he arrived at mediation and Wells Fargo offered him only a two-dollar reduction in his monthly mortgage payments. Mr. Elewski was furious. Four days later, he called Wells Fargo to express his unhappiness with the modification offer. Wells Fargo representatives told him that the two-dollar modification was an error made when the company miscalculated his income. Wells Fargo told Mr. Elewski they would make him another modification offer.

It is very important to have a Foreclosure Defense Lawyer when working out a modification with your bank. The banks usually create loan modifications that will greatly benefit the bank. Do not let the bank take advantage of you during mediation or loan modification, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer.

President of the Florida Bar, Mayane Downs, says that the Bar has seen an increase large increase in the number of complaints and investigations of attorney misconduct as a result of foreclosure fraud and some may pay the ultimate professional price, disbarment. The Florida Bar, the body responsible for monitoring and investigation attorney conduct, has seen the number of fraud cases and the number of attorney's under investigation rise from 28 investigations on 23 attorneys in 2010 to 222 investigations on 157 attorneys open so far in 2011.

The substance of the investigations are not made public but complaints normally range from forged signatures on court documents, forged notarizations on documents and other illegal and unscrupulous activities designed to speed up the foreclosure process. These investigations do not include the wide-ranging investigations into the 8 Florida "foreclosure mills" including the now defunct Law Offices of David J. Stern. Many foreclosure defense attorneys question why no one from any of the "foreclosure mills" has yet to be suspended or face professional sanctions as a result of the investigations.

Many attorneys didn't believe that the media allegations of foreclosure abuses would result in official investigations by the Florida Bar but that appears to not be the case. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit where one of the 8 "foreclosure mills" is opposing counsel, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.