Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

As a requirement before lenders with allow you to short sale your home, most lenders will require homeowners to sign contracts agreeing to the bank's stipulations in selling the home. Many times these documents will include boilerplate language that can be harmful to a borrower's position. In some cases, as a condition of short sale, borrowers are asked to sign a promissory note agreeing to pay the balance of the deficiency amount after the sale before the house can even be sold. As a result lenders will be contractually able to obtain a deficiency judgment when short sales did not cover the entire cost of the mortgage.

Never sign a promissory note for a lender without knowing the legal consequences that document will have on your short sale. If you are considering the foreclosure alternatives such as short selling your property contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today to determine what foreclosure alternatives may be available to you and what alternative may be the best in your situation.

Those who have lost a property to foreclosure know one thing is almost certain; they're not likely to see their homes again. A New York man is singing a different tune, however, after the Supreme Court of New York vacated a bank's foreclosure sale of his home. Justice Allan Weiss overruled a Deutsche Bank's foreclosure on a defendant's property, finding that the documents filed by the bank deprived the homeowner of due process.

It may seem like a fairy tale, but here is the law and how it was applied: In New York, a party moving to dismiss a default must demonstrate a reasonable excuse for the default and demonstrate a potentially meritorious defense. A defendant need not demonstrate this if the basis for the request to vacate is that the Court lacks personal jurisdiction. Keep in mind that if the court doesn't have personal jurisdiction, subsequent holdings should be dismissed and it is the Plaintiff's burden to prove personal jurisdiction by proper service of process. A process server's signed affidavit serves as prima facie evidence of proper service. If personal jurisdiction is not obtained in this fashion, the proceeding is proper for dismissal without condition.

The Court found the Plaintiff failed to submit any proof that they properly served the Defendant. The affidavit of service Plaintiff submitted had a Supreme Court of Kings County Caption (it should have been in Queens) with an index number that did not match the actual foreclosure. The address where Plaintiff tried to serve the Defendant was not even the Defendant's address.

This is a prime example of the sloppiness that certain lenders and their legal counsel have perpetrated when pursuing sometimes thousands of foreclosures nationwide. This should serve as a reminder to homeowners that there are defenses to a foreclosure case. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer for a free consultation. Do not lose the ability to defend your home by sitting on your rights. c

When faced with a foreclosure in Florida, you should be aware of the different alternatives that are available before you lose your home. Due to the complex nature of foreclosure proceedings, it is advisable to first contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer to discuss which option is right for you. Below are several alternatives to foreclosure that can be discussed with your attorney:

• Forbearance-If you have recently experienced an involuntary interruption of income or been burdened with extraordinary expenses, a lender may be able to adjust your repayment plan based on the status of your current financial situation.

• Modification of the Mortgage-A lender may allow you to refinance your debt and extend your mortgage loan, which could reduce monthly payments to an affordable level.

• Short Sale-Once in default, you can sell your property and pay off your mortgage loan to avoid foreclosure and damage to your credit.

• Deed-in-lieu of Foreclosure-As a last resort, you may be able to "give back" your property to the lender. Although this will likely not save your home, it may help your chances of receiving another mortgage loan in the future.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of foreclosure alternatives and the availability of the above alternatives will vary on a case by case basis. To discuss these options and other available foreclosure alternative options, contact a or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

The influx of mortgage foreclosures in the United States seems to have no end in sight. In an effort to motivate mortgage lenders to actually cooperate, the Federal Government offered lenders cash incentives, up to $1,000 per modification, if they would help prevent the loss of a home by permanently modifying a homeowner's mortgage payment. But a certain set of lenders have done so little to help the foreclosure crisis that the Government will no longer offer them those incentives.

According to a release by the Treasury Department, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase & Co. failed in helping people permanently modify their mortgages. Their failure was so abysmal that the government has pulled the plug on the lucrative cash incentive, although the money still lives on for other, more cooperative lenders. Out of the 1.6 million homeowners who began in the program, roughly 850,000 of them have dropped out as of April 2011.

The issues involved reach beyond un-cooperation; the Treasury found that the lenders wrongly disqualified many people from the program. Numerous borrowers have complained that the banks have either lost documents or been completely unresponsive to their modification requests. Banks, however, blame homeowners for not submitting needed paperwork to complete the modification.

On the other side of the coin, those who were actually accepted into the program received interest rates as low as 2 percent for five years, with a median savings of $526 per month. If you have applied for a mortgage modification and believe that you were denied unnecessarily, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to explore potential remedies or what other foreclosure alternatives may be available to you..

Through April of this year servicers reported 1,666 short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure under the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative program, which constitutes a 74 percent jump from the number reported in March (959). The program has accounted for 7,113 short sales and deeds-in-lieu since its inception in April 2010.

The latest Treasury data shows that the 10 largest servicers participating in federal foreclosure prevention programs have completed a short sale or deed-in-lieu for nearly 83,000 borrowers who did not qualify for the Home Affordable Modification Program and over 31,000 borrowers who had HAMP trials cancelled. Low payout to servicers, other investors and lien holders was cited as the reason lenders have sought their own method of short sale.

As a borrower, competent representation by an attorney can make the difference between what may be good or bad deal in a short sale or loan modification. To have your deed-in-lieu or short sale contact reviewed by a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

Recent reports have scrutinized practices relating to a certain investment vehicle; the mortgage backed securities market. This market is operated by originators of the loan, the lenders, selling their loans into a trust, which in turn pass the benefit of these loans on to investors.

Transfers from the mortgagee to a trust, like all secured transactions, are subject to some fairly strict requirements. These requirements are set out in the trusts "pooling and servicing agreement" called the PSA. Within the PSA are all the rules of the assignment, which the mortgagee and trust must follow, such as including the trust documents in the assignment from the lender to the trust - the promissory note, the mortgage, the mortgage assignment and a title insurance policy are necessary.

The PSA is usually uniform. They require the note itself to be the original note, indorsed to the trust or in blank. This is so others know the bank was the original lender on the note but that the trust is now the owner. While the note is indorsed, the mortgage itself must be assigned, usually in a separate document. Some trusts allow the mortgage to be assigned "in blank", meaning the name of the new owner isn't specified. The name of the trust (the new owner of the mortgage in this situation) is the only thing that can be left blank on the transfer.

A study was conducted over a three-year period in Hillsborough, Lee and St. Lucie County's, Florida, from 2008 to 2010. During that period, 4,580 assignments of mortgage took place between banks and these six groups of trusts: Bear Stearns, GSAMP, GSAA, Morgan Stanley, Structured Asset Investment Loans (SAIL) and Structured Asset Mortgage Investments (SAMI).

The study of those assignments returned some peculiar results. Many other items besides the "in blank" new owner were also left blank, such as the effective date of the assignment. Without this date recorded on the original assignment, the question then becomes whether and when the assignment actually took place.

In fact, throughout the study, no document in the 4,580 assignments filed in the three Florida Counties was original - all were prepared by mortgage servicers years after the trusts had closed, back dated to reflect a proper transfer date.

If the trusts acquired the mortgage years after the trusts closed - what mortgages actually were in the trusts that were sold to investors? Why, if original documents were in fact missing, were they not reported correctly as missing? Finally, what is the remedy for the buyer?

Many are familiar with the saying: "perception is reality." It may just seem that foreclosures by trusts are legitimate, even without evidencing the ownership of the note and mortgage. But the perception for the purchaser is that these mortgage-backed securities thrived on fraudulently manufactured documents and poor customer relations.

If your mortgage has been pledged to a trust and you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer to assist you and determine what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

At the most recent meeting of the Jacksonville City Council's Rule Committee on Monday, an interesting proposal was brought to the floor by City Council member Kevin Hyde. The Bill, 2010-766, establishes a $40 court fee for felonies, misdemeanors and criminal traffic infractions in order to help ease foreclosure woes. The funds will be directed to Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA) in order to provide assistance to disadvantaged citizens facing foreclosure.

The proposal came after Florida Governor Rick Scott cut $1 million in state budget funding from the Florida Access to Civil Legal Assistance Act, of which JALA applied for $150,000. Mr. Scott believes that when it comes to legal aid, those funds should come locally and not through state moneys as has been norm in the past.

This proposal is likely to garner strong opinions from both supporters and those against the new measure. To share your views on the proposed bill, contact Council Member Kevin Hyde by email or telephone at (904) 630-1398 and let him know your thoughts.

The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University released their annual State of the Nation's Housing Report today, June 6, 2011. The findings report that the value of homes at the low end of market home values typically fell three times more than their higher-priced home counterparts. They used the city of Atlanta as an example, where prices for more expensive homes fell just 23 percent by December 2010 after the housing market spike in April. But during that same time, values of the lowest priced homes fell by a staggering 50 percent. Interestingly enough, the lower priced homes saw the biggest growth from the April 2010 tax benefits. Since those benefits have ended and the future of the housing market has grown more uncertain, values continue to fall and more homeowners find themselves underwater.

Good news did come from the Lender Processing Services : the number of buyers paying on their mortgages is on the rise. In April 2010 roughly 24 percent of U.S. home loans were at least 30 days past due. One year later, that number was down to 8 percent.

Facing the realities of foreclosure can be a taxing experience and the actions a buyer can take seem vast. To explore these options to the fullest, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer to discuss the exact facts and circumstances of your case.

Again, the Florida Courts of Appeal have released opinions reversing improper foreclosures due to errors by the foreclosing banks! The Florida Appellate Review details recent decisions by the 1st, 4th and 5th District Courts of Appeal regarding both insufficient notice and standing. To see the synopsis of those decisions click here.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit or already have had a decision rendered against you and are considering an appeal, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today for a complimentary case review.

Technically, no. Florida does not have a specific statutory foreclosure redemption period. In other states, the right of redemption period will state designated number of days to allow a borrower time to prevent a foreclosure sale by paying the entire balance due to the lender. During this period, a homeowner has the right to pay the redemption amount, without danger of being evicted.

While Florida does not have a statutory right of redemption period, there is usually a 20-30 day period between the public sale of a home and when the certificate of title is issued. While the 20-30 day time period is typical, certificate of title can be issued in a shorter period of time. Be aware that once the certificate of title is issued there is usually very little a previous owner can do to stay in their home.

If your home has recently be sold at auction and you would like to exercise your right of redemption prior to certificate of title being issued, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today.

Whether it's a financially savvy move, or because banks left a bad taste in many homeowner's mouths, more people able to pay their mortgages are still choosing to leave their homes. With reports of some homes losing as much as 50 percent of their value, many homeowners do not feel it makes financial sense to continue to pay on a home that is so far "upside down". With the prospect of being able to rent for roughly half of the cost of a mortgage, homeowners are left to balance whether realizing the value of a strategic default is worth the infamous mark on the credit score. For more and more people, to keep paying on the home just doesn't add up.

Overcoming the stigma of foreclosure can often be the catalyst in deciding to strategically default. Indeed, more people than ever agree that walking away might be an advantageous move in some situations, even when the buyer is fully able to make his or her mortgage payments.

The stigma of foreclosure should not be one of many factors considered in deciding to foreclose or walk away. If you are considering a strategic default or if you having trouble paying your mortgage, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer to discuss whether a strategic default or one of the many other foreclosure alternatives is in your best interest today.

A local Bank of America branch faced an interest conundrum last week: write a check for $2,534 in attorney's fees for a wrongful foreclosure they filed last year or have the furniture in the branch removed and sold at auction to satisfy the debt. The decision stemmed from a foreclosure the bank filed in 2010 against a Collier County couple. The bank alleged that the couple had fallen behind on their mortgage payments and began foreclosure proceedings; but there was a problem, the couple paid cash for the home they bought in 2009!

The case, filed by notorious foreclosure mills the Law Offices of David J. Stern, was dropped two months after it was filed, but the judge entered an order requiring Bank of America to pay the homeowners' attorney's fees. Multiple attempts to get the bank to pay the debt went unacknowledged, so the homeowners' attorney obtained a writ of enforcement, which gave permission to seize Bank of America's assets to satisfy the debt obligation. After an hour of negotiations, the local Bank of America manager wrote a check to satisfy the debt, rather than have the furniture of his branch seized.

While these stories are rare, these apparently are the types of actions that get the banks' attention. 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 defense options may be available to you.

Florida, along with 19 other states, receives money from the Federal Government to maintain a Hardest Hit fund, which is designed to provide aid for families most affected by the housing crises and the recession. Each state is allowed to establish its own rules, and you can find information on how to apply for Florida's fund right here.

For example, the Hardest Hit website says that to be eligible, you must occupy the home as your primary residence, be unemployed (or underemployed through no fault of your own, have a total income at or below 140% of the area median income, have an active bank account, cannot have an outstanding bankruptcy, and cannot have been convicted of a mortgage-related felony within the last 10 years.

This list may sound reasonable; however, many applicants are finding it difficult to actually get approved for assistance. In fact, more than 10,000 homeowners have completed applications. 2,700 of those applications have actually been processed, and 80% of them have been rejected. According to a spokesperson, the high denial rate is by design. They want to ensure they approve primarily people who have a good chance of keeping their homes.

The reasons for denial, however, likely seem arbitrary to applicants. Unemployed applicants can be denied if the agency determines they were at fault for losing their jobs. If the person is actually employed, the agency may not consider them "underemployed" to qualify for assistance. Applicants are also denied if more than 6 months behind on mortgage payments, or if they are deemed to have income to spend 31% on housing expenses.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't apply. In fact, many states -- including Florida -- have been surprised at the low number of applicants. If you believe you qualify for the program, check out Florida's Hardest Hit website for more information. If you have been denied or your home is otherwise in foreclosure, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Attorney for more information.

You may recall news stories last year about the so-called "robosigning" scandal, which showed bank employees were signing off on foreclosure documents without actually reviewing the paperwork. At the time, banks claimed it was an isolated problem that would be taken care of within a few weeks. It appears, however, that the problem was a little more complex than we were told.

In fact, actually reviewing the documents reveals the level of confusion the banking industry has when it comes to foreclosures. Many of the companies that originally provided loans are now out of business. Those companies sold their loan holdings to other companies. Some of those companies are now also out of business, having re-sold the loans to still other companies.

You're probably seeing how confusing this can get. Moreover, when some of those loans were sold, the companies failed to properly transfer ownership. Think of it this way: if you sell a car, you also have to transfer the title. Many banks were selling mortgages but failing to properly supply the paperwork. Unfortunately, many foreclosure cases have improper documents in some form or another; however, courts have not been keen on dismissing foreclosure claims based on the faulty paperwork. That may be beginning to change.

Last month, the Supreme Court of Maine overturned a foreclosure, ruling the mortgage company filed "inherently untrustworthy" documents. The homeowners, Dana and Robin Murphy, hadn't made a payment in two years; however, the mortgage company's documents contained multiple discrepancies and evidence of fraud. Essentially, the mortgage company could not prove that the Murphy's actually owed them money.

While it is unclear if other courts will follow Maine's footsteps, insufficient loan documents remain a problem in many foreclosure cases. If your home is subject to a foreclosure action, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today.

While many Florida homeowners continue to wait for the housing market to regain strength, some areas of the United States are actually recovering. According to an article by David Cook, of the Wall Street Journal, these small pockets of home-price stability can provide clues for those looking to decipher when the Florida market has hit bottom.

With the help of a statistical analysis performed by Zillow, an online real-estate information and search firm, Cook pinpoints several factors that have helped homeowners in other communities better gauge what's going on where they live--and what the future may hold for their home's value.

First, the largest factor in determining whether a community has passed through the worst of the housing market is its current state of employment. Second, Cook suggests that local rental rates are very strong indicators of real-estate values. He suggests that extremely low price-to-rent multiples can be warning flags for seriously depressed markets. Third, Cook indicates that healthier communities have fewer foreclosed properties pulling down the values of other homes.

For Florida homeowners, it appears we have not quite hit the "bottom" of this crisis. While employment may seem to be on the rise, many foreclosures continue to be filed every day.

Jacksonville residents living in communities with a homeowners associations (HOA) should be aware that Florida HOAs can foreclose a home for failing to pay dues. Some Florida borrowers are surprised, despite putting every penny towards staying current on their mortgage, when they still lose their home if they do not pay their HOA dues. Many homeowners are surprised when they find out they didn't lose their home to their lender; they lost it to their local HOA.

As Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney's, we have noticed a recent trend were Jacksonville residents are now foreclosure by their HOA. It is important to note that when you buy a home with a Florida HOA, you are buying into a deed restricted community. The agreement stipulates that you will abide by the HOA's rules. What many homeowners living in a community with an HOA fail to realize is that the remedial action for violation of these rules is sometimes foreclosure. Thus, they are legally entitled to foreclose your home.

If you live in a Florida community with an HOA and are facing the prospect of a foreclosure by your HOA, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what options may be available to you..

Recently, Florida Courts of Appeal have begun handing down decisions showing their disapproval of the unscrupulous actions of many of the foreclosing banks. A Florida Appellate Review Lawyer recently published a great blog detailing one such decision. The full text of the blog can be found here.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit or if you have already fought the banks and received a ruling not in your favor, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary case review.

There are scams afoot when it comes to companies or individuals promising to help you on the foreclosing or the mortgage of your home. A survey by Homeownership Preservation Foundation , which gives homeowners references to accredited counseling services, found that Florida was ranked second in foreclosure rescue scams. Foreclosure or Mortgage Rescue Scams sound legitimate but make you pay an upfront fee. The Federal Trade Commission has outlawed this upfront fee practice.

Falling prey to one of these scams could cost you your home thousands of dollars. A Foreclosure Rescue Scam could include a company or individual asking you to sign away your home and live rent-free for a year while you get your finances in order. Once you sign away your home, that company or individual can sell your own home out from under you, forcing you to move.

In order to protect yourself from Foreclosure or Mortgage Rescue Scams, you should not sign a contract until you have had it reviewed by an attorney. If you feel that you have fallen prey to a foreclosure rescue scammer, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to determine what remedies may be available to you.

As foreclosure rates continue to soar, lenders are looking for other options to foreclosure. When a bank forecloses on a home, it costs them time and money, and leaves them stuck with a house they have to try to sell. As a potential foreclosure alternative, some banks are looking for other less expensive options.

A short sale is when your lender agrees to allow you to sell your home for less than the remaining balance on your mortgage. When a homeowner and a lender agree to short sale a home, the bank agrees to forgive any outstanding balance after the home is sole. By unloading a mortgage you cannot afford, your bank takes a smaller loss than if you go into foreclosure.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and are considering a short sale or any other foreclosure alternative, contact a o Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to explore what foreclosure avoidance options may be available to you.

Florida is one of about 25 states with a foreclosure mediation program, which was established by the Florida Supreme Court in 2009 in an attempt to both help homeowners and clear court caseloads. However, a recent study suggests the mediation program is not as successful as had been hoped.

For example, in Miami-Dade County, only 2,396 of the 14,372 foreclosures that were recommended to foreclosure actually occurred. This is largely due to the fact that homeowners are very difficult to reach and often don't respond to requests for mediation -- Statewide, only 41% of homeowners were successfully contacted. This is just one of the many reasons you should not ignore attempts by your lender to contact you.

It's important to remember that the program is young and still improving. Some of the problems associated with the program can be remedied by hiring an attorney. If your lender has requested mediation but you failed to respond, an attorney may be able to reinstate you into the program. It is important to have an attorney representing your rights at mediation. If you are facing the prospect of foreclosure and believe mediation may be option for you, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to discuss your options.

Foreclosures continue to be a problem around the country, especially in Florida. The home-price index is currently at its lowest point since 2002 (or 1999, if adjusted for inflation), largely due to the high number of foreclosures and low number of home sales. Though home prices rose last summer, this was primarily the result of the federal home-buying tax credit, which is no longer available.

If you are facing foreclosure, it is extremely important that you act quickly in order to improve your chances of avoiding the loss of your home. Do not ignore notices from your bank or lending company, as your lender may be able to help lower your payments. Those behind on payments often think they have no options except to stop paying their mortgage, but this is not always the case. Remember, your lender is likely more interested in keeping you as a paying customer than initiating a costly foreclosure proceeding, even if that means lowering your monthly payments. Even if you are not yet facing foreclosure, you don't have to wait for your lender to contact you before discussing a loan modification. If you know you're going to be behind on payments, it may be a good idea to contact your lender and work out an agreeable solution.

Make sure to contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer if you are facing a home foreclosure in Florida. Even if you have been ignoring calls from your creditors, there may be options you can take. A knowledgeable attorney can help explain those options and assist you in a pending foreclosure.

A recent Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling may have opened the door to a new avenue to be pursued by people defending against an impending foreclosure. In the two decisions handed down Friday, the Court ruled that U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo did not have the right to foreclose on two properties they seized in 2007.

In most states, lenders must prove that they own the note on the property before they can foreclose on a property. In these instances, the lenders were able to complete the foreclosure process based on incomplete paperwork. In a surprising move, the Court ordered the homes returned to the borrowers, which could potentially open the door to similar proceedings nationwide.

If you have any question regarding whether your bank had the right to evict you at the time it initiated a foreclosure of your Florida home, you should contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today.

In response to recent real estate news, the housing market has seen a surplus; that is, in the amount of homes that hit their lowest market value to date.. According to a CNN report on the Case-Shiller national home price index, US home prices have "double-dipped" since hitting lows not seen since 2009 and early 2010. After news outlets broke word of the robo-signing scandal used by big banks and because of home buyer tax-benefits, the US housing markets saw a marked increase in home buying and prices in late 2009 and early 2010.

This lead many homeowners to "sit on their homes," optimistic that the hemorrhaging of near-foreclosure mortgage payments would end and houses would return to pre-bubble burst real estate values. Instead, the news ceased to report on the foreclosure crisis and those new homeowner tax benefits ended in April 2010. Since then, prices have re-dipped and left many homeowners to again decide whether it is more economic to continue paying the mortgage on their home or to succumb and walk away.

In deciding how to tackle to a potential foreclosure, a homeowner must take his or her particular circumstances into consideration. In order to assess what foreclosure defenses may be available to you, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer to help you determine the best course of action in your case..

Provest is at it again...according to a report from the Orlando Sun-Sentinel, Provest just did the impossible, it served a foreclosure suit to a homeowner who was already dead! According to the lawyer representing the deceased defendant, a Provest representative served the homeowner on April 21, 2011, the only problem being that the homeowner died on August 4, 2010. Provest introduced the falsified proof of service document to the court, showing that the company properly served the defendant.

The processor server in the case has stated that when she attempted to serve the deceased homeowner, a person came to the door and when she asked if he was the person she was looking for, he said yes. The process server said the law does not require her to check a person's ID, so she served the papers and left. In a foreclosure proceeding where a homeowner is deceased, a lender must ask the court to appoint an administrator to the case and serve the suit to the administrator.

This is just the latest in a long line of fraudulent service complaints against Provest. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you were a victim of fraudulent service of process, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what service related foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

According to the latest numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association "problem loans" in the mortgage system are down from 2010 levels, foreclosures remain at extremely high levels and mortgage delinquencies have barely changed since the first quarter of the year. So what does this mean? While some states seem to have figured out a way to "fix" their foreclosure and mortgage systems, other, like Florida, continues to be mired in the middle of the foreclosure mess.

The Mortgage Bankers Association statistics show that Florida's percentage share of the foreclosures nationally is 23.7%, nearly one quarter of all foreclosures across the U.S.! In fact, Florida's 466,454 foreclosures is greater than the total number of loans in 22 states. As many people familiar with foreclosure processes understand, states with non-judicial foreclosure process get from beginning to end much more quickly than states with judicial foreclosure processes. Eight of the ten states with the highest percentage of mortgages in foreclosure are judicial foreclosure states.

While some industry experts say that judicial foreclosure processes are bad and just temporarily prevent the inevitable, a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer believes the benefit far outweighs the costs. After proof of corners being cut by the banks, including thousands of "robo-signed" documents, all precautions to prevent those sort of actions should be taken. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

Starting July 1, "rocket dockets" across the State of Florida will be shut down after the Florida legislature opted not to renew the $6 million award granted in 2010 to help alleviate the glut of foreclosure cases that were bogging down the states courts. According to statistics compiled by the Palm Beach Post, since June 2010, "rocket dockets" across the state have decreased the number of outstanding foreclosure cases from 462,339 to 322,700, a modest reduction of 139,615 cases.

According to spokesman for the Office of the State Courts Administrator, Craig Waters, there was never an expectation that the award would be renewed and it was even less likely to happen given the state's budget shortfall. While the "rocket dockets" came under the ire of foreclosure defense lawyers and many consumer advocacy groups, the lack of judicial resources threatens to grind the foreclosure process to a halt. Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge John Hoy has gone so far as to issue an order canceling foreclosure hearings stating "[b]ecause of the lack of funding by the Florida Legistlature, judges are unavailable to preside over foreclosure trials beginning July 1, 2011."

First quarter numbers from real estate tracking firm RealtyTrac show that a full foreclosure process in Florida took an average of 619 days which is a significant jump from the 470 days the process took in the first quarter of 2010, and it looks like it is going to worse. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

To view the Judicial order from Palm Beach County click here.