Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

Following the housing crisis of 2008, congress and President Bush created the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which is an independent agency that oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Home Loan Banks. At a recent meeting with congress, the FHFA's Director, Edward DeMarco, promised to review a new plan that will help homeowners who file Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

The plan would allow homeowners who file Chapter 13 to pay down loan principal, instead of interest, for a five-year period. This allows homeowners to reduce -- or even eliminate -- negative equity in their homes. In other words, the plan helps people get out of the situation of being "upside down" or "underwater" on their loans. To qualify, homeowners would have to settle claims against loan servicers. This would reduce litigation and will hopefully reduce the number of homeowners facing foreclosure or filing bankruptcy.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and are at risk of losing your home or are considering filing bankruptcy, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney today for a complimentary consultation to discuss your options.

You may have heard about robo-signing and other foreclosure scams. Basically, since the housing market crash, numerous states have reported mortgage companies are signing loan and mortgage documents in fraudulent ways. Some of these mortgage companies are foreclosing on homes despite not having the proper documentation to do so. They may have possession of the mortgage note, but they have no verification for how they received the note. If they can't prove they have the legal right to foreclose, they will not legally be able to reposes the home.

Yet many illegal foreclosures still occur. Some people know they're behind on payments and simply leave; others become intimidated by the situation and allow the companies to foreclose. In any case, if you're in Florida, being foreclosed upon is definitely a reason to contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney.

If you are in Nevada, however, you have even more protections: as of October 1, 2011, Nevada became the first state to make illegally repossessing a home a felony. Essentially, the law requires mortgage companies that file a foreclosure action to provide a new affidavit with the amount owed on the loan, the person who is in possession of the note, and the person with the authority to foreclose on the property. If the foreclosure action is found to be fraudulent, the company could be fined $5000 and the person with the authority to foreclose on the property could go to jail.

The law will not substantially affect mortgage companies that are legally foreclosing upon homes. In fact, those companies should have nothing to worry about as far as prosecution under the law goes. However, even if you are facing legal foreclosure, an attorney may be able to help you through the process.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today to discus what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

Since its inception, Florida's state foreclosure mediation program has been met with mixed reviews. Many complain that it has not produced the desired results because it doesn't encourage honest participation from any of the parties.

But it was a step in the right direction, and federal courts have taken notice. Using Florida's state program as a guide, Federal courts in Orlando started a program that helps people remain in their homes. Unlike the Florida state program, the federal program has been very successful.

Though only a few hundred cases have gone through the program, 90% of those who have used it have been approved for mortgage modifications. The program is now moving to Manatee and Sarasota counties, and has plans to move to Jacksonville in the near future.

One drawback is that, in order to participate in the federal program, homeowners must file Chapter 13 bankruptcy first. Not everyone qualifies for Chapter 13 bankruptcy; not to mention the program can be complicated. Nevertheless, you should speak with a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney or a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney if you're interested.

This program should benefit both homeowners and mortgage lenders. Lenders have been relatively slow in initiating foreclosures lately because they do not really have much incentive to repossess a home: foreclosure basically means the lender is taking possession of the home and then losing more money on it in a foreclosure sale. The program encourages lenders to renegotiate with the homeowner so the homeowner can remain in the house and the lender can recover some of its losses.

Though the program has not yet moved into Jacksonville, it will hopefully be a big help for Florida's housing market that has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. Keep reading the blog for more updates, or contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney or Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney to learn more about the program once it gets implemented.

We have updated our FreeFlorida_Foreclosure_Guide_v3.pdf which covers the following topics:

• The Most Important Component


• The Foreclosure Process


• Judicial Sale States Versus Non-judicial States


• Frequently Asked Questions


• The Foreclosure Defense Fight


• Common Defenses Used in Defending Foreclosure


• Common Countercliams During Foreclosure


• Foreclosure Alternatives


• Making Sure You Hire the Right


• Foreclosure Defense Attorney


• Renters in Foreclosure


• Be Aware of Foreclosure Scams

Lender Processing Services, the mortgage servicing industry support company based in Jacksonville, was one of the many loan servicers engaged in the robo-signing scandal that has rocked the mortgage world over the past few years. Essentially, robo-signing is largely what it sounds like. As loan servicers faced mounting piles of unpaid mortgages, they decided they didn't have the time to actually review the documents or properly sign them. Instead, many employees were signing each other's names or using other forms of fraud to make the documents look legitimate. Then, the documents were filed in court and used to foreclose on peoples' homes.

But fraudulently signing documents and filing them in court is illegal. Unfortunately, the problem was so wide-spread that, in many areas, the solution was to simply accept the word of the lenders that they would stop filing fraudulent documents. However Nevada, one of the states hardest hit by the national mortgage crisis, has taken a tougher stance regarding robo-signing. Recently, prosecutors in Nevada filed a 606-count indictment against two LPS employees for fraudulently signing documents and directing other LPS employees to file tens of thousands of false documents.

That was not a typo: these two employees in one state are allegedly responsible, at least in part, for tens of thousands of false documents. This is the first time in the country that criminal charges are being filed for the robo-signing scandal. LPS says, though there have been some problems, all of the documents it filed were properly authorized. In other words, they're admitting that some of the documents were flawed, but they maintain that none of the foreclosures were wrongful. As LPS is the nation's larger provider of mortgage processing services, it will be extremely interesting to see how this case plays out. While LPS is based on Jacksonville, it has offices nationwide to support to lenders based in different regions of the U.S.

Keep reading a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog for further updates. If you are currently or will be facing foreclosure, make sure to contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney to determine what foreclosure defenses may be available in your case.

The panel appointed to study the viability and effectiveness of the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation program has recommended that the Florida Supreme Court end the program, rather than tweak or make wholesale changes to the program. The panel, consisting of five judges and a court administrator, cited homeowner mistrust and lender resistance as two of the major reasons the program has been ineffective. Only 3/6% of of cases referred to mediation from March 2010 and ending March 2011 settled during mediation.

Proponents of the program say that statistic is skewed in that it doesn't take into account settlements reached after mediation. In addition, program advocates state lenders have intentionally sabotaged the program and did not follow the spirit of mediation. Many wanted the program to continue but with some changes. Instead of cases being automatically referred to the RMFM program, the panel recommended each of the state's 20 circuit courts make mediation decisions on a case-by-case basis or allow them to join a new program yet to be created. The recommendations of the panel have been forwarded to the Florida Supreme Court but there is no timetable for the end of the program or the creation of another.

To date, there are roughly 350,000 foreclosures backlogged in Florida's court system. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to determine what foreclosure alternatives may be available to you.

This is one question that a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer has been hearing much more often lately. There is no direct rule answering this question so the short answer is, it depends.

Typically, when a homeowner is facing a foreclosure from their lender, the lender joins the homeowner's association as a Defendant in the foreclosure suit in order to join all interested parties. The HOA will usually file a brief answer asserting their limited interest in the property. Then, a few weeks later, the homeowner will receive a bill from the HOA for a couple hundred dollars for the money the HOA had to pay an attorney to file that answer.

Florida law allows an HOA to recover for their attorney's fees when they are collecting past due HOA fees and costs, answering a foreclosure lawsuit obviously does not fall within that circumstance. Unless the HOA contemplated the current foreclosure crisis and included a provision in its bylaws allowing for the recovery of attorney's fees, it may not be able to collect for attorney's fees.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free consultation to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

The Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, commonly known as HOEPA, is a section within the Truth In Lending Act (TILA) that requires additional rules when a home refinance loan is considered high cost. A refinance loan is considered high cost if the initial home loan amount was below $120,000, or if the interest rate was above 10% at closing. Additionally, there may be a HOEPA violation where credit life insurance was sold as part of the loan transaction.

In addition to the disclosures required by TILA, the following additional disclosures are required when the loan is subject to HOEPA: "You are not required to complete this agreement merely because you have received these disclosures or have signed a loan application." "If you obtain this loan, the lender will have a mortgage on you home. You cold lose you home, and any money you have put into it, if you do not meet your obligations under the loan." These additional disclosures must also be provided THREE DAYS before closing along with the Annual Percentage Rate: In the case of a credit transaction with a fixed rate of interest, the annual percentage rate and the amount of the regular monthly payment; or In the case of any other credit transaction, the annual percentage rate of the loan, the amount of the regular monthly payment, a statement that the interest rate and monthly payment may increase, and the amount of the maximum monthly payment, based on the maximum interest rate allowed pursuant to section 3806 of title 12.

HOEPA allows the borrower to rescind the mortgage transaction up to 3-years after the closing of the loan if used as a defense to a foreclosure action (1-year if brought as an independent action outside of foreclosure), and was a refinance transaction of the borrower's principal residence. If the loan is subject to HOEPA and the lender did not provide the required notices 3 days before closing, then rescission of the loan may be available and all of the following MAY come into affect:
• A right to immediately rescind the transaction,
• A refund of all principal and interest payment made to the lender,
• A refund of all closing costs paid at the time of closing,
• A refund of any down payment made in connection with the loan,
• Termination of the mortgage,
• Keep the property if it is already paid off, and
Possible statutory damages in an amount equal to the sum of:
• Any actual damage sustained by such a person as a result of the failure to comply;
• Not less than $200 or greater than $2,000 if the home loan is not a home equity loan;
• Costs of the action, together with reasonable attorney's fees; and
• An amount equal to the sum of all finance charges and fees paid by the consumer, unless the creditor demonstrates the failure to comply is not material. An assignee of the mortgage is liable for all claims that could be brought against the original lender.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, especially if your loan was a "high cost" loan, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free consultation to see what potential foreclosure defenses , including potential HOEPA violations, are available to you.

The Federal Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (HUD), created to help unemployed and underemployed Americans about foreclosure, officially came to an end September 30, 2011. The program was allocated $1 billion to help struggling homeowner, however, only $432 million was used. The remaining unused funds will be return to the United States Treasury.

Initially, the program was designed to help roughly 30,000 homeowners. However, only 11,832 of the 100,000 who applied for the program were "conditionally" approved to receive aid. Each of those approved will receive between $35,000 - $45,000 according to Brian Sullivan, a representative of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Emergency Homeowners' Program's inability to reach its goal is being chalked-up to the program taking too long to start. The program began accepting applications 6 months after intended, in June 2011, a whole year after the legislation for the program was passed. Lewis Finfer, executive director of Massachusetts Communities Action Network, is calling the program's failure "sad and shameful," and that the program added more requirements while failing to fully advertise the program.

Carol Galante, the program's assistant secretary of housing stated, "We understand that there is disappointment that the program is not reaching more families." The eligibility requirements barred a lot more homeowners than projected. Thirty-two states were to receive aid from the program. Pennsylvania used its fully allowable amount of $106 million and was able to help 3,056 homeowners. Only 2 states received more funding, New York and Texas. Pennsylvania was one of 5 states that established and ran their own similar program. In the other 27 states, program administrators ran the program.

This is the just the latest example of government entities failure to design and implement foreclosure relief programs for the millions of struggling homeowners across the country. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to determine what foreclosure avoidance options may be available to you.

In early March, Freddie Mac cut ties with the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida based law firm they hired to handle some of their foreclosure files in Florida. The reason given for the firing is "foreclosure processing abuses." Freddie Mac's sister corporation, Fannie Mae has chosen to continue to use the firm, explaining it is just too costly to move their foreclosure files to new firms. After transferring their foreclosure files from the Law Offices of David J. Stern, Fannie Mae is expecting a $5.5 million bill.

The Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson is reported as handling 43% of Fannie Mae's foreclosure cases in Florida, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency Spector General report. The report also criticized Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae for a lack of communication regarding problems within law firms retained to handle their foreclosure files. The report continues to state, "Freddie Mac has terminated law firms for poor performance, and Fannie Mae has retained the firms."

Fannie Mae first became aware of foreclosure abuses in 2003 from an investor, which were later confirmed in a 2006 report performed by Fannie Mae. The 2006 report found "foreclosure attorneys are routinely filing false pleadings and affidavits," and that "Fannie Mae has not authorized this unlawful conduct."

Following Freddie Mac's firing of the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, the firm signed a $2 million settlement agreement that ended a investigation in to the firm's foreclosure practices byFlorida Attorney General's Office. Currently, Freddie Mac has about $109 billion in unpaid home loan balances in Florida. Fannie Mae has an even greater balance of $180 billion.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit from Fannie Mae or the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free initial consultation to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

The Occupy Wall Street movement, whose members are protesting a variety of issues stemming from the current economic climate including foreclosures and high unemployment, tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, October 1, 2011, afternoon in protest. Over 700 protestors were arrested when they left the walkway and began using the roadway.

There is a lot of controversy regarding whether or not the arrests were legitimate. Protestors believe the police tricked them and caused the arrests. Protestors are blaming the police for the arrests by allowing protestors to enter the roadway and escorting them part of the way across the bridge before trapping them in orange netting. One protestor, Etan Ben-Ami was quoted as saying, "It seemed completely permitted....There wasn't a single policeman saying 'don't do this'...We thought they were escorting us because they wanted us to be safe."

However, police are saying it was the protestors' choice of action that led to the arrests. Those who used the walkway were not arrested while those who took to the roadway and hindered vehicle travel were arrested. Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the New York Police Department, has said "This was not a trap...They were warned not to proceed."

In connected demonstrations in other parts of the country, 25 people were arrested in Boston for trespassing while protesting Bank of America's foreclosure practices, according to the spokesman for the Boston Police Department Eddy Chrispin. The protesters were on the property and obstructing the entrance to the building.

The Occupy Wall Street movement seems to be gathering steam and drawing more media coverage with each passing day. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to determine what foreclosure alternatives may be available to you.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris, as September 30, 2011, has officially pulled out of the 50-state foreclosure settlement negotiation, which a group of state attorney's general began last fall. She believes the proposed deal is "inadequate for California homeowners" and would "excuse conduct that has not been properly investigated." In July 2011, AG Harris announced she was intending to conduct an independent examination into the housing crisis. The investigation was pinpointed towards three particular areas: (1) corporate fraud, (2) foreclosure and mortgage modification scams; and (3) fraudulent lending practices.

AG Harris' pullout from the negotiations came after Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of New York backed out of the settlement agreement. Other state Attorney Generals, Nevada, Arizona, Illinois, Delaware, and Massachusetts, are now beginning their own independent investigations into robo-signing, foreclosure fraud, and other aspects of mortgage fraud.

The 50-state foreclosure settlement had guaranteed criminal investigations into mortgage and foreclosure fraud. However, it is now being scrutinized for permitting too broad of protection to banks for not enough money, as well as for not adequately investigating what lead up to the housing crisis and what has occurred after the housing crisis. Attorney General Tom Miller of Iowa, who has headed the negotiations, has also come under fire for being too tolerant towards the fraudulent behavior.

As of now, settlement negotiations are ongoing. But with attorneys' general from the largest states in the nation, to which banks have considerable litigation liabilities, a settlement is doubtful and will ultimately be confirmed officially dead. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today.

After the Florida Bar News published an article about robo-signing in the mortgage industry in the September 15th edition, State Attorney Dennis Ward of the 16th Judicial Circuit in Florida has decided to take a closer look. For those of you not yet familiar with the term robo-signing, it is a practice where banks and their counsel create documents relating to foreclosures that are often questionable in nature and have low level employees sign them without verifying their contents or correctness. Since robo-signing has caught the attention of the media in late 2010, there has been a temporary decrease in foreclosure filings throughout the state of Florida.

Mr. Ward stated his ultimate concern is protecting the integrity of the legal system and land title records. He believes when a home owner is not paying their mortgage, the bank should be able to foreclose on the property as soon as possible; provided that banks do so with valid paper work and with regard to due process.

The continued abuses in foreclosure paperwork, which banks said were ended last year after they were put under great scrutiny, is what has grabbed Mr. Ward's attention. He also recognizes that his agency does not have the resources to address this issue fully and that it is better suited for Attorney General Pam Bondi. Nevertheless, it is time for State Attorneys' to address the issue however they can. Looking into the individuals who actually sign or file these questionable documents who know them to be false of intentionally deceptive is going to be State Attorney Ward's focus.

If you are facing foreclosure, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free case review in order to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

The Truth In Lending Act, commonly referred to as TILA, is a federal law enacted by Congress to standardize the way credit is disclosed to consumers. Prior to TILA, lenders could disclose finance charges on monthly, weekly, or daily basis. This made credit appear a lot cheaper than it may actually be. After TILA was enacted, credit offerors must disclose finance charges in terms of an Annual Percentage Rate, or APR, and as a dollar figure. TILA covers closed-ended credit such as mortgages, and open-ended credit like credit cards and home equity loans.

The penalties for non-compliance with TILA make for good incentives for lenders to follow TILA regulations. The main penalty is rescission of the loan transaction. However, rescission is only available for refinancing of a homeowners principle residence, and not for a loan used to purchase the residence. Rescission means that the entire mortgage transaction is unwound and the homeowner is placed in the positions he would have been in if the loan had never closed.

The Lender may also be liable for statutory damages of:
• An amount equal to the sum of the greater of: 1) any actual damage sustained by such a person as a result of the failure to comply;
• Not less than $200 or greater than $2,000 if the home loan is not a home equity loan; and
• Costs of the action, together with reasonably attorney's fees

There is a 3-year Statute of Limitations beginning when the loan closes for TILA violations used as a defense to a foreclosure action. However, the Statute of Limitations is 1-year if brought as an independent action outside of foreclosure. The lender MUST act within 20 days after receiving notice of rescission to affect the rescission, or the borrower may keep the property without further obligation.

If you are facing foreclosure, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to find out what foreclosure defense options may be available in your case.

After discovering an array of misconduct and negligence involving deficient practices in servicing mortgage loans and processing foreclosures, the Federal Reserve Boards has announced it will be taking formal enforcement actions against the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Goldman Sachs Bank USA. The misconduct and negligence involved stem from Goldman Sachs' former subsidiary, Litton Loan Servicing, LP, which was sold to Ocwen Financial Corporation on September 1, 2011 and is no longer servicing mortgage loans.

Goldman Sachs has been ordered to retain a neutral consultant who is to review all foreclosures that were filed at any time in 2009 and 2010. The goal is to provide re-mediation to homeowners who experienced financial harm because of the unlawful foreclosures or other insufficiencies that may be found in the review.

Goldman Sachs has also been ordered not to re-enter the mortgage serving industry while the review is taking place. If Goldman Sacks does, it will have to implement enhanced corporate governance, risk-management, compliance, borrower communication, etc. The Federal Reserve believes monetary sanctions will be appropriate and plans to announce the imposed monetary penalties sometime in the future

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today for a complimentary case review and to see what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

In September, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a review of the effectiveness of the mandatory Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program (commonly referred to as the "RMFM Program"). The program has not fully accomplished its goal of helping homeowners find alternatives to foreclosure and decreasing the foreclosure caseload in Florida courts. The Florida Supreme Court ordered the program in December 2009.

The Supreme Court Administrative Order signed on Monday, September 26, 2011 appointed five judges and one court administrator to evaluate the success of the program and recommend whether the program should be continued, changed, or eliminated altogether.

Judge Burton Conner of the 4th District Court of Appeal and who served on the Task Force that recommended program back in 2009, was one of the five judges chosen to re-evaluate the program. According to Judge Conner, just like anything new, the program has experienced growing pains, but he is hopeful banks will progressively see the advantage of going to mediation. "There has been institutional resistance because it is such a new tool. With anything new it takes a while to figure out how it works and how you can benefit." The committee has until October 21, 2011 to submit its recommendation of the program to the Florida Supreme Court.

Throughout Florida, only 3.6% of all cases referred to the mediation program, over the course of 1 year, ended with a written agreement. Of the homeowners who actually participated in the program, there was a 25% success rate statewide. Alternatives to foreclosure contained in written agreements included loan modifications, deed-in-lieus, and short sales.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to determine what foreclosure defenses and options may be available to you.