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.
