Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

The Occupy Wall Street movement that has rapidly spread across the nation has seemingly found a few new streets to occupy, all streets that have foreclosed residences or residences facing imminent foreclosure. All across the US, Occupy protestors have been "reclaiming" foreclosed homes and boarded up properties in what some are calling a "tactical shift" in the movement which has targeted the inequality in the distribution of wealth in the US.

Occupy protestors have held rallies on behalf of homeowners facing foreclosure evictions in more than 25 cities within the last month. Some observers are saying the shift of the Occupy movement has resulted out of necessity, as many Occupy groups are finding it increasingly difficult to camp in public spaces.

Jeff Ordower, one of the organizers of the "Occupy Homes" movement has stated "it is clear the fight is against the banks...so occupying space that should belong to homeowners but belongs to the banks seems like the next logical step for the Occupy movement." The events have been boisterous and echo the frustrations of the national housing crisis. Signs have popped up stating things such as "foreclose on banks, not people" and in Atlanta protestors used whistles and sirens to disrupt the auctions of foreclosed homes at the count courthouse.

If you are one of the thousands of Floridians facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary case review in order to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

Distressed homeowners are seemingly getting a Christmas gift from their banks this year...many of the nations largest banks are reportedly halting foreclosures from December 16, 2011 to January 2, 2012.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and other banks have announced they will not foreclose on delinquent homeowners during the holidays. They are hoping this will give homeowners the much-needed time they need to get back on their feet. However, it is very important to know that the foreclosure process will continue to move forward, but homeowners WILL NOT be evicted from their homes during the holiday season. While banks are lauding themselves for their selfless act, in reality, very few homeowners may be affected by the foreclosure holiday.

According to a certified financial planner, Carolyn McClanahan, this is the "humane thing to do...People should't be kicked out of their homes during the holidays." If you are a struggling homeowner facing foreclosure, it is important for you to use this standstill to your advantage. Use it to create a plan to save your home, or look for different avenues that are more affordable.

It is important to remember that banks will still be prosecuting foreclosures during the foreclosure holiday to be vigilant for any foreclosure related pleadings you may receive during that time. If you are currently facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a J Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer for complimentary consultation to determine what foreclosure options may be available to you.

Recently a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer read a story about a California doctor who has gotten to see the Bank of America modification and foreclosure processes up close and personal. In a story not unlike ones that many struggling homeowners have faced, the homeowner applied for and was granted a three month trial modification. After making his three scheduled modification payments, Bank of America then denied the homeowner a permanent modification and the homeowner resigned himself to losing his house to foreclosure.

However, just a few weeks later, the homeowner received a notice from Bank of American encouraging him to apply for a second mortgage modification. The homeowner again applied and was approved for a modification. This time he hired a foreclosure attorney to aid him in convincing Bank of America to make his modification permanent. After completing his second trial modification, he was finally sent a permanent modification packet from Bank of America with one arbitrary caveat, the packet must be signed and notarized by a California notary within 10 days.

This presented a problem for the homeowner as he was temporarily teaching at a university in Louisiana and therefore could not get a California notary to notarize his signature. When he called Bank of America to inquire into whether or not a Louisiana notary could notarize his signature he was told "no" and was instructed to send the paperwork in un-notarized. After Bank of America received and reviewed the paperwork, the homeowner was informed his permanent modification was denied because his paperwork was incomplete because his signature was not notarized, which is precisely what Bank of America told him to do!!

The lawyer for the homeowner contacted Bank of America and urged them to change their decision and the bank relented...but he still had to have his signature notarized by a California notary. So, the homeowner had to jump on a plane, fly back to California, have his signature notarized and submit the paperwork to Bank of America. After all that what does Bank of America do...deny his permanent modification again, this time for submitted the complete paperwork six days late...after the 10 day time limit for submitting the original paperwork.

While this is an extreme example of some of the issues with mortgage modifications, many people who have attempted to get their mortgage modified have experienced at least some of the issue this homeowner faced. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary consultation to determine what foreclosure options may be available to you.

A new report released by the Inspector General shows evidence of poor management of a $2.87 billion dollar mortgage sale from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Bank of America. The focus of the report is the role of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulatory arm tasked with overseeing government mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Late last year, the agency's head decided to sell back a large number of bad mortgages and mortgage backed securities to Bank of America. In theory, forcing a lender to buy back the bad loans it originated seems like a great idea, but in this instance it may have been a sweetheart deal.

In the buyback agreement, Bank of America paid $1.35 million to Freddie Mac and $1.52 billion to Fannie Mae. While $2.87 billion seems like a lot of money, but when you do some simple math, it amounts to only $3,679 per mortgage! Critics of the deal state that both Fannie and Freddie could potentially face billions of dollars of losses from the sale of these loans. The Federal Housing Finance Agency called the buyback and the amounts of the buyback "appropriate and reasonable."

Instead of giving Bank of America the underperforming loans at an extremely cheap price, how about giving the homeowners associated with those loans the right of first refusal to buy their home for the amounts their loans were sold to Bank of America. How many homeowners would have jumped at that opportunity. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to explore what foreclosure options may be available to you.

State and federal officials have been engaging in negotiation settlement talks with the United States' largest banks regarding the shoddy foreclosure practices of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS). The pending settlement with the banks involves a potentially multibillion-dollar settlement and is centered around the "robosigned" documents and court filings that have plagued the foreclosure courts across the nation. The primary reason for the MERS investigation is that considerable amount of this robosigned paperwork came through the MERS system. Officials are referring to the present predicament as the "MERS morass," with its approximate 65 million mortgage registry.

At the same time, the MERS system facilitated the boom of mortgage-backed securities by permitting banks to rapidly and inexpensively transfer the ownership of loans. MERS is so intertwined into all aspects of the mortgage and foreclosure process that officials are beginning to think they may be unable to address one part of the MERS problem while leaving other aspects for future investigations. Additionally, the contradictory laws and court decisions throughout the United States make a one-size-fits-all solution extremely unlikely.

The banks are pressuring officials to leave the MERS issue alone during these negotiations as the banks are already facing billions of dollars in penalties without the MERS problem. However, those close to the negotiations say that officials have no intention of releasing MERS from liability.

If you think your mortgage loan involves MERS and you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lasuit, 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.

Bank of America was fined yet again, when it was found liable for the firing of an employee responsible for discovering fraud at Countrywide. The employee was fired in direct violation of whistleblower protection laws, said the U.S. Department of Labor. The employee will receive now $930,000 in damages and will also be reinstated.

Countrywide was the biggest subprime loan provider in the U.S. which essentially means they were lending money to substantially unqualified homebuyers with the weakest credit. This fine should send a message to the Banks - one that lets them know loud and clear that they cannot break the rules, and if they do punishment will be swift.

The Florida Foreclosure Defense attorneys have always been dedicated to keeping Banks honest. When faced with Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer.

According to the latest numbers from mortgage industry tracking company RealtyTrac Inc., the number of households that received an initial default notice, which is the first step that must be taken to begin the foreclosure process, jumped an incredible 33% from July to August. The spike represents the largest percentage increase in four years and constitutes a 9 month high.

RealtyTrac senior VP, Rick Sharga, has stated that this is the first time they have seen such a increase in default notices. While it may be an aberration, Sharga said "I think its much more likely we're seeing the beginning of a trend here." New foreclosure actions were slowed down last fall as allegations of shoddy foreclosure processes by the nations largest lenders came to light.

All to,ld, 78,880 properties received a default notice in August. While August's numbers are up, they are down 18% from the August 2010 numbers. While the foreclosure numbers are on the rise, RealtyTrac says it may be beneficial for housing recovery, as overall home prices are not likely to rebound while there are still potentially thousands of unaddressed foreclosures "hovering over the market."

If you are one of the thousands of new homeowners who have received a default notice from your mortgage company, contact Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free consultation in order to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

Online bill-paying systems make paying bills easier than ever, leading many people to pay for bills on a date more convenient for them - instead of waiting for the physical reminder in the mail. However, you might want to think twice about paying too early. For one South Florida woman, paying too early left her in foreclosure.

Sharon Bullington is 78 years old and lives with her terminally ill husband. Though they are currently underwater on their mortgage, the couple wanted to remain in their home. Bank of America approved a loan modification with one caveat -- the Bullingtons had to officially "default" on their payments before beginning the modified payment plan. Their payments were reduced, and Mrs. Bullington made her first payment under the plan on December 23. However, that payment was meant to apply for the following month of January. She made another payment in January, however the money remained in her banking account for some time. When she asked the bank why they hadn't withdrawn the money from her account, they told her she entered the wrong routing number. The bank then kicked the Bullingtons off the modification plan.

Mrs. Bullington wrote to Bank of America's president, Brian Moynihan. His assistant informed Mrs. Bullington that payments must be made in the month in which it is due. Further, once initiated, foreclosures cannot be stopped. In other words, because Mrs. Bullington made her January payment in December, she didn't pay it "in the month it is due." Bank of America accepted her payment, but nevertheless foreclosed on her.

Mrs. Bullington has received a fare amount of media attention, and Bank of America says it will take another look into the case. While Mrs. Bullington's case is an extreme example of tactics banks may use, it is important to remember that thousands of Floridians are still facing foreclosure. If you are facing foreclosure, you should contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney to discuss what options may be available in your individual case.

Courts in Florida cleared greater than 200,000 of the backlogged foreclosure cases that were plaguing the system in 2010. These numbers represent a nearly 43% decline in outstanding foreclosure cases. The $6 million allocated by the Florida Legislature to establish the foreclosure "rocket docket" courts and clear the backlog but the effectiveness of the special courts have been called into question and the 2010 numbers evidence they may not have been as effective as the total number of disposed cases initially leads Floridians to believe.

Almost half of the disposed cases due disposed of due to dismissals by Plaintiff banks. Dismissals can occur for several reasons, ranging from a mutual agreement via mediation to voluntary dismissals on the part of bank. A total of 104,126 were dismissed in this fashion in 2010. Many foreclosure observers are pointing to two primary reasons for the high number of dismissals: 1) the voluntary dismissals on the part of banks due to errors or fraud in the creation of foreclosure related documents and 2) the closing of giant "foreclosure mill" the Law Offices of David J. Stern without officially withdrawing from its cases, which put thousands of cases in limbo.

The unfortunate thing that is hidden by this seeming relief from the foreclosure backlog is that most of the dismissed cases will be refiled. if you are currently facing, or will be facing in the near future, a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a St. Augustine Foreclosure Lawyer today for a free consultation to determine what foreclosure defenses may be available to you.

Bank of America has reportedly sold its servicing rights to 400,000 of its home loans to Fannie Mae for a $500 million, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. The principal balance remaining on the loans is reported at $73 billion. The move comes shortly after Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan indicated during a CNBC interview that the sale was pending. The deal begins with the first batch of 100,000 loans to be transferred starting in September.

While Fannie Mae does not usually provide loan servicing functions, they do facilitate transfers of mortgage pools between servicers. A Bank of America spokesperson indicated that the bank would be selling additional mortgage servicing rights over the next year, so look for future additional news in this regard.

Hopefully by handing their reins off to different servicers, the mortgages involved in this sale will get the attention necessary to move along more smoothly. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit from Bank of America, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today for a complimentary consultation to determine what foreclosure alternatives may be available in your case.

In the great majority of foreclosure cases, the first mortgage holder is usually the one that brings the foreclosure action. But what about when there is a second mortgage involved? The second mortgage may file a foreclosure just to protect interest in the property, but this is a rare occurrence for several reasons.

While a second lien holder can file for foreclosure, due to the dramatic decline in home prices, only the first mortgage holder will usually get paid via any sale or auction that takes place. Since these home sales usually involve interested buyers looking for relatively cheap homes, the house usually sells for much more than is owed on the mortgage. Since there is likely not enough money to even pay off the property taxes, and potential homeowners association arrearages and first mortgage after the sale, it just doesn't usually make financial sense for the second mortgage company to initiate the foreclosure proceeding. But of course, that doesn't mean that second mortgage holders cannot or will not file a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit from the holder of the second mortgage on your home, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to determine what options are available in your particular case.

Amid reports of a widespread mortgage backed securities investor uprising and a multi-billion dollar lawsuit from AIG comes a account that Bank of America made numerous harassing phone calls to a widow, during her newly deceased husband's wake. A suit brought against Bank of America and various bank entities by the 63-year-old woman alleges the bank called every 15 minutes, to a line set up on speaker phone for people to call in and give their condolences, trying to collect on a missed mortgage payment.

The woman says that she had spoken with Bank of America the day before the wake, making them aware her husband had just died and requesting a 30 day extension to pay on the mortgage, to get her husband's affairs in order. After again speaking to the bank regarding the frequency of the calls, the bank told her the calls were computer generated and would not stop until the past due payment was made. The woman says she and her husband had been current on their payments up to the immediate period surrounding her husband's death.

While this is an extreme example of collection efforts by a bank, it is an important example of the extent some banks will go to in order to collect on your mortgage. If you are currently, or will soon be facing, a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to determine what foreclosure alternatives may be available in your specific case.

What is going on in with all of the Foreclosure craziness? This has been the question for millions of homeowners dealing with the potential loss of a home right now. People have heard the horror stories of predatory lending, and the other stories of unqualified homeowners working with brokers to deceive lenders to get financed. But many mortgages fall somewhere in between, leaving big question marks in place of answers the housing market desperately needs.

As a greater number of questions are pouring in, however, searching for answers has become a daunting task. MIllions of homeowners are in a struggle to hold onto their loans while batting off multiple lenders. The problem is many of the original brokers and lending companies have since gone out of business or been the subject of criminal charges stemming from their faulty practices. Often times, the loans in question have been securitized into a mortgage-backed trust. The issue underlying this confusion is that no one knows whom the owner of the note and mortgage actually is. This is largely because of one four-letter acronym, MERS.

MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration System), a service created to track mortgage transfers, was created in 1994. MERS replaced the old system of "walking" every important mortgage document to the County Clerk's office. With this shortcut in place, lenders were able to save millions of dollars in local recording fees and started transferring mortgages at a pace that, we would later learn, was far too much to handle. So grueling, in fact, MERS failed to properly follow state and local laws in documenting these transfers. Now when it comes time to foreclose instead of documenting each transfer, MERS allegedly signs the mortgage from the original lender to the most recent owner.Many courts are now deciding whether MERS has actual standing to foreclose.

There are things you can do to be prepared for or stave off a potential foreclosure. One of the most important is to communicate with your lender. If you are facing the prospect of foreclosure, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to determine what foreclosure defenses may be available in your specific case.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) confirmed it is sending out refund checks to 450,177 homeowners who were excessively charged by defunct lender Countrywide. The Commission locked in the settlement in June 2010 and just announced the sending of the checks, which total more than $108 million. 
The settlement represents the largest mortgage servicer-borrower arrangement. The checks will be sent to people whose loans were services between January 2005 and July 2008.

The FTC said homeowners who were behind on their loans were charged excessive servicing fees for things that were beneficial to Countrywide. The charges included things like lawn mowing and other services meant to protect the lenders investments. Countrywide subsidiaries contracted with third parties to perform the services, and in turn charged these fees to homeowners but not before marking up the price of the service, sometimes up to twice the contract cost. The FTC also said Countrywide made false claims about amounts owed and added fees and escrow charges without telling homeowners.

This settlement may not reach everyone, but it certainly sends a message to other lenders who are using shady foreclosure practices: eventually, your schemes will be uncovered and you will take responsibility for your actions. Behavior like Countrywide's is capable of dragging down an entire economy and that is why settlement such as this one should be seen as an example for other lenders in the future.

Always keep in mind that if you are facing a Florida foreclosure or having trouble making your mortgage payments, the best thing to do is communicate with your lender. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

Bank of America may have to face the music when they confront thousands of homeowners who were looking for Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) assistance. Some homeowners filed a claim alleging Bank of America wrongfully denied them modifications of their home loans under HAMP and seeking the modifications they never received. The Complaint also asks for damages for wrongfully denied home loan modification.

The motion to dismiss filed by Bank of America was denied by the Judge on the case. The modification-seekers told an eerily similar story of their attempts to work with Bank of America: the bank was untruthful about the status of the loans in question and in some cases even lost paperwork or were just totally unresponsive.

The attorney for the homeowners is basing the claim on the theory that Bank of America, by not modifying these loans, is taking Federal (TARP) bailout funds without helping struggling homeowners in return. In reality, TARP funds should have accounted for modified payments from homeowners while also keeping Bank of America afloat.

While a loan modification is possible, it is just one step of the potential foreclosure alternatives available to struggling homeowners. There are many other options available before modification, and certainly a great number of options after a denial of modification. If you are having trouble making mortgage payments or you are already in the process of foreclosure, be sure to contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense attorney to determine what foreclosure alternatives may be available in your case.