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.

Much of the recent foreclosure crisis news has centered on homeowners and investors and their fight to get compensation compensation from banks due to foreclosures. But in the coming months, mortgage servicers will be undergoing drastic changes that every interested homeowner should know about. Primarily, the changes will surround the addition of thousands of sub-servicers to what has become a busy foreclosure docket.

Wells Fargo, for example, has brought its loss mitigation team up from 6,000 to 16,000 members. The bank has also dedicated a mortgage specialist to manage each modification from beginning to end, a practice heralded in the mortgage service industry as award winning and the first of its kind. Wells Fargo's endeavors include the addition of 27 home preservation centers in the hardest-hit communities around the country.

Some companies have hired even more representatives. JP Morgan Chase hired 10,100 new employees to help mitigate its increased workload. The company also plans to have 82 "Chase Homeownership Centers" since the end of Summer 2011. Bank of America has expanded its homeowner assistance team from 3,900 in 2008 to a whopping 35,000 employees by the end of this year. Bank of America also opened 23 new customer assistance centers and promises to bring that number to 40 by the end of the summer.

Working with your servicer and attending any workshops they might offer is always a good idea when behind on mortgage payments. The fact that there are more servicers available to work with you might be a great help, but it may also accelerate the foreclosure process. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and are interest in exploring your foreclosure options, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today.

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

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

A federally mandated and servicer approved cash for keys program would be a major help for thousands if not millions of struggling homeowners. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what foreclosure alternatives may be available for you.

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

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

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

The Obama Administration has announced its plans to fix the U.S. housing finance system, setting forth three separate proposals for long-term reorganization, including limiting the government's role in the mortgage market. Each of the three proposals aims to revert much of the current mortgage market and shift future mortgage lending back to the private sector. According to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that a "realistic time frame for full reform to be put into action is five to seven years."

The first proposal would substantially limit the role of the federal government by restricting the government to insuring mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and other programs designed to give mortgage access to low to moderate income borrowers. Advocates of this proposal say that it will limit "risk-taking" by lenders because there will no longer be a federal guarantee on those mortgages. Opponents fear that the cost of credit, direct costs and interest rates, would soar, causing mortgages to be out of the reach of most Americans.

The second proposal is similar to the first proposal in that is severely limits the role of the federal government in the mortgage market, but with a varying amount of "backstop" insurance to guarantee credit access during a prolonged housing crisis. During normal times, the government would maintain a minimum presence but during times of crisis, when private credit is scarcer, the government could play a larger role and guarantee more mortgages. The same concerns as in the first proposal remain, less access to credit and higher costs for those with access.

The third proposal again would limit mortgage lending to private lenders, outside FHA lending, but to combat the criticisms of the previous two proposals it would have provisions in place to ensure a steady stream of credit for those creditworthy homeowners. To achieve this goal, the federal government would create a guaranteeing body, much like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), that would guarantees for securities backed by mortgages that meet certain, stringent, underwriting standards. The third proposal appears to be the most popular among congress members who have spoken on the subject and it provides the lowest cost access to credit for those looking to purchase a home.

These proposals call for eliminating or radically reducing the size and influence of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage giants that many point to as a contributor to the current mortgage crisis. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

To read the full Obama Administration Proposal click here.

Last week the Chief Executive Officers of MERS, R. K. Arnold, issued a statement to the Kansas City Star defending the organization's practices and clarifying its role in the current mortgage crisis. This statement comes as many people have begun to point a finger at MERS for further complicating the trail of ownership of mortgage loans. Mr. Arnold defends MERS practices by stating that MERS is just one cog in the complicated, overall housing finance process and that MERS efficiency in "technology designed to reduce paperwork" saves both money and time for the American homeowner and "keeps mortgage funds flowing to the consumers who need it."

When addressing the current problems in the foreclosure process, he states that the foreclosure process was simply not designed to handle the volume of foreclosures it is now seeing. Mr. Arnold also confidently states "MERS helps the mortgage finance process work better. The MERS process of tracking mortgages and holding title provides clarity, transparency and efficiency to the housing finance system. We are committed to continually ensuring that everyone who has responsibilities in the mortgage and foreclosure process follows local and state laws, as well as our own training and rules."

With more than 64 million loans registered in the MERS system and thousands of allegations of lost mortgage documents, purposeful circumvention of state and local mortgage recording statutes and even document fraud, MERS and its CEO appear to take no responsibility for the role it has played and continues to play in the nationwide foreclosure crisis. If you have a loan that purports to be owned by MERS and are facing foreclosure, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to schedule a no-cost review of your case.

With many state Attorneys General investigating mortgage lenders foreclosure paperwork, three of the nations largest mortgage lenders suspending some or all of their foreclosure activities and millions of American homeowners pleading for help, advisors within the Obama administration are indicating that President Obama is opposed to a national foreclosure moratorium. Senior advisor to President Obama, David Axelrod, stated on Face the Nation that while the administration acknowledges that the allegations of fraud in foreclosure documentation are a "serious problem," the administration does not support a national moratorium because "there are, in fact, valid foreclosures that probably should go forward and where the documentation and paperwork is proper."

Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, David Stevens, agreed with the White House stance stating he believed that a foreclosure moratorium "is simply not the prudent step to take in this fragile housing market." The prevailing fear that most opponents of a national foreclosure moratorium have is that a moratorium will not change the result of many foreclosure lawsuits but it will more than likely stifle any hope of a swift recovery of the national housing market.

To date, five companies have suspended some aspect of their foreclosure litigation but most have stated that the suspensions will only last a few weeks while they clear up any "procedural errors." If you are facing a Fernandina Beach foreclosure lawsuit, contact Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to explore what defenses could be available to you.

According to the numbers released last week by the HOPE NOW Alliance, mortgage servicers completed 149,000 loan modifications for U.S. homeowners in August. Broken down the numbers show that 33,000 modifications were completed through the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) while 116,000 homeowners were given a modification through proprietary loan modification programs. One of the most positive statistics from these numbers is the fact that 91% of the modification in August, 105,000, contained a decrease in monthly principle and interest payments for borrowers.

In the year to date 1.3 million homeowners have received some form of mortgage modification, bringing the total to 3.7 million modifications since the housing crisis began in 2007. In addition to the mortgage modification numbers, HOPE NOW released data that showed mortgages behind by 60 days or more fell by almost 43,000 mortgage, from 3,298,236 in July to 3.256,682 in August.

If you are one of the thousands of Floridians facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and are interested potentially getting a loan modification, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

The Sarasota Herald Tribune recently published a story detailing the new depths that banks are stooping in order to retake Florida homes. Allegations of breaking an entering and changing the locks, plundering personal possessions and theft are just a few of the allegations many homeowners are making regarding the banks behavior.

In one instance, a family of Canadian tourists returned to their rented beach house only to find their keys no longer worked, a half empty beer bottle sitting on the kitchen counter and their laptop computer, MP3 player and 6 bottles of wine were missing. The tourists were so alarmed by the turn of events they believed the home had been broken into by burglars and called the police. As it happened, the lender hired a Sarasota company to break in and change the locks in an effort to retake the property. Under Florida law it is illegal for a bank representative to enter a home if the bank has not yet taken the property through a foreclosure sale, especially if that property appears to be occupied.

In this case, the tourists decided that they no longer felt safe in their rental home and the homeowner was forced to return a portion of their money and pay for some of the missing property. This presents a problem for the homeowner because most police investigators categorize the break-ins at civil disputes because the banks and their hired contractors do not display the necessary criminal intent, making monetary recovery for the homeowner almost impossible.

Many foreclosure experts predict that as instances like this become more commonplace, law enforcement officials will be less and less inclined to help homeowners. If you have had an instance where you believe your mortgage company has broken into your home, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer and Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

Yesterday, Attorneys General from all 50 states announces the largest investigation into the foreclosure practices of the nations largest banks and mortgage firms to date. The organizational push was led by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller who will continue to head the group, now called the Mortgage Foreclosure Multistate Group.

The first order of business for the new investigative body is to look further into allegations of "robo-signers" at several of the nations largest mortgage lenders and servicers. Many legal experts have predicted that if the practice of "robo-signing" was as prevalent as alleged, heavy civil and criminal penalties could be imposed. Prior to the group forming, seven states Attorneys General have announced probes based on recent allegations of "robo-signers" at many of the nations largest mortgage lenders and the Senate Banking Committee is set to hold hearings on November 16 to investigate these foreclosure practices.

A record 95,364 homes were repossessed by mortgage lenders in August and this investigation is the latest in a rising tide of bad news for those lenders pursuing foreclosures. If you are facing a foreclosure claim, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today for a consultation

With announcements from three of the nations largest mortgage lenders that they will halt foreclosure proceedings and sale in 23 states as a result of allegations of document fraud comes a new wrinkle: those seeking to buy foreclosed homes are having increasing difficulty doing so. In states with extremely an extremely high volume of foreclosed homes, such as Florida, consumers are finding that home purchase contracts, some already approved and on the verge of completion, are being suspended anywhere from 30-90 days to ensure that the homes were foreclosed and repossessed properly. This has left many of those potential homebuyers virtually homeless and scrambling for some place to stay.

Most of the homes that are being withdrawn from the market are owned and held by mortgage giant Fannie Mae. Many commercial mortgage lenders, such as Bank of American and Wells Fargo, sell their repossessed homes and accompanying mortgages back to Fannie Mae once the house has been repossessed and Fannie Maw has been busy in recent weeks sending emails to real estate agents to remove Fannie Mae properties from their listing and to freeze deals on existing Fannie Mae homes. In one instance, a South Florida realtor stated that half of his sale inventory has been wiped away by the freeze.

This is the latest in a series of unintended consequences of the foreclosure fraud fallout that continues to harm U.S. consumers. If you live in Ponte Vedra Beach or Jacksonville and you are facing a Florida Foreclosure lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today for a no cost consultation to review your case.

STOP THE PRESS

Without title insurance, the home is not able to be sold except to a cash buyer who would not be able to sell it later where financing would be required.

This means the foreclosed home is essentially worthless.

If you recently purchased a foreclosed home, you should check your title policy for exclusions which could limit your ability to sell your home in the future. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer to discuss your situation.

Today the Obama administration announced a broader mortgage relief program aimed at helping homeowners who are both current on their mortgage payments yet are at risk of default because they are "underwater" in their home values. The program, initially dubbed the "short refinance" program, lenders will write-down mortgage balances to 115% of the current market value of the home, then transfer the loans to the Federal Housing Authority. Official preliminary estimates are that 500,000 to 1.5 million homeowners could be benefited by the new program

According to the latest numbers from housing analysis firm CoreLogic, 23% of American homes, approximately 11 million, are "underwater" and at risk of default. One of the most persistent problems that has mired others modification programs is what do lenders do with second mortgages. The new program mandates that second liens be reduced so that the total mortgage debt is less than 115% of the home's current value. The government will make partial payments for banks to reduce those loans, but lenders have been unwilling to write down second mortgages that remain current.

Another potential stumbling block for the "short refinance" program is that lenders and mortgage servicers are still the ones in charge of the process and must be willing to write-down the values. Many mortgage servicers are already overwhelmed and an influx of new request for mortgage help, this time from homeowners who are current on their loans, may only exacerbate that problem.

If you are a Florida homeowner facing default or are considering a strategic default due to your home being underwater, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to discuss your options.

Initially M&T Bank claimed that they owned the Note which had been lost. M&T's second claim was that they found the Note and owned it by assignment. The bank's third claim was that they did not own the Note, but instead Wells Fargo owned the Note pursuant to an Allonge stamped by First National Bank of Nevada in 2009.

The court concluded that M&T Bank was attempting to commit a fraud upon the court for the following reasons: 1) Their three claims were all inconsistent with one another; 2) the First National Bank of Nevada could not have stamped the Allonge in 2009 because the FDIC had had closed that bank in 2008; and 3) the chain of title on the Allonge and the chain title on the Assignment were inconsistent.

With the overwhelming amount of Florida foreclosure lawsuits currently being filed, it has not been uncommon for the lenders to try to sneak one past the court and the homeowner. If this type of fraud is not challenged by the homeowner it will oftentimes go unnoticed by the overburdened courts. Protect yourself by hiring a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer . A Florida Foreclosure Lawyer will defend you against this and other types of fraud throughout the foreclosure process.