Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

After about a year of decreased foreclosure filings due to the "robo-signing" scandal, where banks allegedly took property without properly reviewing the loan documents, the number of foreclosure filings are reportedly set to increase after lenders have supposedly taken the time to ensure that all their paperwork is in order. During that time off the number of foreclosures to be filed have mounted.

Over the last year, housing prices have maintained a slight yet steady increase. House prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 0.9% in July, making 4 consecutive months of increases, according to the S&P Case-Shiller index of home values. Nonetheless, that is still 4.1% below where values were a year ago. If foreclosed properties flood the market again, housing prices will most likely decrease again because banks price foreclosed homes towards selling quickly.

An increase in foreclosure filings has already been reported in this year's third quarter. A 0.3% increase was seen which reverses the decrease experienced in the last 3 consecutive quarters. Foreclosure filings reported include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

Unfortunately, "increased foreclosure filings will continue to erode house prices....the questions is, at what point do you reach the bottom of the market?" said Ed Delgado, a former Wells Fargo senior vice president and CEO of the Five Star Institute, a mortgage-education provider. Delgado does not see any recovery in the foreseeable future and is concerned bottom may not be until the third quarter of 2012.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, you may need help navigating the foreclosure process and today's housing market. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free review of your situation.

After about a year of decreased foreclosure filings due to the "robo-signing" scandal, where banks allegedly took property without properly reviewing the loan documents, the number of foreclosure filings are reportedly set to increase after lenders have supposedly taken the time to ensure that all their paperwork is in order. During that time off the number of foreclosures to be filed have mounted.

Over the last year, housing prices have maintained a slight yet steady increase. House prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 0.9% in July, making 4 consecutive months of increases, according to the S&P Case-Shiller index of home values. Nonetheless, that is still 4.1% below where values were a year ago. If foreclosed properties flood the market again, housing prices will most likely decrease again because banks price foreclosed homes towards selling quickly.

An increase in foreclosure filings has already been reported in this year's third quarter. A 0.3% increase was seen which reverses the decrease experienced in the last 3 consecutive quarters. Foreclosure filings reported include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

Unfortunately, "increased foreclosure filings will continue to erode house prices....the questions is, at what point do you reach the bottom of the market?" said Ed Delgado, a former Wells Fargo senior vice president and CEO of the Five Star Institute, a mortgage-education provider. Delgado does not see any recovery in the foreseeable future and is concerned bottom may not be until the third quarter of 2012.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, you may need help navigating the foreclosure process and today's housing market. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free review of your situation.

The new Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced that it will begin testing a new standard mortgage foreclosure form beginning in May. The forms will be major revisions of the two forms that borrowers receive when taking out a new mortgage loan. Consumer advocates believe the old forms are confusing to many homeowners and one of the major initial tasks of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is to "make mortgages more consumer friendly" and to make the costs associated with taking out a mortgage more clear,

The new forms will be overhauls of the forms required under the Truth in Lending Act of 1968 and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974. Consumer advocates believe that the forms are confusing and too lengthy for many homeowners to fully understand. Officials with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have been working diligently on the format and content of the new forms with members of banks and others in the housing industry.

While many people will call these efforts little more than a trivial step toward fixing the foreclosure mess, clear understanding of the costs and ramifications of purchasing a home is an important step. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you believe that you were a victim of predatory lending, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what defenses may be available to you.

The Florida Office of State Courts Administration just released the statewide stats from the first three months of rocket docket operations and the numbers are startling. From the period of July 1 through September 30, Florida courts disposed of 65,830 foreclosure cases with almost 71% of those cases being decided in "rocket docket" hearings where cases are decided in a matter of minutes. Palm Beach County was the most prolific at getting rid of foreclosure cases, ridding the county of 9.846 foreclosure cases. In that same time period only 23 foreclosure cases went to trial, less than 1% of the disposed of cases.

The "rocket docket" courts were created to stimulate the Florida housing market by ridding the state of the mass of foreclosure cases and getting homes back onto the housing market quickly. While the numbers of cases being cleared is astonishing, there are 396,509 foreclosure cases still active in Florida courts. Most of the cases being cleared by "rocket docket" courts are those where the homeowner doesn't respond to the foreclosure suit or where they are not represented by an attorney. In most cases, to defeat the "rocket docket" hearing all a homeowner needs is one issue of legal fact!

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit in one of the "rocket docket" courts, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to review your case and determine what defenses may be available to you.

With news reports of "robo-signing" of sworn affidavits from many of the nations largest mortgage lenders, some South Florida judges are now forcing banks to follow the Florida rules of civil procedure! Rule 1.510(e) requires lenders who file a motion for summary judgment that contains a supporting affidavit to attach the paperwork on which the sworn statements are based, to the affidavit. Palm Beach County chief judge Peter Blanc stated, "if the foreclosure affidavits are accurate, and they are based on person knowledge, it shouldn't be too time consuming for the evidence to be printed and attached."

Not attaching the paperwork to the affidavits is a problem mainly for those homeowners that do not contest the foreclosures, but the rule applies foreclosures across the board. In Palm Beach County alone about 80% of foreclosures are uncontested, meaning thousands of homeowners have been foreclosed without the lender having to follow this critical rule. This issue is usually not a problem for homeowners who are represented by a competent attorney because their attorney will object to this practice.

It seems as though at least one Florida Judicial Circuit is catching on to the practices of mortgage lenders and their "foreclosure mill" attorneys, Florida homeowners can only hope that this knowledge spreads statewide. If you are facing an Orange Park foreclosure lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

There are many defenses to a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit. Some of these defenses will defeat a Foreclosure Lawsuit, while others will entitle the homeowner to monetary damages. These defenses include, but are not limited to: a violation of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), breach of contract, violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), unfair debt collection practices under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), reporting inaccurate information to a credit bureau under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), plaintiff is not a real party in interest, and unconscionability. These are but a few of the available defenses to a foreclosure lawsuit.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and would like to properly defend yourself from your lenders, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer for a free consultation.