Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

If you are currently facing a foreclosure, you may notice that a different company than you obtained your mortgage from is bringing the foreclosure action against you. This is not unheard of, and, in fact, is common. If you do not recognize the company that has filed your foreclosure, it may be because the company from whom you obtained your mortgage sold its rights, merged with, or was acquired by another bank.

For example, if you originally secured a mortgage through Countrywide, you may now know that Countrywide is no longer inexistence and are wondering what affect this has on your Countrywide mortgage. Bank of America acquired Countrywide and now has all the rights of Countrywide to your mortgage. An interesting chart of the bank mergers that have occurred over the past few decades can be found herein the New York Times.

It is important to pay attention to the transfer of your mortgage because it may have been transferred incorrectly. We are still waiting to see the effects of robo-signing and other methods of potential fraud used in the foreclosures. Nevertheless, the burden lies with your current foreclosure company to prove they have the right to foreclose. If they cannot prove they have the right, you may have a good argument against foreclosure.

Of course, with the average length of foreclosures hovering over 800 days in Jacksonville, Florida, battling the banks and foreclosure firms is a tricky process. Don't face them alone. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney to discuss your options and which make sense given your personal circumstances and goals.

Robo-signing, the practice used by many mortgage companies and their attorneys' to falsely sign numerous mortgage documents, may lead to some relief for under-water homeowners in the near future. In Jacksonville, Florida, the discovery of robo-signing caused foreclosure filings and proceedings to come to a sudden halt as attorney's worked to get all necessary documents in order before moving forward. Depending on the settlement, this could provide some very welcomed relief to many potentially facing foreclosure, but do not not expect it to be a substantial sum of money to any individual homeowner.

After the robo-signing scandal came to light, the federal government began an investigation into the alleged fraud and settlement talks with the banks who were allegedly involved. Apparently, the Government is finally about to reach a settlement that may help nearly one million families around the country by reducing principal balances on home loans. Many economists have said reducing the principal balances is the necessary step in addressing the current housing crises, which is currently very rarely done.

Among the banks involved in the negotiations are Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. Other banks have been invited to the discussions, including PNC Financial, SunTrust Banks, and HSBC; however, their participation is uncertain as of now. Currently, the deal consists of a $19 billion settlement, which may change if more banks and more states become involved. The Federal Government has been urging all fifty states to join the settlement, but some states are continuing to decline.

Hopefully, the settlement will help save homeowners who are on the brink of foreclosure. It will be interesting to see if a deal is actually imminent and how far it actually goes. No matter what the outcome of the settlement, foreclosures will continue to happen and you always have the option of contacting a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney for assistance.

It is no secret that foreclosure companies were using a wide array of fraudulent tactics at the height of the foreclosure crises. Practices like backdating documents and robo-signing were wide-spread, despite being illegal. Nevertheless, many foreclosures were approved even though the mortgage company had faulty documents. This was largely due to the fact that, often times, the mortgage company did not have any other document to show the court, so they resorted to shady tactics.

Those tactics are becoming more difficult to use. A recent decision held that a bank or mortgage company must show proof of ownership before the court will grant a foreclosure. This means the note must be correctly dated and endorsed before the foreclosure is filed, which does not always happen. In such cases, the court might dismiss the case and force the bank to re-file with the appropriate documents.

This is an important development. It is unclear how persuasive this case will be throughout the rest of Florida, but it could significantly delay the already backlogged foreclosures throughout the state. It could also allow homeowners a new defense against banks and other foreclosure companies that fail to adequately prove ownership of the home itself.

If you are facing foreclosure in Florida, you have numerous rights and do not need to simply vacate your home without a court order. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney to discuss your options.

Remember, there are almost always several options available to you to help defend against a foreclosure. One of the best options is to contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Attorney who can help you through the process.

However, you must be cautious. There are people out there who are trying to exploit the current economy, swindling people out of their hard-earned money. In Southern California, for example, a man recently plead guilty to bankruptcy fraud and identity theft after years of "helping" people stall a foreclosure.

The man, Frederic Gladle, operated a foreclosure company and told homeowners he would postpone their foreclosure for a monthly fee. It is evident Gladle knew what he was doing was wrong, as he used numerous aliases in his business. He would have the homeowners who hired him sell a very small fraction of their home to a debtor who was going through bankruptcy. Having the homeowner's name attached to the bankruptcy placed an automatic stay on the foreclosure, meaning the lenders were prohibited from foreclosing until receiving permission from the court.

Using this scheme netted nearly $1.6 million for Mr. Gladle over a 4-year period. Almost all of this money was from homeowners struggling to remain in their homes. Mr. Gladle's actions are abhorrent and it is unfortunate that he was able to swindle even one dollar from anyone. If you are facing foreclosure, do your homework before rushing to make decisions and call a Jacksonville Foreclosure Attorney for help.

A while back, we wrote about Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was under fire for firing two attorneys who were leading foreclosure fraud investigations. Ms. Bondi was accused of firing the attorneys without proper cause. Ms. Bondi has now been cleared of any wrongdoing.

The investigation into the firings found that nobody in Ms. Bondi's office was guilty of wrongdoing; instead, the two foreclosure attorneys were fired for their misconduct in the office. One notable instance was a PowerPoint presentation the attorneys gave that contained false information regarding several cases. Later, one of the attorneys evidently emailed confidential information about pending cases to an outside source. The entire report can be found in the Miami Herald Blog.

The firing of the two attorneys may have slowed down some of the investigations into foreclosure fraud, but investigations remain ongoing. If you are facing foreclosure, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Attorney who can help you deal with the bank.

A judge of the Supreme Court of New York has ordered HSBC to pay a penalty of $10,000. HSBC allegedly filed a false document and then claimed they knew nothing about it. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Schack's opinion compared HSBC's defense to the false document to what many remember from Sgt. Schultz in Hogan's Heroes "I know nothing."

A senior vice president of HSBC later submitted a sworn affidavit stating that HSBC had no knowledge of the loan in question and placed blame of the false document on the loan servicer. Nonetheless, Judge Schack stood behind his decision stating HSBC is still responsible for the actions of its agents. Shapiro DiCaro & Barak, a Rochester-based law firm who represented HSBC in this matter, was also ordered to pay $5,000 for its involvement.

This isn't the first instance of Judge Schack sanctioning HSBC. Earlier this year, Judge Schack caught lawyers for HSBC filing documents signed by "robo-signers" who supposedly worked for HSBC but were in actuality employed by the loan servicer.

There has been so much fraud regarding loan documents in foreclosure actions filed by the banks, it is imperative that you contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyeror risk becoming a victim of an improper foreclosure.

In today's mortgage industry, the long-standing simple concept of the transfer of mortgages still exists. However, times have changed and the concept of transferring mortgages has become extremely complex.

Originally, when a Note and Mortgage were transferred to a new owner, the new owner would take possession of the original Note and Mortgage, and the original Note would be endorsed specifically to the new owner, much like a check. This process is reflected in Florida Statute § 673.2031(1) (2010) which states: "[a]n instrument is transferred when it is delivered by a person other than its issuer for the purpose of giving to the person receiving delivery the right to enforce the instrument." The Supreme Court of Florida held that a mortgage can be transferred without a written assignment simply by delivering the note with intent to assign it. Hence the well-known expression, the Mortgage follows the Note.

With the extreme demand of finance today, the simple concept of just endorsing and physically delivering the note and mortgage from one lender to another no longer exists. Today, the path most likely seen is:
➢ The Mortgage originator (Lender) originates hundreds of loans; THEN
➢ The Mortgage originator uses the borrowed money in order to create more mortgages; THEN
➢ When the Mortgage originator has a sizeable number of mortgages, the originator partners with one of the major investment banks to pool the mortgages and create securities of out them. This process is called "securitization."

Securitization occurs when the Mortgage originator assigns a pool of mortgages to a newly formed trust. The trust in turn issues securities for the mortgages, which are sold to investors. The trust becomes the owner of all the mortgages in the pool and the investors receive payments on the securities based upon collection of mortgage payments from the pool. Packaging mortgages as securities makes trading mortgages much easier, rather than trading each mortgage separately.

This brings me back to the transfer of individual mortgages. As described, mortgages and notes are assigned by the hundreds and even thousands; making it extremely alluring to skip entirely the preparation and recording of a proper chain of title for each mortgage in a pool. Since mortgages are transferred multiple times within the life of a loan, each transfer is generally only temporary. To streamline the process, transfer generally only takes the form of a pledge of the mortgages in bulk together with delivery of the original Note to the bank. The mortgages may be transferred in bulk, unrecorded, many times without ever physically moving the notes.

If you are facing foreclosure and believe your Note and Mortgage were securitized, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today.

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.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is part of the seven attorney general primary team consulting with banks concerning a nationwide settlement agreement to redress banks' foreclosure wrongdoings. While Pam Bonding initially rejected allowing principal reductions of mortgage debt, she now appear to be willing to consider it "so long as it remedies harm to consumers and stays consistent with the law enforcement role of the state attorneys general," she announced October 18, 2011. Nonetheless, Bondi's office reported she has not changed her position on reducing overall mortgage balances, which has become a central issue in the overall settlement discussions.

There has been speculation that Bondi is beginning to soften her stance as the crumbling coalition of state attorneys general continue their bargaining with our largest banks. California Attorney General Kamala Harris left the group this month because she believes proposals were not going far enough to help homeowners or punish leaders, and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was dismissed because he was reportedly undermining settlement efforts.

While the negotiations are largely kept secret, a few details have gotten out. Discussions now include allowing principle reductions and permitting current underwater homeowners to refinance if a bank owns their mortgage. However, allowing underwater homeowners to refinance may be an attempt to entice California Attorney General back into the negotiations. California currently has 2 million mortgages with negative equity. Bondi is reported as saying it is extremely important to get the states that have left back into the negotiations.

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 to determine what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

A potentially key witness in a Nevada case against two title officers who have been accused of "robo-signing" thousands of documents was found dead in her home earlier in the month. Authorities were altered when the witness missed her scheduled court date on a related misdemeanor charge and the subsequent hearing where she was to testify against the two title officers.

Law Vegas police have stated that they do not suspect foul play and are not treating the death as a homicide. A preliminary investigation has yielded evidence that she took her own life. The witness was facing up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine for her role in the robo-signing scheme where she estimated she had notarized more than 30,000 documents of people not in her presence during the course of her employment with Lender Processing Services Inc. between 2005 and 2008. In November, the witness plead guilty to a single count of notarizing the signature of a person not in her presence.

The developments in Nevada are unfortunate for several reasons, most obviously the loss of life. Hopefully the case against the two title officers and the role Lender Processing Services, Inc. played in subject robo-signing scandal can go forward without this key witness. if you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and believe you have been a victim of robo-signing, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today.

Plaintiff's seem to have sunk to a new low when trying to avoid responsibility for the contents of their mortgage foreclosure complaint...some plaintiff's believe that "verifying" complaint causes them to purger themselves! Now this particular issue is now before Florida Second District Court of Appeals.

The controversy arises from an order from a Pinellas County Florida court which dismissed Plaintiff's, U.S. Bank as trustee for a securitized mortgage trust, foreclosure complaint and order Plaintiff to file an amended complaint and instructed U.S. Bank to verify the complaint itself. Instead of merely reviewing the statements contained in the documents and verifying its complaint pursuant to Florida law, on December 12, U.S. Bank filed an appeal of the lower court's ruling asking to be exempted from the verification rule.

In its petition for writ of certiorari U.S. Bank states "in order for U.S. Bank to comply with the trial court order, it would be forced to commit perjury or altogether forego its right to pursue" its foreclosure case. We will have to see if the courts believe the argument that even though a foreclosure complaint can be brought in the name of an interested party, another party is the party with the actual knowledge of the issues and should verify a complaint.

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

Now that the Law Offices of David J. Stern and Ben-Ezra & Katz are no longer Florida's foreclosure kings, law firms from other states are opening offices in Florida to seize some of Florida's foreclosure business that is now up for grabs. New foreclosure filings slowed significantly last year while foreclosure processing procedures were reconstructed by Fannie Mae and Feddie Mac.

The largest of the new firms, McCalla Raymer, based in Atlanta, GA, has opened four offices in Florida housing 21 attorneys in the last year. Other out-of-state firms include Brock & Scott from North Carolina, Ablitt Scofield from Massachusetts, Mark J. Udren & Associates from New Jersey,; and from Atlanta Aldridge Connors, Pendergast & Associates, and Phelan Hallinan & Schmieg. Most have chosen Fort Lauderdale as their base in South Florida.

Now that Fannie and Freddie have taken necessary steps to ensure all of its foreclosure paperwork is in order, they are now ready to begin filing foreclosures again. In addition to restricting their foreclosure processes, the mortgage giants have also changed the matter in which their hire law firms in Florida to file their foreclosures. This time around, in an attempt to not create another David Stern or Ben -Ezra, they plan to spread out the work among many firms and are even sitting in on attorney interviews. They are taking a more active role to make sure these firms follow proper procedures. Now included in Fannie Mae's contracts with loan servicers, the servicers will be responsible for monitoring and managing the conduct of foreclosure proceedings.

Facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, can be a very stressful and confusing period. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today. A Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer may be able to help you navigate through this difficult time and put you in the best financial position possible for your future. The initial consultation is free.

"The foreclosure crisis is having a significant impact on mental health as well as on a wide range of preventable conditions that are susceptible to stress," said Princeton University economist Janet Currie. "Our findings prove yet again that economic well-being and physical well-being are connected."

The National Bureau of Economic Research recently published a study, co-authorized by Janet Currie, that analyzed the affect foreclosures are having on peoples health in the states who have the greatest number of foreclosures--Florida, California, Arizona, and New York. Foreclosure rates were linked to reports of emergency-room and hospital visits for stress-related issues. The study also included those who are stressed by making payments on a home that is worth significantly less than what they owe.

The report found that for every 100 foreclosed properties in an area, emergency-room and hospital admittances increased 7.2% for hypertension and 8.1% for diabetes for adults 20 to 49. Anxiety admissions saw a 12% increase, and malaise (stomach upset and nausea) increased by 7.5%. In addition, an increase in attempts of suicide was reported.

Being under financial anxiety causes changes in mood, hypertension, and diabetes that take a toll on your overall health. Families forced to move in together experience more friction.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today. The initial consultation is complimentary.

On December 1,the Attorney General for the State of Massachusetts, Martha Coakley, filed a lawsuit against the five largest U.S. lending banks, Bank of America, Wells Fargo JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and GMAC, for their roles in the foreclosure crisis which has plagued the country for the last several years. This suit marks the first major legal action that has been taken against major mortgage lenders since settlement negotiations began between the nation's biggest banks and the 50 state attorneys generals in Spring 2011.

The lawsuit disappointed most of the lenders named, who have pledged to continue working towards reaching a settlement agreement with the 50 states attorneys general.. Spokesman Lawrence Grayson of Bank of America stated, "We continue to believe that the collaborative resolution rather than continued litigation will most quickly heal the housing market and help drive economic recovery." GMAC on the other hand has vowed to fight the suit in court stating, "GMAC Mortgage believes it has strong legal and factual defenses against these claims and will vigorously defend its position in court."

Nevertheless, Ms. Coakley states she had no choice but to file the lawsuit as negotiations have reached a standstill. She, and many others contend the banks have not offered any meaningful compensation while continuously insisting on extensive protection from liability for the foreclosure crises.

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