Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

Most people do not realize that when they borrow money to buy a home, they are in actuality signing the biggest check of their life! The promissory note you sign for your home loan is just like a check. A note and a check are both promises, signed by you, to pay a particular named party a specific amount of money. The only person who can cash a check is the person who has signed the back of it, also known as an endorsement.

The promissory note you signed for your home loan goes through the same exact process as if you endorsed your check in blank, it can be passed from person to person. However, foreclosure plaintiffs are trying to cash promissory notes (foreclose on property) with blank endorsements on them. The loan originator endorses the note in blank, thereby allowing it to be transferred among parties without any real evidence of the transfer. This is just one of the many foreclosure defenses that can arise from the transfer of a note or mortgage.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to determine there are any defenses which arise from the transfer and endorsement of your promissory note. The first consultation is free.

Robo-signed documents used in foreclosure actions may leave lasting impacts in property records for decades. Buyers of foreclosed properties may face difficulties proving they hold clear title to the properties if their ownership is ever challenged. One of the biggest concerns stems from whether or not homeowners were given proper notice of foreclosure actions and/or of the foreclosure sales. If the notice requirements are not strictly complied with, the Court may not have jurisdiction over the case and the action could be ended.

Another concern is the long-lasting impact on the legal system. The production of fraudulent documents, meant to look genuine and fool the legal system, may be depriving people of some of their legal rights. If that is not enough, people are swearing they are vice presidents of companies they do not work for and signing affidavits stating they have personal knowledge over the subject matter when they do not. Citizens' confidence in the legal system has been and is currently being damaged. Foreclosing banks are being allowed to get by with sloppy paperwork and questionable signatures, but homeowners would never be able to do the same. Missed mortgage payments, do not give banks the right to enter a court of law and take someone's home with the use of false documents.

It is difficult to navigate a foreclosure alone. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary consultation to discuss your foreclosure goals and potential foreclosure defenses.

Jeff Barnes, a California attorney who also has an office in Boca Raton, has filed a unique Florida lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase. The filing cites Florida RICO statutes in an effort to pin Chase with a widespread pattern of misconduct. Barnes is making a claim of "nationalized fraud" by Chase because they used false and fraudulent documents to foreclose on homes, and also claimed it had the right to foreclose on Washington Mutual loans, which Chase took over in 2008.

Barnes is using the Florida Civil Remedies for Criminal Practices Act, which is the civil version of the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. The suit has drawn much attention and Mr. Barnes is considering adding more plaintiffs, although he does not plan to solicit for any more. However, some Florida lawyer's are skeptical as to whether this statute will actually work in fighting against the banks.

Perhaps the best thing that could come from this filing is that the suit requests Chase be barred from processing foreclosures until the case ends, which could buy time for many homeowners facing Chase foreclosures. If you are currently facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit or are simply having difficulty paying a mortgage, contact < Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to explore your potential legal options.

Add "foreclosure help line" to the extensive list of catchy 800 numbers being advertised today. Although the phone number has not been established yet, 1-800-4CFRAUD seems like an apt set of digits. That's because the hotline is supposed target homeowners who fear they were harmed by problems in processing foreclosures over the last couple of years.

The telephone number is being established in response to an outcry from residential mortgage regulators to banks to fix the problems in their foreclosure procedures. This comes after finding that nearly 14 lenders filed foreclosures improperly or without the correct amount of man power to handle all of the filings. In response, regulators have expressed a desire to establish a single way to review cases rather than each mortgage company using their own procedure. Hopefully this will provide the necessary consistency and transparency homeowners did not receive when dealing directly with many mortgage lenders.

Contacting a help line is another link that could help stave off foreclosure for many struggling homeowners. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today for a free initial consultation in order to determine what options may be available to you.

Many who read this blog or follow financial news are familiar with the promises from top Banks in the US to stop the filing of fraudulent and faulty foreclosure documentation. A recent Reuter's investigation proved that many of the same companies are still utilizing the same lackadaisical practices that stifled America's housing market and plunged thousands of homeowners into foreclosure.

The article mentions 87-year-old resident of Immokalee Florida, a town at the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis in Collier County. OneWest Bank filed foreclosure paperwork in that was peppered with problems, namely in the assignment of mortgage. But this key document was not signed and recorded with Collier County until some months after OneWest filed the foreclosure!

The Reuters investigation also identified at least six robo-signers which appear on thousands of mortgage assignments filed by banks in recent months. Some of the individuals have even appeared at depositions only to claim that they never read or checked the assignments, and one, when asked what an assignment of mortgage is, replied: "I'm really not sure."

It's fairly easy to see that the recent settlements between Banks and investors have done little to stop these questionable practices. The banks seem to be saying that providing proper documentation doesn't matter, because many of these homeowners are in fact delinquent on their mortgages. Although that might be the case, it doesn't give the bank carte blanche authority to just take people's homes while not following the legal requirements to do so.

For now, Courts tend to disagree with this analysis, for whatever reason. Until Banks are held more accountable and made an example of, the fight for homeowners is still an uphill battle. Florida Foreclosure Defense attorney's are working to help turn the tides. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary consultation to determine what potential foreclosure defenses are available to you.

A quarterly study recently released shows Florida toward the top of the list for risks of mortgage fraud. Florida was topped only by Nevada (at number one) and Arizona (number two). Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, was rated a "high" risk while Southern Florida, including Miami and Orlando, was ranked a "very high" risk. North Western Florida, on the other hand, was given a "low" risk rating.

In making its conclusions, the report looks primarily at four types of mortgage scams: property valuation fraud, identity fraud, occupancy fraud, and phony income reports.

Property valuation fraud typically involves manipulating property values to create a profit margin. It's similar to "flipping", which was very popular before the market crash, in that the buyer purchases a home intending to sell it at a higher value. Unlike flipping, however, the buyer doesn't add any actual value to the home -- instead, the buyer uses shady numbers and other tactics to artificially raise the price of the home and then sells it to an unsuspecting buyer.

Identity fraud is a relatively well-known problem. In the mortgage market, identity fraud generally means a buyer pretends to be someone else. This enables him or her to obtain a better credit rating and attain a loan that he or she otherwise might not have received.

Occupancy fraud involves buyers who falsely claim they will live in the house full time. A full-time residency generally means lower down payments and lower interest rates. Similarly, phony income reports involve buyers who falsify income documents to appear to have more assets than they really do.

All of these types of fraud have a negative impact on the mortgage industry and only increase paperwork for already backed-up banks and courts. Hopefully the fraud and unscrupulous behavior surrounding Florida's foreclosures market subsides in the coming months and years.

According to the latest numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association "problem loans" in the mortgage system are down from 2010 levels, foreclosures remain at extremely high levels and mortgage delinquencies have barely changed since the first quarter of the year. So what does this mean? While some states seem to have figured out a way to "fix" their foreclosure and mortgage systems, other, like Florida, continues to be mired in the middle of the foreclosure mess.

The Mortgage Bankers Association statistics show that Florida's percentage share of the foreclosures nationally is 23.7%, nearly one quarter of all foreclosures across the U.S.! In fact, Florida's 466,454 foreclosures is greater than the total number of loans in 22 states. As many people familiar with foreclosure processes understand, states with non-judicial foreclosure process get from beginning to end much more quickly than states with judicial foreclosure processes. Eight of the ten states with the highest percentage of mortgages in foreclosure are judicial foreclosure states.

While some industry experts say that judicial foreclosure processes are bad and just temporarily prevent the inevitable, a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer believes the benefit far outweighs the costs. After proof of corners being cut by the banks, including thousands of "robo-signed" documents, all precautions to prevent those sort of actions should be taken. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

Lisa Myers has a Video Series on Foreclosures and this segment discusses Jacksonville and some of the problems we face daily. We were interviewed for this segment of the series.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You can view/read the main text article for the special report here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42881365/ns/business-personal_finance/

You can watch the four Lisa Myers reports here:

Foreclosure Crisis: The Mortgage Loan Modification Trap

Foreclosure Crisis: The Whistleblowers

Foreclosure Crisis: Manufactured Loan Documents

Foreclosure Crisis: The Face of Foreclosure: One Family's Story

In an unexpected announcement, which coincides with the offering of a free continuing legal education seminar aimed at improving the foreclosure processes in Florida, the Florida Bar is now requiring all attorney's to notify foreclosure judges about potential fraud in their cases, including those cases that are closed and the home sold. With 1.2 million foreclosures being filed in the state of Florida since 2007 and countless accusations of fraud from the five Florida "foreclosure mills" no one can accurately estimate the impact on foreclosure cases in the state. This announcement represents the largest step toward preventing fraud the Florida Bar has ever taken.

Attorneys are now instructed to report the fraud to the court, but are instructed not to do so in a public court hearing. Instead, attorneys are instructed to ask for a private, "in camera", hearing with the judge in order to determine whether any fraud was perpetrated. Many foreclosure defense lawyers have bristled at the idea of more, private hearings and point to the fact that foreclosure hearings are civil matters and are, and should be, open to the public. It remains to be seen what judges will do once they are alerted to fraud, as the consequences range from doing nothing to dismissing the action.

A Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer hopes that this latest step to prevent fraud has a profound effect on foreclosure courts and Florida homeowners facing foreclosure. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

With scores of complaints from Florida homeowners, foreclosure defense lawyers and investigations by both the Florida Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Congress, the Florida Bar says they are not getting formal complaints against attorneys who commit foreclosure fraud. While the Florida Bar has suspended or disbarred over 200 attorneys so far this year none have been a result of complaints of foreclosure fraud. But by taking several proactive steps, the Florida Bar thinks this trend will quickly change.

The head of the Florida Bar, Mayanne Downs, is now asking judges statewide to report any and all instances of foreclosure fraud or fraud on the court, including sending copies of orders judges write where they mention some form of misconduct. While judges will now be on the lookout for foreclosure fraud it is up to Florida homeowners and their attorneys to challenge the fraudulent behavior in front of the court so judges are aware that the fraud is happening. To deal with the anticipated increase in foreclosure fraud complaints the Bar has instituted a new category solely dedicated to tracking foreclosure fraud complaints. In the month of November, the Bar is already investigating 43 reports of foreclosure fraud.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you feel that a foreclosure fraud has been perpetrated against you, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary case review.

San Francisco based mortgage giant Wells Fargo announced last week that it made mistakes in 55,000 foreclosure cases and outlined a timetable for fixing them. The bank stated that it plans to re-submit incorrect documents by mid-November. In a statement from Wells Fargo spokesman Teri Schrettenbrunner the bank stated that the mistakes were technical in nature and "we don't believe that there are instances in which the foreclosures would not have occurred otherwise."

In recent months, two Wells Fargo employees have given sworn statements in depositions that they signed hundreds of documents per day without verifying the statements in them were correct. Even though Wells Fargo has admitted to problems in their foreclosure processes they declined to join other mortgage giants Bank of America and Ally Financial Inc. in suspending foreclosures pending an investigation into and a correction of their practices.

If you Wells Fargo is foreclosing on your home, it is vital that you contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer.

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

Lender Processing Services Inc's (LPS) stock price has continued to drop since Friday as reports of widespread use of fraudulent documents in foreclosure cases continue to emerge. LPS is a Jacksonville-based company that works hand-in-hand with the foreclosure mills that foreclose on a home when a homeowner is delinquent on their mortgage.

Investors are beginning to be skeptical of LPS for a number of reasons. First, the recent foreclosure freeze will reduce the company's business. Second, concerns have been raised that Docx, a subsidiary of LPS, may have improperly created documents when the lenders that they were working for did not have the documents required to foreclose on a home. Finally, last week a lawsuit filed in Mississippi alleges that LPS was involved in a fee splitting arrangement with the law firms that they work with.

PNC Bank is the latest lender to freeze its foreclosures. PNC becomes the fourth major lender to temporarily freeze foreclosures, joining Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and GMAC Mortgage.

PNC will suspend the sale of any home that was foreclosed upon by the bank. The freeze will last for an initial period of one month. PNC announced that the foreclosure sale suspension is to allow the bank to review the process it uses when foreclosing on a home and to determine the validity of its documents.

Homeowners and Ponte Vedra Beach Foreclosure Defense Lawyers have been complaining about fraudulent documents in Ponte Vedra Florida Foreclosure Lawsuits for years. Within the last two weeks, GMAC Mortgage, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have all admitted that a few of their employees signed and verified thousands of documents a month that were not even read.

Now that three major banks have admitted wrongdoing we will finally see more significant action from judges. Judges are taking a much closer look at the paperwork that has been submitted to them on behalf of foreclosing lenders. As a result, judges are increasingly throwing out the paperwork that has been filed in foreclosure cases. Some judges are going so far as to dismiss pending cases and re-examine old cases that involved improper documents. In Florida, some companies have requested that judges withdraw documents that were improperly verified.

If you live in Ponte Vedra Beach or Jacksonville and would like your situation reviewed by a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer contact us for a no cost foreclosure case evaluation.