Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

In Florida, a lender can only foreclose on real property by conducting a judicial foreclosure. A judicial foreclosure is a foreclosure processed through the court system, which begins when the lender files a complaint and records a Lis Pendens in the county's public record. In any foreclosure process, there are certain notice requirements that must be followed before a foreclosure sale can be set or conducted.

In Florida, the homeowner is generally noticed of a foreclosure when they are served with a summons and complaint of the pending foreclosure. If a homeowner is never served with a summons or complaint, a foreclosure sale date or actual sale may be set aside if it can be proved you were never served or improperly served with a summons and complaint.

Additionally, in Florida, the foreclosure sale also must be noticed. The notice must be published consecutively for a minimum of 3 weeks. The last publication cannot be less than 5 days before the scheduled sale date. The homeowner has an absolute right to redeem the property at any time prior to the sale, but there is not right to redeem the property after the sale has been conducted. The homeowner can redeem the property by paying the full amount that is due and owing to the lender.

If your foreclosure sale date has passed in Duval County, Clay County or St. Johns County Florida and you were never served with a foreclosure complaint or summons, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free case review.

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.

A Michigan Attorney General is determined to get some answers on behalf of his State's homeowners. Michigan AG Bill Schuette has issued criminal investigative subpoenas to mortgage support provider DocX and others companies affiliated with DocX; Lender Processing Services, Inc., Fidelity National Financial, Inc., and CT Corporations System.

The investigations are the result of a search Schuette originally began in April, after county officials expressed fear that many of the Mortgage Assignment documents being filed in their office were forged. Now Shuette's office is investigating whether these companies permitted robosigning of the legal documents, which makes it likely the signatures were forged or worse yet - that a proper review of the documents never took place.

Mr. Schuette sent out a public message to current or former employees of mortgage servicers or processing companies in Michigan: if you have knowledge of any unlawful practices related to mortgage servicing documents, call their office directly - (517) 373-1160.

The office in Michigan is also working with fellow Attorney General's on a national level to address malicious lending practices and consumer protection on a broad scale. While it is still too early to be sure of what these investigations will unearth, a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer hopes that these companies are held accountable for their actions.

Those who have lost a property to foreclosure know one thing is almost certain; they're not likely to see their homes again. A New York man is singing a different tune, however, after the Supreme Court of New York vacated a bank's foreclosure sale of his home. Justice Allan Weiss overruled a Deutsche Bank's foreclosure on a defendant's property, finding that the documents filed by the bank deprived the homeowner of due process.

It may seem like a fairy tale, but here is the law and how it was applied: In New York, a party moving to dismiss a default must demonstrate a reasonable excuse for the default and demonstrate a potentially meritorious defense. A defendant need not demonstrate this if the basis for the request to vacate is that the Court lacks personal jurisdiction. Keep in mind that if the court doesn't have personal jurisdiction, subsequent holdings should be dismissed and it is the Plaintiff's burden to prove personal jurisdiction by proper service of process. A process server's signed affidavit serves as prima facie evidence of proper service. If personal jurisdiction is not obtained in this fashion, the proceeding is proper for dismissal without condition.

The Court found the Plaintiff failed to submit any proof that they properly served the Defendant. The affidavit of service Plaintiff submitted had a Supreme Court of Kings County Caption (it should have been in Queens) with an index number that did not match the actual foreclosure. The address where Plaintiff tried to serve the Defendant was not even the Defendant's address.

This is a prime example of the sloppiness that certain lenders and their legal counsel have perpetrated when pursuing sometimes thousands of foreclosures nationwide. This should serve as a reminder to homeowners that there are defenses to a foreclosure case. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer for a free consultation. Do not lose the ability to defend your home by sitting on your rights. c

Provest is at it again...according to a report from the Orlando Sun-Sentinel, Provest just did the impossible, it served a foreclosure suit to a homeowner who was already dead! According to the lawyer representing the deceased defendant, a Provest representative served the homeowner on April 21, 2011, the only problem being that the homeowner died on August 4, 2010. Provest introduced the falsified proof of service document to the court, showing that the company properly served the defendant.

The processor server in the case has stated that when she attempted to serve the deceased homeowner, a person came to the door and when she asked if he was the person she was looking for, he said yes. The process server said the law does not require her to check a person's ID, so she served the papers and left. In a foreclosure proceeding where a homeowner is deceased, a lender must ask the court to appoint an administrator to the case and serve the suit to the administrator.

This is just the latest in a long line of fraudulent service complaints against Provest. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you were a victim of fraudulent service of process, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer today to see what service related foreclosure defenses 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

Liz Miller claims that she learned that she was a robo-signer when a friend of her's suggested that she do an online search of her name. After completing the search, the process server saw that there were numerous foreclosure blogs and a newspaper article that pointed out the many different types of signatures that had been used in her her name. As a process server, Ms. Mills was responsible to sign summons that documented her efforts to locate homeowners after the initiation of a foreclosure action.

Ms. Mills has come forward with three affidavits filed in foreclosure cases that she alleges were forged without her knowledge. She claims that she did not sign the affidavits in any of the three cases and has no knowledge of who actually signed them. Additionally, she claims that one of her alleged signatures on a return of non-service was for service in a town where she never been.

A lawyer defending one of the process service companies that Ms. Mills worked for, Gissen & Zawyer Process Service Inc., predictably stated that the documents in question bear her actual signature.

A statewide review of foreclosure cases recently completed by the Palm Beach Post shows evidence that foreclosure judges across the state are growing tired of the practices and tactics utilized by plaintiffs and are starting to put forth allegations of fraud on the court. The numbers of foreclosure complaints being dismissed by judges for questionable paperwork with some judges going so far as to award homeowners their home free and clear as a result of plaintiffs errors.

The Florida Bar Association, the Florida Attorney General's Office and Federal authorities have investigated eight of the Florida "foreclosure mills" amidst widespread allegations of both signature and document fraud. The Palm Beach Post report highlights several instances where Florida circuit court judges have heavily criticized plaintiff's attorneys, in open court, regarding their "shoddy" practices.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you believe that you have been a victim of fraud, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to have your case reviewed and see what foreclosure defense options may be available to help save your home.

To read the full Palm Beach Post article, click here.

President of the Florida Bar, Mayane Downs, says that the Bar has seen an increase large increase in the number of complaints and investigations of attorney misconduct as a result of foreclosure fraud and some may pay the ultimate professional price, disbarment. The Florida Bar, the body responsible for monitoring and investigation attorney conduct, has seen the number of fraud cases and the number of attorney's under investigation rise from 28 investigations on 23 attorneys in 2010 to 222 investigations on 157 attorneys open so far in 2011.

The substance of the investigations are not made public but complaints normally range from forged signatures on court documents, forged notarizations on documents and other illegal and unscrupulous activities designed to speed up the foreclosure process. These investigations do not include the wide-ranging investigations into the 8 Florida "foreclosure mills" including the now defunct Law Offices of David J. Stern. Many foreclosure defense attorneys question why no one from any of the "foreclosure mills" has yet to be suspended or face professional sanctions as a result of the investigations.

Many attorneys didn't believe that the media allegations of foreclosure abuses would result in official investigations by the Florida Bar but that appears to not be the case. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit where one of the 8 "foreclosure mills" is opposing counsel, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to see what foreclosure defense options may be available to you.

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.

New Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is expanding the investigation into the foreclosure mess begun by her predecessor beyond the initial allegations of the falsification of court documents and widespread "robo-signing." The Attorney General's office did not give specifics as to which firms are facing allegations and nor did it indicate a timetable for the investigation to be finalized.

The investigation has now been expanded to include allegations of misconduct by attorneys and other staff who worked at the large Florida law firms many are now calling "foreclosure mills." In addition to the allegations of attorney misconduct, the investigation will include: law firms padding their bills in order to obtain higher final judgments for mortgage lenders during the foreclosure process, law firms filing foreclosure lawsuits before the lender or servicer actually shows it has an interest in the mortgage, lawyers and law firms routing business to title companies owned by other attorneys in their law firm, and lawyers presenting blank bills to the court that do not show the actual cost of their services.

A Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer is glad that the new Attorney General has continued, and even widened, the investigation into the practices of the notorious Florida "foreclosure mills." If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and want to see what defenses may be available to you, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today.

We have had 5 cases with bad service by ProVest.  Many of these have been reported in the local and National news.  Now it looks like someone is beginning to pay attention to people loosing their homes based on invalid service of process.

First is was the Robo-signers and now the AG is lookign at bad service of process. We will have to wait and see which of the many problems with foreclosures the Florida AG decides to investigate next.

Florida Attorney General began an investigation into fraudulent and improper business practices of Provest of Tampa, one of the nations largest process servers, and Gissen & Zawyer Process Service, one of the largest in Florida and located in Miami. This investigation began after "numerous complaints" have arisen. Some of the allegations include, back-dating documents, questionable billings, and filing false statements with the court.

The investigation stemmed from multiple complaints about inconsistencies in the service of process from foreclosure defense attorneys across the state as well as the State Attorney Generals Office investigation into "foreclosure mill" law firms, Law offices of David J. Stern, just to name one. Both process servicing companies have made statements denying the allegations.

This is just one more step the government is taking to try and get a handle on all the "questionable" Foreclosure procedures that have plagued this state and the nation. Foreclosure is a complicated legal process and the system favors the bank in most cases. So, if you risk Foreclosure or have been served with a Complaint, or seem to be involved in a lawsuit but were never served, contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer to see what options are available to you.

Circuit Judge Susan Gardner of Pasco County has recently undertaken a much more thorough review of the pending foreclosure cases in her courtroom. This comes after many foreclosure mills have been accused of over-billing homeowners for serving notice of the foreclosure lawsuits. These fees for service of process are typically between $50 and $200. However, judges are regularly seeing charges from the foreclosure mills of more than $1,000. In some cases these charges are being attributed to service on a person that does not even exist.

As part of her examination, Judge Gardner randomly selected twelve cases for review. Of the twelve cases, eleven of them had what appeared to be inflated charges for service of process. Additionally, she has begun to see a trend that the lawyers signing the affidavits attesting to the reasonableness of the fees are signing their names and bar numbers in a manner which make them impossible to decipher.

She has ordered five lawyers from various foreclosure mills appear before her in court to explain the fees and their illegible signatures. Judge Gardner recently made the following statement, "I don't want to throw anybody in jail, but I'm getting really angry, and I'm not going to tolerate it anymore. I want some answers. This stuff isn't going through on my watch."

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.

On the heels of allegations of "robo-signing", an investigation by the Florida Attorney General's Office, sworn statements from former employees about the unscrupulous internal system designed to speed up foreclosures and an announcement by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that they were no longer referring cases to them, the Law Offices of David J. Stern has been forced to substantially reduce its staff, with some estimates being that over half of the firm's employees have been laid off!

In a statement from Jeffery Tew, a lawyer representing the firm, Tew stated "there's been a substantial reduction in staff, it started happening over the past few weeks and many employees received notice today (November 4th)." Before the allegations of improper foreclosure processes arose and the subsequent layoffs, the Florida foreclosure mill was one of the largest foreclosure firms in the nation. While there are no public figures available, firm was believed to have employed 1,000 people, including attorneys and support staff.

While the Law Offices of David J. Stern is losing casework and reducing staff, those cases are being referred to other Florida Foreclosure Mills. If you were facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit from the Law Offices of David J. Stern it is in your best interest to contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a consultation.