Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

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.

Probably. U.S. courts follow the "American Rule" regarding attorney's fees; i.e. each side customarily pays their own attorney's fees. However, this can be altered, and is often done so through various legislative statutes or even by contract. Florida recently passed a law requiring homeowners who do not contest a foreclosure action to pay the mortgage company's attorney fees. In addition, your note and mortgage most likely contain language making you responsible for the legal fees associated with collection of past due amounts.

Florida Statute 702.065 allows banks to recover attorney's fees in certain foreclosure actions. It applies only when the note or mortgage contains a provision that entitles the bank to "reasonable attorney's fees" when the Borrower defaults on their payments and a default judgment is entered. If this is the case, the bank or mortgage company can receive up to 3 percent of the principal amount owed at the time the bank filed their foreclosure complaint without a hearing.

This might not sound like a big deal, but this new rule is actually quite different from the old law. Lawyers for banks used to be required to have a hearing with the court to ensure their fees were "reasonable." Now, however, a bank's attorney can receive $30,000 on a million-dollar home simply for obtaining a default judgment, without proving to the court that the attorney actually performed $30,000 worth of work.

Laws like these suggest the banks are trying to make their proceedings a little more efficient, which can only makes sense in light of the substantial backlog foreclosure cases have caused in Florida. Having a Jacksonville Foreclosure Attorney on your side, can help prevent the bank from obtaining such a default judgment against you. Don't face foreclosure alone. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney.

Calling a Jacksonville Foreclosure Attorney to guide you through the steps is a good first start. But, there are a few other things you should know.

You do not need to immediately move out of your house. Actually, doing so may cause the bank or mortgage company to consider your home "abandoned," making it more difficult for you to obtain assistance. Instead, you can remain in your home until the bank obtains a foreclosure judgment against you.

You should pay attention to the letters the mortgage company sends you. You should not ignore these, and they will likely be useful when you contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Attorney.

If you speak with the mortgage company about your situation, be honest. If you are not comfortable speaking with the mortgage company, your Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney can do that for you.

These are just a few simple guidelines to follow if you are facing foreclosure. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney to discuss the details of your foreclosure. Each situation is different, but a qualified attorney may be able to 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.

There is a single fundamental action that must be done when faced with a foreclosure. Once served with a Summons and Complaint, you must file a response or an Answer to the Summons and Complaint within 20 days. The Complaint will and must state with specificity the nature of the action and what the Plaintiff (bank) is requesting.

Determining what to file and when to File an Answer in a foreclosure lawsuit is probably the most crucial step in a foreclosure lawsuit. There are several major benefits you cannot afford to miss out on. Once a response to your lawsuit is filed you will receive future notices of all future actions in the case. A properly written response can help to even the playing ground between the bank and yourself.

A lender bringing the foreclosure action certainly has multiple attorneys fighting for their interest and you should have an attorney reviewing your case and helping you fight to defend your rights and educate you on your options.

Contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer to review your case and see that your foreclosure Summons and Complaint is properly answered and well drafted. A Florida Foreclosure Lawyer will also make sure that all other aspects of your foreclosure case is properly handled, giving you the best chance of coming out of the foreclosure with your head high above water. Complimentary initial consultation.

If you are a Foreclosure Defense Attorney representing a homeowner, you have experienced all too well each and every Banks' attorney's continuous and unrelenting resistance to comply with discovery requests. The Foreclosure Defense Attorneys at Apple Law Firm PLLC meet this block wall by continuing to follow up on each discovery request and the filing of motions to compel with requests for attorneys' fees.

In multiple of our foreclosure cases, after a Bank's continual failure to respond to numerous requests for compliance with discovery requests and after a Motion to Compel has been ignored, Apple Law Firm calls the Motion to Compel up for hearing before a judge. More often than not, the court grants the Motion to Compel.

Following the Bank's continued failure to respond to discovery requests, even after being ordered by a court to do so, Apple Law Firm files a second motion. This motion asks the Court to compel the Bank's response for a second time and requesting the Bank's compliance with the Court's order together with a request for attorney's fees. On numerous occasions, at the second hearing, the presiding judge has no remaining patience for the Bank. The second motion is granted and Apple Law Firm awarded attorneys' fees and costs as sanctions for the Bank's continued failure to respond to discovery and a Court order.

It goes without saying, to be successful in litigation, attorneys must be persistent and this is especially true in Foreclosure Defense. If you are facing foreclosure, make sure you have someone on your side that will vigorously look out for your rights and best interests. Contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney or a a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney.

The city of Detroit, Michigan has spent nearly $20 million dollars since 2009 to demolish around 4,000 homes. CBS's news show 60 Minutes recently had a report in Cleveland, where that city is also bulldozing homes in order to save home values. The report also highlighted the fact that foreclosures are on the rise in the suburbs. As values remain low, more and more homeowners are having trouble paying a mortgage that is worth more than the house itself. Some people stop paying because they can no longer afford to, while others simply don't see the point in continuing to pay, even though they might be financially able.

No matter what your situation, if you are in Florida you should contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney Attorney to explain how a foreclosure suit, and a foreclosure judgment, can affect your personal situation. Nobody should have to face a foreclosure action alone, and an attorney can be a powerful ally if the bank decides to foreclose.

If a bank cancels or forgives debt from a mortgage, a Form 1099 is automatically sent to you to report the Cancellation of Debt as income. For those not familiar with a Form 1099, it is used to report income that is not earned from wages, salaries or tips. There are multiple versions of the 1099. The Form 1099-C is used to report the Cancellation of Debt. Unfortunately, the Cancellation of Debt reported on a 1099 must be included on a tax return as income on which you must pay taxes.

Since 2007, the Mortgage Forgiveness Act of 2007 (which will expire at the end of 2012) has allowed cancelled debt from a foreclosure to be excluded as income if your primary residence secured the mortgage. However, banks often do not allow the debt left over from a foreclosure to be simple written off in this manner. Instead, the bank chooses to pursue the borrower personally, after the foreclosure has ended and the home sold, for the remaining balance of the mortgage.

It is important to discuss this possibility with an attorney to make sure this does not happen to you. A Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney can help protect you from being pursued for the remaining balance of your mortgage as well as help you prepare for the future. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney for a complimentary initial review of your situation before its too late.

Toward the end of 2011, foreclosures across the nation increased over 20% from the previous quarter. Considering millions of Americans are still under water, the foreclosure increase is an unfortunate sign that home values are not likely to jump up any time soon. If you are one of the many Florida homeowners with a mortgage that is higher than your home is worth, you should consider contacting a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney to discuss some available options.

Nevertheless, many experts agree that the worst of the foreclosure crises the country has faced over the past few years has passed. But the types of homes facing foreclosure might start to change. The initial foreclosures occurred primarily in inner-city neighborhoods. As home values remain low, suburban neighborhoods could see more foreclosures as well. If you are facing foreclosure, contact a Jaksonville Foreclosure Defense Attorney. An attorney can explain the foreclosure process and help you remain in your home.

It is almost never too late when facing a foreclosure to examine and discuss the options available to you, even if you have already received a Notice of Sale. Although you might not be able to save your home, you may be able to avoid the numerous other consequences of foreclosure. To make full use of a Foreclosure attorney's professional guidance, it is best to have them review your case as soon as possible.

No matter what you decide, it is important to act timely when facing a foreclosure. Some lawyers charge for initial consultations, but it is possible to find a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer that will provide a free initial consultation.

One of the first steps is to determine how you will make your mortgage payments after the case is resolved. If you are unable to make these payments, changes will have to be made with your finances to enable you to be successful with any resolution you reach with the bank. You need to know if you will need additional employment or more hours at work, and start figuring out how you will accomplish it. Cutting back on things that are not necessary can also increase the amount of money you have available to make mortgage payments. Often people make the mistake of treating the increase in cash flow created by not making a mortgage payment as a pay increase instead of putting that money aside.

Consider using a Jacksonville foreclosure defense attorney who will help you re-evaluate your monthly living expenses to make saving your home and being able to begin making your monthly mortgage payments that much easier. Contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary initial consultation

If you are represented by a lawyer in a foreclosure action, and that lawyer failed to appear at a hearing that resulted in a foreclosure judgment being entered against you and a sale date set, you may be able to file an Emergency Motion to Set Aside the judgement based on your lawyer failing to appear in court. It is best to have an attorney assist you with this Motion and hearing.

The basis for such an emergency motion comes from Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540, Relief From Judgment, Decrees, or Orders, and states: '

(b) Mistakes; Inadvertence; Excusable Neglect; Newly Discovered Evidence; Fraud; etc. On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or a party's legal representative from a final judgment, decree, order, or proceeding for the following reasons: (1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect;

However, please note that simply filing this type of motion does not affect the judgment or suspend the holder from moving forward. A hearing must be set, held and the motion must be granted before it can have any affect. While these types of things hopefully have extremely rarely, they do sometimes happen.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit and you have had a foreclosure judgment entered against you, you may have options. Contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a free case review to determine what options may be available to you.

On Monday, December 19th, Charles Canady, the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court signed administrative order AOSC11-44 which put an end to the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation (RMFM) program. The RMFM program was established in late 2009 and referred all mortgage foreclosure actions on residential homestead properties to a court supervised mediation process with the goal of resolving mortgage foreclosures before judicial disposition of foreclosure cases

The Court does not give specific reasons for ending the RMFM program but states in administrative order AOSC11-44 "the Court has reviewed the reports on on the program and determined it cannot justify continuation of the program." As of the date of the Order, December 19, 2011, "no new cases may be referred to mediation pursuant to the statewide managed mediation program."

Those cases that are already referred to the RMFM program or are pending in a mediation program as of the date of the order will remain in the program and will continue until the mediation process is completed. Immediately ending the RMFM program seems to be the easy way out for the courts. Instead of tweaking the program to make it more effective and meet its goal of helping to dispose of cases that benefits both banks and struggling homeowners the Court has just decided to end the program entirely.

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

To read the full text of Florida Supreme Court Administrative Order AOSC11-44 click here.

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.

Chief Justice Charles Canady requested, and Governor Rick Scott has approved a $45.6 million loan to help the Florida Court system continue to operate through March 2012. This is in addition to the already granted $54 million loan to the courts to begin the 2011-2012 fiscal year. The initial loan was granted after realizing the decline in foreclosure filings would be continuing, but with the understanding the decrease would soon come to an end and the loan would be repaid. The courts have not exceeded their budgets. Instead, there has been a shortfall in revenue due to the increase in foreclosure filings.

Currently, the Revenue Stabilization Workgroup is working towards returning the majority of the court system's funding to the general revenue source. The additional loan is just supposed to sustain the court system until this can be accomplished. Governor Rick Scott commented, "[t]he transfers should only be made as needed to cover cash deficiencies, and the loan must be repaid as soon as practical, but no later than June 30, 2012."

Contact a Florida Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today if you are facing foreclosure for a complimentary case review and to begin planning your recovery.

I have a 1st and 2nd Mortgage on my home. The 1st Mortgage is currently being foreclosed on by the 1st Mortgage Lender. However, my 2nd Mortgage Lender has now filed a completely separate action against me for the amount I owe them, but they are not foreclosing. Instead they are suing solely on the Promissory Note and did not respond in the foreclosure action on my 1st Mortgage. Can the 2nd Mortgage seek a Judgment against me before the 1st Mortgage finishes their foreclosure action?

Generally speaking, the 1st Mortgage (the mortgage used to purchase the property) has priority over all other mortgages on the same property executed around the same time or later. In Florida, the mortgage that is recorded first takes priority. In other words, for a 2nd mortgage, one not used to buy the property, to take priority over a 1st Mortgage, the mortgage must have been executed and recorded without notice of the 1st Mortgage.

When a 1st Mortgage successfully forecloses, all junior interests in the property, including the 2nd Mortgage, are eliminated. However, this is not the case where a 2nd Mortgage or other junior interest forecloses. When a 2nd Mortgage forecloses, all senior interests remain in place and the buyer takes the property subject to the 1st Mortgage. However, in order for junior interests to be eliminated with the foreclosure of a 1st Mortgage, the 2nd Mortgage must be made a party to the foreclosure action.

After a foreclosure and the property is sold, the proceeds from the sale are dispersed in this order:
1. Foreclosure costs are paid; then
2. The Mortgage foreclosed on is paid; if any money is left over, then
3. Junior Mortgage interests are paid in their order of priority.

Today, the proceeds from a foreclosure sale generally never are enough to pay off the mortgage foreclosed upon (usually the 1st Mortgage). Therefore, 2nd Mortgage holders do not receive any proceeds from the foreclosure sale of a 1st Mortgage and loose there interest in the property entirely.

Therefore, in an attempt to collect what is owed on a 2nd Mortgage and if the 2nd Mortgage holder thinks there is enough money available from the borrower, the 2nd Mortgage can file their own independent action against you directly based on the balance due on the Note instead of waiting for the 1st Mortgage to complete a foreclosure action and hoping there will be excess proceeds. This can be done irrespective of what the 1st Mortgage does.

When filing their own action, a 2nd Mortgage holder has two options. They can choose to file a foreclosure action, or sue based on the Note to collect the balance owed, which the 2nd Mortgage holder chose to do in this scenario.

If you are facing foreclosure, contact a Florida Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today for a complimentary review!