Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

The Truth In Lending Act, commonly referred to as TILA, is a federal law enacted by Congress to standardize the way credit is disclosed to consumers. Prior to TILA, lenders could disclose finance charges on monthly, weekly, or daily basis. This made credit appear a lot cheaper than it may actually be. After TILA was enacted, credit offerors must disclose finance charges in terms of an Annual Percentage Rate, or APR, and as a dollar figure. TILA covers closed-ended credit such as mortgages, and open-ended credit like credit cards and home equity loans.

The penalties for non-compliance with TILA make for good incentives for lenders to follow TILA regulations. The main penalty is rescission of the loan transaction. However, rescission is only available for refinancing of a homeowners principle residence, and not for a loan used to purchase the residence. Rescission means that the entire mortgage transaction is unwound and the homeowner is placed in the positions he would have been in if the loan had never closed.

The Lender may also be liable for statutory damages of:
• An amount equal to the sum of the greater of: 1) any actual damage sustained by such a person as a result of the failure to comply;
• Not less than $200 or greater than $2,000 if the home loan is not a home equity loan; and
• Costs of the action, together with reasonably attorney's fees

There is a 3-year Statute of Limitations beginning when the loan closes for TILA violations used as a defense to a foreclosure action. However, the Statute of Limitations is 1-year if brought as an independent action outside of foreclosure. The lender MUST act within 20 days after receiving notice of rescission to affect the rescission, or the borrower may keep the property without further obligation.

If you are facing foreclosure, contact a Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to find out what foreclosure defense options may be available in your case.

An elderly New York is breathing a little easier this week after Bank of America admitted they improperly foreclosed on her home by failing to properly service her loan and denied her a mortgage modification. The woman, who purchased her home in 1988 and has raised her children and several of her grandchildren there, fell behind in her mortgage payments after being forced to refinance her home after her longtime tenant moved out and applied for a mortgage modification through her mortgage servicer.

In a story that is strikingly similar to stories that a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer has heard from its clients, the woman was asked to provided a hardship letter and financial documents multiple times and each time she provided them nothing would come of it. She was put on three short term modification plans, two of which required her to pay $7,000 in upfront money, with the promise of a long term modification after the short term plans expired, to no avail. Unbeknownst to the homeowner, as she was complying with the mortgage modification plans Bank of America was proceeding with its foreclosure action against her. In late august the woman received a notice on her front door that her home had been foreclosed on and turned over to Fannie Mae.

Thanks to the efforts of her attorney after the home had been foreclosed on, the woman has had her case reopened, the foreclosure sale rescinded and Bank of America has agreed to modify her loan.

If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Lawyer or a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer today to have your case reviewed for defenses that may be available to you.

To read the full New York Times account click here.

A South Florida man was in the process of a loan modification with JP Morgan Chase; while unknown to him the bank was continuing the process of foreclosing on his home at the same time! On Tuesday, the Court vacated the judgment after the sale of the home and therefore the title must be placed back in the hands of the original owner.

This is a new method most banks seem to be taking: proceeding with loan modifications while beginning to process the foreclosure in case the modification does not workout.

This technique is added to Chase's current approach of asking homeowners to sign waivers stating they will not sue the lender if the home is auctioned off while in negotiations for modification.

Although things worked out for this homeowner, we have seen many cases where the home is sold while the homeowner believe they are in negotiations with the bank. Often the banks will tell the homewowner that nothing will happen while they are working on a loan modification.

Because of this it is suggested that if you are in foreclosure you should contact a local Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today to review your foreclosure documents today.

The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) is a federal law that standardizes the way that creditors disclose the terms of credit to their consumers. If a lender fails to comply with the strict standards of the TILA the penalties may be severe for the lender. Penalties for violations of the TILA can range anywhere from a monetary penalty to rescission of the mortgage. Rescission of a mortgage gives the borrower back all of the fees, payments of principal and interest, closing costs and any down payments made.

There are only a few violations of the TILA that will give the homeowner the option of rescission. For other violations of the TILA, the failure to disclose will give rise to the actual damages and additional statutory damages not less than $200 for equity loans and $2,000 if the loan is not a home equity loan. For the statutory damages under the TILA, a homeowner may only recover for one failure to disclose, regardless of how many violations there were.

If you recently purchased a home and your lender did not disclose all of the information that is required under the TILA, contact A Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer or Florida Foreclosure Lawyer to help identify TILA violations committed by your lender and get you the relief that you are entitled to.

When a homeowner rescinds their home mortgage loan they are entitled to receive all of the fees, payments, closing costs and down payments back from the lender. The idea is to put the borrower in the position they would have been had the loan transaction never taken place. Rescission is generally only available to individuals that have refinanced a residential property within the last three years. Rescission can be the result of mistakes made by the lender including, excessive fees, failure to properly disclose the costs of the loan, and disclosures that do not meet the regulatory guidelines.

These are some of the infractions committed by lenders that may allow a borrower to rescind their home mortgage loan. Rescission is even sometimes available when the lender has not filed a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit. If you feel that your lender has made mistakes and that you may be eligible for rescission contact a Florida Foreclosure Lawyer or Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer.