Results

This was another phenomenal result for a client. This client had not made a mortgage payment in 4 years. We had a lawsuit pending against the bank and were fighting the foreclosure for over 3 years. The bank finally caved and we negotiated an amazing deal for the client. The original mortgage was for $382,500 with an 8%-11% variable rate. The balance at the time of the settlement was approximately $500,000 after years of no payments, interest, attorneys fees, and unpaid escrows. We were able to get the principle reduced from about $500,000 to $186,000 with a fixed rate of 3.94% for the remaining term of the loan, not a new 30 or 40 year term, but for the remaining term. This result is further evidence that being aggressive with the bank and trying multiple solutions gives homeowners a better chance of saving their homes. That is why at Loan Lawyers, our foreclosure attorneys do loan modifications, foreclosure defense, bankruptcy, short sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, and we sue banks. It is our philosophy that a an approach that attacks the problem from many angles will give our clients a better chance to save their home. The reality is for this client, if they went to a lawyer that did nothing but try to delay the case, or just try a loan modification, this client would most likely have lost their house years ago. Click here to read the modification agreement

Tags: 3 Years, Angles, Attorneys, Bankruptcy, Banks, Better Chance, Fixed Rate, Foreclosure Defense, Interest Rate, Lawyer, Lawyers, Loan Modification, Mortgage Payment, Multiple Solutions, Original Mortgage, Philosophy, Principle, Variable Rate

What a horrible tragedy.  A couple alleges they were taken advantage of by Wells Fargo and the husband committed suicide.  They were put through the same ringer that the banks put homeowners through all of the time.  The got into a dispute with Wells Fargo over one missed payment.  They allege that they were harassed and threatened to the point that the husband took his own life.

Like many homeowners, they were told by the bank that they should miss three payments before the bank could help them, so they did.  Then the bank turns around and in a huge slap in the face, the bank denies them the modification.  We hear this story over and over again.  Unfortunately this story ended with a tragedy.

Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to Oriane Rosseau for her loss and I hope Wells Fargo pays dearly for the loss of her husband.

Shame on you Wells Fargo and all other banks who pulling this kind of nonsense.  Stop messing with people lives, do the right thing, own up to your mistakes/fraud, and start making things right by helping homeowners in a meaningful way.

Here is the story from ABC News – California Man Commits Suicide Before Foreclosure.

Tags: Abc News, Banks, California Foreclosure, California Man, Committed Suicide, Do The Right Thing, Fraud, Hearts, Horrible Tragedy, Nbsp, Ringer, Rosseau, Shame, Slap In The Face, Thoughts And Prayers, Three Payments, Wells Fargo

People ask us frequently what a strategic default is and how it could help them with their Florida home.  A strategic default is when you simply decide to stop making your mortgage payment even though you may otherwise be able to afford it.  So many Florida homeowners are underwater, as reported by the Sun Sentinel, meaning they owe more than their home is worth.  Many people are realizing that its better to just walk away.  This is a big decision with serious ramifications.  You should consult with an experienced foreclosure attorney if this is something you are seriously considering.

The positive side of a strategic default is that you are no longer are making mortgage payments, but did you think about the negative effects on your ability to obtain credit in the future?  How about the fact that the bank may be able to come after you personally for what you owe above and beyond what they recover from the foreclosure sale?  There are many options for homeowners that are drowning, such as bankruptcy, short sale, foreclosure defense, loan modification, and suing the bank.

A strategic default will lead to a foreclosure at some point in time.  There is no question about this.  If you are considering a strategic default, you need to consider issues such as your collectability should the bank try to come after you, your total debt load, your income, your home value vs. loan balance, and other relevant financial information.   You definitely want to speak to an attorney that is well versed in all areas of law relating to homeowners to make sure you are getting the right advice.

We offer free consultations to discuss strategic defaults with our attorneys in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

Tags: Areas Of Law, Attorneys, Broward, Collectability, Debt Load, Defense Loan, Financial Information, Florida Homeowners, Foreclosure Attorney, Foreclosure Defense, Free Consultations, Home Value, Loan Balance, Loan Modification, Miami Dade, Mortgage Payment, Mortgage Payments, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Counties, Point In Time, Ramifications, Sun Sentinel

In another great opinion, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals has reversed another foreclosure finding that the bank failed to prove standing.  In Rigby v. Wells Fargo, the 4th DCA found that Wells Fargo failed to prove that it was entitled to foreclose on this homeowner.

Standing is the legally ability of a party to seek relief in court.  A party, including a bank that wishes to foreclose, must prove that it had the right to foreclose at the time the lawsuit was filed.  In this case, the assignment of mortgage was dated after the lawsuit was filed and the bank failed to introduce any evidence that the loan was actually transferred before the lawsuit was filed.  The lawyers did a great job in this case and it is a great victory.

Foreclosure courts throughout the state of Florida have essentially ignored standing.  This opinion can now be used to force judges to start paying attention to this issue.   Issues like this are why it is so important to have a foreclosure lawyer in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach that knows how to litigate.  Unfortunately most foreclosure lawyers just try to delay, not fight.

At Loan Lawyers, our team of foreclosure attorneys are ready to fight for the home you worked so hard to purchase.   We offer free consultations in Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Coral Gables, North Miami Beach, and Delray Beach.  Even though our offices are located in South Florida, we represent homeowners throughout the state of Florida.

Tags: Assignment Of Mortgage, Attorneys, Coral Gables, Court Of Appeals, Dca, Delray Beach, District Court Of Appeals, foreclosure, fort lauderdale, Fourth District Court Of Appeals, Free Consultations, Lawyer, Lawyers, Miami Dade, North Miami Beach, Palm Beach, Paying Attention, South Florida, Wells Fargo, West Palm Beach

As we have stressed over and over again, if you are facing a Florida foreclosure, you need a foreclosure lawyer that is not afraid to sue the banks.  Here are 7 settlement checks that we have received last week for our foreclosure clients.  These checks are for either the bank contacting our client when we told them not to do so or for the servicer’s failure to identify the owner of the loan, as well as their address and phone number.  Our approach is to sue the banks for these consumer protection violations because it is not uncommon after the bank starts stroking these checks to start paying attention to our clients and offering real modifications.  Our attorneys routinely sue banks and servicers for violating the  Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act and the Truth in Lending Act.  So, even if the bank does not agree at that point to a principle reduction, the homeowner is receiving a check from the bank while they are in foreclosure!  The banks moan and complain, but hey, even they have to play by the rules.  Unfortunately, not enough foreclosure lawyers in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach take them to task.

Click here to see the 7 settlement checks we received for our clients last week.

Tags: Attorneys, Banks, Banks Florida, Broward, Checks Bank, Collection Practices Act, Consumer Protection, Failure, Florida Consumer, Florida Foreclosure, foreclosure, Lawyer, Lawyers, Miami Dade, Nbsp, Palm Beach, Paying Attention, Phone Number, Principle, Settlement Checks, Truth In Lending, Truth In Lending Act

There is a lot of confusion about whether a homeowner needs to hire a lawyer to fight their foreclosure in Florida.

The answer is that any individual has the right to represent themselves in court.  Now, just because you can represent yourself does not mean that you should.  There’s an old saying that the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.

Someone I met with earlier today is a great example of why you hire a lawyer.  She had a mortgage that was paid off.  Some bank that she never heard of then sues her for foreclosure.  They had a note and mortgage attached to the foreclosure complaint and each seemed to have this homeowner’s signature on it.  The homeowner tells me that the signatures are forged and that it may have been her ex-husband that did it.  Regardless, she had a great case because she did not sign he note and mortgage. Instead of getting a lawyer, she thought she would handle the matter on her own.  Unfortunately she did not make the correct procedural steps.  Her first mistake was that she failed to file a counterclaim against the bank.  The next big mistake is that she failed to properly respond to the bank’s summary judgment motion.  The trial court then granted the bank summary judgment and ordered the house be sold at auction because the homeowner did not do what she should have done.  This poor Broward county resident is struggling to save a home that she paid off and had not mortgage on.

What should have been done is a lawsuit should have been filed against the bank, a handwriting expert should have been hired, and this person should be getting a nice check from the bank for her troubles.  Now, since she did not hire a foreclosure lawyer, her house is due to be sold.

The banks will lie, steal, and cheat every chance they get.  You need to hire a licensed foreclosure attorney who knows the bank’s tricks and is not scared to go after them.  We have sued banks for forgery before.  Here is a previous blog post with a copy of a lawsuit we have pending against BB&T Bank right now for forging signatures.

If you are being sued in Florida for foreclosure, call us for a free consultation  with one of our foreclosure attorneys in Broward, Miami-Dade, or Palm Beach.

Tags: attorney, Auction, Banks, Big Mistake, Broward, Broward County, Confusion, Counterclaim, First Mistake, Fool For A Client, Foreclosure Attorney, Foreclosure House, Forgery, Handwriting Expert, Lawyer, Lawyer Florida, Met, Miami Dade, Mortgage Foreclosure, Palm Beach, Procedural Steps, Signature, Signatures, Summary Judgment Motion, Trial Court

In Thomas v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, the Florida 1st District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s order granting summary judgment to the bank. Summary judgment is a proceeding where the bank come to court shows the evidence, such as the promissory, the mortgage, the assignment of mortgage, etc… If the homeowner does not raise an issue of fact with the bank’s evidence and their ability to foreclose, the court will grant the motion for summary judgment and order the house be sold at public auction. However, if the homeowner raises affirmative defenses in their initial answer or response the complaint, the bank also has the burden of disproving all affirmative defenses in order the get a summary judgment. In Thomas, the homeowner raised 23 affirmative defenses that the bank failed to refute. The trial court incorrectly granted summary judgment and the 1st DCA did the right thing and reversed the foreclosure.

What does this mean? It does not mean that the homeowner got a free home. It simply means that the bank must now refute the affirmative defenses in order to foreclose. My personal take on this is that 23 affirmative defenses sounds like the homeowner or their lawyer threw everything but the kitchen sink in their response. Using forms is fine, but you need to have the ability to back these defense up with facts. Facts are learned through discovery, such as requests for production, requests for admissions, interrogatories, and depositions. Sadly, if the homeowner or their attorney are not doing discovery, especially depositions, they will most like lose their home.

At Loan Lawyers, our foreclosure attorneys take depositions and conduct discovery in an effort to aggressively represent our homeowner clients. Call today to schedule a free consultation with a foreclosure attorney in Fort Lauderdale/Plantation, Delray Beach, North Miami Beach, or Coral Gables.

Tags: Affirmative Defenses, Assignment Of Mortgage, Conduct Discovery, Coral Gables, Court Of Appeal, Dca, Delray Beach, Depositions, District Court Of Appeal, Florida 1st District Court Of Appeal, Foreclosure Attorney, fort lauderdale, Free Consultation, Homowner, Initial Answer, Interrogatories, Kitchen Sink, Motion For Summary Judgment, North Miami Beach, Ocwen, Production Requests, Public Auction

Short sales are catching on and for the first time there are more short sales than foreclosure sales as reported by Bloomberg’s Scarlet Fu.

Many people ask us if a short sale is the best solution for their pending foreclosure. As I have stressed time and time again, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for struggling homeowners.

Short sales are one solution of many and is appropriate for some, but not for others.

In a short sale, the obvious down-side is that you are not saving your home. Probably the biggest up-side is that you are most likely eliminating a bankruptcy later on down the road if the bank were able to complete their foreclosure. If you are trying to keep your home, short sale is definitely NOT the route to go.

Further, the biggest pitfall in a short sale is the possible deficiency. This is the difference between what is owed and what the property sells for. The bank may be able to come after you for the difference. However, if they waive the deficiency, there could be significant tax consequences to you. The bottom line is to get the right advice from an experience foreclosure lawyer.

Only an experienced foreclosure attorney who is well versed in foreclosure defense, loan modification, short sales, deeds-in-lieu, TILA lawsuits, FDCPA lawsuits, FCCPA lawsuits, and bankruptcy can properly advise you on all of these matters and help you determine what the best solution is for you. At Loan Lawyers, we will give you a free consultation in Broward, Miami-Dade, or Palm Beach County.

Tags: Bankruptcy, Best Solution, Bottom Line, Broward, Defense Loan, Foreclosure Attorney, Foreclosure Defense, Foreclosure Loan, Foreclosure Sales, Free Consultation, Lawsuits, Lawyer, Lawyers, Loan Modification, Miami Dade, Nationwide, Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Pitfall, Scarlet, short sale, Tax Consequences

Ben Stein, a noted US economist, has proposed a solution to the foreclosure crisis. Sign your home over to the bank and they will rent it to you. Is Ben a lobbyist for the banks now??? This is crazy.

Maybe its my perspective, by I would rather put on the boxing gloves and get into the ring with the bank, not wave a white flag. I’ve always subscribed to the philosophy of “Don’t go down without a fight.”

With this proposal, the banks would be the beneficiary of your hard work an money.

A much better solution to the foreclosure crises is to deny a bank foreclosure of they have committed any fraud in connection with the origination or underwriting of the loan or with the prosecution of the foreclosure. Better yet, how about all banks write off 50% of the principle balances for everyone. This would keep people in their homes, save the banks because people can afford to start making mortgage payments again, and it will keep the bank’s hands off our tax dollars. Maybe this makes too much sense for the banks. I guess if the government handed me billions of dollars without any preconditions, I would not have much incentive to really solve problems either. What do I know, I am just a foreclosure lawyer.

Tags: Avoid Foreclosure, Bank Foreclosure, Banks, Ben Stein, Beneficiary, Better Solution, Billions Of Dollars, Boxing Gloves, Crises, Economist, Fraud, Huh, Lawyer, Lobbyist, Mortgage Payments, Preconditions, Principle, Prosecution, Tax Dollars, Wave A White Flag

Another great job in the hands of our foreclosure attorneys!

We got a client’s principle reduced from $171,609.65 to $73,500.00. That equates to an almost 68% reduction in principle!

This is the difference having an experienced litigation and foreclosure attorney may make for you.

One of the biggest problems with loan modification is that if your home is significantly upside down, meaning you owe more than its worth, if the bank does not agree to reduce principle, but simply lowers your interest rate, you are essentially renting your home from the bank. It could be 20 years before your home is worth what you owe, especially in South Florida. Agreeing to anything the bank puts in front of you may cost you tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousand of dollars. If you lost your home and bought a new one in 5 years, by the time 20 years comes around, you will have a home with substantial equity in 20 years and will be a good position for retirement. If you agree to just a interest rate reduction, but you owe 2 or 3 times what the home is worth, maybe you will break even in 20 years, but most likely won’t have any equity. You will not be as good of a position for retirement. Further, you won’t be able to sell your home until you are at least even, so you are stuck with this house for 20 years.

This is where an experienced foreclosure attorney comes in. At Loan Lawyers, we can discuss all of your options with you in our offices located in Broward (Fort Lauderdale / Plantation), Miami-Dade (North Miami Beach / Coral Gables), or Palm Beach (Delray Beach). You have nothing to lose, but a lot to gain, so call us today for your free consultation so that we can discuss how to save your home.

You can read this loan modification for yourself by clicking this link.

Tags: Attorney Lawyers, Attorneys, Broward, Coral Gables, Delray Beach, Florida Job, Foreclosure Attorney, Foreclosure Loan, fort lauderdale, Free Consultation, Interest Rate Reduction, Litigation Attorney, Loan Modification, Miami Dade, North Miami Beach, Palm Beach, Principle, Retirement, South Florida, Substantial Equity, Tens Of Thousands

Another foreclosure rescue scam is busted

as reported by CNN.  Watch out if you are in foreclosure or are facing foreclosure.  Foreclosure is a legal matter and you should have a lawyer representing you.  We see time and time again people getting scammed by thieves looking to steal your money or your house.  We have seen dozens of people who have actually signed deeds to their home over to these scammers!  If you have a health issue, you go to a doctor, you don’t ask someone without medical training to diagnosis you and prescribe a remedy, you see a doctor.  If you have a legal matter, you should only see a lawyer.  Unfortunately the government can only go after a small fraction of these scammers, so it is important to make sure you are protected.

First, if someone is not a foreclosure lawyer, you should not be signing anything with them and you certainly should not be giving them any money.  Second, do your homework.  Research the attorney to make sure they have the skills and experience to properly represent you in your foreclosure.  Third, make sure that attorney is well versed in many solutions for homeowners facing foreclosure and able to handle them all.  The attorney needs to practice in the area of foreclosure defense, loan modification, bankruptcy, short sales, and most importantly they are not afraid to sue banks and go toe to toe with the bank lawyers.  You must make sure you are hiring a real litigator, not someone who is just going to take money from you every month and just sit behind a desk all day.

At Loan Lawyers, LLC you will meet with an experienced, licensed attorney who is well versed on how to properly represent clients facing foreclosure.  We offer free consultations in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties with office located in Fort Lauderdale/Plantation, Delray Beach, North Miami Beach, and Coral Gables.

Tags: attorney, Broward, Cnn, Coral Gables, Defense Loan, Delray Beach, Facing Foreclosure, Florida Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Foreclosure Loan, fort lauderdale, Free Consultations, Health Issue, Homework Research, Lawyer, Legal Matter, Litigator, Loan Modification, Matthew Bavaro, Medical Training, Miami Dade, North Miami Beach, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Counties, plantation, Scammers