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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.