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Dispelling Five Misconceptions Your Clients Likely Have About Foreclosure

We are all aware that homes can be sold at various points during the foreclosure process. As a realtor, you might step into the process when a property remains unsold after the foreclosure process is concluded. One big difference is that the bank or financial institution selling the home will ultimately pay you the commission.  Your client, however, will likely have many questions about how exactly the foreclosure process develops. As a result, this article reviews some of the biggest misconcep[...]

Florida Foreclosures : The Good News

This week’s blog will highlight some positive news stories regarding Florida foreclosures and real estate. The Market is Recovering Overall, Florida’s housing market continues on its trends towards recovery. It is still a slow process and some victories are small ones, like Florida no longer holding the largest inventory of homes in the foreclosure process (it was surpassed by New York), there is reason to be optimistic as reports show a consistent movement towards recovery. For example, [...]

Reverse Mortgage Foreclosure Gets Reversed by Florida Court

Reverse Mortgages, also called “home equity conversion mortgages” or “HECMs” allow older homeowners to obtain monthly payments from a lender based on the equity in their home.  The homeowners don’t have to pay any payments on this loan until they move or pass away.  Reverse mortgages are heavily promoted and utilized in Florida.  In late July, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal (“Third DCA”) in Smith v. Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc., issued an opinion that helps prote[...]

Supreme Court Disappoints Lien Stripping Homeowners

At the beginning of this term, there was hope that the United States Supreme Court would issue an opinion in Bank of America v. Caulkett that would provide homeowners with the opportunity for lien stripping second mortgages  during bankruptcy.  Earlier this month, the Court issued its ruling and opinion and those hopes were crushed.  Lien Stripping Background The Court’s decision addressed two consolidated bankruptcy cases with substantially the same facts.  In each case, the bankruptcy de[...]

Condition Precedent Defenses in Foreclosure Actions: Raise Them or Lose them

Mortgages are contracts under which both the lender and the homeowner, borrower have obligations.  One of the homeowner’s obligations is to make their mortgage payments.  When homeowners are unable to meet this obligation, the lender typically begins foreclosure proceedings.  However, before filing the foreclosure action, the lender typically has contractual obligations, like giving notice of default, which it must comply with before it can file the lawsuit.  The notice and other requireme[...]

Mortgage Relief Act Extension

There have always been legal and practical options for those having difficulty making their mortgage payments.  However, during the housing crisis, legislators and agencies added additional options and programs designed to help struggling homeowners.  As the housing market and economy continue to recover, some of the relief programs and options are beginning to reach their deadlines. Two of the largest such programs, Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and the Home Affordable Refina[...]

Lenders Lose Where Default Notice is Lacking

In an earlier Florida Foreclosure Blog, we discussed how Paragraph 22 of many standard mortgage agreements can be the basis for a foreclosure defense.  To quickly recap, a mortgage is a contract under which the lender and the borrower each agree to undertake certain obligations.  Paragraph 22 of standard mortgage agreements contains a number of obligations that the lender must undertake before filing a foreclosure action.  These requirements deal with giving the borrower a default notice and [...]

Best Defenses to Foreclosure in Florida

There are many possible defenses to foreclosure  in Florida  and we’ve discussed a number of them in previous blog posts.  Today, we’ll discuss the best defenses to foreclosure in Florida and possibly avoiding it altogether.  The following are a few tips to keep in mind when purchasing and financing your home.  They are simple but effective. (1) Buy Less Than You Can Afford Purchasing a home under your budget gives you some wiggle room should your financial situation change for the wo[...]