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The Evidence Foreclosure Defense

The housing crisis brought it a lot of foreclosure filings. These foreclosure findings revealed and continue to reveal a lot of misconduct and mistakes on the lending side. A lot of the misconduct related to the systemization of the processing and servicing of the loans where the emphasis was on more loans and higher value loans. This emphasis caused many lenders and servicers to overlook important details like reviewing paperwork to ensure its accuracy or completing all the necessary paperwork [...]

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, [...]

Florida Foreclosures Highlighted in New Report

It’s no secret that Florida was hit hard by the foreclosure crisis and has faced a long, slow recovery.  The good news is Florida is recovering.  More news stories focus on the improvement in Florida’s foreclosure rates and the decreases in the number of zombie foreclosures (those properties in the foreclosure process that aren’t yet under the care of a lender and thus, are unkempt, blighting neighborhoods) is sharply declining. However, the recovery process remains ongoing and a new [...]

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[...]

How do Foreclosure Proceedings in Florida Work?

The foreclosure crisis that began in 2008 and is slowly subsiding has been a hot topic for years now, particularly, here in Florida where the number of foreclosures continues to beat the national averages.  Yet, the average understanding is that when you don’t pay you mortgage, the bank comes and takes your home.  And while at a very broad level, this is true, the process is a lot more complicated and open to alternative outcomes.   The Home Financing The foreclosure process actually be[...]

Florida Foreclosure Statute of Limitations

As we’ve discussed in earlier versions of this Florida foreclosure blog, the law on whether and when a lender can foreclose on the same property more than once is in flux.  The Florida Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in Bartram v. US Bank on October 7, 2015.  The court will decide whether the acceleration of a mortgage note by a lender conclusively and irreversibly begins the running of the Florida foreclosure statute of limitations (deadline for bringing a lawsuit). In the inte[...]

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[...]

Florida Tenant Rights in Foreclosure

The news can be tough to follow, from the violence in Maryland to the earthquake in Nepal. The good news unfortunately seems to get buried in small articles and clips.  However, it is there fore those who look.  The past few weeks have yielded good news for homeowners and tenants alike, in different forms. As discussed in earlier blogs, the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 (PTFA) expired at the start of this year.  The PTFA protected tenants from being immediately evicted if the [...]

Homeowner with Mortgage Insurance Foreclosed Unnecessarily

Laura Coleman Biggs is a former nurse whose husband died in 2003.  After his death, she struggled to make payments on their home for years.  Upon the advice of her attorney, she filed for bankruptcy but didn’t pursue the case to completion.  The filing alone was enough to scare creditors and she lost the ability to use her credit cards.  Foreclosure proceedings were commenced against Biggs on behalf of the lender, a Bank of America subsidiary and by December of 2013, Biggs was on the verge[...]