Category Archives: Foreclosure

Why use an attorney once you’ve decided to quit paying your mortgage

Posted on by

If you decide that you can no longer pay your house note, the process of foreclosure can be started somewhat quickly.  From the moment you miss your first bank note, the lender is allowed, by law, to seek to recoup assets it might lose.  This is done in several ways.

First, some lenders might choose the judicial foreclosure, in which the lender will prove to a local county court that you, the borrower, are not making payments.  If the lawsuit is in the lender’s favor, the court will sell the property.  This type of foreclosure will only happen if there is no “power of sale” clause in the original loan documents.
Second, some lenders handle the process with the non-judicial method, when the original loan documents included a “power of sale” clause.  This clause allows the lender to recoup the asset (or the property) and sell it to get their money.  The timeline varies, depending on which state the foreclosure takes place, but in many cases, it’s within the span of a few months until home foreclosure forces you and your family to find lodging elsewhere.
This is why it is important to immediately seek the help of an attorney once you decide to no longer send in payments.  An attorney will be well-versed on the timeline of your state, and will be able to direct you into the best options available to you to stall the process, giving you more time to catch up financially.

Will the Federal/State Settlement Help if I am Already in Foreclosure?

Posted on by
South Florida has experienced a lot of homes going underwater with their mortgages and its own fair share of the foreclosure crisis that has swept the nation in the past 5 years.  Even with talk of the Federal/State settlement, if your home is in foreclosure, there isn’t a lot the settlement can do to halt the process or relieve your debt substantially. In some cases, you might be offered something by the bank but foreclosure defense attorney, Roy Oppenheim, suggests that if you like your home and want to stay, to not immediately accept offers of settlement. There are so many ways to fight foreclosure that unless you’re just wanting to leave the home for good anyway, it might prove beneficial to fight for your home through the legal system and stall the process of foreclosure with every legal means at your disposal.
One such way to do this that has proven to be highly successful in recent foreclosure defense cases is demanding that the original loan documents be shown in court.  Since many loan processors and banks have been in their own chaos associated with the economy, paperwork has been shuffled around so much between different lenders that it’s easy for the original documents to become lost in the shuffle.  In cases like these, homeowners are learning that they can remain in their homes despite foreclosure and despite not making payments.

Who Qualifies for Relief?

Posted on by
Despite the fact that approximately half of the mortgages in South Florida are underwater, not all homebuyers affected will qualify for the relief that has been granted by the $25 billion-dollar Federal/State settlement.
So how do you know if your loan qualifies?  If you took out a loan with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, CitiGroup, or AllyFinancial, and the loan had mortgage-backed securities, then it might qualify, but there are other stipulations.  For example, leading analysts suspect that the relief will be focused on those who can’t afford their bills versus those who can, regardless of the fact that the fallen real estate prices affect everyone in the area.  Depending on your unique circumstances, if granted funds from the settlement, your loan might only qualify for a principal reduction or reduced interest rate, but not necessarily both.

Also, if you are one of the majority of Americans who took out a mortgage through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, your loan might not be included in those being granted relief.  Additionally, if you have taken a severe hit in income, either through a lost job or unexpected medical expenses, you might not qualify.  This relief seems to be focused on those who are getting behind or mortgages, but for those who have taken out second mortgages and are behind on property taxes, there might not be much help.