Miami Foreclosure Lawyer Blog

The Obama administration continues twisting the arm of every attorney general in the nation to settle with banks over robo-signing and other offenses during the housing burst, which caused strategic defaults, short sales and millions of foreclosures in Miami and elsewhere.

As San Francisco Bay View points out, the settlement with banks that the government is pushing for would essentially be a slap on the wrist and would prohibit states from bringing lawsuits against them.

Robo-signing is where employees signed other people's names under titles they didn't own to confirm facts they didn't know were true. The practice dates to the turn of the century and could have invalidated tens of thousands of housing titles.

Miami foreclosure lawyers have fought many foreclosure cases where robo-signing was used because it is such an unethical practice. When a person's home is at stake, the last thing that should happen is a bank using improper techniques to try to steal it away.

According to the news article, the settlement would let bank officials get away with criminal acts that the average person would be convicted for committing. They include fraud, tax evasion, securities violations and forgery. The author questions whether banks did this for so long because of the volume of cases or because it was profitable.

Some analysts believe that robo-signing was done in support of the shadow banking system, which some say is bigger than the traditional banking system. Securitized mortgages, as one theory goes, are pawns used in the "repo market." Repos are quick-moving sales and collateral repurchases that require mortgage notes to be free. So, they are not assigned until a loan defaults, at which time they are robo-signed to the trusts in order to foreclose on the property.

This secondary banking system is based on high-level debt, such as mortgage-backed securities and Treasury debt. Analysts say this secondary market is essential for traditional banking because without it banks wouldn't lend and credit wouldn't be available.

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems hid these transactions and allowed houses to be bought and sold quickly while getting around local laws that govern recording these transactions. MERS would be the name the property was recorded under, though it may have changed hands five times.

As Miami foreclosure defense lawyers and others began questioning whether MERS had any ability to foreclose, judges have increasingly said it doesn't. And after officials told mortgage servicers that to get reimbursed under the federal program HAMP, the servicers would have to show the loan had been assigned to the trust. In response, robo-signing went viral.

And as a result, this process broke violating the terms of trusts as well as state real estate law. The banks also cannot comply with tax laws for mortgage-backed securities. The author points out that the shadow banking system is flawed because the collateral is both owed to the borrower and the depositor at the same time. What happens when both demand their money at the same time?

The article points out the obvious flaws in our banking system and shows that homeowners nationwide have been deceived and ripped off. Many Miami foreclosures were done through robo-signing and other illegal practices, yet the court system has been slow to hold banks accountable for their actions. As more and more evidence comes out, Miami foreclosure defense lawyers will bring this to judges in order to save homes from foreclosure.

Continue reading "Why Is Robo-Signing in Miami Foreclosures Still Ongoing?" »

CNNMoney recently reported on the troubles that three separate families are going through with foreclosure, but because of paperwork problems and mortgage servicers going bankrupt that have forced the families to relocate, consider strategic default and lose their house to foreclosure.

Being saddled with a Miami foreclosure can be a heart-breaking experience, especially for families with children who get caught up in the stress of the situation. Credit scores can be hit hard and people must consider all options.

Perhaps the best option is fighting back against the banks with an experienced Miami foreclosure lawyer. Foreclosure defense lawyers have spent years watching the banks and the tactics they use against homeowners. Many of these plans are fraught with less-than-ethical moves and with money in mind.

Banks have filed faulty paperwork in foreclosure cases, used robo-signing practices in order to speed up a foreclosure when documents that were supposed to be verified weren't, created documentation to support a foreclosure that was never in the file and other misdeeds.

Homeowners can use these to their advantage because documentation problems can often be used to show that the bank doesn't know who actually owns the house. This can lead to a victory for homeowners, or sometimes a delay that can benefit them. Illegal bank moves can also lead to judges tossing out the case against banks altogether if a lawyer can show that the homeowners' rights were violated in the process.

In one case, a family chose a strategic default after a battle that went on for more than four years, following a routine refinancing of their mortgage. The couple decided to leave their house, purchased in 2007.

In 2009, the mortgage servicer ceased operations, so when the couple refinanced their loan to get a better rate, they received word from their bank that they were behind on the old loan. When the mortgage servicer went bankrupt, the government froze its assets, including customer payments.

Adding even more complication to the case for this family was that Quicken, the company that refinanced their loan, sold the servicing rights to the new loan to the bank, so the couple was sending checks to the bank and at the same time receiving notices from the same bank saying they were behind on payments. They started getting barraged with notices and ended up moving. They are now suing the bank for violations of debt collection abuse laws.

Another couple in the article lived in their house for two years before being told they didn't technically own the home. Right after they bought their home, the title company went bankrupt and the company never transferred the money the couple paid or the title to the bank.

The couple's money ended up being sent to the state, which was handling the title company's accounts. The bank then put a lien on the house and followed that up with a foreclosure notice. After clearing up the issue, the bank agreed to drop the lien, but not after they first asked the couple for an additional $40,000. Now, they are expected to stay in their house at the current price.

A third example of problems with foreclosures lead the author of the article to New Port Richey, Florida, where an older couple was forced into default on their home loan because of medical bills. The couple qualified for a trial modification through HAMP, making the payments smaller. But the government program kicked them out a few months in.

The notice from the bank said they were disqualified for not making payments in the month they were due. They made payments for January in December -- essentially making payments too soon. The bank finally recognized the problem eight months later and rectified it.

Continue reading "Three Families Fight Miami Foreclosures Because of Bank Problems" »

ProPublica recently reported that another bank, this time Deutsche Bank AG, has been caught altering information on underwater Miami foreclosure cases in order to try to make investments seem better than they really were.

The news agency reports that a junior analyst at Deutsche protested when bosses asked the analyst in 2007 to alter numbers in a spreadsheet to make Deutsche investments seem less risky to ratings agencies.

Our Miami foreclosure lawyers think this sounds familiar. In fact, we reported on our Miami Foreclosure Lawyer Blog in September and October about how Countrywide employees revealed that they found bank officials at branches were literally cutting and pasting documents together in order to steal people's homes away from them in Miami foreclosure cases.

These stories continue to show that banks cannot be trusted and that their interests are in complete opposition to the interests of homeowners. Banks desire to make as much money off of foreclosures and homeowners must consider strategic default, a short sale or perhaps fighting back if their mortgage is underwater.

According to ProPublica, a mid-level executive asked the analyst to make it seem as if the mortgage-backed securities would produce more cash than the bank expected. This was at a time when the foreclosure bubble was bursting and fewer people were investing.

Banks were attempting to convince ratings agencies to give them the AAA ratings approval to show investors -- who were becoming skittish about investing -- that they posed low risk. The analyst was asked to change the spreadsheet to improve the rating.

The protest by the analyst sparked an internal investigation and the bank, of course, denied any wrongdoing. Neither the S.E.C. nor any government regulator has interviewed the analyst, some four years later. It begs the question of how closely the bank was being watched. ProPublica reports that two of the SEC's main players are former Deutsche Bank officials.

Analysts worked on CDOs, or collateralized debt obligations -- securities underpinned by mortgages that the bank sold to investors. In 2006 and 2007, this wing of the bank was busy, with employees working until 1 a.m. before being driven home in company town cars. Analysts would create spreadsheets that "modeled" or projected how the investment would perform.

The spreadsheets were so complex they could take minutes to open on a computer, requiring sophisticated calculations in order to show the investor how the investment would grow at certain time periods.

Even at a time when the banks knew mortgages were falling into foreclosure based on unemployment numbers rising and when the prices of houses were spiraling downward, these banks were trying to sell these risky investments they knew weren't going to pan out. So, what do they do, allegedly? They alter the numbers.

News reports have shown these same banks altered numbers in Miami foreclosure cases in order to prove to judges they should be able to take the house or to show how much is owed. They will stop at nothing to make a dollar, even at the expense of homeowners.

Continue reading "Duetsche Analyst Blew the Whistle When Asked to Change Numbers in Miami Foreclosure Cases" »

Banks are now coming under fire not only for their mishandling of many Miami foreclosure cases, which has led to people considering strategic default on their underwater mortgages, but now officials are being questioned about whether they forced people into buying insurance through companies with which they have ties.

As we wrote on our Miami Foreclosure Lawyer Blog recently, this issue isn't going away any time soon. Our Miami foreclosure lawyers believe this is just another example of banks using their power to exploit the powerless as they hold hostage the one asset that really means most to people -- their homes.

A recent article in American Banker reports that a recent New York Times article on the issue brought national attention to the issue of force-placed insurance. Now, a group of state attorneys general are adding force-placed insurance to its mortgage servicing settlement that has been in the works for months.

This is the large-scale settlement that most attorneys general throughout the country are working on settling so they can make money off the banks without fully investigating all their wrongful acts. Florida, unfortunately, is one of the states that is going along with this settlement, which would ban states from bringing certain legal actions against banks for their crimes in the future. There are a handful of states, including New York, that have vowed not to settle, but would rather investigate, let the truth come out and hold these banks accountable.

Force-placed insurance is when banks buy insurance on behalf of uninsured borrowers and then add the cost to their mortgage debts. In many cases, homeowners don't realize a portion of their monthly mortgage payments are going toward that insurance and not toward their mortgage debt.

Allegations of wrongdoing were nearly nonexistent even as recently as two years ago, but now there are allegations that kickbacks were involved. In some cases, The New York Times article pointed out, banks owned or were connected to the insurance companies they were paying to write up policies for distressed homeowners.

The American Banker article reports that government authorities may be the people's best chance at this point of exposing the issue of force-placed insurance, given their abilities to request documents and bring criminal or civil actions.

The article also suggests that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could enter the fray and look at the issue. Last year, HUD transferred its authority to enforce the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act to that bureau.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Miami foreclosure defense lawyers are waiting on the government to act. There have already been civil lawsuits filed on behalf of homeowners by lawyers in Minnesota as well as Florida. Some mortgage servicers have already succumbed to pressure and altered their practices, the article states.

This is certainly an issue to keep an eye on because it is another example of ways the largest banks in this country have attempted to game the system and profit off the American people.

Continue reading "Newest Bank Problem: Force-Placed Insurance on Miami Foreclosures" »

Bank officials have managed to skirt prosecution from government officials, despite obvious robo-signing, falsifying documents and other unlawful practices that have thrust homeowners into foreclosure, short sales and strategic default.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers hope that even though prosecutors traditionally haven't put much pressure on bank officials, perhaps industry officials will use the court system to hold the banks' feet to the fire for their transgressions.

If the government isn't going to stand up to help homeowners who are struggling with Miami foreclosure, then who will? Our lawyers are fighting for Miami homeowners, but we do so on an individual case basis. Someone must step in and offer some real punishment for these tactics.

According to a recent story in The New York Times, a New York financial services agency is investigating banks to determine if they fraudulently steered homeowners into overpriced insurance policies. It's already been reported that banks encouraged minority borrowers into subprime loans when they qualified for regular loans because the higher interest rates were more attractive to investors.

Now, it appears from the investigation, bank officials encouraged distressed homeowners who were falling behind on insurance payments to sign up for insurance policies that were up to 10 times as expensive as their original plans. In some cases, the banks offered policies that were in-house and controlled by the banks themselves, bringing up conflict of interest questions and suspicions of kickbacks as well.

Among those being investigated were JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. The state office doing the investigation sent out 31 subpoenas and other legal notices in October as part of its investigation.

This brings up an important issue, however. Because many states are in negotiations with banks to come to a large-scale settlement for the banks' misdeeds, would something like home insurance be covered? Since New York is one of a handful of states not participating in this get-out-of-jail-(relatively) free negotiation, it's likely it could continue its investigation in the home insurance issue, despite the agreement with the other states and the banks.

It appears this is just another scheme devised by banks to keep a grip on their borrowers. The Times article suggests that when homeowners get behind on home insurance payments, the banks attempted to get homeowners to take out even more expensive policies. This has also hurt the real estate market, as homeowners have found it difficult to refinance their loans after banks tied this insurance coverage to their houses.

In general, mortgage servicers are allowed to take out insurance policies on homes when borrowers allow coverage to lapse. But homeowners end up picking up the cost in their mortgage payments, sometimes without knowing it. While some increase is expected because insuring people who have fallen behind on payments is risky, the investigators say some of the increases are exorbitant.

This is just another sneaky attempt for banks to make more money off borrowers. It is the reason many Miami homeowners are struggling with foreclosure and forced to make difficult financial decisions that affect their future. Let's hope more of these investigations pop up so the truth about what banks have been doing for years comes out.

Continue reading "Big Banks Slammed With Miami Home Insurance Inquiry" »

The New York Times reported recently it's unlikely that Washington lawmakers will come up with a significant program to help homeowners struggling with foreclosure in Miami.

That's not all that shocking, considering that the programs of the past have done little to help homeowners struggling with an underwater mortgage and in danger of foreclosure or strategic default. While the current administration has promised big results from its programs, there hasn't been much help provided to struggling homeowners.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers believe and have seen proof that fighting a bank in a foreclosure case is much more efficient than waiting on a government handout. These programs have dedicated millions of dollars and yet little of it has been actually utilized to help modify loans or help people stay in their houses.

Because the programs have no teeth, banks aren't required to use them and there is little incentive for them to do so. Rather, they believe they can make more money off a foreclosure than actually keeping a person in their house with a mortgage modification.

Taxpayers are rightfully skeptical about new government programs that promise to help homeowners. In the past, few have done so. In April, a program was designed to provide reparations to homeowners damaged by foreclosure abuse, but many officials believe it may do more harm than good.

An April program from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was borne out of consumer lawyers identifying forgeries and other problems with foreclosure documents filed with the courts by banks and representatives. It's interesting to point out that it was lawyers, not bank regulators, that pointed out these massive problems.

More than four million homeowners were contacted and told they could end up getting some type of financial bonus for being trampled upon by the banks. This was after banks agreed to audit themselves. Lawmakers last month voiced doubt that the program would work and cautioned that there could be a conflict of interest among the consultants that were hired by banks to review the problems.

One researcher the newspaper talked to spotted a conflict after one hour of looking at documents, despite the comptroller's office saying it closely vetted consultants to check for potential conflicts.

Others have pointed out that JPMorgan Chase hired Deloitte to audit its practices, the same company that audited Washington Mutual and Bear Starnes, two defunct firms. Both were later acquired by JPMorgan, so loans that could come under scrutiny would be done by the firm that audited their books.

Other problems pointed out by industry leaders is that the years under analysis are after when most subprime loans were sent into foreclosure and those homeowners who participate in the program are left unprotected against any future damage. Participating in the program could lead to a person giving up their rights to fight a foreclosure in the future. Also, participants could still lose their home to foreclosure even if they take part in a review of their case.

There are few solid programs that actually help homeowners. The only way to hang on to your home if it's been hit with a Miami foreclosure is to fight back. Point out the bank's faults in your case and hold them accountable to proving their case.

Continue reading "Waiting on a Real Government Bailout For Miami Foreclosures? Don't Bet On It" »

A recent CNNMoney article suggests that homeowners who are willing to fight back against banks in a Miami foreclosure may be able to stay in their houses rent-free for as long as several years.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have helped many homeowners by pointing out problems with bank documents, proving the robo-signing practices that have infiltrated our real estate market and the issues that have caused many people to choose a strategic default over putting their retirement savings into an underwater mortgage.

Banks have certainly shown their inability to correctly process the millions of foreclosures that have flooded the market. In their infinite wisdom, bank officials have decided that instead of legally and morally filing foreclosure paperwork, they will create inaccurate documents in support of foreclosures.

Skilled and experienced Miami foreclosure lawyers have been able to point out these mistakes and also show that bank officials are unable to prove who actually owns the loan. That has been a recurring problem for banks.

Because of their reliance on MERS, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, a network of real estate purchases and sales created by and monitored by banks, home sales haven't been well kept track of. This registry often clashes with official records kept in cities and counties where the sales take place, so when it comes time for a bank to foreclose, the information may be mixed or even unavailable.

Also adding to the problem is that banks made money off of mortgage loans by selling them as bundles to investors. Called securitized mortgages, investment groups may actually own the loan, but the bank that originally signed the loan paperwork may attempt to bring the foreclosure.

These problems have led to free rent for some homeowners. CNNMoney reports that the average time it can take for a foreclosure to be fully processed -- starting with the first missed payment to the final home auction -- is now 674 days. That is up from the 253-day average from about four years ago.

In Florida, however, the court system is so slammed with cases that the average time it takes to process a foreclosure is 1,027 days, which is more than three years. Only Washington D.C. tops Florida at 1,053 days. In New York, the average stay is 906 days. Nearly 40 percent of homeowners whose houses are in default haven't paid their banks in at least two years.

While the article reports that there is rarely a dispute about whether payments have been made, homeowners are able to stay in their houses because of bank errors. Robo-signing is a big reason. When foreclosure defense lawyers discovered these problems, they were able to show that bank employees signed paperwork despite having no knowledge as to the accuracy of the documents.

In some cases, attorneys are able to show judges that employee signatures are different on multiple papers, that notarized documents are executed on dates that aren't possible and that the paperwork signed as accurate is incorrect.

Often, lost or misplaced paperwork can lead to a botched foreclosure by the bank as well. Since many of the documents that are filed are done so electronically, they can be misplaced easily. Unless the banks can find them, the foreclosure can be tossed out of court.

Continue reading "Stay at Home for Free throughout Miami Foreclosure Defense" »

In the first two blogs in this series, our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers looked at how banks are getting away with crimes because the Obama Administration seems to think what has happened in our country was simply the "least ethical" practices, but not crimes.

The blogs also looked at how a small faction of states attorneys are going against the grain and pursuing lawsuits against the banks who caused the real estate collapse in the first place. Rather than going along with most other states attorneys and attempting to settle with the banks for cash, this group seems intent on holding them criminally accountable for causing an influx of foreclosures that left homeowners considering strategic default because of problems with mortgage servicers and shady bank practices.

And our series of blogs has also concluded, based on a Politico article, that the Obama administration doesn't seem very interested in pursuing criminal cases against these bank officials. While it's obvious that crimes were committed -- there have been documented examples of banks foreclosing on military families -- as many as 5,000 against a 2003 act. And bank officials who were ordered to alter documentation in order to support a foreclosure -- yet no major criminal charges have been filed.

In fact, the administration has encouraged the states attorneys to settle with banks over their foreclosure practices instead of pursuing criminal cases. That's what has happened on the federal level. The Justice Department is trying to squeeze the banks for money instead of charging their officials with crimes. This comes on the heels of the Federal Reserve doling out $7 trillion in secret loans to banks.

The Politico article reports that Obama seeks to coverup the bank crimes by trying to force the states into a large-scale financial settlement. The Massachusetts lawsuit, which alleges foreclosure fraud against banks and MERS, is the most sweeping and while most banks have done little to fight back, government-owned Ally Financial has said it will stop lending in Massachusetts.

Officials are now attempting to set up congressional hearings into Ally's capital strike, a tactic which is designed to meet their legal demands while threatening to stop financing. This isn't new. In 2003, Georgia lawmakers found that mortgage lending had problems with predation and fraud, so they passed a consumer protection law that struck back at fraudulent practices.

But the result wasn't what they expected, as Standard & Poor's said it would no longer rate mortgage-backed securities with loans that started in Georgia. Since S&P made big profits from rating subprime mortgages, the Georgia law could have threatened its business. Lawmakers quickly reversed the law.

The Politico article goes on to state that while the housing bubble and burst wasn't just based on bad behavior, it included threats made by banks to stop financing or make lending difficult in states where lawmakers attempted to make things right for homeowners.

The only way to make change, which is sure to come slowly, is for lawmakers to care about justice and to make it happen. Banks have found that crime pays and until someone stops it, it will only continue.

Continue reading "A Miami Foreclosure Is Not Only a Tragedy, But a Crime Scene: Part 3" »

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers recently found a Politico article which makes the point that foreclosures shouldn't just be treated as a life-altering problem, but also as a crime scene.

What bank officials did has caused a momentous spike in Miami foreclosures and in the number of people who had to work out short sales or consider strategic default as a result.

Banks ordered robo-signing and altered documents in order to support a foreclosure. They have thus far gotten off without any real penalties. Many are still making their seven figure bonuses and large salaries despite these actions.

It's about time that prosecutors start holding these people accountable for ruining our real estate market and leading to many Miami residents having their homes taken away because of unlawful actions.

In the first part of our series on this Miami foreclosure blog topic, we discussed how several attorneys general, not including Florida's, have gone against the grain in pursuit of these criminals. While the Obama administration has pushed these state prosecutors to agree to a settlement with banks to let them off the hook for their wrongs with few questions asked, about half a dozen have decided not to engage in talks. This will allow them to continue their prosecution of bank officials in lieu of receiving what amounts to a payoff.

Interestingly enough, one of these state attorneys is Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joseph Biden. He is suing MERS for unfair and deceptive practices. Attorneys general in New York, Nevada, Massachusetts and elsewhere are fighting back.

The second part of this blog series will look at the problems that these bank officials have caused the court system and the people who have had their life savings depleted because of the greed.

Some reports have suggested that bankers pushed borrowers into subprime loans because the interest rates were higher and they were more attractive to investors. In fact, there have been lawsuits filed alleging that black and Hispanic borrowers were discriminated against because some qualified for normal loans, but were pushed into subprime loans.

And while President Obama himself said what has happened on Wall Street wasn't criminal, only "the last ethical," banks have admitted to breaking the law. Earlier this year, Politico reports, JPMorgan bankers were found to have violated the Servicemember Civil Relief Act, which protects military members from foreclosure. The bank foreclosed on 18 military families.

Regulators have found recently that as many as 5,000 military families have been sent into foreclosure illegally, despite built-in protections from the SCRA. And as it seems to go, the Justice Department settled with Bank of America for alleged violations of the act, which allows the bank to not have to admit doing anything wrong.

The Politico article points out that Obama's statement about Wall Street's actions being unethical is incorrect. The servicemember act has been on the books since 2003 and although the president said laws need to be changed, they were already in place. The article reports that the George H.W. Bush administration sent about 3,000 white-collar criminals to prison and yet the Obama administration has yet to send one.

The article suggests that the current Attorney General hasn't brought any criminal charges against those involved in illegal military foreclosures or foreclosure fraud. Instead of pursuing these cases criminally, it appears the current administration is happy to settle with banks to get money instead of prison time.

Sadly, this has allowed criminals to get away with crimes and has left homeowners stuck in a Miami foreclosure. When the government settles out of court for cash instead of prison time, where does the money go? Does it bring people's homes back? No. There really is no justice in what the government has been doing.

Continue reading "A Miami Foreclosure Is Not Only a Tragedy, But a Crime Scene: Part 2" »

It has been slow coming and our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have been begging the question for years -- why aren't banks being criminally prosecuted for their illegal acts in foreclosures? Acts that have sent the nation into an economic tailspin, as mortgages are underwater and people are considering walking away from their homes?

It's a valid question now in 2011, years removed from when the bottom fell out of the real estate market and Miami foreclosures began popping up all over the city. Speculative buyers were leaving and the rest of us were left to pick up the pieces. But then, prices of our homes began dropping, unemployment spiked and many people who call Miami home were left trying to fight for their homes after missed mortgage payments.

And the banks have been at the center of all the problems. They were more than happy to hand out billions of dollars in loans and then neatly package them and sell them to investors as securitized mortgages, in many cases even though bank officials knew the loans were bad. But after the bubble burst, they were far from prepared to brace for the wave of foreclosures that would soon hit.

A recent Politico article looks at the fact that state prosecutors are now just beginning to treat foreclosures as crime scenes and not just a civil issue. That's because banks have consistently broken laws in how they handled the foreclosure crisis.

There are examples of workers who were ordered to maliciously falsify foreclosure documentation so they could steal away a person's home. Others deliberately authorized robo-signing practices, where outside companies were signing documents on behalf of bank officials who should have been checking them for accuracy. Bankers have been accused of selling mortgage loans to investors they knew to be bad.

Yet, in the last three years, all we have seen as American citizens is the Federal Reserve lending out $7 trillion of taxpayer money to make sure those same bankers survived the financial crisis -- a process by which they made $13 million -- and the government's weak-willed attempts to put aside money to help homeowners, which has been rarely used by banks, who had no obligation to play ball.

But in recent months, several attorneys general have stepped up and begun bringing criminal charges against bankers, even as the rest of the country's attorneys general -- including Florida's -- have been more than happy to negotiate a weak settlement with banks, allowing them to write a check to pay for these injustices with little help going to the people who were victimized by their actions.

While the Obama administration has pushed these state prosecutors and others to lie down and settle with the banks, some are rejecting that notion and refused to sign up as part of the negotiating. Rather, they are fighting back on behalf of their constituents.

In Massachusetts, a civil lawsuit was filed against five major banks and the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems alleging foreclosure fraud. The lawsuit alleges mortgage servicers as a matter of practice backdated and falsified documents in order to move foreclosures along more quickly.

In Delaware, Attorney General Beau Biden -- son of Vice President Joseph Biden -- is also suing MERS, Politico reports, alleging unfair and deceptive practices. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has stepped in and stopped a settlement of Countrywide's fraud in selling mortgage-backed securities it knew were bad.

On our Miami Foreclosure Lawyer Blog, we will continue looking at how the actions of these aggressive attorneys general have changed the legal landscape and the relationship between banks and the states where they have caused so much pain and stress.

Continue reading "A Miami Foreclosure Is Not Only a Tragedy, But a Crime Scene: Part 1" »

Much was made in recent years about the millions of dollars dedicated to helping homeowners work their way out of Miami foreclosures because of underwater mortgages that caused many to consider a strategic default.

In order to keep people in their homes, the Obama administration set up funds and breaks to banks to encourage them to modify loans to Miami homeowners, though they missed the mark. While there was a goal of helping many people with these programs, they did little to help.

A recent article by USA Today examines what went wrong and how come the programs touted by the government fell short. Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have seen how government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack knew about robo-signing problems and did little to address it. It has been documented that the government has done nothing to prosecute bank officials who ordered Miami foreclosure to be processed through fraudulent means.

So why would anyone believe that government-backed programs would really be designed to help homeowners? The Fed loaned out trillions of taxpayer dollars to banks to save them from their own greed and ineptness. And banks turned around and made a multi-million dollar profit from the loans!

The only way to keep your home is to fight for it, not rely on the government to help. Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers are prepared to take on any bank that is attempting to infringe upon your rights as a homeowner.

According to the USA Today article, a couple from Mississippi lost their house to foreclosure at a time when they were being reviewed for a loan modification through a government-backed program. A Realtor knocked on their door one day and told them to leave.

The Obama administration's foreclosure prevention programs were supposed to help between 7 and 9 million Americans, but so far only helped about 2 million and many of those aren't out of danger yet. The couple is among a rising number of Americans who have felt the government has failed them and their banks are doing nothing to help.

As of Nov. 30, according to the article, only $2.8 billion of the $46 billion that was designed to help foreclosures has been spent. More has been dedicated, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates only $13 billion ultimately will be paid out.

Since 2009, 2.5 million homes have been lost to foreclosure and another 4 million are in the foreclosure process or on the brink. Home prices are falling everywhere. Experts say the programs had severe design flaws and didn't provide enough incentive for banks and mortgage servicers to stop a foreclosure. In many cases, lenders and their contractors make more money off a foreclosure than modifying a loan, even if government programs are utilized.

Even lawmakers admit that more was done by the government to help the banks than to help homeowners. Trillions in loans were doled out to save them, even to foreign banks with interests in the United States, but little has helped homeowners.

Seeking a loan modification is fine, but it's rare that the banks will agree. They simply don't make money from it. They would rather foreclose in Miami than attempt to work with a homeowner.

That's why fighting back and looking for problems with the bank's paperwork, evidence of robo-signing or other fraudulent practices and problems may be the best option. Don't rely on the government to help. Hire an experienced law firm and negotiate from strength!

Continue reading "Why Did Government Aid Programs Miss the Mark on Miami Foreclosures?" »

The number of underwater mortgages in Florida has reached a crisis level. One report indicates 45 percent are in that category, which has led to strategic defaults, short sales and foreclosures in Miami.

Homeowners simply cannot be asked to continue making payments on houses that aren't worth the price. An underwater loan is one where what the homeowner owes is more than the value of the house. Florida has been hit hard because of plummeting housing prices, based largely on the glut of foreclosures throughout South Florida.

In many cases, a person may consider a strategic default, which means simply walking away from the house -- mailing in the keys, in an effort to save face. This is a decision that must be made with great thought and planning and advice from an experienced Miami foreclosure defense lawyer.

The reason for this is that banks can attempt to come after the homeowner for the difference, called a deficiency judgment. While banks won't say which homeowners they attempt this on and which they don't, some experts believe people who have walked away from investment homes or whom they believe could actually afford the house are targets.

If a judgment is levied against the homeowner, they would be on the hook for the difference between the loan amount owed and what the house sold for at auction after foreclosure.

Another option is a short sale. However, a short sale requires help from the banks, which may not be willing to work with a homeowner. In a short sale, the homeowner finds a buyer for the house and then brings the amount that person would be willing to pay to the bank for negotiation. The goal is to get the bank to agree to that purchase price and sale -- and in the process relieve the homeowner of the remaining debt.

In either case, there is a risk involved and in both cases, it's almost guaranteed that the motivation for the move is an underwater mortgage. If successful, however, these moves can pay off greatly, as getting out from an albatross of a home can be important.

According to creditsesame.com, 45.1 percent of homes in Florida are underwater in their mortgage and another 4.2 percent are near underwater, meaning they are in negative equity or within 5 percent of being in a negative equity position.

That means that 1,970,756 homes are underwater and another 182,389 are classified as near underwater. That puts Florida as one of only three states where more than 45 percent of homes are underwater.

In Nevada, 60.4 percent of homes are underwater and in Arizona, 48.7 percent hit the mark, according to creditsesame. But Florida has far more homes underwater than either of those states. In fact, Florida's underwater homes equal twice that of both states combined.

Only California, with 2.06 million homes underwater, has more than Florida nationwide. Florida is clearly in a different position that any other state because there are so many vacation and speculative homes here. This has put our state in a perilous position.

And this has not only affected the homeowners whose houses have gone into foreclosure, but also those that haven't. Foreclosures affect everyone, even those making monthly mortgage payments.

Continue reading "More Than 45 Percent of Florida Loans Underwater, Causing Massive Foreclosures in Miami" »

The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to rule on a case out of Greenacres where allegedly fraudulent bank documents were used in support of a foreclosure, The Palm Beach Post reports.

This case could have major implications on the cases of foreclosures in Miami and statewide. The use of robo-signing, fraudulent documents and other unlawful practices by banks has led to the biggest real estate collapse in decades. House values have plummeted, causing people's mortgages to be underwater and leading to a foreclosure crisis.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers recognize that the Supreme Court taking up this case could have a major impact on all foreclosure cases throughout the state. The Justices agreed that the case highlights the "mortgage foreclosure crisis throughout the state."

While the case in question has already been settled, four of the seven justices agreed that they should look at the legal question that was posed, saying that it is bigger than this one case and could impact all others. At issue is whether a bank can still be held accountable for using robo-signed and fraudulent documents if officials decide to dismiss the foreclosure case after it has been challenged.

In this case, the bank filed to foreclose on a man's house in 2008, alleging that it owned the mortgage via assignment from another lender. After the man's foreclosure defense attorney challenged the backdated assignment, the bank voluntarily dropped the case and settled with the homeowner.

The man appealed, asking that the dismissal be reversed and while lower courts sided with the bank on that issue, an appeals court asked the Supreme Court to take a look. The appeals court decided that the issue is "a question of great public importance as many, many mortgage foreclosures appear tainted with suspect documents."

The Office of State Courts Administrator reported that from July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011, more than 104,000 foreclosure cases were dismissed. Many of these cases were likely dismissed because banks didn't have the proper documentation, couldn't prove who owned the note or used fraudulent documents to try to prove the facts.

This is big news for homeowners trapped in foreclosure because if the state's high court rules in favor of the homeowner, that means that other homeowners throughout the state may be in a better position to fight back against banks who have tried to steal their homes via bad documents.

It has been reported that bank officials in some situations literally cut and pasted figures and signatures onto documents they used in support of foreclosures in Miami and elsewhere when they didn't have the facts to prove their case. They violated homeowners' rights in many cases simply because they couldn't handle the glut of foreclosures that hit the court system so rapidly.

Instead of handling cases legally and upholding homeowners' rights, banks took the low road and used slimy tactics in order to try to take away people's homes. Even in cases where homeowners tried to work with them through loan modification programs or a short sale, banks would go behind their backs and attempt to foreclose.

Homeowners statewide -- whether in foreclosure right now or not -- should be thankful that the justices will look at this case. Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers hope that the court holds banks accountable and doesn't let them off the hook and allow them to ruin people's lives without due process or a shred of honesty and decency.

Continue reading "Florida Supreme Court to Consider Miami Foreclosure Case Rife With Fraudulent Documents" »

It's a valid question that many Americans have asked in recent years, but that has gone largely unanswered -- why haven't officials from large banks who ordered robo-signing, fraudulent and false documents to be created and other illegal activities not faced prosecution?

Their actions have led to millions of foreclosures nationwide, including foreclosures in Miami and other parts of South Florida. Home values have plummeted and mortgages have fallen to unprecedented "underwater" levels, leading some homeowners to consider what's known as "strategic default." And yet bank officials at the top continue to enjoy multi-million dollar bonuses, raises and other perks.

As our Miami Foreclosure Lawyer Blog has reported, some prosecutors have taken some steps to criminally charge people who were involved in the process. But more needs to be done, as our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers pointed out here.

The bottom line is it has been about four years since the bubble began bursting on the real estate market in this country. A lot of the activity happened in Miami and throughout Florida as well as Nevada and California -- places were people speculated on homes, but it has spread nationwide.

And in that time frame, little has been done to punish the people who caused the mess. A recent article published in The Nation begs the same question -- why hasn't more been done?

By now, there is plenty of evidence that bank officials ordered fraudulent activity, including fabricating documents to support a foreclosure on people's houses. But, still, little has been done to prosecute these criminals.

As the article suggests, banks officials pushed bad loans and then used unethical and illegal foreclosure practices after the fact. No Wall Street firm or high-ranking bank official has faced criminal consequences.

The article is critical of the Obama Administration for not doing anything to punish the banks who created the mess in the first place. Rather, the Fed pushed more than 7 trillion dollars to save the banks and created meager programs for homeowners that were rarely used.

The administration is also putting pressure on attorneys general, including those in New York, Delaware, Nevada and elsewhere, who haven't joined the others who are going to agree to let banks walk away from civil lawsuits filed by states for a meager $20 billion. The rogue AGs smartly haven't agreed to such a small sum of money in exchange for letting banks off the hook.

A recent 60 Minutes piece on the topic, in part, included comments from a senior Countrywide executive, who said the fraud was rampant and systematic. Not only a few people, but branches and regions of banks were doing it. The executive, whom our blog has written about, recalled the story about finding documents in a recycling bin in a Boston-area branch that had been literally cut and pasted together to use in foreclosure cases.

Even when Citigroup executives found that 60 percent of the mortgages they were buying from Countrywide were fraudulent and alerted higher-ups, they ignored it and told investors and the public they weren't.

60 Minutes pressed a Justice Department official about why more bank officials and executives haven't been prosecuted and got a typical answer that there are investigations ongoing. It's no wonder the American public has lost confidence in government because of situations like these.

It's obvious that people struggling with a Miami foreclosure can't rely on the government for help. If you are in such a position, an experienced Miami foreclosure defense lawyer can help dig you out of the hole you're in by fighting back against banks.

Continue reading "Why Isn't Government Prosecuting Big Bank Officials For Miami Mortgage Fraud?" »

A recent article out of Las Vegas reports that grand jury transcripts in the criminal cases of several defendants charged with robo-signing and other mortgage fraud-related allegations reveal the massive problem happening in that state and nationwide. Those struggling with foreclosure in Miami cannot afford to go it alone.

The alleged criminal acts in Nevada mirror the fraud that was going on with mortgage servicers, bank officials and real estate officials dealing with Miami foreclosures as well.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have worked on behalf of homeowners in Miami and throughout South Florida, fighting back against lenders who used fraudulent and unlawful tactics to take away people's homes.

Sadly, while foreclosure defense lawyers have been pointing out the fraudulent behavior of banks in foreclosure cases for years, prosecutors have taken their time actually bringing criminal charges against those involved. There are obvious signs of fraud going on still today and certainly during the last four years and yet little has been done.

The Las Vegas' Attorney General recently brought charges against two mortgage servicers. They are accused of running a foreclosure scam by telling their employees to forge signatures in violation of the law.

Employees testified before the grand jury they followed orders because they needed the work to pay for school or family expenses. One notary came to a deal with the prosecution and was found dead on the date of her sentencing. She testified she notarized 25,000 false documents on notices of default for Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

An investigator testified that of tens of thousands of documents that the company produced for banks, a majority seemed suspicious. One homeowner testified that her house was sold without her knowledge.

She had gotten behind on payments, but was working with Bank of America on a short sale. She said she had no idea a notice of default had been recorded.

When she returned home one day, she found the house had been sold without her knowledge through a trustee sale. Many of her things, including medical records, personal information, furniture, collectibles and other items were still inside. Many of these things were stolen by the time she was able to get into the house.

These injustices should not be tolerated. And yet the government has allowed it to go on for far too long. Stories of people being kicked out of their houses without their knowledge is a travesty and yet it happens every day.

Miami homeowners are blindsided by shady dealings by the banks and the companies they hire to do this dirty work. And while robo-signing procedures -- where mortgage servicers sign documents that are false or they sign for a person who never confirmed the documents are accurate -- are still going on today, even after they have been found to be illegal. The whole reason banks cut back on filing foreclosures in the last year was because of robo-signing and yet it still happens.

Top bank officials who allowed this to happen have, so far, gotten off free, without consequence. In fact, many have enjoyed seven-figure bonuses. It's criminal and it needs to end. Let's hope our attorney general makes this more of a priority than it has been thus far.

In the meantime, hire an attorney and negotiate from strength.

Continue reading "Miami Foreclosure Fraud Revealed in Grand Jury Testimony" »