Miami Foreclosure Lawyer Blog

The Miami Herald is reporting that the Treasury Department's foreclosure prevention program has failed to live up to expectations -- helping just 20 percent of the anticipated number of homeowners.

Those looking to stop foreclosure in South Florida are best served by contacting a Foreclosure Defense Attorney in Miami. Recent developments, including criminal investigations into the actions of banks and their attorneys, could permit homeowners to negotiate from a position of strength. Whether you are seeking to avoid a deficiency judgment, repair your credit, or seek monetary damages or the return of your property, consulting an experienced attorney is a good first step to begin restoring your finances and the financial security of you and your family in the New Year.

The government's Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, could prevent as many as 800,000 foreclosures, a pace that would help far fewer than the 4 million struggling homeowners the government had hoped would benefit.

"This has turned out to be a lot more complicated and a lot harder," than expected, said the panel's chairman, Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Delaware). "I think the program has just turned out to be smaller and has had a lot less impact" than anticipated.

The panel cites conflicting incentives within the mortgage industry. For instance, some companies that service the loans stand to make more through foreclosures and through modifying existing mortgages. The Treasury was also unsuccessful in encouraging adequate participation because mortgage companies were not required to participate in the program.

In other cases, a homeowner may have held a second mortgage, which gave some lenders incentive to block the modification of a first mortgage.

The Treasury was also criticized for not collecting more meaningful data about the program, not setting meaningful goals by which to measure progress or success and for failing to hold mortgage companies accountable. Many companies repeatedly lost paperwork or resisted participating in mortgage modification.

"An untold number of borrowers may go without help - all because Treasury failed to acknowledge HAMP's shortcomings in time." the panel concluded.

Continue reading "Government's mortgage modification program woefully inadequate - legal help best bet for stopping foreclosure in Miami" »

The New York Times reports that credit is beginning to flow again as the nation slowly climbs out of the recession sparked by the unprecedented crash of the real estate market.

As we prepare for a New Year, getting your credit back on track is a worthwhile goal. Consulting a Miami foreclosure defense attorney is a good first step. Banks and their law firms are being investigated for wrongdoing from coast to coast. The odds of successfully fighting foreclosure in Miami have never been better. In other cases, fighting a deficiency judgment or negotiating for the removal of black marks from your credit report may be possible. In still others, a monetary settlement or a fight to reclaim your property may be possible.

Credit card offers are surging again after virtually drying up during the past three years. Even riskier borrowers who would not have received credit just months ago are being made new offers for credit. However, the days of everyone being "preapproved" do not appear to be returning. Banks are being choosier and are setting strict terms to guard against a renewed onslaught of loses.

With the offer of credit comes the opportunity to begin repairing your credit score. By dealing with your real estate issues, you will be tackling the elephant in the room. From there, repairing your credit rating will be a matter of moving forward and getting on with your life in a responsible manner.

But it's a case of buyer beware: many of the cards come with higher interest rates and annual fees.

Lenders are looking beyond credit scores in extending this new line of credit. Things like registering on a jobs website could be a sign of differences in the payment abilities of two people with similar scores. The digital age is allowing for ever-increasing amounts of data to be collected on consumers. Dealing with real estate problems and rebuilding your credit scores are positive first steps toward reclaiming your life and the future financial well-being of you and your family.

Signs of strategic default -- property owners who made bad real estate bets and simply walked away -- may earn a borrower a second look. First-time defaulters, who had been good risks but ran into trouble during the recession because of job loss or other reasons, may also be getting a second look.

The absence of available credit in recent years has apparently stoked the appetite of consumers. Credit card companies report about 4 percent of those propositioned with offers have submitted applications -- that is about 10 times the traditional response rate.

Continue reading "New Year offers chance to deal with foreclosure in Miami, restore credit rating" »

The Florida Attorney General's Office is investigating two companies that deliver foreclosure notices for shoddy business practices, the Miami Herald reported.

In recent months, the legal position of homeowners dealing with foreclosure in South Florida has been bolstered by the seemingly endless allegations of unethical or illegal behavior on the part of banks and their attorneys. Consulting an experienced foreclosure defense lawyer in Miami could help you stop foreclosure, negotiate away any deficiency judgments or negative credit reports, or even push for a monetary settlement or the return of your property.

Banks and law firms under fire include the Law Offices of David J. Stern, Law Office of Marshall Watson, Shapiro & Fishman, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and GMAC.

The most recent allegations are against Gissen & Zawyer Process Service in Miami and ProVest of Tampa. Gissen & Zawyer has been the subject of numerous complaints, including questionable statements with the court, questionable billing, and back-dating documents.

Process servers personally deliver court summonses to defendants, notifying them of legal action against them. In the case of foreclosures, the paperwork notifies a defendant of a 20-day window to respond. Without response, the action will proceed.

The investigation stem from the ongoing investigations into four large "foreclosure mills," including the Law Offices of David J. Stern, which used both Gissen & Zawyer and ProVest.

In one case, a Plantation defense lawyer claims ProVest reported serving a couple even though they were in Colorado at the time.

Continue reading "Miami company among those being investigated for questionable service of foreclosure paperwork" »

A report by Reuters News offers a look at the huge profits reaped by law firms handling foreclosures for banks, many of which are now under heavy fire for allegedly violating the rights of thousands of struggling homeowners.

Miami foreclosure defense attorneys have been assisting homeowners since the bottom fell out of the real estate market several years ago. But developments in recent months have improved the position of homeowners looking to stop foreclosure in Miami. Those seeking to fight a deficiency judgment, rehabilitate their credit or win a monetary settlement or the return of their property also have seen their legal position improve thanks to state and federal investigations into the tactics of banks and their law firms. The robosigning scandal accuses banks and their attorneys of signing tens of thousands of foreclosure actions without verifying accuracy. In other cases, documents were created or falsified to replace documentation lost by the bank or no longer available for other reasons, including bank mergers and the fact that so many of the mortgages were packaged and sold as investments.

Reuters News reports that Lender Processing Services, a Jacksonville company that processes more than half of the nation's foreclosures, was spun off as an independent company in 2008 and saw its profits reach $232 million during the first nine months of 2010. Its revenue last year totaled $2.4 billion.

Meanwhile, the company's executives told investors this fall that banks are pushing to foreclose on properties as fast as possible and that, as a result, the number of homes in foreclosure is 7.4 times the historical average and rising. LPS touts an automated, computerized system that speeds foreclosures through to completion by starting a foreclosure action, assigning a law firm and supervising the case with almost no human intervention.

The company's clients include 14 of the nation's 15 biggest loan servicers, including Wells Forgo and JP Morgan Chase. It says Bank of America joined as a client earlier in the year and that all 50 of the nation's largest banks use its services.

The company is facing state and federal investigations into its business practices and four class-action lawsuits. Allegations include that LPS made fictitious documents to replace documents banks were missing so that foreclosure cases could more readily go through the court process. The Lawsuits also revealed that thousands of foreclosure cases were riddled with errors, including the amount owed by a homeowner.

Without the documents, thousands of mortgages all over the country would have ground to a halt. When the robosigning scandal broke, Reuters reports that LPS set up signing operations and provided staffing to outside entities.

Continue reading "Foreclosure big business for banks and their law firms -- homeowner defense in Miami requires aggressive offense" »

Lender Processing Services, a Jacksonville company that processes more than half the nation's foreclosures, is under heavy fire amid numerous allegations, including that a subsidy, Default Solutions, used questionable or falsified documentation in thousands of foreclosure cases, Reuters News reported.

Consulting a Miami foreclosure defense lawyer is your best option for help stopping foreclosure in South Florida or for help dealing with deficiency judgments, strategic default or home-loan modification. As banks and their law firms continue to be investigated for rampant wrongdoing, consumers may be successful in seeking to waive deficiency judgments, remove damaging credit marks or seek monetary damages.

Central to the issue are the false documentation that banks and their attorneys relied upon to foreclose on thousands of properties after the original loan notes were lost or packaged and sold as investments.

Another subsidy, called DocX, is accused of questionable signing and notarization practices, which also allegedly occurred in LPS's own offices. To distance itself from the "robosigning" scandal (in which law firms and banks are accused of signing thousands of foreclosure documents without proper verification), the company allegedly shifted signing activities to outside firms and provided personnel to work at the new signing operations.

A criminal investigation is under way in Jacksonville, involving federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Florida Attorney General's office is also investigating. Four class-action lawsuits have also been filed against the company. In one of those cases, being heard in Mississippi, the U.S. Department of Justice has signed on as a plaintiff and is alleging the company extracted millions of dollars in kickbacks from law firms via an illegal fee-sharing arrangement in exchange for doing foreclosure work for them.

The lawsuits allege LPS pressed for speed, resulting in almost instant filing of foreclosure documents. Documents were usually prepared by clerical staff, not attorneys, and were often filled with inaccurate information, including how much the homeowners owed. However, the documents were nevertheless signed en masse without anyone at the firms verifying them for accuracy.

Continue reading "Case of Florida's Lender Processing Services shows need for aggressive foreclosure defense in Miami" »

The Sun-Sentinel is reporting more trouble for the Law Offices of David J. Stern amid questions regarding the firm's handling of thousands of foreclosure cases in South Florida.

As the investigators look at whether banks and their law firms have acted unethically or illegally in seizing thousands of South Florida properties, seeking the advice of a Miami foreclosure defense lawyer is the best course of action for either stopping foreclosure in Miami or protecting your rights in the wake of a foreclosure action. Homeowners who have already lost their homes could seek to fight a deficiency judgment or obtain a cash settlement. In at least one case, a homeowner is seeking the return of his property, despite the fact that it has already been sold at foreclosure auction.

Banks and law firms under fire in South Florida include the Law Offices of David J. Stern, Law office of Marshall Watson, Shapiro & Fishman, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and GMAC.

In the latest case, Stern's law office is accused of failing to cancel a foreclosure auction on a property that had been sold in Cutler Bay, resulting in the same property being sold twice. The resulting hassle prompted CitiMortgage to pull the case from Stern's office and give it to Shapiro and Fishman -- which was like moving out the frying pan and into the fire.

Both law firms are under investigation by the Florida Attorney General, accused of slopping practices, including fabricating loan documents. At one point, Stern's office was processing 20 percent of the state's foreclosures through a staff of more than 1,000 employees.

Meanwhile, attorney general offices in all 50 states continue to investigate banks and foreclosure firms for signing thousands of foreclosure cases without reviewing them for accuracy or proper ownership.

This case also illustrates the importance of using an attorney when completing a short sale or foreclosure sale in South Florida. In this case, the second purchaser of the house has thus far been unable to get her money back despite repeated calls to Stern's law office.

Continue reading "Miami homeowners may have claim in foreclosure cases filed by Law Offices of David J. Stern" »