Miami Foreclosure Lawyer Blog

Lenders dealing with foreclosures and short sales in South Florida and across the nation are expected to file a barrage of lawsuits seeking to recoup losses from homeowners, the Miami Herald reported.

An experienced Miami foreclosure defense attorney should assist buyers dealing with a short sale or foreclosure. Without a written agreement from your lender, you are exposing yourself to the possibility of being slapped with a huge judgment for outstanding mortgage debt -- the difference between what your house is worth now, and what you owe on the mortgage. Get an experienced Miami real estate attorney and make sure you protect your financial well-being by seeking a waiver of such deficiency judgments. Otherwise, a short sale may help the bank, but won't help you.

"It will be a dramatic problem because the borrowers will not know it's coming," Frank Alexander, a law professor at Emory University in Atlanta, told the Sun-Sentinel. Florida law gives banks five years from the date of a sale to file a deficiency judgment and up to 20 years to collect. Lenders can garnish wages, make claims against a borrower's assets and use other means of collection.

While such deficiency judgments were rare before the housing meltdown, so were foreclosures and short sales and borrowers frequently had few assets worth chasing in an attempt to collect. But, with the advent of strategic default, banks are finding borrowers often walked away with significant assets and the bill collectors are suiting up for action.

A recent survey found more than 4 in 10 homeowners said they would consider walking away from a property with an underwater mortgage -- meaning more is owed on the home than it is worth in the current real estate market.

Other homeowners at high risk of collection action include those who ransacked or damages properties in foreclosure, either out of spite or for a profit.

Mortgage companies typically won't pursue homeowners who negotiate in good faith, or those who default because of job loss, health problems or other unforeseen circumstances, according to the Herald's report. But don't take the lender's word for it; work with a qualified and experienced attorney to get it in writing.

Even if the mortgage companies don't pursue collection action, they can sell the debt to a collection agency at a steep discount, and the debt collectors will come calling with all of the aggressive and disruptive tactics that they employ.

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Skyrocketing foreclosures continue to push people to extremes. Recent cases include the suspect in the attempted bombing of Times Square and an Ohio man who refused to leave his home when the sheriff arrived with an eviction notice.

As South Florida homeowners continue to struggle with foreclosure, underwater mortgages and eviction, hiring an experienced Miami foreclosure defense attorney is the best course of action to protecting your rights and the financial well-being of you and your family. While the New York case is being linked to a possible terrorist attempt, cases of homeowners locking themselves in their homes, and even sheriffs who are refusing to serve foreclosure and eviction notices, continue to surface.

Such cases illustrate the need to be proactive early in the process and to seek the guidance of a qualified Miami real estate lawyer to protect your rights before the situation gets out of control.

The suspect in the attempted bombing of Times Square in New York City was dealing with a foreclosure action, MSNBC reported.

Pakistani-born Faisal Shahzad, 30, and his wife, were facing foreclosure on their Shelton Connecticut home and had abandoned it months ago. The lawn was being mowed on behalf of J.P. Morgan Case & Co., which issued the mortgage when the home was purchased in 2004. Chase Home Financial filed the foreclosure action against the couple last September; court documents indicate neither Shahzad nor his wife showed up to defend themselves. The most recent documents in the case were dated April 23.

Meanwhile, the Miami Herald reports that an Ohio man facing eviction locked himself inside and vowed to stay until a moratorium has been declared on foreclosures.

The man began his crusade on Sunday, along with five members of a group calling themselves the Toledo Foreclosure Defense League. The homeowner said he has attempted to work with the bank and done everything possible to save his home. He said he fell behind on the mortgage last year, after having surgery and losing his job. He said he has lived in the home for 20 years. The sheriff said he'd given the man extra time but had no choice but to evict him.

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