Archives for May 2015

“In Foreclosure!” What Does This Mean?

foreclosure defense attorneyWhen someone says they are “in foreclosure” they are referring to the fact the holder of their mortgage has filed a lawsuit against them in the Supreme Court of the County in which their home is located. Lenders in New York State, which are most often banks or mortgage companies, bring foreclosure lawsuits to obtain judgments against homeowners. When the foreclosing bank obtains the judgment of foreclosure, they can then take the next step and ask the court to appoint a referee to sell the home at auction. When the sale takes place, any funds received from the sale are given to the bank to pay off the loan owed by the homeowner. If there are funds left over after paying off the mortgage the homeowner can claim the funds.

It is then fair to say a home is “in foreclosure” until the time the home is sold at auction and a new individual or entity purchases the home.

Is Your Home “In Foreclosure”?

Should your home be in foreclosure, it is important you know what stage the foreclosure is at. This will let you know the progress of the lawsuit. If you are litigating the lawsuit, you need to know whether you are winning or losing the lawsuit. The stage it is at can give you some idea as to how long you can remain in your home if things aren’t going well in the foreclosure lawsuit.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

If you want to sleep at night and know you are protected in the foreclosure lawsuit, the best way to deal with that is to hire a qualified foreclosure defense lawyer. Our law firm has hundreds of foreclosure defense cases pending in the courts in the Metropolitan New York area. In most cases, the homeowners we represent get to live a minimum of 3 years without paying any expenses on their homes during the pendency of the foreclosure lawsuits. We offer free consultations and our phones are monitored 24/7. Should you have questions or concerns about your home going into foreclosure, call us. We can be reached at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645, and 718-350-2802.foreclosure defense lawyer New York and Long Island

Ocwen Financial Corporation Fined $150 Million Dollars

foreclosue lawyer for homeownersOcwen Financial Corporation, the largest sub prime mortgage servicing company in the United States, has entered into a consent order with the State of New York to pay $150 million dollars to New York homeowners and to modify and reform its practices concerning the servicing of mortgage obligations. The settlement was made with the Department of Financial Services of the State of New York.

Payment to Former and Current Homeowners

The terms of the settlement require Ocwen to pay $50 million dollars in restitution to both current and former homeowners who had dealings with Ocwen. Ocwen is to pay $10,000 to each homeowner who lost their homes pursuant to a foreclosure proceeding since 2009. In addition, Ocwen had to pay a $100 million dollar civil penalty by the end of December 2014. The State of New York is going to utilize these funds for foreclosure relief, housing for families whose homes have been foreclosed on and for community development purposes.

The $150 million dollar consent agreement with Ocwen was the result of an investigation between 2010 and 2011 concerning wrongful foreclosures, poorly documented foreclosure practices, “robo-signing”, the submission of inaccurate affidavits to courts, and sloppy, improperly maintained business records and paperwork.

Conclusion

In the event you are a homeowner whose home is currently in foreclosure or was foreclosed upon by Ocwen since 2009, you are entitled to compensation pursuant to Ocwen’s settlement with New York State.

foreclosure lawyer New York and Long IslandElliot Schlissel is a foreclosure defense attorney. He helps keep clients in their homes. He obtains mortgage modifications for clients and he fights for client’s rights in foreclosure lawsuits.

Bank Sanctioned For Failure to Negotiate a Mortgage Modification In Good Faith

mortgage modification attorneysA foreclosure action was referred to Justice Genine Edwards who sits in Kings County. The lawsuit had been referred to her for a bad faith and standing hearing after more than 25 foreclosure conferences had been held regarding the case during a period of more than 36 months. After numerous attempts to reach an agreement between the homeowner and the bank, a hearing was conducted by Justice Genine Edwards.

Foreclosure Court Conferences

The foreclosure court conferences had taken place before a referee. The referee had written a report which stated the defendant, Diakite had qualified for a HAMP trial mortgage modification. In addition, Diakite had made three monthly payments under the HAMP temporary mortgage modification. After the three payments were made, the bank refused to accept any further payments from Diakite.

Three Mortgage Payments Made Under The Temporary Mortgage Modification

The first three mortgage trial modification payments were accepted by Aurora Loan Services. Aurora rejected the final modification. They claimed Diakite needed to restart the process all over again since Aurora did not receive the executed mortgage modification agreement from Diakite. Diakite indicated the reason she didn’t send it to Aurora was that she had never received it in the first place. Nationstar Mortgage thereafter informed Diakite the servicing on the loan was being transferred to them from Aurora. Nationstar thereafter denied Diakite’s HAMP application. They claimed Diakite did not provide necessary documentation.

The Judge’s Decision

Justice Edwards took into consideration that while she had directed the bank to produce a copy of the mortgage and the note and any assignments which indicated proof of ownership of both instruments, the bank had failed to produce any documentation whatsoever. She concluded the record supported the referee’s report. The plaintiff had failed to negotiate in good faith pursuant to New York Civil Practice Law and Rules section 3408. Justice Edwards therefore confirmed the referee’s report and stayed all interests, costs, and attorneys fees due and owing to the bank from March 1, 2010 until October 27, 2014, the date the hearing took place before her.

Conclusion

More and more banks are being sanctioned for failure to negotiate in good faith at mortgage modification conferences. Making homeowners provide documents over and over again, not taking responsibility for misplacing the documents, or losing the documents is simply unfair. In addition, it is unfair to grant a homeowner a mortgage modification, have them pay the required amount pursuant to the modification for between three and six months and thereafter have the bank say, no we are not going to make the modification permanent.foreclosure lawyer New York

Bankruptcy And Foreclosure

Please click on the link below to watch today’s video blog:

http://youtu.be/95N3eKJXfRc

Elliot S. Schlissel is a foreclosure attorney who has been helping homeowners stay in their homes for more than 45 years.  He defends his clients in foreclosure lawsuits, helps his clients obtain mortgage modifications, and when appropriate, represents them in bankruptcy proceedings.  He and his associates can be reached for consultation at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or by email to schlissel.law@att.net.

Homeowner Sues Bank For Breach of Contract Regarding Temporary Mortgage Modification

mortgage modification attorneysHomeowner Lyo brought a breach of contract proceeding against Bank of America. Lyo had attempted to obtain a mortgage loan modification from Bank of America. She had contacted Bank of America. Bank of America sent her an application for a loan modification. Thereafter Bank of America accepted and mailed Lyo an agreement for a trial modification mortgage plan.

Payments Made Under Trial Mortgage Modification

Lyo made all necessary payments under the trial program. She continued to make payments which were accepted by Bank of America even after the trial program finished. However, Bank of America never sent her a permanent mortgage loan modification. Bank of America notified Lyo she did not meet the eligibility requirements for a modified loan. They claimed this was due to the present value of her home.

23 Payments Accepted, 24th Payment Rejected

Bank of America had accepted payments from Lyo for 23 consecutive months after she had agreed to the trial period mortgage modification plan. Bank of America rejected her 24th payment. Supreme Court Justice Judith McMahon sitting in the Supreme Court Part in Richmond County ruled Lyo’s temporary mortgage modification plan could be considered an enforceable agreement. This agreement granted Lyo a loan modification as described within the terms of the agreement. She found the language in the temporary mortgage modification plan unequivocally provided, if Lyo complied with all the conditions, Bank of America was obligated to grant her a permanent loan modification. Bank of America’s application to dismiss Lyo’s breach of contract lawsuit against it was therefore denied.

Conclusion

Numerous homeowners come to my office each and every month with a story of woe concerning temporary mortgage modifications. The story goes as follows, the bank offered them a temporary mortgage modification and they accepted it. They thereafter made payments for a period of time, usually six months, under the temporary mortgage modification plan. Thereafter the bank comes up with some type of reason to turn them down for a permanent loan modification. Sometimes the reasons are very spurious. Homeowners who fulfill their obligations under temporary mortgage modification plans should always be given a permanent mortgage modification under the same terms!foreclosure defense lawyer on Long Island and New York City

Mortgage Modifications

Please click on the link below to watch today’s video blog:

http://youtu.be/PY8ARn7m9nw

Elliot S. Schlissel is a foreclosure defense lawyer in the Metropolitan New York area.  He has been helping homeowners stay in their homes for more than 45 years.  Elliot and his associates help their clients obtain mortgage modifications and defend foreclosure lawsuits.  Elliot can be reached for consultation at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or by email to schlissel.law@att.net.

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