foreclosure lawyer

Litigation Strategies in Foreclosure Cases

August 20, 2019 by Elliot Schlissel

The first thing homeowners need to do in defending a foreclosure case is to put a written response in to the summons and complaint. This written response is called an answer. This avoids what is referred to as a default in the lawsuit. A default amounts to an admission of the allegations made by the bank in their lawsuit are correct. A homeowner can assert defenses, affirmative defenses and counter lawsuits in an answer to the summons and complaint. By contesting the lawsuit the foreclosure case will move very slowly through the courts. The more time the homeowners are in their home the more likely they will be able to come up with a final resolution, whether it be a mortgage modification, a forbearance agreement or another means of keeping their family in their home.

The Answer to a Foreclosure Lawsuit

When a homeowner is served in a foreclosure lawsuit depending upon the type of service he or she receives they have either 20 days or 30 days to respond. The response must be in writing. Affirmative defenses can be alleged in the answer to protect the client and to create the legal grounds for having the case dismissed. In addition, a counter lawsuit can be brought within the confines of the answer asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit completely because of some inappropriate action by the financial institution or the failure of the financial institution to comply with some federal, state or local ordinance.

Defending The Foreclosure Case

Financial institutions are very heavily regulated, they must comply with state, local and federal laws with regard to all aspects of the lending process, the mortgage application process and the handling of a foreclosure lawsuit. Affirmative defenses such as lack of standing, redlining, violation of Truth and Lending Laws, predatory lending, “duel tracking”, failure to provide necessary documentation, failure to provide adequate notice, failure to provide proper service, fraud and issues related to loan modifications can be raised. A counter lawsuit brought against the bank can also seek financial damages from the financial institution.

The facts and circumstances of each homeowner’s situation is unique. Should you find yourself facing a foreclosure situation, the first step in defending your home, protecting your rights and keeping your family in your home is to retain a qualified experienced foreclosure lawyer.

Elliot S. Schlisel is the managing partner of Schlissel DeCorpo LLP. For more than 45 years he has been representing homeowners throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He helps homeowners obtain mortgage modifications. In addition he fights foreclosure lawsuits. He can be reached for a free consultation at 800-344-6431 or e-mailed at Elliot@sdnylaw.com.

What Factors Can Positively Impact The Value of Your Home?

June 28, 2011 by Elliot S. Schlissel

Families with children look for good school districts. Most families want their children to be educated in the district that has the best reputation. Issues concerning the safety of the school district, college attendance of the school district, the quality of the internal structure of the schools, the reputation of the teachers in the schools and the overall feeling the family gets from speaking to real estate professionals and other individuals in the community concerning the schools plays a significant part in what families with children look for in a new home.

Commuting Distance

Men and women in Metropolitan areas, moving out of the inter-city, want to live in a suburban environment, but they do not want to travel too far to work. The time and distance involved in driving to and from a home to the prospective purchaser’s place of business has a major impact on where they will look to buy a home.

Price

The most important factor perspective purchasers will look at when buying a home is obviously its price! If the home is reasonably priced for the area, it is more likely to sell. Purchasers are looking for bargains. They’re aware of the glut of homes in the real estate market and if they buy in today’s market, they want to get what they want at bargain prices.

Local Relatives

In many families today, both the father and the mother work outside of the household. It therefore is important that they have a support system in their community. Having relatives or close friends in their local community gives them a support system, which makes it easier for the man and woman to work during the day.

Parks

Parks create green havens in a community. These green havens provide public space for families to utilize for recreation and social purposes. New home purchasers often drive around their community and are affirmatively impacted by attractive parks.

Bodies of Water

Many prospective homeowners would like to live on or near bodies of water. The body of water can be a river, lake or pond. Blue water in the distance creates a scenic look and recreational activities related to swimming, boating and water sports.

Americans want value when they purchase a new home. What is considered value in their local community is in the eye of the beholder.

Stop Foreclosure Now

The attorneys at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo handle foreclosure defense and other real estate related legal matters. They litigate defective foreclosure lawsuits and predatory lending issues, as well as defective mortgages. They are knowledgeable concerning the federal laws that deal with foreclosure. They attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of their clients. The also assist their clients with mortgage modification applications.

Bankruptcy and Foreclosure

Filing either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy stops foreclosure in its tracks. These bankruptcies award the homeowners with an automatic stay that not only stops foreclosure litigation, but also stops all other types of debt collection activity. At the end of the foreclosure proceeding, credit can be re-established and, in some situations, second mortgages can be eliminated by filing bankruptcy.

Call for a free consultation. At our initial meeting, with you we will discuss all foreclosure options. This is the Elliot Schlissel, Esq. foreclosure defense blog.

Filed Under: Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification, Uncategorized Tagged With: Commuting Distance, foreclosure, foreclosure defense, foreclosure lawyer, home value, New home purchasers, New York foreclosure attorney, New York Foreclosure Defense Attorney, prospective homeowners, Stop Foreclosure Now

Rehabilitating Your Credit Score

May 9, 2011 by Elliot S. Schlissel

Many Americans have fallen on hard times in the past few years. Loss of a job, being downsized, inability to make credit card and mortgage
payments and defaulting on personal loans have had negative effect on the credit standing of many Americans.

Credit scores generally run from 300 to 850. There are three major credit bureaus in the United States. They are Equifax, Experian and Transunion. Each of these credit bureaus have their own way of calculating credit scores. The following are a list of ways to help increase your credit scoring:

1. Consider adding a letter to your credit report explaining a
hardship that caused you to miss credit card payments. All three
credit bureaus allow consumers to add brief statements to their credit
reports.

2. Bring your credit card payments up to date. Bringing your credit
card payments up to date will have the most significant affirmative
impact on your credit score.

3. Obtain Secured Credit Cards
Secured credit cards can be used to rehabilitate your credit score. These cards require you to put a certain amount of money in a bank account, for
example, $500. This is used as collateral against the amount of
credit you receive on your card.

4. Join a Credit Union
Credit Unions are more lenient than other financial institutions in
offering credit cards and personal loans to their members.

5. Avoid Credit Card Repair Companies
Most credit card repair offers are scams. The claims made by these
companies are that they can straighten out your credit. They have no magic wand! Although there are some legitimate credit card repair companies, you don’t need to hire them. Just pay your bills on time and your credit
will over time repair itself.

Foreclosure Lawyer

Our law office provides foreclosure defense for our clients. We help
our clients with mortgage modifications and mortgage modification
programs that don’t work. We litigate defective mortgages, defective
foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, bad faith on behalf of
financial institutions and other real estate related matters. We
attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients and we utilize
these conferences to try to motivate the lenders to give our clients
mortgage modifications. We educate our clients as to the foreclosure
options available to them. In appropriate situations, we file
foreclosure related bankruptcies. These bankruptcies can be either a
Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. These bankruptcies automatically
stop foreclosures from moving forward. In some circumstances,
bankruptcy can help eliminate second mortgages. Feel free to call us
for a free consultation. Thank you for reading my foreclosure blog.

Filed Under: Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification, Uncategorized Tagged With: credit bureaus, credit card repair, credit card repair scams, credit score, Credit Union, Equifax, Experian, foreclosure attorney, foreclosure defense, foreclosure lawyer, New York foreclosure attorney, Obtain Secured Credit Cards, rebuilding credit, Rehabilitating Your Credit Score, Transunion

When is it a Good Time to Buy a Home? How About Now?

April 22, 2011 by Elliot S. Schlissel

Home prices have been going down this year. The pundits state that the best time to buy a home is at the bottom of the market. So how can you tell whether the market has hit bottom? Some independent analysts recommend buying homes this spring. Phil DeMuta, an investment adviser and the co-author of a book on investing entitled The Little Book of Alternative Investments, claims it’s a great time to buy a house. He states housing prices are where they were in 2002 and you’ve got mortgage rates at 5% now on a thirty year mortgage. He further states, “if you can put down the 20% and qualify for a good mortgage, I’d say this is an excellent time to take that kind of position.”

Anthony Sanders, a professor of Real Estate Finance at George Mason University, takes the opposite approach. He is cautious about the outlook of the real estate industry. He suggested there may be a buying opportunity in the late summer of 2011.

Renting

There is currently a large number of homes in America in foreclosure. It is estimated that the number is currently close to two million. As these homes come back into the real estate market, they will have a further negative affect on home prices. Is renting the solution? Renting should be considered something to do on a temporary basis. The owning of a single family home by a family is the American dream. In theory, home ownership in a rising real estate market will provide the homeowners with a lovely place to live, as well as increasing equity in their investment.

Professor Anthony Sanders from George Mason University takes the position that continuing to rent due to the high home vacancy rate of 18% is the best route to take right now. He suggests that young couples wait to see how the whole market progresses this year before buying a home. He states the average person stays in their house only about six or seven years, so you have to have some belief the prices will be relatively constant over that period, so you don’t take the loss. Sanders feels “the housing market is sitting on a ledge and could go either way – – it could go up which is good or we could be in for a double dip.”

Market Bottoms

It is impossible to pick out the market bottom in advance. The real estate market has been in a disarray for the past few years. Housing prices have been going down for the past several months. I anticipate homes will be worth less at the end of 2011 in most metropolitan areas than at the start of this year. So my personal suggestion is wait and see how things shape up in the economy and the real estate market.

Foreclosure Lawyer

Our office represents individuals in foreclosure defense matters. We have more than 45 years experience in handling various real estate problems. We represent our clients regarding mortgage modifications and mortgage modifications that fail. We litigate defective mortgages, predatory lending, and other foreclosure related issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients. We advise our clients concerning foreclosure related bankruptcy matters including, but not limited to, filing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. In situations where we file bankruptcy on behalf of our clients, we stop foreclosure in its tracks and, on some occasions, we eliminate second mortgages. We also help our clients after filing bankruptcy in re-establishing credit. This foreclosure blog is designed to advise the general public, as well as our clients, concerning mortgage modification issues, foreclosure related issues and real estate matters in general. Feel free to call us for a free consultation at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: foreclosure, foreclosure attorney, foreclosure defense, foreclosure lawyer, home buying, home market bottom, house rental, housing prices, Market Bottom, New York foreclosure attorney, NY foreclosure defense attorneys, real estate industry

Foreclosure Abuses

April 11, 2011 by Elliot S. Schlissel

The Attorney Generals in all fifty states have been involved in litigation concerning the foreclosure practices at the largest banks in the United States. When these investigations by the State Attorney Generals were initially announced, homeowners who had been defrauded and abused by financial institutions they placed trust in were expecting justice.

Settlement Proposal

There has recently been a settlement proposal made to America’s largest banks. The Republicans in the United States Senate and House of Representatives feel that the Attorney Generals are asking much too much from the banks. The proposal includes needed reforms. It would require financial institutions and banks to stop foreclosure proceedings while a loan modification is pending. It will also be necessary for the financial institutions to eliminate red tape, simplify the loan modification process, properly fund it and speed it up.

The purpose of this settlement proposal is to shield the financial institutions from future lawsuits involving illegal, improper mortgage and foreclosure practices. Although it is a good idea to have one global settlement with the financial institutions, the settlement should not be too generous. Banks have been involved in numerous improper mortgage and foreclosure practices. They have filed false court documents to speed up foreclosures. They have utilized robo-document signers. They have brought foreclosure proceedings when mortgages have been paid. They have charged excessive fees. They have not provided loan modifications pursuant to the federal loan modification programs. They have had conflicts of interest and they have favored foreclosures over loan modifications.

Bank Misbehavior

Banks have gotten away with bad behavior, which has victimized consumers for much too long. The foreclosure crisis in the United States was caused by greed on behalf of the banks! A settlement concerning the foreclosure abuse by financial institutions should be of a nature as to reform the banking industry regarding mortgage modifications, mortgage and foreclosure practices and rectify the bad past practices.

Foreclosure Defense for New Yorkers

We provide foreclosure defense for New Yorkers. We assist New Yorkers with mortgage modifications and mortgage modifications programs that fail. We file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients. We explain why bankruptcies should be filed to our clients. We deal with re-establishing credit when necessary. We can stop foreclosures from moving forward. We attend foreclosure conferences in the state courts in New York for our clients. We provide foreclosure defense and litigate defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, real estate issues, bad faith by financial institutions and defective mortgages. We maintain a foreclosure blog which is updated on a weekly basis. Call us should you have foreclosure or bankruptcy problems. We can help you!

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: foreclosure, foreclosure abuse by financial institutions, Foreclosure Abuses, Foreclosure Defense attorney, Foreclosure Defense New York, foreclosure lawyer, foreclosure new york, foreclosure practices, illegal mortgage practices, illegall foreclosing, loan modification, New York foreclosure attorney, New York foreclosure defense, red tape

Litigation Strategies in Foreclosure Cases

The Answer to a Foreclosure Lawsuit

Defending The Foreclosure Case

What Factors Can Positively Impact The Value of Your Home?

Rehabilitating Your Credit Score

When is it a Good Time to Buy a Home? How About Now?

Foreclosure Abuses

Contact Us

Categories

LINKS

OUR WEBSITES

Latest Blogs

Foreclosure Strategies

Foreclosure And Your Credit Score

CONTACT INFO

View Our General Web Site

View Our Child Protective Website

View Our Fathers Rights Web Site

View Our Wills & Trusts Website

View Our Bankruptcy Web Site