Please click on the link below to watch today’s video blog:
Elliot S. Schlissel is a foreclosure lawyer who has been representing homeowners for more than 45 years. His goal is to keep homeowners in their homes. He defends homeowners in foreclosure lawsuits and helps his clients in obtaining mortgage modifications. He and his associates can be reached for consultation at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or by email to schlissel.law@att.net.
Pressuring Banks to Grant Mortgage Modifications
The negotiations that take place in the foreclosure settlement conference courtrooms, put pressure on the lending institutions to grant mortgage modifications to homeowners. At the first conference meeting, the attorneys for each of the parties introduce themselves and the court referee or magistrate handling the conferences take into consideration each of the parties’ desires to work out non-foreclosure alternatives through negotiations.
After the first foreclosure court conference takes place, the matter is usually adjourned for several months to allow the homeowners to submit a new mortgage modification package. At the adjourned date, the referee looks into whether all the requirements of the mortgage modification submission have been met and/or whether the financial institution seeks more information. This will usually require a second adjournment for several months. These settlement court conference appearances add a significant amount of time to the foreclosure process. Cases can be in the foreclosure conference part for as long as four months to a year.
If the foreclosure conferences do not result in a mortgage modification or other resolution of the underlying issues in the foreclosure case, the court will refer the case out to a regular court part where the litigation will continue.
Conclusion
Foreclosure court conferences give a homeowner another chance to obtain a mortgage modification. It also slows the court procedures down and allows the families who are not going to get mortgage modifications to remain in their homes for longer periods of time.
Governor Cuomo, a number of years ago, established foreclosure settlement conferences as a requirement for all foreclosure lawsuits in the State Of New York. An extremely important area in foreclosure defense involves an attorney representing the homeowner at foreclosure settlement conferences. At these conferences, there are meetings between the foreclosing institution’s attorneys, and the attorneys for the homeowner. These meetings are supervised by court appointed referees. It is the referee’s duties to see if he or she can get the parties together to work out a loan modification to allow the homeowners to continue to reside in their homes and have the foreclosure proceedings withdrawn.
Submission of Documents
Besides attending the foreclosure court conference, it is necessary for the homeowners to submit detailed mortgage modification packages through their counsel. The submission at the foreclosure court conference is different than the submissions made by homeowners outside of court supervision.
Complaints Regarding The Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP)
There are numerous complaints with regard to the Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP). Homeowners, rightfully so, complain the banks jerk them around, lose their documents, don’t respond to their communications and that the program simply doesn’t work.
One of the purposes of the mandatory foreclosure settlement conferences is to put pressure on the financial institutions to properly underwrite the mortgage modification applications and act in good faith. There are penalties potentially available for financial institutions who fail to act in good faith and properly underwrite mortgage modification applications submitted pursuant to the mandatory foreclosure conference parts.
Please click on the link below to watch today’s video blog:
Elliot S. Schlissel is a foreclosure defense lawyer in the Metropolitan New York area. He has been helping homeowners stay in the homes for more than 45 years. Elliot and his associates help their clients obtain mortgage modifications. Elliot can be reached for consultation at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or by email to schlissel.law@att.net.
The percentage of homeowners utilizing attorneys to appear on their behalf at mandatory foreclosure settlement conferences has been increasing. While legal representation of homeowners in foreclosure has been increasing, the number of cases being filed by banks to foreclose on homes is decreasing.
Caseloads Decreasing
In 2013, 46,700 cases were filed in New York State. Only 44,500 cases were filed in the State of New York during the 2014 calendar year. Foreclosure lawsuits are approximately 30% of all cases filed in the Supreme Courts in the State of New York.
The judiciary in the State of New York has a commitment to continue with foreclosure settlement conferences for the purpose of resolving foreclosure lawsuits without the need for further litigation. There are several reasons given for the reduction in foreclosure filings in New York State. Real estate prices have been going up, and less homes are underwater. In addition, the requirements to obtain new mortgages have been made more reasonable.
Specialized Court Parts and Court Programs Move Foreclosure Cases Faster Through New York Courts
There are a number of specialized court parts and court programs which have been established to ease the log jam of foreclosures in the courts in New York. In Nassau County there is a special court part which was established in 2013. In this part, banks can ask for expedited rulings in cases where the homeowners defaulted on the mortgages and didn’t appear in court or the homeowners had exhausted all settlement options. Up until now, about 800 cases have been resolved in this specialized part. In addition, Nassau County, Suffolk County and Bronx County have what are called servicer parts. In these parts, officials are authorized to approve mortgage modifications on the behalf of homeowners attending settlement conferences. A similar court part is envisioned to be brought into effect in Kings County and Queens County in the near future.
New Rules Concerning Foreclosures
Effective December 1, 2014, referees in foreclosure conference parts have the ability to consider alternatives such as loss litigation options involving loan modifications, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, and short sales. It is anticipated all these new activities will speed foreclosures through the court and assist homeowners in obtaining mortgage modifications.
Please click on the link below to view today’s video blog:
Elliot S. Schlissel is a foreclosure defense attorney. He and his associates have been helping homeowners remain in their homes for more than 45 years. Elliot assists his clients in obtaining mortgage modifications. He can be reached for consultation at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or by email to schlissel.law@att.net.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now underwriting mortgages which only require a 3% down payment. These new 3% down payment mortgages are only available for first time home purchasers. Is this a good idea? It is thought that home ownership is the foundation in building equity and wealth. It is anticipated these new relaxed mortgage regulations will make it easier for middle class Americans to purchase homes.
The 3% Down Payment Mortgage
The purpose of the 3% mortgages is to make it affordable for young people who don’t have significant funds for down payments, but who have reasonable income, to enjoy the benefits of home ownership. It is also thought the 3% mortgage program will have an affirmative impact on the housing market in the United States.
Mortgage Safeguards
There are a number of safeguards which have been built into this new 3% mortgage program. The current credit requirements to obtain a mortgage shall remain the same. Individuals applying for these mortgages will have to document their income. Only fixed rate mortgages will be available with 3% down payments and the program will only be available for primary residences. It will also be necessary for the prospective home purchasers to have private mortgage insurance.
Historical Perspective of 3% Mortgages
Studies have shown the default rate on 3% mortgages, when they were available in the past, was about the same as the default rate for individuals taking 5% down payment mortgages. To make sure the 3% mortgages don’t become a springboard for another housing bubble, individuals seeking to take out 3% mortgage loans will be required to take a buyer counseling program.
Conclusion
3% mortgages are designed to make the benefits of home ownership available for more middle class families. However, the 3% mortgage program may be the springboard for future default by homeowners who didn’t have the financial wherewithal to actually purchase their dream home. Hopefully this will not spur another foreclosure crisis in America.
Elliot S. Schlissel is a foreclosure lawyer who has helped hundreds of New Yorkers continue to live in their homes.
Nelson and Joyce Coniglio had received more than 700 collection calls during a 4 year period when they fell behind on their mortgage payments. The Coniglios hired an attorney to try to make Bank of America stop calling them. Unfortunately, this didn’t work. A Federal Judge sitting in Florida recently awarded the Coniglios $1 million dollars related to the “unrelenting phone calls from Bank of America.”
Bank of America had an excuse for the phone calls. Their Senior Vice President, Dan Frahm, said the calls weren’t to collect a debt, but solely to help the couple avoid a foreclosure lawsuit.
Lawsuit Against Bank of America
The Coniglios were forced to file a lawsuit in Federal Court to stop the harassing phone calls from Bank of America. They received a default judgment when Bank of America failed to respond to their lawsuit in a timely manner. The lawsuit stemmed from Bank of America making hundreds of robo-calls to the Coniglios. Sometimes they received as many as 5 phone calls a day. Jason Coniglio, the parties’ son, stated “we would be out to dinner and they would ring my mother’s cell phone, then they would ring my dad’s cell phone and then when we got back to the house, there would be another message on the answering machine.” Their son, Jason, works as a mortgage broker. He diligently tried to help his parents get a mortgage modification. Unfortunately, he could never get anyone from Bank of America to cooperate with him. Their lawsuit was pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The damages were $500 per call and they were tripled. The Coniglios’ attorney stated “the borrowers, the people who own those phones, you do have a right to privacy. And when they say to stop, you have to stop.”
Bank of America had asked the court to reconsider this large award against them. However, the judge denied their request.
Conclusion
When banks misbehave, they can be punished by taking legal action against them.
Elliot Schlissel is a foreclosure defense lawyer. He represents families throughout the Metropolitan New York area who have problems dealing with banks related to mortgage modifications and foreclosure lawsuits.
Please click on the link below to watch today’s video blog:
Elliot S. Schlissel is a foreclosure lawyer representing homeowners throughout the Metropolitan New York area for more than 45 years. He regularly sues banks to set aside mortgages and help keep his clients in their homes. He and his associates can be reached at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or by email to schlissel.law@att.net.
The federal government has come up with a new plan to encourage individuals without significant funds to be able to buy homes. Under this new plan, prospective homeowners will be able to obtain mortgages with down payments as low as only 3% of the purchase price. There is a debate as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. These new 3% down payment mortgages are coming less than a decade after the tremendous housing collapse America recently experienced.
First Time Home Buyers
The purpose of the program is to help lure first time home buyers back into the housing market. Is a 3% down payment loan risky? If the individuals putting the 3% down and buying a home have set aside an emergency fund in the event they lose their job or become ill, it may be a good idea. However, this writer’s experience with individuals taking these type of loans is they do not have emergency funds. The 3% is usually all they have. Without an emergency fund, should the roof leak, the boiler go bad, or one of the family members lose their job, they will be unable to make the mortgage payments and the house will go into foreclosure.
A 20% Down Payment
Most conventional mortgages require a 20% down payment today. I also have problems with this level of down payment. Most young people coming into the housing market do not have the 20% down payment. A more reasonable down payment on a conventional mortgage would be 10%. Unfortunately, pursuant to a 2012 Center for Responsible Lending Study, it found even a 10% down payment would require the individuals purchasing a home with a 2010 median value of $158,000, would take 21 years for the average family to save this amount.
The American Dream
Owning a single family home is the American dream. An equilibrium must be found which will motivate and help young people to purchase homes while not putting them into a situation where they are overextended. Owning a home is one of the bed rocks young married couples have. This is the American dream and that dream must not be kept out of reach for young couples!
Elliot Schlissel is a foreclosure attorney. He represents clients who unfortunately fall behind on their mortgages and face the possibility of losing their homes in foreclosure.
