Proposed Law Protects Homeowners Who Have Mortgages

Homeowners Who Have MortgagesThere is currently a bill in the New York State Legislature to protect homeowner. The statute states that a bank or other financial institution cannot commence a foreclosure proceeding unless they have an original mortgage document. This means that a prerequisite for the financial institution to commence a foreclosure proceeding will be that it must allege and prove ownership of the note and the mortgage. These documents also must be filed by the bank, with the Summons and Complaint, when the foreclosure action is initiated.

Illegal Foreclosure Proceedings

There has been a series of cases in the past few years where banks who are not the mortgage holders have illegally foreclosed on homes and sold them at auction. This new law will codify the rulings of court cases that have held that institutions must have standing to initiate mortgage foreclosure proceedings.

When a homeowner receives the Summons and Complaint in foreclosure, they are usually frightened. Since homeowners are not lawyers and are generally not familiar with this area of the law, they do not know what their rights are. If a homeowner is sued by a bank that doesn’t own his or her mortgage, they have a right to claim that the bank doesn’t have standing to sue them. Unfortunately, if the homeowner doesn’t submit a written answer alleging lack of standing, this defense to the lawsuit is waived.

This new statute helps homeowners by making the homeowner’s defense that the bank has lack of standing to bring the foreclosure lawsuit non-waivable. This gives the homeowner a complete defense to the lawsuit. It also allows counsel for the homeowner to use this defense as a tactic in defending the foreclosure lawsuit.

Stopping Foreclosure

Foreclosures can be stopped in a number of ways. The filing of an Answer on behalf of the homeowner stops the foreclosure case from going forward. There are specific defenses that can be alleged in the answers, such as predatory lending, the mortgage was defective, the foreclosure lawsuit is defective, and other real estate related defenses. Another foreclosure defense option is to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The filing of either of these bankruptcies gives the homeowner an automatic stay that immediately stops the foreclosure lawsuit from going forward.

Many homeowners are under the false belief that filing for a mortgage modification stops a foreclosure from going forward. This is incorrect! The mortgage modification process has nothing to do with the litigation in the courts of foreclosures. Most mortgage modification programs fail to provide the homeowners with the relief they are seeking. The large majority of homeowners are denied mortgage modifications! Feel free to call us for a free consultation regarding foreclosure defense and bankruptcy matters. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Thinking of Walking Away From Your Foreclosed Home? It May Not be a Good Idea!

Thinking Of Walking Away From Your Foreclosed HomeOne of the options facing families whose homes are in foreclosure is to simply pack up and leave. This is what Willard and Holly Brown did with regard to their foreclosed home in Clarkston, Washington. However, things did not work out well for them. It cost them $116,000!

Home Secured Small Business Administration Loan

Willard and Holly Brown took out a $200,000 Small Business Administration loan. The loan was processed by Wells Fargo Bank and it was secured by a mortgage on their home.

Homestead Exemptions

Most states have homestead exemptions with regard to a homeowner’s principal place of residence. However, it usually only applies to a family’s principal place of residence. When the Browns moved away from their home, they cut off the utility services. They advised the water company to “permanently shut off the water to the home.” They rented an apartment in Florida. The apartment had a one year lease on it. They also changed their car registrations to Florida and obtained Florida driver’s licenses.

Surplus Funds from the Sale of Their Home

At the foreclosure sale of the Brown’s home, there was $116,377 received in excess of the amount of the mortgage. Under the homestead exemption in the state of Washington, these funds would have gone to the Browns.

Waiver of Homestead Exemption

Wells Fargo Bank claimed that the Browns abandoned their home and therefore forfeited their homestead exemption. The Browns litigated this issue. The Court of Appeals in Washington State held that a homeowner is presumed to have abandoned his or her homestead when they have vacated the property for a period of six months or longer. The Browns claimed they were on an extended vacation in Florida and that Wells Fargo, their bank, was wrong in claiming they had abandoned their home. Unfortunately for the Browns, the Court of Appeals didn’t buy their argument. The Browns lost $116,377. The moral of this story is, before abandoning your home, you should look into your rights under your state’s homestead exemption.

New York Foreclosure Lawyer

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo represents individuals throughout the Metropolitan New York area concerning foreclosure defense issues. We help our clients obtain mortgage modifications and we deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our clients needs. We also litigate defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending issues and foreclosure related bankruptcy issues. We meet with our clients at the time of the initial consultation and advise them all of their foreclosure options. These options include litigating the foreclosure and pressuring the banks to enter into a mortgage modification, as well as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. Call us for a free consultation. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Military Divorces Being Investigated by the Justice Department

Justice DepartmentThe Service Members Civil Relief Act prevents financial institutions from bringing foreclosure proceedings against individuals in the United States Armed Forces. The Justice Department is currently investigating allegations that a division of Morgan Stanley that handles mortgages improperly foreclosed on more than twenty-four military families between 2006 and 2008, in violation of the Service Members Civil Relief Act.

Service Members Civil Relief Act

Pursuant to the Service Members Civil Relief Act, a court must be convened and a Judge must hold a hearing before a foreclosure can be initiated. At the hearing, the member of the Armed Services can be represented by an attorney. The lender must obtain a court order to move forward with foreclosure proceedings.

Sargeant James B. Hurley

Sargeant Hurly was stationed in Iraq. In December of 2005, he returned to his home in Hartford, Michigan. What he found shocked him. His home had been foreclosed and sold to someone else. He brought a lawsuit against Sackson Mortgage Service, which is a sub-division of Morgan Stanley. He claimed that his home had been foreclosed and sold at auction in violation of the Civil Relief Act. Sackson eventually settled the case with him by paying him monetary damages in an undisclosed amount. There are currently approximately twenty-two other cases pending against Sackson. It is claimed in each of those cases that they improperly foreclosed on homes of individuals in active duty in the military service of the United States.

service1Foreclosure Help

Our law office helps individual whose homes are being foreclosed. We litigate foreclosure proceedings involving defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and other real estate related issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients. We also represent clients in the preparation of mortgage modifications and we deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our clients needs. We litigation foreclosure bankruptcy issues. We file either Chapter 7 bankruptcies or Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients when we feel this is an effective strategy to deal with their financial situation. We provide our clients with a thorough education as to what their foreclosure options are. Feel free to call us at your earliest convenience for a consultation. Thank you for reading our foreclosure blog.

Foreclosed Homes Zap the Strength Out of Our Economy

Banks and other financial institutions are in the loan business. They make loans based on the understanding that they will be repaid both the principal and interest. This is how they make a profit.

Foreclosures

Banks usually wait until a mortgage borrower is more than three months behind before initiating foreclosure proceedings. It is generally more profitable for a bank to resolve non-payment issue without resorting to foreclosure on the home. Lenders are in the money business, not the real estate business. They want to make loans and receive interest and principal payments on those loans. They don’t want to own real estate. When a bank takes possession of a home in foreclosure, their money is tied up in the foreclosed home.

Neglected Homes

Some of the homes taken back by financial institutions need major repairs and upgrades. Some of these homes have been empty for a considerable period of time and have been vandalized or neglected by the prior owners. Banks do not want to get involved in the repairing of homes they’ve taken ownership of in foreclosures.

Foreclosures in Depressed Market Prices

The recent increase is in the amount of foreclosure proceedings brought by financial institutions have further depressed the price of homes.

Price Reductions In Foreclosures

In neighborhoods with high foreclosure rates, the prices of all the homes in these neighborhoods are negatively affected. The sale of homes at bargain prices has a negative effect on the construction industry. Jobs are lost in the process. Suppliers of wood, steel and aluminum to the construction industry are losing jobs because of reduction in their business.

Foreclosure Help

We assist our clients in all aspects of foreclosure defense. We meet with our clients and provide our clients with foreclosure options. These options involve mortgage modifications, litigating defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, bad faith and other real estate related issues.

We discuss foreclosure related bankruptcy filings. These can be either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcies. The filing of these bankruptcies immediately stops the foreclosure from moving forward. We also assist our clients in re-establishing credit and, in some circumstances, we can eliminate second mortgages by filing bankruptcies. Call us for a free consultation. Thank you for reading my foreclosure blog.

Foreclosures Increase Economic Stress in the United States

In December of 2010, the economic stress in the United States increased. This was largely due to the depressed housing market. Foreclosure rates rose in thirty-three states during December. In addition, bankruptcy levels remained very high.

Social Security Rates Go Down

During the 2011 calendar year, the tax rate for social security taxes was reduced. This results in workers’ paychecks going up.

Manufacturers Are Adding Jobs

In the United States, manufacturers, after many years of having shrinking payrolls, plan on hiring more employees in the year 2011. In January of 2011, the manufacturing sector of the United States economy added approximately 50,000 jobs. This was the largest increase since August of 1998.

Unemployment Rates Go Down

The unemployment rates have been slowly decreasing in the United States for the past two months. The unemployment rate was 9.8% in November of 2010 and fell to 9% in January of 2011.

Bankruptcies and Foreclosures Increase

Rajeev Dahawan, an economist at Georgia State University, stated, “bankruptcies and foreclosures are the side effects of the damage from the real estate bust. First you have the real estate problem and then it spills over into bankruptcies and foreclosures.”

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcies generally increase during times of economic stress. In November of 2005, the Bankruptcy Reform Act led to more stringent standards for filing a bankruptcy. A “means test” was a mandatory part of the Bankruptcy Reform Act. Since November of 2005, the rules regarding filing Chapter 7 bankruptcies have been liberalized; however, the means test standard still applies on all new Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings.

Bankruptcy Lawyer

Our law office files Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients. These bankruptcies will stop foreclosures from moving forward and, in some circumstances, eliminate second mortgages. In addition to filing bankruptcies, we educate our clients on how to re-establish credit after bankruptcies are filed.

Our law office provides comprehensive foreclosure defense legal services. We assist our clients in applying for mortgage modifications and deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our clients’ needs. We litigate defective mortgages, predatory lending, defective foreclosure lawsuits, bad faith on behalf of financial institutions and all other real estate related matters. During the course of foreclosure litigation, we attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients and try to motivate the financial institutions to give our clients mortgage loan modifications. Feel free to call us at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802 to discuss your legal needs. Thank you for reading our foreclosure blog.

SWAT Team Removes Squatters From Foreclosed Home

In Naples, Florida, a group of squatters moved into a foreclosed home that was empty. The Naples Police Department called in a SWAT team in March of 2011. The SWAT team gassed the foreclosed home to try to force the squatters out. Three adults and two children were removed from the home. The two children, ages 2 and 3, were taken by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

A neighbor who was interviewed by NBC news said, “it makes me so sad, it gives me chills. This is a quiet neighborhood. This is the only house we have here that’s in foreclosure.”

Foreclosed Empty Homes Can Cause Problems

If there are homes in your neighborhood that have been foreclosed upon and are currently empty, these homes can become the target for squatters to move into. There are several things neighbors can do to prevent incidents of squatters in empty foreclosed homes in your neighborhood.

Having a Home Look Like It Is Occupied

Simply parking your car in front of the home can have an impact on potential squatters to stay away. Helping out by cutting the grass gives the home a lived-in look.

Foreclosure Lawyers

Our law firm helps families whose homes are in foreclosure. We provide foreclosure defense litigation services including, but not limited to, preparing mortgage modifications, litigating defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits and predatory lending issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients and we provide information concerning all foreclosure options to our clients. We provide foreclosure related bankruptcy legal services, including filing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. The filing of these bankruptcies has the immediate effect of stopping foreclosure. In some instances, we can eliminate second mortgages and help our clients re-establish credit. Thank you for reading my foreclosure blog.

Long Island Mortgage Scam

In March of this year, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice arrested seventeen people pursuant to a two-year investigation involving a $20 million dollar mortgage fraud scam. Homeowners of Nassau County and banks lost more than $20 million dollars pursuant to the scam.

The individuals involved were lawyers, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, bank employees, financial consultant, an appraiser and a United States postal worker. Twenty nine homes were fraudulently purchased during the six year period. The homes all went into foreclosure. Fake buyers and fake sellers were involved in the transactions.

Identity Theft

Celso Benalcazar, a forty-nine year old Bronx mechanic, had his identity stolen. After his identity was stolen, two homes were purchased in his name. The ring leaders of this scam were James R. Sweet and Dwanye Benjamin, both of Westbury, New York. They recruited friends and family members to obtain false identities. They then impersonated buyers and sellers. As a result of these fake transactions, they kept all of the proceeds from the mortgages. Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice stated, “at the closing everything was fake except for the money that was stolen.”

One Home Purchased Twice

A home in West Hempstead was purchased twice during a two week period in 2005. A $390,000 mortgage was taken out each time the home was purchased. All the funds from both transactions were stolen.

The accused in this case faced up to twenty-five years in prison. There are numerous pending criminal charges, including violating the New York State Organized Crime Law, money laundering and conspiracy.

New York and Long Island Criminal Defense Lawyers

If you are being investigated with regard to a crime, or either you or a loved one is charged with a crime, we can help you. For more than 45 years, the Law Office of Elliot S. Schlissel has represented individuals charged with all types of misdemeanors and felonies. We defend clients who are charged with drug offenses, domestic violence, shoplifting, burglary, driving while intoxicated (DWI), weapons possession, sex crimes, white collar crimes and all types of violent crimes. We also represent juveniles in both the Criminal Courts and the Family Courts. Call us for a free consultation at 516-561-6645, 1-800-344-6431 or 718-350-2802.

Mortgage Company Attorney Sanctioned Over False Statements

Judge Fairgrieve, sitting in the District Court located in Nassau County, fined a foreclosure attorney named Steven J. Baum P.C. Mr. Baum was sanctioned $14,000 in attorneys fees and and additional $5,000 payable to the Lawyers Fund for Civil Protection with regard to the case of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. vs. Raia, which was decided on November 23, 2010.

Attorney Criticized by the Court

Steven J. Baum, P.C., is one of the largest foreclosure law firms in the state of New York. Mr. Baum’s law office litigates foreclosure matters throughout New York.

The court noted in this case that many of the sworn allegations in the foreclosure proceeding were found to be false. The Judge ordered a hearing to determine appropriate sanctions, due to the fact that the mortgage company lacked a possessory interest in the premises. The attorneys for Steven J. Baum, P.C., argued that the allegations in the petition, although they were incorrect, were not material and that sanctioning the foreclosure law firm would not be appropriate. Judge Fairgrieve, in his decision, stated that the false statements dealt with the issue of standing to bring the foreclosure proceeding. He went on to state that a lawyer is guilty of professional misconduct if he makes false statements to a court under the rules of professional conduct that lawyers must abide by.

Judge Fairgrieve found that Steven J. Baum, P.C., was professionally irresponsible and impeded the proper administration of justice. He noted in his decision that this was not the first time that this law office had acted inappropriately. The judge indicated in his decision that in a similar case three years ago, Steven J. Baum’s law office was to be sanctioned.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo provides foreclosure defense regarding cases in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, the five boroughs of the City of New York and Westchester County. Our office has numerous cases pending where we are defending homeowners from foreclosure. In these cases, we help our clients stay in their homes. We litigate defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and other real estate related issues. We also assist our clients in the preparation of mortgage modification applications and we deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our client’s needs. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients and seek to put pressure on the mortgage companies and banks to provide our clients with mortgage modifications. Call us for a free consultation at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or 1-800-344-6431.

Bank Attorney is Punished for Failing to Appear

On November 18, 2010, Justice Pagones, sitting in the Supreme Court located in Dutchess County, rendered a decision in the matter of BAC Home Loans Servicing vs. Westervelt. In this case, the bank and the homeowner were directed to appear at a settlement conference. Settlement conferences are required under New York State law in all foreclosure proceedings. The bank’s attorney failed to appear at the settlement conference. At that time, the court could have dismissed the bank’s foreclosure proceeding. In this case, the court declined to impose this remedy.

Justice Pagones, however, found that the bank attorney’s explanation for his failure to appear at the court settlement conference was inadequate. The court thereafter scheduled a hearing to determine what sanctions would be taken against the bank’s attorneys.

Bad Faith

Justice Pagones reached a conclusion that the attorneys for the bank had acted in bad faith in negotiating a settlement with the defendant. The defendant had made representation that the bank had, without explanation, refused to re-examine her income with regard to the mortgage modification she submitted. The court pointed out that the financial institution under the HAMP directives had an obligation to review her income.

Bank Barred From Collecting Arrears and Interest

The court scheduled another court conference date. In the interim, the court ordered the bank stop collecting arrears from the date the homeowner received the HAMP denial. The court also barred the financial institution from collecting any interest that might accrue from this date. The court also waived unpaid late fees and ordered the bank to waive attorney’s fees relating to this case.

Foreclosure Court Conferences

Foreclosure court conferences exist because the State Legislature passed a law in 2010 ordering the financial institution to attend foreclosure court conferences for the purpose of finding alternatives to the foreclosure proceedings. Our law office regularly attends foreclosure conferences on behalf of our clients. We utilize these conferences to try to motivate the attorneys for the financial institutions to work with our clients towards approving mortgage modifications that take the cases out of foreclosure.

Foreclosure Lawyers

The foreclosure defense attorneys at our law office aggressively litigate issues involving defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, bad faith and other real estate related matters. When appropriate, we file foreclosure related bankruptcies, including either a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, depending on the circumstances involved with our clients. These bankruptcies stop foreclosure and, in some cases, allow us to eliminate second mortgages. Prior to filing bankruptcies, we discuss the types of bankruptcies that are appropriate with regard to our client’s specific situation. Call us for a free consultation. We will discuss all foreclosure options available to you. Our phone numbers are 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 and 1-800-344-6431.

Aid for Home Buyers Coming to an End

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the federal agencies that are responsible for the large majority of mortgages in the United States. The Obama Administration plans on eliminating these two programs and replacing them with new programs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac subsidized 90% of the home mortgage loans in the United States in the year 2010. Under the new programs suggested by President Obama, the percentage of loans sponsored by federal agencies by the end of the decade will be only 10%.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Freddie and Fannie’s programs were established in the United States after the great depression. The intent of these programs was to assist Americans in the purchase of single family homes. For decades, Freddie and Fannie were successful in helping Americans fulfill the American dream of home ownership.

These programs attract investors by guaranteeing repayment of mortgages even if the homeowners default. The investors accept relatively lower interest rates under these programs due to the government guarantees. This enables both Freddie and Fannie to create a pool of mortgage money for lenders at low cost, which in turn allows the borrowers to obtain relatively low interest rates on their mortgages.

Tax Payers Back Freddie and Fannie

The problem with Freddie and Fannie is that the system only works because the United States Treasury backs the system. In the year 2008, the Federal Government was forced to take over these companies. Since then, the government has spent $135 billion dollars in honoring mortgage loan guarantees.

Freddie and Fannie To Be Dissolved By The Obama Administration

The Obama Administration plans on gradually phasing out Freddie and Fannie. They plan on doing this by reducing the number of loans that they guarantee and charging higher prices to the private lenders. Higher down payments will also be required for the perspective homeowners to obtain mortgages.

Thirty Year Fixed Rate Mortgage

The thirty year fixed rate mortgage is the most common mortgage given in the United States. This mortgage would never have existed without government support under the Freddie and Fannie programs.

Three Options to Replace Freddie and Fannie

The first option would be the complete elimination of all government guarantees for mortgages. The second option would offer some guarantees to investors, but only at times when the economy is not doing well or the real estate market is in financial distress.

The third option would involve the government guaranteeing various types of mortgages, but only if lenders first purchased a guarantee from a private insurer. Although this would limit the government’s exposure, it would also impact interest rates. The third option is a similar option to what exists today under Freddie and Fannie.

Affordable Housing

Conservatives blame Freddie and Fannie for causing the mortgage crisis in the United States. Housing advocates say the Obama Administration is making a mistake in trying to kill Freddie and Fannie. They point to the fact that these programs have been successful for decades in the past.

John Taylor, the president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, stated that “instead of cleaning up where Freddie and Fannie went wrong we’re eradicating a proven system that worked very well for most of it’s history.”

The ownership of a single family home is truly the American dream. I strongly believe the government should assist Americans in fulfilling this dream. However, I also believe the dream should be smaller and less expensive!

Foreclosure Help

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo provides foreclosure defense for homeowners. We litigate all aspects of foreclosures, including defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and bad faith issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients and we provide our clients with the various options available to them in foreclosure matters. We also assist our clients with mortgage modifications and deal with mortgage modification programs that fail. We file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients for the purposes of stopping foreclosure actions from moving forward. In some situations, we can eliminate second mortgages by filing bankruptcies for our clients. We also assist our clients in re-establishing credit after filing for bankruptcy. Thank you for visiting my foreclosure blog. Free feel to call us should you need legal assistance at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.

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