Foreclosure Proceedings are Devastating Communities Throughout the Country

The value of homes throughout the country has gone down. Many Americans live in homes that worth less then the amount of their mortgages. The high unemployment rate and the downsizing of jobs by many employers have robbed homeowners of the ability to make their mortgage payments.

Foreclosure on Long Island

Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island have some of the highest foreclosure rates in the State of New York. President Obama’s programs have not stopped foreclosure rates from rising.

It is estimated that it takes approximately 2 ½ years for lender to complete a foreclosure proceeding and take title to a home in New York State. Homeowners who are losing their homes lose motivation to maintain their property. This causes a blight on their neighborhood which has a negative effect on the surrounding homes in their community.

Loan Modifications

Lenders in the United States are doing a terrible job in processing loan modifications. The process is slow, painstaking and yes poorly managed by the financial institutions.

The housing problems in the United States are slowing down the economic recovery. More has to been done by financial institutions to modify mortgages and allow homeowners to stay in their homes.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyers In New York City and Long Island

Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo represents homeowners whose homes are in foreclosure. We assist the homeowners with mortgage modifications. We litigate issues involving defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, defective mortgages and real estate problems in general. Our attorneys are familiar with the federal laws involving foreclosure.

Sometimes the best way to deal with a foreclosure proceeding is to file foreclosure related bankruptcy. In these situations we file either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients. These bankruptcies stop foreclosures, stop debt collections and allow our clients to obtain a fresh start. Feel free to call us for a consultation.

Foreclosure By Facebook

Foreclosure proceedings must work their way through the courts in the United States. Some legal experts expect that lenders will obtain the right to start initiate foreclosure proceedings by serving the foreclosed legal documents through Facebook. Although this has not taken place yet in the United States, it has already happened in Australia.

A couple in Australia defaulted on a mortgage loan. The lender’s lawyers found them on Facebook. The lawyer served the couple their legal papers through Facebook. The matter was litigated in the courts in Australia. The court upheld the lenders right to send foreclosure notices via Facebook! The court found the couple’s privacy rights were not violated and that they received adequate notice by service through Facebook.

Canada, New Zealand and United Kingdom Accept Service By Facebook

There have been cases in New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom where homeowners have been served foreclosure notices through Facebook.

Service of Foreclosure Papers By E – Mail

Courts in general have not accepted e – mail service of legal notices to be either reliable or appropriate. Courts are concerned that the end users will assume the e – mails are junk mail and not open them.

New York City and Long Island Foreclosure Defense

If you are served with a summons and complaint in a foreclosure proceeding in the State of New York you must quickly take action. The service of the summons personally upon you requires you to submit a written answer within twenty days. If you are served through any other means other than by personal service you have thirty days to submit a written answer. The answer to the summons and complaint must either admit or deny the allegations in the complaint. The answer must be served on the attorney for the financial institution and an additional copy must be mailed to the court. The copy mailed to the court must contain an affidavit stating you served a copy of the answer on the bank’s lawyer. You will thereafter receive notice of a foreclosure court conference.

Long Island and New York City Area Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

If you’re home is in foreclosure we can help you. We can assist you in obtaining a mortgage modification. We can help you litigate your foreclosure proceeding. We will attend the foreclosure court conferences on your behalf and press your lender to approve a mortgage modification for you. If you contact us for a consultation we will meet with you and discuss your foreclosure options. These options may also include foreclosure related bankruptcy filings. These options may include filing either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. We appreciate your visiting our foreclosure blog.

Improving Your Chances of Obtaining a Mortgage

For a period of time in America, mortgages were being given out by financial providers without the appropriate due diligence requirements being met. This caused a mortgage crisis in the United States that we are still dealing with. There are currently new rules in place regarding obtaining mortgages. The rules are strict and the requirements are more difficult to meet.

Credit Scores

It takes a much higher credit score today to obtain a mortgage than it did five years ago. Prior to obtaining a mortgage, it is important that you investigate your credit score. If your credit score is not high enough to obtain a mortgage, procedures can be undertaken to increase your credit score.

Paying Down Debt

If you have significant debt from credit cards, car loans or other types of debt, it can have a negative impact on your credit score. By paying down your debt you improve your income to debt ratio, which in turn will raise your credit score.

Don’t Make Large Purchases

If you’re planning on buying a home, do not apply for additional credit cards and do not make large purchases on your existing credit cards prior to buying your home. Lenders will look into these activities and it will have a negative impact on their underwriting process.

Put More Money Down As a Down Payment

Lenders today are looking for 20% down payment before giving mortgage loans to prospective homeowners. If you could put down more than the 20%, it will increase your chance of getting a mortgage loan.

The mortgage process will require that you produce tax records, pay stubs, bank statements, credit reports and other financial documents. Maintain all of these documents in an organized fashion. This will ease the burden of filling out the mortgage loan applications.

Beware of the Twenty Eight Percent Standard

Banks today are following guidelines that total housing expenses should not exceed 28% of your monthly gross income. If you exceed the standard it will be difficult for you to obtain a mortgage.

Foreclosure Defense

Foreclosure is a nasty term. Foreclosure notices are depressing. There’s a tendency when your financial troubles are out of control to try to avoid these problems. This is a wrong way of dealing with this problem. Come to us, we can help you! We litigate all aspects of foreclosure proceedings including, but not limited to, defective foreclosure lawsuits, defective mortgages, predatory lending issues, bad faith, and other real estate legal issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences for the clients we represent. We also assist our clients in the preparation of mortgage modification applications, as well as deal with mortgage modification programs that are unresponsive to our clients’ needs.

In certain situations, foreclosure related bankruptcies can be utilized to stop foreclosures from moving forward. Upon filing either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court issues an automatic stay that stops the foreclosure lawsuit from moving forward. It should be noted that bankruptcy proceedings are brought in the United States Bankruptcy Court, while foreclosure proceedings are brought in New York State Courts.

For our clients who file bankruptcy, we can sometimes eliminate second mortgages. We also can assist our clients in re-establishing their credit after filing bankruptcy. Should you have questions as to what type of bankruptcy would be appropriate for you or whether there is other alternatives related to foreclosure defense, feel free to contact us. At your initial free consultation, we will discuss all of your foreclosure options. We look forward to seeing you again on our foreclosure blog.

Neighborhoods Affect Home Values

Home buyers will pay premiums for homes they perceive are located in country club communities. Subdivisions with attractive names such as pleasant, acres, hills, estates and heights are utilized by real estate professionals to motivate homeowners to purchase in these communities. The naming of a neighborhood is now a major consideration in the marketing of homes.

Investigate Before You Buy

Just because a subdivision or neighborhood has a fancy, slick name does not mean it is a fancy or attractive neighborhood. Before purchasing a home, you should look into the infrastructure of the area. Schools, parks, recreational facilities, senior facilities, crime in the area and services provided the local communities are significant issues to be investigated prior to purchasing a home. Due diligence requires that you investigate in detail before you purchase a home. Drive around the neighborhood. Talk to neighbors. Come to the area at various times of day or night. See how far the schools are from your home. Check with the various rating services as to the quality of the schools. Look into criminal statistics for crimes in the area. Look carefully before you leap when you buy a new home!

Defending Foreclosure Proceedings

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo handles foreclosure defense for homeowners. We litigate all aspects of foreclosure proceedingsincluding, but not limited to, defective foreclosure lawsuits,defective mortgages, predatory lending issues, bad faith, and other real estate legal issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences for the clients we represent. We also assist our clients in the preparation of mortgage modification applications, as well as deal with mortgage modification programs that are unresponsive to our clients’ needs.

In certain situations, foreclosure related bankruptcies can be utilized to stop foreclosures from moving forward. Upon filing either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court issues an automatic stay that stops the foreclosure lawsuit from moving forward. It should be noted that bankruptcy proceedings are brought in the United States Bankruptcy Court, while foreclosure proceedings are brought in New York State Courts.

For our clients who file bankruptcy, we can sometimes eliminate second mortgages. We also can assist our clients in re-establishing their credit after filing bankruptcy. Should you have questions as to what type of bankruptcy would be appropriate for you or whether there is other alternatives related to foreclosure defense, feel free to contact us. At your initial free consultation, we will discuss all of your foreclosure options. We look forward to seeing you again on our foreclosure blog.

Buying a Home in a Distressed Market

Adam Letman Bailey is the author of “Finding the Uncommon Deal.” It is his belief that this is the best time to buy a home. Adam believes that the key to finding a good deal regarding the purchase of a home is to have the right information. In his book, “Finding the Uncommon Deal”, he talks about becoming an expert regarding the circumstances involved in your local real estate market.

He makes three specific recommendations: 1) Limit the geographic area in which you’re looking to buy a home; 2) For a short period of time, look intensely at that local market place; and 3) Look at as many properties as humanly possible.

Developing Your Own Expertise

Adam, in his book, suggests you develop your own expertise as to what is a good value in your local market place. For you to spot a bargain, you need to know what constitutes a bargain. He strongly suggests you limit your foray into the real estate market in to one or two local areas.

Distressed Properties

Adam suggests that if you’re considering buying a distressed property, contact the bank directly. See if they will talk to you and provide you with financing to buy a home they took back in foreclosure.

Credit Scores

Before even looking for a home, Adam suggests that you research your credit score. If you’re credit score is not up to par, it is important that you rehabilitate your credit score before applying for a mortgage.

Adam’s book suggests that the real estate market of foreclosed homes represents a unique buying opportunity for prospective homeowners. He believes you can buy homes for speculation and make huge profits or simply buy the home of your dreams at an extremely reasonable price.

Adam makes it clear that he does not believe the real estate market will come back for a long time. He advises in his book that if you buy a home, plan on living there for a minimum of seven years. He believes that real estate prices may continue to drop for several more years before they recover.

Foreclosure Defense

We are foreclosure defense lawyers. We help homeowners stay in their homes, even when they’re in foreclosure. We assist homeowners with mortgage modifications and mortgage modification programs that fail to meet their needs.

We litigate predatory lending issues, defective foreclosure lawsuits, defective mortgages and issues involving federal laws and foreclosure. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients. We discuss foreclosure related bankruptcy issues.

In the appropriate circumstances, we file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients. We discuss with our clients why bankruptcy filings will be helpful to them and the types of bankruptcies available to them. Filing bankruptcy can stop foreclosures from moving forward and stop debt collection from collection agencies and collection lawyers. At the end of the bankruptcies, we can help our client in re-establishing credit. We appreciate your spending time on our foreclosure blog.

What Factors Can Positively Impact The Value of Your Home?

Impact The Value Of Your HomeFamilies 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.

A Generation of Renters

rentShould you buy a house or rent an apartment? As long as home values continue to decline, owning a home is a bad investment. If you rent, you have no responsibility for the apartment other than paying your monthly rental bill.

Home Ownership Declines in the United States

Home ownership has been declining the Unites States for the past few years. Home ownership is currently at its lowest rate since 1978. Approximately 38 million households in the United States are renters. While the building of new single family homes has dried up, apartment construction in the United States is now up 115% from its low in October of 2009.

Permits for new apartments hit a two year high in March of 2011. Compared to the number of permits applied for by construction companies for single family homes, there is a drastic difference. Permits for single family homes in 2011 are at their lowest point since 1960.

Rents Going Up

Since more and more families are seeking to rent, it has had an impact on the cost of renting. Rental rates are going up throughout the United States. There was over a 4% increase in rents between 2009 and 2010. Increasing rents is the result of the change in American attitudes. The American dream of owning a home is no longer held in such high esteem by young adults.

Many young Americans are concerned about the risk of home ownership. They see how home values have been going down for the past five years. They are concerned about making an investment of their valuable assets in a declining real estate market.

Harder To Buy A Home

Although homes have come down in value for the past five years, it is still difficult for young people to purchase a home. Banks now require larger down payments. Credit applications are underwritten more carefully and credit has become tighter. Many young Americans look at home ownership not as an investment, but as a financial burden.

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Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

If you own a home that is in foreclosure, we can keep you in your home! The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo is one of the premier foreclosure defense law firms in the country. We litigate all aspects of foreclosure proceedings, including defective mortgages, predatory lending, defective foreclosure lawsuits, issues involving robo signers, and other real estate related issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients and we seek to motivate financial institutions to give our clients mortgage modifications. We are adept at dealing with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our clients’ needs.

In certain situations, foreclosure related bankruptcies may be the answer to the foreclosure proceeding. In those situations, we discuss various types of bankruptcies that are available to our clients. These usually involve either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcies. The filing of the bankruptcy in a Federal Bankruptcy Court automatically stops the foreclosure proceeding from moving forward. In some situations, the filing of the bankruptcy can also be used to eliminate a second mortgage on a home. At the end of the bankruptcy, we can assist our clients in re-establishing their credit.

Call us! At your initial free consultation, we will discuss all of your foreclosure options. We appreciate you visiting our foreclosure blog.

The Economy is Slowly Improving, but the Housing Sector is Lacking

But The Housing Sector Is LackingIn recent months, consumer spending in the United States has been increasing. For the seventh month in a row, consumers have been purchasing more goods and services from retailers. Companies have reported higher sales than in 2010.

Housing is Dragging the Economy Down

The real estate sector in the United States is having a negative effect on the United States pulling out of a recession. Although consumer spending has increased, real estate spending is decreasing.

Home builders are still very pessimistic with regard to housing starts in 2011. This year is the worst in nearly fifty years with regard to the amount of new homes being built in the United States.

The National Association of Home Builders recently stated that its index of home builder sentiment remains unchanged as of February, 2011. For the fourth straight month, the sentiment of home builders has been extremely negative.

The American Dream

At one time, the ownership of a single family home was the American dream. For many Americans, this dream has turned into a nightmare. They owe more on their homes than their homes are worth. They are falling behind on their mortgages. They have lost their jobs or are underemployed and are no longer capable of making their mortgage payments. Their children attend schools in their neighborhood and they don’t want to move. This is a dilemma.

The key to an improvement on the real estate market is a reduction in unemployment. If Americans earn more money, they will spend this money on their mortgages. They will buy new homes and modernize their homes. This will give a boost to the housing industry and increase employment in this sector. Unfortunately, this is not happening right now in the United States.

Best Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

If you have a foreclosure problem, we can help you. Our foreclosure defense lawyers litigate defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and all other types of real estate related matters. We can explain the federal laws on foreclosure and how they affect you. We attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients.

In the appropriate situation, we will discuss foreclosure related bankruptcy issues, such as filing a Chapter 7 and a Chapter 13 bankruptcy with you. In bankruptcy situations, there is an automatic stay that goes into effect, ordered by the court, that stops foreclosure from moving forward. In some bankruptcy situations, we can eliminate second mortgages. At the end of the bankruptcy, we can assist you in re- establishing your credit.

Feel free to set up a free consultation with us. We will discuss your foreclosure options with you. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Foreclosure Notice Rules Must be Complied With

Foreclosure Notice Rules Must Be Complied WithJudge Angiolillo, sitting in the Appellate Division of the Second Department, has ruled that lenders must strictly comply with foreclosure notice rules. In 2008, foreclosure notice rules were enacted to protect homeowners confronted with foreclosure. Judge Angiolillo’s recent ruling requires that these rules be strictly complied with.

Foreclosure Proceeding

Aurora Loan Services sued Mr. Weisblum in a foreclosure proceeding. Justice Angiolillo found that the notice that was provided by Aurora Loan Services to Mr. Weisblum did not “substantially comply” with the requirements of the 2008 statute. The notice required that a minimum of five counseling agencies regarding foreclosure issues had to be provided to homeowners whose mortgages were past due. Justice Angiolillo further stated that the 2008 law, which was modified and expanded in 2010, was to “preserve and guard the precious asset of home equity.” In this case, Justice Angiolillo wrote that the mortgage company had neglected to submit an appropriate affidavit, which showed there was proper service of documents on Mr. Weisblum. Justice Angiolillo wrote for a unanimous panel of the Appellate Division.

Foreclosure Defense In New York

If your house is in foreclosure, we can help you. We’ve been fighting foreclosures for more than two decades. We litigate defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, violations of federal laws and other real estate issues. We can help you obtain mortgage modifications and we can counsel you concerning mortgage modification programs that fail to meet your needs.

We also assist our clients with foreclosure related bankruptcies. These bankruptcies can either be a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. We will explain to you why filing bankruptcy may be the best route to deal with your foreclosure issues and the types of bankruptcies that are available to you. Filing the bankruptcy stops foreclosure proceedings from moving forward. It also stops other debt collection activities involving credit cards and other debts.

Feel free to schedule a free consultation. We will explain your foreclosure options to you. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Banks Delaying Foreclosure Proceedings

Banks Delaying Foreclosure ProceedingsThe number of foreclosures in the Metropolitan New York area has been going down for approximately six months. This has been caused by massive delays in financial institutions processing foreclosure proceedings. Banks and other financial institutions have been hurt by the negative publicity concerning robo signers and improper and illegal foreclosure practices. They are now carefully reviewing each and every case before they send it out to their attorneys to initiate foreclosure proceedings. They are reviewing all of the mortgage related documents in each file to make sure that they have been handled in an appropriate manner before initiating a foreclosure litigation. There were 9% less foreclosures in April of 2011 than in March of 2011. In the United States, there were 219,258 foreclosures initiated during April of 2011. In addition, banks seized 70,000 homes in April. A representative of Reality Trac stated, “the slow down continues to be largely the result of massive delays in processing foreclosures, rather than the result of a housing recovery that is lifting people out of foreclosure.”

Foreclosure Proceedings Taking Longer

Each foreclosure proceeding in New York initiated during the first quarter of 2010 took more than 400 days from inception to completion. This is an increase of 60 days from the 340 days this process had taken in 2009. In 2007, it took approximately 150 days to move forward, from start to finish, with a foreclosure proceeding. As the number of foreclosure proceedings has dramatically increased in New York, the time for these proceedings to make their way through the courts has been increasing. It is estimated that new foreclosure proceedings could take as long as 2 ½ years to be concluded.

Home Prices Falling

Home prices are still falling through most of the country. In April of 2011, home prices fell below the March 2009 levels. This is the lowest point home prices have been in the past two years. Unfortunately, real estate experts do not feel the downward trend in home values will be ending in the near future.

Conclusion

The real estate market in the United States is in a sad state of affairs. Unless the real estate market comes back, the economy in the United States will continue to suffer.

fore1Foreclosure Help

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo provides foreclosure defense for clients in the Metropolitan New York area. We attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients. We litigate defective mortgages, predatory lending and defective foreclosure lawsuits. We deal with all types of foreclosure and estate problems. We educate our clients concerning foreclosure related bankruptcy proceedings, including Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings.

We advise and assist our clients concerning mortgage modifications and how to deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet the needs of the public. We can provide you with a free initial interview and we will discuss all of your foreclosure options and how to stop foreclosures from moving forward. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Foreclosure Defense in Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Baldwin, Malverne, Freeport, Oceanside, Long Beach, Elmont, Lakeview, West Hempstead, Hempstead, Merrick and Bellmore, New York

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