foreclosure proceedings

Foreclosure Lawsuit Dismissed

September 16, 2013 by Elliot S. Schlissel

In a recent case, Justice François Rivera sitting in the Supreme Court Foreclosure Part in Bronx County dismissed a foreclosure lawsuit brought by HSBC Bank as Trustee. In this case, HSBC claimed the homeowner had two mortgages on the property. Both mortgages were combined by a consolidation agreement. HSBC claimed the homeowner’s defaulted by not paying the mortgages. HSBC stated the mortgages were assigned by an Affidavit of Lost Assignment.

HSBC Seeks The Appointment Of A Referee To Sell The Property

HSBC brought an application to the Court. They sought to change the caption of the proceeding from the then current defendant, Brunson, and replacing her name with the co-administrators of her estate. It turns out that Brunson died two years before the action was commenced by HSBC. Simply speaking, HSBC sued the homeowner two years after the homeowner died. Judge Rivera took the position the entire lawsuit was a nullity from its very start. The application by HSBC to modify the caption could not be granted. The court’s decision was that the court didn’t have jurisdiction to even entertain the motion made by HSBC.

Conclusion

Banks shouldn’t sue dead people. Banks can only sue the Estate or the Administrators or Executors of an estate after someone dies.

About The Author

Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. and his associates diligently and aggressively represent homeowners in mortgage foreclosure lawsuits. Elliot and his associates provide foreclosure legal defense in the courts throughout the metropolitan New York area.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: defective foreclosure lawsuits, foreclosure, foreclosure attorney, foreclosure defense, foreclosure defense attorneys, foreclosure defense lawyers, foreclosure proceedings, New York foreclosure attorney

Foreclosure Dismissed: No 90 Day Notice

September 9, 2013 by Elliot S. Schlissel

Justice Yvonne Lewis, sitting in the Supreme Court of Kings County, recently dismissed a foreclosure proceeding brought by LaSalle Bank. LaSalle Bank brought a proceeding to foreclosure on a mortgage against Deanne Legier and Joyce Legier. The bank claimed both of the defendants had been served with legal process (a summons and complaint) at the real property’s address in Brooklyn. Deanne claimed she had never been served with the Summons and Complaint. She alleged that she did not reside at the address where the Summons and Complaint was served. Although Joyce was served, Joyce did not give Deanne a copy of the Summons and Complaint.

The Court, in its decision, found New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law section 1304 contained a requirement that a lender must comply with prior to bringing a foreclosure proceeding. This section of law required a lender to give a borrower 90 days’ notice before bringing a foreclosure proceeding on what was called a non-traditional mortgage.

Judge Lewis found that LaSalle Bank failed to show it provided the defendant’s with a Notice of Default before demanding payment in full on the underlying mortgage loan. Judge Lewis’ decision stated LaSalle Bank did not “unequivocally show compliance with section 1304 of the New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law.” They merely stated in their paperwork Joyce Legier failed to raise a triable issue of fact in a Summary Judgment Motion. The Judge, in her decision, stated LaSalle Bank had to comply with a condition precedent prior to bringing its lawsuit or making a Summary Judgment motion. She dismissed the foreclosure proceeding! Banks must fully comply with statutory compliance before initiating foreclosure lawsuits.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: defective foreclosure lawsuits, foreclosure attorney, foreclosure defense attorneys, foreclosure defense lawyers, foreclosure proceedings, New York foreclosure defense lawyers

New York State Sues Bank Of America For Mortgage Abuses

August 5, 2013 by Elliot S. Schlissel

New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has brought law suits against Wells Fargo and Bank of America for violations of the National Mortgage Settlement. Mr. Schneiderman has stated there are more than 339 instances where these banks failed to adhere to standards designed to protect borrowers who apply for mortgage modifications.

Mr. Schneiderman stated at a recent news conference “Wells Fargo and Bank of America have flagrantly violated their obligations under the settlement.” In his interview he said that homeowner’s have been faced with “banks, who in some cases, never even bothered to respond or correct errors in applications on mortgage modifications.”

Nationwide Settlement

In the nationwide settlement, 5 large banks agreed to pay $25 billion in damages to mortgage holders and follow a course of conduct involving loan servicing standards which were designed to protect homeowners. Attorney General Schneiderman said the standards were designed to speed up the process for home loan modifications.

About The Author

Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a foreclosure attorney. He has previously been the President of the Commercial Lawyers Conference of New York, a regional Bar Association. He has extensive experience in helping homeowners with mortgage modifications, foreclosure law suits and other bank related problems.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: foreclosure defense attorneys, foreclosure proceedings

Courts Impact On The Foreclosure Crisis

October 11, 2012 by Elliot S. Schlissel

Many foreclosure actions spend years tied up in court. This is caused by lenders losing the note. Lenders also have been guilty of sloppy record keeping, loss of documentation of their standing to sue and other violations of court rules and statutes.

Foreclosure lawsuits today, in many situations, are not initiated by the original lenders. The parties bringing the foreclosure action received the mortgages after a series of transfers. It is estimated, millions of mortgage notes have been lost or misplaced. For a lender to bring a foreclosure proceeding it must be the holder or the assignee of both the mortgage and the note.

Show Me The Mortgage Note Defense

Defense lawyers in foreclosure actions now utilize a “show me the note” defense. This has allowed defaulting borrowers to hold off the foreclosure proceeding from going forward while the foreclosing lender or servicing organization looks for the note. Sometimes while looking for the note, they ascertain they do not physically hold the note and they cannot find out where it is.

How Courts In New York Handle Cases Involving Lost Mortgage Notes

Courts in New York can proceed with foreclosure proceedings even without a mortgage note. To accomplish this, the lender must show to the Court it owns the note. They must present to the Court the facts preventing the production of the note and present to the Court the terms of the note. The lender has to provide the Court with a detailed explanation of the note’s chain of transfers. This is to prove that the prior note holders had the intention to transfer the mortgage and that the current note owner is the rightful recipient of the mortgage.

Financial Institutions Proving Ownership Of The Notes

For financial institutions to prove the ownership of the note they must produce a valid assignment of the note or, in the alternative, they must show the note was physically hand delivered to them. Determining what actually constitutes the physical delivery of the note may vary on a case to case basis.

Lost Mortgage Notes

If the lender can demonstrate to the Court it owns the note it then must provide the Court with a logical explanation of why the note was lost. The lender has the burden of proving the terms of the lost note. To prove this, the lender must provide the Court with information concerning the name of the last holder of the note, the name of the borrower, the name of the person who signed on behalf of the borrower, the type of note, the effective date of the note, the value of the note, the payment terms of the note, the loan number and currently how much is unpaid under the note. The person providing evidence of this information must have personal knowledge of all of this information.

Conclusion

Lenders have heavy burdens to meet before they can successfully bring foreclosure proceedings in New York State Courts when they can’t produce the note or provide documentation of the assignment of the note.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: Bankruptcy mortgage modification, defective foreclosure lawsuits, defective mortgages, financial crisis, foreclosure, foreclosure attorney, foreclosure crisis, foreclosure defense, foreclosure defense attorneys, foreclosure defense lawyers, foreclosure proceedings, mortgage modifications

Should You Buy A Foreclosed Property?

July 23, 2012 by Elliot S. Schlissel

In foreclosure situations the bank brings a foreclosure action against a home owner. Sometimes, after many years, the bank successfully takes title of the home. They evict the family who lived in the home. There can be significant financial benefits from buying a foreclosed home. However, there are also a variety of potential drawbacks.

Was The Home Properly Maintained?

If a homeowner was unable to make his or her mortgage payments there is a substantial possibility that the home was not maintained very well. Homeowners who can’t make mortgage payments don’t improve their homes and often don’t fix things that break. There is also the possibility that the homeowner, when he was being evicted, engaged in malicious conduct damaging the home.

The following is a list of things you should look for before purchasing a foreclosed home:

Is the home neat and clean? Sometimes bank foreclosed homes have been sitting empty for long periods of time. No maintenance or cleaning has been done and the houses have fallen into disrepair.
Is the home legal? Sometimes homeowners modify, extend, and change their homes without getting the appropriate approval from their local building departments. This makes title unmarketable. In the foreclosure process whether the title is marketable or not does not come up. However if you buy the home and thereafter you decide to sell it you will be responsible for legalizing the home. This can involve thousands of dollars of modifications, application fees and legal work.
Has the home lost electricity? If the home was vacant for a long period of time and the electricity was cut off this can have a negative impact on the electrical appliances in the house.
Water damage. If there have been leaks in the home while it was empty it is possible that the home has suffered from water damage.
Low quality upgrades to the house or poorly done repairs. Sometimes the homeowners are short on money, they take short cuts when the upgrade, modify or repair their homes. The expression “A stitch in time saves nine” may apply in these cases. These poorly done upgrades or repairs may not last very long.
Overgrown property. Homeowners who can’t afford to maintain their homes often fail to maintain their yards and lawns. The property may be overgrown and/or may require extensive landscaping.
Vandals. Homes that are empty have a higher propensity to be vandalized than homes that are occupied residences. Vandalism can involve individuals breaking in to homes, breaking windows, damaging walls, and removing pipes in the basement to sell the copper or brass.

Although there are bargains to be had in buying foreclosures, be careful! You should carefully inspect the home before purchasing it. It is suggested that, you have an engineer write an engineering report on your home before buying a foreclosure. The price may be cheap on a foreclosed home but the real question is have you bought a bargain or a money pit!

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: bankruptcy, defective foreclosure lawsuits, foreclosure, foreclosure attorney, foreclosure defense, foreclosure defense attorneys, foreclosure defense lawyers, foreclosure proceedings, foreclosure related bankruptciy, mortgage modification, mortgage modification attorneys, mortgage modification denial, mortgage modification denied, mortgage modification denied new york, mortgage modifications

Mortgage Services Agree to 25 Billion Dollar Settlement For Their Improper Activities Regarding Mortgages

April 6, 2012 by Elliot S. Schlissel

Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Americans who lost their homes in foreclosures between 2008 and 2011 will be able to qualify for up to $2000 in reimbursement from a settlement worked out with large financial institutions.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman played a key role in working out the settlement with the large financial institutions. However this settlement doesn’t excuse criminal activity on behalf of the mortgage services. Schneiderman has stated that he will keep pursuing his investigation with regard to mortgage abuses.

Schneiderman said “there are huge tax fraud implications to some of the stuff involving mortgages that we went on.” The large financial institutions involved in the settlement are Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial Services.

Too Little Too Late

The $2000 dollars being paid to people who lost their homes is much too little and it is being paid much too late. Schneiderman stated that the settlement is just a down payment. He intends on pursuing interest and further penalties on the financial servicing companies.

Long Island Foreclosure Lawyers

The Long Island foreclosure defense lawyers at The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo have for more than two decades been representing the families in the courts of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The firm helps clients obtainmortgage modifications. The firm also prepares forensic audits on behalf of clients. If a foreclosure action is started, the firm submits written answers alleging defenses such as predatory lending, defective foreclosure lawsuits and defective mortgages. The firm’s attorneys appear in court for settlement conferenceand pressure the financial institutions to give their clients mortgage modifications.

Foreclosure related bankruptcies are another option to deal with foreclosure lawsuits. Either the filing of a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy will bring a foreclosure proceeding to a halt. Either of these bankruptcies can be utilized to stop foreclosures, stop debt collection, and stop creditor harassment. Contact the firm for a free consultation.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy, Current Events, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification, Uncategorized Tagged With: bankruptcy, bankruptcy attorneys, Bankruptcy mortgage modification, bankruptcy proceedings, Chapter 13, Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Chapter 7, defective foreclosure lawsuits, foreclosure, foreclosure attorney, foreclosure defense, foreclosure proceedings, mortgage modifications

Foreclosure and Continuing to Live in the House for Years

November 7, 2011 by Elliot S. Schlissel

Thousands of American families have stopped making their mortgage payments, their houses have gone into foreclosure and they’re living in their homes for years without making mortgage payments. Approximately four and a half million American homes are behind on their mortgage payments or have foreclosure actions pending against them. In two-thirds of these cases, the homeowners continue to live in their homes, with their families, without making any payments towards their mortgage. Many of these families have been living in their homes for more than a year and approximately one-third of the families have been living in their homes for more than two years, without making mortgage payments.

Foreclosures Move Slowly Through the Courts

In virtually all fifty states, the courts have been inundated with foreclosure proceedings. At a time of economic turmoil throughout the country, additional judges and resources have generally not been allocated to deal with the foreclosure crisis. This means that cases sit idle in the courts for long periods of time before the foreclosure actions are completed. It is estimated that it takes approximately a little more than a year and a half for the average foreclosure case in the United States to make it’s way through the courts. In the State of New York, in cases handled by my office, it generally takes three to five years for the cases to proceed through the courts.

Evictions After Foreclosure

Even if your home is foreclosed on and eventually sold years later at auction, you can still continue to stay in your home. At the end of a foreclosure sale, should someone buy your home, whether it be the bank or a third party, and they seek to remove you from your residence, they have to bring an eviction proceeding. Eviction proceedings are brought in landlord/tenant courts. These proceedings are separate and distinct from the foreclosure actions. There are additional calendar delays in these eviction proceedings. Most take anywhere from two to four months.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo handles foreclosure defense for homeowners. 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 conferencesfor 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.

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. You can reach us at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802. We look forward to seeing you again on our foreclosure blog.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy, Current Events, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification, Uncategorized Tagged With: Evictions After Foreclosure, Evictions Foreclosure, foreclosure, foreclosure attorney, foreclosure defense, foreclosure defense for homeowners, foreclosure defense homeowners, foreclosure proceedings, mortgage modification, mortgage payments, Nassau County foreclosure attorney, New York foreclosure attorney, New York foreclosure attorneys, NY foreclosure defense attorneys

Analyzing Mortgage Applications

November 1, 2011 by Elliot S. Schlissel

How large a mortgage can you afford? The size of a mortgage you can qualify to obtain will determine how much you can spend on purchasing a home. There are a variety of different factors looked at by banks when analyzing mortgage applications.

Debt – to – income Ratios

What is a debt to income ratio? There are two types of debt to income ratios. A front – end debt to income ratio and a back – end debt to income ratio. The front – end and back – end debt to income ratios are utilized by mortgage lenders during the mortgage application process. A front – end debt to income ratio is in reality a housing expense calculation. The theory is how much of an individual’s or family’s gross (pre tax) income can be utilized to make mortgage payments on a monthly basis. This front – end debt to income ratio usually runs between 28% and 33% of an individual’s or family’s income. This means that the financial institution will not approve your mortgage application if your debt to income ratio goes beyond the financial institution’s guide lines. This specifically applies to conventional loans and Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loans.

Back-end Debt to Earnings Ratio

The back – end debt to earning ratio is the percentage of you or your family’s gross (pretax) monthly income that will be utilized for debt service for your financial obligations. Financial obligations include your proposed mortgage, credit card bills, car loans, child support, and all other types of financial indebtedness in this ratio. The back – end debt to income ratio utilized by financial institutions in their mortgage underwriting process is usually between 36% and 40% of your gross monthly income. This means if your proposed new mortgage and other debts are more than 40% of your gross income, you will most likely get turned down for your mortgage application. In situations where there are assets in the bank and very high credit scores, financial institutions have been going as high as 48% on the back – end debt to income ratio.

Before you submit a mortgage application, you should calculate your front – end and back – end debt to earnings income ratios. This will give you a better idea as to whether you will qualify for the mortgage you are applying for.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

First you get the loan, then you start making payments to the loan. But what happens if your financial situation changes? If you lose your job, become disabled, are downsized or have other financial problems, you may find yourself in a foreclosure situation. Do not dispair. The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo has been helping families deal with foreclosure problems for the last 45 years.

We provide all aspects of foreclosure defense. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients. We litigate issues such as defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, defective mortgages and other significant real estate related defenses. We’ve developed an expertise concerning federal laws and foreclosure.

We can also help you deal with foreclosure-related bankruptcy issues. Filing either a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be necessary to deal with the foreclosure on your home. If you file bankruptcy, you can eliminate second mortgages in some situations, stop foreclosure, stop other debt collections practices and at the end of the bankruptcy, action can be taken to re-establish your credit. Feel free to call us for a consulation. Our phone numbers are 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350- 2802. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure defense blog.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy, Current Events, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification, Uncategorized Tagged With: back - end debt to income ratio, Debt - to - income Ratios, debt to income ratio, Federal Housing Authority, Federal Housing Authority loan, fha loan, fha loans, fha mortgage, foreclosure attorney, foreclosure defense, foreclosure defense lawyers, foreclosure proceedings, front - end debt to income ratio, Mortgage Applications, mortgage foreclosures, mortgage loans, Nassau County foreclosure attorney, New York foreclosure attorney

Mortgage Modifications for Customers Whose Mortgages are Current

September 27, 2011 by Elliot S. Schlissel

Banks are turning their backs on millions of Americans whose homes are in foreclosure. At the same time, several large banks are approaching borrowers whose mortgages are not in default and offering to reduce their debts or modify the terms of their mortgages.

JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, two of the largest financial institutions in the United States, have been contacting borrowers whose mortgages are up to date, offering them special deals. The borrowers being contacted by these banks have pay option adjustable rate mortgages. These banks seek to eliminate as many of these mortgages from their books as possible.

The banks approach individuals whose homes are underwater, but who are current on their mortgage payments. While many borrowers who are in deep financial trouble need help, the banks are ignoring these situations. Instead, they’re making unsolicited contacts and, in theory, rewarding the customers who have done right by them.

Dan B. Fraham, a spokesman for Bank America, recently stated “by proactively contacting pay option ARM customers and discussing other products with better options for long term, affordable payments, we hope to prevent customers from reaching a point where they struggle to make their payments.”

In theory, the banks have decided to make deals regarding mortgage loans that gives borrowers the option of skipping the principal payments and some of the interest payments for a period of several years. Thereafter, the unpaid balance is added to the principal of the loan. The banks are concerned that if these underwater loans go, eventually the homeowners simply abandon them. This is a great deal for these homeowners who’ve kept their loans current. Unfortunately, this ignores approximately 33% of the outstanding mortgages that are either in default or underwater!

Long Island and New York City Foreclosure Defense

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.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: Bank of America, defective mortgages, eliminating second mortgages, foreclosure, foreclosure defense, foreclosure proceedings, foreclosure related bankruptcy, JP Morgan Chase, Long Island and New York City Foreclosure Defense, mortgage modification, mortgage modifications, mortgage payments, New York City Foreclosure Defense, new york mortgage modifications, second mortgages, underwater mortgages

Prosecutors Discuss Settlement of Lawsuit Over Bank Mortgage Abuses

August 25, 2011 by Elliot S. Schlissel

Federal and State prosecutors are in the process of working out a settlement with the five largest loan companies in the United States over their mortgage abuses. The discussions are centered around a settlement of approximately 30 billion dollars. As part of the settlement, the financial institutions will have to provide detailed assurances that they will establish and comply with better banking practices in the future. Negotiators are meeting in August in Washington, D.C. to try to work out a settlement.

Is Prosecution More Appropriate Than Settlement?

There are many families and individuals who lost their homes due to the mortgage crisis which was created by bank abuses. Many of those affected feel that prosecution of individuals is the better route than settlement. The settlement will excuse all of the misconduct that financial institutions took part in. It is the government’s hope that the settlement will have an affirmative effect on the nation’s financial system and the economy. I believe this is wishful thinking!

The public interest requires a detailed investigation and the prosecution of those individuals involved with bank abuses and fraud. After the investigation and the convictions of those individuals, settlements involving significant civil penalties can be worked out. The settlement that the government is negotiating will sweep under the rug the widespread acts of fraud and abuse that the banks were engaged in, that has resulted in a foreclosure crisis in the United States and the downward spiral of our economy. Those individuals responsible for inappropriate activities should be appropriately dealt with.

Foreclosure Defense and Saving Homes

We can help save your home from being sold in foreclosure. The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo have been representing individuals whose homes have been foreclosed upon for more than 45 years. 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. 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.

Filed Under: Bankruptcy, Current Events, Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification, Uncategorized Tagged With: Bank Mortgage Abuses, better banking practices, five largest loan companies in the United States, foreclosure, foreclosure attorney, Foreclosure Defense and Saving Homes, foreclosure defense attorneys, foreclosure proceedings, loan companies lawsuits us, New York foreclosure attorneys

Foreclosure Lawsuit Dismissed

Foreclosure Dismissed: No 90 Day Notice

New York State Sues Bank Of America For Mortgage Abuses

Courts Impact On The Foreclosure Crisis

Mortgage Services Agree to 25 Billion Dollar Settlement For Their Improper Activities Regarding Mortgages

Foreclosure and Continuing to Live in the House for Years

Analyzing Mortgage Applications

Prosecutors Discuss Settlement of Lawsuit Over Bank Mortgage Abuses

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