Mortgage Modifications for Customers Whose Mortgages are Current

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

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.

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.

Foreclosure by Bulldozer

Banks have a new weapon in dealing with foreclosed homes. The weapon is the bulldozer. Banks have been bulldozing more and more foreclosure homes. First, banks start legal proceedings, which enables them to obtain the titles to homes in local areas. Then they review the homes in their portfolio and they bring demolishing teams and bulldoze the least valuable repossessed homes. In the month of June, Bank of America bulldozed more than 100 foreclosed homes in Cleveland.

JP Morgan Chase has donated homes that it can’t sell or didn’t think were worthy of being repaired. Since 2008, JP Morgan Chase has knocked down approximately 2,000 homes and donated the land to city and county officials.

There is a benefit to banks donating property back to municipalities. They no longer have to pay the real property and school taxes on these homes. They also may be able to write off, as a loss, the homes donated to the municipalities.

Does Bulldozing Help the Housing Market?

There are experts in the real estate industry who claim that by removing low quality homes that are difficult to sell, these homes no longer cause real estate prices in a local area to go down. Since there is an over supply of homes on the market already, putting more low quality homes on the market just brings real estate prices down. The theory is the housing market is in best shape when supply and demand are an equilibrium. By bulldozing homes, the banks are reducing the supply of empty homes to the market place.

New York and Long Island Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

We can keep you and your family in your home. We provide foreclosure defense and bankruptcy legal representation for our clients. We attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients. We litigate foreclosure proceedings in the courts throughout the Metropolitan New York area. We are knowledgeable concerning real estate related defenses, in foreclosure proceedings and the federal laws that deal with foreclosure.

We can also assist our clients in foreclosure related bankruptcies. We file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies for our clients. At our initial consultation, we will discuss various types of foreclosure defenses and the types of bankruptcies that may be available to you. We can stop foreclosure and debt collection activities by filing bankruptcy on your behalf. There are also numerous bankruptcy myths, such as you will never receive credit again, that are untrue. We will be happy to meet with you and discuss issues involving foreclosure, bankruptcy, re-establishing credit and staying in your home. Call us for a free consultation. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Illegal Foreclosures on Homes Owned By Military Personnel

Banks, mortgage companies and other financial institutions have been illegally foreclosing on homes owned by men and women actively serving in the military  of our country. Men and women in the Armed Services of the United States are supposed to be protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. This is a law designed to protect members of the Armed Services who have financial difficulties. This federal statute prevents foreclosure on properties owned by men and women on active duty in the military of the United States. Foreclosures in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act are punished by the justice department’s civil division.

Fifty Illegal Foreclosures of Property Owned By Members of the Military

In a recent report the General Accountability Office of the United States government has disclosed that they have found more than fifty wrongful foreclosures of homes owned by members of the military. These foreclosures have been undertaken by 14 of the largest banks in the United States. Al Franken, the democratic senator from Minnesota, stated “the idea of wrongfully forcing service members families from their homes while their loved ones are risking their lives to protect our country, is not only unconscionable, it’s illegal.”

In February of 2011, JP Morgan Chase disclosed it had improperly foreclosed on 18 homes owned by military members. The bank has recently either rescinded the foreclosure sales or reached a financial settlement with a dozen of these military borrowers. JP Morgan Chase’s chairman, Jamie Dimon, referred to these foreclosures as “a painful apparition.” Recently JP Morgan Chase has found another 30 situations where they may have illegally foreclosed on service members homes.

Protect Your Country and Lose Your Home

Men and women who are risking their lives in the armed services of the United States should be protected from having their loved ones thrown out of their homes and the home sold in foreclosure!

Lawyers Helping Victims of Foreclosure

We help families whose homes are being foreclosed. We assist our clients with mortgage modifications and dealing with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet their needs. We litigate violations of federal laws regarding foreclosure,  predatory lending issues, defective foreclosure lawsuits, real estate related issues and defective mortgages. We attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients.

We file foreclosure related bankruptcies, such as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies for our clients. At our initial consultation we discuss the types of bankruptcy that are available and why the situation may require the filing of a bankruptcy petition. At the end of the bankruptcy case we explain to our clients how to re-establish their credit. It should be noted that bankruptcies stop foreclosures and also stop debt collection activity. Feel free to call us for a consultation. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure defense blog.

Defense of Incompetency in Foreclosure Lawsuits

JP Morgan Chase sued Mr. & Mrs. Haedrich in a foreclosure proceeding in Nassau County, New York. Judge Phelan was the Supreme Court judge assigned to the case.

A guardian was appointed for the Haedrichs. The guardian moved to vacate judgments of foreclosure, as well as the mortgage and notes. The guardian alleged that Mr. & Mrs. Haedrich executed the mortgages and notes accompanying said mortgages in 1999, when they were incompetent. He claimed they suffered from a mentally debilitating condition, including dementia, which deprived them of their ability to make a reasoned intelligent decision concerning the execution of the note and mortgage.

Homeowners Competent to Enter Into Mortgage

The court held that the evidence presented did not sufficiently show that Mr. and Mrs. Haedrich were incompetent at the time of the execution of the mortgage and note. The court also held that the lender was not on notice and did not have any knowledge as to any aspect of their incapacity. The court held that the record did not present appropriate medical evidence showing the Haedrichs were rendered legally incompetent due to mental illness or for other reasons when they executed the necessary documents related to the note and mortgage at the real estate closing. The application by the guardian on behalf of the Haendrichs was dismissed.

About Our Firm

For more than 45 years, our law office has represented individuals in lawsuits involving creditors. We handle foreclosure defense proceedings throughout the New York Metropolitan area. We have a high degree of success in fighting off foreclosure lawsuits.

Should you or a loved one have questions or problems concerning a foreclosure lawsuit, please contact us at 1-800-344-6431 or 718-350-2802.

Fargo To Amend Foreclosure Proceedings

For  the past month and a  half Wells  Fargo Bank has in public statements regarding foreclosure proceedings insisted that all of their procedures were correct and appropriate.  On Wednesday October 27, they did an about face.

Wells Fargo now claims that it plans to correct, redo and resubmit the proper documents in approximately 55,000 foreclosure proceedings. To this writer that seems to be more than a minor mistake.

Wells Fargo claims that after reviewing the situation they found that some bank employees had “failed to strictly adhere to its required procedures during a final step in its documentation process”.   Wells Fargo further stated “some aspects of the notarization process had not always been properly followed creating the potential for paperwork errors.”

No Foreclosure Freeze

Wells Fargo is not freezing its foreclosures. They are amending all 55,000 improper
foreclosures to correct the paperwork mistakes previously made.

In addition to Wells Fargo four other large financial institutions are taking similar actions.  JP Morgan Chase said it was looking into about 115,000 foreclosure proceedings in 41 states. Bank of America is also looking into approximately 100,000 foreclosure proceedings in 23 states. GMAC and PNC financial are also resubmitting improper foreclosure paperwork. Unfortunately when the banks get through with correcting their mistakes the homeowners will eventually have to face the music.  Foreclosure are brought when homeowners do not pay their mortgage payments. In the end the homeowners are thrown out of their homes and their homes are sold. Hopefully there are more inventive, more practical, more humane solutions such as mortgage modifications to this problem.

About Our Firm

For more than 45 years our law firm has assisted individuals with mortgage modifications, foreclosure defense and lawsuits involving creditors. We have expertise in defending homeowners in foreclosure lawsuits.  We have litigated cases involving predatory lending practices. We are also familiar with the issues involving failed mortgage modification programs.  Should you, a friend or family member be involved in a foreclosure. You need a foreclosure defense attorney to represent you.  Our experience in representing individuals in all aspects of foreclosure defense including but not limited to foreclosure defenses and litigating foreclosure issues makes us one of the foremost foreclosure defense law firms in the metropolitan New York area. Feel free to call us for a free consultation at 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 or 1-800-344-6431. We are available 7 days a week.

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

We represent individuals throughout the New York Metropolitan area with divorce and child custody, personal injury, car accident, wrongful death, estate administration, nursing home and medicaid issues

The information you obtain at this website is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your particular legal issue. This is attorney advertising.

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