A Thousand Days to Foreclose a Home

There is an old expression that courts have two speeds, slow and backwards. In the State of New York, that is certainly true if you’re involved in foreclosureThousand Days to Foreclose a Home proceedings. It is estimated that it takes approximately a thousand days to bring a case from start to finish in both Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York. The delays in foreclosure proceedings are caused by the courts being overwhelmed by the unprecedented number of homes going into foreclosure. There are more than twenty thousand homes tied up in foreclosure proceedings in Nassau and Suffolk counties at the present time. The high level of foreclosures continues to depress the real estate markets on Long Island.

Foreclosure Court Conferences

New York State has a statute that requires a court conference on all new foreclosure proceedings. At the court conference, the Judges and attorneys look into possibility of avoiding foreclosure. Mortgage modifications and other solutions to the foreclosure proceedings pending before the courts are discussed with the homeowners’ attorneys and the attorneys for the financial institutions. These foreclosure court conferences often result in negotiations leading towards mortgage modifications and/or other solutions to these problems.

Cases in New York are subject to a significant amount of scrutiny by the courts. The purpose of this scrutiny is to see to it that innocent homeowners are not improperly removed from their homes.

Saving Your Home, Foreclosure Defense Attorneys

We can save your home from foreclosure. We attend foreclosure court conferences on your behalf. We can submit an answer to your foreclosure proceeding that can include defenses involving defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and other real estate related defenses. We are knowledgeable about federal laws and foreclosure. We will provide you at the time of the initial consultation with all of your foreclosure options.

These options will include foreclosure related bankruptcies. The filing of either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy will stop foreclosures from moving forward. Filing a bankruptcy will also stop debt collectors and collection lawyers that may be harassing you. There are many bankruptcy myths that are untrue. Bankruptcy will not permanently destroy your credit. We will be able to help you re-establish credit after filing a bankruptcy.

Call us for a free consultation. We will discuss all foreclosure defenses and bankruptcy options with you at your initial free consultation. We appreciate your visiting our foreclosure blog.

Foreclosed Homes Being Filled by Criminals

Foreclosed Homes Being Filled by CriminalsJamaica, New York, has had a rash of foreclosed homes. Homes that are being foreclosed upon and have become vacant are now being filled with drug dealers, gang members and other criminals. These homes are “becoming a magnet for criminal activity.” This is according to Deputy Inspector Miltiadis Marmara, the Commanding Officer of the precinct in South Jamaica. Community members in Jamaica are concerned about criminals and vagrants moving into these empty homes. They have huge parties. They stand outside the homes smoking weed and using other drugs. When the police are called, they run away. After the police leave, they return.
There are more than 75 homes in the Jamaica area that are suffering from these types of problems.Jamaica, New York, is a middle class community. Hard working, blue collar workers have used their life savings to buy homes. In their free time, they fix them up.

Neighborhoods Affected By Foreclosure Crisis

The foreclosure crisis is destroying good neighborhoods in Jamaica. Hard working, middle class families are being forced to live next to empty homes that squatters have moved into. The squatters make noise and partake in a lot of drug abuse and criminal activity. This is another problem caused by the foreclosure crisis.

Who Is Stopping Foreclosures in New York

The foreclosure defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo can stop foreclosure proceedings in their tracks. We file written Answers with the court and opposing counsel on behalf of our clients. We attend foreclosure court conferences wherein we try to convince judges to put pressure on the financial institutions to give our clients mortgage modifications. We litigate issues concerning defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and all types of other real estate related matters. Our office has substantial knowledge 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.

Call us for a free consultation at 1-800–344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.

Sales of Summer Homes Hit New Lows

Sales of Summer Homes Hit New LowsThe depressed real estate market in the United States reached a new low in July, 2011. Home sales fell 3.5% during that month. This brought home sales to the lowest point in the last 13 years. Home prices keep falling. This makes it harder and harder for individuals to sell their homes. The reduction in home values has been a driving force in the economic problems in the United States. Consumers who feel the value of their home is going down are disinclined to spend money on everyday purchases. There is a negative effect on the economy in the United States when consumers believe their homes are losing value.

Difficulties In Purchasing New Homes

Banks now require larger down payments before a new homeowner can purchase a home. In addition, lending rules have become very stringent. New home buyers are also concerned that the home they purchase will be worth less money in the future. The motto of many perspective home buyers is: why buy now if things will only get less expensive in the future? Instead, they sit and wait and watch the real estate market continue to decline. The wait and see approach by new home purchasers is causing the inventory of homes on the market to increase. As the inventory of new homes for sale on the real estate market increases, it creates a downward pressure on the sales price of these homes.

Appraisals Killing Home Sales

When a purchaser decides to buy a home, they must apply to the bank for a mortgage. The bank thereafter sends their appraiser out to appraise the home. In recent months, these appraisals are coming back with information indicating the homes are worth less than the prospective purchaser is in contract to pay for it. This often kills the real estate deal.

Home Prices Falling by More Than 5% in 2011

Economists have estimated that home prices will decline between now and the end of the year by an additional 5%. This is unfortunate. The ownership of a single family home was the American dream. The dream seems to be turning into a nightmare!

Call us for a free consultation, we will discuss whether filing bankruptcy may be in your interest and all other foreclosure related options. Our phones are monitored 24/7. Call us at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.

New York Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

The New York City and Long Island foreclosure defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo can help you if you have a foreclosure problem. 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.

New York Foreclosure Law Firm Fined Two Million Dollars

New York Foreclosure Law FirmSteven J. Baum, P.C. of Amhearst, New York, has been fined two million dollars for inappropriate foreclosure legal practices. Steven J. Baum, P.C. is the largest foreclosure law firm in the state of New York. Steven J. Baum, P.C. has agreed, in addition to paying the two million dollar fine, to re-vamp its practices with regard to the handling of pleadings, affidavits and mortgage assignments in New York State and Federal Courts.The Law Firm has agreed to implement a variety of internal controls regarding its processing and handling of foreclosure proceedings. They have agreed to review original promissory notes received from their clients or custodians of the notes, prior to filing new foreclosure lawsuits. These actions will bring the firm in compliance with the order issued by Chief Judge Jonathan Lipman, regarding attorneys representing lending institutions.

Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings

US Attorney Preet Bharara, from the Southern District of New York, stated, with regard to settlements in mortgage foreclosure proceedings, that there are “no excuses for sloppy practices that could lead to someone mistakenly losing their home.” She stated further that “homeowners facing foreclosure cannot afford to have faulty paperwork or inadequate evidence submitted and today’s agreement will help minimize that risk.”

Baum Law Firm Released from Civil Liability

The Baum Law Firm, upon payment of the two million dollar fine and the imposition of new internal procedures will be released from potential civil liability under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989. The Baum Law Firm

“acknowledges that it occasionally made inadvertent errors in its legal filings in state and federal Courts, which it attributes to human error in light of the high volume of mortgages and foreclosures it handled throughout the state of New York in the wake of the national subprime mortgage crisis.”It should be noted that this is a settlement. It is not a finding of wrongdoing by the Baum Foreclosure Law Firm. The Baum Law Firm has also agreed to have experienced attorneys supervising all aspects of the preparation of documents and reviewing of documents before they are filed with the courts. In addition, they are implementing a one to two-year training program for their attorneys to bring them in compliance with the rules regarding bringing foreclosure proceedings in the state of New York.

Hopefully, this law firm will live up to its responsibilities in dealing with foreclosure proceedings. Taking from a family, its home and putting them on the street is a sad end to the American dream. These proceedings should be handled in a manner that protects the homeowner’s rights and sees to it that homes aren’t wrongly foreclosed upon.

Foreclosure Defense Attorneys

We can fight your foreclosure. We litigate predatory lending issues, defective foreclosure lawsuits, and defective mortgages. We attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients. We draft mortgage modifications and deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our clients needs.

We also litigate foreclosure related bankruptcies, whether they’re a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. We also assist our clients in re-establishing credit after filing a bankruptcy. We can help stop your foreclosure from moving forward! Call us and we will provide you with a free consultation. We will discuss all of your foreclosure options.

Why Banks Foreclose

Why Banks ForecloseOur Law Office deals with families whose homes are being foreclosed upon each and every week. We are continually asked by our clients why financial institutions simply don’t reduce the amount of the loan to coincide with the equity in their home, instead of foreclosing on their homes and selling it at auction for less than half of its real value. Unfortunately, it is extremely rare for a bank or other financial institution to reduce the principal in the mortgage to bring it back into conformity with the actual value of the house. Banks do not usually change their practices. Dropping principal balances to the amount of the actual indebtedness on the mortgage would be a departure from usual bank procedures. Banks simply do not wish to explain why the value of their mortgage portfolio on their financial statements are incorrect.

Banks Are In the Business of Making Money

Lenders don’t wish to write down the balance of defaulting loans because they do not see any upside for them in engaging in this practice. Banks are interested in making as much money as possible. Writing down loans does not accomplish this.

Writing Down Loans Will Not Avoid Default By Homeowners

Lenders do not believe that writing down mortgage loans will reduce the likelihood homeowners will default. Banks studies have shown individuals whose homes are underwater (there is a negative equity in the homes) will most likely be unable to pay their mortgages, even if the mortgage is renegotiated to the value of their home.

Mortgage Departments at Banks Are Understaffed and Undertrained

Most financial institutions want to deal with mortgages that are current and on which they are making money on. They look at servicing mortgages that are in default as a financial burden. This causes banks to be chincy on the amount of workers they hire to handle these loans and to skimp on the training of these employees. Mortgages servicing companies tend to be short-staffed and don’t have a lot of motivation to hire more employees on money losing loans.

Mortgage Problems and Solutions

Hopefully you are up to date on your mortgage, but should you be having financial problems and/or your mortgage falls behind, we may be able to help you obtain a mortgage modification. Should a mortgage modification not be available for you, we can represent you in a foreclosure proceeding and keep you in your home! Our foreclosure defense lawyers attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients. We meet with our clients and discuss foreclosure options, such as foreclosure related bankruptcy filings. We litigate, in New York State Courts, foreclosure defenses such as defective mortgages, violations of truth in lending laws, predatory lending and defective foreclosure lawsuits. We also can assist you in other real estate related problems.

Should bankruptcy filing be the appropriate way to deal with your foreclosure problem, we can file either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy for you. Upon meeting with us, we’ll discuss the types of bankruptcies that are available to you and why filing bankruptcy may help you. Filing a bankruptcy stops foreclosures from moving forward and can stop all debt collection activity. Call us for a free consultation. We appreciate your visiting our foreclosure blog.

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.

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.

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.

Justice Department and Attorney General Investigations

The Justice Department and the Attorney Generals in all 50 states are investigating fraud and improprieties of banks, mortgage companies and financial institutions related to foreclosure proceedings.There are approximately 33 million mortgages in the United States that could possibly be subject to litigation as to who is the appropriate owner of the mortgages, who made the transfers from one institution to another of these mortgages and who has personal knowledge of the information and facts maintained in these mortgages.

There are concerns that borrowers don’t know who they should be making their mortgage payments to.  The financial institutions are nervous that judges will stop foreclosures proceedings even where the borrowers aren’t making payments.  There are already cases where more than one bank has tried to foreclose on the same property.

Disruptions in the Housing Market

The foreclosure and mortgage crisis in the United States are causing significant disruptions in the housing market.  For the economy in the United States to turn around, for employers to start generating jobs for the unemployed and for the banking industry to stabilize, the foreclosure and mortgage crisis must be dealt with expeditiously.

Foreclosure Defense Attorneys

The foreclosure defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo have been representing homeowners in foreclosure proceedings for more than 45 years.  Our office takes an aggressive stand in these proceedings.  We often counter-sue the financial institutions because of their failure to fulfill all of their responsibilities to comply with various statutes and regulations.  Our office attends foreclosure conferences in court on behalf of our clients.  We assist our clients in mortgage modifications.  We discuss with our clients the problems concerning mortgage modification programs.  We actively pursue foreclosure defenses for our clients.  We also discuss with our clients defective foreclosure lawsuits and issues concerning predatory lending.

If your house is being foreclosed, we are the foreclosure defense attorneys for you.  Call us at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-350-2802.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyer Serving Long Island, Queens, NY

During these turbulent economic times, many families find that they are falling behind on their mortgages. When foreclosure is threatened, it is often thought that there is nothing that can be done to stop the process from moving forward. This is incorrect! We can stop foreclosures. We can tie foreclosures up in court for long periods of time. We sometimes are successful in convincing banks to accept loan modifications and withdraw foreclosure proceedings.

Our New York and Long Island Foreclosure Defense Lawyers have been fighting foreclosure proceedings for three decades. There are several alternatives to dealing with foreclosures. It is important that you contact an attorney at the earliest possible stage when you fall behind in your mortgage to plan what type of measures you will take to deal with a potential foreclosure.

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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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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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