Foreclosure Lawyers

New Home Sales

The good news is that the sale of new homes in April of 2011 was up. The bad news is, if new home sales continue at their current pace for the rest of 2011, it will be the worst year for new home sales since records started to be kept more than fifty years ago!

There were 303,000 new home sales in the United States in April of 2011. This was an increase of 3,000 more sales from the 300,000 sales that took place in March of 2011. Overall, economists forecast that there will be 700,000 fewer home sales in the United States this year than will be necessary for the real estate industry to recover.

Demotivated Purchasers

Buyers are not buying new homes. They feel they are too expensive. The high foreclosure rate and the glut of homes already on the market make it more reasonable for a purchaser to buy an existing home instead of a new home. 2011 looks to be the fifth year in a row that showed a decline in new home sales.

The medium price for a new home today is $214,000. This is the same price that it would have cost you to buy that home in 2004. New homes sales in the United States account for approximately a quarter of the real estate market. However, new homes sales have a much greater impact on the overall economy. Every time a new home is built it creates three new jobs. New homes have an impact of more than $90,000 on the local tax rates in their community. When purchasers buy a new home, they also generally buy other items related to their home, such as furniture and appliances.

Home Builders in Trouble

Home contractors have been waiting for years for the economy to improve. They are afraid to build spec houses in a negative economic environment. They don’t want to be stuck with them, as their value continues to erode. Unfortunately, the 1.2 million foreclosures that are anticipated to take place in 2012 will further glut the real estate market and have a continuing long term negative impact on the home building industry in the United States!

Foreclosure

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 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.

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.

Making Timely Mortgage Payments

Making Timely Mortgage PaymentsMany homeowners are making late payments on their mortgages. The percentage of mortgage holders who make late mortgage payments is high compared to the normal delinquency rate on mortgages.Las Vegas and Nevada are the states with the two highest mortgage delinquency rates in the country. The delinquency rate in Florida is 14.3%, and the delinquency rate in Nevada is 15.9%. Although the delinquency rate concerning homeowners making timely payments on mortgages has gone down from last year, it is still very high in these two states. Arizona was the state with the next highest mortgage delinquency rate. Its delinquency rate is 9.14%. The lowest delinquency rates in the country are in North Dakota and South Dakota, with rates of 1.54% and 2.53, respectively.

Pre-Recession Delinquency Rates

The normal pre-recession delinquency rate in the United States is 2.5%. One of the reasons why delinquency rates and mortgages are so high is because the foreclosure process in most states takes a long time. There are currently almost four million homeowners that are behind in paying their mortgages in the United States. As more and more homes go into foreclosure, the time it takes for the foreclosures to work their way through the courts, to get the home on the market to be sold, continues to grow. New York State has a slow foreclosure system. Foreclosures in some counties in New York can take up to two years before the home is sold.

Unemployment and Mortgage Delinquency Rates

There is a direct correlation between unemployment rates in the United States and the number of homeowners who are behind on their mortgages. The value of homes continues to fall in the United States. This acts as a negative factor in motivating homeowners with no equity in their property to continue to make their mortgage payments.

For the housing crisis to be stabilized, more Americans need to be employed so they will have sufficient funds to make the payments on their mortgages.

Foreclosure

If your home is in foreclosure, we can help you! For more than two decades the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo has been one of the premier law firms in the Metropolitan New York area helping homeowners keep their homes. We provide foreclosure defense legal services. We litigate defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, bad faith by financial institutions and all types of real estate related proceedings. We assist our clients with mortgage modifications and we deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our clients’ needs. We attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients and we try to motivate the lenders to enter into mortgage modifications, which reduce our clients’ mortgage payments.

Bankruptcy and Foreclosure

We explain foreclosure related bankruptcy proceedings to our clients. If the situation calls for it, we file either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcies for our clients. These bankruptcies stop foreclosures and, in some situations, eliminate second mortgages. We also assist our clients in re-establishing credit after they file bankruptcy. Feel free to call us for a free consultation. Thank you for visiting this 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.

Slowdown in Foreclosures on Long Island

In April of 2011, there were 540 foreclosure filings in Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long IslanSlowdown In Foreclosures On Long Islandd. This represented the lowest number of foreclosure lawsuits initiated during a month since December of 2008. It represented a drop of 21.5% from the level of foreclosure activity in March of 2011.

Foreclosures Moving Slowly Through the Courts

The courts in the State of New York have been inundated with foreclosure filings for the past few years. Governor Andrew Cuomo has recently stripped the budget of the court system of 174 million dollars. This has caused massive layoffs and cutbacks within the court system. At a time when there are huge back logs in foreclosure activities, there are less and less resources within the court system to deal with these foreclosures. It is estimated that it could take as long as three years to complete the foreclosure process for foreclosures initiated in the second half of 2011.

Lenders Reluctant to Foreclosure

Lenders have stated that it is an expensive procedure to litigate a long foreclosure matter. In the end, they can end up with a property that needs to be repaired and maintained. It can also take the lender a substantial period of time to sell the property.

Delays take place in the foreclosure process because lenders are allowing more time during the period between delinquency and foreclosure. They are waiting to see if loan modifications go through. They are waiting for short sales. There are judicial delays caused by the courts inability to process the huge amount of cases that are in foreclosure.

Do Delays Help or Hurt The Real Estate Market

The question is do delays help or hurt the market place. There is a considerable body of thought that now holds that the faster we move the foreclosures through the legal system, the faster we can eliminate the pain. They compare this to pulling off a band-aid one hair at a time or ripping the band-aid off all at once. Unfortunately, ripping the band-aid off all at once destroys many peoples’ lives and forces them out of their homes with no place else to go!

Aggressive Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

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 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. Feel free to come back to our foreclosure blog on a regular basis to read about real estate and foreclosure related issues.

Federal Program Helps Homeowners with Utility Expenses

Federal Program Helps Homeowners

There is a new pilot federal program which is designed to assist homeowners obtain low interest loans to make energy efficient improvements to their homes. This will be especially helpful for New York City and Long Island homeowners who pay some of the highest energy expense bills for utilities in the country.

The Federal Loan Program is designed to loan money to homeowners to make their home more efficient, which in the long run will reduce the United States overall dependency on costly foreign oil.

Renovations

The loans under this new program can be used for new heating systems, installing energy efficient windows and adding insulation to walls and attics by homeowners. Homeowners who qualify for this program can borrow up to $25,000 at interest rates between 5-7%. There are 18 institutions throughout the United States who will process these home loans. It is anticipated that more than 30,000 loans will be made in the next three to four years under this program.

New York Program

In addition to this federal program, there is a program called the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Program. This offers low interest loans of up to $13,000 for renovations by homeowners.

Energy independence is worthwhile goal. Every time I pull up to the gas pumps, I think about how much better America would be if we had alternate means of heating our homes and powering our cars.

Long Island Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

We provide foreclosure defense legal services for our clients. We help them with mortgage modifications. We deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our clients’ needs. We litigate defective mortgages, predatory lending, defective foreclosure lawsuits and other real estate related problems. We make court appearances at foreclosure court conferences for our clients. We file foreclosure related bankruptcies, either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients. We discuss with our clients re-establishing their credit and which is the best route to stop their pending foreclosure proceedings from moving forward.

At the time of our initial consultation, we discuss all foreclose defense options with our clients. We hope we see you visiting our foreclosure blog again. Call for a free consultation.

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 Crisis Continues

Foreclosure Crisis ContinuesForeclosure rates are going down. April of 2011 was the seventh month in a row that the number of homes that banks and other financial institutions initiated foreclosures against declined. There were 34% less foreclosure proceedings brought in April of 2011 than in April of 2010. Although this seems like good news, it is not! Rick Sharga of Reality Trek recently stated that, even with the decline in the foreclosure rates, there were still 225,000 foreclosures initiated during the month of April. There are more than 3.7 million families that are more than 90 days behind on their mortgage payments. In the past, almost all of these homes would have been put into foreclosure. However, the large majority of these homes are still not in foreclosure. Banks are under a microscope by regulatory agencies concerning their foreclosure procedures. They are now making sure that they “dot their i’s” and “cross their t’s” on all new foreclosure proceedings they initiate.

Saturated Real Estate Markets

The current level of foreclosures have saturated most of the real estate markets in the United States. The banks are slowing down their foreclosure procedures to avoid having a further negative impact on the homes that are already on the market waiting to be sold.

Mortgage Modification

Due to the concern by many large financial institutions about further flooding of the real estate market, they have liberalized some of their programs on mortgage modifications. In March of this year, more than 75,000 mortgage modifications were granted by financial institutions. This represented a 26% increase in the number of new mortgage modifications approved by banks since February of 2011.

Declining Home Prices

As home prices continue to decline, more and more homes become under water (worth less then the amount of their mortgages). This unfortunately creates an incentive for mortgage holders to default on their loans and walk away from their homes. It is estimated that approximately 30% of all single family homes in the United States are currently under water. If banks put more homes into foreclosure, the number of homes that are worth less than the amount of the mortgages on them will increase and continue to accelerate the downward spiral in home values. Some experts are predicting that home values will decrease in 2011 by 7% to 9%.

Conclusion: The Housing Crisis is Far From Over

It is estimated that the market for single family homes will not return to a normal housing market until 2014!

Foreclosure Defense

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo is considered by many to be the premier foreclosure defense law firm in the Metropolitan New York area. We represent our clients concerning mortgage modifications and we deal with mortgage modification programs that fail. We litigate all aspects of foreclosure defense including, but not limited to, defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and other real estate related defenses. We attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients. At the time of the initial consultation, we provide our clients with all foreclosure options, which also includes discussion of filing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies, which stop foreclosures upon the filing. Feel free to call for a free consultation. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Bad Neighbors Hurt the Value of Your Home

Bad Neighbors Hurt The Value Of Your HomeIf your neighbor is a slob, a sex offender or he maintains his property poorly, it can have a negative impact on the value of your home. Bad neighbors are individuals who lack the common courtesy, consideration and social values that are considered normal by the rest of the community. Business or governmental entities can also fall under the category of bad neighbors.

Neighbors Whose Homes are Foreclosed Upon

The largest single negative factor that drives down the value of single family homes is the foreclosure of other homes on the street. A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has concluded that if neighbors homes are foreclosed on, it can bring the value of any home in the area down by as much as 27%. Federal Reserve Governor Joseph Tracy recently stated, “the growing inventory of the defaulted mortgages continues to weigh down any recovery in the housing market… problems in the housing market can impact on economic growth.”

Although homeowners don’t intentionally allow their homes to go into foreclosure, the fact that their homes are being taken back by the bank impacts on everyone in their locality. It is unfortunate that a family’s single largest investment can be negatively effected by other families in their area.

Conclusion

The foreclosure crisis hurts everyone in a community. It has a general impact on the home values of all homeowners in the surrounding area. It slows down economic growth, destroys equity and for the unfortunate families whose homes are foreclosed upon, it causes them to end up without a place to live.

Foreclosure Help

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo can help you with foreclosure issues. We can prepare mortgage modification applications and assist you with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet your needs. We litigate defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and all other foreclosure and real estate related issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients. We draft and file foreclosure related bankruptcies. These bankruptcies can either be a Chapter 13 bankruptcy or Chapter 7 bankruptcy. At the end of the bankruptcies we assist our clients in re-establishing credit.

Our job is to stop foreclosures in their tracks. We have dozen of cases throughout the Metropolitan New York area pending and numerous satisfied clients. If you call us for a free consultation, we will meet with you at no charge and discuss your foreclosure options. Feel free to call us. We can help you! We look forward to seeing you again on 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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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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