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Leo Nordine, the Foreclosure King

May 27, 2011 by

Leo Nordine, The Foreclosure KingLeo Nordine of California has been referred to “the king of foreclosures.” Leo was a real estate agent in California. He has allegedly closed more than 4,000 real estate transactions. It is claimed that he is involved in over 300 real estate transactions a year. All of these transactions involve foreclosures!

Recent Interview of Leo Nordine

In a recent interview, foreclosure king Leo Nordine was asked about when the real estate market will bottom out. In his response, he stated that he felt the market had already hit a soft bottom. He talked about the slowdown by the Federal Government of the real estate foreclosure process. He claimed the government was slowing down the process to avoid putting the country into a depression.

He was asked if it was a good time for individuals to buy homes. He suggested that, instead of buying a home, individuals should save up their cash for a rainy day. He stated that he felt real estate prices will stay flat for approximately ten years. He suggested only buying a house if you plan on living in it and enjoying it. He suggested it would not be a good investment. He felt that for the real estate market to recover, the economy as a whole must first recovery.

Nation of Renters

Leo suggested that in the future a greater portion of the population of the United States will be renters, and not owners, of real estate. He claimed that the government had encouraged the American dream of the ownership of a single family home. He suggested that families should dream of renting in the future.

How To Sell a House Today

When Leo was questioned as to how to sell a home in the current real estate market, he suggested to make it as empty as possible. The house should be clean, bright and, most importantly, priced realistically! He stated that if the house isn’t priced to sell, no one will buy it!

New York Foreclosure Lawyer

If your home is in foreclosure in the Metropolitan New York area, we can help you. Our law office has been providing foreclosure defense for our clients for more than 45 years. We litigate defective mortgages, predatory lending and defective foreclosure lawsuits. We make court appearances for our clients and attend foreclosure court conferences. We assist our clients with mortgage modifications and mortgage modification programs that fail to meet consumers needs.

We discuss foreclosure related bankruptcy filings. This filing can either be a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Upon filing either of these bankruptcies, the Federal Bankruptcy Court issues an automatic stay that stops foreclosure proceedings in their tracks.

Call us for a free consultation. We will discuss all of your foreclosure options. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Home Ownership Now at 1998 Rates

May 24, 2011 by

Home Ownership Now At 1998 RatesThe percentage of Americans who own their own home has been slipping for many years. The percentage of Americans who live in their own home is now receded back to the rates that existed in 1998, according to recent census data. In the first quarter of 2011, home ownership in the United States slipped to 66.4%. This is on top of a reduction in the number of families who own homes in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 66.5%.

2005 Was The Apex of Home Ownership In the United States

In 2005, 69.1% of Americans owned their own home. The rate of home ownership in the United States has been steadily declining since 2005.

The American Dream

Owning a single family home has been the American dream during the 20th century. The Bush Administration and the Clinton Administration had policies to foster home ownership. Unfortunately, these policies were too generous and the American public manipulated these programs to create a real estate bubble in the United States. For the past three years, this real estate bubble has had a negative effect on the economy in the United States. The trend is starting to change in 2011 and hopefully in 2012, an election year, America will come out of it’s recession and real estate values will increase.

Foreclosure Defense Lawyer

We help clients whose homes are in foreclosure. We assist our clients with mortgage modification applications, as well as dealing with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our clients needs. We have extensive experience in litigating all aspects of foreclosure proceedings, including, but not limited to, defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, bad faith issues and foreclosure related real estate proceedings.

We attend foreclosure court conferences for our clients. We also provide clients with a list of foreclosure options. These options include foreclosure related bankruptcies such as Chapter 13 bankruptcy and Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Both of these bankruptcies immediately stop foreclosures from moving forward. If we file bankruptcy for our clients, we also can help them in re-establishing their credit at the end of the bankruptcy. Feel free to call us for a free consultation. We appreciate you spending time on our foreclosure blog.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Proposed Law Protects Homeowners Who Have Mortgages

May 23, 2011 by

Homeowners Who Have MortgagesThere is currently a bill in the New York State Legislature to protect homeowner. The statute states that a bank or other financial institution cannot commence a foreclosure proceeding unless they have an original mortgage document. This means that a prerequisite for the financial institution to commence a foreclosure proceeding will be that it must allege and prove ownership of the note and the mortgage. These documents also must be filed by the bank, with the Summons and Complaint, when the foreclosure action is initiated.

Illegal Foreclosure Proceedings

There has been a series of cases in the past few years where banks who are not the mortgage holders have illegally foreclosed on homes and sold them at auction. This new law will codify the rulings of court cases that have held that institutions must have standing to initiate mortgage foreclosure proceedings.

When a homeowner receives the Summons and Complaint in foreclosure, they are usually frightened. Since homeowners are not lawyers and are generally not familiar with this area of the law, they do not know what their rights are. If a homeowner is sued by a bank that doesn’t own his or her mortgage, they have a right to claim that the bank doesn’t have standing to sue them. Unfortunately, if the homeowner doesn’t submit a written answer alleging lack of standing, this defense to the lawsuit is waived.

This new statute helps homeowners by making the homeowner’s defense that the bank has lack of standing to bring the foreclosure lawsuit non-waivable. This gives the homeowner a complete defense to the lawsuit. It also allows counsel for the homeowner to use this defense as a tactic in defending the foreclosure lawsuit.

Stopping Foreclosure

Foreclosures can be stopped in a number of ways. The filing of an Answer on behalf of the homeowner stops the foreclosure case from going forward. There are specific defenses that can be alleged in the answers, such as predatory lending, the mortgage was defective, the foreclosure lawsuit is defective, and other real estate related defenses. Another foreclosure defense option is to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The filing of either of these bankruptcies gives the homeowner an automatic stay that immediately stops the foreclosure lawsuit from going forward.

Many homeowners are under the false belief that filing for a mortgage modification stops a foreclosure from going forward. This is incorrect! The mortgage modification process has nothing to do with the litigation in the courts of foreclosures. Most mortgage modification programs fail to provide the homeowners with the relief they are seeking. The large majority of homeowners are denied mortgage modifications! Feel free to call us for a free consultation regarding foreclosure defense and bankruptcy matters. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Long Island’s Economic Problems

May 18, 2011 by

In 2010, Long Island’s economy grew slower then virtually all other areas in the state of New York. Buying power decreased in the year 2010.

Economic Growth In New York State is Uneven

The economic recovery is slowly affecting New York. Unfortunately, Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island have the slowest rate of economic recovery of any region in New York.

Controller Thomas DiNapoli recently stated, “our economic recovery is headed in the right direction, but the road out of the recession is still winding and potentially periless.” The Gross Metropolitan Product on Long Island shrank 4.5% last year. This is the largest level of shrinkage in New York state. The second largest level of shrinkage took place in New York City, which was a 4.4% drop.

Wall Street Affects Long Island

The economic impact of the financial difficulties on Wall Street had a greater impact in Nassau and Suffolk Counties than other areas of the state. Erick Sumberg, an aid to New York State Controller Thomas DeNapoli, stated, “the economic recovery of many communities on Long Island is heavily dependent on the strength of Wall Street.”

Long Island Real Estate

For there to be a complete economic recovery on Long Island, there must be an upward trend in the value of real estate. The ownership of a single family home is the most significant asset for most families. When a family’s largest asset is under water (worth less the amount of the mortgage), it has a chilling effect on the prosperity of the region. Hopefully, as we move into the summer of 2011, the value of homes on Long Island will start to increase!

Long Island's Economic ProblemsForeclosure Defense

My law office has been handling foreclosure defense for Long Islanders and families within the Metropolitan New York area for more than 45 years. We litigate issues involving defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending and real estate related issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients and we seek to put pressure for the foreclosing banks to enter into mortgage modifications with our clients.

We represent our clients in filing Chapter 7 bankruptcies and Chapter 13 bankruptcies with regard to stopping their homes from being sold in foreclosure. We meet with our clients during the initial consultation and discuss the foreclosure options available, whether they need mortgage modifications, litigating the foreclosure lawsuits and foreclosure related bankruptcy proceedings. Feel free to contact us for a free consultation. Thank you for visiting my foreclosure blog.

Filed Under: Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Thinking of Walking Away From Your Foreclosed Home? It May Not be a Good Idea!

May 16, 2011 by

Thinking Of Walking Away From Your Foreclosed HomeOne of the options facing families whose homes are in foreclosure is to simply pack up and leave. This is what Willard and Holly Brown did with regard to their foreclosed home in Clarkston, Washington. However, things did not work out well for them. It cost them $116,000!

Home Secured Small Business Administration Loan

Willard and Holly Brown took out a $200,000 Small Business Administration loan. The loan was processed by Wells Fargo Bank and it was secured by a mortgage on their home.

Homestead Exemptions

Most states have homestead exemptions with regard to a homeowner’s principal place of residence. However, it usually only applies to a family’s principal place of residence. When the Browns moved away from their home, they cut off the utility services. They advised the water company to “permanently shut off the water to the home.” They rented an apartment in Florida. The apartment had a one year lease on it. They also changed their car registrations to Florida and obtained Florida driver’s licenses.

Surplus Funds from the Sale of Their Home

At the foreclosure sale of the Brown’s home, there was $116,377 received in excess of the amount of the mortgage. Under the homestead exemption in the state of Washington, these funds would have gone to the Browns.

Waiver of Homestead Exemption

Wells Fargo Bank claimed that the Browns abandoned their home and therefore forfeited their homestead exemption. The Browns litigated this issue. The Court of Appeals in Washington State held that a homeowner is presumed to have abandoned his or her homestead when they have vacated the property for a period of six months or longer. The Browns claimed they were on an extended vacation in Florida and that Wells Fargo, their bank, was wrong in claiming they had abandoned their home. Unfortunately for the Browns, the Court of Appeals didn’t buy their argument. The Browns lost $116,377. The moral of this story is, before abandoning your home, you should look into your rights under your state’s homestead exemption.

New York Foreclosure Lawyer

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo represents individuals throughout the Metropolitan New York area concerning foreclosure defense issues. We help our clients obtain mortgage modifications and we deal with mortgage modification programs that fail to meet our clients needs. We also litigate defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending issues and foreclosure related bankruptcy issues. We meet with our clients at the time of the initial consultation and advise them all of their foreclosure options. These options include litigating the foreclosure and pressuring the banks to enter into a mortgage modification, as well as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. Call us for a free consultation. Thank you for visiting our foreclosure blog.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Foreclosed Homes Zap the Strength Out of Our Economy

May 6, 2011 by

Banks and other financial institutions are in the loan business. They make loans based on the understanding that they will be repaid both the principal and interest. This is how they make a profit.

Foreclosures

Banks usually wait until a mortgage borrower is more than three months behind before initiating foreclosure proceedings. It is generally more profitable for a bank to resolve non-payment issue without resorting to foreclosure on the home. Lenders are in the money business, not the real estate business. They want to make loans and receive interest and principal payments on those loans. They don’t want to own real estate. When a bank takes possession of a home in foreclosure, their money is tied up in the foreclosed home.

Neglected Homes

Some of the homes taken back by financial institutions need major repairs and upgrades. Some of these homes have been empty for a considerable period of time and have been vandalized or neglected by the prior owners. Banks do not want to get involved in the repairing of homes they’ve taken ownership of in foreclosures.

Foreclosures in Depressed Market Prices

The recent increase is in the amount of foreclosure proceedings brought by financial institutions have further depressed the price of homes.

Price Reductions In Foreclosures

In neighborhoods with high foreclosure rates, the prices of all the homes in these neighborhoods are negatively affected. The sale of homes at bargain prices has a negative effect on the construction industry. Jobs are lost in the process. Suppliers of wood, steel and aluminum to the construction industry are losing jobs because of reduction in their business.

Foreclosure Help

We assist our clients in all aspects of foreclosure defense. We meet with our clients and provide our clients with foreclosure options. These options involve mortgage modifications, litigating defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, bad faith and other real estate related issues.

We discuss foreclosure related bankruptcy filings. These can be either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcies. The filing of these bankruptcies immediately stops the foreclosure from moving forward. We also assist our clients in re-establishing credit and, in some circumstances, we can eliminate second mortgages by filing bankruptcies. Call us for a free consultation. Thank you for reading my foreclosure blog.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

SWAT Team Removes Squatters From Foreclosed Home

May 4, 2011 by

In Naples, Florida, a group of squatters moved into a foreclosed home that was empty. The Naples Police Department called in a SWAT team in March of 2011. The SWAT team gassed the foreclosed home to try to force the squatters out. Three adults and two children were removed from the home. The two children, ages 2 and 3, were taken by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

A neighbor who was interviewed by NBC news said, “it makes me so sad, it gives me chills. This is a quiet neighborhood. This is the only house we have here that’s in foreclosure.”

Foreclosed Empty Homes Can Cause Problems

If there are homes in your neighborhood that have been foreclosed upon and are currently empty, these homes can become the target for squatters to move into. There are several things neighbors can do to prevent incidents of squatters in empty foreclosed homes in your neighborhood.

Having a Home Look Like It Is Occupied

Simply parking your car in front of the home can have an impact on potential squatters to stay away. Helping out by cutting the grass gives the home a lived-in look.

Foreclosure Lawyers

Our law firm helps families whose homes are in foreclosure. We provide foreclosure defense litigation services including, but not limited to, preparing mortgage modifications, litigating defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits and predatory lending issues. We attend foreclosure court conferences on behalf of our clients and we provide information concerning all foreclosure options to our clients. We provide foreclosure related bankruptcy legal services, including filing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. The filing of these bankruptcies has the immediate effect of stopping foreclosure. In some instances, we can eliminate second mortgages and help our clients re-establish credit. Thank you for reading my foreclosure blog.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mortgage Company Attorney Sanctioned Over False Statements

April 27, 2011 by

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.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Bank Attorney is Punished for Failing to Appear

April 26, 2011 by

On November 18, 2010, Justice Pagones, sitting in the Supreme Court located in Dutchess County, rendered a decision in the matter of BAC Home Loans Servicing vs. Westervelt. In this case, the bank and the homeowner were directed to appear at a settlement conference. Settlement conferences are required under New York State law in all foreclosure proceedings. The bank’s attorney failed to appear at the settlement conference. At that time, the court could have dismissed the bank’s foreclosure proceeding. In this case, the court declined to impose this remedy.

Justice Pagones, however, found that the bank attorney’s explanation for his failure to appear at the court settlement conference was inadequate. The court thereafter scheduled a hearing to determine what sanctions would be taken against the bank’s attorneys.

Bad Faith

Justice Pagones reached a conclusion that the attorneys for the bank had acted in bad faith in negotiating a settlement with the defendant. The defendant had made representation that the bank had, without explanation, refused to re-examine her income with regard to the mortgage modification she submitted. The court pointed out that the financial institution under the HAMP directives had an obligation to review her income.

Bank Barred From Collecting Arrears and Interest

The court scheduled another court conference date. In the interim, the court ordered the bank stop collecting arrears from the date the homeowner received the HAMP denial. The court also barred the financial institution from collecting any interest that might accrue from this date. The court also waived unpaid late fees and ordered the bank to waive attorney’s fees relating to this case.

Foreclosure Court Conferences

Foreclosure court conferences exist because the State Legislature passed a law in 2010 ordering the financial institution to attend foreclosure court conferences for the purpose of finding alternatives to the foreclosure proceedings. Our law office regularly attends foreclosure conferences on behalf of our clients. We utilize these conferences to try to motivate the attorneys for the financial institutions to work with our clients towards approving mortgage modifications that take the cases out of foreclosure.

Foreclosure Lawyers

The foreclosure defense attorneys at our law office aggressively litigate issues involving defective mortgages, defective foreclosure lawsuits, predatory lending, bad faith and other real estate related matters. When appropriate, we file foreclosure related bankruptcies, including either a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, depending on the circumstances involved with our clients. These bankruptcies stop foreclosure and, in some cases, allow us to eliminate second mortgages. Prior to filing bankruptcies, we discuss the types of bankruptcies that are appropriate with regard to our client’s specific situation. Call us for a free consultation. We will discuss all foreclosure options available to you. Our phone numbers are 516-561-6645, 718-350-2802 and 1-800-344-6431.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Housing Market in 2011

April 18, 2011 by

Most major markets in the United States have had a decline in housing prices in January and February of this year. Although there has been a reduction in unemployment in the United States, this has not caused the housing market to rebound.

Inventory Issues

According to the National Association of Realtors, there are 3.5 millions homes that are listed for sale in the United States. Based on the current rate of sales, the inventory of homes can supply the market for 8.6 months. This number does not include homes that are being foreclosed on by financial institutions. There is approximately an additional 1.8 million homes that should be considered on the market at this time. This would make the inventory of homes to be sold closer to 11 months.

Underwater Homes

The inventory figures do not take into consideration the 2 million homes which are currently underwater. If these homes are added to the inventory list, it brings the amount of homes that need to be sold for the market to reach a current equilibrium to an inventory of two years.

Are You Selling Your House In the Near Future?

If you plan on selling your house in the near future, you should look into the real estate sales in your local area. I strongly suggest that you confer with local real estate agents to get a better understanding concerning your local market place.

Home Prices

The value of homes in the large metropolitan areas of the United States has started to creep up again. Taking into consideration the fact that mortgage rates are at historic lows, it is still a purchaser’s market. Even if the sale prices of homes stabilize, we are still looking at a purchaser’s market for a long time to come.

Foreclosure Opportunities

Our office can help you with foreclosure defense, mortgage modifications, dealing with mortgage modification programs that fail, defective mortgage issues, options in foreclosures, defective foreclosures lawsuits, predatory lending and other real estate related issues. We also assist our clients concerning foreclosure related bankruptcy issues. We file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies on behalf of our clients. We maintain a foreclosure blog for reference and educational purposes. Call us for a free consultation at 1-800-344-6431, 516-561-6645 or 718-3502802.

Filed Under: Current Events, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

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Attorney Elliot S. Schlissel

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Disclaimer: 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.