When foreclosure strikes it is one of the most devastating and disruptive events in a family's life. It turns out no one is safe from foreclosure. Toni Braxton, a Grammy winning singer, has reportedly defaulted on her mortgage with Bank of America for her home located in Century City, Los Angeles. Unlike Ms. Braxton, most American families do not own several properties. Nor does the average American family own a multi-million dollar home. However, many Americans, especially in Florida, are now dealing with the home foreclosure process.
What happens during a foreclosure is not merely the displacement of a homeowner and their family from their home. Debilitating economic stress, divorce and family strife and major health concerns have sprung out of this foreclosure crisis. A foreclosure inevitably destroys the homeowner's credit rating, thereby the foreclosure process not only displaces the homeowner from their home, but effectively prohibits the homeowner from purchasing a new home in the near future. It may take two to three years or longer before a homeowner would be considered for a new home loan after a foreclosure strikes.
Furthermore, the financial and economic stress of foreclosure has a negative impact on marriage. The already high divorce rate has inevitably increased due to the foreclosure crisis. A home in foreclosure leads to unique concerns in a divorce. Florida is an equitable distribution state and normally the marital assets are divided as close to 50/50 as possible, unless factors exist to distribute the marital assets unevenly. Normally, a home is the largest marital asset. However, in foreclosure, the property is most likely worth less than what is owed, in other words the property is "upside down" or "underwater." Divorcing couples are forced to make difficult decisions regarding the property. The couple may be able to short sale the property, or one party may try to stay and live in the home.
That same stress that causes marital strife has serious medical ramifications, primarily for those already in bad health. An American family dealing with a catastrophic illness must deal with the emotional and financial stress of the disease itself. On top of this nearly intolerable burden, a family in foreclosure must also face the risk of losing their home.
Considering the devastating effects of foreclosure and the massive amount of Americans that are affected, one would imagine that the government and the lenders would provide better relief. Unfortunately we cannot wait for a bailout from the government or assistance from the lenders. This is why The Ticktin Law Group, P.A., is proudly fighting back against foreclosure and the negative impact it has on our lives, our families and our health.
Showing posts with label Foreclosure Defense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreclosure Defense. Show all posts
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
New York Bankruptcy Court Wipes Out Mortgage
On October 9, 2009, a federal bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York ruled that a servicer, PHH Mortgage, could not prove its claim to the debt owed on a home in White Plains, New York. Instead, Judge Robert D. Drain wiped out the entire $461,263 mortgage debt on the property.
We all know the story too well. A homeowner falls behind in her mortgage payments. The bank sues to foreclose. And without an attorney, the bank wins and the homeowner has to move out.
Not this time. Initially the homeowner hired a bankruptcy lawyer in an attempt to modify her loan with PHH. After months of getting nowhere fast with that, her lawyer asked for proof from PHH that they had the right to sue his client. PHH wrote a letter in response saying that it was the servicer of the loan, but that the holder of the note was U.S. Bank. So her lawyer asked for proof that U.S. Bank was the actual holder. He got an affidavit from the vice president for PHH, saying that PHH was the servicer for the note held by US Bank. This same vice president also signed the assignment of this mortgage to the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, better known as M.E.R.S. This document also showed that the note was assigned to M.E.R.S. was signed well past the filing of the action. That means PHH sued on behalf of U.S. Bank before it had any claim to the property by the assignment.
PHH's attorney even admitted at the hearing that, “In the secondary market, there are many cases where assignment of mortgages, assignment of notes, don’t happen at the time they should. It was standard operating procedure for many years.” In rejecting the argument, Judge Drain responded, saying “I think that I have a more than 50 percent doubt that if the debtor paid this claim, it would be paying the wrong person. That’s the problem. And that’s because the claimant has not shown an assignment of a mortgage.”
These are the arguments the Ticktin Law Group has been making against the banks, lenders, and servicers. While this ruling may be in New York, and not in Florida, the banks and their servicers employ these same tactics here in Florida in many foreclosure cases, and left unchallenged, they get away with it. The Ticktin Law Group is proudly taking action to put a stop to this.
For more on the above story, check out:
http://fedupusa.org/2009/10/25/if-lenders-say-%e2%80%98the-dog-ate-your-mortgage%e2%80%99/
We all know the story too well. A homeowner falls behind in her mortgage payments. The bank sues to foreclose. And without an attorney, the bank wins and the homeowner has to move out.
Not this time. Initially the homeowner hired a bankruptcy lawyer in an attempt to modify her loan with PHH. After months of getting nowhere fast with that, her lawyer asked for proof from PHH that they had the right to sue his client. PHH wrote a letter in response saying that it was the servicer of the loan, but that the holder of the note was U.S. Bank. So her lawyer asked for proof that U.S. Bank was the actual holder. He got an affidavit from the vice president for PHH, saying that PHH was the servicer for the note held by US Bank. This same vice president also signed the assignment of this mortgage to the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, better known as M.E.R.S. This document also showed that the note was assigned to M.E.R.S. was signed well past the filing of the action. That means PHH sued on behalf of U.S. Bank before it had any claim to the property by the assignment.
PHH's attorney even admitted at the hearing that, “In the secondary market, there are many cases where assignment of mortgages, assignment of notes, don’t happen at the time they should. It was standard operating procedure for many years.” In rejecting the argument, Judge Drain responded, saying “I think that I have a more than 50 percent doubt that if the debtor paid this claim, it would be paying the wrong person. That’s the problem. And that’s because the claimant has not shown an assignment of a mortgage.”
These are the arguments the Ticktin Law Group has been making against the banks, lenders, and servicers. While this ruling may be in New York, and not in Florida, the banks and their servicers employ these same tactics here in Florida in many foreclosure cases, and left unchallenged, they get away with it. The Ticktin Law Group is proudly taking action to put a stop to this.
For more on the above story, check out:
http://fedupusa.org/2009/10/25/if-lenders-say-%e2%80%98the-dog-ate-your-mortgage%e2%80%99/
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
MODIFICATIONS NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM
We have been telling our Florida foreclosure clients and prospective clients to be wary of modification plans they might be offered from the bank. We have seen some modifications that take the amount that the borrower is in arrears (the delinquent amount), and simply tack it on to the remaining payments. This is not a modification that would actually help the borrower – what the borrower really needs is likely a reduction in the rate of interest and the amount of principle owing. More and more people are requiring of some sort of assistance in this regard, and it is questionable if the banks are following through.
When people come to The Ticktin Law Group because of an impending foreclosure, or because they have foreclosure questions (the timeline for foreclosure, how foreclosure works), the lawyers at The Ticktin Law Group give an honest assessment of their situation.
Often, a borrower visits our Florida law firm because they were working with the bank on a modification, but the bank continued with the home foreclosure process. Sometimes, the prospective client even tells us that they were asked by the bank to send their financial information multiple times as the bank seemed to lose their documentation.
When dealing with the bank, even if you think that the foreclosure process has been stopped (because “someone at the bank told you that”), you still need to make sure that your rights are protected. Oftentimes, the bank and its lawyers do not communicate properly, and an otherwise unsuspecting borrower who thinks the bank is working with him, unknowingly finds himself wrapped up in the foreclosure process.
A person having questions about how foreclosures work should see an attorney at The Ticktin Law Group to make sure that their rights are secure.
When people come to The Ticktin Law Group because of an impending foreclosure, or because they have foreclosure questions (the timeline for foreclosure, how foreclosure works), the lawyers at The Ticktin Law Group give an honest assessment of their situation.
Often, a borrower visits our Florida law firm because they were working with the bank on a modification, but the bank continued with the home foreclosure process. Sometimes, the prospective client even tells us that they were asked by the bank to send their financial information multiple times as the bank seemed to lose their documentation.
When dealing with the bank, even if you think that the foreclosure process has been stopped (because “someone at the bank told you that”), you still need to make sure that your rights are protected. Oftentimes, the bank and its lawyers do not communicate properly, and an otherwise unsuspecting borrower who thinks the bank is working with him, unknowingly finds himself wrapped up in the foreclosure process.
A person having questions about how foreclosures work should see an attorney at The Ticktin Law Group to make sure that their rights are secure.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Victory in Foreclosure Defense
CitiFinancial offers dramatic principle & interest rate reduction
The Ticktin Law Group is currently defending over 1,400 Florida mortgage foreclosure cases and we are encouraged to see that the banks are responding to our defense by actively pursuing settlements in some of our longest standing cases. Recently, after nearly a year and a half of foreclosure defense, CitiFinancial offered a settlement to our client in the form of a 40% reduction on the principle balance and a fixed interest rate of 5%, down from 12.57%.
This is not the first settlement to be offered to one of our mortgage foreclosure defense clients, but it is certainly the most drastic reduction in principle and interest rate yet. Other mortgage companies that have made similar settlement offers are Accredited Home Lenders and Litton Loan Titanium Solutions. If you are currently pursuing foreclosure defense with our law firm and have not seen this kind of activity in your case, don't despair. The trends we are seeing from the mortgage companies in these cases are just the beginning of what we hope to see over the next few years for many more of our clients.
The Ticktin Law Group is currently defending over 1,400 Florida mortgage foreclosure cases and we are encouraged to see that the banks are responding to our defense by actively pursuing settlements in some of our longest standing cases. Recently, after nearly a year and a half of foreclosure defense, CitiFinancial offered a settlement to our client in the form of a 40% reduction on the principle balance and a fixed interest rate of 5%, down from 12.57%.
This is not the first settlement to be offered to one of our mortgage foreclosure defense clients, but it is certainly the most drastic reduction in principle and interest rate yet. Other mortgage companies that have made similar settlement offers are Accredited Home Lenders and Litton Loan Titanium Solutions. If you are currently pursuing foreclosure defense with our law firm and have not seen this kind of activity in your case, don't despair. The trends we are seeing from the mortgage companies in these cases are just the beginning of what we hope to see over the next few years for many more of our clients.
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