I know I posted about this before, but it bears repeating as I fear many homeowners will lose their home to foreclosure if they don’t know about this very important rule change last summer. Important new change for opposing MFSJ for those living in Florida.  Don’t expect to just show up at the hearing and argue — this rule will prevent anything you say from helping you. Take a look at the 4th Circuit case which I believe is the first ruling on the amended MFSJ rule.  Page 4:  https://www.4dca.org/content/download/839898/opinion/212397_DC05_06082022_101625_i.pdf The post Avoid Fo ..read more

Some borrowers run into trouble with their mortgage companies that is not of their own doing.  One thing the mortgage servicer likes to say is that it isn’t their problem, the prior servicer handled that – and the borrower is still in default or owes some fee. However, the subsequent servicer has liability for this. State v Family Bank of Hallandale, 667 So2d 257 (Fla. 1st DCA  1995) is a case that can be used to show subsequent servicer liability:  The law is well established that an unqualified assignment transfers to the assignee all the interests and rights of the assignor i ..read more

Supposed a foreclosure lawsuit is filed against you.  You file an Answer.  The plaintiff files a motion for summary judgment quickly.  New civil procedure rules require a homeowner to file his or her defense 20 days before a hearing.  Most people are unware of that rule and lose.  Even if they show up at the hearing, if they didn’t file their defenses to the MFSJ 20 days prior, they cannot raise any defenses.  This is even if they had already filed an Answer when they were initially served.  This is only one problem a homeowner could face in a foreclosure pro ..read more

While it took longer than I and many other consumer advocates thought, the house of cards is starting to slip finally.  Many mortgage companies did not fully disclose exactly what would be required once the CARES Act expired and mortgage payments would resume.  I’m sure many homeowners have claims out there but don’t realize it.  These consumer claims are no small thing and can be leveraged for better mortgage terms than what is being offered.  The CFPB is going after Carrington with a big fine — but a private action will result in actual damages for the homeowner. CFPB Tak ..read more

If you have significant debt but have been told that you cannot file a Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy, now you can file bankruptcy and not risk dismissal by the U.S. Trustees office.  This change occurred because the Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act was signed into law yesterday.  Prior to this Act, someone with high debt was forced into a Chapter 11 — which is extraordinarily expensive and time consuming for the average consumer.  A Chapter 13 is much more cost-effective and efficient to reorganize someone’s finances. While the name of this Act is t ..read more

A mortgage servicer called a “furnisher” for purposes of credit reporting is responsible for updates to a borrower’s credit report.  Many times following a foreclosure, there is a limited time for the lender to seek a deficiency judgment.  Here is Florida it is one year.  If a year goes by, and the lender fails to seek a deficiency judgment then it waives the amount it is still owed after the foreclosure sale of a home. Here’s the good news:  If a lender fails to report a deficiency as having been eliminated, discharged or abolished, it is then reporting inaccurate informat ..read more

The CFPB stated today “[w]e are at really an unusual point in history.  I don’t think anybody has ever before seen this many mortgages in forbearance at one time that are expected to exit forbearance all at one time.” No kidding.  This may be the calm before the storm type of thing if mortgage servicers don’t get it right when all these forbearances end. Living in Florida sometimes it seems like the pandemic is firmly in our rearview. While we are still working from home, it’s mostly because we want to be part of the solution, and can get our work done with our cloud server.  Bu ..read more

Today, President Joe Biden is extending a moratorium on home foreclosures for federally backed mortgages until June 30, after previously setting the expiration date at the end of March. Biden also announced the expansion of a mortgage relief program, pushing the window to request mortgage forbearance until the end of June. You can check our resources page under “Foreclosure Related” to see if your mortgage is federally backed here.  Just type in your property address under Freddie, Fannie or MERS to discover who owns your mortgage. For those who have private loans, there is no mandated fe ..read more

Webinar: Why you should care about the CARES Act May 20, 2020 at Noon   The Tampa Bay Bankruptcy Bar Association will be hosting a FREE Webinar via Zoom on May 20, 2020 from 12:00 to 1:30pm. Why you should care about the CARES Act and its impact on Student Loans, Foreclosure, Collection, and Consumer and Business Bankruptcy. Christie Arkovich, Jake Blanchard, Nicole Mariani Noel and Chapter 13 Trustee, Kelly Remick, will discuss provisions of the stimulus bill that expand or create options for Debtors in Chapter 13 cases as well as Small Business Debtors under Subchapter V and ma ..read more

One of our clients had a sale date on March 25, 2020 that was moved to May 20, 2020.  While our clients had already moved out, they are very appreciative of the additional time to safely remove their belongings.  There is a lot more relief to come! This benefits the mortgage companies too in that it keeps their employee and contractor activity to a minimum to turn around this property during our Safer at Home period of time. “HUD issued letter dated March 18, 2020, “to inform mortgagees of foreclosure and eviction moratorium for all FHA-insured Single Family Mortgages for a period of 60-days ..read more