Miami Real Estate Attorney Blog

We recently discussed how Marc Ben-Ezra of the foreclosure mill Ben-Ezra & Katz was found in contempt of court for failing to appear in front of a judge in Miami-Dade County after being ordered to do so. Now, it has become the eighth foreclosure mill to be investigated by the Florida Attorney General.

The Florida Bar is also conducting an investigation into Ben-Ezra and his law partner, Marvin Katz. Although the Bar wouldn't state how long they have been investigating the two, they are being investigated on one complaint each involving foreclosure fraud.

Florida's Attorney General's Office states that Ben-Ezra and Katz' firm fabricated or misleading documents were presented in court before judges. Some of these documents include assignment of mortgages and affidavits which have been later proven to be legally insufficient. It is also accusing the firm of violating Florida's deceptive and unfair trade practices laws.

The firms that are currently being investigated by the Attorney General claim that the office does not have the authority to investigate or regulate lawyers. They argue that only the Florida Bar has the ability to regulate the profession. A Palm Beach County judge has already agreed with the foreclosure mill Shapiro & Fishman that only the Florida Bar can regulate lawyers.

No matter who has the power to regulate attorneys, the fact remains that serious issues have arisen as a result of alleged wrongdoing by all of these firms. As attorneys, we are held to a higher standard of conduct, and rightfully so.

Although the State of Florida is conducting these investigations, wrongdoing by lenders' attorney will almost assuredly continue. Unfortunately, its not safe to assume the foreclosure mills have corrected their ways. At Alvarez & Barbara, whenever a foreclosure complaint comes into our office, we not only examine it for legal sufficiency, but for any evidence of fraud.

This evidence of fraud is not easy to find and is only visible to an experienced attorney. We have that experience. Not only do we defend our clients in foreclosure, but our primary goal is to find a solution that is tailored to our clients individual needs by exploring the many alternatives that may exist.

Continue reading "Florida's Investigation on Foreclosure Frauds Widens to Include another Foreclosure Mill" »

Our firm has a proven track record in the area of deposit recovery. While we are currently aggressively representing the interests of many purchasers at the St. Regis Bal Harbour, ICON Brickll, the IVY, and other prominent South Florida projects, recover their pre-construction deposits, we previously spearheaded many of the defenses that the developers are currently using against purchasers.

The Related Group, developer of ICON Brickell and led by Jorge Perez, spearheaded the condo construction boom in Miami. Although the real estate market tanked almost 4 years, the Related Group is still dealing with many lawsuits stemming from the real estate market crash.

In Downtown Miami alone, the company constructed 5,500 condo units. By early 2008, the company faced hundreds of lawsuits filed by buyers, employees, vendors and subcontractors.

The Related Group has settled a great amount of the lawsuits filed by buyers trying to cancel contracts. Attorneys who represented these buyers, including our firm, have stated settlements were not easy to come by because the company slowly responded to lawsuits.

The ICON Brickell, a condo development built by the Related Group, has presented many legal problems. Apart from lawsuits filed by buyers, half of the condos in the 1,800 unit development were given back to the bank who financed the project.

Our firm has considerable experience in deposit recovery cases. The very fact that we previously represented developers places us in a unique position to anticipate and understand our opponents' next move. In fact, many of the tactics developers will use to defend a case were established by our firm.

If you find yourself fighting with a developer to recover your deposit, call our firm as we may be able to assist you. The Developers have attorneys fighting for their interests, and so should you.

Both Nevada and Florida continue to lead the nation in mortgage delinquencies. According to recent news reports, Florida's mortgage delinquency rate is at 14.5% and is only surpassed by Nevada at 14.76%. The delinquency rate is often seen as a precursor to foreclosure. And both Florida and Nevada are among the nation's leaders in foreclosure filings.

Indeed, 21,671 Florida properties fell into foreclosure in January. The reason that number is down is because of the impact from the recent robo-signing allegations, and other issues related to foreclosures in Florida.

For instance, allegations of robo signing, fraud, documentation errors, issues with process servers, problems servicing loan modifications, and other similar issues, have prompted many lenders to slow down the foreclosure process which in turn has slowed down the housing recovery. Florida's Attorney General eventually announced an investigation into these alleged practices.

Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

Beginning in 2007, we saw the beginning of the real estate market crash and the ensuing flood of foreclosure cases. Since that time foreclosure defense attorneys have repeatedly told judges and the media about the fraudulent practices of many foreclosure mills. Towards the end of 2010, these practices finally came to light.

For instance, allegations of robo signing, fraud, documentation errors, issues with process servers, problems servicing loan modifications, and other similar issues, have prompted many lenders to slow down the foreclosure process which in turn has slowed down the housing recovery. Florida's Attorney General eventually announced an investigation into these alleged practices. As a result of this investigation, we saw David J. Stern's empire quickly crumble before our eyes.

You would think that the foreclosure mills would finally get the picture after Stern's fall. But, that is not the case. Fraudulent practices continue to come to light and the Courts are finally using their power to reprimand lawyers who commit fraud.

Marc Ben-Ezra, head of the foreclosure mill Ben-Ezra & Katz, certainly did not learn a lesson from the Stern fiasco. Last week a Miami-Dade County Circuit judge found Ben-Ezra in contempt for filing "sham pleadings" and for "wasting the court's time". At a previous hearing, the judge ordered Ben-Ezra to come to court and respond to allegations that his firm had filed fraudulent documents. However, he failed to show up.

Apart from being found in contempt, Fannie Mae finally got fed up with the "document execution" issues at Ben-Ezra's firm and terminated its relationship with the firm. Now, all these cases are going to be handled by other firms. Unfortunately, this pull-out resulted in the firm laying off nearly half of its 568 employees. Its looking like his firm is facing the same fate as Stern's office.

Fraud is widespread in foreclosure cases. It appears to be a systemic problem. Despite this fact, its not easy to spot. It takes an experienced foreclosure defense attorney to spot fraud. But spotting the fraud is not even half the battle. The challenging part is attacking the fraud and establishing the appropriate strategy.

Navigating these waters can be difficult, but we are experienced in handling foreclosure matters. People often think that foreclosure defense basically entails delaying the "inevitable" - a foreclosure. However, many alternatives exist. At Alvarez & Barbara, we don't buy time to delay the inevitable. We buy to time to find a solution that suits each individual client.

Continue reading "Miami Judge Finds Lawyer in Contempt for filing a Foreclosure "Sham Pleading" " »

The race to modify home loans may be quickening, but so too is the pace of those who are re-defaulting on their home loans even after their loans are modified.

Recent statistics show that 1 in 5 U.S. homeowners whose loans were modified under HAMP were at least 60 days late in their payments a year after their mortgages were modified. On the other hand, the number of active, permanent modifications reached 521,630 as of December 31st under HAMP. But that number is still far lower than the originally intended 3 to 4 million homeowners it was supposed to help.

The pace of defaults also continues to pick up steam. A record 2.87 million properties received notices of default, auction or repossession in 2010. More troublesome yet is that 15.8% of all permanent modifications were at least 90 days late in making timely payments.

Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

It seems that David Stern's problems keep adding up as more allegations of fraud are brought against his firm. His firm has been accused time and time again of falsifying documents that must be filed with foreclosure lawsuits. Now, one of Stern's files may make it all the way to the Florida Supreme Court. This case reminds us of the recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decision throwing out a case in which the bank could not prove its ownership of a mortgage after it was securitized.

We've discussed multiple times how many mortgages over the past few years were assigned to other banks. In order for an assignment to be valid, the banks must record the assignment in a County's land records. Without recording such an assignment, there's no possible way of identifying with certainty the true holder of a mortgage and the accompanying note.

Whenever this proof does not exist, a Court should not allow a lender to foreclose on a property. This is why many foreclosure cases are being voluntarily dismissed throughout Florida - lenders simply don't have the proof that they own a mortgage.

Unfortunately, it seems David Stern's law firm may have falsified its "proof" of an assignment in a case that is headed to the Florida Supreme Court. At first, the foreclosure complaint was filed without the assignment attached. Later, Stern's office filed an amended complaint which attached an unrecorded assignment that was dated right before the original pleading was filed. The bank eventually dropped the case, but later re-filed with different documents.

However, this is not the first time this happens. As a matter of fact, it is a regular occurrence. Nevertheless, only an experienced attorney will catch these small details which may be proof of fraud.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

Continue reading "Florida's Supreme Court Asked to Hear Foreclosure Fraud Case" »

The housing bust hangover continues to linger over South Florida. Cumulative home prices are expected to decline between 6 to 8% for the next 7 to 8 months and perhaps bottoming out towards the end of 2011.

A main culprit behind the housing market's continued struggles involves all of the recent scandals that have plagued our real estate market.

For instance, allegations of robo signing, fraud, documentation errors, issues with process servers, problems servicing loan modifications, and other similar issues, have prompted many lenders to slow down the foreclosure process which in turn has slowed down the housing recovery.

The slow down in the housing recovery ultimately means that the real estate market won't make a full recovery for at least another year. The reason being is that the slowdown of foreclosures has pushed out the time frame when the real estate market would have gotten through the critical mass of foreclosures that would have led to stabilization. As a result of all these foreclosure related problems, that time frame for a recovery has now been pushed back probably at least another year.

Today's current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated. There are many factors contributing to Florida's nation leading delinquency rates. They include a weak job market, weak economic recovery, and a major drop in home prices. Consequently, Florida's housing market remains unsettled in large part due to the continued foreclosure crises.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

Continue reading "Problems Persist in Today's Housing Market due to Foreclosures which Will Delay South Florida's Housing Recovery for at Least Another Year" »