Housing Market – Page 9 – Miami Real Estate Attorney Blog

Florida Appellate Court Vacates Foreclosure in a Powerful Ruling that Will Aid Miami Foreclosure Defense Lawyers to Keep Fighting the Banks on Behalf of Struggling Homeowners

In a powerful ruling, the Fourth District Court of Appeal recently concluded that banks must prove that they hold the mortgage to the home facing defaults. The Appellate court opined that a Judge in Palm Beach committed reversible error when the Judge allowed the bank to repossess a couple’s home when the bank failed to provide a copy of the original note and mortgage prior to the judge’s ruling on the merits of the case.

In so ruling, the appellate court vacated the Judge’s ruling and sent the case back to the original Judge with a clear message to find out who actually owns the mortgage at issue.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal specifically stated that “without evidence demonstrating [the bank’s] status as holder and owner of the note and mortgage, genuine issues of material fact remain, and summary judgment was improper.”

This significant ruling comes on the heels of growing news reports in Florida, and across the country, that foreclosures are being pushed through by the banks without proper, or, in some instances, fraudulently prepared, documents and paperwork. This is especially true in many Florida courts that have adopted “rocket docket” systems with the sole purpose of rapidly pushing foreclosures through the court system in an effort to get them out of the court house without undergoing the necessary judicial scrutiny to protect many innocent but struggling homeowners.

The current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure, and housing, crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated by a struggling homeowner. 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.

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.

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

Florida Remains Among the Nation’s Leaders in Foreclosure Filings

Foreclosures are a growing epidemic impacting not only many individual families, but the economic recovery as a whole. Whether your circumstance was caused by an increase in your interest rate, a loss of employment, decrease in income, divorce, death, or hospitalization of someone in your family, we can help.

Florida continues to hold on to its number three position for foreclosure filings in the country. In the third quarter, one in every 56 homes received a foreclosure filing. Nevada continues to lead the nation, and Arizona was second.

Florida foreclosure activity increased 12% from the previous quarter and was flat from a year ago, giving Florida the second largest foreclosure activity total, with a 157,026 properties receiving a foreclosure filing.

However, the recent moratorium on foreclosures, by several major lenders, in light of the “robo signing” revelations, will likely result in a reduction of foreclosures in the fourth quarter. Foreclosure activity in the 24 states that require foreclosures to be filed through the courts, including Florida, most affected by the foreclosure documentation issue plaguing many banks accounts for 40% of all foreclosure activity in the third quarter and 36% of all bank repossessions.

Struggling homeowners should contact our office to meet with one of our Miami foreclosure defense attorneys today. As the revelations of improper “robo signing” continues to increase, those who are in danger of losing their home to a foreclosure should examine the situation, with the aid of one of our attorneys, in greater detail. The problems the banks are presently experiencing as a result of the “robo signing” allegations arise in large part as a result of foreclosure defense attorneys bringing to light the systematic fraud routinely committed by the banks, their employees, and their law firms.

Homeowners have many alternatives available to them to fight a foreclosure. But homeowners must be armed with as much information as possible to decide what is best for them regarding the ongoing foreclosure crises.

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.

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

Wells Fargo Foreclosures Move Forward Despite Damaging Testimony by Their “Robo Signers”

Recently, lenders such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Co., and GMAC have halted foreclosures after they discovered their employees were signing affidavits without verifying any information.

As we have all ready discussed on this blog, many employees were signing hundreds of affidavits a day without verifying any information whatsoever. This practice has become known as “robo signing.”

Consequently, “robo signing” has called into question countless foreclosure proceedings in Miami, and across the country. Luckily, some banks are exercising due caution and suspending foreclosures in order to verify already signed affidavits. However, Wells Fargo is not one of these banks. At least not yet.

A Wells Fargo employee testified in a deposition in March that she signed about 300 to 500 foreclosure documents per day and would only verify her name and title. Wells Fargo will not stop foreclosures and says that it has not discovered any problems with the legal documents that have already been processed despite this testimony.

Although they claim their foreclosure affidavits are accurate, this is the second Wells Fargo employee to admit to improperly signing affidavits. In May, an employee admitted that he verified only the dates on up to 150 documents per day and relied on co-workers to ensure the accuracy of the rest of the information.

The recent disconcerting news about unverified bank documents is certainly a call for homeowners to contest foreclosures, even those which have already been completed. JP Morgan has set aside $1.3 billion in the third quarter to cover legal expenses, including foreclosures. JP Morgan initially halted foreclosures in 23 states, but is now extending their review to 41 states. As a result, JP Morgan Chase will have 115,000 cases under review.

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.

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

The Ongoing Mortgage Meltdown Presents Unique Opportunities for Foreclosure Defense Attorneys in Miami to Assist Distressed Homeowners to Fight to Save Their Home

Revelations of continuous fraud by the banks, and their law firms, have resulted in the launching of numerous investigations, and calls for a foreclosure moratorium. Indeed, many banks, including some of the nation’s largest, like Bank of America, have temporarily halted foreclosures in Florida.

This foreclosure crises, and mess, only continues to deepen in South Florida. The New York Times reported that Old Republic National Title has decided that it will not issue title insurance to property foreclosed upon by GMAC. Meanwhile, Florida’s Attorney General continues to investigate three prominent South Florida law firms to determine if those firms engaged in unfair and deceptive actions in their handling of thousands of foreclosures.

The issue associated with Old Republic is particularly troublesome for many potential home buyers and the real estate market as a whole. After the bank gains repossession of a property in a foreclosure the defaulting borrower is often evicted from the home. After which the foreclosed home is put on the market and ultimately sold. These sales account for approximately 1/3 of all homes currently sold in South Florida.

However, when when foreclosures are done with faulty documentation, such as in instances where “robo signing” practices were employed, it could potentially leave the new owners of the house vulnerable to claims. Title insurance protects the buyer against defects, errors or omissions in the chain of title. Old Republic said in the memorandum that its agents were already reporting written cancellations of contracts involving both Chase and GMAC due to problems stemming from the wide spread practice of “robo signing.”

All of this is occurring at a time when the economic recovery is tenuous at best. In August, Miami Dade County’s unemployment rate jumped to 14.4% from 13.3% in July. And until unemployment, and the economy as a whole, recovers, the local real estate market will remain in a state of high uncertainty.
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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.

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

Miami Foreclosures Are Put On Hold Due To Admitted File Mishandling By Many Major Banks, including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and GMAC

In the past week, Bank of America, JP Morgan, and GMAC have all announced that they were suspending tens of thousands of foreclosures across the country due to apparent improper handling of documents. This could be the start of a new wave of problems for the banks here in Florida.

These colossal blunders by the banks illustrates the need to have an experienced Miami foreclosure defense lawyer on your side. The bank’s ongoing mishandling of these foreclosures files just further illustrates why having proper legal representation is so important.

Foreclosures have evolved into a massive industry for both the banks, and a few select group of law firms representing the banks. And that cozy relationship has resulted in Florida’s Attorney General launching an investigation on this industry due to an increasingly large volume of mistakes in many foreclosure cases. Indeed, just recently an individual’s home was foreclosed on despite the fact that his home did not have a mortgage, and in another instance a local South Florida Judge blasted the bank’s foreclosure lawyer for failing to follow appropriate procedure in a foreclosure case.

More than 3 million foreclosures are expected to take place this year across the country, with Florida leading the way. However, some estimate that at least 80% of all foreclosures have some type of documentation problem with the file, which may result in the need to have the foreclosure re-filed.

The reason behind the documentation problems stems from the heavy, and growing, load of foreclosures. Many banks, including Bank of America, JP Morgan, and GMAC, employed people who processed the paperwork as quickly as possible in order to comply with many local rules and procedure. This practice has become known as “robo signing.” However, this practice is improper, and many banks have halted the march towards foreclosures because of the fact that “robo signing” is improper.
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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.

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.

Home Repossessions Set a Record in August as the Foreclosure Crises in Miami, and Nationally, Rages On with no End in Sight

August was a rough month for many American families. Lenders took back more homes in August than in any other month since the start of the mortgage crisis, according to the USA Today. Although properties entering foreclosure have decreased, home repossessions are increasing. In total, lenders repossessed 95,364 properties in August. This denotes a 3% increase from July and 25% from August 2009.

The Miami lawyers at Alvarez & Barbara, LLP, are on your side. We are experienced trial attorneys who will help you understand your rights and options under Florida and federal foreclosure laws.

The increase in repossessions can be attributed to banks trying to clear out their load of bad loans with the prospect of eventually putting the foreclosed properties on the market. However, they can’t afford to just put all the properties on the marked. Lenders are concerned that if they dump all these properties onto the market, the housing market could stumble once again. This may explain why less than one-third of bank-owned properties are on the market.

There is a silver lining to this dark cloud though. Since lenders don’t want to put these homes on the market, they have slowed the foreclosure process. This means borrowers who are in default can stay longer in their homes. To put things in perspective, the number of initial default notices sent in August 2010 is 30% less as compared to August 2009. Moreover, the rate of initial default notices being sent out has fallen on an annual basis over the last seven months.

Apart from the foreclosure, many borrowers are attempting to modify their loans hoping to prevent foreclosure. But this remedy hasn’t worked perfectly. Many homeowners don’t qualify and others simply fall back into default. The loan modification process can be long and tedious because of the amount of back and forth communications a borrower must have with their lender.

Others face a different problem. A man in Winter Garden, Florida was one financial information packet away from a permanent loan modification after going back and forth with his bank for more than a year. However, the modification never went through because his loan was transferred to another entity. Now, he must pay up his arrearage or face foreclosure.

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.

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.

The Ongoing Foreclosure Crisis is Impacting the Pool of Applicants Applying for Mortgages Today and Making it Harder for Many to Qualify for Mortgages in Miami

The mortgage crisis has thrown an enormous amount of homes on the market. The supply of homes certainly surpasses the demand at the moment. As a result, home prices continue to drop throughout South Florida even though some areas are experiencing a rise in the sale of existing homes and condos. In this depressed market, interests rates are low. However, few Americans are able to take advantage of these historically low interest rates.

The ongoing foreclosure crisis has made lenders behave more conservatively. Consequently, people are finding it difficult to qualify for a mortgage. Even those with relatively good credit scores are having a hard time qualifying for a mortgage.

According to news reports, an analysis of more than 25,000 loan quotes and purchase quotes shows that about one-third of Americans are unlikely to qualify for a mortgage because of their credit scores.

For example, someone with a credit score below 620 who requested quotes on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage were unlikely to receive even one quote, even if they were able to make a down payment of 15 percent to 20 percent. On the other hand, mortgage borrowers with excellent credit scores (720 or higher) were able to get the lowest interest rates, which was usually around 4.3 percent for a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage.

On the bright side, borrowers with credit scores between 620 to 719 can save a substantial amount in interest by improving their credit scores. For each 20-point credit score increase, the average low APR drops 0.12 percent. Over time this may represent a good amount of savings. For instance, on a $300,000 home with a 20 percent down payment, this decline equates to a savings of $6,400 over the life of a 30-year loan.

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.

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.

Prominent South Florida Foreclosure Law Firm Profits from the Foreclosure Crises Despite Allegations of Fraud

Unfortunately, many South Floridians are familiar with the name David J. Stern. Some South Floridians cringe at the sight of his name. Foreclosure attorney David J. Stern operates one of the largest law firms representing lenders and servicers throughout the foreclosure process.

While the average American has cut their expenses and boosted savings due to slower economic times, the Law Offices of David J. Stern has experienced massive growth cashing in on the housing crisis. Started in 1994, the Law Offices of David J. Stern posted $199 million in revenues in 2008 and $260.3 million in 2009.

Recently, Stern found a new way to cash in on the housing crisis. He sold the firm’s foreclosure processing arm, which makes the court documents needed in foreclosure proceedings, to a publicly traded company. The operation was sold for a total of $146 million to DJSP Enterprises which started trading on the NASDAQ in January. Stern is the chairman and CEO of this new company that has his law firm as its only client.

Although the cash may be flowing in, everything is not well for Mr. Stern. The law firm is facing an inquiry by the Florida Attorney General’s Office for allegedly falsifying documents on behalf of lenders and a RICO law suit claiming attorneys filed fraudulent pleadings.

Practitioners in the foreclosure defense bar worry that DJSP will give greater priority to profits, rather than ethics. As many critics have pointed out: This is a profession, not a fast-food joint. Lawyers have a larger responsibility not to be expedient but to do quality work, to do good for society as a whole. We cannot lose sight of that.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure. The Miami lawyers at Alvarez & Barbara, LLP, are on your side. We are experienced trial attorneys who will help you understand your rights and options under Florida and federal foreclosure laws.

Consider Your Options. Contact Us.

For a free consultation with a Miami lawyer familiar with the local real estate market, contact Alvarez & Barbara, LLP, today. We represent clients in Miami, Homestead, Hialeah, Coral Gables, and throughout South Florida.

Florida Ranks 2nd in the Nation for Foreclosures While Banks Carefully Manage the Real Estate Inventory

Although Florida foreclosure activity has decreased, year-over-year, for the fifth straight month in August, the foreclosure rate in Florida still remained one of the highest in the country. Seventeen percent (17%) of all foreclosures in the United States are right here in the Sunshine State. This ranks Florida second among all the states for foreclosures.

Specifically, 1 in every 155 Florida homes were in receipt of a foreclosure filing in August. That is 2.5 times the national average. That equals to 56,877 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in August. That is up 10% from July, but down 9% for the same time last year.

Recent figures, however, demonstrates that default notices are being sent out less frequently. In August, banks sent out 46% less default notices as compared with the amount of default notices that were sent out in August of 2009. However, and as compared with July of this year, August saw an increase of 2% in default notices being sent out.

As reported in the USA Today, it is becoming apparent that the housing supply being accumulated by banks by way of repossessions after foreclosures are filed is being carefully managed on both ends by lenders and servicers. Simply stated, on the front end, delinquent loans are falling into foreclosure at a slower rate. On the back end, the backed-up inventory of properties already in foreclosure are moving to bank ownership at a steady pace. This is most like being done to prevent a further drop in home prices.

Consider Your Options. Contact Us.

Real Estate Inventory Continues to Increase as the Foreclosure and Real Estate Crises Continues to Impact the Miami Real Estate Market

According to news reports, the downturn slide in home prices may continue for another three years. Homes in default, or foreclosure, that may be offered for sale are preventing the market from bottoming out after a significant plunge in real estate values over the past few years. These properties, called shadow inventory, are in addition to homes that are vacant or that may soon be put on the market by owners.

The issue right now appears to be that there is more supply than demand. And much of this supply may actually be homes that are “underwater”, thereby necessitating the need for a short sale. Short sales are seeing a strong rebound as banks are increasingly trying to work with borrowers to approve short sales, and new federal programs are also encouraging more short sales.

Nonetheless, the continued rise in supply is a threat to all efforts attempting to boost the housing market while potential home buyers await better deals. Since more price declines are required for a legitimate rebound, it may take three years before we can actually expect a rise in home values.

It is expected that once prices bottom out, prices will increase at a rate of 1 to 3 percent per year. This means it may take more than 10 years for the market to return to its peak. Regardless, it appears as though we can look forward to the recovery, in the real estate market, to begin some time in 2014.

The Miami lawyers at Alvarez & Barbara, LLP, are on your side. We are experienced trial attorneys who will help you understand your rights and options under Florida and federal foreclosure laws. Contact our law firm today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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