Anyone who works with consumers these days–attorneys, housing counselors, lenders, and brokers and, for that matter, anyone who reads media reports on the mortgage crisis–has no doubt reacted to some tale of financial woe like this: “How could anyone be that dumb!” We’ve all heard some version of the exploding ARM, the payments which are [...]
December 2009
As a foreclosure defense attorney, I am often asked about the difference between a note and mortgage in the context of a foreclosure. If you think back to the day you closed on your home loan, you can probably recall signing a bunch of papers, none of which you read or understood. That’s pretty common. [...]
As a Florida foreclosure defense attorney, one thing I’ve learned is that mortgage servicers don’t want homeowners to know who owns their loan. In about half of all foreclosure complaints I see, the servicer is the plaintiff, and the identity of the owner is not revealed in the pleadings. Generally speaking there are 4 owners [...]
If your property goes into foreclosure, you will find your mailbox (and sometimes even your phone, e-mail, and front oor) full of offers to “help” you. You may wonder how they know to contact you. The answer is simple–they data-mine the court files or any other public record created when a foreclosure is begun. You [...]
Today, December 29, 2009, was a cold and miserable day in Atlanta, Georgia. Unfortunately I had a Chapter 7 bankruptcy 341 hearing to attend at the federal courthouse in Atlanta. I bundled up the best I could, took the train to the nearest stop – about 1/2 a mile from the courthouse – and braved [...]
The Treasury Department appears to have begun to notice that HAMP may not be working; in response, a directive that any trial loan modifications set to expire by January 31, 2010 must remain in place while servicers establish that the borrowers are eligible for modification. In another announcement, the Treasury Department has issued a conditional waiver for the requirement for escrow accounts under certain circumstances.
