Foreclosures

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

New Home Sales Surge to Seven-Month High in February

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Last month, new single-family home sales jumped to a seven-month high. The hike suggests the housing market recovery is stable despite the challenges of high prices, increased mortgage rates and tight inventories. According to the Commerce Department, new home sales increased 6.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592,000 units last month, the highest level since July of last year.

New home sales were up 12.8 percent when compared to February of last year. Economists believe the hike in sales is partially due to the unseasonably warm weather across most of the country. In the Northeast region, new single-family homes dropped 21.4 percent. However, in the Midwest, sales were up 30.8 percent and in the South sales were up 3.6 percent.

Fortunately, high mortgage rates have not had a negative impact on home sales this year, largely due to a tightening labor market that is improving employment opportunities for young adults. The market is also benefitting from a shortage of properties for sale in most areas.

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Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

What the Fed Rate Hike Means for Homebuyers

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Last week the Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by one-quarter of a percentage point. This marked the second increase in three months and the third increase since 2015. As a result, mortgage rates have already increased. The average rate of a 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to a 2017 high of 4.21 percent, up from 3.68 percent last year.

What this means for house hunters is that buying a home is going to be more expensive. “That is going to create a bit of sticker shock for some buyers looking to buy this spring,” said Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac.

Fortunately, the changes in the Federal Reserve benchmark interest rate are somewhat predictable. The market expects two more Fed rate hikes before the end of the year. However, another increase is not likely in the next few weeks.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Related Resources:

http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/15/pf/fed-rate-hike-mortgage-rates/index.html?iid=SF_LN

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/15/fed-raises-rates-at-march-meeting.html

Credit, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosure Activity Hits 11-Year Low

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During the month of February, foreclosure activity dropped to an 11-year low, according to new data from ATTOM Data Solutions. This was the lowest point since November 2005 and the 17th consecutive month of annual decreases.

Although the nationwide average significantly dropped, there were 10 states that experienced an increase in foreclosure activity in February. States that saw the largest increase include: New Jersey with an increase of 16 percent, Delaware with 14 percent, Louisiana with 12 percent, Alabama with 10 percent and Hawaii with eight percent.

Foreclosure starts were also down 13 percent from February of last year, however some states experienced an annual increase including: Alabama with an increase of 40 percent in foreclosure starts, Texas with an increase of 26 percent, New Jersey with an increase of 24 percent, Florida with an increase of 12 percent, Illinois with an increase of 11 percent and Arizona with an increase of nine percent.

ATTOM Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said there are two major reasons why some states are still seeing an increase in foreclosure starts. The first reason is due to the backlog stemming from the housing crisis. States such as Florida and New Jersey are still experiencing distress from the bubble-era. The second reason is due to the newly relaxed lending standards in some areas.

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Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosure Inventory Hits “Pre-Crisis” Level

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According to CoreLogic, 21,000 U.S. home foreclosures were completed in the month of December.  This number is equal to the average number of monthly foreclosures for the first time since the housing market crashed in 2007.

The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures in the past 12 months were Florida (45,000), Michigan (30,000), Texas (24,000), Ohio (21,000) and California (19,000). The five with the fewest foreclosures in the prior 12 months through December were North Dakota (182), District of Columbia (254), West Virginia (312), Montana (630) and Alaska (668).

Of the 10 largest U.S. metro areas, the foreclosure inventory was highest in the New York area, at 2.5%. The Miami metro area’s foreclosure inventory totaled 2.0%, with the Las Vegas metro and Chicago each at 1.1%. The lowest totals were posted in the San Francisco (0.1%) area and in Denver (0.2%).

Foreclosure and delinquency trends continue to move in the right direction, a result of increasing employment levels, stricter underwriting standards and higher home prices over the past few years, according to CoreLogic’s CEO Anand Nallathambi.  Further declines in foreclosure and delinquency rates are expected in 2017.

Click here to read more on this story.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

The Foreclosure Litigation Strategy Targeting Florida Seniors

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A new defense strategy by lenders is targeting a growing number of low-income seniors.  It involves suing  to foreclose on government-guaranteed home loans under various defaults, then fast-tracking the lawsuits by filing motions for orders to show cause. These motions shift the burden of proof to the borrower, requiring them to appear in court and explain why a judge should not grant final judgment against them.

“All of a sudden, we saw a spate of foreclosures where the mortgage companies alleged the seniors no longer lived in the home,” said Gladys Gerson, supervising attorney for Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida’s senior unit. “This has been happening around the state.”

A dozen more cases statewide have appeared targeting  low-income seniors.  Florida is ground zero for issues involving seniors, but experts believe this tactic is likely to spread to other states.

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Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

South Florida Pair Arrested in Bank Fraud Scheme

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Authorities have apprehended two bank fraud suspects who reportedly owned $17 million worth of property in Florida and New York, then victimized tenants and residents who lived there.

Issak Almaleh, 63-years old and Antoaneta Lotova, 51-years old were arrested in Hollywood on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and other offenses.  The Sun-Sentinel reported the two chose properties in foreclosure that were owned by FDIC-insured banks.  Authorities say they filed fraudulent and forged warranty deeds to show the transfer of those properties to corporations they controlled.

Almaleh, who was a notary, would notarize the documents as genuinely signed by representatives of the financial institutions and Iotova would sign the documents on behalf of the companies they controlled, officials said. This allowed them (with the help of police) to evict residents from their home and change the locks on the properties.  The tenants were informed by the bank that their lease agreements were invalid and that they needed to vacate the property, officials said.

The two remain in jail.

Click here to read more on this story.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Related Resources:

http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2017/01/26/south-florida-pair-arrested-in-17-million-bank-fraud-scheme/

Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Completed Foreclosures Drop 40%

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Homes in serious delinquency have fallen to the lowest level since 2007, according to a National Foreclosure Report released by CoreLogic.  Completed foreclosures dropped from 36,000 in December 2015 to 21,000 in December 2016.  The report revealed that foreclosure inventory dropped by 30% annually.

The foreclosure inventory represents the number of homes that are in some stage of foreclosure, while completed foreclosures reflect the total number of homes lost to foreclosure.

Foreclosure inventory dropped to just 0.8% of all homes with a mortgage in December, down from 1.2% in December 2015.

Homes in serious delinquency, defined as those 90 days or more past due including loans in foreclosure and REO, decreased 19.4% annually in December.  The states with the highest number of completed foreclosures in December 2016 included Florida with 45,000, followed by Michigan with 30,000, Texas with 24,000, Ohio with 21,000 and California with 19,000.

Click here to read more on this story.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosure Prevention Unknown After HAMP Expires

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At the end of last month HAMP (The Home Affordable Modification Program) expired and Republican-led Washington has no intention of replacing it. So now it will be up to the private sector to address the lingering issues brought on by the financial crisis.

Banks and mortgage lenders say they are ready to step in with their own foreclosure-prevention programs, modeled on what they learned from the Obama administration’s effort.  However, housing advocates are skeptical, as HAMP had its shortcomings.  The program fell far short of the administration’s goals.

Specifically, banks and servicers routinely ignored the rules, consistently rejected eligible homeowners, processed applications at a snail’s pace and foreclosed on homeowners even when they made their modified payments on time, according to a series of audit reports for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Approximately 70 percent of those who applied for the loan modifications were turned down.  Nearly 14 million homes went into foreclosure, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, which tracks foreclosure filings.

Even though the housing market has stabilized, the rate of delinquencies is at its lowest point since 2007, and home prices have risen in many places, there will always be homeowners and families in trouble because of job loss, illness and other unforeseen setbacks.

Click here to read more on this story.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Trump’s Treasury Pick Accused of Foreclosure Heartbreak Stories

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After President Trump announced his Treasury Secretary nominee, Steven Mnuchin, a wave of California homeowners came forward with allegations that OneWest Bank actively steered them away from making timely mortgage payments to qualify for federal loan assistance that never came. Borrowers claim the fraudulent activity occurred under the leadership of Mnuchin.

The accusations center around the government program called the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which was launched at during the 2009 financial crisis. Under the program, eligible borrowers could receive new, lower payments and the banks that took part would also receive government incentive payments.

“They (OneWest) hired people who didn’t know what they were doing and some bad information was being given out,” a source who was familiar with OneWest’s foreclosure procedures at the time told CNN.

CNN spoke to seven OneWest borrowers who all had similar stories about being advised to purposely miss payments in order to qualify for the HAMP program.

Mnuchin testified at his confirmation hearing where he defended his time as a bank executive and his work in the private sector. However, the Democrats were not buying it, dubbing him the “Foreclosure King.”

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Related Resources:

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/315143-mnuchin-emerges-from-confirmation-hearing-intact

http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/19/news/mnuchin-onewest-foreclosure/

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida House Bill Would Expand Lienholders’ Rights in Foreclosure Cases

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A bill filed this week in the Florida House, would expand the rights of lienholders in foreclosure actions.  Florida H.B. 471, proposed by State Senator Jay Fant, “Authorizes certain lienholders to use certain documents as admission in action to foreclose mortgage; provides that submission of certain documents in foreclosure action creates certain presumptions; authorizes lienholder to make request for judicial notice,” according to the language of the bill.

The bill authorizes a lienholder to use any documents from the mortgagee’s bankruptcy case that indicates an intention by the defendant to surrender the property. If the defendant does not withdraw the document in question, that document submitted along with a bankruptcy discharge, “creates a rebuttable presumption that the defendant has: 1. Surrendered to the lienholder the defendant’s interest in the mortgaged property; and 2. Waived any defenses to the foreclosure.”

The defendant’s legal remedy in such a case includes: “raising a defense based upon the lienholder’s conduct subsequent to the filing of the document filed in the bankruptcy case that evidenced the defendant’s intention to surrender the mortgaged property to the lienholder.”

The bill was filed with the Florida House on January 24, and would go into effect on July 1, 2017, if it passes.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Related Resources:

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/230882-florida-house-bill-expand-bank-rights-foreclosure-cases
http://www.dsnews.com/daily-dose/01-24-2017/florida-bill-expand-lienholders-rights https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/0471/BillText/Filed/PDF