Foreclosures

A new study has found that Americans who have trouble dividing 300 by 2 are more likely to end up in foreclosure than those consumers with average math skills. According to the study’s authors, the research is among the first to directly link mortgage trouble to ‘financial literacy.’ The study also revealed that math skills were a better predictor of foreclosure than the type of mortgages available, which takes some of the blame away from so-called ‘risky’ mortgages.

The study examined actual mortgage payment streams obtained from the Federal Reserve, and then contacted mortgage holders to assess their math skills. Each was asked a series of five basic math questions; the answers were then assigned into four “buckets.” Four of those questions tested the ability to perform simple division or calculate percentages, like: “A shop is selling all items at half price. Before the sale, a sofa costs $300. How much will it cost in the sale?” Roughly 1 in 7 test-takers could not answer even two such questions correctly, and landed in the lowest bucket. That group was four times more likely to be in foreclosure than consumers who landed in the top bucket by answering all five questions correctly.

The researchers also went to great lengths to control outside factors, such as income, overall education level, IQ, and type of mortgage. Math skills had the most pronounced effect on likelihood that consumers would end up in foreclosure. For example, homeowners with no college degree but high math skills performed better than college graduates with poor math skills.

Click here to read more on this recent study linking the likelihood of foreclosure to individuals with poor math skills.

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 website, www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Checks sent to foreclosed homeowners are going un-cashed, another sign that the government’s national foreclosure settlement is falling short of its promised impact. 4.2 million checks have been distributed to foreclosed homeowners. The majority of those checks were just $300 each. A review by the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) suggested that almost a quarter million Americans lost homes under false or illegal pretenses and that about 1.2 million borrowers had to defend against wrongful foreclosure acts.

The latest evidence revealed in June 2013 confirms the housing industry is continuing to prey on borrowers.
Authorities recorded approximately 60,000 official complaints in just six months about bank actions that violate the mortgage settlement back in June. In addition, Bank of America was caught using sales tactics in their solicitation mailers that are illegal. Individual horror stories about wrongful foreclosures continue to crop up across the country.

Click here to read more on victims of mortgage fraud refusing to cash settlement checks.

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 website, www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Daunte Culpepper, former Miami Dolphins quarterback recently had his Broward County home taken away by the bank. Sun Trust Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit in February against Culpepper, his wife and DRKRC Land Trust over the 9,867-square-foot home he owned in Landmark Ranch Estates. In April 2013, the home was surrendered to SunTrust in a deed in lieu of foreclosure. It cited $3 million in debt released in exchange for the property.

Culpepper purchased the home at the height of his career in 2006, when he was traded from the Vikings who had signed a 10-year deal with him in 2003 for a whopping $102 million, which included a signing bonus of $16 million. The Dolphins reworked his contract after the trade with a $7 million signing bonus and a $1 million salary in the first year, and then $51.5 million through 2013. Culpepper struggled with injuries and was released after only one season of playing for the Dolphins.

Click here to read more on former Miami Dolphins quarterback, Daunte Culpepper losing his Fort Lauderdale home to foreclosure.

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 website, www.miamibankruptcy.com.

According to RealtyTrac, one in 236 housing units in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach received a foreclosure filing in June; more than four times that of the national average! Miami’s foreclosure rate ranked at the top of major U.S. metropolitan areas last month. This recent jump can be attributed to the increase in auctions and lenders pushing properties through foreclosure after years of judicial delays.

Prices for single-family homes in the Miami metro area climbed 13 percent in April from a year earlier, the biggest gain among East Coast cities in the S&P/Case-Shiller index of 20 major markets. Home prices are rising and inventory has decreased, making it a perfect sellers’ market.

According to CoreLogic, Florida’s foreclosure inventory was 8.8 percent of its mortgaged homes in May, the highest share of any state and more than double the 4 percent share of second-place Illinois and more than triple the U.S. average of 2.6 percent.

Now that we are seemingly out of the foreclosure crisis, developers are proposing new condo projects. With the decrease in land available to build on, developers are constructing vertically.

Click here to read more on the latest foreclosure trends in Miami.

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 website, www.miamibankruptcy.com.

According to a recent report by CoreLogic, more homes were lost to foreclosure in Florida than any other state in the last 12 months. Florida had the highest number of foreclosed homes in the nation in May, with 8.8 percent of mortgaged homes in some stage of the foreclosure process. That level marked a 2.9 percentage decline from the previous year.

Some believe the reason Florida’s foreclosure inventory is so high is the lengthy court process a foreclosure has to go through in the State of Florida.

CoreLogic also reported mortgage loans in Florida are showing some troubling signs. For May, the share of Florida mortgages that were seriously delinquent — behind by 90 days or more — was 13.3 percent, the highest rate of any state and more than double the national average of 5.6 percent.

After Florida, California ranked No. 2 with 76,000 homes lost to foreclosure in the year ending in May 2013.

Click here to read more about Florida being ranked #1 in foreclosures.

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 website, www.miamibankruptcy.com.

According to RealtyTrac, South Florida comes in at No. 2 in metropolitan areas, with more than 13,000 abandoned and foreclosed properties. The State of Florida ranks No. 1 in the number of foreclosed properties abandoned by homeowners. One of the reasons for this is that banks are reluctant to maintain the property until they finally take possession, which can take years. The amount of abandoned and foreclosed properties can have a devastating effect on property values and entire cities. Lake Worth Commissioner, Scott Maxwell, is looking for a permanent solution to the problem, beginning by examining the city’s code enforcement.

Click here to read more on the devastating effects the high number of abandoned and foreclosed properties can have on South Florida and some of the solutions being proposed.

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 website, www.miamibankruptcy.com.

The term, ‘zombie home’ refers to a house where the owner has moved out and the lender has never finished the foreclosure paperwork, leaving the absent homeowner legally liable for the foreclosed property along with the property taxes, homeowner association fees, fines for building code violations, etc.

Public records are clear that the homeowner still owns the property, but in many cases since the owner has already moved out he or she is unaware of this. Lenders typically are not required to notify the homeowner when a foreclosure is not complete. So following your move out, you should research public records to monitor the home’s ownership status.

According to RealtyTrac, as many as 300,000 zombie houses exist in the United States, and every state likely has at least a few of them. Florida is “Zombie Central,” with potentially 90,556 zombie houses, about 30 percent of the U.S. total. So why are there so many zombie homes? One reason is metropolitan areas tend to have distressed properties in such poor condition that neither the homeowner nor the bank wants to own them.

States such as Nevada, Oregon and Washington have new laws that punish banks for improper foreclosures, causing delays in the process. Some cities have set up registries of foreclosed or abandoned properties or enacted local laws that require lenders to perform basic maintenance, but enforcement may be minimal or ineffective.

Click here to read more about zombie homes and their effect on the housing market.

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 website, www.miamibankruptcy.com.