Foreclosures Archives - Page 53 of 56

HOA Foreclosures on the Rise as Many Homeowner Associations are Seeking Revenge on Delinquent Homeowners

Posted on May 14, 2011by Admin

A new trend has surfaced as a result of numerous homeowner associations being fed up with late dues and maintenance bills largely in part to delinquent owners. Due to the fact it is easier for an association to foreclose than a bank- being that there is no proof of ownership necessary, no issue of ‘robo-signed’ documents- the number of HOA foreclosures is climbing as homeowner association boards are taking matters into their own hands.

When a homeowner association forecloses and takes title to a home, the idea is the board will be able to rent it out until the bank forecloses as the primary lien holder. With banks taking years to foreclose on some properties, this allows for the homeowner association boards to potentially collect thousands of dollars.

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, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

U.S. Regulators Order Banks to Quickly Improve their Foreclosure Practices

Posted on April 29, 2011by Admin

U.S. regulators have ordered 14 financial institutions to lay out plans to clean up their mortgage-servicing operations- and another 60 days to make the changes. Recently Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their federal regulator established new guidelines designed to encourage more successful modifications while preventing foreclosures from dragging on. The rules will require servicers to approach borrowers earlier and more frequently after a first missed payment in order to have a better chance at modifying loans. The mortgage titans will also pay more to servicers that meet certain benchmarks and establish timelines for banks to modify loans or process foreclosures.

Below are the requirements of the new regulatory order and how the banks have adjusted so far:

Single point of contact. Borrowers who have been bounced from one bank employee to another must get a “single point of contact” to steer them through loan modification the foreclosure process.

In June, Wells Fargo & Co. began assigning an employee and backup employee to each borrower seeking a loan modification. It plans to expand the effort to foreclosures and short sales, or sales for less than what is owed on the property.

Ally Financial Inc. assigns borrowers who have had trouble submitting a completed financial package a team of employees to help them gather documents, execute a final loan modification or weigh other foreclosure alternatives.

J.P. Morgan is working on a software program to make it easier for employees and borrowers to track loan-modification requests. Last year, it started providing some borrowers with a “relationship manager” to advise on the process.

Citigroup now provides borrowers with a single point of contact for gathering documents and handling short sales. In the next months, it will roll out a “concierge” system that will assign a small team of employees to help delinquent borrowers and homeowners at risk of default navigate the system.

Deadlines. Banks are required to set “appropriate deadlines” for deciding whether borrowers can get a loan workout.

Wells Fargo’s initial reviews average 79 days. Ally Financial said it responds to the average borrower within seven to 10 days of receiving a complete financial package. At Citigroup, the goal is to give borrowers a final answer about a permanent modification within 22 days of their final trial payment.

Staffing levels. Banks must make sure they have enough employees to deal with the tidal wave of troubled loans.

J.P. Morgan said it will add as many as 3,000 new home-lending jobs, mostly drawing the workers from elsewhere in the company. BofA said it hired roughly 3,000 people in the first quarter to work on troubled mortgages. Citigroup said it will expand its loan-modification unit by 500 employees.

Wells Fargo doesn’t expect to increase staffing because the number of borrowers behind on loan payments is declining. It might transfer employees from other parts of the company with excess capacity.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

The Mortgage Mess Settlement- Who’s expected to reap the benefits?

Posted on April 20, 2011by Admin

Will homeowners benefit from reimbursements the government has ordered 16 mortgage lenders pay? Foreclosure victims and housing activists say it’s not likely. Under a settlement between regulators and banks announced last week, an independent review will be conducted of all foreclosures that took place in 2009 and 2010 to determine whether fees were improperly charged or homes were wrongfully foreclosed upon.

Included in the settlement was a cease-and-desist order against Mortgage Electronic Record Systems (MERS), a privately held company that operates an electronic registry system designed to track mortgage ownership and rights of mortgaged properties. Many experts think last Wednesday’s settlement is only a “drop in the bucket” and not adequately addressing the billions and trillions of dollars lost and the pain and suffering of not knowing who owns what.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Decline in Foreclosure Filings Pushes Florida Court System into Deficit

Posted on April 5, 2011by Admin

Florida’s court system is facing a $72.3 million deficit as a result of a decline in foreclosure filings. The State Courts Revenue Trust Fund, established in 2009, is currently incurring the debt. Of the $462 million court system budget, about $370 million is currently funded by the trust fund.

Recently released data suggest that foreclosure filings may not increase any time soon. Although Florida holds the largest shadow inventory in the U.S. at more than 441,000 properties, the average home sits delinquent for 638 days, according to the National Association of Realtors.

It’s been recommended that an emergency plan be created to provide funding to the Florida court system. A temporary transfer of $28.5 million to the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund from the court’s Mediation Arbitration Trust Fund and Court Education Trust Fund is being scheduled to help alleviate the deficit.

Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

A Borrowers’ Bill of Rights

Posted on March 24, 2011by Admin

Recent “robo-signing” and foreclosure scandals suggest that for thousands of homeowners, fairness and competency have not been so readily available. According to witnesses at recent congressional hearings, borrowers with on-time payment histories who sought loan modifications frequently were told they needed to stop payments for two to three months before they would be eligible to even discuss changes to their loan terms. When these individuals and businesses applied for modifications, they were sent foreclosure notices because they were in default.

It’s also suggested that servicers “pyramid” late fees and sloppy documentation, have had an increasing affect on borrowers’ debts to the point where foreclosure has become inevitable.
Some of the most blatant errors involve property insurance records. According to the National Consumer Law Center, $30,000 in fees were added to one homeowner’s principal balance by a bank during the seven months it took to process the modification request. It is reported abuse such as this that’s led to hundreds of lawsuits against banks and servicers that are clogging court calendars nationwide. This has prompted state attorney generals to negotiate a national settlement with the 14 biggest banks and servicers.

The draft proposal calls for billions of dollars in penalties from the banks along with additional billions in principal reductions for distressed and underwater borrowers. The core of the agreement would essentially amount to a new mortgage servicing bill of rights for borrowers. It sets out minimum standards and operating procedures that would govern how homeowners are treated in the future.

Below is a quick overview of the proposed “borrowers’ bill of rights”:

• Servicers would be required to employ enough trained loss-mitigation staff to deal with all borrower inquiries and request for loan modifications

• Servicers would be required to identify the bank or investor that is the legal owner of the mortgage

• Servicers will have to provide mortgage customers with a “single point of contact” – a designated employee, with a name and contact information – for their loan modification requests

• Dual-tracking of modifications and foreclosures would be banned

• Servicers would be prohibited from advising on-time customers to default, or discouraging borrowers from seeking help from non-profit counseling organizations.

• “Force-placed” insurance practices would be severely limited, including prohibitions on obtaining high-premium policies from subsidiaries, affiliates, the lender or servicer

If the proposed settlement occurs, it could give significant new protections to homeowners and borrowers, even for those that never had a payment problem or a need to modify their mortgage terms.

To read more on this story, visit:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/20/2119880/a-borrowers-bill-of-rights.html

Bankruptcy Law, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Filing for Bankruptcy Could Save your Home

Posted on March 15, 2011by Admin

By the time a foreclosure notice arrives, many struggling homeowners figure they are out of options. However, there is one step many often overlook: filing for bankruptcy. The impact of filing for bankruptcy- especially on your chances of getting a loan- may not be as dire as many consumers assume. In fact, homeowners facing foreclosure may be able to improve their credit by filing for bankruptcy.

In the eyes of lenders, by filing for bankruptcy, you are making an attempt to pay back what is owed and keeping up with your payments. That help can make a big difference for homeowners struggling to deal with a lending industry which is overwhelmed by the mortgage mess.
Bankruptcy automatically stops the foreclosure process, giving the struggling homeowner and the court time to try and get back on track with your mortgage payments. Even if you fail to save your home, the consequences of a bankruptcy filing may be less severe than foreclosure. In fact, bankruptcy laws were established to provide an orderly process for people in financial trouble to reorganize their debts, start fresh and rebuild their lives.

Many of the individuals that come into my office are not living extravagant lifestyles; instead, they are forced to take drastic steps because of a change in circumstances, whether it’s the loss of a job or a divorce. A bankruptcy filing will not guarantee that you will be able to keep your home. However, it does stop the foreclosure process and will buy you time while the court reviews your finances and attempts to work out a payment plan with lenders.

To read more on this story, visit:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41787682/ns/business-personal_finance/

If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy attorneys at (305) 285-9100. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Florida Bar, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Miami-Dade to get new Foreclosure Mediators

Posted on March 9, 2011by Admin

The State’s largest foreclosure mediation program is coming under new leadership, after its original managers lost a bid to continue heading up the Supreme-Court mandated process. Oasis Alliance, which won the contract through an open bidding process, will begin transitioning to replace The Collins Center on March 28.

Like many foreclosure prevention programs that have surfaced in the wake of the housing collapse, court-ordered mediation has not been able to meet the expectations of its creators. A recent report from the Office of the State Courts Administrator found that only 6 percent of distressed homeowners eligible for mediation worked out a resolution with the bank. In Miami-Dade County, that percentage is 5.6 percent.

The main roadblock has been getting borrowers to show up at the negotiation. Homeowners were reached in only about half of cases eligible for mediation in Miami-Dade, the report found. Of the borrowers that actually attended mediation, 32 percent reached an agreement with their lender.

Miami-Dade County’s multilingual population, large geographical area and battered housing market make it a particularly difficult region for managing foreclosure mediations. There are about 70,000 unresolved foreclosure cases in Miami-Dade County court, compared to about 15,000 in the judicial circuit where Oasis is currently operating.

To read more on this story, visit:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/04/2098336/collins-dumped-as-foreclosure.html

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Rising Gas Prices Could Lead to an Increase in Foreclosures

Posted on March 7, 2011by Admin

Rising gasoline prices are making a bad situation even worse, particularly in the area of Homestead, FL., where many residents drive some 30 miles to work in Miami. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports Homestead having one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation for the past two years. So while the foreclosure problem is starting to subside in many cities, the problem in places like Homestead could grow.

Data prepared for The Wall Street Journal by CoreLogic Inc. showed that in two Zip Codes in the Homestead area, 33032 and 33033, more than 44% of all mortgages were three months or more delinquent as of November. Those were the highest rates in the country. The communities in the two Zip Codes are filled with modest, middle-class homes, many built from 2004 to 2006. Some of those homes are now empty after the owners left or were evicted. Some of those still around are considering leaving. Of Homestead’s 21,300 mortgages, nearly 9,000 are severely delinquent, with 6,100 homes in a state of foreclosure and more than 900 owned by the bank and likely empty, CoreLogic said.

This trend is causing many families to reconsider the total cost of living far away from urban centers, not just the cost of the home.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

More than 14 percent of Florida mortgages in foreclosure

Posted on February 24, 2011by Admin

It used to be that signing your mortgage documents was an exhilarating experience. New homebuyers eagerly agreed to the terms of the loan because they knew it was an important step towards becoming homeowners.

Now, most homebuyers (and lenders for that matter) sign those mortgage documents with trepidation. And in Florida, there is a good reason for their hesitation. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, more than 14 percent of all mortgages in Florida are in foreclosure. That is the highest foreclosure rate in the country.

People who excitedly signed those mortgage papers only a few years ago are now having trouble making the payments. Perhaps they have lost their jobs, or maybe the adjustable rate mortgage became too high to pay. Or perhaps the homebuyers have encountered a different financial challenge as the Great Recession takes its toll on Floridians. Regardless of the reason, “more than 20 percent of all loans in Florida are somewhere past due or somewhere in foreclosure,” according to the vice president of the MBA.

There is another possible explanation for the rise in the percentage of Florida mortgages in foreclosure. The foreclosure process in Miami-Dade County now takes nearly twice as long as it took in 2007. Once a home enters foreclosure, it takes 742 days for the foreclosure to be completed. That means that as new homes enter foreclosure, more homes are still in the process.

For the 14 percent of homeowners in foreclosure and the 5 percent who are more than 90 days behind on mortgage payments, the future may seem bleak. However, they should know that there are legal options, especially before the foreclosure process begins. An experienced foreclosure defense or bankruptcy attorney can explain those options and help individuals make decisions that protect their assets.

Source: Miami Herald, “Florida’s foreclosure rate is nation’s highest,” Toluse Olorunnipa, 17 Feb 2011

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

The State of New York Guarantees Court-Appointed Lawyers to Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

Posted on February 18, 2011by Admin

A recent article in the American Bar Association (ABA) Journal reports that New York will be the first state to offer all homeowners facing foreclosure a court-appointed attorney. According to the New York Times, there are approximately 80,000 foreclosure cases in the New York state court system. Court officials plan to draw appointed attorneys from legal aid groups and volunteer organizations. Judge Jonathan Lippman, the state’s chief judge, has asked the New York legislature for a $100 million increase for legal services programs over the next four years. The first courts to implement the plan will be in Queens and Orange counties.