Tag: foreclosure attorney

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Home Construction Up 12%

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The housing market has shown signs of improvement this past year with record-low mortgage rates, an increase in home construction and fewer foreclosures. Home construction exceeded economists’ expectations during the month of December with the start of construction on more than 889,000 homes. Construction rates were up more than 12% from November and nearly 37% from December 2011. Construction picked back up in the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy with new home construction up 19% from November. The new home construction surge suggests low inventory and builder confidence, which are two great signs for the economy.

Economists also tracked applications for new building permits to indicate the confidence in the market, however there was little change from November’s rate. December’s mortgage rates also continued at a record-low percentage, which is another positive indicator that the market is on the road to recovery.

To read more on this story visit: http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/17/real_estate/housing-starts/index.html

If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. 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. at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

HSBC Settles Foreclosure Suit for $249 Million

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HSBC settled with the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for $249 million last Friday for alleged foreclosure abuses. The settlement will offer $96 million in direct cash payments and $153 million in other forms of relief such as loan modifications and forgiveness of deficiency judgments. The terms of the settlement are similar to other recent multi-million dollar foreclosure abuse settlements. Initially, $3.6 million in cash relief will be issued to nearly 4.2 million homeowners for as much as $125,000 each.

HSBC and 13 other banks were issued an enforcement action for charging excessive fees, wrongfully foreclosing on borrowers and using improper documents in April 2011. As a result, the banks were forced to hire independent consultants to investigate the foreclosure abuses and provide compensation for victims, a process known as Independent Foreclosure Review. This process was later abandoned when it proved to be slow moving and expensive. The settlement is expected to provide relief to foreclosure abuse victims much faster and avoid future lawsuits.

To read more on this story visit: http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/18/investing/hsbc-foreclosure/index.html

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.

Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida Leads the Nation in Foreclosures

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Florida led the nation with the highest number of foreclosures throughout 2012. One in 32 Florida homes received a foreclosure filing last year. However, according to RealtyTrac the housing market crash that began six years ago is winding down. The first six years of the housing crisis, Nevada held the number one foreclosure rate in the country. During 2012, Nevada fell to number two with one in 37 homes receiving a foreclosure filing. California and Utah both held top five spots during 2011 and both fell off the ‘top’ list last year, which suggests the Western states might be healing a bit faster than the East.

Foreclosures in Florida stalled during 2011 after the “robo-signing scandal” surfaced. They picked back up during 2012 after the $26 billion deal was signed in February between the five largest mortgage lenders and 49 state attorney generals. Since 2007, more than 91,000 homes have been foreclosed on in Palm Beach and Broward counties alone. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released new rules last week that are intended to protect consumers from risky mortgages and hopefully guard the economy from another housing market crash.

To read more on this story visit: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-realtytrac-foreclosures-year-end-20130116,0,684170.story?track=rss

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Consumer Groups Criticize New Mortgage Rules

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its new mortgage rules last week that would protect borrowers from risky mortgages. Some consumer groups are criticizing the rules with the argument that these rules only protect the banks. One of the CFPB’s new rules is that lenders cannot issue mortgages to those who do not have the “ability-to-repay.” This rule states that borrowers must be able to prove they can afford the loans. The new rules will also end the outbreak of multi-million dollar lawsuits against lenders for wrongful foreclosure practices.

Consumer groups argue that the rules provide a legal shield for banks that is detrimental to borrowers. The CFPB has also installed a “qualified mortgage” standard, meaning that when a loan meets the lending criteria, it will become a “qualified mortgage.” This standard protects banks from lawsuits filed by borrowers or buyers of mortgage-backed bonds. According to consumer groups, this standard will make it possible for lenders to issue unaffordable loans that still meet the “ability-to-repay” criteria. Lower-income borrowers will be at risk of losing their home and destroying their credit, but unable to take legal action.

To read more on this story visit: http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/10/real_estate/mortgage-rules/index.html

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Bill Filed to Speed Up Foreclosures in Florida

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Last Thursday, Rep. Kathleen Passidomo filed a new bill proposing “faster foreclosures.” The bill offers many changes to civil procedures governing foreclosures. Florida has the highest foreclosure rate in the country and also one of the slowest. It currently takes more than 600 days for a foreclosure to run its course in Florida. However, many struggling homeowners rallied in Tallahassee last week to protest the faster foreclosure bill.

Paperwork problems have played a major role in the backlog of foreclosures in Florida for the past several years. The new bill would require lenders to certify they have the correct paperwork to legally foreclose. It also gives condo associations the ability to speed up the banks foreclosure proceedings if they are moving too slow. Condo associations have suffered major consequences from unpaid fees and abandoned homes since the housing market crash.

The bill Passidomo proposed also specifies that if a lender is sued for wrongful foreclosure practices, the lender can only be sued for monetary damages. The point of this is to eliminate any chance that the bank re-sells the home to a third-party, and then the family filing the lawsuit demands their home back in a settlement. A similar bill was proposed last year that passed in the Florida House but died in the Senate.

To read more on this story visit: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2013/01/new-faster-foreclosure-bill-filed-.html

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.

Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Why Short Sales Can Ruin Your Credit

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There has been a longtime notion that opting for a short sale as opposed to a foreclosure is a way to avoid a major hit to your credit score. Most homeowners find out after the fact that a short sale has the same effect that a foreclosure will have on your FICO score. In a short sale, homeowners basically hand over their keys to the lenders. The home is then sold for less than is owed on the mortgage. Many struggling homeowners are under the impression that their cooperation will be rewarded with a lesser hit to their credit score. However, foreclosures and short sales are considered the same occurrence in the FICO formula for credit scores and can remove between 140 and 160 points from a score.

The FICO research showed 72% of those with a foreclosure later defaulted on another debt, compared with 55.1% of those with a short sale and 50.1% of those who arranged a deed in lieu of foreclosure, which means they voluntarily surrendered their keys to the bank rather than going through formal foreclosure. Following the mass amount of defaults on mortgages from the housing market crash, the rate of short sales has spiked. Rather than fighting foreclosure, homeowners seem to have surrendered to the banks. In most foreclosure cases, economic conditions are the reason homeowners are unable to keep up with their mortgage payments. A hefty percentage of homeowners’ mortgages are now ‘underwater,’ meaning they owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth. FICO’s reason for not altering the formula is based on the notion that homeowners who are foreclosed on or participate in a short sale, are more likely to default on another loan in the near future.

To read more on this story visit: http://money.msn.com/credit-rating/why-short-sales-trash-your-credit?page=2

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.

Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

South Florida’s Average Mortgage Balance Dropped $3K in a Year

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According to CreditKarma.com South Florida’s average mortgage balance has dropped $3,000 since last year. Average debt in November 2011 in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties was $198,150 and dropped to $195,274 in November 2012. This is a sign that the economy is slowly improving in South Florida. Credit card debt has also dropped since 2011, on average more than $1,000 per consumer.
Palm Beach and Broward County mortgage banker, Adam Cohn said he has noticed that clients are trying to pay down their mortgages before refinancing. Cohn also said he has seen some couples take out of retirement to pay down their mortgages. The fact that homeowners have become more cautious with their money shows they have learned a lot from their financial mistakes during the recession. The average mortgage amount for new homeowners in South Florida is approximately $200,000.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/blogs/money-sense/sfl-mortgage-balance-drops-20121211,0,6625974.story
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Allen Iverson Faces Foreclosure on Atlanta Mansion

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Former NBA superstar, Allen Iverson, is fighting to keep his Atlanta, GA home out of foreclosure. Iverson filed a lawsuit against the mortgage company claiming that he did not consent to the loan and that his estranged wife is the one to blame. Iverson defaulted on $1.2 million of his $5.4 million mortgage. His home was scheduled to be sold at auction on December 4th.
Iverson is in the midst of a messy divorce with his wife. He alleges that his wife signed off on the mortgage without his consent and purposely agreed to terms he could not meet in an effort to get back at him. As a result of Iverson’s lawsuit, the foreclosure proceedings have been placed on hold.
To read more visit: http://www.christianpost.com/news/iverson-fights-foreclosure-former-nba-star-allen-iverson-blames-estranged-wife-for-default-86357/
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

South Florida Foreclosure Sales Skyrocket

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During the third quarter of 2012, foreclosure sales skyrocketed according to recent data from RealtyTrac. Foreclosure sales in Miami-Dade County jumped 43.9 percent from the second to the third quarter this year. Since the third quarter of 2011, foreclosure sales rose 21.8 percent. Broward County foreclosure sales jumped 38.9 percent since the second quarter of 2012. RealtyTrac’s Daren Blomquist said the trend is happening throughout most of the state.
The collected data includes the sale of both bank-owned properties and also short sales. Foreclosure-related sales accounted for 32.5 percent of all home sales in Miami-Dade County during the third quarter. These sales accounted for 25.2 percent of all home sales in Broward County during the third quarter. Statewide, foreclosure sales jumped 47 percent from the second to the third quarter.
To read more on this story visit: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/12/08/foreclosure-sales-continue-to-rise-across-south-florida/
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida Homeowners Eligible for Payout from Mortgage Settlement – Claim Deadline: January 18, 2013

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As a part of the $25 billion national mortgage foreclosure settlement, Florida homeowners who lost their homes between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011 are eligible for a portion of the settlement. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that those borrowers have until January 18, 2013 to file a claim. Qualified homeowners have been mailed forms they can simply fill out and send in to receive payment. Attorney General Bondi is urging everyone to complete these forms as soon as possible. Payment checks will be mailed out in mid-2013.
To be eligible for a payout, borrowers must have had mortgages serviced by one of the following banks: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, JPMorgan Chase or Ally. Across the nation, approximately two million borrowers are scheduled to receive a payout as part of the settlement and $1.5 billion has been set aside for these payouts. The amount of the payout will depend on the number of borrowers who claim their payment. If you did not receive a form in the mail but believe you may be eligible, contact the settlement administrator at 1-866-430-8358.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.news-press.com/article/20121129/NEWS01/121129007/0/pbcs.dll/Florida-borrowers-who-lost-home-foreclosure-until-Jan-18-claim-settlement?odyssey=nav%7Chead
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. 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.