Foreclosure Defense Attorney Archives - Page 5 of 9

Homeowners may be unaware their homes are no longer in Foreclosure

Posted on April 21, 2014by Admin

A recent report from RealtyTrac confirms that an increasingly larger number of homes in the foreclosure process actually have positive equity. According to the report, the share of foreclosures with positive equity in the first quarter reached 35 percent, up from 31 percent in the previous quarter and 24 percent in the third quarter of 2013. This percentage includes borrowers who have defaulted on their loans or are in some other stage of the foreclosure process but their homes have not been taken over by the banks, yet.

The reason behind this can be attributed to timing. Once a foreclosure is initiated, it can sometimes take years to complete the process. As we have seen, a lot can happen to housing prices in a couple of years. Home prices have risen dramatically in the past couple of years; some that are still stuck in the foreclosure process have regained their equity.

Homeowners may be unaware of this, either because they have moved or have stopped keeping tabs on their home’s property value. A high-percentage of all homes in the foreclosure process are vacant. RealtyTrac has not cross-referenced to see how many of the vacant ones have positive equity.

Real estate experts agree that paying attention to home values can make all the difference. In certain cases, struggling borrowers may be able to hang onto their homes by refinancing. The latest numbers reveal 9.3 million homes, representing 19 percent of all properties with a mortgage, were seriously underwater in the fourth quarter. Florida has the second highest percentage of seriously underwater properties at 31%. Nevada has the highest share of underwater properties at 34%.

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.

Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

NEW Mortgage Protections for Members of the Military

Posted on February 17, 2014by Admin

The responsibilities of home ownership and having a mortgage are demanding enough for the average consumer, but the process becomes increasingly more complicated for borrowers who are serving our country.

To help ease these hardships- which include job and relocation stress, along with time constraints- the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has written new mortgage protections for these consumers, which are now in place for military men and women.

Holly Petraeus, head of the CFPB’s military office said the new rules have come after the CFPB conducted nationwide listening sessions and heard stories from military families about poor mortgage servicing practices, inconsistent foreclosure practices and sloppy recordkeeping by lenders. These new rules will help military families struggling with a mortgage and those that just got orders requiring them to relocate.

Some of CFPB’s new rules include:

• Require a servicer to evaluate a borrower for all available options as soon as they receive an application for mortgage help.

• Servicers must have policies in place to ensure consistent and constant contact with borrowers.

• One of the big changes relates to what is known as dual-tracking. In the past, a member of the military struggling to make a mortgage payment might have been working on a potential loan modification at the same time their servicer was moving to foreclose on the home. This practice is now restricted under the new rules.

• Eliminate the issue of misplacing documents and other factors that make it hard for borrowers to get accurate and consistent answers regarding their mortgage.

• Mortgage servicers are now required to train their employees to be more readily able to answer questions for borrowers who run into trouble and must assign someone to help military borrowers to ensure a positive experience.

• In the past, service members had to apply multiple times for programs to help keep their homes. The new rules require mortgage servicers to evaluate a borrower who files a complete application for help for all the options that are available to that borrower. This will eliminate multiple rounds of applications.

Click here to read more on this story.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Homes in Foreclosure Hit 6-year Low

Posted on January 21, 2014by Admin

Foreclosures are on the decline, according to the latest evidence from RealtyTrac. The U.S. housing market continues to emerge from a deep slump, aided by rising home prices, steady job growth and fewer bad loans. More homeowners are keeping up with their mortgage payments, leading fewer homes to enter the foreclosure pipeline.

Foreclosures totaled 747,728 last year, which is down 33 percent from a year earlier and is the lowest annual level since 2006. As of December, more than 1.2 million properties nationwide were in some stage of the foreclosure process or owned by banks, but not yet sold. That is a decline of 19 percent from a year earlier and 44 percent below their peak of more than 2.2 million homes in December 2010, Realty Trac said.

Florida continues to remain the nation’s foreclosure hotbed and had 306,018 homes in some stage of foreclosure or owned by banks in December. That amounts to a quarter of the national total.

Click here to read more on this story.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

How the Government Shutdown Could Hurt Housing Market Recovery

Posted on October 7, 2013by Admin

The improvement in the housing market has been a driving factor for economic recovery. However, the recent government shutdown could impact this. Existing home sales increased 1.7% to an annual rate of 5.48 million units in August, the highest level since February 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The housing market’s path to recovery has not been an easy one. It seems before the housing bubble burst, anyone with a pulse could qualify for a mortgage loan. One of the biggest problems the housing market has faced is extremely stringent lending requirements, which are expected to be compounded by the current government shutdown.
Banks remain risk adverse to issuing new loans in the wake of a financial crisis. In a tight credit market, potential buyers are expected to have a high credit score and put down at least 20% down payment.

To show proof of income, sellers are often asked to provide IRS Form 4506, but the majority of the Internal Revenue Service has been dark since Tuesday after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on funding the government. There is also a strict IRS loan verification process. If buyers do not meet specific requirements, most mortgage loans cannot be authorized. David Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association and a former FHA commissioner, said if the shutdown extends beyond Monday that is when the delays in the mortgage process will really begin. Another hurdle, Stevens points out is that many lenders have to go through the FHA to get a mortgage approved and are unable to verify Social Security numbers because that system is also down- another obstacle for buyers trying to secure a loan.

Click here to read more on the recent government shutdown’s effect on the housing market.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Westin Fort Lauderdale Hotel in Foreclosure

Posted on October 3, 2013by Admin

The Westin Hotel in Fort Lauderdale has been hit with a foreclosure lawsuit, as it struggles to keep up with new hotels closer to the beach. U.S. Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit on September 23 against PFL VII LLC, the owner of the 293-room hotel at 400 Corporate Drive. The hotel was built in 1986 with 141,391 square feet, including 22,000 square feet of event space. PFL bought it for $40.5 million in 2007 with a $42 million mortgage.

According to Trepp LLC, the mortgage has $41.3 million outstanding. The payments were current as of early September, but the loan was placed into special servicing for imminent default several months ago. The borrower requested payment relief because of negative cash flows. For the 12 months ended March 31, the Weston Fort Lauderdale generated net operating income of $2.8 million on revenue of $13.4 million, but that was not enough to meet its loan payments without extra capital from the owner, according to Trepp. The hotel had an occupancy rate of 74 percent. Increased online competition has hurt the hotel, which has been unable to raise room rates. The situation is expected to worsen as it enters its slower season starting in August.

Click here to read more on the Westin Fort Lauderdale Hotel in foreclosure.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Family’s Home Mistaken for Foreclosed Property across the Street

Posted on September 30, 2013by Admin

A woman from Ohio claims a bank mistakenly cleared items from her home confusing it for a foreclosed house across the street, then demanded receipts when she asked to be compensated for her missing possessions. Katie Barnett, 36, a nurse, said her family had left for about two weeks last month and returned to find the locks on their home had been changed and many of their belongings had been taken.

Turns out First National Bank in Wellston, had mistaken her home for a bank-owned property across the street. Two dressers and clothing for her five children were taken, as well as items from outside their home, including pool cleaning supplies and patio furniture. The house that should have been repossessed was just two houses down the street.

Barnett’s home is not the first that a bank has mistaken for a foreclosed property. Just two weeks ago, a couple in Fort Worth, TX, discovered their home was confused for a vacant home, then mistakenly demolished. She asked the bank for compensation for the missing items, which she estimated were worth $18,000.

First National Bank apologized and said “two representatives were assigned to clean and refurbish a bank-owned residential property and a GPS locator led them to the wrong home, which was located on the same street as the bank owned property.” The bank argues that the value Barnett assigned to the items is inconsistent with the list and descriptions of the items removed from the home. Barnett said she has an attorney and plans to bring a lawsuit.

Click here to read more on this story.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida among Top States for Mortgage Fraud

Posted on September 27, 2013by Admin

According to a recent report by CoreLogic, Florida remains one of the most at-risk states for mortgage fraud. The report revealed that Florida had an estimated value of $273 million in fraudulent mortgage applications, behind California ($864 million) and New York ($278 million). Texas ($261 million) and Virginia ($231 million) rounded out the top 5. Nationwide there were an estimated $5.3 billion in fraudulent loan applications.

Click here to read more on the story listing Florida as one of the top states for mortgage fraud.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosure Nightmare! Could this Happen to you?

Posted on September 24, 2013by Admin

An Altadena family who had been paying their mortgage on time following a loan modification they received from Ocwen Financial Corporation had their house literally sold out from under them. The unsuspecting family said that they first received a call and later a letter notifying them Ocwen had sold their loan to Nationstar Mortgage. Shortly after, they received a knock on the door telling them they had two weeks to leave their house because a company called Sage Equities had bought their home in foreclosure.

Stunned, the Sinclair’s contested that they had always paid their mortgage on time, in full, and had the documentation to prove it. But in June, after their first payment to Nationstar, the mortgage company sent a check back to them for the full amount. The family said they attempted to figure out why Nationstar was not taking their payment, but never received an answer and continued making their scheduled payments each month. What’s more interesting, Nationstar continued collecting their money, even as the Sinclair’s were repeatedly told by Sage Equities they had to leave their house.

After repeated attempts made by the Sinclair family to resolve this, a Nationstar representative finally gave them a reason for the foreclosure over the phone. They said they did not notarize one paper of the modification, when in fact they did. Following the confusion, Nationstar released the following statement: “We are very sorry for the situation Mr. Sinclair was in, and we deeply regret the difficulty he experienced. As a result of KABC bringing this situation to our attention, we were able to expedite our review and take two importation steps. First, we have rescinded the sale of the home, which means Mr. Sinclair will not have to leave his house. Second, we are going to honor the previous loan modification that was put in place.”

Unfortunately today, banks are foreclosing in ways that circumvent the law, taking a variety of shortcuts that place homeowners at a disadvantage. If this happens to you, consult an experienced foreclosure defense attorney and speak with your bank immediately. Fortunately for the Sinclair’s, they were able to stay in their home. But they say that it does not make up for the terrible experience they endured.

Click here to read more on this foreclosure nightmare.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Dina Lohan Facing Foreclosure

Posted on September 23, 2013by Admin

Troubled mom of actress Lindsay Lohan is about to lose her home according to the Long Island Press. Lender JPMorgan Chase filed new court papers on August 28 to foreclose on her $1.3 million Merrick house. Court documents read, Dina “has failed to comply with the conditions of the mortgage by failing to pay portions of principal, interest or taxes, assessments, water rates, insurance premiums, escrow and/or other charges.”

This is not the first time the bank has been after Lohan’s home. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, JPMorgan Chase Bank filed documents in 2010 to foreclose on Dina’s Long Island home because she had fallen behind on payments. That time the bank ended up cutting a deal in which Dina agreed to a new payment plan that would prevent her home from being auctioned off. Sources close to Lindsay claim that she made Dina’s payments and then supplied her with more bailout money- $40,000.

Click here to read more on the latest drama surrounding Dina Lohan facing foreclosure.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida’s Foreclosure Rate Drops to No. 2

Posted on September 17, 2013by Admin

Florida has fallen to the No.2 spot in the nation for foreclosure activity in August behind Nevada after three consecutive months at No. 1, according to RealtyTrac. In August, one in every 383 residences in Florida received a foreclosure filing. A total of 23,372 Florida properties received foreclosure filings in August, down 14 percent from July and down 15 percent from a year earlier.

The decrease in Florida foreclosure activity reflects a 65 percent decrease in new filings, which hit their lowest level since RealtyTrac began issuing its state report in April 2005.

In Miami-Dade County, one in every 264 residences received some type of foreclosure filing in August, as foreclosure activity fell 19.88 percent from a year earlier and declined 14.13 percent from July, according to RealtyTrac. In Broward County, one in every 372 residences received a foreclosure filing in August. That reflected a 12.23 percent decline in foreclosure activity from a year earlier and a 27.28 percent decline from July. In both Miami-Dade and Broward, new foreclosures filings were down in August from a year earlier, while auction notices and bank repossessions increased.

Among the 20 largest metropolitan areas, Miami posted the highest foreclosure rate, and Tampa ranked second.

Click here to read more on Florida falling to the No. 2 spot in the nation for foreclosure activity.