Foreclosure Defense Attorney Archives - Page 9 of 9

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.

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.

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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Major Ruling Throws out more than 10,000 GMAC Foreclosure Cases

Posted on January 25, 2011by Admin

A recent ruling in Maryland has thrown out more than 10,000 foreclosure cases managed by GMAC Mortgage, due to affidavits in cases signed by Jeffrey Stephan, the infamous GMAC “robo-signer,” who attested to the authenticity of foreclosure documents without any knowledge about them, as well as signing other false statements.

The University of Maryland Consumer Protection Clinic and Civil Justice, Inc. filed the class action lawsuit, arguing that any case using Jeffrey Stephan as a signer was illegitimate and must be dismissed. In court last Friday, GMAC agreed to dismiss every case in Maryland relying on a Stephan affidavit. They can re-file foreclosure actions on close to 10,000 homes, but only at their own expense, and subject to new Maryland regulations which require mandatory mediation between borrower and lender before moving to foreclosure. Civil Justice and Consumer Protection Clinic also want any cases with affidavits from Xee Moua of Wells Fargo, who has also admitted to robo-signing, thrown out.

Now GMAC has to go back and basically file the entire case all over again, meaning they have to give notice of foreclosure to the borrower, engage the borrower in modification options, and run through the whole process from the beginning. They cannot use the shortcut solution, thanks to the class action suit filed.

To read more on this story, visit:
http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/01/16/10000-gmac-foreclosures-stopped-in-maryland/#

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Banks Drop Hundreds of Foreclosures in Southwest Florida

Posted on January 24, 2011by Admin

According to local attorneys and court records, banks in recent weeks have dropped hundreds of Southwest Florida foreclosure lawsuits in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties. Opinions vary sharply on whether this means banks are taking a breather before re-filing with stronger evidence, or just giving up for good on hopelessly flawed cases.

The exact amount of foreclosures being dismissed have not been calculated, but eight voluntary dismissals were filed last Tuesday alone by seven different banks including Bank of America, one of the largest filers of foreclosures in the area. Most of the mortgages in dispute were sold to Wall Street and sold in bundles to investors as mortgage-backed securities. However, so many mistakes were made in the process it’s unlikely the banks can win those cases.

This recent wave of voluntary dismissals may be a result of a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling on January 7th upholding a judge’s decision two foreclosures were invalid because the banks didn’t prove they owned the mortgages, which were said to be improperly transferred into two mortgage-backed trusts.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

The Federal Reserve Proposes to Eliminate the Primary Protection Homeowners currently have to Avoid Foreclosure and Abusive Home Loans

Posted on December 15, 2010by Admin

As Americans continue to lose their homes in what’s been referred to as the worst foreclosure crisis since the Great Depression, the Federal Reserve has come up with a proposal making it even more difficult for homeowners to keep their homes and escape predatory home loans. The Fed’s propose to amend the Truth in Lending Act, a 42-year-old provision that since 1968, has given homeowners the right to cancel, or rescind, illegal loans for up to three years.
Attorneys at AARP have used the rescission clause for decades to protect older homeowners stuck in predatory loans with costly terms. In recent years, the Truth in Lending Act has helped struggling homeowners fight a wave of foreclosure cases in which faulty and sometimes-fraudulent disclosures were used. This provision has also been an effective tool in making sure creditors follow the rules and are transparent about the true cost of loans.
Dozens of groups have opposed the new measure, including the National Consumer Law Center, the NAACP and the Service Employees International Union, saying the proposal is “bad medicine at the wrong time.”
To read more about this story and learn more about the proposed changes, please visit:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/05/1958249/fed-wants-to-strip-a-key-protection.html
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.