Tag: Loan Modification

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Second Wells Fargo Glitch Leads to More Foreclosures

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Wells Fargo is in the hot seat once again when it comes to home foreclosures. Recently, Wells Fargo said a computer glitch led to the bank wrongfully denying customers the chance to either request a loan modification or repayment plan on their home mortgage. Now it appears an additional glitch has led to even more foreclosures.

This most recent mistake involves loan modifications submitted to Wells Fargo between March 15, 2010, and April 30, 2018. The computer glitch Wells Fargo claims happened is responsible for hundreds of homes being denied modifications during this time period.

The announcement comes after Wells Fargo admitted in November to a separate error in a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The company admitted that a computer glitch led to the bank denying mortgage customers the opportunity to request either a repayment plan or loan modification. They reported that these denials happened approximately 870 times. Because of these errors, 545 homes went into foreclosure.

In this SEC filing, Wells Fargo reported that it was a calculation error that occurred when the bank’s program implemented newer controls that resulted in an overestimation of attorney’s fees for the homeowners who were in the middle of foreclosure. Because of this error, the bank rejected these 870 loan modification requests.

This is not the first time that Wells Fargo has made this mistake. Back in August, the company disclosed that yet another calculation error in the underwriting software mistakenly denied 625 borrowers loan modifications under a federal assistance program, resulting in 400 homes being foreclosed.

With delinquent mortgage payments on the rise this past year, the need for loan modifications and flexible repayment plans is more important than ever to homeowners. Mistakes like the one made by Wells Fargo can have disastrous consequences for homeowners already in a tough spot.

Click here to read more on this story.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether 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 McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

 

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Trump’s Treasury Secretary Pick Steven Mnuchin’s Bank Foreclosed on Elderly Woman who owed 27 cents

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Reports this week reveal that Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary nominee, Steven Mnuchin’s bank foreclosed on a 90-year-old Florida woman who owed just 27 cents.  The practices of OneWest Bank have come under scrutiny since the President-elect announced the onetime Goldman Sachs banker as his pick on Wednesday.  More than 36,000 foreclosures followed Mnuchin and partners’ purchase of failed bank IndyMac in 2009.

An 86-year-old California man has also come forward and claimed OneWest refused to modify the home equity loan on the longtime home he shared with his wife, even though they qualified three times for a government-backed modification.  The bank sold the couple’s home of 50 years in 2011.

Numerous other outcries similar to these drew more than 100 sign-waving and chanting protestors to Mnuchin’s $26 million mansion in Bel Air.

A Florida woman found herself facing a foreclosure by OneWest in 2014 after confusion about payments on her reverse mortgage, according to court papers.  She sent a check for $423 in response to a bill for $423.30, the documents showed.

The OneWest subsidiary responded by billing the Lakeland resident for $0.30, but she mistakenly sent a check back for only $0.03.  The foreclosure in Polk County Circuit Court is now being challenged by a nonprofit firm.

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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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida Attorney General Filed Court Action to Stop Foreclosure Fraud

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A court action has been filed to stop foreclosure fraud.  Attorney General Pam Bondi filed the action to stop a group of non-lawyers from operating an illegitimate foreclosure defense and loan modification law firm.

“Florida homeowners facing the stress of foreclosure should not have to worry about scammers posing as lawyers and making false promises of relief to get what little money the homeowners may have. Thanks to the great work and dedication of my Consumer Protection Division, we will continue to fight foreclosure rescue fraud and protect homeowners,” said Attorney General Bondi.

The attorney general’s office alleges three men- Adam Forman, Joseph Hilton (a.k.a – Joseph Starr), and Victor Spagnuolo operated eight firms that were used to scam homeowners into paying large upfront fees for legal services.  Another problem, not one of them was an attorney.

The named firms are Asset Protection Law Firm, Heritage Law Group, Liberty Law Group, Consumer Legal Resources, Consumer Legal Advocates, Legal Referral Services, Galler Lehman Law and Selective Housing Solutions.

According to the office, the men also face possible criminal charges for the unlicensed practice of law from the Coral Springs Police Department, Boca Raton Police Department, the Broward County State Attorney’s Office and the United States Secret Service.

There were 37 complaints received from consumers about the defendants’ “deceptive and unfair practices.” Some of the allegations included misleading representations regarding the law firms’ expert legal services, charging unlawful up-front fees prior to the services being completed, failing to protect the consumers’ homes from foreclosure and failing to obtain loan modifications as promised.

Full restitution is being demanded for consumers who have been affected by the crime.  The complaint also seeks an injunction that will prevent the defendants from engaging in future loan modification, foreclosure defense and legal services.

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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Why more widowed homeowners are struggling to prevent foreclosure

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Consumer advocates say more widows and widowers nationwide are having trouble saving their homes from foreclosure.  Even though servicers will generally accept loan payments, surviving spouses who are not on the mortgage face increasing resistance when seeking loan modifications, once they have fallen behind on the mortgage payments.  This is often due to the loss of their spouse’s income.

Many are being told there is nothing they can do to prevent foreclosure.  Consumer advocates believe the problem dates back to practices done nearly a decade ago during the housing bubble.  These include a rise in “risky” first and second mortgages, many that were taken out by older Americans who previously avoided taking on new debt- and securitization of loans, which has increasingly put servicers in control of the foreclosure process.  Sometimes these servicers flat-out refuse to deal with the surviving spouse. Other times they give inaccurate information or require unnecessary documentation to prove ownership of the house, stalling a modification while the foreclosure moves forward.

Another roadblock for widowers- companies simply will not allow a modification until the surviving spouse assumes the loan, which cannot happen until the owner is current on the mortgage.  This growing problem has caught the attention of federal regulators and state lawmakers.  Rules are now being proposed to boost protections for surviving spouses.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is preparing regulations this summer that will assist surviving spouses and other so-called successors-in-interest.

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.

 

Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Widows, divorcees struggle with foreclosure rules

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According to a recent report from the National Consumer Law Center, widows as well as surviving family members and the recently divorced continue to struggle to stay in their homes.  It is estimated that thousands of homeowners, usually women who did not sign the original loan documents, are having trouble getting access to relief that the new federal guidelines have provided other homeowners since the foreclosure crisis.

The Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is being urged to adopt rules that would expand protections to others who may have homeownership interest in a property, aside from just the borrower.  Every month of delay increases the interest that the homeowner owes, increasing the fees on the loan amount and decreasing the changes of a loan modification.

Federal regulators need to do more to educate borrowers.  Borrowers can fill out paperwork allowing lenders and mortgage companies to disclose financial and loan information to family members or spouses.  Many borrowers are unaware that they can agree to disclosures so family members and spouses communicate with lenders to avoid undue hardships after death.

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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

South Florida Couple Accuses Wells Fargo of Fraud

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A South Florida couple claims that Wells Fargo engaged in fraud when it accepted thousands of dollars in exchange for a promise of a permanent loan modification, which was never delivered. The Federal lawsuit centers on the issue of a “Trial Period Plan.”

After falling on hard times, the couple received an offer from Wells Fargo called a Trial Period Plan. The letter began by stating, “”Wells Fargo Home Mortgage wants to continue to work with you to modify your mortgage.” According to the letter, the family “must make new monthly ‘trial period payments’ in place of (their) normal monthly mortgage payments” at a little more than $2,000 and “after all trial period payments are made, (their) mortgage will be permanently modified.”

After making three payments, and several more, Wells Fargo worked to reschedule the foreclosure sale and no permanent loan modification was granted.  “It felt like the rug got pulled out from under us. Because of the fact that we’ve given them everything and they still said, ‘No, you’re denied.’ It was very frustrating. Because you’re going through this modification process, you’re doing what the bank asks you to do because we’re told to trust the bank,” the family said.

The family’s attorney is accusing Wells Fargo of misleading the couple with broken promises, acting maliciously, and breach of contract. They are seeking injunctive relief to protect the ownership and title of their home and $75,000 in damages.

The lawsuit also alleges that Wells Fargo had “no intention of offering such permanent loan modification … by inducing Plaintiffs into making thousands of dollars of additional payment (that could not otherwise be collected) with the false promise of a loan modification Defendants, Wells Fargo, can collect more from the distressed homeowner, than the $4,000 maximum incentive payment collected under Defendant, Freddie Mac, loan modification program.”

Click here to read more on this story.
http://www.local10.com/news/south-florida-couple-claims-wells-fargo-engaged-in-fraud/31341328

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.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Mortgage Relief Scams BUSTED!

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State and federal law enforcement agencies have brought 41 enforcement actions against scammers who prey on homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments. “Operation Mis-modification,” has targeted a number of mortgage relief scams and charged the perpetrators behind the schemes with deceptive marketing, making false promises and pocketing illegal fees.

So how do these scammers target their victims? Some scammers sift through public foreclosure notices looking for potential targets. There’s no shortage of these. According to one market analyst, almost 700,000 homes were in some stage of foreclosure in April. Others advertise on the Internet, television and even the side of the road with signs stating, “Stop Foreclosure NOW” or “Get a Loan Modification.”

Tactics used to scam struggling borrowers include:

• Pretending to be associated with a government agency or the homeowner’s mortgage lender.
• Guaranteeing loan modifications regardless of the circumstances.
• Claiming to be a non-profit whose purpose is to educate the public about keeping their homes.
• Convincing homeowners to surrender the title to their home with a promise that they can buy it back later.

The FTC has discovered two more sophisticated schemes involving “forensic loan audits” and “mass joinder lawsuits.” In a forensic loan audit, the scammer will examine your loan documents to determine whether the lender made any errors that can be used to stall a foreclosure. In a mass joinder lawsuit, scammers who often pose as attorneys convince homeowners that they should join a lawsuit with others in similar circumstances against their lender. In both the audit and lawsuit scheme, homeowners are required to pay upfront fees and get little or nothing in return.

Below are some tips from the FTC and BBB to avoid being the victim of a mortgage relief scam:

• NEVER pay an upfront fee to get help with a mortgage / loan modification. No matter what someone tells you, it is against the law for companies that provide mortgage relief services to charge you before they give you a written offer from your lender and you have accepted that offer.

• Do not send your mortgage payment to anyone but your lender. Companies that ask you to send your mortgage payments to them while they negotiate on your behalf almost always take the money and disappear. If your lender does not receive your mortgage payments, you could lose your home.

• Do not fall for official sounding names. Most of these organizations try to make themselves sound legitimate by choosing names like the “Federal Debt Commission” or “Federal Assistance Program.” That does not mean they are affiliated with the government.

• A forensic loan audit will not prevent foreclosure. There is no evidence that forensic loan audits will help you get a loan modification or any other foreclosure relief, even if these are conducted by a licensed auditor, mortgage professional or lawyer.

• There are no guarantees. Do not do business with a company that guarantees to get you a loan modification. The law requires that companies tell you that your lender may not agree to change your loan.

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.

Related Resources: http://www.jacksonsun.com/story/money/business/columnists/2014/09/18/mortgage-relief-scams-busted/15844711/

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Palm Beach County Courts Hold approximately 7,000 Zombie Foreclosure Cases

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In Palm Beach County, 17 percent of the foreclosure cases are currently lying dormant in Palm Beach County courts. A large portion of the 6,927 ‘zombie cases’ have stalled for more than a year, some dating as far back as 1997. This growing number of vacant and deteriorating homes is creating a widespread problem and affecting the value of other homes on the market. While some of the dormant cases are mistakes due to one party forgetting to request a dismissal, much of the inaction is a result of homeowners filing for bankruptcy, lenders inability to prove ownership, and loan modification negotiations. Whatever the reason, many homeowners are clueless about the status of their cases and have not been making payments for years.
If a case has been dormant for 10 months, the homeowner can legally file for a dismissal of the case. The lender then has 60 days to act. If no action occurs, then the case is thrown out. Peter Blanc, Palm Beach County Chief Judge, thinks Palm Beach County will see a rise in dismissals due to the recent state funding received to hire extra help for foreclosure cases. Another frustrated Palm Beach County Judge, John Hoy’s advice to banks is, “If you can’t take care of old cases, don’t file new ones.” Both judges were in agreement that the problems with zombie cases now, stem from malpractices by banks in earlier years.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/the-zombie-files-nearly-7-000the-zombie-files-nearly-7-000-stagnating-foreclosure-2305388.html?viewAsSinglePage=true
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.