Miami foreclosure defense attorney Archives - Page 10 of 20

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosure Prevention Unknown After HAMP Expires

Posted on February 1, 2017by Admin

At the end of last month HAMP (The Home Affordable Modification Program) expired and Republican-led Washington has no intention of replacing it. So now it will be up to the private sector to address the lingering issues brought on by the financial crisis.

Banks and mortgage lenders say they are ready to step in with their own foreclosure-prevention programs, modeled on what they learned from the Obama administration’s effort. However, housing advocates are skeptical, as HAMP had its shortcomings. The program fell far short of the administration’s goals.

Specifically, banks and servicers routinely ignored the rules, consistently rejected eligible homeowners, processed applications at a snail’s pace and foreclosed on homeowners even when they made their modified payments on time, according to a series of audit reports for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Approximately 70 percent of those who applied for the loan modifications were turned down. Nearly 14 million homes went into foreclosure, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, which tracks foreclosure filings.

Even though the housing market has stabilized, the rate of delinquencies is at its lowest point since 2007, and home prices have risen in many places, there will always be homeowners and families in trouble because of job loss, illness and other unforeseen setbacks.

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

Trump’s Treasury Pick Accused of Foreclosure Heartbreak Stories

Posted on January 27, 2017by Admin

After President Trump announced his Treasury Secretary nominee, Steven Mnuchin, a wave of California homeowners came forward with allegations that OneWest Bank actively steered them away from making timely mortgage payments to qualify for federal loan assistance that never came. Borrowers claim the fraudulent activity occurred under the leadership of Mnuchin.

The accusations center around the government program called the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which was launched at during the 2009 financial crisis. Under the program, eligible borrowers could receive new, lower payments and the banks that took part would also receive government incentive payments.

“They (OneWest) hired people who didn’t know what they were doing and some bad information was being given out,” a source who was familiar with OneWest’s foreclosure procedures at the time told CNN.

CNN spoke to seven OneWest borrowers who all had similar stories about being advised to purposely miss payments in order to qualify for the HAMP program.

Mnuchin testified at his confirmation hearing where he defended his time as a bank executive and his work in the private sector. However, the Democrats were not buying it, dubbing him the “Foreclosure King.”

Related Resources:

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/315143-mnuchin-emerges-from-confirmation-hearing-intact

http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/19/news/mnuchin-onewest-foreclosure/

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida House Bill Would Expand Lienholders’ Rights in Foreclosure Cases

Posted on January 25, 2017by Admin

A bill filed this week in the Florida House, would expand the rights of lienholders in foreclosure actions. Florida H.B. 471, proposed by State Senator Jay Fant, “Authorizes certain lienholders to use certain documents as admission in action to foreclose mortgage; provides that submission of certain documents in foreclosure action creates certain presumptions; authorizes lienholder to make request for judicial notice,” according to the language of the bill.

The bill authorizes a lienholder to use any documents from the mortgagee’s bankruptcy case that indicates an intention by the defendant to surrender the property. If the defendant does not withdraw the document in question, that document submitted along with a bankruptcy discharge, “creates a rebuttable presumption that the defendant has: 1. Surrendered to the lienholder the defendant’s interest in the mortgaged property; and 2. Waived any defenses to the foreclosure.”

The defendant’s legal remedy in such a case includes: “raising a defense based upon the lienholder’s conduct subsequent to the filing of the document filed in the bankruptcy case that evidenced the defendant’s intention to surrender the mortgaged property to the lienholder.”

The bill was filed with the Florida House on January 24, and would go into effect on July 1, 2017, if it passes.

Related Resources:

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/230882-florida-house-bill-expand-bank-rights-foreclosure-cases
http://www.dsnews.com/daily-dose/01-24-2017/florida-bill-expand-lienholders-rights https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017/0471/BillText/Filed/PDF

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Quicken Loans Fast Becoming the New Mortgage Lending Machine

Posted on January 23, 2017by Admin

In the years since the housing market crash, many of the nation’s largest banks have strengthened their underwriting processes and become more conservative with their mortgage-lending activities. However, Quicken Loans has pushed forward, becoming the second-largest retail mortgage lender originating $96 billion in mortgages last year — an eight-fold increase from 2008.

In a federal false-claims lawsuit filed in 2015, the Department of Justice accused Quicken Loans of misrepresenting borrowers’ incomes and credit scores, in order to qualify for Federal Housing Administration insurance. As a result, when those loans defaulted, the government says the taxpayers — not Quicken loans — suffered millions of dollars in losses.

In the years since the financial crisis, Quicken has emerged as a leader in the nation’s “shadow-banking system,” a network of non-bank financial institutions that has gained significant ground against its more regulated bank counterparts in providing mortgage loans.

The increase in regulation and decreased profits forced the nation’s banks out. Non-banks, like Quicken, quickly filled the gap.

Former executives have described Quicken Loans as a technology company that sells mortgages. The 3,500 mortgage bankers who work the phones are the life-blood of the company. Many new employees come in with little to no background in financial services. According to an inside source, one employee joined after delivering pizzas to the Quicken Loans office and becoming interested in working there.

Critics say these shadow banks, by focusing on the riskier end of the mortgage market, may be reviving the same circumstances that resulted in so many defaults and foreclosures.

Click here to read more on this story.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

HAMP Being Replaced with New Foreclosure Prevention Program, Flex Modification

Posted on January 11, 2017by Admin

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced their replacement for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The Flex Modification foreclosure prevention program is designed to help families stay in their homes by offering reductions on their monthly mortgage payments.

“The new Flex Modification announced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) today was designed based on lessons learned from crisis-era loan modification programs to help borrowers stay in their homes and avoid foreclosures whenever possible,” the FHFA said in a statement.

The Flex Modification also reflects input received over the course of extensive engagement with lenders, mortgage insurers, consumer advocates, and other stakeholders, the statement adds. The FHFA believes that by avoiding the high costs associated with foreclosures, Flex Modification will result in significant savings for the Enterprises and taxpayers, while borrowers facing financial hardships can obtain a sustainable modification.

The new modification will replace the current Fannie Mae Standard and Streamlined Modification offerings on and after Oct. 1, 2017.

Click here to read more on this story.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

South Florida’s Foreclosure Rate Continues to Drop

Posted on January 10, 2017by Admin

A recent report shows foreclosure activity on the decline, bringing South Florida’s rank to 10^th in the nation among other metropolitan areas. One in every 786 housing units in South Florida was in some stage of foreclosure last month, according to the real estate research company ATTOM Data Solutions. This number has fallen nearly 18 percent compared to the previous year.

Miami-Dade had the largest number of distressed properties with 1,479 homes in the foreclosure pipeline last month. Broward came in second with 1,012 housing units, followed by Palm Beach with 657.

Miami was one of the hardest hit cities during the housing market crash. This was in part due to lenient mortgage requirements and a surplus of new condo projects.

As home prices recovered and more buyers began purchasing properties in all-cash, South Florida’s foreclosure rate has steadily declined over the past few years.

Related Resources:

http://therealdeal.com/miami/2016/12/15/south-floridas-foreclosure-rate-dives-again-in-november-report/

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Supreme Court Examines Whether Miami Can Sue Banks over the Foreclosure Crisis

Posted on December 9, 2016by Admin

Should Bank of America and Wells Fargo be held responsible for potentially billions of dollars in tax revenue Miami and other cities lost after property values plunged in minority neighborhoods due to questionable lending practices and foreclosures?

That’s just one of the tough questions U.S. Supreme Court justices asked in oral arguments over Bank of America v. Miami, which tests the limits of who can sue under the expansive Fair Housing Act.

A series of probing questions from Justice Elena Kagan, the daughter of a housing attorney who served as Solicitor General in the Obama administration said the FHA is “a very peculiar and distinctive kind of anti-discrimination statute that focuses on community harms, not individual injuries,” she said.

The banks had it tough. A pair of Supreme Court precedents established that the FHA extends standing, or the right to sue, “to the full limits of Article III” of the Constitution, including cities and even non-profit organizations dedicated to fighting housing discrimination.

Last year in Texas Dept. of Housing v. Inclusive Communities, Justice Anthony Kennedy upheld the disparate-impact theory in FHA suits, allowing plaintiffs to prove discrimination with statistics instead of direct evidence of discriminatory intent.

Given these precedents, attorney Neal Katyal, arguing for the banks, conceded from the outset that cities can sue under the FHA. He argued Miami was pushing its theory too far, appropriating the injuries allegedly suffered by minority borrowers as its own. That violated the idea of proximate cause as well as the requirement that the lending discrimination falls within the “zone of interest” the city can enforce.

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Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Number of Closed Foreclosures in Florida Rank Highest in the Nation

Posted on November 29, 2016by Admin

Florida lenders are completing almost double the amount of foreclosures than any other state. Florida recorded 53,084 closed foreclosures during the 12-month period ended in September, according to a report from the real estate data provider, CoreLogic.

That accounted for 13 percent of all the completed foreclosures nationwide and was almost double the 27,182 reported in the No. 2 state, Texas.

Florida, one of the states hardest hit by the real estate market crash, posted the sixth-highest inventory of homes in foreclosure in the U.S., with 1.6 percent of homes in some stage of distress.

While there are fewer new foreclosures being filed, Florida still has a sizable backlog of cases in the court system. The sunshine state has the fourth-longest average timeline, at 1,038 days, from to start to finish of a foreclosure.

In Florida, 3.8 percent of all home mortgages are considered seriously delinquent — at least 90 days past due — which tied for the fourth-highest rate in the nation. This number was down by more than one-third over the year.

CoreLogic’s CEO anticipates that heading into 2017, we will see that prices, performance and production — the three most important drivers of the real estate market — will all improve.

Click here to read more on this story.

Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

October Shows Surprising Increase in Foreclosures

Posted on November 15, 2016by Admin

Foreclosure filings increased in October from the previous month in Southwest Florida and the recent Florida Supreme Court ruling could lead to even more foreclosures in the coming months. Lenders reported 469 foreclosure actions last month in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties- up 33 percent from September.

According to the October 2016 Foreclosure Market Report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a total of 105,481 foreclosure filings, default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions took place in October. This is up 27% from September’s 129-month low, but it is still down 8% from last year.

The state with the highest foreclosure rate is Delaware, with one in every 355 houses having a foreclosure filing, followed by New Jersey with one in every 564 housing units, Maryland with one in every 679 units, Illinois with one in every 704 units and South Carolina with one in every 801 units.

Florida could soon be joining the states with the highest number of foreclosures, given the October ruling by the state supreme court, which favors lenders and allows them to re-file a foreclosure action against a homeowner in default even if a previous foreclosure case against that homeowner was dismissed and that original foreclosure case was filed more than five years ago, outside the state’s statute of limitations for foreclosure.

The loans used in the housing recovery that are most susceptible to foreclosure are the FHA and VA with low down payments. Data from ATTOM Data Solutions shows FHA and VA loans combined represent 49% of all active foreclosure inventory for loans originated in the seven years ending in 2015.

Related Resources:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20161110/foreclosure-filings-rise-in-october

http://www.housingwire.com/articles/38512-october-shows-surprising-30-increase-in-foreclosures

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida Supreme Court Decision Could Cause a ‘New Wave’ of Foreclosures

Posted on November 9, 2016by Admin

In a recent decision made by the Florida Supreme Court, servicers may now file new foreclosure actions against borrowers who won foreclosure cases more than five years ago if the borrowers default again within five years of the first case’s dismissal. That means the lender can make another attempt to collect, as long as it is within the next five-year period and the borrower had started paying again and then stopped.

The case, Lewis Brooke Bartram v. U.S Bank National Association was decided in favor of the mortgage servicers as borrowers argued a five-year statute of limitations should apply.

The court’s ruling, authored by Justice Barbra Pariente, determined that when foreclosure actions are dismissed, servicers and borrowers return to their ‘pre-foreclosure’ complaint status. This allows homeowners to continue to pay back their loans in installments, rather than all at once. But it also revives the lender’s right to seek acceleration and foreclosure based on any subsequent defaults, saying:

Accordingly, the statute of limitations does not continue to run on the amount due under the note and mortgage.

This decision is expected to cause a new wave of foreclosure cases within the next year or so, basically giving the banks a ‘do-over.’ The ruling applies to tens of thousands of foreclosures in South Florida alone, those hardest hit by the Great Recession.

Florida was ranked No. 1 in the country for completed foreclosures in 2015-16, with 55,000 actions, according to real estate data tracking firm CoreLogic.

Related Resources:

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/226274-supreme-court-new-wave

http://www.dsnews.com/daily-dose/11-06-2016/state-spotlight-floridas-supreme-court-ruling-win-servicers