Miami foreclosure defense attorney Archives - Page 17 of 20

Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Who will Claim $380 Million in Unspent Foreclosure-Abuse Money?

Posted on February 24, 2015by Admin

After a 2013 settlement, the Federal Reserve and Office of Comptroller of the Currency are attempting to reissue checks to borrowers whose homes were improperly foreclosed on between 2009 and 2010. The nearly 600,000 checks being reissued range from several hundred dollars to $125,000. In many cases, the Federal Reserve is reissuing these checks to updated addresses. Approximately $3.1 billion dollars has already been cashed or deposited by homeowners who suffered from the foreclosure-related abuse.

An independent review of the banks’ foreclosure practices was conducted in 2011 and found that bank employees were processing foreclosure cases without personally verifying accounts. It was also discovered that the banks were improperly denying loan assistance to homeowners, made errors in assistance plans and charged improper fees. Ultimately, fifteen banks signed the multi-billion dollar settlement leading the Federal Reserve to reimburse some 4.2 million borrowers.

Click here to read more on who will be claiming the $380 million in Unspent Foreclosure-Abuse Money.

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

HARP: The Government Refinance Program the Banks Don’t want you to know about

Posted on February 10, 2015by Admin

Despite being launched in 2009, less than 0.5% of people have taken advantage of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). Few people know about it and even less know how to use it. HARP is designed to help homeowners obtain a more affordable, stable mortgage. It provides a bailout to help millions of homeowners save a significant amount of money by lowering their mortgage payments. Those who have taken advantage of the program have reduced their mortgage payments by as much as $3,000 a year.

The program expires in 2015, but there’s still time to get signed up. If you qualify and refinance through HARP, you may be able to take advantage of a number of significant benefits, including:

• Eliminating up to 15 years of mortgage payments and interest;

• Changing to a lower monthly payment;

• Refinancing at historically low rates.

Banks do not want you to benefit from the program, because it allows homeowners to switch lenders, taking millions out of their pockets and putting it back into the pockets of everyday people. If you feel like your mortgage interest rate is too high with your current lender, it probably is. HARP can help you switch to a new lender, one prepared to offer you today’s low rates, and you could save big. HARP is a government program and is totally free, so you have nothing to lose.

Click here to see if you qualify.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosures decreased in Broward, Palm Beach Counties last year

Posted on January 30, 2015by Admin

Foreclosure cases dropped sharply in South Florida last year, another sign the housing market is recovering. Broward County had 6,287 filings in 2014, a 42% decline from 2013 and Palm Beach County had 3,920 filings, down 55 percent from the previous year, according to RealtyTrac.

Some real estate experts predict a new wave of cases this year, but it will not be enough to derail the housing market recovery- and it may even be a good thing because it will put more homes on the market for avid buyers. Others argue that these foreclosed homes typically are not in good condition because of poor maintenance, and a fewer number of foreclosures and a steady increase in property values will reduce the number of “desperate sellers.” A decline in these desperate sellers could mean we see better quality homes hitting the market.

Although total filings fell 24 percent in Florida last year, the state still ranked No. 1 in foreclosures nationwide, with 2.3 percent of all Florida housing units receiving a notice in 2014.

Click here to read more on this story.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/fl-realtytrac-foreclosures-20150115-story.html

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

How to Bounce Back after Foreclosure

Posted on January 27, 2015by Admin

Going through a foreclosure can be a traumatic experience, but it doesn’t mean you can never own a home again. If you have recently been through a foreclosure, here are some ways you can bounce back and put yourself back on the path to homeownership.

• Clean up your credit. The first step on the road to recovery is rebuilding your credit score. According to a recent study by FICO, the higher your credit score before the foreclosure, the longer it takes to fully recover. For example, a homeowner with a credit score of 680 would take around three years to get back to their pre-foreclosure credit score. But a homeowner who started out with a score of 780 would require seven years after a foreclosure to return to their pre-foreclosure credit score. The best way to repair your credit is to keep using credit- RESPONSIBLY. To avoid missing a payment, set up automated payments. The biggest mistake people make is cutting up their credit cards or closing out lines of credit. This leaves you with a large gap in your credit history. Lenders want to see that you are using credit regularly in a responsible way.

• Putting in the time. You will need to find a lender willing to offer you a mortgage. Some government backed loans can help speed up the process. For many people, an FHA loan will be the quickest path back to homeownership. After a foreclosure, the government requires a three-year waiting period before you can qualify for another FHA-backed loan. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans have an even longer wait time. Those lenders both require a seven year period before you will be considered for a new loan. There are exceptions. For example, if you can prove that the foreclosure was the result of an unexpected job loss or a death in the family.

• Tax Obligation. It comes as a shock to many that the federal government considers a forgiven debt as a form of income, which means you may have to pay income tax on a foreclosure. Congress passed a law in 2007 that exempted up to $2 million in forgiven debt in most cases of foreclosures. The law expired at the end of last year, but if your foreclosure was finalized before then, you will likely be in the clear. Even if you do not qualify under this act, there are other exceptions. For instance, in cases of bankruptcy the government will not pursue you.

Click here to read more on this story: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/01/23/how-to-bounce-back-after-foreclosure/

Bankruptcy Law, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Former NFL Player Receives Prison Sentence for Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Posted on January 26, 2015by Admin

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player, Jeffrey Charles Leroy Taylor, was sentenced to three years in prison for his part in a $7 million loan modification scheme that affected thousands of homeowners. In addition to his prison term, Taylor was ordered to pay more than $350,000 in restitution to the victims of the fraud.

Taylor, who also played football for the University of Miami and lives in Fort Lauderdale, pled guilty to the charges in late 2014. The scheme was reportedly organized by the operator of FHA All Day.com, Jason Vitulano, Housing Assistance Law Center and Safety Financial Corp. The defendants allegedly defrauded more than 2,000 struggling homeowners out of millions of dollars through fraudulent loan modifications in 2008 and 2009.

Taylor reportedly acted as the team manager of four telemarketers who made thousands of phone calls to homeowners offering to reduce their mortgage payments or stop the foreclosure process for a fee paid to FHA All Day.com.

Click here to read more on this story.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Housing Outlook 2015: Predictions from the Experts

Posted on January 5, 2015by Admin

It’s been an interesting year for the nation’s housing market. The ‘Polar Vortex’ was blamed for the decrease in home sales in early 2014. Price gains for previously owned homes slowed significantly. However, builder confidence for newly constructed, single-family homes has increased for six straight months. What does it all mean? Experts attribute these confusing signals to a shift out of rapid recovery and into a more stable phase that economists are calling the new normal.

Below are 10 predictions from the experts for the housing market in 2015:

1. Prices will rise more slowly. Housing price gains slowed dramatically in 2014 and are expected to continue in 2015. Easing housing inventory levels and the exit of investors from the market are helping put the brakes on home price escalation. Nationally, prices are near their spring 2005 levels.

2. Affordability will worsen. Unfortunately, for those looking to buy this year, slowing housing prices does not mean that home ownership will be more affordable. Housing experts predict homes are just 3% undervalued now, leaving little room for them to rise without becoming overvalued.

3. The buying frenzy will fade. With more investors leaving the market, the home buying process should be a bit easier in 2015, thanks to a lessened inventory and credit requirements. With rising prices, fewer bargains are on the market, making housing less attractive to investors.

4. Mortgage interest rates will rise. The Mortgage Bankers’ Association predicts that rates will rise to 5% by the end of 2015. For most of 2014 interest rates were flat or declining. A great reminder that economists can make predictions, but not to bet the farm on them.

5. Millennials overtake Gen X as homebuyers. Zillow predicts that by the end of 2015, Millennials (those under the age of 35) will overtake Gen X (35-50 years old) to become the largest group of homebuyers in the U.S.

6. Rent increase will outpace home value growth. Housing experts forecast that rents will rise 3.5% in 2015, outpacing the predicted 2.5% for annual home price gains. This, in turn, may push some Millennials to become buyers. The allure of fixed mortgage payments and a stable housing market is expected to entice more renters to become homebuyers.

7. Multi-family construction will dominate. Trulia’s research indicates that more people will try to sell their homes in 2015 and Realtor.com predicts that existing, or previously owned, home sales will grow 8% this year. The entry of these previously owned homes into the market could suppress the demand for more expensive newly constructed homes. The vacancy rate for single-family homes is still near its recession high, which is likely to further depress construction of new single-family homes. So builders will continue to meet the demand for apartments–and multifamily housing could have another strong year.

8. Builders shift to cheaper homes. In recent years, builders have chosen to build fewer, more expensive homes instead of cheaper homes in larger quantities. The trend—driven in part by a limited supply of land during the recovery–has left a price gap between more expensive new homes and less expensive existing homes. Experts agree that new home sales will top the 500,000 mark in 2015.

9. Foreclosures will match pre-recession levels. From January through November 2014, there were 1,256,070 foreclosure filings in the U.S., according to RealtyTrac, down about 17.2% from the same period the previous year, when there were 1,516,332 filings. In 2015, expect foreclosures to fall to pre-crisis levels.

10. The housing market will be driven by fundamentals. In 2015, the housing market is expected to be driven by underlying economic fundamentals (i.e. – job growth, incomes, and household formation). Mortgage interest rates and price recovery have driven the housing market for years, but now experts predict these factors will not be nearly as important as local economics in 2015.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Music Producer Jermaine Dupri Facing Foreclosure

Posted on December 12, 2014by Admin

Jermaine Dupri who has produced hits for artists including Usher and Mariah Carey is reportedly losing his multimillion dollar Atlanta mansion. Foreclosure documents reveal the songwriter / rapper failed to make monthly payments on the 19-room, 9,441-square-foot home. He reportedly owes $2.5 million.

Public records show the property is valued at nearly $3.7 million. This is not the first time the music producer has faced financial troubles. His mansion was up for foreclosure and set to be auctioned in 2011 and 2012. Both of those sales were canceled. Dupri has lived in the home for 10 years.

Click here to read more on this story.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Relaxed Mortgage-Lending Rules APPROVED!

Posted on October 27, 2014by Admin

Three U.S. agencies signed off this week on relaxed mortgage-lending rules. These new standards represent an effort to ensure more mortgage loans are available for borrowers. The Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the new rules for the mortgage-backed securities market, a day after three other agencies approved the standards.

The rules are intended to improve the quality of loans by giving banks a financial incentive to ensure mortgages can be repaid. The initial rules required that banks hold 5% of the risk of mortgages packaged and sold to investors or require a 20% borrower down payment. But regulators, concerned that overly stringent rules would harm the housing market’s recovery, recanted on the 20% down payment.

Instead, banks will be able to avoid the 5% risk-retention requirement if they verify a borrower’s ability to pay back the loan and comply with other requirements, such as ensuring borrowers’ debt payments do not exceed 43% of their income.

Officials say these standards are still sufficiently strong enough to prevent a repeat of some of the worst abuses from the housing market crisis, including loans in which the lender does nothing to verify a borrower’s income. The new rules, which go into effect in fall 2015, will be reviewed for its impact on the economy four years later, and every five years after that.

Click here to read more on this story.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/divided-sec-signs-off-on-relaxed-mortgage-lending-rules-1414009530

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

‘Condo Takeover Schemes’ – The New Foreclosure Threat?

Posted on October 20, 2014by Admin

In the wake of the foreclosure crisis, condo takeover tactics have emerged. Here’s how it works- Real estate investors buy up foreclosed condo units in a building, then take control of the building’s condo association, which allows them to set condo fees at whatever level they choose. By inflating these fees beyond what the occupants can afford many longtime condo owners are at risk of being priced out of their homes.

Condo owners in a Reading, Pennsylvania, subdivision were pushed out of their homes after a real estate development company bought up foreclosed units in the complex and then took control of the association. Using a Pennsylvania law, the investor then dissolved the condo association, allowing it to place the nearly 100 units in the complex for sale. The attorney who represented many of these condo owners told NBC that the developer offered the remaining owners buyouts valued at just one third of their mortgages. Finding that they are suddenly underwater, many of the owners lost their homes.

Housing experts say the practice fits with a broader trend of investors buying foreclosed properties, then hiking up rents and other fees, sometimes evicting longtime residents, usually renters, out of their homes.

Click here to read more on this story.
http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/in-plain-sight/condo-takeover-schemes-can-pose-new-foreclosure-threat-n215316

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

‘Zombie’ homes a growing problem in Florida neighborhoods

Posted on October 10, 2014by Admin

A bank forecloses on a home, the residents pack up and leave and the city is left to clean up the mess. These abandoned homes in foreclosure limbo, referred to as zombie homes are haunting a number of Florida neighborhoods. These properties are often uninhabitable because they have fallen into such disrepair, and the owners are unwilling to fix them up because with the outstanding mortgage payments, the bank can still come back and foreclose on the property.

By hand-picking which foreclosures they complete and which they ignore, banks are strapping individual borrowers with a permanent, inescapable debt while creating slums in already struggling communities. These vacant homes often attract drug dealers and squatters and bring down the value of surrounding properties.

The financial crisis resulted in many homeowners walking away from their properties when they got their initial foreclosure notice, seeking to avoid being evicted, not realizing that the process could take years.

Zombie foreclosures have become more widespread in recent years throughout the country, but are especially prevalent in Florida, where as of June 2, 48,630 homes in some stage of foreclosure sat vacant, according to RealtyTrac. That accounts for a third of the 141,406 vacant foreclosed properties nationwide!

According to real estate experts, zombie foreclosures come in two forms:

1.) The unintentional “byproduct” of Florida’s judicial foreclosure process, which can take months and result in “properties sitting in limbo;”

2.) Intentional delay by lenders, who file a foreclosure case so they do not lose the option to do so when the statute of limitations runs out. However, these lenders do not move forward because completing the foreclosure would not be financially viable.

Zombie homes can haunt homeowners- and neighborhoods for years, having a negative impact on cities. When homeowners and banks walk away from a property, the city is left with the responsibility of the home.

The Justice Department has taken some responsibility. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. each agreed to forgive loans when they decide not to pursue foreclosure and have helped cities pay to demolish the abandoned homes. The agreements, however, contain no specific monetary obligation and instead fall under broad consumer relief payments.

Florida cities like Jacksonville and St. Petersburg have borne the burden. Jacksonville demolished 113 homes that were vacant and unsafe in 2013. In 2014, the city bulldozed another 60 properties. It is estimated that St. Petersburg will demolish 100 houses this year. Officials have said the city simply does not have the resources to deal with all of the vacant homes.

Click here to read more on this story…
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/09/15/15519/zombie-homes-haunt-florida-neighborhoods