Miami foreclosure defense attorney Archives - Page 20 of 21

Bankruptcy Law, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosures Hit Lowest Level in More than Six Years

Posted on February 14, 2014by Admin

Banks took back 30,226 homes last month, a 4 percent drop from December, according to RealtyTrac. Lenders have repossessed fewer U.S. homes in January, bringing the number of foreclosures down to its lowest level in more than six years.

Even with the recent drop, many states posted a sharp increase in the number of homes entering the foreclosure process for the first time, a trend that raises the likelihood that those states will see a surge in foreclosed homes later this year.

It looks as if the U.S. housing market has finally emerged from its slump. Home prices have steadily increased, there has been steady job growth and more homeowners are keeping up with their mortgage payments.

Florida and New York, two states which continue to have a backlog of homes with unpaid mortgages, are only now entering the foreclosure process or being scheduled for auction. Foreclosures peaked in 2010 at 1.05 million and have been declining ever since.

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.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Distressed Real Estate Continues to Hold Down Miami-Dade’s Housing Market

Posted on February 7, 2014by Admin

According to a recent report from Core Logic, distressed real estate continues to put a damper on Miami-Dade’s housing market. New numbers show a nearly four-point spread between price gains in the overall housing market and price gains when distressed sales are eliminated. That is higher than the one-point spread nationwide and Broward’s spread of 1.5 percentage points.

In Miami-Dade, home prices increased 10.6 percent at the end of 2013 compared to the end of 2012. When leaving out sales of distressed properties (i.e. – sales by banks or homes in the foreclosure process) the gain would have been 14.5 percent, Core Logic said.

In Broward, the overall market saw prices rise 13.7 percent. Leaving out sales of distressed properties, the gains were 15.2 percent. Nationwide, it was an 11-percent gain for all property sales and a gain of 9.9 percent for non-distressed properties, according to Core Logic.

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Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Miami’s Foreclosure Rate Continues to fall

Posted on December 24, 2013by Admin

According to a recent report by CoreLogic, the foreclosure rate for the greater Miami area fell sharply in October from a year ago. However, Miami’s foreclosure rate continues to remain far above the national average. In the Miami, Miami Beach, Kendall area, 19 percent of outstanding mortgages were in some stage of foreclosure, compared with 15.06 percent a year earlier.

Florida’s foreclosure rate fell to 6.98 percent in October from 10.65 percent a year earlier. The national average was 2.15 percent, down from 3.06 percent in October 2012. For the Miami, Miami Beach, Kendall area, 15.69 percent of mortgage loans were delinquent by more than 90 days. That compares with 21.66 percent a year earlier.

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Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Not Always a Fairytale

Posted on November 7, 2013by Admin

A number of families that appear on the popular TV show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” encounter obstacles once the cameras and crew leave town. Oftentimes, it is the struggle to afford the upkeep on their expensive new homes and the hefty monthly mortgage payments.

The first of several foreclosures for the show involved Eric Hebert. In an early 2006 episode, his family home, described as a basement with a roof over it, received a huge makeover. The new home resembled a multi-story mountain lodge. Public records show Mr. Hebert’s original mortgage was for $110,000 in September 2004. In January 2006, just before the show aired, he refinanced for $250,000. About a year later, came another refinance with Wells Fargo for $382,500. A notice of default was recorded in January 2009 and the home was foreclosed on in October.

The Okvaths received a 5,346-square-foot home with six bedrooms, a movie theater and carousel in the backyard for their home makeover. After falling upon hard times, the family could no longer afford the $3,056 monthly mortgage payment. The area has an 18-month supply of homes in that price range and the Spanish-style mansion is out of place in its modest surroundings.

Some contestants have opted for a quick fix and attempted to sell their new homes. However, the homes featured on the show are big, luxurious residences built in working-class, rural communities making the properties a tough sell.

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Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

National Foreclosure Settlement Rules Revised Following Complaints

Posted on October 17, 2013by Admin

The $25 billion national mortgage foreclosure settlement is getting tweaked following numerous complaints that mortgage servicers are falling short on the promises made to struggling borrowers. When the settlement was originally announced in February 2012, its goal was to compensate borrowers for the wrongs they experienced in the foreclosure process. It also put into place new servicing requirements that applied to the nation’s five largest servicers: Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Ally/GMAC.

However, recent complaints from homeowners, housing counselors and state attorneys contend that banks are not complying with the set standards agreed to as part of their pact with the Justice Department, attorney generals and the banks.

The new procedures put into place include:

• All five banks will give homeowners 60 days, instead of 30, to submit additional documents that might help them secure a loan modification before their home moves into foreclosure.

• Banks have promised to do a better job of overseeing employees who work with borrowers.

• Bank of America and Wells Fargo have agreed to be more specific about what missing information they need from homeowners.

• Bank of America and Wells Fargo have agreed to escalate loan modification applications when a customer is being asked repeatedly for more documents.

• Bank of America and Wells Fargo will now use an online portal to submit documents and create a direct contact for the housing counseling agencies working with struggling homeowners.

Click here to read more on the new changes in the national foreclosure settlement rules.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Trend Alert in Foreclosures: Courts Becoming More Homeowner Friendly

Posted on October 14, 2013by Admin

According to a panel of circuit judges, tougher standards for getting evidence into record is having an effect on the number of new residential foreclosures being filed in the State of Florida. The new law that took effect July 1 requires plaintiffs to acknowledge in foreclosure complaints that all documentation needed to prove a case is in their possession. The August 28th decision from the Fourth District Court of Appeal requires that banks’ expert witnesses have direct knowledge of the authenticity of records being submitted for evidence.

The silver lining for homeowners is the new Florida law and recent appellate decisions have made lenders hesitant about filing new cases. Homeowners are getting dismissals based on the lenders’ inability to show they have standing and the statute of limitations expiring five years after the notice of default. This has been particularly evident in Palm Beach County where new filings dropped 61 percent in July from the previous year.

Click here to read more on courts becoming more homeowner friendly in foreclosures.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

U.S. Foreclosure Inventory Down 33 Percent from a Year Ago

Posted on October 9, 2013by Admin

According to a report released this week from CoreLogic, there were 48,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. in August of 2013, down from 72,000 in August 2012, a year-over-year decrease of 33 percent. As exhibited by the numbers, foreclosure inventory continues to improve. Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure.

Overall residential shadow inventory, as of July 2013, was 1.9 million homes, accounting for a value of $293 billion and representing a supply of 3.7 months. This was down 22 percent from a year ago, when it was at 2.4 million and down 38 percent from its peak in 2010, when it reached 3 million homes, according to CoreLogic.

This past year, the value of the U.S. shadow inventory dropped by $87 billion- a sign of increased normalcy in the housing market. Highlights from the report include:

• The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in August 2013 were: Florida (111,000), Michigan (60,000), California (58,000), Texas (43,000) and Georgia (40,000).

• The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Florida (7.9 percent), New Jersey (6.2 percent), New York (4.9 percent), Maine (4.0 percent) and Connecticut (3.9 percent).

Shadow inventory highlights include:

• As of July, shadow inventory was under 2 million properties, representing 3.7 months’ supply or 85 percent of the 2.2 million properties that were seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or REO.

• Of the fewer than 2 million properties in the shadow inventory, 874,000 properties were seriously delinquent (1.8 months’ supply), 661,000 were in some stage of foreclosure (1.3 months’ supply) and 318,000 were already in REO (0.6 months’ supply).

• The value of shadow inventory was $293 billion as of July 2013, down from $380 billion in July 2012.

Click here to read more on U.S. foreclosure inventory being down 33 percent from a year ago.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Distressed Home Sales Increase in South Florida

Posted on October 2, 2013by Admin

A new report indicates that sales of distressed homes have greatly increased across South Florida in August, a sign that more foreclosures are working their way through the court system. Four out of 10 Broward County sales last month involved homes in some stage of repossession, according to RealtyTrac, Inc. Foreclosure-related homes accounted for only 21 percent of Broward sales in August 2012. In Palm Beach County, 36 percent of August sales involved distressed homes, up from 20 percent a year earlier.

The figures are based on county deeds and include single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes. Broward’s median price in August for distressed homes was $112,150, up 24 percent from a year ago, RealtyTrac reported. Palm Beach County’s median for distressed homes increased 21 percent to $110,000.

Individual investors and large investment firms have been buying these foreclosed properties, usually paying in cash. In July and August, nearly seven in 10 sales across Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties were all-cash deals, RealtyTrac reported. The investors add value through renovations, then turn around and sell the homes for a profit. Investment firms tend to rent the homes for a year or longer before selling.

According to real estate agents the demand has helped the market rebound from the housing crash, but has led to a shortage of homes and kept many young families from buying.

Click here to read more on the increase of distressed home sales across South Florida.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Reversal in Condominium Association Case Likely to Impact Foreclosures Statewide

Posted on September 16, 2013by Admin

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach recently reversed a Final Judgment foreclosing a lien in favor of the Sebastian Lakes Condominium Association. This could ultimately affect how contested foreclosure cases throughout the State are tried. In Yang v. Sebastian Lakes Condominium Association, the court ruled in a consolidated appeal that the testimony of the plaintiff-association management company’s records custodian was insufficient. Without that necessary testimony, the introduction of business records upon which the association relied to establish how much money it was owed was error requiring the reversal.

The case arose from a condominium association’s attempt to collect past due assessments from unit owners, which involved the critical issue- admission of business records into evidence. Given the similarities between lien foreclosure and mortgage foreclosure cases, it will likely have ramifications in both types of cases for years to come.

The Sebastian Lakes Condominium Association filed suit to collect monies allegedly owed to it by a husband and wife who each owned one unit in the condominium. The husband and wife denied the association’s claims and asserted that the association failed to credit their accounts with all payments made, and claimed that the collection actions were brought in retaliation because they were part of a group investigating $100,000 in missing association funds.

The appellate court reversed the final judgments in favor of the association because the management company employee could not testify as to the starting account balances, never worked with the prior accountant and was unfamiliar with his recordkeeping. This decision overturning a final judgment entered after trial will be important in ongoing and future foreclosure trials and even motions for summary judgment because it establishes what a records custodian must testify to for the admission of business records. Plaintiffs in such contested matters typically rely upon records and custodian witnesses rather than persons with the actual knowledge of the underlying lien or mortgage.

In order to establish the amount owed to it using business records, a plaintiff in a foreclosure action must now be able to present a witness who says not only the “magic words” but who also can testify as to the basis for all amounts claimed to be owed, rebut defendants’ claims of unaccredited payments, and to the other facts Sebastian Lakes’ witness could not.

Click here to read more on the recent reversal and how this is likely to impact foreclosures statewide.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosures are Returning to Pre-Recession Levels

Posted on April 26, 2013by Admin

The foreclosure filing rate has been dropping to levels not seen since before the housing market crashed in 2008. These include notices of default, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. During the first quarter, the levels fell 23 percent from 2012. This is the lowest level since the second quarter of 2007. During March, the banks repossessed fewer than 44,000 homes, compared with September 2010 when the banks repossessed 100,000. RealtyTrac Vice President, Daren Blomquist said he expects to be back to normal foreclosure levels by 2014.

Foreclosure rates have been declining for the past couple of years because homeowners have been seeking alternatives such as filing for bankruptcy or a short sale. Government programs such as the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) have also helped homeowners avoid foreclosure. The $25 billion settlement deal between federal officials and the five largest mortgage lenders have also pushed the banks to agree to help struggling homeowners. As a result, the largest percentage of the foreclosure activity in the country is occurring in areas that are suffering severe economic problems and no longer in mid to upper-class neighborhoods. Many Americans who are now dealing with foreclosure are those who have recently been laid off or filed for divorce from their spouse.

Click here to read more on foreclosures returning to pre-recession levels.