Tag: Miami foreclosure defense attorney

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Debt Collection Law Firms Must Follow FDCPA in Foreclosure Cases

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A federal judge has ruled that debt collection law firms are now subject to the rules of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in mortgage foreclosure cases.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was designed to help prevent creditor abuse and harassment.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a motion by law firm Phelan Hallinan Diamond & Jones seeking to dismiss plaintiffs Tina Collins and Glendale Walker’s FDCPA claim, which alleged the firm failed to cease all collection activity before verifying the debt after the plaintiffs first disputed it.

According to the judge’s opinion, the plaintiffs alleged that the foreclosure complaint and Phelan Hallinan’s response to their notice of dispute “contained false and misleading representations thru [sic] deceptive means in an attempt to collect a debt.’” In addition, Collins and Walker claimed that the firm threatened to proceed with the foreclosure action without first verifying the debt.

The plaintiffs also claimed that the firm falsely represented itself as counsel to Wells Fargo, leading Collins and Walker to believe that Phelan Hallinan was a part of Wells Fargo’s legal department.

“Foreclosure, although legal in nature, is ‘activity undertaken for the general purpose of inducing payment,’” Savage said. “A debt collector cannot avoid FDCPA liability simply by proceeding in rem rather than in personam. Therefore, for purposes of this action, Phelan was acting as a debt collector and engaged in debt collection activity when it communicated with the plaintiffs and filed the foreclosure action.”

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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 McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Florida Ranks in the Top 10 for Highest Foreclosure Rates

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Even with economic improvement, Florida ranked among the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates in 2017, despite the number of foreclosures dropping by 45% compared to 2016. Last year in Florida there were 24,215 foreclosure proceedings filed, compared to 43,772 in 2016, according to ATTOM Data.

Here are the states with the highest foreclosure rates in 2017:

  1. New Jersey (1.61 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing);
  2. Delaware (1.13 percent);
  3. Maryland (0.95 percent);
  4. Illinois (0.86 percent);
  5. Connecticut (0.78 percent);
  6. Florida (0.72 percent);
  7. South Carolina (0.70 percent);
  8. Ohio (0.70 percent);
  9. Nevada (0.67 percent);
  10. New Mexico (0.63 percent).

Florida ranked among the top states with the highest number of legacy foreclosures on loans originated between 2004 and 2008. Miami-Dade County ranked among the highest number of legacy foreclosures in the nation. The top counties were: Nassau County (Long Island), New York (6,782); Cook County (Chicago), Illinois (5,478); Kings County (Brooklyn), New York (4,677); Miami-Dade County, Florida (3,804); and Suffolk County (Long Island), New York (3,417). In the fourth quarter of 2017, Florida also ranked near the top of all states with the longest average time to foreclose, on average 1,493 days.

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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 McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Millions Left Unspent after State Ends Federal Foreclosure Aid

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This week Florida closed its three largest Hardest Hit federal housing-aid programs, years early- leaving $88 million unspent.  This closes three opportunities for struggling homeowners, which includes: mortgage help for the unemployed and underemployed, aid on delinquent home loans and mortgage principal reduction.

Florida’s Hardest Hit program helped only about half the number of the approximately 100,000 Floridians who applied since it launched in 2010. The program was troubled from the start, with “technical issues” such as rolling out with crashed computers and an eight-month delay to get approved.

Compared with 17 other states that were part of the program, Florida had the lowest admission rate, even though Florida had one of the most severe home-price corrections in the nation, according to a 2015 federal report.  The delayed disbursement of money from the program has not gone unnoticed and has drawn criticism.

“It’s criminal,” said one Florida resident, who tried unsuccessfully to apply for the funds. “I had all my ducks in a row but could not get through on the phone. I ended up standing in their lines, but there was no follow-up. It was a complete waste of time.”

Another Florida applicant said, “They put me through the ringer. They were so rude, so ugly. I tried so many times. I got turned down so many times. It was just totally ridiculous.”

U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, said the money approved during the Obama administration could have been deployed quickly to help speed up Florida’s recovery from the crash and save families from foreclosure.

“Unfortunately, Governor Scott and Republican legislators dragged their feet for years in getting the FHFC [Florida Housing Finance Corporation] to deploy significant funds and various assistance programs, undermining the effort and stifling its effectiveness,” Soto said. Though the state has moved toward recovery, it remains one of the few yet to rebound fully, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, has consistently called for investigations into Florida’s oversight of the federal spending program.

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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 McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosure Filings Drop Sharply in South Florida

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During the 2007-2009 recession, South Florida was at the top of the list for most foreclosures.  However, in 2017 South Florida ranked No. 21 for the highest foreclosure rate among the nation’s metro areas.  Foreclosure filings dropped 37.9 percent in South Florida during 2017, according to Attom Data Solutions.

There were 20,019 properties with foreclosure filings in South Florida during 2017, or one in every 124 houses. The rate was higher in Miami-Dade County at one in 110 houses, followed by Broward County at one in 127 houses, and Palm Beach County at one in 149 houses.

Nationally, foreclosures were down 27 percent in 2017 and were at the lowest level since 2005, according to Attom. The metro regions with the highest foreclosure rates in 2017 were Atlantic City, New Jersey; Trenton, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Rockford, Illinois.

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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 McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Mortgage Delinquencies Hit Lowest Point in a Decade

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The number of mortgage delinquencies dropped to their lowest level in more than a decade, according to CoreLogic.  In the month of September, 5% of mortgages remained in some stage of delinquency, 30 days or more past due including those in foreclosure. This is a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from last year’s overall delinquency rate of 5.2%.

“September’s early-stage delinquency rate increased by 0.3% from a year ago, the largest increase since June 2009,” CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said. “This does not reflect a deterioration in credit, but rather the impact of the hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.”

The foreclosure inventory rate, which measures the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process, decreased from 0.8% in September 2016 to 0.6% in September 2017. This represents the lowest foreclosure rate since June 2007 when foreclosure inventory was also at 0.6%.

The serious delinquency rate, mortgages that are 90 days or more past due, decreased 0.4 percentage points from last year to 1.9% in September. This rate marks the lowest level for any month since October 2007’s 1.9%.

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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 McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Foreclosure Myths Debunked

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The thought of losing one’s home is scary, and because the foreclosure process can be complicated there are a lot of misconceptions and myths surrounding it.  Here are some common myths disproved.

  1. Foreclosure happens fast. Even though the foreclosure process can happen in as few as 6 months in some states, it is taking much longer to process the average foreclosure. Recently, JP Morgan Chase revealed that their average borrower who loses a home to foreclosure has not made any payments in 14 months nationwide; 22 months in Florida and 26 months in New York. The fact that foreclosure is not happening nearly as fast, gives struggling families who are temporarily down on their luck some time to get back on their feet and figure out a financial plan to save their home.
  2. Buyers cannot get clear title or title insurance on foreclosed homes. Buyers of bank-owned properties in nearly every jurisdiction are protected from later title attacks by foreclosed homeowners by the “bona fide purchaser rule,” under which courts would prefer to simply award cash damages to be paid by the culpable bank to a wrongfully foreclosed-on homeowner, rather than reversing the sale or ownership to the new, innocent buyer.
  3. Having a foreclosure on your credit history means it will take five years before you can buy again. One of the most frequently asked questions from homeowners facing foreclosure or who have just lost their home is how long will it take before they will be able to purchase another home. Until recently, it was assumed that it would take 5 years, minimum, before being able to purchase a new home.  However, borrowers can obtain an FHA loan with the low, 3.5 minimum down payment requirement 3 years after foreclosure. Post-foreclosure buyers need a credit score of 620-640 to qualify for an FHA loan.  A foreclosure itself will diminish a consumer’s credit score by 100-150 points. Former homeowners who want to purchase again need to ensure they have no other late payments or credit dings after they lose their home.

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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 McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

 

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Hurricanes could bring with it another disaster: Foreclosures

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As life returns back to normal for the hurricane ravaged parts of Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico, housing and consumer experts are warning of another crisis looming: The threat of foreclosure.  Legal aid groups are working with borrowers who are struggling to make their current mortgage payments on homes made uninhabitable by the storm, while paying rent somewhere else.

Approximately, 4.8 million mortgaged properties were in the eye of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, representing nearly $746 billion in unpaid principal balances, according to financial data firm Black Knight. In September, the number of loans that were more than 30 days past due rose 48% in Irma-affected areas and 67% in Harvey-affected areas, according to Black Knight found. The numbers have not been run yet for Puerto Rico.

For many homeowners, months of postponed payments were suddenly due all at once after that grace period ended, creating an overwhelming financial burden.

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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 McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Appellate Court Rules Miami-Dade Judge Erred in Denying Foreclosure

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“The trial court was not authorized to deny foreclosure merely because it believed the borrower signed a ‘bad bargain,’ ” wrote Third DCA Judge Richard Suarez, with Chief Judge Leslie Rothenberg and Judge Vance Salter concurring. “ We thus reverse the entry of involuntary dismissal and remand for entry of final judgment of foreclosure.”

The appellate panel ruled the court improperly excluded evidence and based judgment partially on a defense the homeowner’s counsel did not raise.  The homeowner, Alfredo Brito was making his monthly mortgage payments as usual when in June 2008 his payment was rejected by his loan servicer.  From then on no more payments were made.

Two years later, the loan servicer advised Brito he was in default and demanded $60,000 as a remedy. Lender Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. then brought a foreclosure proceeding.  Brito’s original loan servicer was absorbed by Ocwen Loan Servicing in 2012.  Miami-Dade Circuit Senior Judge Judith Kreeger excluded the demand letter and the payoff printout when she should have admitted them, the appellate court ruled.

“Brito was elderly, suffered from dementia and paid religiously and was forced into foreclosure because of the predatory financial product,” said his attorney.  “Under the circumstances, it’s appropriate to require Ocwen to comply with the rules of evidence and Florida Supreme Court precedent. No court is authorized to grant the equitable relief of foreclosure if there is unclean hands or insufficient evidence of standing to foreclose merely because the borrower defaulted on their mortgage,” he continued.

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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 McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Debt Relief, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Phony South Florida “Lawyers” Face Prison Time after Scamming Distressed Homeowners

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A number of South Florida homeowners were recent victims to two scam artists, posing as attorneys promising mortgage relief, but instead pocketed the upfront fees they charged.  Joseph Anton Hilton and Adam Todd Forman plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the scheme.

Authorities say the pair operated phony law firms based in Coral Springs, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach, FL.  The pair posed as lawyers and even manipulated real attorneys into working on their behalf. They tricked homeowners into paying legal fees in lieu of making mortgage payments. Hilton and Forman targeted homeowners across Florida and in other states, including New Jersey and Ohio, according to authorities.

The Florida victims were from cities including Sunrise, North Palm Beach, Cooper City, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Miramar and Delray Beach.

The Attorney General’s office said the fake law firms had more than 300 clients who could have potentially been harmed.

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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade Garcia McMaken has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade Garcia McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Foreclosures

Struggling with Bad Credit? Here are some ways you can still qualify for a Mortgage

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Having a poor credit score, does not necessarily mean a home is out of reach.  There are organizations and resources available to help homeowners get assistance with a down payment and find lenders willing to work with them.

Here are few options that are worth looking into:

FHA Loans.  These type loans, insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have flexible lending requirements and if you have a credit score of at least 580, you may qualify for a FHA loan requiring a down payment of no more than 3.5%.  Have a credit score between 500 and 579?  You can still get approved, but you will have to provide a down payment of at least 10 percent.

VA Loans. VA loans are reserved for eligible veterans and do not require a down payment or mortgage insurance. There is not a set minimum credit score for VA loans.  Lenders who offer these loans will have their own credit requirements.

Good Neighbor Next Door Program. The Good Neighbor Next Door program is offered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and is reserved for teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians.  This affordable housing program offers two big incentives: Eligible borrowers can qualify for 50 percent off the list price of the home if they commit to using the property as their sole residence for 36 months; and homes can be bought with as little as $100 down.

Filed bankruptcy or foreclosure?  If you have filed for bankruptcy or foreclosure, you can still own a home again and qualify for a mortgage.  Some borrowers may even qualify for an exemption.  For example, if the bankruptcy or foreclosure was due to a job loss or health problem, the lender may ask for an “extenuating circumstances letter.” This is an explanation of the events that led up to the bankruptcy or foreclosure, events that were beyond your immediate control.

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If you have any questions on this topic or are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade Garcia McMaken has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade Garcia McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.