Archive for April, 2010

Strategic Defaults and Short Sales: Free Foreclosure Workshop May 5

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
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Strategic default and short sales are the latest buzzwords in Florida foreclosure and real estate. Find out how these foreclosure defense strategies can prevent foreclosure and costly deficiency judgments May 5 from 6-7 p.m.

Roy Oppenheim tells homeowners how to challenge banks at their own game and how to craft your personal bailout.

What: Short Sales + Strategic Defaults: Free Real Estate Workshop

When: Wednesday, May 5, 2010 – 6:00 to 7:00 PM

Who: Homeowners facing foreclosure, buyers, and sellers

Streaming: The Oppenheim Law UStream Channel

Where: 2500 Weston Road, Suite 404, Weston, FL 33331

Cost: Free with advanced registration

RSVP: E-mail roy@oplaw.net or call 954.384.6114

Unable to make it to Weston? Oppenheim Law broadcasts its free monthly Short Sales and Strategic Defaults Workshop online through the Oppenheim Law UStream Channel. Participants can ask questions and comment on the presentation through Oppenheim Law’s Twitter account @OPLaw.

Oppenheim Law looks forward to seeing you on May 5 whether in person or online!

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Posted in Florida foreclosures, Florida real estate, Florida short sales, Foreclosure Defense, Foreclosure Workshop, Roy Oppenheim, Short Sales | No Comments »

Oppenheim Law on The Tale of Two Cities: The Best and The Worst of Times

Monday, April 26th, 2010
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Stocks Up + Economy Recovering, But a New Real Estate Storm On The Radar

Book the First: Recalled to Lifestocks-going-up

On the national front, news stories indicate that the stock market is steadily resurrecting itself, the first real positive sign that the economy may finally be on the mend. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal noted that banks especially were showing vast improvements, with J.P. Morgan Chase calculating a 55% surge in quarterly profits. While the news is encouraging, there is still hesitation rather than outright relief in the undertone of the stories. The reason: if the banks have not learned from their mistakes, the economy might be six feet under again and sooner than we think.

Book the Second: The Golden Thread

While numbers in South Florida still appear disheartening, a little golden thread appears to be tying up the drowning homeowners into a pretty little package called loan modifications. Although a recent article in The Sun-Sentinel quoted RealtyTrac stating that foreclosure filings in Broward had risen 38% in Broward from March 2009, the numbers seem to be decreasing slightly from previously months. The federal government attributes this to the success of new government workout programs.

Recent statements from the Treasury Department tout the success of the new government loan modification programs. Although the programs did not technically go into effect until April, some banks began using them “successfully” earlier. A recent press release by the Assistant Secretary of Financial Stability for the Treasury Department stated the new programs were on track to help 3 to 4 million homeowners by the end of 2012, with over 1.4 million homeowners already beginning the application process. While this appears to be a positive turn, everything will fall apart if that single golden thread snaps.
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Posted in Florida foreclosures, Florida real estate, Foreclosure Defense, Loan Modification, Roy Oppenheim, Sun Sentinel, The Wall Street Journal | No Comments »

Even More Embarrassment for Banks: Foreclosure Fraud

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
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cartoon_bank_bailoutWhat could be more embarrassing for the already floundering banks than the fact that their foreclosure, loan modification and short sale systems are a complete mess?

Well, a recent court decision in a mortgage foreclosure lawsuit in Pasco County, FL, revealed the banks, besides being disorganized, are apparently not above stooping to commit fraud in order to file foreclosure actions against homeowners. You can view the Court’s order by clicking here.

Many homeowners probably don’t know the bank has to prove it has standing to bring a foreclosure action. Standing is the constitutional right for a party to appear to bring a case in court. Without standing, a party has no right to be in court. But in reality, the bank must prove that they in fact own and hold both the mortgage and promissory note, and thus have the right to foreclose.

This becomes a problem for banks because they are so disorganized that the documents are often lost or misplaced. An even bigger problem occurs when the original mortgage lenders sell the mortgages and notes and convert them into a securitized trust. When these mortgages are assigned to another bank or a securitized trust, the assignment of mortgage must be executed and notarized. Within these assignments, foreclosure defense attorneys are finding all kinds of problems that are leading to foreclosure cases being thrown out of court.

Fraud in the Court

A problem found in an assignment of mortgage that was recently thrown out by the court was especially astounding. The Plaintiff, U.S. Bank, filed a foreclosure action on December 6, 2007, based on an alleged assignment of mortgage dated as of December 5, 2007.
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Posted in Florida foreclosures, Florida Law News, Florida real estate, Florida Supreme Court, Foreclosure Defense, Roy Oppenheim | 4 Comments »

BPA and Baby Bottles: Wendi Oppenheim Presents Research to Broward County Commission

Friday, April 9th, 2010
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BPA and Baby Bottles Wendi OppenheimAnother member of the Oppenheim family is making headlines!

Wendi Oppenheim, a 17-year-old junior at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, has been studying the negative health effects associated with the transfer of Bisphenol-A (BPA) to toddlers and infants through plastic baby bottles and is presenting her findings to the Broward County Commission on April 13 at 10 a.m.

“Something must be done to protect the children of South Florida from this dangerous chemical,” says Oppenheim, ready to bring the facts to the Broward County Commission.

Arguing in favor of the Commission’s passage of The Broward County Toxin Free Toddlers and Baby Act, Oppenheim will present her recognized research entitled “Bisphenol-A: A Dangerous Chemical With Multiple Modes of Action.”

Research has shown BPA causes negative health effects that include cancer, obesity, diabetes, reproductive health issues and immune complications.

“As a National Board Member of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, I urge the Broward Country Commission to consider the overwhelming and conclusive evidence of the negative health effects of BPA,” Oppenheim said. “Something must be done to protect the children and residents of South Florida from this dangerous chemical.”

Broward County Commission Meetings are open to the public and held in formal session on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. in Room 422 of the Broward County Governmental Center. Oppenheim Law invites you to attend the event live or watch online through Broward County’s Video Central.

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Posted in Family and Friends | 1 Comment »

Instant Replay! UStream TV Brings Oppenheim Law Workshop Live! April’s Short Sale + Foreclosure Defense Workshop in Review

Thursday, April 8th, 2010
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Home on a Stack of Cash

Live from Ustream, it’s Roy Oppenheim with an instant replay available for the next 48 hours!

On a night when Oppenheim Law broadcast its monthly Foreclosure Defense Workshop to over 100 viewers on UStream, the primary message from real estate attorney and legal blogger Roy Oppenheim was one of opportunity and hope.

As we continue to roll through 2010, dubbed “The Year of the Short Sale” by Oppenheim, it is important to remember homeowners always have rights, no matter your financial situation, and options always exist for defending yourself and your home.

April’s workshop was full of advice on executing short sales, avoiding deficiency judgments, defending foreclosure and protecting your assets and rights. We’ve put together a summary of Oppenheim’s main messages, and look forward to seeing you at the next workshop scheduled for May 5 whether in person or online!

  • Sluggish Mortgage Servicers – The government’s Making Home Affordable program is not going to solve this real estate and financial crisis. Banks are too slow and too reluctant to provide homeowners adequate relief.
  • Short Sale Savings – Short Sales have emerged as an effective way to avoid foreclosure and save homeowners’ credit, and the government’s new short sale incentives will increase this effectiveness.
    • Oppenheim Law has already executed four short sales for clients THIS WEEK, by the time of the workshop Wednesday night, while successfully defending costly deficiency judgments.
  • Cash vs. Pennies – Banks are encouraged to approve short sales and receive immediate cash relief as opposed to modifying loans and earning pennies on the dollar of their initial investments.
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Posted in Florida foreclosures, Florida Law News, Florida real estate, Florida short sales, Foreclosure Defense, Foreclosure Workshop, Loan Modification, Roy Oppenheim, Short Sales | No Comments »

Drowning Debtors Face New Monster: Wage Garnishment Rises as Much as 120%

Friday, April 2nd, 2010
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Drowning Debtors Face New Challenge: Wage Garnishment

National news exposed another monster rearing its ugly head to drown already flailing debtors.

The New York Times reports today that wage garnishment is on the rise: up 30 to 120% depending on the state. This news comes as a kick to debtors who are already down, buried in insurmountable debt.

Under federal law, the garnishor must leave the debtor with 30 times the federal minimum wage per week. However, when taking into consideration the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, this means the creditor only has to leave the debtor $217.50 per week to live.

In Florida, creditors can garnish up to 25% of a debtor’s disposable income, which means if you make $800 a week after taxes, they can garnish up to $200 of your paycheck every week until the debt is paid. Debtors are only allowed to take the lesser of the two, which usually results in them following the 25% option. But losing even 25% of their income is a devastating blow to debtors who are already struggling to keep their head above water.

Banks claim the problem is the debtors, who refuse to return phone calls and ignore lawsuits. In the long run, ignoring the lawsuit actually creates a larger problem for the debtor. Banks get default judgments and collect astronomical interest rates on the debt as high as 79.9% per year. Those kinds of rates are enough to make organized crime syndicates smile.

On top of that they tack on outrageous attorneys fees, because the debtor is not showing up to fight. In many cases, the banks are able to get a default judgment without ever having to prove the debt, much less justify to a judge the fees and penalties they are charging.
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Posted in Florida Law News, Foreclosure Defense, Roy Oppenheim | 4 Comments »

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