A silent rebellion has begun. This time there will be no drums or shots fired. In fact, no one will hear anything. Not even footsteps.
Homeowners have reached a tipping point of sorts: 7 million homeowners are currently underwater. They are defaulting on their mortgages. One by one they are part of Shay’s Rebellion 2.0, a rebellion being fought on the frontlines of foreclosure through strategic default.
This time however, it’s not just western Massachusetts, but a silent battalion of millions of underwater homeowners across every state that have declared a consumer rebellion. These new warriors are no longer worried about a bad credit score; instead they are concerned with their family’s economic future. They no longer trust a Congress they believe has been hijacked by a few large financial institutions. They also instinctively know their collective actions can quickly have devastating consequences to these oligarchic financial institutions.
This time, the Rebellion is a boycott caused by the banks’ own audacity, by thinking that they could take over the polity of this nation by growing too large for any President, Federal Reserve, or Congress.
Most experts suggest families are making a rational economic decision in walking away. Businesses decide to walk away from investments all the time. Oppenheim Law recognizes that families have an obligation to themselves and may feel compelled to break contracts just like any commercial real estate owner.
In fact, Time Equities, the owner of Tudor City in Manhattan, did exactly that when they walked away from billions in the largest strategic default in the history of the United States. Did we hear anyone say such conduct by these owners was immoral or unethical? (more…)
Strategic defaults are here to stay: It’s estimated that at least 1 million homeowners who can afford to pay their mortgage chose to simply walk away last year, according to CBS and 60 Minutes.
After doing the math and watching property values shrink in some instances to less than half of what’s owed on a mortgage, homeowners are opting to rid their underwater property and start fresh.
According to 60 Minutes, more than 11 million homeowners across the country are underwater, and it’s estimated that number could double in the next year.
This means nearly half of all American mortgage holders will owe more on their homes than those homes are currently worth.
Oppenheim Law has presented the theory of strategic default in our monthly Florida Foreclosure Defense Workshops and also with FOX News WSVN and CBS 4 News. Check out the videos below.
“We’ve been through an event that none of us have ever experienced in this country since the Depression,” David Stevens, the commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, told Morley Safer and 60 Minutes.
Check out the entire 60 Minutes strategic default segment below and share your thoughts in the comments section.
We have been talking about this issue for years now and finally the Florida Attorney General is investigating how the Banks and their attorneys are abusing the judicial system by submitting falsified documents that would allow the Banks to foreclose on properties that they do not have the right to foreclose upon. This is why you must question every document that is submitted to the Court and cannot assume that the documents are true and correct…
Fla. AG’s office has received dozens of homeowner complaints about questionable court documents filed by firm’s lawyers, according to a source
Paola Iuspa-Abbott
Daily Business Review
May 11, 2010
The Florida attorney general is investigating one of the nation’s largest foreclosure law firms over allegations it falsified legal documents to expedite foreclosure cases filed by its lender clients.
Tampa-based Florida Default Law Group “appears to be fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases,” according to the attorney general’s Economic Crimes Division in Fort Lauderdale, which is leading the investigation.
The office of Attorney General Bill McCollum is reviewing consumer complaints, taking depositions and researching the company’s business practices to determine whether Florida Default has violated any state laws.
The investigation is based on allegations that Florida Default lawyers submitted misleading documents to judges hearing foreclosure cases. The documents included assignments of mortgage that “have later been shown to be legally inadequate and/or insufficient,” according to an April 28 statement by the attorney general’s office when the investigation was opened.
The attorney general’s office has received dozens of complaints from homeowners about questionable court documents filed by Florida Default’s lawyers, according to a source familiar with the probe. (more…)
Homeowners across the country tuned in Wednesday night as Oppenheim Law hosted its monthly Foreclosure Defense Workshop and broadcast the event live online through UStream TV.
Miss out on the live show? Oppenheim Law is streaming the Short Sale and Strategic Default Workshop on the South Florida Law Blog and UStream TV Channel through Sunday night.
We’re giving homeowners a second chance to hear Roy Oppenheim explain the latest trends in Florida foreclosure defense. Check out the video below for answers to many of the common questions homeowners have when facing a foreclosure, short sale, or strategic default.
Questions or feedback? Oppenheim Law would love to hear your suggestions for next month’s free Real Estate Workshop on June 2 in the comments section below, and be sure to follow Roy Oppenheim on Twitter @oplaw for all the latest real estate news.
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
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!
Stocks Up + Economy Recovering, But a New Real Estate Storm On The Radar
Book the First: Recalled to Life
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. (more…)
What 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. (more…)
