Archive for 2010

The F Words: Fraud and Foreclosure – Watch Roy Oppenheim’s Workshop Replay on Bank Fraud and Mortgage Foreclosure

Friday, October 8th, 2010

Toxic and contaminated.

You’d think we’re referring to an environmental wasteland. Instead these are the words Roy Oppenheim used to describe the state of the mortgage and foreclosure crisis in this week’s special workshop stamped: Toxic Foreclosures and Foreclosure Fraud.

‘Foreclosure Bill Blocked’ reads today’s Wall Street Journal headline. As Oppenheim suggested a few days ago, Obama today announced his first significant veto amid a debacle over banks’ paperwork.

False Data = Fraud

This afternoon, Bloomberg News reported Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender, extended a freeze on foreclosures not just to 23 states but to all 50 states as concern spread among federal and local officials that homes are being seized based on false data.

“When I was in law school my professors would say that real estate law was notorious for moving in glacier time,” said Oppenheim in his Wednesday night monthly foreclosure defense workshop. “The lightning speed of what has happened in the last few weeks could not have been predicted, it will take decades to recover from the banks’ cracked egg. Humpty Dumpty has fallen and can not be put together again.”

Watch Roy Oppenheim’s Foreclosure Defense Workshop on his YouTube Channel and see how this will impact your life whether you are in foreclosure, lost your home to foreclosure, trying to sell your home or considering to purchase a home.

Roy Oppenheim Speaks on Toxic Foreclosures and Foreclosure Fraud Workshop

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

The real estate industry is more toxic than ever. Thanks to the banks that delivered toxic loans to homeowners, now we have toxic foreclosures!

Florida Foreclosure Attorney and Legal Blogger Roy Oppenheim hosts a workshop on this unprecedented topic: The Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis. The unfolding story is also reported on this week’s CBS 4 I-Team investigation.

This is a must attend, either via webcast or live in person, for:

  • Those currently in foreclosure;
  • Those who may have lost their homes illegally to an improper bank foreclosure by GMAC, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America or other lenders;
  • Those who may have purchased a home recently via an illegal foreclosure;
  • Those who own “clean homes”; meaning they are not delinquent and want to sell their property now;
  • People looking to buy a home and wondering what they must do to protect themselves; and,
  • Anyone connected to the Title Industry.

What: Toxic Foreclosures and Foreclosure Fraud Workshop

When: Wednesday, October 6, 2010 – 6 to 7 p.m.

Where: Oppenheim Law TV

Or come in person

2500 Weston Road, Suite 404, Weston, FL 33331

Cost: Free with advanced registration
RSVP: To register, email roy@oplaw.net or call 954.384.6114

Email us questions ahead of time and we will try to work them into the one-hour workshop!

RSVP early, Space is limited. More details can be found on the Oppenheim Law website.

Why Foreclosure Judges Should Go To More High School Homecoming Football Games

Saturday, October 2nd, 2010

Roy Oppenheim with daughter Wendi Oppenheim

Last night was a truly special night. It may have been the highlight for me as a Dad! I was my daughter’s escort as she was a finalist for High School Homecoming Queen.

The game was close for most of the night and down by a touchdown. It was late in the fourth quarter. And then the big play came in; the quarterback threw from about the 35-yard line to the team’s star receiver in the end zone.

But wait. There were a series of flags and the refs called offensive pass interference and two personal penalties. The receiver had pushed himself off the defensemen propelling him into a position to catch the ball.

The Verdict: Touchdown does not count and the ball was placed back 30 yards further down field. The refs did their job and the fans accepted their fate.

Banks cheated, did not play by the rules

That’s when it all clicked for me. The banks cheated when they filed their foreclosures. They did not play by the rules. And the refs did not have the backbone to protect the integrity of the game.

If you check the “game” rulebook that is the most important function of a judge: To protect the integrity of the judicial system. Not to show favoritism, to remain impartial, and to be fair.

What the GMAC, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America Foreclosure Fraud crisis is demonstrating to the world is that when the judiciary does not apply the rules fairly they can jeopardize the integrity of the game.
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Cracked! Humpty Dumpty, Chase, and GMAC: The Bank Mortgage Foreclosure Fraud Crisis Continues to Fall by Roy Oppenheim

Friday, October 1st, 2010

Humpty Dumpty Foreclosure Fraud Oppenheim Law

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men.
Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Most Americans, including some lawyers and even judges don’t understand what happened. Yes, it is complex and confusing. But at the end it’s real simple.

In the old days, a bank would lend a homeowner money to buy a house. The homeowner would sign a promissory note promising to pay the money back to the bank. The homeowner also signed a mortgage, giving the bank the right to foreclose and take the house back if the homeowner did not pay back the money.

Mortgage Follows the Note

Lawyers and judges grew up with the legal doctrine that the “mortgage follows the Note.” Simply put, if the note was transferred from one bank to another the mortgage would follow the transfer.

But that was then, this is now.

At some point, the folks who brought you this mess (i.e. overly ambitious bankers on Wall Street) had the “great idea” of slicing and dicing the interest of the Note and literally severing it from the Mortgage. Why this was done was actually for a matter of convenience, expediency, and, arguably, greed. Such motivations for now are secondary to the crisis we are experiencing.

Humpty Dumpty = Mortgage and the Note

But this is clear: If you think of Humpty Dumpty as the Mortgage and Note, and you break it apart (as what occurred on Wall Street), when the Notes were broken into pieces and the mortgages were assigned to Mortgage Electronic Recording System (MERS), the fact is that it may well be nearly impossible to bring the mortgages and their corresponding Notes all back together again. Plain and simple!
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How the Banks Aren’t Playing Fair: CBS News, Roy Oppenheim Talks with Investigative Reporter Stephen Stock

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

The banks “supporting” documents for foreclosure actions are now being investigated.
The question is: Are the banks playing by the rules? Not banks like GMAC, JPMorgan Chase and soon to be a list of others.

Roy Oppenheim of Oppenheim Law says the three Florida foreclosure stories on this investigative report by CBS4 Stephen Stock are the rule rather than the exception. There seems to be a disconnect with the banks and some are calling it FRAUD.

“This is the tip of a very ugly iceberg and the banking ship is now sinking,” says Oppenheim.

Oppenheim continues to help Florida homeowners learn more about developing stories concerning bank fraud and will focus on this subject in his monthly foreclosure defense workshop on Wednesday October 6 at 6pm. The full CBS story is live on the Roy Oppenheim YouTube Channel.

Special Workshop: Underwater Homeowners Can Use Bank Fraud Crisis to their Advantage Hosted by Roy Oppenheim

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Roy Oppenheim answering calls on Neighbors 4 Neighbors on CBS4.You have been hearing about it in the media: there is a national bank fraud crisis. Now find out what it means to the future of the South Florida real estate market and foreclosures. Mother Jones, The New York Times and the Sun Sentinel have covered it and an investigative special report will air tonight on CBS 4 reported by Stephen Stock.

Banks and law firms are under fire with the recent GMAC admission that it filed false foreclosure documents. Bad documentation, falsely notarizing signatures, and the courts pushing homeowners through the foreclosure process (also known as the “rocket docket”) are coming to a quick halt as the tides turn on the banks in favor of the homeowner.

“It’s as if the curtain has finally been pulled back,” said Roy Oppenheim, a legal blogger and foreclosure defense attorney who has been predicting this house of cards for the past two years on his South Florida Law Blog. “The world now has evidence to what ends the banks will go to falsify documents and encourage individuals to perjure themselves by falsely notarizing signatures.”

What does this mean to the Florida homeowner? Oppenheim shares his views and opinion on this unprecedented set of events at a free real estate workshop, which streams live via the web or in person on Wednesday, October 6 from 6-7 p.m. Topics include: the pros and cons of strategic defaults, short sales, loan modifications, deeds in lieu, and deficiency judgments.

What: Underwater Homeowners, Bank Fraud Crisis Foreclosure

Defense Workshop

When: Wednesday, October 6, 2010 – 6 to 7 p.m.
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Sun Sentinel Cover Story: Underwater Mortgage Relief for Florida Homeowners, Oppenheim Shares His View

Sunday, September 26th, 2010
Roy Oppenheim Florida Foreclsoure Defense Attorney

Today's cover story in the Sun Sentinel discusses how underwater mortgage options are not working

Florida foreclosure attorney Roy Oppenheim shared his views with Sun Sentinel real estate reporter Paul Owers and contributed to today’s cover story. In case you missed it, below is an excerpt from the story and a link to the full story.

But Roy Oppenheim, a foreclosure defense lawyer in Weston, argues that the government should have given money directly to homeowners.

Under such a plan, discussed by Yale economist Robert Shiller in his 2008 book, “The Subprime Solution”, the government would lend homeowners money to pay off their mortgages. Banks, with the help of the government, would refinance those existing loans at lower interest rates, saving homeowners hundreds of dollars a month.

“Your recession would be over,” Oppenheim said. “Instead, the money went to the banks, which used it on stock dividends or to pay bonuses. It’s lunacy. That money doesn’t make it to the average guy on Main Street.”

“People can’t hold on anymore,” Oppenheim said. “They’re losing faith that the cavalry is coming.”

Read the full story: Mixed results for mortgage programs and Federal programs for troubled homes have limited success http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-mortgage-relief-programs-20100924,0,6634223.story?page=2


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