Archive for the ‘Deficiency Judgements’ Category

Foreclosure Mills, Bank Fraud and the Housing Market — 2011′s Top Headlines Pt. 2

Saturday, December 31st, 2011
Continuing our list here’s Pt. 2 of our Top 10 stories for 2011 —

As 2011 got underway we were presented with a fascinating yet disturbing report by the Florida Association of Court Clerks called “Unfair, Deceptive and Unconscionable Acts in Foreclosure Cases”. It brought these horrible practices into the harsh light of day.

“What we got from this is the state has had the opportunity to see where the laws have been broken,’ Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock said at the time, “and frankly, it is in large part thanks to the work of the defense attorneys.

We cited April Charney from the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and Peter Ticktin and many others wonderful attorneys who have taken bank officers’ depositions, challenged judges rulings and fought the good fight for the Florida homeowner.

#4 — Cracked! Humpty Dumpty, Chase and GMC, the Bank Fraud Foreclosure Crisis Continues to Fall!

Somewhere along the line, the overly ambitious bankers on Wall Street had the “great idea” of slicing and dicing the interest of the Promissory Note and literally severing it from your Mortgage. Why? Convenience,expediency, and, arguably, greed. And much like Humpty Dumpty after his great fall, the banks couldn’t bring the mortgages and their corresponding Notes all back together again. The banks were accused of fraud and perjury trying to do just that.

# 3 — Housing Market Poll: When Will Florida Recover?

If Americans are right, 2012 will finally be the magic year for the housing market. Over 2,000 adults were polled by Trulia and RealtyTrac , and the majority, 22 percent, said most Americans think the housing market will fully recover in the new year. A mere 10 percent thought a recovery would happen this year, while nearly a quarter of those surveyed predicted a bumpy road until 2015 and beyond.
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How to Avoid a Foreclosure Hangover: Deficiency Judgment

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Deficiency judgments are potent, expensive and on the rise according to

experts quoted in a recent foreclosure defense Wall Street Journal article!

If Oppenheim Law had a warning label it might read:

Deficiency judgments can be hazardous to your financial health. For best results hire a foreclosure defense attorney.

Deficiency judgments are today’s toxic wake up call.

Continue Reading…

Economic Jump Starts: Blame Game is OUT, Accountability is IN!

Friday, September 9th, 2011

This is our economy and it’s time for us to take charge. Agreed? Read on.

From time to time the South Florida Law Blog invites people who I respect and are friends to post a blog. I introduce you to my dear friend William McCarty, an attorney who lives in the DC area.

“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing—after they’ve tried everything else.”

Winston Churchill.

After three years of record low interest rates and $2.5 trillion dollars of deficit spending we still are no closer to jump starting a self sustaining recovery. Job creation is very weak, housing contracts are anemic despite historically low interest rates and prices, and the stock market is erratic and indecisive because it trades off of short term news rather than long term fundamentals. Even if we don’t have a double dip recession, a 2% or lower growth rate means that unemployment is actually increasing because we’re not creating enough jobs to keep up with our population growth.

We haven’t been able to jump start a self sustaining recovery because we cannot replace the unsustainable phantom wealth of rapid home equity appreciation, quick stock market gains and easy credit with the unsustainable phantom wealth of printed money.

So now we have to face facts:
1. Adjusted for inflation, individual income has been flat for the past ten years and real buying has actually gone down
2. In the near and long term, either taxes will go up or services will go down or both
3. Health care and college costs continue to increase twice as fast as our income
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Florida Deficiency Judgments FAQs . . . By Popular Demand

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

Oppenheim Law’s most popular videos and blog posts are on the topic of deficiency judgements. So, by popular demand, we will continue to provide news and insight on this topic.

Understanding deficiencies and the Florida rules which pertain to them are key to avoid getting a deficiency judgment.

What is a Deficiency?

The unpaid mortgage debt associated with a residence is a deficiency. A bank can foreclose and force a judicial sale of a home if the mortgage borrower fails to pay the associated mortgage debt. The deficiency is the difference between the proceeds from the sale and the remaining mortgage loan balance. A deficiency can also result from a short sale, which is an alternative to foreclosure.

What are the Florida ‘Rules’ on Deficiencies?

The rules pertaining to deficiencies differ from state to state. A deficiency judgment is when the bank is granted a court order against the borrower to collect on the deficiency amount. In Florida, if the bank is successful in obtaining a deficiency judgment, it will be recorded in the public records and collectable for up to twenty years. Until the remaining debt is paid, the bank can garnish your wages, bank accounts, and even collect against your estate after you die.

However in other states, all a bank can do is foreclose on your house. Although your credit score will be lowered, in these states they can’t come after you for the deficiency.

If you live in Florida or any state where assets can be seized, it’s crucial to get ahead of the situation. So what should you do?
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VIDEO: How to Avoid Deficiency Judgments by Roy Oppenheim

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Attorney Roy Oppenheim’s Summer School is in session with a special focus on Florida foreclosure defense strategies including today’s topic: How to avoid a Florida Deficiency Judgement. Oppenheim Law wants to help “bullet-proof” Florida homeowners against the banks; helping them understand the difference between a deficiency and a deficiency judgement.

A deficiency is when the bank forecloses on your house and a difference of money you owe remains. Once such a deficiency is registered by a court, it becomes a deficiency judgment.

In Florida, if you have a deficiency and it becomes a deficiency judgement, the Florida bank can seize your assets (bank accounts, cars, estate, etc.) for up to 20 years.

In this Summer School ‘How To’ Video, Roy Oppenheim tells you what you need to know about deficiency and deficiency judgements in less than four minutes!

Banks Desperately Seeking Short Sales

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

Banks Desperately Seeking Short SalesThere is an interesting practice developing at our nation’s big banks. Borrowers who are in or nearing foreclosure are being offered thousands of dollars to short sale their homes. Some are even being offered $35,000 to get rid of their homes, and quickly. This situation presents an intriguing insight into the way banks are thinking at the moment. Banks would rather pay you and take a loss rather than foreclose on homes.

Do such offers signify that banks have learned their lesson and are trying to get out of sub-prime loans, or are they looking to just prevent further losses? Perhaps the answer is that the banks are concerned about existing home prices. Bank of America’s chief economist, Mickey Levy, while speaking privately, spoke of the concern that the 1.8 million bad loans in the nation will drive down the market if they go into foreclosure. Such fears help explain why the banks are desperate to avoid foreclosing on homes. They don’t want the rest of their loans to become vulnerable: the more foreclosures, the more house prices fall, therefore, the value of the banks’ loans go down and more people want to walk away from their homes, causing the banks even more losses.

In the end, this situation is a win-win. Not only do banks protect home prices, but they stand to get back more money quicker from a short sale than a foreclosure and the good publicity would be a nice change of pace for their PR departments. Homeowners in trouble are also helped because they can get out of their houses with some cash in their pockets and get on with the rest of their lives.

Deficiency Judgments Haunting Return, Jason Lives Once Again

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Deficiency Judgments Haunting Return, Jason Lives Once AgainLike the never ending horror franchise, deficiency judgments are back. A Florida deficiency judgment occurs when a bank pursues the remaining balance on a mortgage either after a foreclosure or, in theory, after a Florida short sale. Most banks are currently too busy to process deficiency judgments because they are dealing with foreclosures and short sales. Due to the large costs associated with pursuing deficiency judgments, few homeowners who were foreclosed upon will be pursued. Those people whose mortgages were owned by trusts will probably not face a deficiency judgment because of the large costs. Unfortunately, if a community bank owns the mortgage the story might be a little different. Most community banks still have the loans on their books so they will pursue the deficiencies. Also, some community banks have started to buy deficiency judgments for pennies on the dollar for the express purpose of acting like a collection agency. This is good news to keep in mind because, in these situations, the banks will be eager to settle.

While we have addressed the deficiency judgment issue for years now, the Sun-Sentinel has now also reported on the danger of what will soon happen. In two or three years, when big banks catch up with their foreclosures, we will see a flood of such deficiency judgments. The main targets of the big banks will be strategic defaulters. Strategic defaulters are the folks who could afford their mortgages but defaulted because they are so underwater that it didn’t make any sense to pay. Not every strategic defaulter has to worry though. A deficiency judgment can only be entered in foreclosure cases. Short sales cannot lead to a judgment being entered against you unless the bank decides to file an action and litigate in court. An action would require the bank to pay attorneys and other fees with no guarantee of success and scrutiny of their documents, which might lead to sanction if fraud is uncovered.
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