Foreclosure defense attorney and legal blogger Roy Oppenheim shares valuable insight into foreclosure defense and the current state of the mortgage crisis during the My Empowerment segment of The Balancing Act on Lifetime TV.
The segment, which aired this morning at 7 and 8 a.m. EST, covered topics ranging from options for underwater homeowners to experts’ long and short-term outlook for the housing market.
Here is the interview in its entirety:
About The Balancing Act
The Balancing Act inspires and empowers with entertaining and educational shows, positioning women to achieve success in every area of their lives. My Empowerment Wednesdays feature hosts Beth Troutman and Kristy Villa reviewing finance-related books, talking about the “do’s and don’ts” of dressing for success, job interviews, and sharing super savings on everyday items and groceries.
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Roy Oppenheim spent about one hour on the phone with The New York Times real estate reporter David Streitfeld talking about what it’s like to be a foreclosure defense attorney. Although Oppenheim has been practicing real estate law including foreclosure defense since 1989 starting out on Wall Street, there is no doubt the past two years have been the busiest helping homeowners fashion their own bailout. Oppenheim’s strategy includes an educational component by hosting monthly foreclosure defense workshops since October 2008.
“Until recently, foreclosure defense would have been considered the lowest of the low — below the divorce guys, below ambulance chasers,” said Mr. Oppenheim, who practices in Weston, Fla. “The idea was inconceivable that you might have legitimate defenses when your client did not pay the bank that had lent them a sum of money.”
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The foreclosure “walk of shame” happens to the best of us; even the Mortgage Banker’s Association (MBA). When Roy Oppenheim received a call from the producers of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; he knew this was not the typical call from a distressed homeowner facing foreclosure. This was about a topic Oppenheim had shared on his blog months ago. The Daily Show news team was sniffing out a story of satire and realism, piecing together the irony of The Mortgage Banker’s Association’s Strategic Default.
Homeowners are walking away from mortgages even when they can afford to pay, and so is the MBA. Yes, the MBA walked away from its headquarters, a $79 million building they purchased three years ago in Washington D.C.
It is not just the daily news, it is the hourly news. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times are reporting multiple stories daily about the unfolding developments and ramifications of the recent suspensions by four major companies that service mortgages and how this crisis will undoubtedly slow the housing recovery.
Roy Oppenheim wrote a letter to the editor of The Wall Street Journal in response to its The Politics of Foreclosure editorial that ran Saturday, October 9th. Oppenheim’s letter pointed out how the opinion article missed a number of significant legal, as well as macro-economic issues, that South Florida Law Blog will post if it is not printed by The Wall Street Journal.
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal article: Foreclosures, Forestalled by reporter Robbie Whelan discusses the cause and effect this moratorium could have on the housing recovery.
Here is an excerpt:
Consumer advocates say the judicial process gives consumers a better chance to work out their problems. But Florida’s court system is so overwhelmed with foreclosures that last year it began calling judges out of retirement to handle hundreds of foreclosure cases a day in a forum that became known as the “rocket docket.”
“Irresponsible banks need to be held accountable, but if we have not found a problem with a bank’s process we do not believe that we should impose a moratorium where that can hurt the market and hurt individual buyers,” said Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development. (more…)
On location in Boston, Real Estate Attorney and Legal Blogger Roy Oppenheim talks about the real estate market and what to expect from the new deflationary economy.
Tune in Wednesday night. Oppenheim highlights the new rules homeowners need to learn in a Back to School Workshop.
What: ABC’s and D for Deflation Foreclosure Defense Workshop
When: Wednesday, September 1, 2010 – 6:00 to 7:00 PM
Who: Learn the new way of thinking for a new economy! Homeowners facing foreclosure or underwater mortgages, real estate professionals, buyers and sellers
RSVP: To register email roy@oplaw.net or call 954.384.6114
Oppenheim Law will broadcast September’s Foreclosure Workshop online through the Oppenheim Law TV Channel. Participants are invited to ask questions and comment on the presentation through chat or Oppenheim Law’s Twitter account @OPLaw. For more details see the Oppenheim Law Website.
The housing news reports existing home sales fell sharply in July, declining for a third straight month, as the effects of the expired homebuyer tax credit continued to add turbulence to the housing market. Consumers are now clearly entering into a new economic era where homes are no longer an appreciating asset. Oppenheim Law teaches Florida homeowners the latest legal strategies of foreclosure defense including strategic defaults, short sales, deeds in lieu and deficiency judgments.
Florida Real Estate Attorney and Legal Blogger Roy Oppenheim discusses the current deflationary economy and what new rules homeowners need to learn. Getting rid of devaluing assets (like a home) and conserving cash is a strategy Oppenheim discusses in his real estate workshops.
What: ABC’s and D for Deflation Foreclosure Defense Workshop
When: Wednesday, September 1, 2010 – 6:00 to 7:00 PM
Who: Learn the new way of thinking for a new economy! Homeowners facing foreclosure or underwater mortgages, real estate professionals, buyers and sellers
RSVP: To register email roy@oplaw.net or call 954.384.6114
Oppenheim Law will broadcast September’s Foreclosure Workshop online through the Oppenheim Law Strategic Default Channel. Participants are invited to ask questions and comment on the presentation through Oppenheim Law’s Twitter account @OPLaw. For more details see the Oppenheim Law Website.
Greed, games, and the American banks. Roy Oppenheim discussed the silent strategic foreclosure revolution of up-in-arm homeowners last night.
As frustrated homeowners tuned in online through the OPLaw Foreclosure Defense UStream Channel, Oppenheim Law marked its 18th Legal Real Estate Workshop amidst a live audience and Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reporters.
For one week only, you can view the workshop on the South Florida Law Blog. This is your chance to hear Oppenheim explain strategic default, short sales, foreclosure defense and the real estate revolution he has dubbed “Shay’s Rebellion 2.0.”
We’ll be answering some of our Foreclosure Workshops’ frequently asked questions next week so be on the look out for that post. Feel free to add your own questions as comments on the blog!
Be sure to tune in next month on July 7 for the next Strategic Foreclosure Workshop hosted by Roy Oppenheim and for all the Foursquare users out there, start Checking In with Oppenheim Law and watch for Tips if you’re in the area!
Greed, games, and the American banks. 
