Many times Florida homeowners make decisions regarding their assets before being served with a foreclosure complaint. Unfortunately, 97% of homeowners do nothing to protect themselves or their assets before and during the foreclosure process, according to South Florida Real Estate Attorney and legal blogger Roy Oppenheim.
Oppenheim met with Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell to share how Oppenheim Law guides South Florida homeowners through defending themselves and their homes and helps them fashion their own economic bailouts.
“We frequently represent individuals who are professionals and have done everything right in the traditional path to wealth in this nation,” Oppenheim said. “And now because certain institutions that we have all respected for so many years failed us, we are seeing these individuals have to figure out how to deal with getting out of their tricky financial situation.”
The current system, including banks, Congress, the President and the Courts, is failing American homeowners according to Oppenheim and Lodmell.
Oppenheim describes how his firm navigates through the current system to protect homeowners’ rights during the foreclosure process.
Check out the video below for the entire interview and we look forward to reading your comments and answering any questions.
Oppenheim Law hosted its largest Free Florida Foreclosure Defense Workshop Wednesday night as the real estate market and foreclosure defense landscape evolves.
Almost half of South Florida homeowners are facing negative equity in their homes, and more than 400,000 Florida foreclosure cases are expected by the end of 2010, according to real estate attorney Roy Oppenheim.
More than 40 South Florida homeowners turned out to hear the latest legal techniques and strategies Oppenheim Law is using to defend foreclosures, execute short sales, prevent deficiency judgments and keep people in their homes.
We’ve put together a summary of the main points from March’s Workshop, and look forward to seeing you at the next free event on April 1st at 6 p.m.
Social stigma is so yesterday. The fact that so many people are being affected by this real estate crisis completely erased the social stigma associated with foreclosure.
Banks are overwhelmed. The depth and breadth of this crisis makes it difficult for banks to successfully foreclose homeowners who are represented by counsel.
Do what’s right for you and get help. If it no longer makes economic sense to continue paying your mortgage, your best option is to speak to a qualified attorney.
Don’t leave. Whatever you chose to do, stay in your home as long as possible.
Banks warming up. Short sales are emerging as one of the best options for homeowners facing foreclosure, and believe it or not, banks are beginning to favor them as well. Some short sales are being approved in less time than in the past. One need only be 30 days behind on your mortgage to begin the short sale process.
The bank is happy with instant cash gratification, while you avoid the hassle and stress of foreclosure proceedings.
Price is right. When executing a short sale, an experienced real estate agent must price your home correctly, and you must protect yourself from a costly deficiency judgment through legal representation.
Know the facts. Deficiency judgments can stay on your record for up to 20 years: Banks may garnish wages and even collect against heirs.
Oppenheim Law has negotiated reductions in deficiency judgments by as much as 80-85%.
It is important to remember that buying yourself time in this real estate market can prove to be incredibly valuable. The tide is beginning to turn as new laws are discussed and the economy makes gains.
Again, 97% of folks facing foreclosure are not represented by counsel. Those who are have a much better chance of avoiding a deficiency judgment and saving their home.
We look forward to hearing your comments on March’s workshop and hope to see you all on April 1 for our next event.
Short sales are emerging as a formative foreclosure defense strategy, according to Florida real estate attorney and legal blogger Roy Oppenheim.
Join Oppenheim Law at the next Free Legal Real Estate Workshop on Wednesday,March 3, as Oppenheim explains how short sales can prevent Florida deficiency judgments and provides insider tips for buying and selling Florida real estate in this turbulent market.
What: Short Sales, Deficiency Judgment + More: Free Legal Workshop
When: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 – 6:00 to 7:00 PM
Who: Homeowners facing foreclosure, real estate professionals, buyers and sellers
Where: 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
For more information visit the Oppenheim Law News Room to access all of the event’s details. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or suggestions for the workshop.
Oppenheim Law looks forward to seeing you all on Wednesday, March 3rd.
Rock the vote! Voting is underway for The Sun-Sentinel’s Best of Blogs Awards and Oppenheim Law’s South Florida Law Blog received a nomination in the Business Blog Category.
The South Florida Law Blog is committed to bringing timely news and advice to our readers as we work together to survive this treacherous real estate market.
We appreciate your continued support, feedback and comments and look forward to bringing you the latest and greatest in Florida foreclosure defense and real estate trends.
The Silver Lining of this Foreclosure Crisis From the Heart
Thanks for your positive feedback on our new column. This post is the second for Oppenheim Law’s senior partner, Ellen Pilelsky, as she discusses Florida real estate and foreclosure, sharing her perspective “From the Heart.”
Some say there is a reason for everything and that we can control our own lives. Both of these thoughts come to mind when I watch Allstate’s recent “Our Stand” ad campaign.
I’ve now watched this short video a few times, and each time I am so moved that I felt compelled to share it with you. The video drives home the point that even through these difficult economic times, we all can and will make it through.
It’s up to us to deal with and rise from the challenges we face today.
There is hope. We all just need to look at our lives and make changes that need to be made. As long as we are able to recognize what is really the most important things in our life, like family and friends, then we can avoid getting bogged down with “all the other stuff.”
The Silver Lining
There has to be a true silver lining to this foreclosure crisis.
I believe that our children will learn from these challenging times to live on what they earn and not beyond their means. They will become our future leaders in just a few short years and they will bring that old fashioned American Ideal to Washington and to the State Capitals. Soon our governments will learn to do with less, but still provide the essential services we need. We all just have to believe.
Although families may have to double up at times, children will actually once again truly know their grandparents. We all will learn how to prepare a home cooked meal with more natural ingredients and eat out less. Families may decide to reacquaint themselves with the great outdoors and go camping instead of trekking to a pricey resort. And we will find true happiness or riches is not just a bank account but how fulfilled our lives are based on friends and the good deeds we have done for others. Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project is a good read and reminder of this.
Paying it Forward
I always taught my family the importance of “paying it forward” and believe now more than ever that lesson can provide much joy and happiness to the person paying it up front.
It is strange how in times like these we all need to understand we really do not need all that much. And if we can use our energy to be positive and move forward, then we will emerge stronger and wiser.
Oppenheim Law has been arguing for creative and practical solutions that benefit banks and homeowners alike for more than two years. Finally, while curiously late into the game, CitiMortgage announces a trial deed-in-lieu mortgage program allowing homeowners to avoid the painful foreclosure process.
The deed-in-lieu program allows Florida homeowners facing foreclosure to remain in their homes for 6 months, in exchange for signing over their deeds to CitiMortgage at the end of the period.
Check out Roy Oppenheim’s opinion on the CitiMortgage announcement by reading the entire article in the Oppenheim Law News Room.
Oppenheim Law marked its 16th Monthly legal real estate workshop last Thursday and thanks to you – our readers – who attended or brought a friend, we continue to evaluate the real estate market.
For those not able to make the event, I have two pieces of good news for you:
Oppenheim Law is already preparing for our next free real estate workshop scheduled on Wednesday, March 3.
We have a recap of the workshop’s timely highlights
The most important message: things are changing.
Florida Foreclosure Defense is constantly evolving and Oppenheim Law is finding new ways to defend foreclosures every day.
The FL Supreme Court’s ruling requiring mandatory mediation between homeowners and banks already started in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties.
70% of foreclosure cases that go to mediation are settled.
Walking away from an underwater mortgage is no longer a moral decision. The banks were allowed to walk away from their monumental debt and write it off as a “business decision.” Why can’t homeowners do the same?
The crisis in Haiti will likely have an influence on the South Florida real estate landscape. Florida saw similar results after Hurricane Andrew when folks were searching for new places to live. Black Swan events like these are important to consider and watch.
Oppenheim Law stresses the importance of helping homeowners avoid deficiency judgments at all costs. Ignoring the foreclosure notice or moving out is perhaps not the best possible decision you can make.
While 97% of folks facing foreclosure are not represented by counsel, those who are have a much better chance of avoiding a deficiency judgment and saving their home.
We look forward to hearing your comments on our last workshop and invite you to join us on WEDNESDAY, March 3 (A Wednesday for this next month only!)
In case you didn’t hear, the Obama administration announced changes for requirements of paperwork and documents regarding the Making Home Affordable on Thursday, hoping to improve the success rate and communication between homeowners and lenders.
While this bureaucratic decision may indeed help a few more modifications squeeze through the banks clenching hands, ultimately, the change that is needed for South Florida homeowners requires substantial principal reduction on underwater mortgages.
Oppenheim Law has been arguing for over a year that there are too many mortgages valued greater than the actual market worth in South Florida, and merely lowering interest rates and extending the life of loans will not do enough to solve the Florida foreclosure problem.
To read my thoughts on the latest Home Affordable Modification Program changes, check out the entire Miami Herald article, “Home-loan aid altered” in the Oppenheim Law News Room.
Real Estate Black Swan Arrives: Free Legal Foreclosure Workshop February 4
The attorneys at Oppenheim Law point to the crisis in Haiti as a “black swan event,” an occasion no one could have foreseen with drastic effects on the South Florida real estate landscape.
Join Oppenheim Law at the next free legal real estate workshop on February 4, as Roy Oppenheim explains how the tragedy in Haiti will affect South Florida foreclosure. The workshop will also provide insider tips for buying and selling Florida real estate in this turbulent market and explain how to avoid deficiency judgments at all costs through South Florida short sales and other Florida foreclosure defense strategies.
What: The Black Swan is Here: Free Real Estate Workshop
When: Thursday, February 4, 2010 – 6:00 to 7:00 PM
Who: Real estate professionals and homeowners facing foreclosure, buyers, and sellers
Where: 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
For more information visit the Oppenheim Law News Room to access all of the event’s details. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or suggestions for the workshop.
Oppenheim Law looks forward to seeing you all on February 4th.
Some Florida attorneys and other experts sometimes seem to suggest there is no difference between having a Florida foreclosure or Florida short sale on your record or credit report and pose the question:
“Why go through the hassle of a short sale?”
The thought process might be technically correct, but only in a state described as a “non-recourse state.” Florida is not one of those states and is in fact a RECOURSE state. This means the banks can and will likely come after you for the difference between the principal value of your Florida mortgage and the value of your home at the time of the Florida foreclosure sale.
In non-recourse states, like California, people can walk or stay, and either way the banks cannot come after you. In Florida, New York and other recourse states the banks can come after you for as long as 20 years. The banks have the right to try and garnish your wages and bank accounts and even depose you under oath. In fact they can and will likely come after you even if you are long dead. You can read my Op-Ed piece in the Sun-Sentinel for a more detailed description of the difference between recourse and non-recourse states.
However, if you get out by orchestrating a South Florida short sale, you’ll likely be released from the amount the bank does not recover at closing. In fact the reason it is called a “Short Sale” is because the bank is coming up short at closing. Now the Bank has a few options. They can take the hit as they do frequently, and as they may well be required to do according to new rules coming out of the Obama Administration, or they can negotiate some payment plan with you. Sometimes the terms are good, and other times they are truly oppressive. However, remember whatever you negotiate is not written in stone or blood and is unsecured.
Thus, the Bank will likely sell the Note (here we go again) to a hedge fund, or collection agency for pennies on the dollar. So you once again will have an opportunity to renegotiate the terms. And even if you don’t make any payments at all, are the banks really going to spend thousands of dollars to find you, serve you and hire attorneys to sue? Maybe… but my bet is they will first go after the low hanging fruit: the poor folks who never read the Oppenheim Law blogs and now have deficiency judgments entered against them.
So, to recap, The Oppenheim Law bottom line:
Explore a short sale first before throwing in the Florida foreclosure towel.
Oppenheim Law hosted its largest Free Florida Foreclosure Defense Workshop Wednesday night as the real estate market and foreclosure defense landscape evolves.
