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How the Bank of America resolution helps distressed Florida homeowners

Fri Sep 12, 2014 by on Florida Law News

“This morning we demonstrate once again that no institution is either too big or too powerful to escape appropriate enforcement action by the Department of Justice.  At nearly $17 billion, this resolution with Bank of America is the largest the Department has ever reached with a single entity in American history.” Associate Attorney General West Delivers Remarks at Press Conference Announcing Major Financial Fraud

Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg A sign advertises home mortgage services at a Bank of America branch in Manhattan Beach, California.The Bank of America settlement is by far the largest deal the Justice Department has reached with a bank over the 2008 mortgage meltdown. In the last year, JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to a $13 billion settlement while Citigroup reached a separate $7 billion deal.

Now that the dust has settled on the Justice Department’s latest BIG Bank settlement with Bank of America the question in many distressed homeowner’s minds is, ” What’s in it for me.” 

The answer is simple, if you have an outstanding loan with Bank of America and live in Florida you may be entitled to some kind of loss mitigation benefit. Specifically, in Florida, Bank of America has to provide approximately  $1 Billion in home owner relief. That relief comes in various shapes and sizes but the most common is approval of a loan modification where either interest or principal is somehow forgiven or thrown on the back end likely never to see the light of day again.  Other form of relief include agreeing to a short sale and waiving any possible deficiency judgements.

The moral of course is that those that stood their ground and did not just move out of their homes during the financial crisis are now in better shape than those folks who buried their heads in the sand  and prayed that when they defaulted on their loans as well as on their lawsuits that all would be forgiven and forgotten.  That is of  course the furthest from the truth. Those folks are now battling deficiency judgements and had to retain counsel such as our firm.

'Stand Your Ground' and protect your home. Thus, if you are a homeowner and have a Bank of America Loan where you remain upside down on a mortgage or underwater,  you may want to discuss your situation and see what your strategic options might be.

Oppenheim Law Firm – Roy Oppenheim, founder and editor of the South Florida Law Blog


Real estate and foreclosure defense attorney Roy Oppenheim passionately defends Florida homeowners and investors from foreclosure, arranging short-sales, loan modifications, mortgage advice, commercial litigation, and business related matters. Roy is also the original creator of the South Florida Law Blog, named the best business and technology blog by the Sun-Sentinel. Share your comments and thoughts on the Oppenheim Law digital media social networks; they’d love to hear from you. – 

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Tags: Bank of America settlement, deficiency judgements, foreclosures, homeowners, underwater mortages