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New Year: New Rules – Florida Supreme Court Requires Mediation in Foreclosure

Just as 2009 ended, the Florida Supreme Court announced a uniform procedure for all newly filed foreclosure cases for homestead properties. While the procedure is not yet fully in place, it should be shortly.

The Court acknowledged the system is not working. Foreclosure filings are expected to reach 456,000 cases in Florida by the end of 2010, a 50% increase from those in 2009. Thus, the Court felt compelled to do something.

My free foreclosure and real estate workshop on Thursday, January 7, at 6 p.m. is designed to review the “Year That Was” and preview the “Year That Will Be” based on the New Rules for 2010.

These new rules mean banks will be taken to task by the legal system. If conducted properly, a homeowner can demand proof of the Note and ownership of the loan prior to mediation. If the bank does not show up at the mediation or does not have a person with “true” authority to settle the case, the Court can issues sanctions against the bank and even hit the bank with attorney’s fees in some instances.

Until now approximately 75% of cases in mediation settled. That number should now shrink since the system will soon be overloaded with mediations. The real question is how to take control of this new strategic tool. Of course, one has to be mindful of the old saying, “Be careful what you ask for.” That will certainly be the situation here.

You need to know your objective and have a plan or strategy. Is your desire to walk away without the bank coming after you, or is it to stay and renegotiate the loan to its new underwater value? Or is it to rent the house and just be able to stay?

Lots of creative options will arise that are good for the homeowner and even the bank. The key is knowing what is best for you and using this new opportunity as a way to fashion your own bailout.

I hope to see you all Thursday night, January 7th, at our free Florida foreclosure defense and real estate workshop as Oppenheim Law helps you achieve a New Bailout in the New Year. Again, I wish you all the best in 2010!

Tags: bailout, FL foreclosure, Florida Supreme Court, Foreclosure Defense, foreclosure filings, Foreclosure Workshop, homestead properties, mediation, Oppenheim Law, Roy Oppenheim

7 responses to “New Year: New Rules – Florida Supreme Court Requires Mediation in Foreclosure”

  1. I suspect you are too far away for me to attend your meeing, but I would be an active participant if there were some meetings in the Central Florida area.

    Thanks.

    Ric Stanley
    407-682-6200

  2. RoyOppenheim says:

    We will try and do an online webinar in the near future.

  3. Kittie Kay says:

    Fairly wonderful entry, very enlightening stuff. Never considered I’d discover the facts I need right here. I have been looking everywhere in the web for some time now and was starting to get discouraged. Fortunately, I happened across your page and got precisely what I had been searching for.

  4. […] The FL Supreme Court’s ruling requiring mandatory mediation between homeowners and banks already started in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties. […]

  5. Zureida Molina says:

    In view of the recent FL Supreme court ruling on “lost notes” I would really appreciate a webinar to better put the January changes with the recent “lost note” ruling. Any dates set?

    • RoyOppenheim says:

      We will be discussing this ruling at the next Strategic Foreclosure Workshop scheduled for Wednesday, June 2. Get the details here: http://bit.ly/9dYRpU

      You can also read today’s blog post for Oppenheim Law’s take on lost notes.

  6. The real question is how to take control of this new strategic tool.