The ‘black swans’ just keep on coming, as underwater homeowners brace themselves for a new set of rules in 2011. Amid international struggle, national weather crises and local real estate unrest, new data shows that real estate prices continue to drop while short sale rates are skyrocketing.
95 NW 11th St., Boca Raton, FL 33432
Cost: Free with advanced registration
RSVP: To register, email jackie@oplaw.net or call 954.384.6114
We’ll cover how the protests in Egypt, Florida’s new governor’s stimulus ideas, Obama’s agenda, bankrupt states, and even massive snowstorms are poised to make a direct impact on Florida foreclosures and short sales.
This was a historical week. Besides marking the 25th anniversary of the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger – an event that itself marked the end of an era; this week’s headlines included Obama’s new rules/new economy State of the Union; Friday marked the first time in history that part of the Internet went dead as Egypt “unplugged itself” in a move to settle political unrest and finally…the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission delivered the results of its investigation into the causes of the financial and economic crisis.
Technology, politics and the economy seem to be unfolding into one.
First let’s point out, there is a lot of BLAME going on, starting with the 500-page FCIC document, or should I say docu-drama. The in-depth analysis covers how we got to where we are today as it relates to the financial crisis, foreclosure crisis and housing crisis.
As taken from the official FCIC press release:
The Commission concluded that the crisis was avoidable and was caused by:
Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the tide of toxic mortgages;
Dramatic breakdowns in corporate governance including too many financial firms acting recklessly and taking on too much risk;
An explosive mix of excessive borrowing and risk by households and Wall Street that put the financial system on a collision course with crisis;
Key policy makers ill prepared for the crisis, lacking a full understanding of the financial system they oversaw;
And systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels.
But let’s be clear on BLAME; the last person that should be blamed in this mess is the homeowner. (more…)
It’s still a buyer’s market. That’s the conclusion of consumers in a new Gallup poll that reveals 67 percent of Americans feel now is a “good time” to buy a house. That hasn’t changed much since April 2009.
So despite harder-to-come-by financing and the possibility of a housing double-dip, it seems historically low interest rates and bargain basement home prices are winning over public opinion. Interest rates may or may not rise, but the bargain basement prices are likely to continue as home foreclosures are reaching record highs.
Foreclosure headlines are telling. South Florida filings dropped 41 percent in 2010 due to the foreclosure freeze. And some are asking if foreclosure lawyers’ misdeeds are being ignored in Florida. Despite the freeze and other legal questions, though, Florida still ranks second in the number of foreclosures in 2010.
And the worst may be yet to come. News reports are citing studies that show real estate short sales are set to increase in 2011 as banks attempt to dispose of defaulting loans without foreclosing. And many may get caught flat-footed in the South Florida foreclosure wave.
As you read all of these headlines, keep in mind that if it’s a buyer’s market, that also means it’s a seller’s market. And with all the foreclosures hitting the market, it’s a good time for a buyer to seek a short sale purchase. Oppenheim Law’s sister company Weston Title & Escrow has been very successful closing short sale deals and guiding clients through the process of both buying and selling short sales. (more…)
Today, Weston Title and Oppenheim Law completed one of the largest short sales with JP Morgan Chase. The original note was approximately $6 million, but the bank approved a payoff for almost half that amount. The bank agreed to the haircut in exchange for receiving the $3 million in proceeds.
Further, the bank waived the deficiency judgment demonstrating what Roy Oppenheim has been stating for the past several weeks, “The banks are eager to deal and get the economy back on track.”
In fact, rumor has it that the JP Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, had to sign-off on this deal.
As Oppenheim said two weeks ago in the Sun Sentinel, “The result will be more short sales, loan modifications and ‘meaningful mediations’ that will help stabilize housing prices that have been falling steadily since 2006.
For more on Foreclosures, catch the replay of last week’s Oppenheim Law monthly Foreclosure Defense workshop on Oppenheim Law TV for the next few days!
If the first two weeks of 2011 are any indication, we’re in for a roller coaster year for the real estate economy.
From unleashing the Foreclosure Fraud Files to the Ibanez decision that banks had wrongly foreclosed on two homes, the foreclosure defense climate changed hourly.
Oppenheim echoed a similar sentiment to the Dow Jones MarketWatch and financial news service DebtWire: “I am expecting the banks to do fewer foreclosures and to engage in serious conversation in pre-foreclosure with borrowers.”
In an interview later in the week, Oppenheim told Real Estate Writer Paul Owers “The writing is on the wall that foreclosures aren’t going anywhere,” in the story End in Sight for the Foreclosure Epidemic?
Wondering what this means for Florida homeowners? Is 2011 the year of the short sale or the strategic default? Catch the replay of Oppenheim Law’s monthly Foreclosure Defense workshop on Oppenheim Law TV for the next ten days!
We’re just half way through the first month of 2011 and foreclosure fraud continues to make headline news. Tonight Oppenheim Law will be in Boca Raton hosting our monthly foreclosure defense workshop “The Future of Foreclosures”.
Tonight we will answer your questions live online or in person.
Tune in to the webcast via Oppenheim Law TV for The Future of Foreclosures Workshop
Tonight at 6 p.m.,
or come in person to the Boca Raton studio located at
95 NW 11th St., Boca Raton, FL 33432.
If we digress for one moment and go back to the end of 2007 or the beginning of 2008 here is the story I will share with you all. I was attending a hearing on behalf of one of our earlier foreclosure clients in the area of foreclosure defense before a prominent Broward County Circuit judge. I witnessed the judge was signing hundreds of summary judgments where people were not being defended. In the case that I was defending there was clearly a mistake in who the bank was and a standing issue concerning the court’s and judge’s jurisdiction along with the authority to rule on this case.
The full Power point is available by clicking here
It was at that time that I indicated to the judge that even though he was dismissing my case he was continuing to sign the summary judgments against individual borrowers/homeowners who probably had the same meritorious defenses.
The judge looked me in the eye and said, “Do you represent those individuals?”
I looked back and quietly said, “No.” So he told me to “shut up and mind my own business.”
We then engaged in a subsequent conversation where I questioned whether or not he had any obligation whatsoever under the Constitution of Florida and under his oath of office to evaluate the documentation that was being submitted as truthful to him upon which he was signing summary judgments.
He initially engaged me in a conversation and then in the middle and in open court said, “Counselor, if you continue to proceed with this discussion I will hold you in contempt.” (more…)
