Maybe you weren’t convinced the first time I told you the era of the short sale was finally upon us.
I can’t blame you for thinking that banks were acting irrationally when it comes to the foreclosure process.
But Lender Processing Services just offered up the most convincing numbers to date that short sales are no longer just some pie-in-the-sky dream for distressed underwater borrowers.
In January short sales made up 23.9 percent of home sales, while foreclosure sales made up 19.7 percent of all home purchases.
Of course that means that over half of all real estate closings are for distressed homes.
A year before, the percentages were skewered in the opposite direction. In January 2011, 16.3 percent of home purchases came through short sales, and 24.9 percent were foreclosures.
Why are the banks now convinced, as I was long ago, that going through the long and harrowing process of a foreclosure is not their best option?
The proof is once again in the numbers. On average, foreclosed homes sold for 29 percent less than non-distressed properties in January.
Homes sold via short sale? They went for 23 percent less. Here in Florida, LPS says short sales have outnumbered foreclosures since July.
That means short sales are a better deal for the banks, plain and simple.
The truth is banks don’t want to own these properties, they certainly can’t handle maintaining these homes, and they just end up laying waste to neighborhoods by hanging on to them. (more…)
But after a moment of reflection and enlightenment, I have this to say to my friends in Tallahassee.
Bring it On!
That’s right! Pass the Bill.
My phoneshave not stopped ringing these days, as more and more clients are getting ready to lawyer up.
That’s right this bill will only increase the value I bring to my clients each and every day for without an attorney the Legislature will make sure that the “Florida Fair Foreclosure Act” is fair… for the banks … but not for you.
They will make sure that without counsel that you will be stripped of your right to defend your home. Without counsel the new law will ensure that you will go through a legal system that will resemble a steam roller.
It makes me laugh that the Legislature is entrusting the banks to not commit fraud once again. Because the honor system worked so well the last time.
But its sad that the Legislature is interfering with the independence of the judiciary by telling the courts what to do and how to do it.
Please, please try your best to pass the Florida Fair Foreclosure Act, because all you’ll be doing is making sure I’ll have a new stream of clients to defend, and more importantly be able to help the economy by hiring more people. (more…)
Banks need to get their massiveforeclosure backlog off the books. There are over 368,000 cases in Florida. I get that.
Getting these properties into the hands of families who can afford them, that is what I want to see. It’s needed to jump start the economy, and no one wants to see the banks out of the neighborhoods more than me.
But it can’t be allowed to happen on the backs of other homeowners plain and simple. Lenders have tried to thrust these homes back onto the market before, and that’s why they just shelled out $25 billion.
Yeta series of proposed billsnow making their way through theFlorida HouseandSenateoffer banks unjust control over the foreclosure process, all in the name of getting abandoned homes back on the market.
The Senate version,which would create the “Florida Fair Foreclosure Act”, was passed by a judiciary committee earlier this week by a 5-2 vote. There is a similar bill making their way through the House.
But are they really ‘fair’ to homeowners? Absolutely not.
Have the politicians in Tallahassee learned nothing from the settlement? The $25 billion isn’t even in the mail, yet some are back to their old tricks, turning a blind eye to the plights of their constituents and denying them due process. (more…)
If there was anything positive that came out of the prolonged discussions between the states and the banks on the mortgage servicing settlement,it was that banks were reluctant to go full steam ahead in the foreclosure process while talks were ongoing.
But even before the settlement was announced, we saw signs that pointed to more foreclosures in 2012.
Now that the settlement has been agreed to, the training wheels are off.
It’s petal to the metal folks. One thing that the settlement does for the banks is provide them a blueprint for how to proceed in the foreclosure process without getting their fingers stuck in the cookie jar.
Which means borrowers will once again have to defend themselves just as rigorously as they did pre-robosigning.
I’ve been asked if the settlement changes my advice to homeowners, to which I reply, ABSOLUTELY NOT!
You must continue to stand your ground. If you are in foreclosure or about to enter foreclosure, I will say what I have always said, you must fight the banks and force them to kick you out of your home.
The settlement may have changed the rules for the banks, but it shouldn’t change the rules for you, the homeowner. The banks will not transform into wonderful and charitable companies just because the settlement might penalize them.
Make no mistake about it, they will continue to come at you and come at your hard. (more…)
Banks will need to clean up their circus “act” in 2012 when it comes to Florida foreclosure cases thanks to a series of stinging decisions handed down by the 4th District Court of Appeals that could be the gift that keeps on giving for Florida homeowners.
The court finally realized the banks must have the proper authority before they proceed in the foreclosure process. For years I have been saying the banks have systematically been cutting corners in the foreclosure defense process by not having the requisite power to bring their cases.
In this most recent case, Robert McLean vs. JPMorgan Chase, Chase, which was seeking to foreclosure on McLean’s Broward County home, claimed the note from the borrower was “lost, stolen or destroyed.” I call shenanigans on that claim. The truth is banks were in such a rush to move forward that they just never bothered to check their own paperwork.
McLean sought to squash the foreclosure because he said that Chaseultimately could not prove they were the owner of the note. In fact the assignment of mortgage, which is a document which indicates that a mortgage has been transferred from the original lender, which Chase produced to the court was signed three days AFTER the first foreclosure complaint was filed by the bank.
The 4th DCA, in our eyes, had no choice but to reverse a lower court’s decision and side with the homeowner. As the saying goes, possession is nine tenths of the law, and in this case, Chase was left holding an empty bag. The court noted that if there was “substantial doubt about the note” that the bank should dismiss and refile the case, and it was clear from Chase’s lack of concrete proof that they had no legal standing in this case.
It’s an understatement to say that homeowners have had it up to here with banks and the foreclosure process. Those caught up in the wake of the foreclosure crisis often see the banks as heartless and just out to make a buck.
Some feel like what the banks have done to the American homeowner is criminal. And they just might be right.
According to a investigation by CBS I-Team reporter Al Sunshine, 50 state attorney generals are investigating the foreclosure debacle. As it turns out, the bank you borrowed money from probably does not own your mortgage anymore. Many mortgages have been bundled up so they look safe for investors and then sold off, Sunshine says.
He estimates 95% of mortgages are now controlled by what’s called a servicer, which is a bank or financial company which handles your mortgage and monthly payment. They are the ones who collect fees and penalties from home owners, and according to Sunshine’s report, they are the first ones to make yet more money when a home is foreclosed.
And therein lies the problem with the mortgage system, foreclosure attorney Roy Oppenheim told Sunshine.
“It was in their interest to have the foreclosure go through the process versus a modification,” Oppenheim explained. “Typically the way the servicers were compensated, they would receive more compensation through a foreclosure than through a modification.”
So the interests of the borrower are in constant conflict with the interests of the servicer. Since they are often not the bank that lent you the money in the first place, there is little risk to them, and foreclosure is better for their bottom line. (more…)
Roy Oppenheim, Ellen Pilelsky, and Geoff Sherman will be answering questions about loan modifications and refinancing next Monday on CBS4 Your Money’s real estate panel phone bank.
With the ever-changing real estate market, many South Florida residents are left with questions and concerns or are in need of real estate advice. Thanks to Al Sunshine of Miami’s CBS4, South Florida homeowners can call into this homeowner phone bank next Monday to have their questions addressed.
Who: Oppenheim Law
What: CBS 4 Neighbors 4 Neighbors Real Estate Phone Bank
When: August 10th, from 5:00 to 6:30 PM
Where: From the comfort of your home
How: Call (305) 597-4404
Why: Ask legal real estate questions about mortgage modifications and refinancing
Three times in the running, foreclosure attorney Roy Oppenheim has participated on the panel of real estate advisors and this week the entire panel of advisors will be compiled of the attorneys at Oppenheim Law.
So whether you are wondering about your legal options as a homeowner or want to find out the foreclosure process, Oppenheim Law will be there for guidance.
The number to call is (305) 597-4404 between 5:00 and 6:30 next Monday, August 10th. For more information visit www.cbs4.com.
Maybe you weren’t convinced the first time I told you the era of the short sale was finally upon us.
