Posts Tagged ‘South Florida’
Friday, May 4th, 2012
- Banks make bad neighbors.
It’s been one of my mantras for years, and it’s a statement that is again reverberating across the country thanks to The Sun-Sentinel’s 3-part series “Bad Neighbor Banks”.
Thanks to the Sentinel, 60 Minutes, and the National Fair Housing Alliance, we are seeing the hard data that back up my assertion that banks, once they foreclose and take control of a property, just leave them to rot.
The grass no longer gets cut,the garbage accumulates, and before too long you end up with widespread blight not just in urban neighborhoods, but suburbia as well.
It’s the reason why I fight so hard to keep people in their homes. You and I are just better off when you have homeowners, vested in their houses and the neighborhoods they live in, keeping up their homes.
In the Sun-Sentinel’s series there is example after example of banks not doing even the most basic of maintenance. And their argument is usually, ‘It’s not our job’.
A bank has no investment in the neighborhoods you live in, beyond their own bottom line, and the banks have all but admitted it.
“The bank itself has no economic interest or ownership stake in the properties,” a spokesman for Deutsche Bank told the Sun-Sentinel.
So I ask you again, why would you ever want a bank as a neighbor?
The numbers don’t lie. The Sun-Sentinel found 10,300 code violations in bank-owned homes in South Florida since 2007. In the cities they tracked 40 percent of bank-owned homes were cited last year.
So chances are you are living next to one of these eyesores. And I’m betting you’re not too happy about it.
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Tags: bad neighbors, bank, bank owned homes, banking, Deutsche Bank, florida governor, foreclosure, neighbor, neighbors, Pam Bondi, Real Estate, Rick Scott, rotten, sentinel, slumlord, slums, South Florida, Sun Sentinel, suns, urban decay
Posted in Big Banks, Florida foreclosures, Foreclosure Defense | 3 Comments »
Sunday, January 29th, 2012
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
We here at the South Florida Law Blog decided to clock in a few hours this weekend, because if we didn’t we’d probably fall behind President Obama’s new man-in-the trenches Eric Schneiderman.
President Obama only announced this new investigative unit during Tuesday’s State of the Union, yet the “check”, or in this case the subpoena, is already in the mail.
If you were skeptical that Obama was still interested in the status-quo when it comes to the banks and doing business, may we present Exhibit A.
Eric Schneiderman is turning himself into a modern-day Elliot Ness.
You remember Ness don’t you?
The federal agent whose team of “Untouchables” couldn’t be bought off and helped bring down Al Capone?
Schneiderman too has the era of a man who will not be co-opted. If anyone can stay above the fray and not be reeled in by the banks and their money, he can.
Investigation Going After Cause of Housing Crisis
Schneiderman has stood up to the President before, openly opposing the settlement agreement that we here at the South Florida Law Blog have railed against. And now he is Obama’s point man for placing blame and creating accountability for causing the worst economic crisis in the US since the Depression.
Elliot Ness
The Huffington Post is reporting that outside of claims directly relating to robo-signing fiasco, the banks will not be released from the threat of prosecution for the vast majority of securities-related crimes.
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Tags: banking, Deconstruction the Black Magic of Securitized Trusts, economics, elliot, elliot ness, eric, Eric Scheniderman, eric schneiderman, federal reserve system, finance, fraud, housing crisis, IRS, mortgage backed security, mortgages, ness, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Obama, rampant, robo signing, Roy Oppenheim, schneiderman, SEC, securitization, securitized, securitized trust, South Florida, South Florida Law Blog
Posted in Eric Schneiderman, Florida foreclosures, Florida Law News, Foreclosure Fraud, Huffington Post, Mortgage Bankers Association, Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, Underwater Mortgage | 2 Comments »
Saturday, December 31st, 2011
Continuing our list here’s Pt. 2 of our Top 10 stories for 2011 —
As 2011 got underway we were presented with a fascinating yet disturbing report by the Florida Association of Court Clerks called “Unfair, Deceptive and Unconscionable Acts in Foreclosure Cases”. It brought these horrible practices into the harsh light of day.
“What we got from this is the state has had the opportunity to see where the laws have been broken,’ Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock said at the time, “and frankly, it is in large part thanks to the work of the defense attorneys.
We cited April Charney from the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and Peter Ticktin and many others wonderful attorneys who have taken bank officers’ depositions, challenged judges rulings and fought the good fight for the Florida homeowner.
#4 — Cracked! Humpty Dumpty, Chase and GMC, the Bank Fraud Foreclosure Crisis Continues to Fall!
Somewhere along the line, the overly ambitious bankers on Wall Street had the “great idea” of slicing and dicing the interest of the Promissory Note and literally severing it from your Mortgage. Why? Convenience,expediency, and, arguably, greed. And much like Humpty Dumpty after his great fall, the banks couldn’t bring the mortgages and their corresponding Notes all back together again. The banks were accused of fraud and perjury trying to do just that.
# 3 — Housing Market Poll: When Will Florida Recover?
If Americans are right, 2012 will finally be the magic year for the housing market. Over 2,000 adults were polled by Trulia and RealtyTrac , and the majority, 22 percent, said most Americans think the housing market will fully recover in the new year. A mere 10 percent thought a recovery would happen this year, while nearly a quarter of those surveyed predicted a bumpy road until 2015 and beyond.
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Tags: 2011, bank fraud, banking, Florida, foreclosure, foreclosures, fraud, housing market, law blog, law review, mortgage, Oppenheim Law, property, Real Estate, Roy Oppenheim, short sale, South Florida, South Florida Law Blog, strategic default, top 10
Posted in Deficiency Judgements, Florida foreclosures, Florida Law News, Florida real estate, Florida short sales, Foreclosure Defense, Foreclosure Fraud | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 30th, 2011
In our last blog we talked about the stories that resonated with Roy Oppenheim in 2011, but what stories mattered to you?
We reviewed the most popular stories on the South Florida Law Blog this year and came up with our list of the top 10 posts for 2011
# 10 — Florida Deficiency Judgments FAQs . . . By Popular Demand
Some of Oppenheim Law’s most popular videos and blog posts this year were on the topic of deficiency judgements. Understanding deficiencies and the Florida rules which pertain to them are key to avoid getting a deficiency judgment.
The unpaid mortgage debt associated with a residence is a deficiency. A bank can foreclose and force a judicial sale of a home if the mortgage borrower fails to pay the associated mortgage debt. The deficiency is the difference between the proceeds from the sale and the remaining mortgage loan balance. A deficiency can also result from a short sale, which is an alternative to foreclosure.
The rules pertaining to deficiencies differ from state to state. In Florida, if the bank is successful in obtaining a deficiency judgment, it will be recorded in the public records and collectable for up to twenty years. To avoid the possibility of getting a deficiency judgment, before deciding to walk away from your home, hiring a good foreclosure defense attorney is necessary.
#9 — #Fail – Government Plan to Help #Florida Homeowners
At first glance, it looked like Florida foreclosure victims were finally getting the help they need from the feds. Reading the fine print it looks like if we had to describe this in one tweet word: #fail.
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Tags: 2011, deficiency, deficiency judgment, foreclosure, foreclosures, judgments, law blog, law review, loss mitigation, mortgage, mortgage loans, Oppenheim Law, Roy Oppenheim, short sale, South Florida, South Florida Law Blog, subprime lending, subprime mortgage crisis, top 10
Posted in Florida foreclosures, Florida Law News, Florida real estate, Florida short sales, Foreclosure Defense, Foreclosure Fraud, Roy Oppenheim | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
South Florida voted, and Oppenheim Law’s South Florida Law Blog came out on top in the category of Best Business and Technology Blog in the 2nd Annual Sun-Sentinel Best of Blogs Awards.
Discussing topics like Florida foreclosure defense, homeowners’ rights, real estate tips and trends, and the economy, Oppenheim Law’s foreclosure defense attorneys interpret the latest news and translate what it all means to today’s homeowner.
Recent headlines include fresh topics like “Deficiency Judgments Haunting Return, Jason Lives Once Again,” “Budgetary Hardball Almost Forces Court Closures: Courts’ Reliance On Foreclosure Fees Exposed” and “Foreclosure Auctions are not eBay or Child’s Play. Novice Investors Beware!”
Over the past year, The South Florida Law Blog has broken down issues like South Florida home sales, national mortgage fraud, America’s job markets, and all the developments in foreclosure defense and short sales to help homeowners take advantage of these trends in areas the banks and the government clearly cannot.
“Homeowners need to be aware of how all of these trends can impact their greatest investment,” Oppenheim said. “We look forward to continuing to provide legal insight and practical analysis into these topics that greatly affect South Florida.”
Oppenheim Law is one of the leading Florida real estate and foreclosure defense law firms, founded in 1989. The firm has a 9.6 out of 10 rating from AVVO, the world’s largest legal directory, as well as the highest rating (A-V) conferred by Martindale Hubbell Law Directory, the most respected directory of lawyers and law firms in the U.S.
Tags: Best of Blogs, Oppenheim Law, Roy Oppenheim, South Florida, South Florida Law Blog, South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sun Sentinel
Posted in From the Heart, Roy Oppenheim, Sun Sentinel | 4 Comments »
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
It just keeps getting better and better…in a recent letter sent to the chief judges of all 20 Florida judicial circuit courts, Chief Justice Charles Canady of the Florida Supreme Court was compelled by horror stories from the foreclosure courts to remind judges they should be following the law when deciding foreclosure cases. The Rolling Stone article by Matt Taibbi: Courts Helping Banks Screw Over Homeowners from last week appears to be the straw that broke the camel’s back and finally shed some light on this crisis.
Chief Justice Canady’s letter was spurred by complaints the Judge received from several heavy hitters in the civil rights movement, including the Florida Press Association, the ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, the First Amendment Foundation, the Florida Association of Broadcasters, the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, and the Florida Times-Union.
The problem: judges are barring public access to foreclosure cases. Florida has long been known as a state with free access to the courts. However, some judges and judicial staff are using the excuse that many foreclosure cases are now being heard in judge’s chambers rather than in courtrooms due to space constraints to tell people, including the press and pro se litigants that foreclosure proceedings are closed to the public.
In his letter, Justice Canady offers a scathing rebuke to the judges regarding this behavior. But let me share a little secret with you . . . it is a disgrace that he should have to tell judges that courtrooms are public forums, and he certainly shouldn’t have to remind judges that they should be following that law. How ridiculous is that?
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Tags: Chief Justice Canady, Courts Helping Banks Screw Over Homeowners, foreclosure proceedings, foreclosures, Oppenheim Law, Pro Se Litigants, Rocket Docket, Roy Oppenheim, Rules of Civil Procedure, South Florida, The Rolling Stone Article by Matt Taibbi
Posted in Florida foreclosures, Florida Law News, Florida real estate, Florida Supreme Court, Florida Supreme Court Task Force, Foreclosure Defense, Rolling Stone, Roy Oppenheim | 3 Comments »
Monday, October 5th, 2009
As a foreclosure defense attorney, I get questions every day asking when I think the market is going to correct itself or when the foreclosure rate is going to slow.
Al Sunshine is the CBS Neighbors 4 Neighbors
I believe my friend Al Sunshine, who has been reporting for CBS4 since 1988, provided a thoughtful and honest assessment of South Florida’s economy through the next quarter in his daily blog, “Al Sunshine’s 4 Your Money.”
In short, I agree with Al that foreclosures and unemployment will continue to take a real bite out of the economy, but things will not get much worse. We hope!
Check out Al’s blog entitled, “Al’s 4th Quarter Forecast” to read his analysis of the economic indicators and signals that point to this cautious optimism. And be sure to check back with Al regularly as he provides excellent, straightforward evaluations of our not-so-straightforward economy.
Tags: 4 Your Money, Al Sunshine CBS4, economy, foreclosure, Roy Oppenheim, South Florida
Posted in Al Sunshine, Florida real estate, Neighbors 4 Neighbors | No Comments »
