Posts Tagged ‘underwater mortgage’

FAQs from Oppenheim Law Foreclosure Defense Workshop

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

If you missed Oppenheim Law’s November foreclosure defense workshop: Toxic Foreclosures and Bank Fraud, you can view the replay on the Oppenheim Law TV Channel or sign up for the December 8th special edition foreclosure defense workshop hosted by Roy Oppenheim.

Roy Oppenheim of Oppenheim Law answers questions from Foreclosure Defense Workshop

Below are some questions and answers from the workshop:

How does a lawyer get the judge to do the right thing in following their responsibilities of a judge?

If a judge makes a bad decision, a judge can be appealed. If the judge is not following law or makes a bad decision, they can be appealed and the decision can be reversed

What typically happens when the bank trying to foreclose does not own the mortgage? Does it get dismissed until the proper mortgage holder is located?

It should get dismissed as a matter of law. However, judges love to give banks a lot of chances to get it right, so the judges will usually allow the case to continue to the summary judgment stage. At that point, if the bank still can’t produce an assignment then the summary judgement will be denied. This is not good law, but rather the judge made lore that has no precedence other than for appellate courts to tell the lower courts to knock it off. That happens frequently these days, but not often enough.

Around 11 million Americans owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Some economists suggest that the government should encourage banks to write down the principal of some underwater mortgages.

How can you guarantee that you are free from any deficiency judgment with a severely underwater mortgage?
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Sun Sentinel Cover Story: Underwater Mortgage Relief for Florida Homeowners, Oppenheim Shares His View

Sunday, September 26th, 2010
Roy Oppenheim Florida Foreclsoure Defense Attorney

Today's cover story in the Sun Sentinel discusses how underwater mortgage options are not working

Florida foreclosure attorney Roy Oppenheim shared his views with Sun Sentinel real estate reporter Paul Owers and contributed to today’s cover story. In case you missed it, below is an excerpt from the story and a link to the full story.

But Roy Oppenheim, a foreclosure defense lawyer in Weston, argues that the government should have given money directly to homeowners.

Under such a plan, discussed by Yale economist Robert Shiller in his 2008 book, “The Subprime Solution”, the government would lend homeowners money to pay off their mortgages. Banks, with the help of the government, would refinance those existing loans at lower interest rates, saving homeowners hundreds of dollars a month.

“Your recession would be over,” Oppenheim said. “Instead, the money went to the banks, which used it on stock dividends or to pay bonuses. It’s lunacy. That money doesn’t make it to the average guy on Main Street.”

“People can’t hold on anymore,” Oppenheim said. “They’re losing faith that the cavalry is coming.”

Read the full story: Mixed results for mortgage programs and Federal programs for troubled homes have limited success http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-mortgage-relief-programs-20100924,0,6634223.story?page=2

Strategic Defaults: CBS and 60 Minutes Follow Oppenheim Law’s Lead

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Strategic defaults are here to stay: It’s estimated that at least 1 million homeowners who can afford to pay their mortgage chose to simply walk away last year, according to CBS and 60 Minutes.

After doing the math and watching property values shrink in some instances to less than half of what’s owed on a mortgage, homeowners are opting to rid their underwater property and start fresh.

According to 60 Minutes, more than 11 million homeowners across the country are underwater, and it’s estimated that number could double in the next year.

This means nearly half of all American mortgage holders will owe more on their homes than those homes are currently worth.

Oppenheim Law has presented the theory of strategic default in our monthly Florida Foreclosure Defense Workshops and also with FOX News WSVN and CBS 4 News. Check out the videos below.

“We’ve been through an event that none of us have ever experienced in this country since the Depression,” David Stevens, the commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, told Morley Safer and 60 Minutes.

Check out the entire 60 Minutes strategic default segment below and share your thoughts in the comments section.


Watch CBS News Videos Online


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