South Florida Law Blog

Roy Oppenheim’s commentary was originally published on Yahoo Homes! and is being redistributed on South Florida Law Blog with their permission. The Independent Foreclosure Reviewis dead. Long live the Independent Foreclosure Review. When word came out about this so-called “independent” process last year, few bought into it. I certainly never did, and most homeowners knew from the beginning that it […]

Below is an abbreviated version of an article written by Roy Oppenheim and Jacquelyn Trask, which was first published this week by Thomson Reuters. The longer version of “Deconstructing The Black Magic of Securitized Trusts” was published earlier this year by the Stetson Law Review. From 2003 to 2007, Florida saw the largest real estate boom in its history. Real […]

An edited version of this post originally appeared on Yahoo! Homes and is being republished on South Florida Law Blog with their permission. I am often asked how Wall Street has managed to be so reckless, with little to no regard for its customers and its investors, yet avoid any real consequence for its actions. The easy answer, if there […]

  Since I started the South Florida Law Blog following the 2008 economic meltdown, I have made no secret of the fact that I am extremely critical of what can best be characterized as “America’s new crony capitalism.” Crony capitalism occurs where certain industries have gained undue influence in the political process and thus have curried favor unjustly from the […]

Roy Oppenheim’s commentary was originally published on Yahoo! Homes and is being republished on South Florida Law Blog with their permission. The residential real estate market is beginning to show real signs of life. Home values have posted their first annual increase in nearly five years, acccording to the latest Zillow index, which is a well-respected year-over-year analysis of the […]

Homeowners everywhere should be looking at California and taking notice. The government there is finally taking the power away from the banks and placing it back in the hands of the homeowners. Outside of Florida, no state has been quite as devastated by the fraudclosure crisis as California has, so it comes as no surprise that they would be at […]

I’m not one for fairy tales, for shining white knights, and magical rescues. I’m not cynical, but I am a realist. When it comes to fixing the housing market, and righting the wrongs of the fraud-closure crisis, there is no magic wand. If you’re waiting for the government ‘cavalry’ to ride in and make everything alright, I’m sad to say […]

Dear Mr. President: As you know historically, since the great depression, refinancing mortgages has been this country’s exit strategy when it comes to pulling us out of the economic ditch. So it’s nice to see that you are now pushing Congress to pass refinancing reform. It’s the most effective and efficient way to craft a bailout that actually helps everyone. […]