South Florida Law Blog

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 […]

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 […]

As we approach the close of one of the most historical years in Florida real estate, the South Florida Law Blog wants to thank all of you for supporting our efforts throughout the year. In case you missed some posts, we are highlighting some of the interesting twists and turns the past year has delivered from “what to tell your […]

In today’s USA Today article titled “Foreclosures take biggest dive in years in November,” Roy Oppenheim comments that in light of recent events, foreclosure judges have begun processing foreclosure cases more slowly. Julie Schmit reports that U.S. foreclosure filings fell more last month than in the last five years after several large banks halted foreclosures amidst widespread allegations of robo-signers […]

The tides turned from mortgage crisis to foreclosure financial crisis in October 2010. Florida Attorney Roy Oppenheim made the call three days before the bank fraud story broke in the Wall Street Journal. He reflected on that day with leading Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell in a recent interview on the talk show “Mind of Money.” On September 28th at […]

Homeowners and lawyers including Roy Oppenheim say overwhelmed lenders and judges are rubber-stamping foreclosures, overlooking major problems and compromising the defendants’ rights to due process. In a recent interview with Sun Sentinel’s Real Estate Writer Paul Owers, Roy Oppenheim and Geoff Sherman shared a recent case of improper foreclosure. “This case is a symbol of the crisis,” said Oppenheim, whose […]

Considering we can expect 4.3 million new foreclosures in the next 24 months the questions are: How can you fashion your own bailout? Why should you pay your mortgage if the neighbor isn’t? How can we resolve the foreclosure crisis? Does it make sense to socialize the losses (not the gains) and allow private companies (like the banks) keep profits? […]

In Monday’s The New York Times editorial The Fed and Foreclosures, The Times finally took the Fed to task. They wrote: “There are two sides to every delinquent loan – a lender who made a bad lending decision and a borrower who cannot repay. Yet banks have never acted as if they bear any responsibility for the mortgage mess.” The […]