South Florida Law Blog

In my last blog I railed against the Florida Fair Foreclosure Act, which is making its way rapidly through the Florida Senate as the session winds down. I said it’s being pushed by banking industry shills and should die a quick death. So of course it was passed by the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee by a 6-4 vote and […]

Banks need to get their massive foreclosure 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 […]

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. According […]

There were two players conspicuously absent when last week’s $25 Billion settlement was unveiled; two players that absolutely should have been front and center. What are their names? If you’ve followed the housing crisis as closely as we have, then you probably know. Our old and unwanted cousins Fannie and Freddie. Their omission from the settlement was perhaps its biggest […]

Freddie Mac’s Regulator ‘Completely Puzzled’ by Allegations of Conflict If Edward DeMarco is puzzled by the outrage over the revelation that Freddie Mac was investing in securities that paid off if homeowners couldn’t refinance, then call us puzzled by his puzzlement. Either he’s a bold-faced liar or he is just plain dense. Does he really not get it? DeMarco, the […]

  Aaron Eckhart might have played Two-Face in the last Batman movie, but Freddie Mac seems to have settled into the role these days. Non-profit ProPublica and National Public Radio allege that Freddie Mac, which was set up to make home loans more accessible, was in fact betting against homeowners. It’s a highly disturbing, and completely shocking report. ProPublica’s Jessie […]

Back when it debuted last April, we were somewhat skeptical that Florida’s Hardest Hit program could provide real benefits for the people it sought to help. We called it a band-aid, and at least for some South Florida homeowners, it’s proving to be just that. The Palm Beach Post profiled several homeowners who were among the first to receive benefits […]

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 […]