South Florida Law Blog

It’s pretty hard to find a single housing advocate or foreclosure defense attorney, myself included, who didn’t find the national mortgage settlement to be, at the very least, flawed. It may have been a necessary step to getting the housing market back on track, but we know that it didn’t come close to compensating homeowners who had been illegally kicked […]

If you haven’t already heard, there is a monumental case that was heard Thursday morning in the Florida Supreme Court, and every single homeowner should be paying close attention to this case. To watch a replay of the oral arguments, please click here. The case is Roman Pino vs. Bank of New York. It involves all the customary fraud I […]

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is now asking for the public’s input on what she should do with the $300 million the state will be receiving directly from the national mortgage settlement. She is openly soliciting your suggestions through her website from now until May 14th. As a foreclosure defense attorney and one of the people on the front lines […]

Survey: Mortgage Foreclosure Scams Surge Not only is America’s foreclosure crisis still going strong, it now comes with even more fraud and deception. With heightened media coverage surrounding the recent national mortgage settlement and refinements to government assistance programs, experts say selling “the schtick” has only become easier for criminals. But there are red flags consumers can watch out for […]

Maybe you weren’t convinced the first time I told you the era of the short sale was finally upon us. I can’t blame you for thinking that banks were acting irrationally when it comes to the foreclosure process. But Lender Processing Services just offered up the most convincing numbers to date that short sales are no longer just some pie-in-the-sky […]

Foreclosures, repos up from last year in South Florida I said after the foreclosure settlement was announced that banks had been given the green light to rev up their foreclosures engines, and in South Florida at least, I’m being proven right. RealtyTrac’s numbers from last month show dramatic year-over-year increases in both new foreclosure filings (85%) and repossessions (39%) in […]

Judge Signs $25 Billion Foreclosure Settlement It’s finally official. The so-called $25 billion foreclosure settlement has been signed off by a federal judge. This comes after the settlement was filed in court last month. DC District Judge Rosemary Collyer did the honors Wednesday. I won’t rehash my thoughts about what’s good and what’s bad about this settlement. Everything that needs […]

Banking officials, as a general rule, are old school. They are very resistant to change, and usually refuse to think outside of the box. Over the years I’ve seen the banks hold little to no regard for the customers they serve. Their philosophy has essentially been ‘You can’t pay your mortgage, then out on your butt you go!’ Forget that […]