HAFA Program
Foreclosure Defense Attorney Florida
South Florida Mortgage foreclosures have reached unrealized levels. In fact, Florida is one of the top five states in number of foreclosure filings. If you are facing a mortgage foreclosure you are not alone and you should not participate in the process alone.
Most banks in Florida are represented by a handful of foreclosure law firms who specialize in this area of the law. Even though, Florida has a judicial foreclosure process, these law firms’ goal are to get you out of your property as quickly as possible through an automated and expedited process. When facing a foreclosure, you may believe that you have no options. You simply fail to respond to the foreclosure action. Then, the bank obtains a Final Judgment and ultimately your house is set to be sold at a foreclosure sale. In most cases, failing to respond to the foreclosure action is the worst decision you can make. Fortunately, there are several options available to protect the rights of homeowners facing mortgage foreclosure. Remember, if you have been served with a foreclosure complaint, you will probably want to hire an attorney as soon as possible. In the State of Florida, you only have twenty (20) days to respond to this notice. It is vital that you meet with a knowledgeable foreclosure defense lawyer to discuss the legal options available to you.
Be watchful of so called foreclosure defense lawyers who claim to specialize in this complicated area of the law. Because the foreclosure filings in Florida have dramatically increased over the last year many lawyers are jumping on the band wagon and claiming to be what they are not. We strongly recommend that you hire an expert, someone who is board certified in real estate law. Some points to look for are as follows:
1. How long has the attorney practiced real estate law.
2. You want an attorney that also practices real estate litigation, not just a lawyer who does real estate closing and is now doing litigation because closings are far and few between
3. Ideally, you want your lawyer to be board certified by the Florida Bar in real estate.
4.You want to inquire of your lawyer if he is licensed by any title insurance to offer title insurance in the state of Florida because this means that your lawyer has had advanced training in the origination of a loan. In Florida, there have been many fraudulent loans originated and an understanding of the origination process is important to better develop your defenses to a foreclosure action.
5. You want to ask your lawyer if he is familiar with certain lending laws such as the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and the Florida Fair Lending Act.
Positive answers to the above questions will help you in hiring the right lawyer for you.
Ray Garcia Board Certified in Real Estate Law by the Florida Bar http://www.raygarcialaw.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ray_G._Garcia
Unable to Pay For Your Home, Well in Florida You Have Rights
Just because you are not able to pay your mortgage it does not mean that you do not have a right to defend a foreclosure in Florida. Since Florida has had a large number of fraudulent loans originated, when defending a foreclosure, it is imperative to review all of the documents that you have in your possession from your closing. There are various federal laws and state laws that require lenders to comply with in closing a home purchase, such as the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and the Florida Fair Lending Act. Furthermore, during the real estate boom, it became common practice for lenders to inflate the income of homeowners in the Uniform Residential Loan Application in order to qualify the borrower for a larger loan than he or she could afford. Additionally, lenders and brokers falsified the employment of the borrower and the assets titled to the borrower.Lenders in the State of Florida were notorious for this. Don’t forget that in Florida you have rights and one of those rights is to defend your foreclosure.
Many loans originated in the State of Florida, especially South Florida were pooled together and ultimately transferred to securitizied trusts which then sold their individual interest to investors. During this process many notes were losts or transferred to securitizied trusts that did not exist at the time of transfer, were never actually transferred or the transfer violated the rules of the trust. These issues create many defense for you in the foreclosure. Be cognizant of who is suing you because you may be able to properly defend your foreclosure through a skilled legal understanding of the various state and federal lending laws along with an understanding of how banks have transferred loans in recent years.
Miami Foreclosure Attorney
What do you look for in a foreclosure attorney in Miami? Many law firms in Miami have decided to become alleged specialists in Foreclosure Defense, when they have had no experience in Foreclosure law. Many of these attorneys are simply personal injury lawyers or bankruptcy attorneys who either have deep pockets to invest in massive advertisement or have an existing client base that needs foreclosure defense and they rather keep the business in house, than refer it out to an experienced real estate attorney. At the Law Office of Ray Garcia, P.A., the senior partner , Ray Garcia, is a board certified attorney in real estate law by the Florida Bar. The Florida Bar only allows Board Certified attorneys to refer to themselves as “specialists”. If the attorney you are considering hiring to defend your foreclosure is not Board Certified in Real Estate Law, then look for one that is.
Florida Foreclosure Defense
The bank’s lawyer has a lawyer and you should to. There many different ways to defend a foreclosure in Florida. Quality Foreclosure Defense involves the use of the appropriate defenses. At the Law Office of Ray Garcia, P.A. we try to avail ourselves of all possible defenses. In order to defend your foreclosure, we analyze your complete closing package from the origination of your mortgage, which includes a review of your TILA disclosure, Uniform Residential Loan Application, Closing Statement, Note and various other documents that constitute your closing package. This allows our clients to get the most out of their defense of their foreclosure.
Property Tax Appeals
In Florida, property tax assessments are adjusted once a year. On January 1, the property value and the total tax owed are set for that year. However, there is a method by which to reduce your total tax assessments. To obtain a tax reduction during the year, you must show that the property was overvalued at the time that the value was set which is January 1.
Sometime in August of this year you will receive what is called a TRIM notice (truth in millage (TRIM) notices), from the Property Appraisers Office. As soon as you receive this notice, you should contact our office, so, that we can assist you in trying to reduce your total tax assessment.
First, we will conduct a thorough analysis of your property which includes a review of the current asking prices for properties comparable to yours in your area as well as recent sales in your area.
Then, we will organize and prepare the necessary documentation to file a property tax appeal petition for you. Once the petition is filed, you case will be set for a hearing in the county where the property is located before the County Value Adjustment Board. The Value Adjustment Board (the “VAB”) is an independent governmental agency created by Chapter 194, of the Florida Statutes, to accept and process taxpayers’ petitions contesting the value of real estate and personal property as assessed by the Property Appraiser’s Office. The VAB is composed of five elected officials, specifically three County Commissioners and two School Board members. One of the Commissioners is required to serve as the VAB Chairperson. Prior to the hearing we will negotiate with your property appraiser to discuss your tax assessment and seek a negotiated adjustment of your tax assessment which will ultimately reduce your property tax bill.
If we are unable to negotiate a reduced tax assessment prior to the hearing before the VAB, we will represent you at the hearing in order to reduce your tax assessment.
If your TRIM notice does not properly set the value of your property, we can file a tax appeal and challenge the Property Appraiser’s valuation. Please note, that a tax appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days following the issuance of the TRIM notice. After the hearing, if the petitioner disagrees with the Special Magistrate’s recommendation to the VAB, a further appeal of the VAB decision may be initiated by the taxpayer filing suit in the Circuit Court. Any such suit (i.e. other than homestead exemption denials) must be filed no later than 60 days from the mailing of the VAB’s record of decision notice to the taxpayer.
We can the stress the importance of skilled legal counsel to assist you in an attempt to obtain a reduction of your tax assessment. The Property Appraiser will present facts which they believe substantiate their appraisal. Legal counsel can often anticipate these arguments and assist you with presenting evidence negating the appraisal.
Florida Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure
When negotiating a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure in Florida be sure to have the lender agree to waive or release you from any deficiency in the difference between the mortgage amount owed and the ultimate market value of the property. This will prevent the lender from suing you in the future for that deficiency. A Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure will provide you no benefit unless you receive a waiver or relase of the deficency.
Florida Foreclosure Defense
Just because you are not able to pay your mortgage it does not mean that you do not have a right to defend a foreclosure in Florida. In defending a foreclosure, it is imperative to review all of the documents that you have in your possession from your closing. There are various federal laws and state laws that require lenders to comply with in closing a home purchase, such as the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Furthermore during the real estate boom, it became common practice for lenders to inflate the income of homeowners in the Uniform Residential Loan Application in order to qualify the borrower for a larger loan than he or she could afford. Don’t forget that in Florida you have rights and one of those rights is to defend your foreclosure.
New York Times Quotes Ray Garcia
On Sunday March 1, 2009, the New York Times wrote an article regarding Ana Fernandez, who’s home had been sold by the bank, however, the Law Office of Ray Garcia, P.A. in its representation of Ms. Fernandez was able to set aside the sale and set aside the summary judgment. The bank, Chevy Chase failed to produce the Note and there was no eveidence that the originating lender had assigned the Note to Chevy Chase.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/business/01gret.html
HSBC Loses at Summary Judgment In Broward County, Florida
In HSBC v. Socorro Hernandez, Case No.: 08-53265 filed in the 17th Circuit Court for Broward County, Florida, the Law Office of Ray Garcia, P.A. prevails on HSBC’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Judge Rothschild in Broward County, Florida denies HSBC’s Motion for Summary Judgment and allows homeowner Socorro Hernandez to continue to defend the foreclosure filed against her.
