Weak oversight allowing banks, other lenders to “dual track” in West Palm Beach

The early results from the 2012 national agreement to stop the biggest banks from abusing homeowners facing foreclosure are in – and they are bad, for the homeowners. According to a survey conducted by Politico.com, the 5 banks involved in that settlement have continued to take advantage of distressed homeowners.

Over 60,000 complaints have been filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since the beginning of 2014 alone, according to POLITICO’s review of the CFPB’s database. Those complaints center upon lenders either mishandling mortgage and home loan modifications or hurrying the foreclosure process (often referred to as dual tracking). What’s more, reviewers believe that the number of homeowners with complaints about unfair practices is actually low because so many homeowners still do not know that the CFPB exists.

“It’s troubling to hear that some consumers continue to experience mortgage servicing problems,” a spokesperson for Attorney General Cooper’s office in North Carolina said in an emailed statement. “While the 2012 settlement brought help to many homeowners who were wronged, it’s clear there’s more work to be done to stop unfair home loans and unnecessary foreclosures.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/foreclosures-mortgage-lenders-2012-settlement-banks-213322#ixzz3w81buXLv

Unfortunately, distressed homeowners both in the West Palm Beach area, throughout Florida and around the country are still being abused despite the Dodd-Frank Act, the 2012 settlement and other laws enacted to supposedly help homeowners. Many of the banks and other loan servicers have made it clear that they put profits before their customers’ needs. And trying to make sure you dot every “I” and cross every “T” when filling out and submitting modification and other forms might still not be enough to keep your lender from trying to take your home.

Before that happens, you need to talk with a law firm knowledgeable about getting your loans modified today. Korte & Wortman, P.A. will fight for your rights against the abusive practices of a greedy loan servicer. Or, you may need to explore your rights in foreclosure defense. If you need help with any type of problems you have with your mortgage or any other home loan, contact us at Korte & Wortman now. Do not wait for the worst to happen – let us work with you on your behalf NOW so that you and your family can stay in your home.

Korte & Wortman is a law firm specializing in all aspects of foreclosure including bankruptcy, mortgage debt, short sales, loan modification, predatory lending practices and Dodd-Frank Act violation litigation. We have had excellent results working with a number of clients to help them stave off foreclosure and save their homes by getting them the mortgage modifications and/or foreclosure defense they need. Check out a few of our many success stories on our website at http://foreclosurefactor.com/results/loan-modification-results/.

Our home office is based in West Palm Beach, at 2041 Vista Parkway, Suite 102. Call us at (561) 544-7071, stop in to our office, email us at vdinapoli@kwlawfirm.com or come to our website. Our firm represents clients in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, throughout the state of Florida and across the eastern seaboard. We also have offices in Sunrise and Clearwater, Florida.

Sharing Foreclosure Defense Tools, Tips, Templates, and Statutes from Korte & Wortman, P.A.

At Korte & Wortman, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida, we believe that everyone who is faced with a potential foreclosure situation deserves assistance. Whether you are looking for a law firm dedicated to helping to keep you in your home, or just some good information that can help you to keep your fight going on your own. With that in mind here is information from Operation Restoration, a website dedicated to relaying the facts to the general public about foreclosure. “A national mission of Healing and Restoration, dedicated to telling the truth,” according to the organization’s mission statement.

Part 1: Self Help
The best pre and post foreclosure defense begins with preparation and study.  Since this field of litigation is more uncommon, it is recommended that you understand the concepts first, collect the required documentation, and then choose an attorney that can litigate Securitization, Chain of title, and Standing – or – another approach — Loan Origination (Truth in Lending, RESPA, HOEPA, Regulation Z) litigation.  Known foreclosure defense experts can be found here: Restore Team orhttp://www.maxbankruptcybootcamp.com/find-graduates .  Max Gardner trains attorneys across the country how to operate in the foreclosure and securitization arena. Neil Garfield also gives education and refers attorneys.
Note: Attorneys are not necessarily cost prohibitive.  It is advised that you self-help, prepare, and organize as much as possible and then consult a professional litigator to complete the legal process and litigation.  Because there are so few resources specially trained in this field, you are more likely to get affordable and competent help if you prepare UP FRONT.

•  Submit Modification or Short Sale Request (with required documentation) to your Servicer (last minute requests do stop foreclosure).  Note: See the 2 modification lessons (Making Home Afford. andTraditional)and Frequently Asked Questions and the Short Sale Lesson andShort Sale Frequently Asked Questions.

•   Contact the Executive Area of the Servicer.  See Executive Contacts.
Request the help of a CEO Level Representative for last minute foreclosure postponement and case escalation.

To read this entire article, please go to: http://www.operationrest.org/ForeclosureDefense

If you are in West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater or anywhere else in the state of Florida and in need of a law firm knowledgeable about foreclosure defense, then contact us at Korte & Wortman, P.A. Korte & Wortman is a law firm specializing in all aspects of foreclosure including bankruptcy, mortgage debt, short sales, loan modification, predatory lending practices and Dodd-Frank Act violation litigation. We also specialize in credit card debt defense.

We have had excellent results working with a number of clients to help them stave off foreclosure and save their homes by getting them the mortgage modifications they need. Check out a few of our many success stories on our website at http://foreclosurefactor.com/results/loan-modification-results/.

Our home office is based in West Palm Beach, at 2041 Vista Parkway, Suite 102. You can call us at (561) 544-7071, stop in to our office, email us at vdinapoli@kwlawfirm.com or come to our website. Our firm represents clients throughout the state of Florida and across the eastern seaboard. We also have offices in Sunrise and Clearwater, Florida.

Dodd-Frank Act – a primer from Korte & Wortman, P.A.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (known by the common term of the Dodd-Frank Act) has had a profound effect on lending practices here in Florida, particularly since the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act section (Title XIV) was enacted early in 2014. This groundbreaking piece of legislation is meant “to assure that consumers are offered and receive residential mortgage loans on terms that reasonably reflect their ability to repay the loans and that are understandable, and not unfair, deceptive or abusive,” according to its creators.

Part of this legislation’s mission is to amend both the Truth-in-Lending Act (“TILA”) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”). The Dodd-Frank Act requires that a lender in a residential owner-financed transaction must determine at the time credit is extended that the buyer/borrower has a “reasonable” ability to repay the loan. If the lender did not properly investigate your credit worthiness, your lender could be subject to fines and other penalties.

Therefore, if you have entered into a mortgage contract since the beginning of 2014 and are now facing foreclosure, bankruptcy, or some other form of financial distress that is threatening your property, then you need to seek out a knowledgeable defense lawyer to discuss all of the legal options you have available to you.

In addition, you may be entitled to refunds or other financial benefits if your loan did not disclose many different pieces of information to you, including deficiencies in the home like Chinese drywall; hidden penalties for prepayment of your mortgage; or other information that may have altered the value of the home.

At Korte & Wortman, P.A. we have attorneys who are well-versed in the Dodd-Frank Act mortgage reform legislation that was enacted in 2014. We have already been able to help clients navigate this legislation to get the money they deserve from lenders who have tried to take advantage of them in the form of fees, hidden charges and other predatory lending practices.

Our South Florida firm is one of the few in the state that handles cases involving legislation in the new Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act.

To learn more about the Dodd-Frank Act please visit this page on our website at http://foreclosurefactor.com/the-dodd-frank-act/ or call us directly at (561) 544-7071 for foreclosure prevention or defense against any lender who may have violated your rights under the rules of the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act throughout the State of Florida. We can help you TODAY!

Federal loan modification programs extended a year – Florida has most people still in need of help

Earlier this year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it was extending two government loan modification programs from the end of this year to the end of next year (2016). Most home owners have heard of the first program, the Home Affordable Refinance Program, by its acronym, HARP. The second, lesser known program is the Home Affordable Modification Program. These programs were set up to help homeowners reduce their monthly mortgage payments by as much as $3,000 per year, according to the FHFA.

The extension was announced in response to the number of home owners who are eligible to apply but have yet to do so… 604,680 as of May of this year. Interestingly, the state with the most eligible borrowers who have yet to apply for either plan is right here in Florida. In fact over 13% of the total eligible home owners (81,422), reside here. And over 21% of those borrowers live here in south Florida, the largest percentage of any area in the state.

As this graph from Palm Beach Post writer Kimberly Miller’s article in May shows, after south Florida the second largest area of affected borrowers are in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area.

To read this article in its entirety, please go to: http://realtime.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/05/18/more-than-81000-florida-homeowners-missing-out-on-govt-loan-mod-help/

If you are in West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater or anywhere else in the state of Florida and in need of a law firm knowledgeable about loan and mortgage modifications, then contact us at Korte & Wortman, P.A. Korte & Wortman is a law firm specializing in all aspects of real estate and home ownership law, including HARP and the Home Affordable Modification Program. We have had excellent results working with a number of clients to save them tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars on their home loans. Check out a few of our many success stories on our website at http://foreclosurefactor.com/results/loan-modification-results/

In addition to using this blog as a helpful resource, please contact us directly if you have any questions or current legal issues in any type of real estate transaction. Our home office is based in West Palm Beach, at 2041 Vista Parkway, Suite 102. You can call us at (561) 544-7071, stop in to our office, email us at vdinapoli@kwlawfirm.com or come to our website at http://www.foreclosurefactor.com. Our firm represents clients throughout the state of Florida and across the eastern seaboard. We also have offices in Sunrise and Clearwater, Florida.

We look forward to helping you get the legal advice that you need in all HARP, loan modification, Dodd-Frank Act, foreclosure, bankruptcy and credit card situations.