FORECLOSURE...WHY ME and WHAT DO I DO NOW?
The first thing many people in foreclosure may ask themselves is... why me? And what do I do now? Foreclosures have reached record proportions across the country and particularly in the state of Florida. Foreclosures are particularly rampant in the Florida panhandle particularly in Pensacola, Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Crestview, South Walton, and Panama City due to the rapid inflation of the real estate market and the subsequent crash. Due to the increased foreclosures as well as other factors many homes are decreasing in value and are continuing to do so. These home value decreases as well as the loss of jobs in the construction and development industry has caused many people to no longer be able to afford their payments. Many of those payments have increased do to tax increases, insurance premium increases or by the resetting of their Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs).
If you have been served with a Foreclosure Complaint, you have only 20 days to file your legal response . During this time you may wish to consult with an attorney to prepare any defenses you may have to the law suit. If you fail to file or assert defenses in a timely fashion, you may forever waive or lose the ability to assert them under Florida law. If your time has expired and a default has been entered against you, it may be possible to set aside the default and still defend the action and work with the attorney for the lender or the lender directly to reach an agreement to save your home exercise other protections that you may be entitled to.
If you are in foreclosure, or believe you may be close to foreclosure, the Law Firm of Cotton, Gates & Negron., offers you a free consultation to discuss your case, and look at the many options and defenses that may be available to you. Having an attorney assist you in foreclosure defense may be extremely helpful in order to assess the validity of the foreclosure suit. Our consultation is free and we strongly recommend that you contact a Florida attorney to protect your interests immediately if you are served with a foreclosure action.
AVAILABLE OPTIONS
Many property owners are unaware that there are valid defenses to foreclosure. Some of the defenses that may be applicable to your case are:
- Truth in Lending Violations or Procedures
- Failure to credit payments made by the borrower.
- Failure to attach documents.
- Failure to obtain proper service.
- Failure to name indispensable parties.
- In the 1 st Judicial Circuit lenders foreclosing on owner occupied properties (which can included family of the owner) are required to pay up to $750.00 mediation costs and have an authorized representative of the lender at the mediation to make a good faith effort to resolve the foreclosure issue.
WHY WOULD MY LENDER WANT TO WORK WITH ME IF I HAVE NOT PAID THEM?
The Joint Economic Committee of Congress estimates that the total average cost of a foreclosure is as follows:
- Homeowner $7,000.00
- Lender $50,000.00
- Local government $19,000.00
- Neighboring home value decrease $75,000.00
- The total economic loss to foreclosure is estimated at $151,000.00.
- By contract, the report states that preventing the foreclosure would have an average cost per home of $3,300.00
The cost of foreclosure has a decimating effect on everyone. It is in the best interest of everyone to stop foreclosure and keep people in their homes.
THE FORECLOSURE TIMELINE.
If you do not file an answer within twenty (20) days of being served with a complaint, the Plaintiff is normally entitled to a Clerk's Default. If you do file a timely answer with defenses, a hearing date will be set for the judge to consider the merits of each party's case. Depending on the availability of the court and the parties, it may take several weeks up to three months to have the hearing. If there are factual issues in dispute or you have valid defenses, you may be entitled to another hearing. The timeline for having this hearing depends on any discovery issues outstanding and availability on the court docket. If after a hearing, the court orders the property to be sold at auction, the sale is generally set 30 days after the final hearing. It is still possible to work with the attorney and/or the lender to save your property until the property is sold. It is important to have a Florida attorney to help you through your case.
HOW CAN I GET HELP?
You can call us directly to schedule a free consultation or to retain our services. Please call us at 850-651-9900. You can also fill in the contact box and provide us with specific information about your circumstances and email us directly.
