Posts tagged as:

florida foreclosure law

Florida foreclosure mediation to begin April 1

by Moe Bedard

Florida’s been hit so hard, foreclosure cases are clogging up the court system. So, state officials have created a new mediation program for borrowers and lenders to streamline the residential foreclosure process.

Borrowers and lenders will sit down with a trained mediator to review the case. This extra step will ensure a fair handling of the [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

Mediation is No Guarantee of a Loan Modification

by Moe Bedard

In fact, some mediators caution foreclosure cases aren’t even true mediations. There’s little to no negotiation that occurs at the table, said Fort Lauderdale real estate attorney and foreclosure mediator Shari Olefson.

In many cases, a homeowner’s finances are simply uploaded into a lender’s

0 comments Read the full article →

Florida Loan Modification Firms Must Be Licensed

by Moe Bedard

The days of simply hanging out a shingle and opening up a loan modification business are coming to an end in Florida.

As of Jan. 1, individuals or companies providing loan modification services must be licensed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR).
The law was sparked by hundreds of complaints filed with the state attorney

1 comment Read the full article →

Florida Loan Mod Firms Will Soon Need a License: It’s About Time!

by Moe Bedard

The clock is ticking for unlicensed companies trying to entice home buyers to modify their mortgages. Or demanding an upfront fee to help them out.
Come Jan. 1, anyone who provides loan modification services must have an active license from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. The rule is part of a law passed by the [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Florida Attorney General Sends Big Banks a Message

by Moe Bedard

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General McCollum today sent a letter to the Florida executives of Bank of America, JP Morgan/Chase, Wells Fargo and Wachovia, calling upon the bank executives to provide homeowners with a fair and efficient loan modification process. The Attorney General also requested the executives meet with him to discuss the banks’ responsibility [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Mediation will force banks to be accountable

by Moe Bedard

“The mediation insures a stopgap measure,” Castrataro said. “It insures that the bank will have to listen.”
Castrataro said he’s seen mediation assist clients in obtaining loan modifications, reductions in their principal owed and, in cases where foreclosure cannot be avoided, a significant reduction in the amount of debt they owe long term. He believes mediation [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Florida Judges Consider Foreclosure Mediation

by Moe Bedard

A majority on the high court’s Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosures recommended trying mediation on owner-occupied homes before cases go to court, with lenders picking up the tab. Borrowers would be contacted by phone and mail and asked to participate. The high court did not immediately act on the proposal.
“The data that the banks [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Florida Regulators React to Loan Modification Complaints

by Moe Bedard

With hundreds of Floridians filing complaints about troubles with their lenders over home mortgages, state and federal officials say they’re ramping up efforts to improve the process for borrowers who need a loan modification.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum’s office said it is spending $4 million over two years to fund free legal services to homeowners [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

Foreclosure: Dealing with disaster

by Moe Bedard

There are so many foreclosures in the legal system that it cannot handle them, reported the Task Force on Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Cases. It was appointed by the Florida Supreme Court, and issued its first report recently.
How bad is it?
- Florida has the worst foreclosure inventory in the nation. Of 3.5 million loans serviced in [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Judges want to force lender-borrower mediation in Florida foreclosure cases

by Moe Bedard

They can’t reach anyone at their lender’s office. When they do, they never speak to the same person twice.
“It’s been horrendous,” one man told Gardner about dealing with his bank. Another woman wrote a letter to her lender’s attorney because she could find no other contact information.
Read more from Tampa Bay.com

0 comments Read the full article →