Category Archives: Bankruptcy and Foreclosures
Understanding Your Foreclosure Rights
Falling behind on your mortgage payments can lead to very serious legal consequences and the potential loss of your home, but just because you face the prospect of foreclosure, it doesn’t mean you are without your rights. In fact, there are many steps in the Florida foreclosure process. Understanding them and having good legal… Read More »
What to Do if You Think Foreclosure is a Possibility
For many people, the current economic crisis is unlike any we’ve experienced in recent history. There are simply too many unknowns about how and when the economy will recover, how long people will be out of work, and what the future will hold in terms of how we interact with others going forward. Yes,… Read More »
CARES Act Winners, Losers, and What It Means For Small Business Owners
There’s no denying that among the hardest hit from the economic fallout related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been small business owners. And while the federal government has promised help, the way that help looks across America has appeared far from equitable in its distribution. Lessons Learned? From the very beginning of this economic… Read More »
Should I Declare Bankruptcy During COVID-19?
We get it. COVID-19 did more than make people sick with a virus, it broke our economy and it put you and millions like you into risk of default on your mortgage and other payments. You’re experiencing financial hardship. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe you were put on furlough and you are only… Read More »
What is a Servicer and What is its Role in Foreclosure Trials?
If you are in foreclosure—or even if you aren’t but have gotten any type of notices or letters from your bank—you may have noticed that the communications don’t actually come from your bank or from the company that lent you the money originally. Who is this company sending you all this information about your… Read More »
Bank of America fights contentious court battle over purge of nearly 2 billion bank records
I am very proud that after years of fighting foreclosure fraud by Bank of America and months of investigation by CNBC.com, they have finally published an in-depth story about my work. “Miami attorney Bruce Jacobs, a former prosecutor, says the bank got rid of loan records that he claims may have contained evidence of fraud…. Read More »
Mixed Credit Files Can Lead to Inaccurate Credit Reports
There are many reasons why having good credit—or at least keeping your credit as positive as possible—is a good thing. It can be difficult enough keeping our credit healthy even in the best of circumstances. But when something shows up on our credit that isn’t ours, or that we don’t recognize, it can be… Read More »
Wells Fargo Admits to Error That Cost Borrowers Their Homes
When the economy tanked around 2007-2008, the government knew that something had to be done to help people keep their homes. One option that was created was the Making Home Affordable Program (also known as HAMP, or Home Affordable Modification Program). The HAMP Program The program was designed to modify home loans to a… Read More »
What Happens When the Bank Issues a 1099-C on Your Home Loan? Maybe Nothing.
As you may know, a judgment of foreclosure doesn’t just mean that your property can be taken from you. It also can mean a potential money judgment down the road, if you owe more than what the property is worth when its foreclosed on. The Effect of a 1099-C Many borrowers receive what they… Read More »
Judge: Will Not Vacate Foreclosure Ruling Against Bank of America
A federal bankruptcy judge who took Bank of America to task for its treatment of homeowners in a foreclosure case refused to rescind his scathing opinion in which he called the bank “heartless” for its conduct, despite the bank’s agreement to settle if the judge did so. In Sundquist v. Bank of America, the… Read More »
