Matt Weidner – Fighting For The American People

Posts Tagged ‘hb 1523’

Forget all the negative stories about attorneys–remember most are principled, passionate fighters who are dedicated to serving their clients and their communities.  The leaders in the Foreclosure Fight in South Florida are the Fearless Fighters at Ice Legal.

They’re turning out some of the best legal and appellate work in the State, but they’re going and above and beyond in their support of the homeowners in this state and judges in this state.  They’ve generously agreed to sponsor a bus that will take homeowners from West Palm Beach all the way up to Tallahassee.  The response from voters and homeowners to this initiative has been overwhelming. Team Ice wanted to make sure leaders in Tallahassee and the Palm Beach legislative delegation had the opportunity to hear from their neighbors directly…that’s awesome, principled advocacy….for more information on the rally click on the video below…for more information on how to get on the bus click here.

We do not presently have a bus going from Sarasota/Tampa, but if you activists can get us 50 people to commit, we may be able to find a sponsor and have a bus leave from Sarasota…. Because Senator Bennett, sponsor of the Senate Non-Judicial bill is from your area, it would be HUGE to have a group from Southwest Florida up there.  RSVP if you can help us fill a bus from Sarasota!

10. Lenders Do Not Properly Communicate With Borrowers

A consistent complaint of borrowers seeking modification, short sale or any other solution in the foreclosure crisis is they cannot communicate with their lenders.  Cannot get the same answer twice.  Paperwork sent over and over and over and over again.  Borrowers lose the hope they need to participate in solutions when their time and efforts are not respected.  With record unemployment, lenders should put people to work….in the communities they serve…to deal face to face with their borrowers and the loans they’re trying to foreclose.  Reach out to work force alliances, community based jobs programs, any Florida-based group to develop these programs…..a 90 day foreclosure moratorium until this is investigated and all facts are on the table.

9. Lenders That Are Totally Unrealistic About Short Sale Offers

Tens of thousands of homes in Florida could be sold immediately if the lenders would work with Realtors to accurately price the properties that are in foreclosure or already bank owned. If lenders had reasonable response times to short sales and reasonable expectations about what they will receive in short sale much of this inventory would move, sales would increase, communities would be revitalized and people would get back to work.  It doesn’t matter what a lender’s computer model tells them the appraised value of a home is…work with Florida Realtors to value, price then market homes then work with Florida Realtors to get working Floridians into these homes.  The Federal government recently announced the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA), which is optional at this point in time, but should be made mandatory as a pre-condition to foreclosure…..a 90 day foreclosure moratorium until this is investigated and all facts are on the table.

8. Lenders Are Engaging in Unfair and Deceptive Practices

It’s hard to get a handle on this problem but in far too many instances borrowers cannot get any communication with lenders for months, then as soon as a foreclosure is filed, they get overnight packages and phone calls from lenders who hold out false hope and promise of a settlement or negotiation, especially after the foreclosure is filed.  Homeowners are told explicitly (or reasonably believe) that they do not need to respond to the foreclosure until it’s determined if they qualify for a modification…..little do they know that the lender’s attorney is slamming the 20 day window to respond to foreclosure shut in their face.  Lenders should be required to disclose modification communications to courts and not be granted defaults when the borrower is working through loan modification companies…..a 90 day foreclosure moratorium until this is investigated and all facts are on the table.

7. Lenders Should Not Be Permitted to File Foreclosure Until All They Are in Possession of All Paperwork Necessary to Foreclose

Concluding a foreclosure requires only a few pieces of paper and a few basic facts, yet lenders and their attorneys refuse to collect these facts prior to filing foreclosure.  After a case is filed, these documents and evidence are sent in piecemeal to courts across the state causing logistical and administrative burdens for the courts and judges.  Lenders should be required to have all their paperwork in Order before they file to reduce the efforts and pressure placed on courts after they file.  Wait a minute, the Supreme Court of Florida has already required that, but lenders are just routinely and systematically ignoring a binding Order of the highest court in this state…here’s an easy one….No foreclosures until you follow the rules in existing cases…..a 90 day foreclosure moratorium until this is investigated and all facts are on the table.

6. Lenders That Engage in Gross Abuses of Floridian’s Rights

Jack booted thugs hired by lenders are prowling communities in pick up trucks all across this state. They have a list of homes and they’re going home by home to “check” on them.  In far too many cases, they kick down doors, change locks, steal property and throw owners or tenants out in the street. All of this is totally forbidden by law.  It is impossible to grasp the magnitude of these Gross Abuses of Fundamental Rights, but it’s happening all over. If the lenders feel the need to inspect property, they should not contract with private, unsupervised, unregulated thugs to engage in illegal conduct.  Lenders operating in this state should contract with the Sheriffs departments in each county or with local law enforcement to make inspections and report to them on the status of the properties they’re concerned about.  Reports would be forwarded to judges who could sign Orders to Secure if the facts warrant it…..a 90 day foreclosure moratorium until this is investigated and all facts are on the table.

5. Lenders Should Not Be Permitted to Engage in Systematic Fraud On Courts

Lenders have created documents mills and employ robo signers who concoct whatever papers they deem necessary to foreclose.  The processes and procedures implemented by these lenders are questionable at best, probably rise to the level of fraud and may even rise to the level of criminal conduct. Federal investigations are underway across the country and in this state. They should be permitted to run their course until we know the scope of the problems. Lenders should not be permitted to continue with foreclosures until we understand fully the processes and procedures being implemented and we have some way to ensure the veracity and legitimacy of the procedures being used…..a 90 day foreclosure moratorium until this is investigated and all facts are on the table.

4. Lenders Should Not Be Permitted to Continue Abusing Our Courts

Attorneys for lenders have placed impossible pressures on courts and their judicial staffs by engaging in systematic abuses.  Blocking hearing time and scheduling sales then canceling. Sending attorneys to courts who don’t even have the case files, much less know anything about them, calling in for phone hearings rather than appearing in person to explore settlement with opposing counsel.  The foreclosure mills that are processing these cases are making millions of dollars maybe tens of millions of dollars in this process…these profits should be disgorged and their resources should be used to try and settle their cases, not public resources.  Our courts, our judges, our judicial assistants and clerks deserve to be respected.  No more foreclosures until basic rules of conduct are enforced…..a 90 day foreclosure moratorium until this is investigated and all facts are on the table.

3. Our Courts And Judges Must Be Properly Funded

Courts have seen an unprecedented explosion in their caseloads but the judges handling these cases have not been given the resources they need to do their jobs properly.  It is unfair and totally unrealistic for private parties (the parties that are responsible for this mess) to put such pressures on our courts without proper funding.  Lenders and attorneys should pay more and the legislature should ensure this money makes it to the judges, clerks and judicial assistants who are engaged in this battle every day…..a 90 day foreclosure moratorium until this is investigated and all facts are on the table.

2. Title to Real Estate in Florida Will Be Questionable For Decades to Come

This slap-dash, Russian bazaar, fast-food manner in which foreclosures are being conducted creates problems with title to properties across this state. These are ticking time bombs that will be going off for decades.  Title insurance companies will go bankrupt, real estate lending will halt and we will enter round two of the foreclosure crisis.  This is an 800 pound gorilla sitting in the middle of courtrooms all across the state as title to properties is being granted through Final Summary Judgment….time to think about the effect this will have on any eventual recovery….a 90 day foreclosure moratorium until this is investigated and all facts are on the table.

And the Number One Reason a 90 day moratorium on foreclosures should be granted….

1. You Folks Chime In With Your Suggestions on The Number One Reason….reply to this post….better yet,

COME TO TALLAHASSEE ON APRIL 21, 2010 TO SHARE YOUR NUMBER ONE REASON!

Florida’s Capital really is one of the prettiest buildings in this state.  Set on a huge hill, you can see it for miles around when you come driving in from any direction.  The response to calls for action from attorneys and homeowners who are coming to Tallahassee on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 has been phenomenal.  Given our great success this week, we’re all meeting in Tallahassee with a very good message to share…

FLORIDIANS ♥ JUDGES!

God knows we might not always agree with our judges (and from an entirely personal perspective sometimes they can lay into you like a strict and angry parent), but the bottom line is if a Floridian’s home is going to be taken from them, we want to make sure an elected judge executes that powerful order.  We want our judges and courthouses respected.  That means funding them properly so they and their staff have the time and resources to examine cases and issues carefully.  We trust our judges to be responsive to this crisis and we want our legislators to give them the tools and the respect they need to craft the solutions.  We are also proud and grateful to the legislators because:

FLORIDA LEGISLATORS CARE ABOUT HOMEOWNERS

FLORIDA LEGISLATORS LISTEN TO THEIR CONSTITUENTS

FLORIDA LEGISLATORS ARE COMMITTED TO FINDING FAIR AND HONEST SOLUTIONS TO THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS

We will meet at 9:00 a.m. on the First Floor of the Capital, called the Plaza Level, just inside the doors between the chambers of the Florida House and Florida Senate right around the Great Seal of the State of Florida, shown  below:

What Can You Expect in Tallahassee?

Expect to be blown away.  If you’ve never been to the Capital while legislature is in session, you cannot imagine how exciting and alive the place is.  Remember all the energy and enthusiasm of college pep rallys, Superbowl or World Series, multiply it ten times, then add to it the fact that this is all very, very serious business.  Billions of dollars are at stake and changes that affect Floridians forever are made every session.

Most times during session, the legislators are the stars, but when real people come up and do fulfill their obligations as citizens, NORMAL EVERYDAY FOLKS BECOME THE STARS! After we meet at the Great Seal at 9:00 a.m. we will travel to the Fourth Floor which is the “lobby” area between both chambers (now you know why they call it “lobbying”)…you’ll have a directory showing the floor and office number of your legislators and will fan out go to their offices.  They often won’t be in their offices, but you walk in, introduce yourself then take about two minutes to make your case to whomever is there.  If you’re lucky your representative will be there, if not take a few minutes to talk with staff….keep in mind that staff are very influential….even if your elected representative is not there….staff members are just as critical.  Write up your story and the reasons you’ve come to Tallahassee and hand them to staff/reporters/legislators.

BE BRIEF

BE RESPECTFUL

BE ENTHUSIASTIC

BE THANKFUL

THEN…..MOVE ON!

You can and should be prepared to make your point and move on in a few short moments….you may not convince whomever you’re talking to on the spot, but they will hear your message and respect you for understanding their time commitments and the stress they are under.  Remember, it feels like most legislators are on our side now, so please be very courteous and very grateful to them for listening to you so far….make a commitment to support them back in the district.  Ask to be put on their volunteer contact list so that they can call on you when they need help or attendance back in the district.

It will be a whirlwind, but after a few hours of walking the halls, you’ll want to sit in the public galleries of both the house and senate side to watch all the action taking place.  At some point during the day some discussion regarding foreclosure legislation will be taken up.  Hopefully these bad bills will be killed and what will happen is members from both houses will take official notice of the hundreds, (thousands?) of their constituents who are in the galleries…they will recognize you, commend you taking time to come up and support them and the process and they will make honest commitments to work with all of us after session ends to figure a way out of this mess.

At some point in time, make sure you go to the top of the Capital and see the view from high above….as I said The Capital is set on a hill and the view from up there is just amazing.  Take it all in, look around…maybe stay over a night and take more of it in….there’s certainly lots of very interesting stuff to see.

Whatever your background, attorney, advocate, curious bystander…you will leave changed…probably inspired and hopeful~

Elected officials in Washington DC may be totally out of touch and the Fat Cat Bankers in Wall Street may treat Floridians like we’re a bunch of backwoods yokels,

but I’m proud to say our leaders in Tallahassee are listening, quite intently, to what you extraordinary people have to say!

Floridians asked their legislative leaders not to turn the keys to Florida over to the Fat Cat Bankers until you had your full say and

YOUR ELECTED LEADERS LISTENED TO YOU!

My reports from Tallahassee are that Senators heard your voices and didn’t want to rush this industry-sponsored legislation until they hear from you first.

The Florida Senate Banking and Finance Committee will meet again on Monday, April 19, 2010 begining at 9:00 am.  The committee could consider this bill again at that point in time, but this may not be likely.

For those of you that contacted your elected leaders and asked for their support….please follow up now and thank them.  A quick phone call.  A short email.  Maybe a short note.

The contact information is here.

Most important, let them know we will be in Tallahassee on Wednesday April 21, 2010.

We will all meet on the Plaza Level of the Florida Capital beginning at 9:00 am!

See you there!

I don’t have the Agenda yet, but I have word that the Florida Senate’s version of the non-judicial foreclosure bill will come before the Florida Senate’s Banking and Insurance Committee beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Attached here is the Senate’s Most Excellent Analysis of this bad, bad legislation.  I say the analysis is excellent because I used facts from the analysis to respond to Senator Bennett’s support of this legislation on this morning’s Bay News Nine interview.

Among the problems:

• Foreclosures filing fees fund 25% of the entire state’s judicial budget. (Why aren’t foreclosure judges getting that money to root out fraud and abuses?)
• Non judicial foreclosure poses constitutional problems.
• Unclear how to police banks to ensure fairness.
• Based on the Uniform Non Judicial Foreclosure Act. (This isn’t in there, but apparently this “uniform” act has been around since 2002 and not a single state has adopted it.  Florida would be the first to adopt this right stripping, homeowner abusing legislation.)

Anyway, the goods are all in there…have a look, read it carefully and use the facts in it to respond to Senators. The committee members you want to be contacting are here.

Make it a special point to contact Senator Mike Bennett’s Office…he’s sponsoring this bad, bad legislation….let’s light his phones up as they make it into committee meeting this morning at 9:00 am.

District Office:
Wildewood Professional Park, Suite 90
3653 Cortez Road West
Bradenton, FL 34210
(941) 727-6349
Senate VOIP: 42100
FAX (941) 727-6352
Statewide:
1-800-500-1239

Legislative Assistants:
Cheryl Ennis and Crystal Fitzgerald

Secretary:
Margaret Clark

Tallahassee Office:
322 Senate Office Building
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100
(850) 487-5078

LATE BREAKING NEWS – the House Bill has been removed from the 9:00 am committee agenda–that’s good news, but don’t be led into a false sense of complacency thinking that the house bill is dead….this ugly beast can AND WILL raise its ugly head again.  There is simply too much money at stake here and the bankers are not just going to go away!~

KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!  KEEP UP THE FIGHT!

If/when we win this battle and kill this bad bill, the attorneys who have dedicated themselves to fighting the abuses of the court and unfairness of the banks are still taking our message to the Capital on Wednesday April, 21, 2010!

Homeowners and activists are certainly encouraged to join us there….your voices are being heard..keep up the work, keep the pressure on….

BECAUSE OF ACTIVISTS LIKE YOU….THIS MAY STILL BE

THE PEOPLE’S AMERICA!

Florida House Live Streaming of Debate on House Bill 1523

Click here now to listen!