Matt Weidner – Fighting For The American People

Posts Tagged ‘real estate attorney’

You think real estate is bad now….just wait, it’s only going to get worse.  Think prices are low now….just wait, down, down, down.  The only real hope for any kind of solution is jobs, jobs, jobs and there is nothing on the state or national horizon that gives us any hope at all that the employment picture will change….until after 2012 at the very earliest.

Incomes are down and going lower.  Jobs are going, going, gone….and guess what, a consumer-driven economy will not support the needs of this complex interconnected world we live in.

I say ignore the news and especially ignore the Realtors with all their delusions of any kind of recovery….if you want to know what’s really going on with real estate and the “recovery” of the housing market….take a look at the stalled foreclosures, cancelled foreclosure sales, dismissed foreclosure cases….and then just add to them the all the millions of properties that are many, many months behind on their foreclosure…but foreclosure not filed yet….how many?

From LPS

Those are all very, very scary numbers and things are only getting worse….please read the attached article for a real picture on where we are and where we’re going….

St. Petersburg Times and Shadow Inventory

A potent mix of frustration and anger is brewing once again in this country because the well-heeled monied interests, Fat Cat Bankers and Shyster Attorneys have once again gotten caught sticking it to normal Americans. Ignoring the rules with an arrogance that would be astonishing if we all were not so used to it by now.

In the midst of this brewing storm and calls from Congress and Attorneys General from several states, Florida’s top court, the Florida Supreme Court punched the whistle blowers straight in the face with a staff-level letter that essentially said,

“GO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS CONGRESSMAN, WE DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR CONCERNS. CALL THE FLORIDA BAR, MAYBE THEY’LL CARE!”

(Not a peep out of the Florida Bar….yet. [Ever?])

Well now in an incredibly ironic turn of events, just days after the blow off letter was issued, the perpetrators of the fraud the Congressman complained of have been forced to acknowledge their misdeeds.  Trial court judges can ignore the problems, even the Supreme Court can ignore the problems, but the title insurance companies that are holding the bag for all of this have essentially confirmed what Congressman Grayson and Attorneys General from several states are complaining about.

The title industry is reeling, real estate is collapsing and there is a profound and pervasive crisis in confidence that has swept across this country because our courts have lost the respect they would have been entitled to had they taken an authoritative role in this crisis.  Instead, our courts (Trial, Appellate, Supreme) they’ve abdicated their responsibilities and turned the keys to the courthouses over to the Wall Street Fraudsters and their attorneys.  You see this everyday in the reckless, unfair and prejudiced Rocket Docket proceedings which are effectively run by the foreclosure mills, for the foreclosure mills.  Their attorneys don’t even bother to show up to hearings. Sometimes they call in by phone.  Sometimes, judges just enter Summary Judgments even when no one is there in person or on the phone.

Just think about this nugget.  I’ve been going to Summary Judgment Hearings for years now.  I’ve seen thousands of Summary Judgment hearings in courtrooms all across this state.  I cannot remember but a handful of cases where there was an attorney present for one of the foreclosure mills that actually had a copy of the case file with them.  That’s right.  They show up to court with nothing.  No file, no documents, no evidence.  At best they’ve got a spreadsheet, a print out from a computer.  And yet they stand there or call in demanding that the judges sign Orders throwing people into the streets.

THE REAL SCANDAL HERE IS THAT OUR JUDGES SIGN THOSE ORDERS…HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THEM

I want our press to see this and record this and broadcast this.  I want to see video cameras in these foreclosure rocket dockets. Shine the light on the empty-handed foreclosure mill attorneys or the no-show attorneys or the telephone attorneys. (How do we even know who’s on the phone?)

Let’s hope the press keeps up the heat on this, but no one will be able to put the lid on the bubbling cauldron of fraud, lies and deceit that are found in foreclosure courtrooms across this country anymore.

If you have a foreclosure case filed against you, first thing is you should have a foreclosure defense attorney.  Second thing is your attorney should be familiar with Florida Statutes, 57.011 Security by Non-Residents.  A serious problem I’ve had since the begining of the foreclosure crisis is foreign corporations or exotic non-corporate entitites like “Deutsche Bank National Trust Company” filing a foreclosure suit against one of my neighbors.  From a technical legal perspective there are only a few select entities that have the legal qualifications to appear before the court. Minor children cannot (only their parents can on their behalf), Dead people cannot (only a properly appointed personal representative can), Foreign Corporations cannot (unless and until they register and get permission from the State of Florida Division of Corporations).

Florida’s Non-Resident Cost Bond Statute

All of this brings us to Florida Statutes 57.011.  A little known and not often used nugget that has existed in Florida Laws forever, hidden like some attorney hunting treasure.  When this law was passed, the Legislature was concerned about carpet bagger, Yankee corporations filing suit against Floridians then just walking away.  The statute requires corporations to post a bond with the court ($100), to cover the costs of suit against the Floridian if the foreign corporation subsequently walks away.   Here’s another part I like…..the statute also provides that a  court….

“may hold the attorney bringing or prosecuting the action liable for said costs and if they are adjudged against plaintiff, an execution shall issue against said attorney.”

Take that Marshall Watson or David Stern or any of these other attorneys out there who are improperly taking advantage of Florida citizens.  The text of the statute can be found here, but if you want to know how to put it to work for you…contact me here at

www.mattweidnerlaw.com

If you are facing a foreclosure and do not want to continue living in your home, the quickest way to resolve your case is to retain a realtor and an attorney, experienced in foreclosures, who will work together to resolve your foreclosure nightmare.

There were approximately 1200 condos and homes sold in Pinellas County in June 2009 and while exact numbers are not available, it is certain that the vast majority of these sales were short sales or distresssed sale properties.  If you’re a homeowner, looking to walk away from the burden of homeownership, the good news is there are buyers out there and closings are occuring.  If you are a purchaser, there has never been a better time to get out there and buy the home of your dreams.

Whether you’re a purchaser or a seller, don’t even think of entering this marketplace without the formal assistance of a realtor and attorney, who will work together to ensure your transaction closes smoothly.  Closing a transaction in this marketplace is more difficult than ever and now more than ever you need to rely on the skills and experiences of trusted professionals!

I currently represent hundreds of homeowners who are either in foreclosure now or who are close to being in foreclosure.  I require that every client participate in efforts to get their mortgage modified or push the lender for the deed in lieu or short sale offer they are requesting.  Almost two years ago my clients began complaining that they couldn’t get through to their lenders or they were forced to wait on hold and transferred around or that they would send in or fax their paperwork numerous times, but were told time and time again that their paperwork wasn’t received or lost.  I will admit that at first, I thought my clients were not trying hard enough or were not following directions…I know for certain now that the vast majority of my clients have been and are working hard to try and negotiate a mortgage modification with their lender, but that the lenders are either totally incompetent or are not interested in providing a mortgage modification.

If one or two clients were having a problem getting their paperwork straignt with one or two different lenders that would seem to be an isolated problem and one that could easily be dealt with.  The problem is virtually every one of my clients reports the same problems with dozens of different lenders they are dealing with.  I now require my clients to keep a log or written record of all their phone calls and proof of delivery of documents.  For some the logs go on for page after page.  On hold for half hour then disconnected…transferred to a foreign sounding worker who didn’t have any record of my file…no record of prior payments made….no record of the trial modification the lender had already sent out and accepted payments from.  The number of clients that report such problems with so many different lenders suggests that this is a massive problem with the systems the lenders have sdet up to process these things.

What concerns me most is if the lenders are unable to manage the paperwork associated with reviewing a file for modification, how in the world are they ever going to manage the payments and accounting of millions of homeowners if they do get a modification in place.  The reality is that without a massive overhaul of the lender’s existing systems, they will not be able to efficiently or accurately process the current and future requests for mortgage modifications.  As a result, a homeowner should consult with an experienced real estate attorney to assist them in the mortgage modification process.

For more information, visit my website at www.mattweidnerlaw.com.