Bad Title to Real Estate Will Collapse Florida’s Economy.

Good news is we’ve beaten the hackers again so it looks like the site is clean…still trying to determine if in fact they are targeting anti-fraud sites or if it’s random, but the timing is curious.   I’m on a bit of a vacation, so content here is a little light….be sure there will be more information later!

Attorneys defending homeowners in foreclosure have been documenting the questionable practices that have become standard practice for attorneys and lenders pursuing foreclosure cases.   These reports have made their way to federal judges, law enforcement and other investigating agencies.   All of this attention has now made its way into regional and even national press, like the Wall Street Journal.

The real struggle now is communicating to our circuit court judges the magnitude of the questionable practices so that they will stop granting summary judgment in these cases, whether the case is defended or opposed at all.   The bottom line is that when the full scope of the frauds are unearthed, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of titles to homes all across the country will be questionable and yes, these issues will be litigated for decades to come.   The thread of this story was recently picked up by the St. Petersburg Times…stay tuned though, this is only the beginning.

In flood of foreclosures, growing challenges to lenders seizing homes they may not own

Wake up and good morning. More and more, allegations are cropping up that certain law firms may be fabricating or presenting false and misleading documents in Florida’s huge wave of home foreclosures. Last week, Florida Attorney General’s office said it has launched a civil investigation of Florida Default Law Group, based in Tampa, which is described as one of the largest so-called foreclosure-mill law firms in the state. The law firm had no comment.

That’s a big reason why dozens of homeowners facing possible foreclosure last month hopped on buses from Tampa Bay and West Palm Beach to rally in Tallahassee against proposals to take foreclosure proceedings out of the courts and make it easier for banks (and the law firms they hire) to expedite  the process of tossing people who are behind in payments out of their homes. Speeding up Florida’s huge foreclosure backlog is a good goal — if there was not such a rash of doctored mortgage documents already  pouring into the system.

This story in the Wall Street Journal points out some of the broader problems. And judges have said in hearings they are increasingly concerned that banks are attempting to seize properties they don’t own. In one recent case in Pasco County (reported by the WSJ here), a Florida state-court judge said U.S. Bank, a major national bank, perpetrated a “fraud” in a foreclosure lawsuit, raising questions about how banks are attempting to claim homes from borrowers in default.

— Robert Trigaux, Times Business Columnist