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Foreclosure and Loan Modification Blog

We Helped Our Suntrust Client Get More Than $12k After Foreclosure!

Amerihope Alliance Legal Services recently helped a client get $12,842.42 in surplus funds after his property was sold in a foreclosure auction. To protect his privacy I'll call this client Mr. Sebben.

Mr. Sebben's mortgage problems came about because he wasn't able to sell his Broward County, Florida home before moving out of state for work. Unable to pay for housing in two states, he stopped paying the mortgage on his vacant Florida home and his lender, Suntrust, started foreclosure on it.

Mr. Sebben realized that he needed professional help, and so he retained our firm in 2016 to help him stay a bit longer in the property and deal with the foreclosure case.

What Should You Do With Your House After Divorce?

Most people don't plan for it, but about half of all marriages end in divorce. And when a couple decides to go their separate ways, their property has to be divided up or sold. Some property is easier to divide than others. A couple's Beanie Baby collection is relatively easy to deal with in divorce. It has some positive value, can be sold, and easily carved into two pieces. Your underwater home, on the other hand, is the opposite. It can't be cut in two or immediately sold and is harder to deal with because of that.

What Is A Deed-In-Lieu Of Foreclosure?

If your lender is threatening to foreclose on you for missed mortgage payments and you don't have the money to get current, and aren't eligible for a loan modification, you may be a candidate for a deed in lieu of foreclosure agreement. A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure agreement is when the borrower agrees to give ownership of their home to the lender in exchange for canceling their mortgage.

Can Cash For Keys Work For Me?

 

If you're in foreclosure and have decided that you cannot or do not want to keep your home, you may be wondering if you could get a “cash for keys” agreement. Cash for keys, sometimes called a "move out incentive", may sound like something you've heard about in hip hop music, but in this case it has nothing to do with kilos of illegal drugs. It's an agreement between you and your lender to hand over the keys to, and move out of your property in exchange for money. Getting paid cash money is always a seductive option, but you should take a close look at what you give up in exchange for that money before signing an agreement.

Real (Estate) Vampires and Zombies Are In Your Neighborhood

Believe it or not, monsters like vampires and zombies do exist. They're not under your bed, but they might be in your neighborhood right now. Fortunately, they're not the kind that want to drink your blood or eat your brains, but you should still be aware of their existence.

Case Dismissed Using the Florida Fair Foreclosure Act

Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 5,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.

In March 2015, we were retained to represent a Florida homeowner who was being sued by Dyck-O'neal to collect a post-foreclosure deficiency in the amount of $34,078.93 plus interest, costs, and attorney's fees. We won his case, and he owed nothing.

You're Probably Next in Line for a Deficiency Judgment, Here's Why

A few years ago, you bought a terribly overpriced home. To you $375,000 or more for that Spanish-style with a pool seemed totally reasonable at the time (won't blame you, so many others did too!!!).

Now, fast forward a couple/few years, the economy tanked, your positive cash flow probably started to become negative, and then, you realized, “Darn this house is flipping expensive, I can barely keep up.” Until you could really no longer keep up and, bye bye went the house.

You walked away, let the house go into foreclosure, and thought you were wiping your hands clean. I don't need to spell the details out for you, since you probably took a front seat on that ride....  

Your bank took back your house, and you thought that's enough, the money left unpaid has been forgiven, (I mean, after everything you just went through? Right?) clean slate, fresh start for you... Well now, that's just a big fat misunderstanding on your part. There is no way that banks will let this one slide. No, they want what they bargained for, which is the $375,000 you signed that dang mortgage for.

How is the lender going to get back the $150,000 (could be more, could be less) that the foreclosure sale couldn't pay off?

They are going to take you to court for it, lawsuit style!

Foreclosure + Deficiency Judgment = Less Money, Mo' Problems.

Should have saved this segment for Halloween because deficiencies induce blood-curdling, spine-tingling misery... Too much?!?

DEFICIENCY JUDGMENT?

First of all, a deficiency after foreclosure is exactly what it sounds like, it's when one owes a mortgage lender money after the foreclosure sale of their home because the house sold for less than the mortgage balance (did you think all the debt went kaput after foreclosure, yeah right!).   

 

For example:

Say the total debt owed is $220,000, but the home only sells for $160,000 at the foreclosure sale. The remainder to be owed back to the lender is $60,000, hence a deficiency.

Yes people, that's $60,000 you STILL have to pay back to the lender, you can't just say ala- kazaam and voila, gone! (If only... I can only imagine being able to do that every month with my credit card statement... anyways that's beside the point...)

Ok, so where were we?... Yes, the flipping horror of a deficiency after foreclosure, hanging above your head like a black cloud, every single day... I mean, in all fairness, it could be worse...? (wishful thinking?)

The nitty gritty is, even if you feel like you can ignore this black cloud, it comes back to haunt you. In some states, “The lender can seek a personal judgment against the debtor to recover the deficiency. Generally, once the lender gets a deficiency judgment, the lender may collect this amount (in our example, $60,000) from the borrower by doing such things as garnishing the borrowers’ wages or levying the borrowers’ bank account.”

THAT'S NOT ALL:

What Is a Deficiency Judgment, and How Can You Avoid One?

The unofficial definition of a deficiency judgment, sometimes called a mortgage deficiency judgment, could be something like: “…When your former mortgage lender won’t let you go.” Unfortunately, the real answer is a little more complicated.

If the unthinkable happens and you lose your home to foreclosure sale, there could be two outcomes. The first outcome is that the lender receives the amount of money you owe on the mortgage. In a perfect world, your house is worth $100,000 and it sells at foreclosure auction for at least $100,000, then your mortgage lender is just a bad memory (maybe).

Florida Foreclosure Bill Passes Senate Committee

A new foreclosure bill is being proposed by Florida legislature to speed up foreclosures in Florida. Although recently passed by a Senate committee, the bill still must pass three more committees in the Senate and one more in the House. The bill is designed to speed foreclosure cases through the court system by allowing semi-retired judges to take on foreclosure cases, as well as allowing a number of other provisions designed to help "streamline" the amount of foreclosure cases in the state of Florida. Florida already holds a quarter of the nation's foreclosure cases, and is working to expedite the judicial process of foreclosure.

About this Blog

Amerihope Alliance Legal Services is a leading loan modification and foreclosure defense law firm with attorneys licensed in 5 states. We have helped over 7,000 homeowners fight back and keep their homes.

Click to Read Our Super Loan Mod Success Stories

Our goal is to provide valuable information to help homeowners who are trying to obtain a loan modification or to stop foreclosure. You may schedule a free consultation at any time.

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