Foreclosure and Loan Modification Blog

Does Your Bank Have the Standing to Foreclose on Your Home?

In judicial foreclosure states (such as Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey), your lender is required to go through the courts to foreclose on your property. They become the plaintiff and you become the defendant in a foreclosure lawsuit.

The plaintiff must prove to the court that they are the party in interest that's legally entitled to foreclose on your home. That, in legal terminology, is called standing.

Standing is very important, and the plaintiff must have it at the time they file a foreclosure action against you. If they don't, your attorney may file a motion to dismiss the action because of it.

Avoiding Payment Shock After Getting a Loan Modification

Many homeowners haven't paid their mortgage in many months or even years. They fight foreclosure and look for a way to keep their home. After a lot of work, some get approved for a loan modification which returns their loan to normal. Foreclosure disaster averted. Hooray!

But there's one minor problem with getting your loan back to normal: you have to actually start paying a mortgage again. What the heck?

I know, bills are terrible, but getting a free house is not a realistic possibility. Keeping your home after falling behind on payments by getting a loan modification is the best result, and one that millions of homeowners in recent years wanted to achieve and couldn't. (Seven million Americans have been in foreclosure since the recession began.)

What Do You Do If Your Bank Changes the Locks on Your House?

Let's say you fell behind on your mortgage, but haven't lost your home to foreclosure yet, and one day you come home to find that the bank has changed the locks on your doors and you can't get inside your home. How could this be? Are they allowed to do that?

If you're still living in your house, no, your bank isn't allowed to change the locks on your house. Even if you fell behind on your mortgage payments or are in foreclosure.

You're allowed to live in your home during the entire foreclosure process. If you're still living in the house after the home is sold in a foreclosure sale, the bank has to evict you before they can change the locks and take over the property.

But there is one exception that allows the bank to change the locks on your property even if you still legally own your home: when the property is abandoned and sitting vacant. Then it doesn't matter if foreclosure isn't complete yet or not.

What Does a Foreclosure Defense Attorney Actually Do for You?

If you're considering hiring an attorney to help you avoid foreclosure and/or get a loan modification, you may be wondering what specifically an attorney will do to help you keep your home. You know your mortgage issues are too important to try to handle alone, but how exactly does an attorney help?

Do they just show up in court and say something in Latin “Your honor, the corpus juris, et cetera, entitle my client to keep their house. Also, carpe diem, and liberum domum (free house), please.”

Of course not. So what does an attorney actually do when you hire them to defend you from foreclosure and assist you in getting a loan modification?

Superstorm Sandy, Foreclosure, and Loan Modification Success

Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 7,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.

In May of 2014 a homeowner in Sullivan County, New York, that I'll call Mr. Goulet to protect his privacy, retained our firm to help him avoid foreclosure. He hadn't been served with a foreclosure lawsuit when he retained us, but knew it was coming, and wisely sought help from experienced professionals.

Mr. Goulet is a successful business owner. Things had been going well for him until Superstorm Sandy tore through the region in late 2012 and damaged his home. (Sandy caused about $75 billion in damage, which is second only to Hurricane Katrina.)

He moved out of his home, over the state line into New Jersey, while the damage caused by Sandy was being repaired.

There's Never Been a Better Time to Get a Loan Modification

If you're having trouble with your mortgage, you've probably heard about loan modifications. Modifying a mortgage loan involves making a permanent change to one or more of its terms. The interest rate can be lowered, the term can be extended, and principal and fees can be reduced.

Foreclosures Down, Home Values Up, Loan Modifications Still An Option

The recent financial crisis, housing crisis, and recession really did a number on homeowners. You didn't have to be an economist or real estate expert to know that there was a sharp increase in the number of foreclosures. All you had to do was turn on the news and you'd hear about it, or drive through any residential neighborhood and see the signs in front yards.

About seven million homeowners have experienced foreclosure since the start of the crisis. The wealth homeowners held in their homes evaporated as jobs were lost. That left many homeowners in the terrible position of being unable to afford their mortgage payment or sell their home because they owed more on it than it was worth

Homeowner's Property Saved From Foreclosure Sale at Last Minute

Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 7,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.

In January of 2016 we were hired by a Florida homeowner to help him avoid becoming a former homeowner. Let's call him Mr. Cohen to protect his privacy. Mr. Cohen definitely needed the help of an experienced foreclosure defense attorney. After falling behind on his mortgage his home was scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction on April 13th, so we immediately got to work to stop the sale and find a permanent solution.

Applying For a Loan Modification

We rushed to submit a Request for Modification Assistance (RMA) to Rushmore Servicing, Mr. Cohen's loan servicer, that would permanently modify his mortgage loan and return it to normal servicing if accepted.

Canceling the Foreclosure Sale

As the April sale date approached the RMA had not been reviewed by the bank, so we filed a motion with the court to cancel the foreclosure sale. The motion was granted and the April sale date was canceled and rescheduled for June 14.

Foreclosure Down in May 2016, New Jersey Worst in Country

U.S. foreclosure filings were slightly lower in May of 2016 compared to April, according to real estate data company RealtyTrac. There were 100,841 properties with foreclosure filings in May, which is a 21 percent drop from May of 2015. The decrease in foreclosure activity in May is the eighth month in a row with a decrease compared to the same month a year ago.

New Jersey Number One In Country For Foreclosures

New Jersey leads the nation with the highest foreclosure rate of any state. In the Garden State one in every 559 housing units had a foreclosure filing. Maryland was next with one in every 693, followed by Delaware with one in every 716, Florida with one in every 738, and Nevada with one in every 851.

Among the metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 residents, areas in New Jersey take the top two spots for the worst foreclosure rates in the country. In Atlantic City one in every 448 housing units had a foreclosure filing. In Trenton, New Jersey, it's one in 446.

Attorney Demands Bank Proves Reason For Denying Loan Modification

Disclaimer: These results should not be taken as a guarantee, as each case is unique. We have helped over 7,000 homeowners, here is one of their stories.

Everybody needs help from professionals sometimes. That's especially true for people trying to save their home from foreclosure. Despite many homeowners best efforts, they're not able to get the results they want on their own because they lack the knowledge and experience needed to do so, and the consequences of failure are unacceptable. So they seek outside help.

That's the case with a recent client of ours who retained us to help them avoid foreclosure. To protect their privacy, let's call this couple the Livelys. The Livelys have a home in Bronx County, New York and they fell behind on their mortgage payments in August of 2013.

Solo Loan Modification Attempt

Since they wanted to keep their home, but didn't have the massive amount of cash ($91,251.00) needed to reinstate their loan, the Livelys applied for a loan modification which, if successful, would have gotten their loan back to normal and eliminated the threat of foreclosure. They submitted an RMA (Request for Modification Assistance) to Ocwen, their mortgage loan servicer.

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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