Foreclosure and Loan Modification Blog

If you are struggling to pay your mortgage, it's encouraged that you speak with an experienced and knowledgeable foreclosure defense attorney who can properly inform you of the best solutions for your specific situation. Not to mention that on average, a defended foreclosure usually takes anywhere from one to two years or longer.

Each foreclosure case is different and has complicated nuances that can ultimately make or break the case. For example if you have been served with a foreclosure lawsuit in Florida and New York you have 20 days to file a proper legal response in court. In Illinois, you have 30 days to reply. In New Jersey, you have 35 days. In your reply you can:

• Accept the Claim -OR-
• Dispute the Claim – Perhaps your loan servicer didn't follow proper foreclosure procedures or the foreclosing party can’t prove it owns your loan. Maybe your loan servicer made a serious error with your account such as misapplying funds, failing to credit payments to the account, or charging unreasonable and non-allowable fees. Or you’re in the military and as an active military service-member you have some special protections against foreclosure and have certain rights under the Service-members Civil Relief Act (SCRA). -OR-
• Claim Affirmative Defenses – Which means that without denying responsibility, you may claim that the foreclosing bank had contributing negligence or perhaps there is an expiration of the Statute of Limitations.

Failure to file a legally satisfactory Answer could result in default being entered against you and not being able to fight the foreclosure.

Right Instead of Wrong - How Important Are High Ethical Standards?

The first two definitions found on Dictionary.com are:

1. Pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles of morality; pertaining to right and wrong in conduct.
2. Being in accordance with the rules or standards for right conduct or practice, especially the standards of a profession.

Here at Amerihope Alliance Legal Services we believe that treating our clients and others in the communities we service with the highest of ethics, professionalism, and sensitivity are very important. Which is why we are very proud to be honored with the 2015 Highest in Ethical Standards and Professional Excellence Award from The Legal Network. These awards are substantiated by the stellar reviews from thankful clients.

THE EFFECTS OF FORECLOSURE:

Emotional Well-Being Distressed - According to Harris Interactive Poll of persons going through foreclosure 38% are Scared, 35% are Depressed, 9% are Angry, 8% are Embarrassed, and 9% None of these.

Increase of Violent and Petty Crime - According to Neighbor Works America, homes in foreclosure that become vacant provide sites for crime. Lin Cui of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Economics study showed that the rate of violent crime within 250 feet of the property is 15% higher than the rate in the area between 250 and 353 feet from the property.

Attorney at Law, Gregory M. Nordt, Esq. has reached another milestone – 20 years of service and experience in the field. He has been practicing foreclosure defense, banking/finance law, tax law, and IRS tax controversy since 1995. Mr. Nordt, along with his team at Amerihope Alliance Legal Services, invoke candor, integrity, and expertise whilst defending their clients. All with the common end goal of achieving the best possible outcomes.

“I, along with our entire team, am extremely proud of our attorney Greg Nordt, that he has reached this career milestone with such integrity," said Amerihope Alliance Legal Services Operations Manager Sherrill Clark. "We applaud Greg for his long standing commitment and passion." All cases are unique and Mr. Nordt treats all clients with the respect and care they deserve.  From the start, Mr. Nordt fights alongside his clients to ensure the end goal is met. 

“There are so many talented people I work with. For the last three years our Managing

For the third year in a row, Gregory M. Nordt, ESQ is a Martindale-Hubbell® Client Review Rated Lawyer of Distinguished 4.4 out of 5 as of January 1, 2015 based on his client reviews of four main areas of question:

There's some “good-ish” news for New Yorkers because early last week, NY Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the launch of a new New York State Mortgage Assistance Program (“NYS MAP”). This program will create loans of up to $40,000 (not more than) available to homeowners that are hanging on their last thread before foreclosure. The “good-ish” aspect stems from the ability to secure another loan to save your house, which is great don't get me wrong, however, you will be getting ANOTHER LOAN (uhm, even more debt). But then again, I guess incurring more debt is better than losing your house, am I right? Since massive debt has become a concept that's even more commercialized than McDonalds (don't you love them McMuffins?)    

Atty General Schneiderman says,

By Suffolk County Bankruptcy Lawyer, the Law Offices of Allison B. Crain & Associates 

Regional Spotlight—New York ranks third in the nation in the number of homeowners delinquent on their mortgages or in foreclosure, the Mortgage Bankers Association recently reported. In 2013, the number of foreclosures reached a three-year high in the state. Experts speculate that the number of high foreclosures is partially due to a still-sluggish local economy. While the unemployment rate is lower than it has been since the end of the Great Recession, many jobs are lower-paying and the unemployment rate is still higher than it was before 2008.

Delays in processing foreclosures

Should you miss work to attend a foreclosure settlement conference? When you’re facing foreclosure in New York, it seems to consume your entire world. When you’re at home you’re thinking about how to save your home. When you’re at work you think about the same thing. Yes, and when you’re watching the Knicks beat up on the Lakers, fighting your mortgage lender is still on your mind. However, is a New York foreclosure settlement conference really worth your time?

What is a settlement conference?

In response to the foreclosure crisis in New York and around the country, the state implemented mediation programs to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Its mediation program, or foreclosure settlement conference, you and your lender meet face-to-face to negotiate an agreement. According to the 2009 law, you have to meet the following criteria to participate in a conference:

Some lenders attempted to circumvent New York’s three-year foreclosure process by robo-signing foreclosure documents. Robo-signing involved lenders having employees sign foreclosures they never read and using fake signatures to attest to the validity of the foreclosure. The latest New York foreclosure law, which went into effect in August 2013, requires read foreclosure documents and put away the fake signatures. Now lenders must have attorneys swear that all foreclosure documents are real and accurate. As a foreclosure defense attorney in New York will tell you, the new foreclosure law can help or hurt you. 

No More “Shadow Dockets”

A lender who intends to foreclose on your property must provide you a letter at least 90 days prior to filing a foreclosure complaint in court. In many cases, a lender sends you the letter. However, it doesn’t file the complaint. This leaves you in legal limbo worse than watching a 16-inning baseball game with every player striking out. It’s not that you want the foreclosure process completed so you lose your home. You want to start fighting to save it.

After the complaint is filed, your foreclosure attorney in New York has 30 days to file a response to the complaint. If the complaint isn’t filed, your case ends up on what’s known as a shadow docket of pending foreclosures. It’s not a real court docket. Instead, it refers to your case being in limbo for months or years. As a result:

If you live in New York and have missed more than 3 mortgage payments. You are at serious risk of foreclosure. You have probably heard the news that New York's foreclosures are moving at a snail's pace, but the the fact is: they're speeding up.