Few apply for foreclosure assistance money - 04/30/11 06:43 AM
The opportunity to receive up to $12,000 in financial assistance to avoid foreclosure has not been much of a success in Florida.
Florida is one of five states hit hardest by the foreclosure epidemic. Notwithstanding attorney general investigations into alleged foreclosure mills, the demise of attorney David J. Stern and the temporary slowdown of foreclosure filings, there are still thousands of Floridians in danger of losing their home.
Designed to assist approximately 40,000 homeowners, only 9,439 applications were submitted in the first week of the state's Florida Hardest-Hit Fund $1 billion mortgage-assistance program. This is a comparatively low turnout compared with … (2 comments)

Reyes Law Group hosts free foreclosure defense seminar - 04/28/11 01:33 PM
Step Up Florida, a community outreach program presented by the Reyes Law Group, invites you to their first foreclosure defense seminar on May 1st at the Renaissance Hotel in Plantation.  The Seminar will be held in English from 11am to 2pm and in Spanish from 3pm to 6pm. 
Renowned Foreclosure Defense Attorney Carlos Reyes will be the keynote speaker educating the community on their rights as homeowners. 
"With the state of the economy, the unemployment situation, and of course the housing crisis, I have decided to dedicate my time and efforts to helping our friends and neighbors stay in their homes," … (1 comments)

Strategic default and the FICO credit score - 04/24/11 06:30 AM
One of the major distinguishing factors between a strategic default and any other mortgage default is that a strategic default is a deliberate business decision. The homeowner has the ability to make payments but simply decides not to because the property value is less than the balance owed on the mortgage.
These defaults take lenders by surprise as borrowers often have excellent credit histories and meet all of their other financial obligations.
Considered a viable strategy for managing troubled assets in an era of record foreclosures, high unemployment and government bail-outs, millions of Americans are considering strategic default or strategic foreclosure. … (0 comments)

Mortgage foreclosure mill sued in alleged kick-back scheme - 04/23/11 08:52 PM
The alleged splitting of attorney fees between foreclosure mills and third-party mortgage servicing providers is the subject of yet another lawsuit brought by Alabama-based attorney, Nick Wooten. The latest case involves plaintiff, Susan Marie Harris of Pensacola, against Lender Processing Services, its subsidiary LPS Default Solutions Inc., and the Ben-Ezra & Katz law firm of Fort Lauderdale.
According to the lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Florida - Pensacola Division, LPS would use its close relationship with mortgage servicers to refer foreclosure processing business to certain law firms. Those firms, including Ben-Ezra & Katz, would pay LPS a referral fee, … (2 comments)

Plantation attorney acquitted in “Operation Stolen Dreams” - 04/21/11 09:51 PM
Plantation attorney Eve Rosen, 55, was acquitted earlier today in a Miami federal courtroom of 13 counts of bank fraud, after a jury found she did not knowingly participate in a mortgage loan scam that cost three banks $7.9 million.
From straw buyers to industry insiders, over 1,200 people have been arrested nationwide as part of "Operation Stolen Dreams," a mortgage fraud initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice reflecting the coordinated efforts of law enforcement in addressing the growing problem of crime within the mortgage industry. 
Rosen was implicated in a scheme in which developer Jeffrey Phillips recruited South Florida … (0 comments)

A Slap on the Wrist for Mortgage Servicers - 04/15/11 02:26 PM
While negotiations continue between mortgage servicers and the Multistate Mortgage Foreclosure Group, enforcement action has been taken by the Office of the Comptroller (OCC), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) against 14 U.S. bank and two third-party mortgage servicers.
Amid allegations of unsafe and unsound practices in the processing of foreclosures, enforcement action has been taken against bank servicers: Ally Financial, Aurora Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Citigroup, EverBank, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, MetLife Bank, OneWest Bank, PNC, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust Bank, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo and third-party servicers: Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS), … (0 comments)

Fund to help hardest-hit Floridians - 04/10/11 11:22 AM
Are you unemployed or underemployed and unable to pay your mortgage on time? The Florida Housing Finance Corporation announced last week that Floridians having difficulties making their mortgage can apply for financial assistance from the Hardest-Hit Fund (HHF) beginning next Monday. On April 18 at 9 a.m., the program will become available to troubled homeowners in all 67 Florida counties.
"We're now in the position to offer this financial assistance statewide to the people out there who are desperately struggling to stay in their homes," said Steve Auger, executive director of Florida Housing. "For the homeowners who qualify, this temporary relief … (0 comments)

The Evolving Nation of Facebook - 04/03/11 08:36 AM
With over 600 million members and hundreds joining every hour, if Facebook were a nation, they would be the world's third largest behind only China and India.  At seven years old, Facebook continues to develop an existence within society.
With that said, "change" is once again occurring at the social media utility as Facebook has released a cleaver and convenient way for users to convert non-personal profiles into business pages all without losing the social presence previously established.  A key difference between the two features is the fact that users can "like" a page while they must "friend" a profile.  Facebook … (1 comments)

 
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Jennifer Lewis

Dania Beach, FL

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William E. Lewis, Jr. & Associates

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