short sale attorney: QUIET TITLE MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE DEFENSE MERITLESS IN FLORIDA - 01/13/13 10:22 AM
In an expected move by Florida courts, the scheme of filing a quiet title action to eliminate a lender’s claim of a lien through its mortgage has been deemed “meritless”.  The situation revolves around Fidelity Land Trust and Sunshine State Land Trust, both companies that received deeds from hopeful homeowners that paid the companies to “eliminate” their mortgages. 
The Palm Beach Post reported that the concept was based on the Trust not having notice of the unrecorded mortgage transfer (assignment), and therefore not being subject to the mortgage.  Not reported was the underlying concept about which I wrote in QUIET … (15 comments)

short sale attorney: A SHORT SALE ADDENDUM FORM THAT WORKS - FINALLY - 10/07/12 01:12 PM
The short sale addendum is evolving again - this time the Florida Association of Realtors has done an excellent job of fixing the shortfalls of their previous two versions that were harshly criticized by me when they were published.  Key elements of the "fix" that came out in September 2012 include allowing a choice of when the property inspection period is to occur and finally recognizing that a mortgage release alone is not necessarily a waiver of a deficiency of the promissory note.
My criticisms and copies of the previous two versions of the FAR short sale addendum forms are contained in these … (4 comments)

short sale attorney: REAL ESTATE AGENTS BECOMING PAWN IN SCAM ON ATTORNEY TRUST ACCOUNTS - 08/17/12 09:29 AM
Real Estate Agents and Brokers should be aware of a scam in which they are being unknowingly recruited. It involves fake cashier’s checks from what seems like a qualified buyer and an easy and fat commission check. The buyer finds the real estate agent for the purchase of a home and is asked to refer the financially qualified buyer to an attorney whom the real estate agent recommends for the purpose of purchase of a home.
The qualified buyer is using the name(s) of real people, mostly in the United Kingdom. Two of the recent names being used are Dr. Timothy Perrin, … (13 comments)

short sale attorney: FANNIE AND FREDDIE REO TRANSFER TAX EXEMPTION IS ILLUSORY - 06/24/12 07:50 AM
When the Hernando County Clerk of Court decided to sue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this past week, it made me think “it’s about time”.  One basis for the suit is that Fannie and Freddie enjoy an exemption from paying the documentary stamp tax on transfers of REO real estate, but that exemption is illusory. Many Realtors know there is another simple loophole that affects buyers of these entities’ REO properties, and that is the real estate contract itself.
BASIS FOR THE EXEMPTION
The exemption used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac involves Florida Statute section 201 on the State side (and … (7 comments)

short sale attorney: STAYING AT THE TOP OF THE PILE IN A CHANGING ECONOMY - 03/22/12 02:42 PM
I was honored this week by being the Featured Member of Attorneys Title Insurance Fund – known in Florida as THE FUND, one of the premier title underwriters in Florida, in their first monthly MEMBER SPOTLIGHT.  The initial part of the article is accessible at www.thefund.com.  The full article is reproduced below.  The crux of the article is that being a real estate attorney and staying a real estate attorney has been very challenging since late 2007, and like real estate agents, rediscovering oneself and understanding and reacting to the needs of your community of potential and existing customers / clients, … (3 comments)

short sale attorney: SHORT SALE STANDARDIZATION INCLUDED IN FORECLOSURE SETTLEMENT - 02/10/12 08:48 AM
 
Somewhat buried in the Attorneys General Foreclosure Settlement announced February 9th is a part on simplifying the short sale process. Some of the requirements are already used by some lenders, but standardization and disclosure of the procedures is a new concept.
 
The "rule" which is found by fishing around www.nationalforeclosuresettlement.com, says:
 
Banks/servicers shall make information publicly available on short sale requirements.
 
Banks/servicers shall develop a short sale process that allows homeowners to obtain a short sale evaluation before putting the home on the market.
 
Banks/servicers shall confirm in writing that a request for short … (3 comments)

short sale attorney: TAX RELIEF FOR SHORT SALES EXPIRES IN 356 DAYS - 01/12/12 07:33 AM
The clock is ticking until the expiration of the 2007 Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act expires on the last day of December this year.  Previously set to expire earlier, Congress extended the expiration date to end in effective January 1, 2013.  Will it be extended again?  Is it necessary?
 
The extension should be extended again – but that is up to Congress.  The effect of the Act is to allow the income that is created when a mortgage is reduced in principal to be exempted from ordinary income.  That saves significant amounts of money for the borrower.
 
As an example, … (6 comments)

short sale attorney: HERE IT IS - THE FIXED FREDDIE MAC SHORT SALE AFFIDAVIT - 01/11/12 11:18 PM
Here it is! The 2012 version of the much despised short sale addendum from Freddie Mac!  As reported in several preceding articles, thanks to the American Land Title Association and others, the "sting" of being liable for any other party's misdeeds in a short sale transaction has been more or less alleviated.
Strangely, it is still called an addendum, not an affidavit, and refers to an affidavit, which in fact is the addendum. Go figure......
The new form has a new paragraph 14 along with other subtle changes, but the end effect is that it is clear that you know what … (8 comments)

short sale attorney: FREDDIE MAC SHORT SALE AFFIDAVIT CHANGES TAKE EFFECT? - 01/03/12 09:31 PM
January 1, 2012 has come and gone and yet Freddie Mac servicers are still using the obsolete and highly objectionable Short Sale Affidavit.  I have been keeping Active Rain readers up to date on developments regarding the infamous Short Sale Affidavit – see SHORT SALE ARMS LENGTH AFFIDAVIT MAJOR REVISION NEGOTIATED TODAY, and STAND-OFF WITH FREDDIE MAC OVER SHORT SALE ADDENDUM - ALTA GETS INVOLVED, and Freddie Mac Short Sale Addendum - Item #13 - I DON'T THINK SO!!
Today I received an email from Bank of America demanding that the attached documents be signed WITHOUT ANY CHANGES.  The problem is that the … (5 comments)

short sale attorney: SHORT SALE ARMS LENGTH AFFIDAVIT MAJOR REVISION NEGOTIATED TODAY - 11/18/11 10:37 PM
Today there was an important resolution to the Freddie Mac short sale affidavit that practically every bank has adopted regardless of the loan being Freddie Mac or not. As written in my previous articles (Freddie Mac Short Sale Addendum - Item #13 - I DON'T THINK SO!! and STAND-OFF WITH FREDDIE MAC OVER SHORT SALE ADDENDUM - ALTA GETS INVOLVED), in response to a crackdown on fraud in flipping, renting, straw buyers, and inter-family transfers, the lenders sought EVERYONE, including the title agents, short sale facilitators and real estate agents on both sides of the transaction, to totally indemnify the shorted … (7 comments)

short sale attorney: SHORT SALE RESCUE FRAUD ON DESPERATE HOMEOWNERS - 11/09/11 07:53 AM
I don’t know where to start, this story is so typical of ripping off desperate homeowners thanks to many “get rich through short sales” seminars and those practicing what they were preached.  In this case, congratulations to the fraudster – he pocketed $60,000 with no investment! – But now he has a real risk of going to jail.
Mrs. Smith, a Haitian that speaks little English, was current with her mortgage but having problems making ends meet.  The mortgage amount was greater than the value of the home (the home was upside down) and after hearing and reading about mortgage modification … (45 comments)

short sale attorney: MORTGAGE INSURANCE SUBROGATION AND WHY IT DRIVES THE SHORT SALE DEAL - 11/01/11 07:43 AM
Mortgage Insurance has become a problem when negotiating a short sale. What seems like a straight forward negotiation becomes one of hard fought demands to reach a viable solution. The reason is the existence of mortgage insurance on the mortgage loan. Now many borrowers hear that the lender's mortgage insurance company is making demands upon the borrower in a short sale and wonder why there is mortgage insurance? Lenders always required mortgage insurance if the loan being made was greater than 80% of the value of the home when the loan was made. It was typically called PMI.
However, lenders were … (7 comments)

short sale attorney: STAND-OFF WITH FREDDIE MAC OVER SHORT SALE ADDENDUM - ALTA GETS INVOLVED - 09/14/11 04:38 PM
PRESENTING THE SHORT SALE ADDENDUM YOU CAN'T SIGN!   Agents hold on to your wallets as this could cost you big time!  This is just too big and important to let one blog article suffice.  And developments on this are occurring quickly.  The problem was pointed out in my re-blog Freddie Mac Short Sale Addendum - Item #13 - I DON'T THINK SO!!  on September 9, 2011.
  
On September 3rd there was a telephone conference call between ALTA (American Land Title Association) staff in Washington, DC and Freddie Mac’s Short Sale team to specifically discuss the addendum reproduced in Freddie Mac Short Sale … (10 comments)

short sale attorney: I HAVE TO STOP PAYING MY MORTGAGE TO GET THE LENDER TO TALK TO ME - 08/24/11 09:00 AM
 
 
Would you jump out of an airplane being told by a stranger that you had a parachute but with you not really knowing you had a parachute?  I should have a nickel for each time a person tells me they stopped paying their mortgage so their lender would speak to them.  If you are trying to do a short sale, loan modification or deed in lieu of foreclosure, whether or not to stop paying your mortgage is the certainly the first question asked.
 
IF YOU HEAR IT ENOUGH TIMES IT MUST BE TRUE…..
 
Common talk on the street … (27 comments)

short sale attorney: SHORT SALE - REVERSE MORTGAGE SOLUTION TURNED INTO FRAUD - 07/07/11 08:02 AM
There are sometimes opportunities where a homeowner qualified for a reverse mortgage is having problems meeting the day to day expenses of life, resulting in financial hardship.  Often this results in the homeowner scrimping on drugs, or food, just to pay the mortgage and electricity.  A reverse mortgage can be a very viable solution to those with equity in the home. 
The equity can be realized in several ways - the valuation of the property may be sufficient to show equity over existing mortgages, or perhaps the home is in foreclosure and the lender will agree to a short payoff and … (11 comments)

short sale attorney: SOLUTION DESCRIBED - AGENT 100% LIABLE FOR 30% PAYMENT TO IRS BY COLLECTING RENTS FOR A FOREIGN OWNER - 07/04/11 07:23 PM
This is a follow-up article to my post AGENT 100% LIABLE BY COLLECTING RENTS FOR A FOREIGN OWNER TO PAY 30% TO THE IRS here on Activerain. Several readers (and clients) requested information on how to continue to properly represent foreign person owners of USA properties that receive rental income, and NOT be liable for the 30% mandatory withholding requirement of the IRS. Indeed the answer is to obtain and retain a CERTIFICATE OF FOREIGN ORGANIZATION FOR US TAX WITHHOLDING - also known as IRS Form W-8ECI.  
In order to avoid the requirement that 30% of the GROSS income from the rental of a … (7 comments)

short sale attorney: AGENT 100% LIABLE BY COLLECTING RENTS FOR A FOREIGN OWNER TO PAY 30% TO THE IRS - 06/18/11 10:15 AM
 As a realtor, do you manage any rental properties where the owner is a foreign person?  If you do, are you collecting from the GROSS receipts 30% and sending that money to the IRS?  If you aren't, you very well may be PERSONALLY and PRIMARILY liable to the IRS for that money, and there is almost no statute of limitations!.  I wrote about this in an extensive article in December 2008 (FIRPTA and SHORT SALES - DANGEROUS LIABILITY TO BUYER AND CLOSING AGENT), but now the IRS is reminding real estate agents and property managers of their massive liability for their … (34 comments)

short sale attorney: COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION AS LANDLORD - WHO GETS THE RENT? - 06/01/11 11:41 PM
Can a community association declare itself the "landlord" of a rented unit or home if it is not getting paid its assessments?  In Florida it can and it may keep 100% of the rents to apply against all the delinquent assessments on that unit /home.  This is a clarification of the prior 2010 law that opened up a statutory method for associations to stop providing services to delinquent owners when the owner is collecting rent yet not paying the association.

July 1st Effective Date:
The 2011 Legislature passed HB 1195 in May (which will go into effect on July 1st … (13 comments)

short sale attorney: SHORT SALE OPPORTUNITIES LOST - THE PROCRASTINATING CLIENT - 05/14/11 11:40 AM
Short sale sellers and owners seeking a loan modification need legal representation sooner rather than later in the process.  I have used the example of the sand filled hour glass, with each grain of sand being an opportunity for financial planning, tax planning, strategy creation and fulfillment, and a solution to the financial distress of the seller.  As time goes on, the sand drops to the bottom, and is lost forever.  Often people come to see me with all the sand gone - and I just cannot help them - it's too late.
GET A REAL ESTATE AGENT!
With very few … (4 comments)

short sale attorney: FREE ATTORNEY REPRESENTATION IN SHORT SALE OR LOAN MODIFICATION - 05/13/11 08:20 AM
I still see real estate brokers and even some title companies and "case workers" advertising that if you use THEM, they will supply for free an attorney to represent YOU for your short sale or loan modification.  I wrote about this issue once before (see No-Conflict Considerations in Short Sale Fees), but today I got an email from a real estate broker involved with a short sale we are handling and when looking at his website I saw the statement, "You get FREE attorney services with us! Not all companies that do short sales for clients provide this."
FREE WORK ?  HARDLY
… (26 comments)

 
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Richard Zaretsky, Florida Real Estate Attorney

West Palm Beach, FL

More about me…

Richard P. Zaretsky P.A. - Board Certified Real Estate Atty

Address: 1655 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd, Suite 900, West Palm Beach, Fl, 33401

Office Phone: (561) 689-6660 x 107

Cell Phone: (561) 329-2279

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Legal true life experiences, general observations and commentaries for Realtors, Lawyers and Mortgage Brokers - also see our Palm Beach County Short Sales group blog.
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