florida short sale lawyer: WHAT IF - THE MORTGAGE DEBT RELIEF ACT DOES NOT GET RENEWED? - 03/02/14 01:44 AM
The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 has saved countless taxpayers from devastating IRS tax bills for "forgiven debt" resulting from lenders forgiveness of deficiencies from foreclosures, deeds in lieu of foreclosure and short sales.  But the Act has expired for any transactions that closed (or occurred) beginning January 1, 2014.  So now what can a financially distressed taxpayer do when addressing a foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure or short sale?
Will the Act get a third breath of renewal?
The Act was to have expired December 31, 2012.  In the omnibus tax bill passed in mid January 2013 it … (4 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: REAL ESTATE BROKER SHORT SALE COMMISSIONS EXPLAINED BY BANK OF AMERICA - 12/12/12 11:18 AM
Bank of America last week published parameters of what is and what is not allowed for relationships of the selling agent or buying agent to the selling borrower. 
Short Sale commissions have been a matter of continuous discussion amongst those that have had commissions reduced or short sales denied because of relationships of the brokers or agents to the seller. Arm’s Length Transaction rules are fiercely enforced by lenders and understanding the agent commission rules and how they interact with Arm’s Length Transaction rules is a “must know” and “must understand” part of short sales.
When I said that the … (32 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: NEW PNC SHORT SALE DEFICIENCY AGREEMENT TO PAY FORM - 11/03/12 01:49 AM
PNC has issued a new mandatory form that must be signed if a borrower is doing a short sale.  The Seller/Borrower must sign a statement that says, “I/we agree to remain responsible for the payment of the remaining balance on my/our Account pursuant to the terms of my/our note or line of credit agreement”.
Before you read anything further, please take a moment and go down to the bottom and look at the form.  It is in 3 parts containing 3 separate boxes of statements.  The first box is the SHORT SALE DEFICIENCY AGREEMENT.  I will discuss this later in this blog.
The next (middle) box is the … (26 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: AGENTS PROMOTING DISTRESSED HOMEOWNER SCAMS - 08/11/12 09:07 PM
In 2012 I have been seeing increasing incidents of real estate agents scamming homeowners in distress. Often this is an agent thinking they are doing legitimate work for a fee.  As homeowner distress continues and lenders are still carrying defaulted mortgages on their books with those mortgages either not in foreclosure or forgotten in the courts, scammers seem to be getting into full bloom again. This article will give an overview of Agent involved scams we most often see.  The key is to take in the big picture of any offer made to you or in which you are involved.

A … (30 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: I AM ENTITLED TO A SHORT SALE! - 03/22/12 11:07 PM
Your neighborhood is losing its owners through short sales and you hear stories of your neighbors that had big mortgages but are selling their homes for ridiculously low amounts (so you think) and apparently not having to pay the bank the “deficiency” of the amount still owed on the mortgage.  Often this scenario has the twist that most of the neighborhood had refinanced during the hey-day of the middle of the first decade of this century (that is like 2005 for those that need straight facts…).
HOW DO I "LOOK" TO THE LENDER?
Now you look at it from your personal … (10 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: SHORT SALE STANDARDIZATION INCLUDED IN FORECLOSURE SETTLEMENT - 02/10/12 12:48 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)

florida short sale lawyer: ASSOCIATION ASSESSMENTS AND HOW THEY CAN SURVIVE A FORECLOSURE SALE - 12/13/11 04:05 PM
Buying a mortgage from a lender is becoming more popular.I have had some calls to the office regarding note purchasers having problems with Association's that think they still have a lien on the property after the foreclosure.If you don't buy the mortgage at the right time and using the right method, the Association can be right!
In Florida there are statutes that govern the remaining lien or obligation statutorily available to condominium, homeowner and property owner associations.Associations are statutory provisions to place a lien upon the borrower's property to insure that the association is paid.However, there is also a “safe harbor” … (5 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: WHAT DOES BEING “IN FORECLOSURE” MEAN? - 11/10/11 12:28 AM
The more frustrating interview question I have with potential clients is them telling me if they are in foreclosure because of non-payment of their mortgage.  I have two questions: Are you in foreclosure?; and Have you been served?  Too often I get a NO to the first question and YES to the second question.  The problem with that is if you answer y YES to the second question, the first question has to be YES too.  But probably half of the answers of YES to the second question are accompanied by a NO to the first question!  Real estate agents must … (6 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: MORTGAGE INSURANCE SUBROGATION AND WHY IT DRIVES THE SHORT SALE DEAL - 11/01/11 12:43 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)

florida short sale lawyer: SHORT SALE SUMMIT REVELATIONS BY BANK OF AMERICA - 08/16/11 04:49 PM
Some of my short sale staff and I met with Bank of America in Miami today at their “Short Sale Summit”.  We had a nice small group that met twice this afternoon - and I got to ask and have answered several questions which I think are important to those agents who are working short sales.  

THEY SENT THE BIG GUNS 
First, we definitely had the top end management for this discussion. Bob Hora is the Short Sale, Deed in Lieu, REO, LandSafe Field Services Executive for Legacy Asset Servicing at Bank of America.  He leads a team … (47 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: WHY FLORIDA IS A GREAT STATE FOR DEBTORS AND LOUSY FOR CREDITORS - 08/15/11 01:54 AM
The most popular opinion why people live in or move to live in Florida is the great weather and lifestyle. But realistically, there are other places with nice weather – so what else makes Florida so attractive?  From a lawyer’s perspective the answer is pretty clear: Some call them the "Two Attributes":  (1) Favorable tax laws, no individual income tax, estate tax, gift tax or generation skipping transfer tax; and (2) amazingly debtor friendly asset protection laws.
Some of the benefits listed above are there without the resident taking any affirmative action, however many of the debtor benefits are there only if … (2 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: NEW AND CONFUSING BANK OF AMERICA SHORT SALE "APPROVAL" LANGUAGE - 08/02/11 10:47 AM
Almost 2 weeks ago I received for a client - and received several emails from readers of my blog here on Activerain - a new language short sale approval letter from Bank of America.
I MEAN THIS:
It says:  "Bank of America....... retain the right to pursue collection of any deficiency following the completion of the short sale, ...."  OK, clear enough. BoA retains the right to collect the deficiency notwithstanding them giving a release of the lien of the mortgage or deed of trust.
NO, I MEAN THIS:
It also says, " The difference between the current amount due under … (38 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: BANK OF AMERICA SHORT SALE APPROVAL LETTER CHANGES - 11/13/10 04:52 PM
[ Note - after reading the below article, see updated article at http://activerain.com/blogsview/4194831/bank-of-america-short-sale-approval-letter-new-example ]
You may have been reading about Bank of America short sale approval letters and some changes that have occurred.  The Bank of America Short Sale Approval Letter has had various versions dealing with deficiency of the promissory note.  This article will look at the BoA short sale letter recent changes.
History - Before June 2009
Until June 2009 the typical Bank of America short sale approval letter was not a release of mortgage and a release of liability of the indebtedness (release of the note).  My February 2009 article LENDER … (42 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: FLORIDA REAL ESTATE MARKET CONDITIONS RELEASED TODAY - 01/06/09 10:05 AM
Today one of the state's largest title insurance underwriters release its 2009 Real Estate Forecast and Southeast Florida focus.  To those of us that live here it is no surprise that the numbers are grim. To those outside of Florida the numbers are shocking!  The report, issued by Attorneys Title Insurance Fund, makes several projections and findings.
First, it expects no housing rebound until at least 2010, largely because of declines in population and employment growth.
Existing Palm Beach County single family homes average price peaked in 2006 and will be off 50% in 2009. Broward and Miami-Dade Counties are already … (7 comments)

florida short sale lawyer: BILLIONS (MORE) IN BANK LOSSES - NEEDLESSLY - 09/20/08 10:07 PM
Short Sale Buyers are increasingly investors seeking to buy and flip or buy and rent for positive cash flow.  Missing from the field are homebuyers seeking a place to live.  Why?
Banks Encourage Short Sale Investors and Discourage Retail Buyers
Let's look at the basic premise of a short sale.  The lender generally has a loan in or near foreclosure and likely it is non-performing.  The owner determines that continuing to make the payments has become financially irresponsible or impossible.  The owner also determines that avoidance of a foreclosure by attempting a short sale is the preferable method of disposition of … (5 comments)

 
Richard Zaretsky, Florida Real Estate Attorney (THE ZARETSKY LAW GROUP - Board Certified Real Estate Atty and AUTOMATED LAND TITLE COMPANY)

Richard Zaretsky

Florida Real Estate Attorney

West Palm Beach, FL

More about me…

THE ZARETSKY LAW GROUP - Board Certified Real Estate Atty and AUTOMATED LAND TITLE COMPANY

Address: 1615 Forum Place, Suite 3A, West Palm Beach, Fl, 33401

Office: 5616896660 x 107

Mobile: (561) 329-2279

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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