short sale lawyer: FLORIDA FORECLOSURE FRAUD BILL - UPDATE
- 09/13/08 03:17 PM
Government can react positively when enough people raise their voice - and the law is clearly against public policy. This post updates my article on the Florida Foreclosure Fraud Bill. The Florida Foreclosure Fraud Bill, which I reported was written in such a way that borrowers could be barred from access to legal representation has been corrected - but not by the legislature. The attorney general has certain interpretative powers and expressed them in a letter to John White, President of the Florida Bar in early January. This clarifies an important aspect of the regulation of "foreclosure rescue" firms proliferating our landscape. … (6 comments)
short sale lawyer: A-T-T-O-R-N-E-Y Spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E in Short Sale
- 05/03/08 03:11 PM
Sad Facts about Attorney Misconduct in a Short Sale Being an attorney carries a heavy burden when representing a client. Watch any case for attorney misconduct that goes to a criminal trial and you will see the attorney usually get the most severe penalty. This is because the attorney is held to a certain reverence of trust amongst the public. An abuse of this trust is a serious offense to the sanctity of the concept of having an attorney represent his client's interest to the best of his ability and without being guided by any personal agenda. A case this week concerning a … (19 comments)
short sale lawyer: FLORIDA FORECLOSURE FRAUD BILL - MY LETTER TO GOV. CRIST
- 05/02/08 12:35 AM
See UPDATE to this blog and how it was resolved - at FLORIDA FORECLOSURE FRAUD BILL - UPDATE Governor Crist - House Bill 643 is a much needed bill and frankly, it does not go far enough to address the fraud and unfair advantages taken by predators. I see this type of work daily in my law practice - and I am assisting one Bar complaint now against an attorney who is not revealing they are participating in Short Sale flip profits of their clients' property. The problem is with the catch all definition of "Foreclosure Rescue Consultant". My law practice … (25 comments)
short sale lawyer: CALLING ALL ETHICAL LOAN OFFICERS - HELLO? ANYONE THERE?
- 04/09/08 02:23 PM
Calling All Ethical Loan Officers - Hello? Anyone There? Every day I field questions about short sales, foreclosures and real estate investing. I represent developers, lenders, buyers, sellers, the sharks and the lambs. All have different work for me and all need different solutions. Today a call came in that was as they call it - "Over The Top"! It compels this article on loan officers and how some continue to intentionally contribute to the financial credit mess our industry is experiencing. The names are fictitious but the scenario unfortunately is something I have heard often. Here is how it went. Mr. Smith called … (8 comments)
short sale lawyer: CREDIT REPORTING AND SHORT SALES / FORECLOSURES - REVISITED
- 04/03/08 02:17 AM
I received an email on my quest to find the real answers to the incessant question of how a foreclosure vs. short sale vs. deed in lieu all affect the credit report of the borrower. The email I recieved was from the President of a Florida credit counseling service and it was a response to my request that he review the previoius blog posting on How Does a Short Sale Affect Credit Scores. Here is the crux of what he said: What you stated in your blog and the question that you posed seems right on target. What we have found in counseling, educating … (11 comments)
short sale lawyer: 1099 REPORTING - IT'S THE LAW! - OR IS IT???
- 03/28/08 03:07 PM
1099 SHORT SALE REPORTING - IT'S THE LAW! - OR IS IT??? Since I have developed my SHORT SALE law practice I have a lot of clients that are in foreclosure or close to it. They all ask me about 1099 reporting and if the bank can forgive the debt and not issue a 1099. Lots of blogs say that plenty of banks don't issue 1099's on forgiven debt. Others say that the law is that if the lender does not report, it is in trouble with the law. The General Instructions from the IRS applies penalties for not filing informational … (44 comments)
short sale lawyer: Six Months To Bottom?
- 03/28/08 04:33 AM
See this new article on when and what of the South Florida real estate market dropping to the basement. Things are definitely following the normal 8 to 11 year cycle of peaks or valleys (the cycle is peak to peak or valley to valley - depending on where you are at any particular time). We still have quite a way to go. Foreclosures are supposed to pick up even more next year as the real fallout accelerates, but then it should (I think) decelerate quite quickly. What do you think? Richard Zaretsky, Esq., RICHARD P. ZARETSKY P.A. ATTORNEYS AT LAW, 1655 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD, … (7 comments)
short sale lawyer: SHORT SALE FLIP - QUESTIONABLE METHODS
- 03/18/08 02:11 PM
SHORT SALE FLIP - QUESTIONABLE METHODS This article is a follow up to an issue discussed in December titled Short Sales and Title Insurance - Critical Look at Hybrid Closing Schemes. I am representing an ultimate buyer on a short sale "flip" that raised some eyebrows and got me to looking carefully on how it is put together. The ultimate buyer came to me to assist in legal representation and I was very surprised on how it was structured to the utter disadvantage to the ultimate buyer. In this example, the ultimate buyer is my client; the seller is the flipping … (50 comments)
short sale lawyer: SALES FIGURES FOR JANUARY IN SOUTH FLORIDA - DOWN DOWN DOWN
- 02/25/08 01:47 PM
Today's South Florida Business Journal published an article today showing the across the board declines in sales activity in the South Florida and near South Florida geographic area. One bright spot - for what it is worth - is an increase in prices for condo sales in Miami. Presently I can find no published data on the volume of short sales or pre-foreclosure sales and that information is, to my knowledge, not available since each lender keeps its own data and most of the information would not correlate to public record or courthouse filings. Has the bottom of the market been reached? Apparently not yet, … (1 comments)
short sale lawyer: FORM RELEASED BY IRS FOR DEBT RELIEF ACT FILING
- 02/21/08 05:49 PM
New IRS Form for Filing for Debt Relief The form for filing for tax relief under the Mortgage Forgeiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 has been released and is available online. Click HERE for the form. Information about the relief available - which is available only to primary residences that incurred the tax event - was set forth in my article. Consult your tax professional when filing this form! Richard Zaretsky, Esq., RICHARD P. ZARETSKY P.A. ATTORNEYS AT LAW, 1655 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD, SUITE 900, WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33401, PHONE 561 689 6660 RPZ99@FLORIDA-COUNSEL.COM - FLORIDA BAR BOARD CERTIFIED IN REAL ESTATE … (3 comments)
short sale lawyer: No-Conflict Considerations in Short Sale Fees
- 02/17/08 02:53 AM
No-Conflict Considerations in Short Sale Fees As short sales and pre-foreclosure assistance servicers proliferate, the type, style and amount of fees that these individuals and companies charge has become ingenious and varied. This article discusses the rights and wrongs regarding the most popular of the charging methods. A short sale and pre-foreclosure servicer for our definitional purposes will be called the Short Sale Servicer. The services offered usually include some mixture of collecting financial information from the "financially stricken borrower", getting current valuations on the mortgaged property, finding a realtor or working with a realtor to find a buyer, and finally … (18 comments)
short sale lawyer: TOO MUCH MONEY IN THE BANK TO DO A SHORT SALE? - ECONOMIC LOGIC
- 02/09/08 04:31 AM
This week I spoke with several people that wanted to do a short sale of investment property that is upside down in value. They are sick and tired of the short fall on rental income (if they are lucky to have a renter that actually pays rent) vs the mortgage payment, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. The "short sale" phenomenon is giving some upside down investors the belief that they can get out of the mortgage by getting the property sold for less than the mortgage indebtedness and the bank will share in that loss. I have spoken in the past about … (40 comments)
short sale lawyer: TOO RICH TO DO A SHORT SALE? - ECONOMIC LOGIC APPLIES
- 02/09/08 04:28 AM
This week I spoke with several people that wanted to do a short sale of investment property that is upside down in value. They are sick and tired of the short fall on rental income (if they are lucky to have a renter that actually pays rent) vs the mortgage payment, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. The "short sale" phenomenon is giving some upside down investors the belief that they can get out of the mortgage by getting the property sold for less than the mortgage indebtedness and the bank will share in that loss. I have spoken in the past about the theory … (6 comments)
short sale lawyer: Who Says Owner Doesn't Have Time To Do a Short Sale?
- 01/27/08 06:37 AM
Some writers to my blogs have commented that "they don't have time to do a short sale". The reasons they think they don't have time can vary - usually it is because they are already in a mortgage foreclosure, and some said that they are leaving the area to a new life in some other state or even some other country. Timing on a short sale is important, but it is only too late for a short sale when the foreclosure sale at the courthouse steps has already occurred. Judgments of foreclosure result in a foreclosure sale - but unless the property … (11 comments)
short sale lawyer: Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007- Another Look
- 01/01/08 04:14 AM
I have been getting a lot of calls and emails about the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. The new law became effective today, and applies to 1099's on short sales or foreclosures retroactive to January 1, 2007. Before the Act was passed, one of the rewards for a homeowner helping the lender keep the home out of foreclosure and minimizing the enevitable monetary loss to the lender, was that the homeowner at the end of the process was saddled with a huge income tax bill compliments of a Form 1099 unearned income statement. For detailed information and the text of the … (7 comments)
short sale lawyer: Underwater - The Cycle Repeats Itself
- 12/02/07 03:11 AM
I cannot be surprised at the stories in the newspapers about homeowners, investors and even commercial property owners being "Underwater" with today's depressed real estate market values. Many people that own real estate today were just pre-teens when the last deep cycle occurred. Or if they are older, they were not in the real estate market at that previous time. People come to me every day about short sales and the "bad deal" they got themselves into because the mortgage is greater than the current value - thus they are "underwater". Usually they want some way out since they don't want the … (2 comments)
short sale lawyer: Short Sales and Title Insurance - Critical Look at Hybrid Closing Schemes
- 11/27/07 07:46 AM
Recently I have seen various schemes for streamlining the short sale process for the buyer/investor. Some discussions have been somewhat heated and involved concepts like dual contracts or even insolvent borrower creating a Land Trust for use by the investor/buyer. At best, the agreement amongst the blog commentors has been to agree to disagree. First American Title Insurance Company, one of the nation's largest title insurers, distributed a comprehensive instruction memorandum to its title agents in late September and again re-distributed it today (in South Florida). I have received permission to re-print it in this blog. If First American's memorandum can … (6 comments)
short sale lawyer: WHO CONTROLS THE SHORT SALE?
- 11/13/07 01:59 PM
WHO CONTROLS THE SHORT SALE? Who Controls the Short Sale? In this environment of the short sale it seems apparent that the bank controls the sale. Some might say the buyer controls the sale. My opinion is that both statements are primarily incorrect. The seller owns the house. The seller must sign the contract. The seller must sign the deed. Of course, if the seller can't sell and the bank forecloses, then the bank will likely have the REO and the sale is now with them - as the new owner. The issue is that the bank is the "reluctant" owner. … (3 comments)
short sale lawyer: Who Controls the Short Sale?
- 11/11/07 11:38 AM
In this environment of the short sale it seems apparent that the bank controls the sale. Some might say the buyer controls the sale. My opinion is that both statements are primarily incorrect. The seller owns the house. The seller must sign the contract. The seller must sign the deed. Of course, if the seller can't sell and the bank forecloses, then the bank will likely have the REO and the sale is now with them - as the new owner. The issue is that the bank is the "reluctant" owner. The bank has already determined (by working with the seller … (7 comments)
short sale lawyer: Beware the White Knight!
- 11/04/07 12:44 AM
Beware the WHITE KNIGHT - R. Ford McDonald, Senior Claims Counsel at Attorneys Title Insurance Fund, wrote an article on this subject recently and I would like to share some of the tidbits from it. Apparently there are lots of "White Knight Claims" being made against title insurance policies. Here are some of the fact patterns: 1. Fraud in the Inducement: A homeowner who is in financial distress for non-payment of the mortgage or taxes or whatever, is contacted by a company that promises to "save you from foreclosure" or whatever. They promise the homeowner that they will help them … (6 comments)
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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Government can react positively when enough people raise their voice - and the law is clearly against public policy. This post updates my article on the Florida Foreclosure Fraud Bill.
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