Wrongful Foreclosure – Bank Fraud
Failure to Grant Loan Modifications
1.Wrongful Foreclosure
Homeowners who are losing their property or who have already lost their home to a bank foreclosure may be able to receive compensation, or negotiate a deficiency judgment waiver, as a result of mortgage lenders faulty Court documents. The Attorneys’ General settlement with the countries largest banks including, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and GMAC has exposed the banks’ fraudulent practices during the foreclosure process. Additionally, because of these faulty Affidavits and other defects, foreclosure defense attorneys are, in certain limited circumstances, asking the Courts to set aside wrongful foreclosure judgments and, in some instances, the bank’s ownership after the foreclosure sale has occurred.
We handle wrongful and fraudulent foreclosure cases brought by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup (CitiMortgage or CitiFinancial), U.S. Bank National Association, Deutsche Bank, One West Bank (Indymac Bank), Ocwen, PHH Mortgage, LaSalle Bank, BankUnited, SunTrust Bank, HSBC Finance, First Franklin, Option One, Fremont Investment & Loan as well as other mortgage lenders.
To understand why this is happening is to know that an essential element of a foreclosure case is the filing of an affidavit, among other documents, by the bank in which an individual swears that they have personal knowledge of a file, including how much the homeowner owes the bank. What has happened to cause the banks to enter into a landmark settlement, is that the affidavits they have filed contained information that was not truly verified by the individual swearing that the information was true and accurate. The banks have admitted to filing affidavits signed by people who really knew very little about the information in the affidavit. Because the Courts relied on this information to grant ownership to the banks, homeowners may have a legal claim that the banks have unlawfully taken their property, entitling the homeowner to receive compensation from the settlement fund or maybe even setting aside the foreclosure judgment and/or sale.
Read:
HAMP Lawsuits – Loan Modification Lawsuit: Borrowers Sue Banks for Failing to Do the Right Thing With Trial Period Plan Loan Modifications – Lenders Fail To Follow HAMP Requirements or Honor deals they offer Borrowers
Florida Mortgage Loan Modifications Denials and Modification Appeals: Submission and Re-Submitting of Loan Documents To Get Your Deal Done
Florida Bank Reject Your Loan Modification? It Seems to be Happening to Lots of South Florida Homeowners: What’s Up? Home Owners Are Suing Banks for Failed Modifications
Also Read: Setting Aside a Foreclosure Judgment
2. Failed Loan Modification – Lawsuit Against Banks
Another pattern that seems to be emerging across the country involves Florida banks like Wells Fargo entering into loan modification agreements where the borrower / home owner agrees to pay a lower mortgage payment for a set time period and, if the borrower makes all of those temporary payments, then the bank agrees to modify the mortgage home loan permanently instead of foreclosing on the property.
However, what seems to be happening is that the banks are taking the money in the trial period, and then refusing to do the permanent mortgage modification. Instead, they are choosing to move forward with the foreclosure. It’s like the modification agreement never existed (except that the bank received more mortgage payments during those months of the trial period) or the banks just didn’t want to grant a modification. This behavior by the banks and loan services is troubling because it violates their own loan servicing guidelines set forth under the government’s Making Home Affordable program.
One loan modification lawsuit has already been filed by a borrower for the bank’s failure to follow the government’s guidelines, which was decided in the borrower’s favor. (Wigod v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA, 673 F. 3d 547 (7th Cir. 2012) ).The bank lost and now Lisa Wigod is pursuing her claims against the mortgage lender for breach of contract and other causes of action under state law.
Another loan modification lawsuit is pending in California (Amira Jackmon, Individually, and On Behalf of Others Similarly Situated v. America’s Servicing Company and Wells Fargo Bank). In that case, the home owner plaintiffs are aggressively seeking punitive damages by arguing that Wells Fargo deliberately made the initial deal without any intention of going through with it.
These cases are two examples of a bank going ahead with foreclosure after agreeing to a mortgage modification deal.While both foreclosure cases involve Wells Fargo, this can obviously apply to other banks, credit unions, savings & loans, and mortgage lenders who agree to different mortgage terms (modify) and then don’t follow through with a permanent change and a new mortgage with new terms in price, mortgage amount, time left to repay, etc.
In these situations, the borrower home owner may have a lawsuit for breach of contract, misrepresentation, or maybe a lawsuit based on intentional conduct (tort) against that bank. Here, the bank failing to do as it promised in changing the mortgage in a loan modification may mean that instead of the bank being in the offensive role of plaintiff seeking foreclosure of someone’s home in a foreclosure lawsuit, the bank takes on the defensive role of defendant in a case where the home owner / borrower is demanding significant money damages from the bank for their bad acts.
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If you are in foreclosure, or know anyone who has lost their home to foreclosure, contact Larry Tolchinsky, a Florida foreclosure attorney, by email, or call him at (954) 458-8655 and he will be happy to answer your questions. He offers a free initial consultation and he promises an attorney from his office will return your call promptly
Our firm offers wrongful and fraudulent foreclosure counseling for clients who own real estate in Hallandale, Hollywood, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Weston, Davie, North Miami Beach, Dania Beach and all other cities in Miami-Dade and Broward County and throughout Florida.
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You may also be interested in:
- Can the Bank Garnish My Wages During a Florida Foreclosure?
- Homeowners Are Not to Blame for the Foreclosure Mess
- Suspected Lender Fraud Opens Doors for Homeowners Who Have Lost Their Homes to Claim Wrongful Foreclosure
- Foreclosure Defenses are stopping Mortgage Foreclosures
- Can the Bank Garnish my Wages after Foreclosure if they are seeking a Deficiency Judgment against me?
- Prime Borrowers in Florida are most at risk for a Deficiency Judgment
- Florida Deficiency Judgments – What is Fair Market Value?
- Walking away from your Home Mortgage – Not without Consequences
- Florida Deficiency Judgments – The Rest of the Story
- Deficiency Judgments in Florida
Also See: The Six Stages of Foreclosure
Read our Latest News Wire: Florida Foreclosure News
Read our Latest Blog: Foreclosure Defense Blog
In The Press:
Larry Tolchinsky contributed to a recent USAToday article regarding deficiency judgments. Read the article here
Larry Tolchinsky contributed to a recent Bloomberg.com article regarding deficiency judgments. Read the article here
Larry Tolchinsky contributed to a recent CNNMoney.com article regarding deficiency judgments. Read the article here
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