Foreclosure Defense

Appear at Settlement Conferences or Mediation

In Florida, homeowners can go through a settlement conference or mediation to agree with the lender and you to try and avoid foreclosure. When you hire a foreclosure defense attorney, they will attend these meetings with you or on your behalf. This makes the process less stressful because a Miami foreclosure defense lawyer will act as your advocate and always keep your best interests in mind. However, there’s another benefit to having a foreclosure attorney by your side during these proceedings. A lot of work must be done when you’re going through mediation or a settlement conference, and an attorney will do all of this for you.

Reinstatement may be an option in your case, in which you bring the loan current, or the lender may offer a payoff option. While these options are rarely used because the homeowner does not have the funds, sometimes they can collect the necessary funds. In other cases, a short payoff is possible in which you do not pay the total amount due but still produce a lump settlement amount. Regardless of the settlement options available, a foreclosure attorney will enter into negotiations to give you the best chance of using one of these options.

Use Effective Foreclosure Defense Strategies

Florida foreclosure defense attorneys have the necessary skills and experience to use foreclosure defense strategies effectively. If the lender or servicer is unwilling to negotiate with you to reach an agreement to help you keep your home, your case may go to trial. This is a scary prospect, and many homeowners think that when their case gets this far, it is too late, and there is nothing they can do to keep a home. This is also not true.

For example, a foreclosure defense attorney will recognize when the lender lacks standing to foreclose due to a wrong mortgage assignment. Standing means the person filing the foreclosure lawsuit has something to lose when you do not pay the loan. It is easy to assume that lenders who file a foreclosure lawsuit always have standing, but it’s not always the case. If the lender has sold the loan, which is very common, they no longer have standing and cannot file a foreclosure lawsuit in Florida.

The mortgage assignment may have been unlawful, or you may have been the victim of unfair lending practices. After reviewing your case, a foreclosure defense attorney will recognize unfair lending practices and other missteps on the lender’s part to identify potential issues and use them as a defense to help you keep your home. These are just some of the reasons available in foreclosure lawsuits in Miami and Florida.

Save You from a Deficiency Judgment

If the lender forgives a portion of your debt, but you still have a remaining balance at the end of the process, they could petition the courts for a deficiency judgment. This will hold you responsible for repaying any portion of the debt still owed.

For example, if you’re facing foreclosure in Miami, you may put your house up for a short sale. In this instance, another buyer would purchase your home for less than what you owe on the mortgage. To recover that debt, the lender may pursue a deficiency judgment. This is very difficult for borrowers already in the wrong financial position but have more money added to their total debt.

An experienced foreclosure defense lawyer at The Law Office of Vanessa D. Torres will understand how to avoid these deficiency judgments. In the short sale example, a foreclosure lawyer will include that the lender waives the right to pursue a deficiency judgment in the temporary sale agreement. This will prevent you from having to pay more money at a time when you can’t even afford to keep your home. This will make a massive difference in your foreclosure case.

Assist with a Loan Modification

You may be eligible for a loan modification if you want to keep your home. In this instance, you will negotiate with your lender to change the terms of your mortgage loan. The lender may modify your loan’s length, interest rate, or other terms to make your home loan more affordable and stop foreclosure. However, loan modifications are not always easy to obtain, and you may need to learn how to negotiate to get the best terms. An experienced foreclosure attorney will know this and use that knowledge to bring you the best deal possible.

Offer Good Advice

When you’re facing foreclosure, there are many routes you can take, and you may have many options. Without the experience of handling numerous foreclosure cases, you won’t know what these are, or which one is best for you. A foreclosure defense attorney, however, can and will advise on what is best for your situation.