Foreclosure Defense and Loan Workouts

At Zaeri & Associates, P.A., we aggressively defend all foreclosure cases. Over the years, we have dedicated an increasingly larger part of our practice to defending homeowners who, due to hardship and financial reasons beyond their control, have been unable to pay their monthly mortgage payments.  

It has been some time since home owners have been dealing with large scale foreclosures. Over the past few years Banks have made some lackluster attempts at offering alternative loan work out options such as deeds in lieu of foreclosure, short sales and modifications. However, except from some limited success, for the most part Banks are not offering proper help to homeowners having trouble with making payments.  This has caused immense anxiety for delinquent homeowners who are facing foreclosure, both due to the prospect of losing their home, and the fact that after foreclosure, they may be liable for the  deficiency on their mortgage. 

As a part of our foreclosure case review, we study the initial loan documents and perform a thorough search of the record to determine whether we can find illegally produces loan documents, mortgage and promissory note, allonges to notes, and other related loan documents. In many cases, we often find irregularities in the loan documents against which we can proceed with legitimate legal defenses. 

Even when there are no problems with the loan documents, we often find issues with the foreclosure lawsuit, which give us the opportunity to file for dismissal of the case. Meanwhile, we work with our clients to find foreclosure alternatives such as short sales, loan modifications under the HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) and HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative) programs, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, cash for keys, and other work out options. 

The basic premise of a foreclosure lawsuit is that the lender has the original promissory note in its possession and is entitled to enforce it. If a lender Bank fails to provide adequate evidence of ownership and possession of a promissory note, it is likely that the presiding judge will not enter foreclosure against the property owner. There have been some cases in the past few years (although few and far in between) where no Bank can prove ownership of the promissory note, which leads to the homeowner walking away with a free home. Therefore, it is always important to look into the Bank's ownership status of a loan when a lawsuit is filed against you.  

If you have been served with a foreclosure lawsuit, it is imperative that you seek immediate legal counsel. Most lawsuits require you to file a response within 20 days of receipt, failing which may result in the prompt foreclosure of your property.

Some common defenses that we on behalf of clients in include:

Bank's failure to provide proper servicing transfer documents to borrowers.

• Bank's failure to follow the strict requirements of  Section 702.015, Florida Statutes.
• Bank's failure to follow requirements of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
• Failure to provide notice of acceleration of the mortgage  prior to filing suit.
• Bank's failure to contemporaneously certify possession of the promissory note.
• Bank's failure to show entitlement to enforce the note and mortgage pursuant to Section 673, Florida Statutes.  
• Bank's failure to provide proper face to face counseling prior to filing suit in certain circumstances. 
• Bank's failure to serve the foreclosure lawsuit in the manner dictated  by Florida Law and Section 48, Florida Statutes. 
• Bank's failure to sue within the 5 year statute of limitations. 
• Bank's lack of standing to file suit when suit was filed. 

The above list of defenses is not exclusive. There are many other potential defenses that can be raised in each case, which we may discover after a thorough review of your case.

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