Miami Lawyer Blog

Live CLE Seminar

Defending a Foreclosure: Help Families Save Their Homes

January 22, 2013 • Miami, FL

LawReviewCle's Foreclosure Defense in America is an in-depth examination of the tools you will need to build a successful foreclosure defense practice, along with a detailed treatment of the emerging pleading, discovery, trial and appellate strategies you need to achieve results for your clients.

This course offers practical, real world advice on how to find clients, how to successfully manage a profitable caseload and how to employ the new PST negotiation and trial strategies that will help you develop a loyal base of satisfied clients. Whether you are currently representing clients in foreclosure and want to know the strategies and tools that are producing real results in this dynamic and ever-changing area of the law or whether you're looking to expand your practice to include this most rewarding practice area, this course will provide invaluable resources for you.

Credits
Total CLE Credit Hours:

4.0 (includes 1 ethics hour)

Time
1:00 PM - 5:15 PM

Location
Hyatt Regency Coral Gables
50 Alhambra Plaza
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Directions

Tuition
First Registrant: $195
Add Associate/Paralegal: $145

Special: Young Lawyers, with under four (4) years acceptance to the Bar, may use coupon code YL25 to receive a $25 discount when checking out.

Speakers

Attorney Aaron R. Resnick

Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. - Miami, FL

Aaron Resnick, a graduate of Leadership Miami, is a leader in the Miami's legal and cultural arts scene. Mr. Resnick was awarded the "Shining Star" Award by the Arts & Business Council of Miami, Inc. This award each year honors the top Miami business professional supporting the arts and cultural community. Mr. Resnick was the founding chairperson of the Friends of the New World Symphony, and now serves permanently on its Executive Committee. He also sat on the Board of Directors for the Miami Design Preservation League for over 10 years. He has served on the executive committee for numerous young patron groups in South Florida including, but not limited to: Best Buddies of South Florida, Big Brothers Big Sister's Impact Circle, Art Crowd of the Bass Museum, the Green Room Society for the Center for Performing Arts, the Tropees of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, the Jewish Legal Society of Miami, and the MOCA Shakers amongst others. He is a member of the South Beach Athletic Club and an active in local, state and national politics. He is a Regional Board Member of the Maccabi World Union and a member of the Ben Gurion Society of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

Currently, he is a member of the Silver Director's Circle for the Bass Museum, the Leadership's Circle for the Museum of Contemporary Art (Miami), the Maestro's Circle for the Friends of the New World Symphony, and a Supporting Member of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (and a member of the Green Room Society). Mr. Resnick recently founded, with several friends, the Little Lighthouse Foundation, www.littlelighthouse.org, which is a Miami based charity that seeks, identifies and provides support to children and their families with health, educational, and financial challenges.

Professionally, Mr. Resnick is an attorney, who honed his craft at one of Florida's oldest and most prestigious firms, Gunster Yoakley, before starting his own boutique law firm in 2005 with offices now in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. Mr. Resnick is admitted to all of the state and federal courts in Florida and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Resnick's law practice concentrates on business and commercial matters, and sports and entertainment law. He has successfully represented a number of clients in commercial foreclosure matters and has a company that specializes in working with lenders on distressed assets.

His current practice also includes the personal representation of a number of current and former professional athletes in the National Football League, the National Basketball League and Major League Baseball, as well as members of the arts, fashion and entertainment world. Mr. Resnick himself is an avid collector of art, and is in a partnership with a famous celebrity photographer promoting and marketing his photographs, www.artofthenight.com. Mr. Resnick has lectured on art fraud and is in the process of writing a book related to some of the major art fraud cases of the 20th century.

It never ceases to amaze me that while the lenders are settling with the government for billions of dollars admitting their fraudulent foreclosure practices, the State of Florida is again trying to gut its citizens and residents by passing bills that undermine homeowner rights including the right to a fair trial and due process. This is bad news for Florida homeowners. It is shocking and deplorable.

Here is the latest article from Kimberly Miller at the Palm Beach Post:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/real-estate/quickie-foreclosure-bill-on-agenda-again/nTq4S/

A fast-track foreclosure bill meant to hasten the legal process and reduce a mammoth court backlog will again be discussed by Florida lawmakers this year -- the fourth consecutive session in which the issue has been up for legislative debate.

Proponents of the bill, filed by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said the years of deliberation and countless exchanges with stakeholders have refined the proposal, which removes some of the language most resisted by homeowners in earlier versions.

Also, the proposal (HB 87) retains the consumer-friendly provision that reduces the time banks have to recoup money owed on unpaid mortgage debt from five years to one.

But consumer advocates said the 19-page plan still leaves too few protections for homeowners who they fear will have little time to muster a defense under a part of the bill that gives a judge discretion in determining whether a fast-track foreclosure can proceed.

The so-called "show cause" order allows a judge to demand the homeowner prove why a foreclosure judgment shouldn't be issued if a bank's documents are considered properly documented. A hearing must then be scheduled no sooner than 20 days from the show cause order, and no later than within 45 days of the complaint filing.

If the judge doesn't believe the homeowner has a legitimate defense, a foreclosure judgment can be issued immediately.

"It completely wipes out the ability to engage in discovery and get information from the other side," said Lynn Drysdale, an attorney with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. "I laud the representative for trying to address a very difficult problem, but I think that some of the provisions in the bill aren't as protective of the rights of homeowners as they are of banks."

Florida is one of about 20 states that have strict judicial foreclosure proceedings, meaning banks must get a judge's approval before repossessing a home.

The real estate crash and recession have left Florida's 20 circuit courts with 377,272 pending foreclosure cases as of the end of October, and an average foreclosure timeline of 858 days -- more than two years.

While states where judicial foreclosures are less common, such as California, Arizona and Nevada, also suffered from the foreclosure crisis, Florida has the highest percent of home loans still in foreclosure. According to a third quarter report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, 13 percent of Florida mortgages are in foreclosure with another 4 percent 90 days or more late on payments.

"We've got to get through this cycle for the economy to improve," said Pete Dunbar, legislative counsel for the Real Property Probate and Trust Law section of the Florida Bar.

Dunbar worked with Passidomo on her bill. He said it was important for the Bar to ensure homeowners are treated fairly in court and receive due process, but he also believes hastening foreclosures on abandoned properties, those no one is defending or homes where there is no legitimate defense, will boost the economy.

"I would say this bill is improved significantly because ideas that became controversial in last year's bill are not in this one," he said.

One of the issues omitted was language that allowed a bank to declare a home abandoned and then fast-track the foreclosure.

But another concern of foreclosure defense attorneys and homeowners remains in the plan. The proposal would only allow for monetary compensation to homeowners whose property was taken wrongfully if a third-party buyer had already purchased it.

Dunbar said the provision allows for clear title to be issued without the fear that ownership will be challenged. Drysdale said it deprives homeowners of their property rights.

"Even if you show the court that there were mistakes made, you can't get your house back," Drysdale said. "You had to completely uproot your family, you probably lost some of your personal property, and all you get is monetary damages?"

Both sides believe the bill has a better chance of passing this year. During the 2012 legislative session it passed the House in a 94-17 vote. It passed several Senate committees, but stalled before a full vote could occur in that chamber.

"Florida has one of the slowest foreclosure systems in the country," Passidomo said. "We need to protect borrowers' rights, but also efficiently move the process along."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What the bill would do:

Require banks to have all paperwork before filing a foreclosure.

Allow banks to request a fast-track foreclosure from a judge, who can demand a homeowner show why a judgment shouldn't be entered immediately.

Reduce the amount of time a bank has to seek a deficiency judgment against a homeowner from five years to one.

Allow only for monetary compensation to a homeowner whose house was foreclosed on wrongfully but already sold to a third party.

FROM http://www.dsnews.com/articles/ten-banks-reach-85m-deal-with-regulators-in-foreclosure-settlement-2013-01-07

Ten major mortgage servicers reached an agreement with federal regulators to pay more than $8.5 billion over alleged foreclosure abuses, the Federal Reserve announced in a release Monday.

Of the $8.5 billion, $3.3 billion will go toward direct payments to eligible borrowers, and $5.2 billion will be used to assist borrowers in other ways, such as through loan modifications.

The servicers involved in the agreement include Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife Bank, PNC, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.
In April 2011, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Fed, and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) first announced enforcement actions after investigations led to allegations of abusive foreclosure practices.

As part of the consent orders, the servicers were required to hire third-party consultants to conduct a free Independent Foreclosure Review for borrowers who believed they incurred financial harm due to faulty foreclosure practices. The reviews were for foreclosure actions that occurred in 2009 and 2010.

The agreement with the 10 servicers replaces the Independent Foreclosure Review process with a new framework allowing eligible borrowers to receive compensation more quickly.

Under the settlement, eligible borrowers will receive compensation even if they did not request a foreclosure review. Eligible borrowers should receive anywhere from hundreds of dollars to $125,000, depending on the individual's situation.

According to the release, the OCC and the Fed "accepted this agreement because it provides the greatest benefit to consumers subject to unsafe and unsound mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices during the relevant period in a more timely manner than would have occurred under the review process."

"We have learned a great deal from the reviews that have been conducted to date. However, it has become clear that carrying the process through to its conclusion would divert money away from the impacted homeowners and also needlessly delay the dispensation of compensation to affected borrowers. Our new course of action will get more money to more people more quickly, and it will speed recovery in the nation's housing markets," said Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry in a statement.
The enforcement actions in 2011 included 14 servicers. Since all 14 servicers were not part of this agreement, the Fed announced it is working toward a similar agreement with the other servicers who were subject to the enforcement actions.

In response to the settlement, several banks issued statements, including Citi, which said, "We are pleased to have the matter resolved and believe this agreement is a positive development that will provide benefits for homeowners."

In U.S. Bancorp's response, the bank said it "has long been committed to sound modification and foreclosure practices. We have always regarded foreclosure as a last resort, and have helped thousands of borrowers over the past several years to stay in their homes through a variety of modification programs."

Mike Heid, president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, stated, "This agreement allows us to move forward and continue our focus on doing all we can do to provide relief to our customers and restore stability to housing markets across the country."

Consumers have two weeks left to ask for an independent review of their foreclosure cases, an analysis that could result in compensation up to $125,000 if lender wrongdoing is found.

Federal banking officials are overseeing the free reviews on primary residences that were in the foreclosure process from 2009 through 2010.

So far, 474,000 cases nationwide are pending review. The deadline for filing a request is Dec. 31.

Last year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other agencies ordered 14 mortgage servicers to address problems with their foreclosure practices.

"The orders directed the mortgage servicers to fix what was broken, identify who was harmed and provide remediation," said Bryan Hubbard, spokesman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

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Compensation ranges from a few hundred dollars up to $125,000 in the most egregious cases, Hubbard said. In rare instances, homeowners may have their foreclosures overturned, he said.

The reviews will be conducted by neutral third parties. Homeowners who ask for reviews or accept any money do not give up their rights to later sue their lenders, Hubbard said.

What's more, the reviews are not just open to homeowners who lost their properties in foreclosure. Those who completed short sales or who later brought their mortgage payments current would be eligible as long as their lenders served them with foreclosure papers at some point.

ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions, a Virginia-based agency with an office in Miami, is working with consumers to complete their applications. ClearPoint is a housing counseling agency approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"We help them with the paperwork," said Isabel Duran, a certified housing counselor with ClearPoint.

During the height of the housing crisis, homeowners complained of improper foreclosure practices by lenders.

In late 2010, bank employees admitted under oath that they rubber stamped foreclosures without knowing the details of the individual cases.

That prompted some banks to temporarily freeze foreclosure filings and later led to a $25 billion national mortgage settlement between five major lenders and 49 state attorneys general.

The foreclosure reviews are part of an enforcement action by federal officials and are not affiliated with the $25 billion settlement.

Longtime Miami housing analyst Lewis Goodkin said the reviews are important, even in the cases that do not reveal any lender fraud.

"There won't be any giveaways, but to me, it accomplishes something," Goodkin said. "It gives the homeowners fair treatment."

About the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is a full service boutique law firm with offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. For additional information, please go to www.thefirmmiami.com, or call 305.672.7495.

Homeowners facing foreclosure just received an early holiday present: They won't be evicted from their homes over the holidays.

Mortgage giants, Freddie Mac (FMCC, Fortune 500) and Fannie Mae (FNMA, Fortune 500), announced Monday that they will suspend all bank repossessions beginning December 17 and December 19, respectively, and will not resume the evictions until January 2, 2013.

"The holidays are a chance to be with loved ones and we want to relieve some stress at this time of year," said Terry Edwards, Executive Vice President of Credit Portfolio Management, Fannie Mae.

According to Freddie spokesman, Brad German, the suspension will not affect other pre- or post-foreclosure activities, such as the filing notices of default or the scheduling of auction sales. Fannie said in its press release that other legal and administrative proceedings will also continue.

Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) said it will also put a halt to foreclosure evictions both for loans it owns and for those it services for investors during the holiday period. Other large mortgage lenders, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (BWF), and Citibank (C, Fortune 500) have postponed foreclosures during the holidays in the past, but have yet to say whether they will do so again this year.

The reprieve is separate from the previously announced moratoriums on foreclosure evictions for victims of Superstorm Sandy in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which will continue through February. To top of page

Rising Prices Could Lift 3.5M Homeowners Out of Negative Equity

While almost one-quarter of homeowners remain underwater, rising home prices over the past year have some economists hopeful negative equity could begin to diminish in coming months.

"The negative equity problem is still crippling many homeowners and the wider economy," Capital Economics stated in a report.

In addition to the almost one-fourth of homeowners who owe more on their mortgage loans than their homes are worth, almost half of homeowners do not meet the 80 percent loan-to-value ratio required for a standard refinancing.

While "[a]dmittedly, the recovery is still in its infancy," Capital Economics sees the potential for 3.5 million homeowners to move out of negative equity positions over the next 12 months.

CoreLogic reports prices have risen 5 percent over the past 12 months, and Capital Economics reports the greatest movement is occurring in the same locations that experienced the greatest price declines and highest instances of foreclosures and negative equity during the housing crisis.

For example, about 40 percent of homeowners in Arizona and Florida are underwater. However, home prices have risen 18.7 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively, in these two states over the past year.

While Capital Economics is sticking to its prediction that house prices will rise about 5 percent next year, the economists admit "the upside risks to that forecast are clearly rising."

So far this year, rising home prices have helped 1.3 million households rise out of negative equity, according to CoreLogic.

If home prices were to rise by 10 percent next year, about 3.5 million borrowers would be lifted out of negative equity and 6 million would become eligible for standard refinancing after seeing their loan-to-value ratios fall back to or below 80 percent.

"The faster prices rebound, the quicker the negative equity problem will be resolved," Capital Economics stated.

With home prices still about 27 percent below their 2006 peak, 10 percent under-valued compared to current rental rates, and 20 percent under-valued compared to per capita incomes, Capital Economics sees no need for concern over another bubble as prices continue to rise.

Attorney Aaron Resnick will be the main speaker at "Defending a Foreclosure:
Helping Families Save Their Homes". The engagement will be January 22, 2013 • Miami, FL. For more information or to purchase tickets, please go to http://lawreviewcle.com/seminars/2013-01-22-Miami_FL-defending-a-foreclosure.html.

Defending a Foreclosure: Help Families Save Their Homes LawReviewCle's Foreclosure Defense in America is an in-depth examination of the tools you will need to build a successful foreclosure defense practice, along with a detailed treatment of the emerging pleading, discovery, trial and appellate strategies you need to achieve results for your clients.

This course offers practical, real world advice on how to find clients, how to successfully manage a profitable caseload and how to employ the new PST negotiation and trial strategies that will help you develop a loyal base of satisfied clients. Whether you are currently representing clients in foreclosure and want to know the strategies and tools that are producing real results in this dynamic and ever-changing area of the law or whether you're looking to expand your practice to include this most rewarding practice area, this course will provide invaluable resources for you.

See Agenda

Key Topics

The Present State of the Foreclosure Crisis
Mortgage Securitization Issues
Understanding Basic Substantive Law
Client Relations
Judicial vs. Non-Judicial Foreclosures (Hunter or Hunted?)
Loan Modification / Short Sales / Deed in Lieu / Tax Issues
Bankruptcy Issues
Ethical Considerations

Speaker

Aaron R. Resnick
Attorney Aaron R. Resnick
Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. - Miami, FL

Aaron Resnick, a graduate of Leadership Miami, is a leader in the Miami's legal and cultural arts scene. Mr. Resnick was awarded the "Shining Star" Award by the Arts & Business Council of Miami, Inc. This award each year honors the top Miami business professional supporting the arts and cultural community. Mr. Resnick was the founding chairperson of the Friends of the New World Symphony, and now serves permanently on its Executive Committee. He also sat on the Board of Directors for the Miami Design Preservation League for over 10 years. He has served on the executive committee for numerous young patron groups in South Florida including, but not limited to: Best Buddies of South Florida, Big Brothers Big Sister's Impact Circle, Art Crowd of the Bass Museum, the Green Room Society for the Center for Performing Arts, the Tropees of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, the Jewish Legal Society of Miami, and the MOCA Shakers amongst others. He is a member of the South Beach Athletic Club and an active in local, state and national politics. He is a Regional Board Member of the Maccabi World Union and a member of the Ben Gurion Society of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

Currently, he is a member of the Silver Director's Circle for the Bass Museum, the Leadership's Circle for the Museum of Contemporary Art (Miami), the Maestro's Circle for the Friends of the New World Symphony, and a Supporting Member of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (and a member of the Green Room Society). Mr. Resnick recently founded, with several friends, the Little Lighthouse Foundation, www.littlelighthouse.org, which is a Miami based charity that seeks, identifies and provides support to children and their families with health, educational, and financial challenges.

Professionally, Mr. Resnick is an attorney, who honed his craft at one of Florida's oldest and most prestigious firms, Gunster Yoakley, before starting his own boutique law firm in 2005 with offices now in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. Mr. Resnick is admitted to all of the state and federal courts in Florida and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Resnick's law practice concentrates on business and commercial matters, and sports and entertainment law. He has successfully represented a number of clients in commercial foreclosure matters and has a company that specializes in working with lenders on distressed assets.

His current practice also includes the personal representation of a number of current and former professional athletes in the National Football League, the National Basketball League and Major League Baseball, as well as members of the arts, fashion and entertainment world. Mr. Resnick himself is an avid collector of art, and is in a partership with a famous celebrity photographer promoting and marketing his photographs, www.artofthenight.com. Mr. Resnick has lectured on art fraud and is in the process of writing a book related to some of the major art fraud cases of the 20th century.

In addition to being an attorney, Mr. Resnick is one of the owners of Faction Capital, LLC, a distressed asset consulting firm, and AJAX Entertainment, LLC, a marketing company targeting young professionals and patrons of the cultural arts.

Awards & Recognition

Florida Trend's Florida Legal Elite, 2009, 2010
Super Lawyers Magazine Florida Rising Stars, 2010, 2011
Film, Recording and Entertainment Council Entertainment Law Award
South Florida Business Journal 40 Under 40
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 40 Under 40 Attorneys
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 40 Under 40 Business Professionals
"Shining Star" Award by the Arts & Business Council of Miami, Inc.
American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division "Star of the Quarter"

Profession & Bar Association Membership

State of Florida, 1998
United States Supreme Court , 2004
United States District Court for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, 1999
United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 1999
Florida Bar - Member Business Law Committee and Sports & Entertainment Law Committee
American Bar Association - Member Business Law Committee
Dade County Bar Association
Miami Beach Bar Association
Pillar Member of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce
Member of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce The Inter-American Chapter
Member of the India-US Chamber of Commerce South Florida
Member of the America-Israel Chamber of Commerce Florida Chapter
Member of the Florida China Chamber of Commerce
Member of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Southeast
Member of the Panamanian American Chamber of Commerce
Member of the Columbian American Chamber of Commerce
Member of Canadian American Chamber of Commerce of South Florida
Member of the banking committee for the Asian American Hotel Owner's Association

Education

J.D., University of Florida Levin College of Law, Gainesville, Florida, 1995-1997
with Honors.

Universite de Montpellier, Montpellier, France, 1997
with High Honors.

B.A., Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1990-1994

Defending a Foreclosure:
Helping Families Save Their Homes
January 22, 2013 • Jacksonville, FL

Purchase access here (or for more information)

http://lawreviewcle.com/seminars/2013-01-22-Jacksonville_FL-defending-a-foreclosure.html

Defending a Foreclosure: Help Families Save Their Homes - Presented by Attorney Justin McMurray of the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.

LawReviewCle's Foreclosure Defense in America is an in-depth examination of the tools you will need to build a successful foreclosure defense practice, along with a detailed treatment of the emerging pleading, discovery, trial and appellate strategies you need to achieve results for your clients.

This course offers practical, real world advice on how to find clients, how to successfully manage a profitable caseload and how to employ the new PST negotiation and trial strategies that will help you develop a loyal base of satisfied clients. Whether you are currently representing clients in foreclosure and want to know the strategies and tools that are producing real results in this dynamic and ever-changing area of the law or whether you're looking to expand your practice to include this most rewarding practice area, this course will provide invaluable resources for you.

See Agenda

Key Topics

The Present State of the Foreclosure Crisis
Mortgage Securitization Issues
Understanding Basic Substantive Law
Client Relations
Judicial vs. Non-Judicial Foreclosures (Hunter or Hunted?)
Loan Modification / Short Sales / Deed in Lieu / Tax Issues
Bankruptcy Issues
Ethical Considerations

Speaker

Justin McMurray
Attorney Justin McMurray
Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. - Miami, FL

Justin McMurray is an attorney experienced in various aspects of Florida and federal law. Since becoming an attorney in 2006, he has had the pleasure of sharing his services and expertise with hundreds of clients in Florida and abroad. Born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, he studied first at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, before returning to the University of Florida to earn his Bachelor of Arts and a subsequent Juris Doctor from the University of Florida's Frederick G. Levin College of Law.

Education

J.D., University of Florida Levin College of Law, 2005
B.A., University of Florida, 2000

Professional & Bar Association Memberships

Florida -- Member Since: 2006
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida -- Member Since: 2010
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida -- Member Since: 2010
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida -- Member Since: 2010
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida -- Member Since: 2010

Five of the nation's largest banks have provided $3.6 billion in mortgage relief for Floridians as part of a nationwide foreclosure settlement, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday. An additional $1.3 billion in modification relief is "in the pipeline," Bondi said in a written statement. More at the Tampa Bay Times and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

About the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is a full service boutique law firm with offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. For additional information, please go to www.thefirmmiami.com, or call 305.672.7495.

3 new programs aimed at improving the housing market

Foreclosed homes continue to plague communities, the housing market and the economy. Banks completed 3.2 million foreclosures between 2008 and 2011, and half again as many lurk in a "shadow inventory" that includes homes with seriously delinquent mortgages, those that are in the foreclosure process and those that have been taken over by banks but not yet listed for sale, according to CoreLogic, a mortgage data firm. Many of those homes are vacant, and they sell for about one-third less than other properties, on average.

Foreclosures have been a drag on the market for years, and relief can't come soon enough. But the latest proposed fixes won't get rolling before year-end.

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) helps troubled borrowers by reducing their monthly mortgage payment to 31% of their gross monthly income, usually by reducing their interest rate, extending the loan term, deferring repayment of principal or forgiving some of it. The Treasury has extended the program through the end of 2013, tripling the incentives for lenders that choose to reduce loan principal. Borrowers will begin qualifying under the expanded criteria by this summer. Bank analysts estimate that the beefed-up program will help an additional half-million homeowners. For more, visit www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.

A mass-refinancing plan would allow borrowers who owe more than their house is worth but who are current on their loan payments to refinance at today's low interest rates. The plan would save such borrowers an average of $3,000 annually. The catch: Congressional approval of a fee paid by the largest lenders to fund the program is unlikely.

A pilot buy-to-rent program launching this year in hard-hit markets will let investors buy foreclosures from Fannie Mae, then rent them out. Look for the program in Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and parts of Florida. Investors must qualify to participate (for information, go to www.fhfa.gov). The aim is to make a quick dent in the supply of foreclosures for sale. Success depends on whether bargain-hungry investors pay the prices Fannie expects for its properties.

None of the programs is a quick fix. In fact, the pace of foreclosures will continue to pick up in the wake of a $25 billion settlement reached in February among the federal government, attorneys general in 49 states and the nation's largest mortgage servicers. Although much of that money is slated for principal reductions, refinancing and other consumer assistance, banks are now free to step up foreclosures that were delayed pending the settlement.

Foreclosure fixes will become moot as the economy gains traction and housing demand picks up, says economist Celia Chen at Moody's Economy.com. By 2013, the number of distressed sales will still be high, but their share of total home sales will decline, allowing home prices to rise. The speed of recovery depends on how big a market share distressed properties represent.

About the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is a full service boutique law firm with offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. For additional information, please go to www.thefirmmiami.com, or call 305.672.7495.

Bank of America has expanded a Florida pilot program to the rest of the nation, offering 'relocation incentives' to underwater homeowners to leave the property.

Bank of America is offering homeowners up to $30,000 to sell their homes in a short sale.

The nationwide program, announced this week, is the expansion of a pilot program that started in Florida last year. That program offered homeowners $5,000 to $20,000, with the average payout being $12,000.

The new program offers homeowners $2,500 to $30,000 in "relocation assistance."
To be eligible for the new program, homeowners must owe more than their property is worth -- the reason they would do a short sale as opposed to a regular sale -- plus their loan must be owned and serviced by Bank of America.

New rules may speed short sales

The amount of the payment is at the discretion of the bank. A Bank of America news release says it will be "determined on a case-by-case basis using a calculation that includes the value of the home, amount owed and other considerations."

New short-sale rules may help sellers

To get the payments, homeowners must initiate the sale by the end of 2012 and close by Sept. 26, 2013. In addition, the homeowner is required to work with the bank to set a preapproved sale price before the home is listed for sale. However, homeowners currently in the short-sale process may be eligible for the payments. Information for homeowners is here.

Other lenders also have offered homeowners financial incentives to complete short sales, which they find cheaper and easier to manage than foreclosures. Plus, the home is usually left in better shape and the process is more orderly. But the incentive payments have not been common up to now.

New short-sale rules may help sellers

As the number of short sales grows, such payments may become more common.

The federal Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program offers homeowners $3,000 in relocation incentives to do a short sale.

According to attorney Aaron Resnick, the foreclosure wave has not diminished in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Of the 50 largest metro areas, Riverside-San Bernardino posted the highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 62 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the quarter. In Miami, one in every 95 housing units had a foreclosure filing this past quarter.

Other metros with foreclosure rates that were more than twice the national average included Sacramento (one in 77 housing units), Las Vegas (one in 82 housing units), Phoenix (one in 87 housing units), Atlanta (one in 90 housing units), Miami (one in 95 housing units), Orlando (one in 101 housing units), and Chicago (one in 107 housing units).

RealtyTrac is an online marketplace of foreclosure properties, with more than 2 million default, auction, and bank-owned listings from over 2,200 U.S. counties, along with detailed property, loan and home sales data.

The metro areas that saw the largest increases in foreclosure activity among the 50 were Orlando (+52 percent); Indianapolis (+41 percent); Hartford, Connecticut (+38 percent); Miami (+37 percent); and Philadelphia (+33 percent).

Metro areas with foreclosure rates in the top 20 category included Atlanta (No. 11); Miami (No. 13); Orlando (No. 15); Rockford, Illinois (No. 16); Chicago (No. 17); and Prescott, Arizona (No. 19).

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is positioned to help homeowners with short sales, loan modifications and foreclosure defense throughout the State of Florida.

According to attorney Aaron Resnick, based upon a preliminary report released by LPS, 2,060,000 properties are in foreclosure inventory. As of the end of the 2011 fourth quarter, 11.1 million borrowers were reported to be underwater, according to CoreLogic.

That's a lot of potential debt to be forgiven, and through the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007, homeowners get a break from paying taxes on their forgiven debt - whether it was forgiven through a short sale, foreclosure, or a modification. The act though, is set to expire at the end of this year.

If extended, this could lead to thousands in savings for the individual borrower. For example, depending on one's tax bracket, every $10,000 in forgiven debt could incur as much as $1,500 to $3,500 in federal taxes. Thus, if $100,000 in mortgage debt is forgiven after a foreclosure, this could mean $15,000 to $35,000 in taxes owed for the borrower.

Rushing to hand over a deed before the December 31 expiration date could become a mistake though if Congress ends up extending the debt relief act, which it may.

"Obama did include it in his budget, to extend it to 2014," said Mark Luscombe, a principal analyst for tax research firm CCH, in a statement. "Congress..... might decide it's not as crucial as extending the tax breaks that already expired at the end of last year."

That doesn't mean Congress won't eventually act to extend the relief, Luscombe said.

"Usually the only fight about these things is finding a way to pay for it," he said.

The administration is proposing to extend the act until January 1, 2015.

The criteria to have forgiven debt excluded as taxable income is the debt must be from a primary residence, and the debt must be used to buy, build or substantially improve a primary residence.

Also, the exclusion applies only to acquisition debt up to $2 million, or $1 million for married taxpayers filing separately.

About the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is a full service boutique law firm with offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. For additional information, please go to www.thefirmmiami.com, or call 305.672.7495.

According to attorney Aaron Resnick, short sales are rising sharply, offering many struggling homeowners a better alternative to foreclosure in many of the nation's hardest hit states. A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the proceeds from selling the property will fall short of the balance of debts secured by liens against the property and the property owner cannot afford to repay the liens' full amounts, whereby the lien holders agree to release their lien on the real estate and accept less than the amount owed on the debt. Any unpaid balance owed to the creditors is known as a deficiency. Short sale agreements do not necessarily release borrowers from their obligations to repay any deficiencies of the loans, unless specifically agreed to between the parties.

A short sale is often used as an alternative to foreclosure because it mitigates additional fees and costs to both the creditor and borrower. While credit is also typically damaged much less than from a foreclosure, both often result in a negative credit report against the property owner. Most creditors require the borrower to prove they have an economic or financial hardship preventing them from being able to pay the deficiency.

Creditors holding liens against real estate can include primary mortgages, junior lien holders--such as second mortgages, home equity lines of credit (HELOC) lenders, home owners association HOA (special assessment liens)--all of whom will need to approve individual applications for a short sale, should they be asked to take less than what is owed.

Most large creditors have special loss mitigation departments that evaluate borrowers' applications for short sale approval. Often creditors use pre-determined criteria for approving the borrowers and the terms of the sale of the properties. Part of this process typically includes the creditor(s) determining the current market value of the real estate by obtaining an independent evaluation of the property with an appraisal, a Broker's Price Opinion, or a broker opinion of value (BOV). One of the most important aspects for the borrower in this process is putting together a proper real estate short sale package including hardship letter explaining why a short sale is needed.

Depending on each creditor's policy and the type of loan, creditors may accept applications from borrowers even if the borrower is not in default with their payments. Due to the overwhelming number of defaulting borrowers due to mortgage failures and other causes as part of the 2008-2012 global financial crisis, many creditors have become adept at processing such short sales applications; however, it can still take several months for the process from start to finish, often requiring multiple levels of approval.

In January, short sales rose 33% compared with 12 months earlier, the company reported. During the month, 32 states saw year-over-year percentage increases in short sales. Even more encouraging, short sale deals outnumbered foreclosures in 12 states, including some of the hardest hit like California, Arizona and Florida.

January's numbers look to be just the beginning. "[W]e believe 2012 could be a record year for short sales," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

Banks are showing signs of being more open and willing to approve the deals -- even if it means accepting less money. The average sales price for a short sale was $174,120 in January, down 4% from December and 10% year-over-year.
The rich walk away: Million-dollar foreclosures

Typically, banks get about 20% less for a foreclosed home. Foreclosure can also take years to unload, during which expenses, like property taxes, insurance and other expenses, mount up.

One of the biggest roadblocks for short sales has been the time it takes to get deals approved. That time shrunk slightly during the first quarter -- to 306 days from 308 days the previous quarter -- but many deals still fall through because the buyer eventually walks away.

However, that could all change come June 1 when a set of new rules are put in place that will require lenders to make a decision about short sale requests within 60 days.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. has helped hundreds of clients with short sales.

About the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is a full service boutique law firm with offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. For additional information, please go to www.thefirmmiami.com, or call 305.672.7495.

Attorney Aaron Resnick agrees that the underlying economic data in South Florida supports a conclusion that home prices are close to bottoming. In fact, home prices are already on the rise in Miami Beach. According to the article below by Lucia Mutikani,
"[t]he relentless decline in home prices is nearing an end and prices should rise for the first time in seven years in 2013, but a possible new wave of foreclosures could threaten the recovery, according a Reuters poll of economists."

http://news.yahoo.com/home-prices-close-bottoming-rise-2013-135728513.html

Rest of Article below:

The median forecast of 24 economists polled by Reuters was for the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index to end the year unchanged. That was the same finding back in January for this house price gauge, which covers 20 cities.

"We are expecting a gradual improvement, but if we get a big wave of new foreclosures coming to the market, price declines could be even greater," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

The survey forecast the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rising 2.0 percent next year, up from 1.5 percent in the January survey.

The housing market's collapse pushed the economy into its longest and deepest recession since the 1930s. Historically, housing has led the economy out of recession, but it has been the weakest link in the recovery that started in mid-2009.

While residential construction accounts for a mere 2.3 percent of gross domestic product, home prices have an oversized reach in the economy, influencing a wide range of consumption decisions by households.

House prices have so far fallen about 32 percent from their peak at the end of 2005, and an estimated 11 million Americans now owe more on their homes than they are worth.

A resulting tide of foreclosures has held back the housing market's recovery.

The survey predicted about 1.5 million foreclosed properties will come on to the market this year. While there is no comparison for this figure, most analysts believe the foreclosure wave has either peaked or is close to topping out.

Given that foreclosures and the accompanying fear of further price declines are the main obstacles to any housing market recovery, few analysts say that further purchases of mortgage backed securities by the Federal Reserve will help.

Fed officials meet on April 24 and 25 to debate whether further steps are needed to drive borrowing costs lower to spur stronger economic growth.

Mortgage rates are already near record lows and house affordability is the best in history.

"The problem with the housing market is not necessarily that mortgages are expensive," said Millan Mulraine, a senior macro Strategist at TD Securities in New York.

"It's more the expectation that prices may continue to fall and cause a lot of potential buyers to sit on the sidelines to wait for more attractive entry points. I don't think there is lot more mileage to be achieved from MBS purchases."

Further MBS purchases by the U.S. central bank, however, could help keep mortgage rates low as the economy's recovery gains momentum.

The survey forecast the 30-year mortgage rate averaging 4.00 percent in 2012, down from 4.15 percent in the January poll.

Although job growth slowed in March, the labor market is expected to continue strengthening this year.

That should help to lift home sales. Sales of previously owned homes are expected to register an annualized 4.70 million unit annual pace in both the second and third quarters of this year before topping at 4.80 million units in the fourth quarter.

That compares to a rate of 4.60 million units and 4.70 million units in the second and third quarter respectively in the January survey.

"This gradual healing is encouraging, but we must tread carefully as the housing market is still far from a robust recovery," Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; polling by Snehasish Das and Aakanksha Bhat; Editing by John Stonestreet)

About the Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A.

The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, P.A. is a full service boutique law firm with offices in Miami, Boca Raton, Gainesville/Ocala, Jacksonville and New York City. For additional information, please go to www.thefirmmiami.com, or call 305.672.7495.