6 Stages of The Foreclosure Process and How We Can Help
There are several stages to the foreclosure process. Below is an outline of those stages and information on when and how we help.
1. The client comes to us when they have been served with a Summons. Upon receipt of the lawsuit, the homeowner has 20 days from the receipt of the lawsuit to file an answer. We normally ask for an extension of time to file the answer because the client comes to us a week or so after they are served. We examine the supporting documents to determine what defenses the client has to the lawsuit. This is the time when an attorney is most helpful. We examine the sufficiency of the lawsuit and the supporting documents. We can ask for discovery of certain documents and take depositions of people involved in the lawsuit. These steps take time to complete and are done in order to provide the client with the maximum ability to defend their rights against the foreclosure or to pursue a mortgage modification or short sale. Please see our detailed explanation of what to do when you are served with a foreclosure lawsuit.
2. The client comes to us when a motion for summary judgment is pending before the Court. At this point, our focus changes to what can we do to defeat the foreclosure summary judgment. Our objective is to win that hearing and then go back and follow the procedures in paragraph #1 above and defend our client against the foreclosure lawsuit.
3. The client comes to us after they lose the summary judgment and a sale date has been set. Now, we have to overcome the fact that the client has allowed a Judgment to be entered against them. Our focus is to set-aside the Judgment based, in part, upon faulty documents in the foreclosure case.
4. The client comes to us after the foreclosure sale and during the redemption period. We can still help. We do the same as #3 above, but we must provide strong reasons why the Judgment should be set-aside. Fraud on the Court is one of the reasons we use.
5. The client who comes to us years after they lost their home and the bank has sold their property. We examine the Court file to determine, among other things, if the documents filed in the foreclosure were fraudulent. In most of our cases, we have found fraudulent documents providing us with a starting point to setting-aside the judgment and the wrongful foreclosure. We make various arguments to overcome statute of limitation issues. If the bank has already sold the property, in our estimation, the only way for the bank to correct this wrong is for them to compensate our client.
6. The client comes to us and they have received a letter from a party seeking to collect on a deficiency. We examine the court file and to determine if fraud has occurred. We can use that fact as a beginning negotiating point with the creditor to reduce or eliminate the deficiency judgment altogether.
The best case scenario for our clients is for them to hire us as early as possible in the foreclosure process. Hiring us early allows the client and us more flexibility and options to deal with the lawsuit. Don’t give up. There is still time for someone to help you. Please feel free to contact us if you are in the foreclosure process and have any questions. We offer a free initial consultation.
Free Case Evaluation By An Experienced Florida Foreclosure Attorney – Call 954-458-8655
Contact Larry Tolchinsky to find out how he can help you. You can contact him by phone at 954-458-8655 or by e-mail through this web site to schedule an appointment so he can help you with your mortgage foreclosure issue. He offers a free initial consultation.
To learn more about Larry Tolchinsky, click on this link: Florida Real Estate Lawyer
Please feel free to fill out the “How Can We Help You?” form above for a free case evaluation or to ask any questions.
Blog Posts of Interest (by Larry Tolchinsky):
- 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
- Charges against Goldman Sachs can Help Foreclosure Defenses on Main Street
- Lenders Beware – Foreclosure Lawsuits are Going to Trial!
- 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
- Renters’ Foreclosure – Know Your Rights
- Estate is Liable for Mortgage Deficiency, Not Heirs
- Florida Foreclosures – Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat to the Rescue
- Are Big Banks Committing Short Sale Fraud?
See: Foreclosure Debt Collection
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