Foreclosure Defense Attorney, FL

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Bankruptcy can be an effective option when someone is facing foreclosure. Bankruptcy has a number of tools that interplay with the foreclosure process and create a beneficial situation for a consumer. First and foremost, bankruptcy provides an automatic stay, which is another way of saying that it freezes the lawsuits that are occurring in state court, including foreclosure lawsuits. Secondly, bankruptcy provides some tools that allow folks some good opportunities to get on track with their mortgage. For example, bankruptcy allows for lien stripping, which means that if there is more than one lien on a property, bankruptcy could in some circumstances allow the consumer to get rid of the junior liens, acting almost as a defective principal reduction.

Another tool, at least locally in the Tampa district, that’s available for folks that are facing foreclosure who are considering bankruptcy, is the mortgage modification mediation program. This is essentially a structured program that’s established through the local bankruptcy court that homeowners can opt into. This allows the owners opportunity to have a dialogue and see whether the modification is a possibility for that. Even through the bankruptcy program, modification is not guaranteed, but in my experience, it provides the most fertile ground available for a consumer to request a modification.

How Can A Foreclosure Defense Attorney Assist Me In A Foreclosure Situation?

A foreclosure defense attorney can do a number of things to assist the consumer facing foreclosure. First of all, Florida is a judicial foreclosure state, which means that before a lender can take someone’s property, they have to prove in a lawsuit their ability to be able to enforce the loan. This means that they have to show that they have the rights over the loan, they have to show the amounts that are owed, and they have to provide the appropriate paperwork in order to do so. A foreclosure defense attorney can press the lender to make sure that they are meeting their burden of proof. In tandem with that, a foreclosure defense attorney can help the consumer to move towards whatever the consumer’s long-term goal is for resolving the property.

That goal can be a little bit different for each person. For some individuals, they want to get back on track with their properties, but for others, they may want to get rid of the property. Whatever the consumer’s goals may be, the foreclosure defense attorney can help in the strategies towards that end point.

Additional Information About Foreclosure Defense In Florida

The only other kind of topic to be aware of is the statute of limitations as it pertains to foreclosures. This has been a hot topic in Florida, where there’s been a lot of case development in the last two and a half years. This is because there’ve been a number of homes that have gone unpaid, whether there have been no foreclosure case, or a number of homes where a foreclosure case was started but for any variety of reasons it was dismissed or thrown out. The lender then starts a new foreclosure, and the question is whether that is valid.

There is not a very simple way of explaining it, but the short story is that the Florida Supreme Court has found that lenders are not pinned down to the date of a prior lawsuit when they have to complete a new lawsuit. They can still file a new lawsuit even after first lawsuits have been thrown out. However, there are some rules about the way that they can set it up, and how many payments they can go back and sue on. That is something that if a consumer is looking at a situation like that, they would want to consult with an attorney, because it is a fairly complex area of the law.

For more information on Bankruptcy As Foreclosure Defense, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (727) 538-4188 today.