Broward County Closing Costs - Who Pays? Maybe Not You.

View of Fort Lauderdale Condos

With the Florida real estate market being tight and getting tighter across the country, looks like banks may be thinking about new ways to get deals done - like paying for closing costs in home loans.

Whether or not the lender offers to pay closing costs and then just ups the mortgage interest rate, well that's another matter.  And just one more reason to have a Florida closing attorney by your side at the closing table (and before, when all the bickering about what goes into the closing documents gets ironed out).

My point:  maybe the bank will pay your closing costs if you're buying a home or condo in Florida, particularly here in Broward County.  It's worth negotiating. 

For more details, read my post here at AboutFloridaLaw (and the links provided).

And to do a quick calculation of what your closing costs may be, check out this estimate of Broward County closing costs on BrowardLegalDirectory.com.

Image:  Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Florida Foreclosures - Foreclosure Documents May Entitle Homeowners to Compensation

The foreclosure mess keeps growing. By now, most people are beginning to hear how banks, including JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and GMAC, are suspending foreclosures because of defects in paperwork filed with the Courts. Affidavits were filed in the foreclosure cases where the party signing the document stated that they had personal knowledge of the information contained in the document. Of course, it turns out, that probably wasn't true. Foreclosure defense lawyers are asserting that the filing of those documents is a fraud on the Court. The result is that homeowner's that lost their homes to the bank in foreclosures may be entitled to compensation. Additionally, this problems is impacting the title insurance industry. Title agents are being told to not issue title insurance on property owned and being sold by a bank. I have read several articles on the topic which you can read below.

• Bank foreclosures-Fraud on the Courts-Homeowners may be entitled to compensation
• Closings may be halted, title insurance in doubt
• Foreclosure Errors Cloud Home ownership with Blighted Titles

If you would like more information about this topic, you can post a comment to this blog, contact me, Larry Tolchinsky, a Florida Foreclosure Defense Attorney, by email, or call me at (954) 458-8655, and I will be happy to answer your questions. I offer a free initial consultation and I promise to get back to you promptly.

Foreclosure Defenses - Goldman Sachs May Help

I just wrote an article about how charges against Goldman Sachs can help foreclosure defenses on main street. Any way that I can help to get the message out that there is help for those facing foreclosure I'm willing to do, even at the expense of Goldman Sachs. As they say, something good can come from something bad. Hopefully, that will happen here.

If you would like more information about this topic, you can post a comment to this blog, contact me, Larry Tolchinsky, a Foreclosure Attorney, by email, or call me at (954) 458-8655, and I will be happy to answer your questions. I offer a free initial consultation.

Condominium Investors - Beware of Associations Facing Busted Budgets - Fire Safety Takes a Backseat

By now, we are all well aware of the detrimental effects the downturn in Florida's economy has had on the housing market: Rapidly decreasing property values and swiftly increasing foreclosure proceedings.

A residual effect of the economic downturn can be seen in the number of condominium associations that foregoing necessary safety upgrades to their buildings, simply because they cannot afford the upgrades. A recent article in the Sun Sentinel, entitled "Can Florida Condominium Associations Afford Fire Safety Upgrades?" (March 23, 2010) expounds on this phenomenon that forces condominium associations to install upgrades (for many, this would lead to insolvency) or continue to live in buildings with out-of-compliance fire safety systems.

Legislators are hearing the pleas from condominium associations, and in response, a bill has been proposed which extends the time period for condominium's to reach compliance by five years; Instead of facing fines for noncompliance by 2014, the bill proposes to extend the deadline to 2019, or, in some cases, to eliminate the deadline completely.

Individuals investing in condominiums should investigate whether the building is in compliance with fire safety regulations, determine when the building is scheduled for its next upgrade, and if the association has enough reserves to pay for an upgrade. Otherwise, they may face an assessment to pay for the work which can eat into or eliminate investment returns. Condominium investors should closely watch the legislature as the recent bill begins negotiations.

If you would like more information about this topic, you can post a comment to this blog, contact me, Larry Tolchinsky, a Florida Real Estate Attorney, by email, or call me at (954) 458-8655, and I will be happy to answer your questions. I offer a free initial consultation.

Foreclosure Defense and Budget Friendly Fee Arrangements

We are trying to do our part to share an important message with the public regarding foreclosures: In many instances mortgage foreclosure plaintiffs are unable to legally prove ownership of the mortgage they are suing on. This issue is giving rise to a foreclosure defense that the Plaintiff in the foreclosure lawsuit lacks the authority to enforce the mortgage. The result is that homeowners are living in their homes without paying their mortgage until the Courts determine if these mortgages are enforceable. We have been dealing with this issue a lot in our office. However, most people we speak with are concerned that they cannot pay an attorney since they are already facing difficult financial circumstances. In response to our client concerns, we have designed a fee structure that is designed to fit within most budgets. So, don't let the fear of attorney fees stand in the way of learning your legal rights. A qualified foreclosure attorney can help.

If you would like more information about this topic, you can post a comment to this blog, contact me, Larry Tolchinsky, a Florida Real Estate Attorney, by email, or call me at (954) 458-8655, and I will be happy to answer your questions. I offer a free initial consultation.

Mortgage Foreclosure and Deficiency Judgment Articles and Blog Posts

I was reviewing the articles and pages of content we have written regarding the mortgage foreclosure mess and deficiency judgments. Below is a small sample of some of the more interesting topics we have written about:

Mortgage Foreclosure:

• Homeowners Are Not to Blame for the Foreclosure Mess
• The Six Stages of Foreclosure
• Foreclosure Defense - An Overview
• Wrongful Foreclosure - Seeking Compensation
• 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!
• Short sale Counseling
• Foreclosure Title Insurance
• Condominium Foreclosure
• Mortgage Loan Modifications - An Overview
• Foreclosure Defenses are stopping Mortgage Foreclosures
• Renters’ Foreclosure – Know Your Rights
• Florida Foreclosures – Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat to the Rescue
• Are Big Banks Committing Short Sale Fraud?

 
Deficiency Judgments:

• What is HAFA? - Can HAFA Help? - Deficiency Judgment Relief
• Deficiency Judgment Counseling - An Overview
• 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
• Estate is Liable for Mortgage Deficiency, Not Heirs

If you find any of these articles or pages interesting or have any questions about mortgage foreclosure or deficiency judgments, simply post to this blog or call us at (954) 458-8655. We offer a free initial consultation.

When Home Prices Fall, Broward Public Schools Suffer

Property values in Broward County have plunged to deeper depths, and the residual effects of lower tax income are already being felt by Broward government agencies, namely Broward public schools, which depend on property tax income to fund their services.

In an article entitled, " Broward School Board weighs possible layoffs, furloughs, fewer electives" (published 2/9/10), the Sun Sentinel reports that the Broward school district will face nearly $100 million cut in state money. This reduction in income for schools can be directly attributed to a marked drop in property values throughout the county.

According to a related Miami Herald article entitled "Broward property values take a nose dive," (published 2/8/10), property values have dropped about 16% countywide. As government agencies consider their budget planning strategies, they will be forced to reduce wages for their entire employment force, or layoff specific employees, in order to reach compliance. Usually, the first agencies to feel the effects of decreased tax revenue are Broward's already beaten and bruised public schools.

In light of these budget cuts, schools countywide will attempt the delicate balance between teacher needs and student services: In order for schools to comply with recently reduced student-teacher ratios, many teachers will be forced to take unpaid furloughs or face layoffs in nonessential subjects. It's either the teachers are let go, or options for students will be reduced (think schools that only offer specific electives, like arts or sports, but not both). To make the matter more complicated, the Broward Teacher's Union is currently in negotiations for a 4% pay raise. Clearly, the detrimental effects of plummeting home values are not limited to the pocketbooks of homeowners. To me, this is yet another example of the continuing spiraling down of our economy caused by the ongoing housing crisis.

If you would like more information about this topic, you can post a comment to this blog, contact me, Larry Tolchinsky, a Florida Real Estate Attorney, by email, or call me at (954) 458-8655, and I will be happy to answer your questions. I offer a free initial consultation.