Mortgage Foreclosure 101

by Tom D. Waldron, Esq., a real property and estate planning attorney in Melbourne, Florida and a Member of the Florida Bar (www.TomDWaldron.com)

The following are facts that everyone in or near foreclosure should know.

Each case is different as the equity in the property varies, as does income. Don't make a decision based upon this article alone.

1. The chances of getting a mortgage modification prior to foreclosure are about the same as hitting the lottery. Why would the bank help you if you are still able to make the payments? When has a bank ever cut you slack? Remember, these are the same people that can now legally charge you 28% on your credit cards, and do! If you think the government is going to step in and help, don't hold your breath. The government could have helped the homeowners and chose instead to help the banks. Now they politely ask the bank not to throw you out of your home. The three most important things to know about the banks attitude toward your problem are (A) they don't care, (B) they don't care and (C) get out now.
2. Short selling the property is much better than foreclosure. You may reduce the chances of a huge deficiency judgment in the future. Banks have 5 years after a foreclosure to come back for that deficiency judgment and take your bank accounts, cars, garnish wages, etc. Banks plan on getting deficiency judgments against everyone they can.
3. If you don't file an answer in court responding to the foreclosure suit, the case will not be ordered into mediation. Mediation is the only time you will speak to someone that can help. The chances that they will help are slim. Most that are helped are not helped enough and back in foreclosure within a year. In the mediation the bank may drop the interest rate but they never drop the principal amount owed.
4. Prior to foreclosure what banks tell people is designed to get you to send them more money, or to get financial records they can use when seeking judgments in the future.
5. The more you are upside down as to the house, the more you should consider a strategic default. Learn your options now rather than later. There is a strong possibility that you are throwing good money after bad.
6. Most of what you were told by your family or neighbors about foreclosure is wrong.
7. Refinancing is not an option if you owe more than the house is worth.
8. If you have money in any bank the foreclosing bank will want it. Short sales and mortgage modifications are only granted when the bank thinks they have already gotten everything you have, and that they won't be able to get more in the future.
9. If you are paying someone to negotiate a mortgage modification you should buy lotto tickets instead. You will have better luck.
10. Bank strategy, court rulings effecting foreclosure, and property values are constantly changing and you should not make a decision based on old information or rumors.
11. Many of the foreclosure defenses or stories you read on the Internet or hear on radio don't apply to Florida law.
12. In court don't blame the judge. His hands are usually tied.
13. YOU NEED A LAWYER!! The decisions you make today will have a profound effect on your families' future. Sued by a lawyer representing a bank and facing the loss of your home, and a huge judgment in the future, you need help.

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The law office of Tom D. Waldron, P.A., of Melbourne, serves the cities and areas surrounding Florida's East Coast. These cities include West Melbourne, Sebastian, Satellite Beach, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Aventura, Maitland, St. Augustine, Palm Bay, Viera, Kissimmee, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, Titusville, Rockledge, Miami, St. Cloud, Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, St. Augustine Beach and St. Augustine Shores. Clients come from all over central Florida, all of Brevard County and the oceanside area along the Space Coast and Treasure Coast.