Florida Fight For A Loan Mod!

Hi Paul–

First thank you very much for the seminar info! 

I received foreclosure summons from lender’s attorney on 1/21/09.  Requested loan modification from lender.  Sent them payroll stubs & hardship letter.  Also sent copy of hardship to clerk of circuit court & plaintiff’s attorney on 1/27/09. 

I told lender I could make three of my five late payments this week.  However, I have recently heard that once the foreclosure process has begun, I can’t stop it even if I make these payments.  Needless to say I don’t want to lose $3000 in payments if it’s not going to put a hold on proceedings. 

I could save that money to find another place to live if I have to  give up my home.  The only way I will send payments now is if lender will guarantee in writing that the foreclosure process will stop.  Is this reasonable to request?  

I’m not sure what my next course of action should be if lender refuses to committ to my request.  Do you have any suggestions for me? 

Thank you so much. 

Sherrye

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Hi Sherrye,

I’m not an attorney, so don’t take anything I write as legal advice.  This is just my unqualified opinion.

In Florida, you have twenty-days from date of in-hand service to file a response.  It is important to file an answer because if an answer is not filed, then everything the lender listed in the complaint may be admitted and then they may be awarded a quickie-default judgment.  It is likely that many of their allegations are questionable (i.e. do they own the note, the exact foreclosure balance, etc.), and others would be denied because the borrower does not have specific knowledge as to whether the allegation is true or not.  The fact that the mortgage loan was originated on such and such a date is admitted as well as the fact that the homeowner indeed is the owner of the home, although the rest of it is probably questionable and IMO should be challenged.

An attorney can file an answer for you for a few hundred dollars.  Then, once the answer is filed, you negotiate for a loan modification.  So, IMO filing an answer increases the likelihood that your loan mod will be approved and conversely, if the loan mod is not approved, then it will increase the amount of time that you can live in the home because the lender will not be awarded a default judgment and will instead have to prove their case (staying in the home indefinitely rent free is not the goal of course).

One of my short sellers called me today after she left a meeting with an attorney in Hillsborough County and I believe she said that he charged $750 to file an answer and help defend the action while we completed the short sale.  If you would like, I can email his name and number for a free consultation by phone.

Thanks for opening communication.  You can get through this.

Paul