Florida Foreclosure Lawyer

With a foreclosure rate of 1:4 in Florida the crisis continues to harass the state. The rate is the highest in the nation. With the lingering recession another wave is poised to break. In fact it has already started to appear in courts. These are not sub-prime mortgages and other exotic loans but the cause is grave unemployment, plummeting of real estate market and continuing recession.

John Tur based in Miami instructs people about real estate investment. He warned, “The second tsunami of foreclosures is coming.” The numbers are already gripping. This will cause recovery in Florida to be delayed – it being the worst foreclosure affected state in the country, according to Mortgage Bankers Association.

As per the findings of First American CoreLogic the second highest foreclosure rate was reported from Miami-Dade County – it ranking after Osceola County of California. Broward County ranked 6th. Homestead that was the ground zero of the housing boom only two years previously ranks first in new foreclosure filings. The fear is that the situation is worsening.

In the gated community in Homestead, property that had once been sold for $242,000 is now begging to be sold for $70,000 reported Karen Klores of The Keyes Company. Sometimes to the cursory eye a neighbourhood seems normal without foreclosures as the condo associations keep the garden trimmed. But many of the units are shuttered.

Leselee Ramos had bought her three roomed town house in Malibu Bay for $255,490 in October 2006 but today its value has dropped to $121,800. While Ramos had a job she remained current on the mortgage payments but now that she has become unemployed things have come to a head. The house has been foreclosed upon. It is a tearing experience as she will find it difficult to start life anew with the black mark of foreclosure on her credit scores.

The condos as well as the suburban sub-divisions are facing the full brunt of the foreclosure crisis. In 2008 foreclosure of single family units were higher than that of condos by three to one. But now condos comprise 41% of the foreclosures in Miami-Dade and 67% in Broward County. It is a staggering 83% in Florida Keys as per the findings of RealtyTrac.

Guy Cecala publishes Inside Mortgage Finance. He commented, “I don’t think there’s any question the first wave of foreclosures we saw up until this year was driven by bad loans — the sub-prime loans with squirrelly features of big jumps in rates or payments. This year, we’re feeling the full brunt of the deep recession in the country. It’s economic-driven.”

Posted By George Beckus Esq.

National banks have been operating with impunity causing the start and continuation of the foreclosure crisis sans proper regulation. After regulations were relaxed the housing market soared and roared to unprecedented peaks. This was followed by the rocketing down from the precipice at heady speed.
The national banks were successful in forestalling lawsuits charging them for violating state laws and banking rules. If required the banks switched their charters conveniently.
Illinois started making in-depth enquiries from 2008 spring, the operations of the branches of Wells Fargo Financial Illinois in the state for fraudulent lending operations. They were operating covered by a state charter. In the beginning the bank responded to subpoena. But in 2008 July Wells Fargo took over the branches and they now came under national charter. Immediately after this the bank refused to cooperate with the state. With such master strokes it was easy for the banking sector or any financial body to cover up their wrong actions.

Armed with the new power given by the Supreme Court, the Attorney Generals of many states are poised to launch legal war against the big banks. They contend that if they had previously had this weapon then although the crisis would not have been prevented they would have been able to contain its continuation and intensity to a great extent.

Richard Cordray the Attorney General of Ohio said, “For the better part of eight years, the federal regulators were not being aggressive, and at the same time we were disabled. There was nothing holding back irrational and irresponsible practices.”
However as yet it cannot be said that the states have won a clear victory. There are limits on subpoena powers. It is now easier to bring in cases but might be more difficult to initially build these up. If the banking lobby manages to have its say then the victory will only be short lived and not permanent.
Washington is the scene of hectic lobbying by the banking sector to try and contain the aggressiveness of the states. Legislators are being pressurized to pre-empt the rules of the state that are stricter than the federal ones. The Obama government till now has been opposing these changes.

Recently the House Financial Services Committee gave its vote in favour of allowing the federal government from blocking state powers regarding regulating the national banks under some circumstances.