10 Things to Know About Mortgage Debt Collectors and Florida Short Sales, Florida Foreclosures, and Florida Home Loan Modifications

Larry Tolchinsky | February 2, 2012

In Florida, countless home owners are facing the lose of their home to foreclosure because they can’t continue to make their mortgage payments due to lost jobs, medical expenses, and other life events.  Other home owners have mortgages that are much, much larger than the fair market value of their homes and they are wondering [...]

How the Federal Servicing Alignment Initiative Helps Florida Home Owners Wanting to Short Sale

Larry Tolchinsky | January 17, 2012

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) implemented the federal Servicing Alignment Initiative last year and, in 2012, this new federal incentive plan should boost the number of short sales here in Florida, which is great news for home owners wanting to avoid a foreclosure. What is the Servicing Alignment Initiative? The Servicing Alignment Initiative is [...]

Florida Real Estate Closings Are Important: Checking Paperwork Details May Have Saved Florida Homeowners From Foreclosure Filing by Bank of America Eight Years Later

Larry Tolchinsky | January 10, 2012

At most real estate closings, there’s lots of paperwork.  Page after page of single-spaced language that has to be reviewed, and then  affirmed by the signor that they read and understood all that language in all those pages. Which is what  Barbara and Rick Borchers did when when they sold their Florida home eight years [...]

The Short Sale Transaction in Florida: Things That the Seller (and Buyer) Need to Know Before Closing the Short Sale of a Florida Home – Clouds on Title

Larry Tolchinsky | January 3, 2012

The former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (1987-97) and the current chief economist for Florida Realtors | Orlando gave his take this week on the current Florida real estate climate in an article written by Orlando Sentinel staff writer Mary Shanklin.  You can read the full article, entitled “Talking With … John [...]

New Pew Study Finds Many Americans Think It’s Okay to Default on an Underwater Mortgage: Evaluating Your Options

Larry Tolchinsky | December 29, 2011

The Pew Research Center is one of the country’s most respected research firms, and here at year end, many are listening to what Pew is  reporting regarding Americans’ take on the foreclosure crisis and people not paying their mortgages.  What has Pew discovered? In answers to a Pew survey, thirty-six percent (36%) of Americans said [...]

Florida Short Sales: Should You Short Sale Your Florida Home in 2012?

Larry Tolchinsky | December 27, 2011

Here we are at the end of a stressful financial year for South Florida, and it’s time for all those New Year’s Resolutions to be made for 2012.  Finances are considered, plans are made…and for Florida homeowners with underwater mortgages or with defaulting home loans who are sitting in homes with the stress of a [...]

Florida Mortgage Mediation Program Closes Its Doors: What This Means for Florida Home Owners Facing Foreclosure

Larry Tolchinsky | December 22, 2011

The Florida Supreme Court’s top judge just signed an order on December 19, 2011, that shut the doors on the Florida Managed Foreclosure Mediation Program that the Supreme Court had set up back in 2009.  You can read the Administrative Order (AOSC11-44) signed by Chief Justice Charles Canady online here. What happened? Back in 2009, the [...]

Florida Homeowners Win One Battle in Foreclosure Fraud as Florida Appeals Court Rules In Their Favor in McLean v. J.P. Morgan Chase

Larry Tolchinsky | December 20, 2011

The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals just issued an opinion that is a very big deal for Florida homeowners everywhere – but especially those who are facing foreclosure as well as those with underwater mortgages who are wondering what their future holds.  In Robert McLean v. J.P. Morgan Chase, as Trustee, Florida’s homeowners won [...]

Florida Foreclosure Defense Basics: The Difference Between Your Note and Your Mortgage and Your Deed of Trust (and Why You Should Care About This)

Larry Tolchinsky | December 15, 2011

Florida home owners – especially those in trouble on their home loans and considering foreclosure, short sale, or what to do about their underwater mortgage – need to know the difference between some of the documents that they signed long ago when they bought their home. Note, Mortgage, Deed of Trust: what are they, what [...]

Congress Fixing Foreclosure Mess: New Bill Proposes to Limit or Nix Deficiency Judgments on Homes in Proposed Fairness in Foreclosures Act

Larry Tolchinsky | December 8, 2011

It’s being called the Fairness in Foreclosures Act of 2011, although it’s proceeding through the United States House of Representatives as House Resolution 3566, and it’s a big deal to a lot of homeowners in trouble all across the country.  If this bill becomes federal law, there will be a limit of ONE YEAR on any [...]