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Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

Foreclosure FAQs

1. What is foreclosure?
Foreclosure is a civil legal action in which a lender files a lawsuit against a borrower in order to terminate the borrower’s rights to a property and force its sale. The lender will receive proceeds from the sale in an order of priority along with any other claims.

2. What are my options if I have stopped making paymentsor I am behind in payments?
An experienced and well trained foreclosure defense attorney can assist property owners in a number of ways, including those listed in the understanding my options page. Some of the options include helping you:

Reside in your home without having to pay mortgage,
Continue collecting rent or other income on the property,
Negotiate a loan modification, short sale or deed-in-lieu with your lender,
Sell your home at market value, and/or
File for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection.

3. What happens after I have been served with a notice of foreclosure?
After you have been served with a notice of foreclosure in Florida, it is important that you know that you have only 20 days to file a response with the court. If this timeline has passed, even if a default judgment has already been entered against you , you may still have options. Please see the timeline graph we have in the Understanding the Mortgage Process page to better understand the process and the times for deadlines and please call us or another attorney if more than 20 calendar days have passed since you were served with a foreclosure lawsuit.

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4. Can I stop foreclosure?
Yes, with the help of an experienced and knowledgeable attorney, you may be able to stop a foreclosure. We have an arsenal of defensesthat we use to help our clients.

5. Why not just let the bank foreclose and walk away?
If you owe more on a property than the bank ultimately receives in a foreclosure sale, the bank can sue you for the difference, seeking a “deficiency judgment.” There are other tax and credit considerations as well. Even if you decide to walk away, it is important to retain a foreclosure defense lawyer.

6. Why try to defendagainst my foreclosure if I can’t afford the payments on the mortgage anyway?
Hiring an attorney to defend your case can be a very cost-effective option. An experienced foreclosure defense lawyer can help protect your rights, limit your exposure to a deficiency judgment, potentially save you thousands of dollars in taxes and saved mortgage payments and may even be able to help you keep your home.

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7. Do I have a better chance of keeping my home if I contact an attorney before a foreclosure action is filed?
Typically the answer is yes. By giving lenders advanced notice of your difficulty making payments and desire to work out alternatives to foreclosure like short sale, deed-in-lieu or loan modification, you can help the smooth the process along and get a head start on the alternatives before a lawsuit is filed. Having an experienced foreclosure attorney guide you through these steps, can help even more.

8. My bank won’t negotiateand just wants to be paid. How can an attorney help?
An experienced foreclosure defense lawyer can help you get through the red tape to more easily and quickly reach a decision maker to help modify your loan, get a short sale approved, or arrange for a deed-in-lieu. At Rosen & Rosen we know the intricacies of the law and federal programs to help guide you through the process and often times wind up educating the lender on the law. By having an experienced foreclosure defense attorney on your side you greatly increase the chances of being able to work out an alternative to foreclosure and/or a way to stay in your home by either delaying or preventing a foreclosure.

9. Do I really need a foreclosure defense attorney and who should I hire?
Getting served in a lawsuit can be an uneasy and nerve wracking experience. There are numerous legal and tax consequences involved. With an experienced and thoroughly trained foreclosure defense attorney by your side, Rosen & Rosen can help you along every step of the way. From pre-foreclosure alternatives like working out a loan modification, short sale or deed-in-lieu to using our arsenal of defenses and more, the foreclosure protection lawyers at Rosen & Rosen will gladly look out for your best interest in every possible way. We personally took the time to write every word of our website just so potential clients like yourself have access to the most thorough information available to help you make an informed decision not only about your case but also about the lawyers you hire. Banks and lenders have attorneys looking out for their best interests, property owners facing a Florida foreclosure should have an attorney looking out for theirs as well.

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10. How long does the foreclosure process take?
Before the current mortgage crisis, foreclosures in Florida have taken approximately 4 to 6 months. However, since the flood of foreclosures began in early 2007, courts have been bottlenecked with hundreds of thousands of pending foreclosure cases with thousands more being filed every month. With the help of experienced and well trained attorneys like those at Rosen & Rosen, we can help slow the process substantially or possibly even stop it.

11. Can I remain in my home during the foreclosure process?
Yes. You can remain in your home up throughout the foreclosure. Possession is forfeited at the very end of the foreclosure process timeline which can be found in Understanding the Foreclosure Process.

12. What is a deficiency judgment?
A deficiency judgment is an unsecured money judgment obtained against a borrower whose mortgage foreclosure sale did not produce sufficient funds to pay the underlying promissory note, or loan, in full. In Florida, a “recourse” state, these are permissible.

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13. What is a demand or acceleration letter?
A demand or acceleration letter is a letter from the lender to the borrower notifying the borrower that they are in default on the terms of the mortgage and as per the “acceleration clause” in the mortgage, the lender is asking that the loan be paid in full within 30 days. If you have received a notice of acceleration, you should take immediate action and start by contacting an attorney.

14. What is an Equity Right of Redemption?
The right of a borrower or mortgagor to redeem his or her property at any time by paying the outstanding balance in full. In Florida, the equity right of redemption is terminated at the time a “Certificate of Sale” is issued.

15. What is a loan modification?
A procedure in which a loan’s terms, such as the interest rate, monthly payment and/or term, are altered with the approval of a lender.

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16. What is a deed in lieu of foreclosure?
The process in which a borrower agrees to convey the property to the lender and the lender agrees to forgo the foreclosure process.

17. What is a short sale?
A workout procedure in which the lender agrees to accept less than the full balance due on the loan as part of a sale. The lender agrees to forgo foreclosure, which exposes the lender to more time, money and risk to the lender from things such as vandalism, general upkeep, declines in market value, and marketing costs for resale.

18. What is the Mortgage Foreclosure Debt Relief Act?
The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief. This provision applies to debt forgiven in calendar years 2007 through 2012. Up to $2 million of forgiven debt is eligible for this exclusion ($1 million if married filing separately).

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Usually, debt that is forgiven or cancelled by a lender must be included as income on your tax return and is taxable. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 allows you to exclude certain cancelled debt on your principal residence from income

19. Why did my mortgage lender send my payment back to me?
Banks and lenders, concerned that accepting a partial payment will affect their rights in a foreclosure suit, will often refuse to accept payment for less than the total amount, including attorney’s fees, late fees and foreclosure costs, once a foreclosure action is started. If your bank has refused to accept a mortgage payment, you should contact Rosen & Rosen or another qualified foreclosure defense firm immediately.

20. What if I am behind on other bills, including car loans and credit cards?
At Rosen & Rosen, not only can we help you defend against your foreclosure; we may also be able to help with any other unsecured debt, such as credit cards, car payments and medical bills. Bankruptcy, an area of the law in which we also offer representation, may be an option for some clients.

21. Should I file for bankruptcy if I am facing foreclosure?
Bankruptcy will at least temporarily halt foreclosure actions and is an option you can discuss with Rosen & Rosen. In certain situations, it is possible to discharge a second mortgage and keep your home following bankruptcy.

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22. Does it matter where my property is located?
We currently are defending cases in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties but because of our regular involvement with other foreclosure defense attorneys throughout the country, you can call us for a referral or recommendation for an attorney anywhere in the United States.

23. Do you offer payment plans?
We understand the difficulty most homeowners are facing and will gladly try to work out payment plans with any client. Our prices are reasonable and fair. Our focus is on our serving our clients not on how much money we can make in each case.

24. Do you accept credit cards?
We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express.

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We are a debt relief agency. In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.