A three judge panel federal court ruled recently against Dell Computer when Dell continued to use an automated dialing system to make debt collection calls to a consumer. This consumer had written Dell asking it to stop calling her cell phone. Dell ignored the letter. The 3rd Circuit Court of…
Traditionally in Florida, doing a short sale rather than allowing a foreclosure sale to occur is considered much better for your credit. Not so much difference in credit score per se, but mostly for future governmental financing when it is time to buy a home again. You may think who…
There are new TPD (disability) regulations going into effect on July 1, 2013 to help our student loan clients in Florida and elsewhere. These new changes apply only to applications received after July 1, 2013. In a nutshell, the significant changes are designed to make an application much more streamlined!…
Bank of America simply cannot get it right. Our Tampa, Florida law firm sees violations regularly whether it involves foreclosure or bankruptcy. Of particular note these violations are all one way and they put money in BofA’s pocket. If they were truly errors, wouldn’t they immediately be corrected once pointed…
Another tool to help Florida homeowners keep their home and avoid foreclosure will be available this summer. Only Fannie and Freddie owned mortgages are eligible, but starting July 1, 2013, a new streamlined program is being rolled out to help modification efforts. This program will eliminate the strenuous income documentation…
Short sales are good for a number of reasons: 1) many homes are underwater 50% or more and it could be a decade or more to get in a position of having even a dollar of equity; 2) most short sales will result in a written waiver of deficiency of…
The Miami Herald just remarked that the passage of these Florida foreclosure bills (HB 87 and SB 1666) is an open invitation to more bank fraud. And more houses owned by banks in bulk to be sold to institutional investors. This is an opinion piece published in the Tallahassee Democrat.…
At the end of February 2013, the Middle District, Tampa Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court announced an amended Uniform Chapter 13 Plan would have a new choice for debtors. Debtors can now choose whether they want property of the estate to vest in the Debtor’s name upon confirmation of…
Don’t be fleeced by debt collectors. You have protections. In Florida, we have the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act available to our clients. I was reminded this week that not everyone knows their rights when the mother of a debtor called me. She…
The late night fiscal cliff tenative workout included a proposed extension of the Mortgage Debt Relief Forgiveness Act for one more year to include 2013! Floridians seeking to short sale their home but weren’t able to get it done prior to the end of 2012 can breathe a sigh of…