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Phone-Police-150x150.jpgA 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 Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that although the consumer had initially listed her cell phone number on her application for credit, she later revoked the consent to call her on that cell phone. This case is likely to have far reaching implications including as far away as Florida because it is a federal court and believed to be one of the first to consider this issue.

The debt collector unsuccessfully argued that the consumer did not have a right to revoke consent. Once given, it argued Dell could call and call, and then call some more. It couldn’t have been more wrong.

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forclosure-vs_-short-sale~s400x400.jpgTraditionally 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 cares, why would I want to buy another home after this disaster? The thing is, seven years is a long time to wait if you change your mind, get married or see a good deal.

Short sellers can qualify for new conventional loans in as little as two years. The same two year period of time that is required following a bankruptcy. Foreclosures though often require a seven year wait for a new mortgage that complies with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac’s guidelines.

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wheelchair grad.jpgThere 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!

1. There will no longer be a requirement that student loan debtors obtain certification and medical documentation from a physician showing recent visits and lack of employability.

2. Only one application is required even if multiple loan servicers.

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bofa.jpgBank 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 out and wouldn’t the errors go both ways?

Just last week, the Center for Investigative Reporting issued a lengthy case study on yet another botched foreclosure in California by Bank of America.

This is not a one time event I assure you. It extends from coast to coast.

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bank owned.jpgAnother 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 and hardship rules that apply now. Avoid your home becoming “bank owned” by taking advantage of this new program. It will likely be of the most benefit to those who are dealing with large disorganized servicers, strategic defaulters with difficult to prove hardships or business owners who have a hard time proving income.

If you are unsure if your mortgage is owned by Fannie or Freddie, please check Freddie’s lookup site or Fannie’s lookup site. These two resources are also listed on our website’s Resources page.

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short sale mix.jpgShort 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 unpaid mortgage balance;

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houses.jpgThe 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. Since not many in the Tampa Bay area likely read the Tallahassee Democrat, I thought I would include it here. Please help by contacting your legislative representatives and express your vote against HB 87 and SB 1666 if you have a similar story to that below.

I am in foreclosure. Although I am not proud of that, I know my foreclosure is not my fault.

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question.jpgAt 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 the plan, or they can choose to wait until discharge or dismissal.

Ok, so what does this really mean? I would easily bet that most debtors do not know what option is best for them in their particular situtation. I imagine that the volume bankruptcy mills don’t care even if they do know. After all I get several emails/calls a month from debtors who hired a mill who got things wrong or won’t return phone calls. They’ve been forced to google for the answer and came up with my blogs. Sorry, you get what you pay for, but that’s another story for another day.We refer to this quandry about vesting as a Section 1306 vs.1327 question. Under Section 1306, vesting occurs at the discharge. Under Section 1327, it occurs much earlier at confirmation of the plan. An Eleventh Circuit case from July 2000, Telfair v. First Union Mortgage Corp., 216 F.3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2000) pointed out a perfect example of why a bankrupt debtor may want to leave jurisdiction over property with the bankruptcy court until discharge. In that case, the mortgage company began to apply post-petition mortgage payments to its attorney’s fees and costs of curing a default after confirmation. First Union forceplaced insurance not with the prior insurance company used by the debtor, but rather with its own subsidiary at considerable additional expense and hefty fees to First Union. No approval of the bankruptcy court was needed since the plan had allowed the property to re-vest with the debtor. As the debtor owed less on the the property than what was owed, this was a pretty sneaky way to relieve the debtor of years of built up equity.

As a consumer advocate and Max Gardner bootcamper, we highly recommend that Debtors take advantage of the protections afforded by the bankruptcy court and choose to vest property to the debtor at the time of discharge or dismissal (the end of the case) and not the far earlier date of confirmation which occurs very early in the case.

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upside down man.jpgDon’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 was conned into paying $600 to avoid the threatened arrest of her daughter per a warrant that was allegedly on the judge’s desk to be signed in 20 minutes. My client needed that $600 but under presssure, she caved. There are certain things debt collectors cannot do (and if they do, they are liable for statutory damages even though you do not have any actual damages):

1. Pretend to be someone else.

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short sale tax.jpgThe 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 relief. It’ll take a few days, but provided the House approves the Senate’s Bill, it will be full speed ahead for short sales for another year.

Popular blogger Calculated Risk posted the Senate version of the bill (H.R. 8) today.

Expiration of the favorable tax treatment of cancelled debt would create a major headache for homeowners who sell their home short (for less than what is owed). It would also apply to foreclosures and a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

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