Bankruptcy

Defending Mortgage Foreclosure

By Jonathan Alper

There are so many foreclosures and so few attorneys who know how to defend on behalf of the homeowner. I have referred many clients facing foreclosure to an Orlando real estate attorney named David Cohen. David has had good success delaying foreclosures and thereby giving his clients extra time to remain in their homes without paying any mortgages or taxes. David recently gave me an overview of his tactics and results fighting foreclosure suits on behalf of many people who were either unable to make payments or who decided to walk away from their homes with negative equity.

David Cohen explained that simply by filing an answer to a mortgage foreclosure complaint will give the homeowner at least five or six months in the home. Most homeowners do not answer foreclosure complaints, and foreclosure judgments are entered by default. Default foreclosure judgments are easy for the mortgage lender to process quickly. Filing an answer requires the lender to turn the file over to legal staff for more involved litigation. Creative defenses make the foreclosure more difficult. In some cases, a defense attorney can find technical defects in the foreclosure suit or the original loan documents which can substantially dely foreclosure and even defeat the lender?s lawsuit. David Cohen says that in most cases he is able to delay foreclosure suits more than six months and often as long a nine months after the complaint is filed and the homeowner is served with a summons.

Legal fees associated with foreclosure defense usually range between $1,500 and $3,500 over a four to nine month period. Complicated cases which delay foreclosure even longer may costs more for legal help. For most homeowners, the legal fees of foreclosure defense will be substantially less than their monthly housing expense so that it usually is a good business decision to hire an attorney to defend and delay foreclosure actions.

Full post as published by Florida Bankruptcy Law on July 01, 2008 (boomark / email).