foreclosure defense

Legal Defenses for the Borrower Who’s Fallen Behind

Q: I am a couple of months behind on my mortgage and am concerned that I will soon receive a notice of foreclosure. Are there any steps I can take now? And are there any legal defenses should the lender begin the foreclosure process?

A: Up until a couple of years ago, I would tell people that the first step is to discuss your situation with your lender and see whether you can work out something such as a loan modification, spreading out the payments over a longer period of time or even a temporary curtailment of your payments.

I still think this is good advice. However, nowadays it is almost impossible to reach the lender and talk to a responsible person who will have authority to work with you.

Read more about foreclosure defense…

Struggling with high mortgage bills? You may be a victim of mortgage fraud. Contact MFI-Boston for help. We’ll investigate and do a forensic mortgage audit. We may be able to help you save your home. Contact us today!

foreclosure defense

Victims of Mortgage Scam Fight Foreclosure

Raise your hand if you’ve heard something like this before: A couple looking to save money in tough times refinanced their home — only to discover they’d been taken in by fraud. Now they are fighting foreclosure and the loss of their home.

What you probably haven’t heard before is that they are being foreclosed on by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., a federal agency that generally pushes to keep people in their homes by reworking loans rather than foreclosing them.

So Glenn and Brenda Clark of Golden Valley are taking another unusual step — they are fighting their foreclosure in federal court.

The Clarks have filed suit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, saying their foreclosure is improper. They have asked for a temporary restraining order to allow them to come up with a way to stay in the home where they raised two daughters since 1993.

Read more about fighting foreclosure…

Struggling with high mortgage bills? You may be a victim of mortgage fraud. Contact MFI-Boston for help. We’ll investigate and do a forensic mortgage audit. We may be able to help you save your home. Contact us today!

foreclosure defense

Massachusetts Court Ruling Favors MFI-Boston and Glenn Russell

Press Release:

FALL RIVER, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–This morning, the Massachusetts Land Court agreed with Attorney Glenn Russell by ruling that mortgage lenders must prove that they are indeed the mortgage note holders of record in order to foreclose. The ruling was part of two court cases, U.S. Bank National Association v. Ibanez (08 MISC 384283 (KCL)) and Wells Fargo v. Larace (08 MISC 386755 (KCL)).

“This is great news for Massachusetts homeowners,” says MFI-Boston President Steve Dibert. “The lender must now prove that he or she has a legitimate claim in order to foreclose. Forcing the lender to provide this proof has been the primary mission of both MFI-Boston and MFI-Miami since I started both companies nearly 18 months ago.”

As the attorney for the Laraces in Wells Fargo v. Larace, Massachusetts Attorney Glenn Russell, Jr. says: “This is a monumental decision in the history of Massachusetts law. This not only gives homeowners another defense during a foreclosure, but it could open the door for anyone to seek damages against their lender if they were illegally foreclosed upon in the past.”

About MFI-Miami and MFI-Boston

Headquartered in Boynton Beach, Florida, MFI-Miami, LLC and its sister company, MFI-Boston, LLC, conduct extensive compliance examinations and mortgage fraud investigations. These two companies are also the only firms that investigate the securitization instruments of homeowners’ mortgages. For more information, visit www.mfi-boston.com or www.mfi-miami.com, contact 561-317-9978, or email steve@mfi-miami.com.

About Glenn F. Russell, Jr.

Glenn F. Russell, Jr. is located in Fall River, Massachusetts. He’s a member of the Massachusetts and Connecticut Bars, where he specializes in foreclosure defense, bankruptcy, personal injury and divorce law. For more information, visit www.foreclosuresinmass.com, call 508-324-4545, or email russ45esq@gmail.com.

foreclosure defense

Saying I Do, Can Mean Saying “Oh No You Don’t”, To A Foreclosing Lender

Glenn F. Russell, Jr.
Law Office of Glenn F. Russell, Jr.
Fall River, MA

If your lender is seeking to foreclose on your home, and you live in a state that recognizes a type of property ownership known as “Tenancy by the Entirety”, both spouses’ signatures are required to be on all of the loan and property documentation when you purchased your home.

Tenancy by the entirety is recognized in 28 States, including Massachusetts, Florida, the District of Columbia, and Michigan (Real Estate only). Tenancy by the entirety is like a joint tenancy, in a tenancy by the entirety, creditors of one spouse usually can’t come after the indebted spouse’s portion of the property, as is the case with joint ownership.

In some states (like Massachusetts) when married couples purchase property, it is automatically transferred to them as a tenancy by the entirety, unless the couple specifically states that the property is to be transferred as some other type of estate (such as joint tenants). In other states, couples have to specifically state that the title be transferred this way.

If the property was transferred as a tenancy by the entirety, in most cases the foreclosing lender will not be able to foreclose and sell you property, but will be able to place a lien on the property equal to the spouse’s share who did sign the loan documents, as long as the couple remains married, and alive. However this share is only what is called a “contingent” interest, meaning that the lender would only take actual ownership of the property if the non-signing pre-deceased the signing spouse. If the couple divorced, the lender could now begin the foreclosure process.

For example, say Fred and Wilma bought a home while they were married, and received title to the property as tenants by the entirety. In 2005 Fred decides he is going to take a second loan on the property. Fred contacts Mr. Slate at Bedrock Mortgage, who promptly sends a representative out to Fred’s home to have him fill out the loan application. In the rush to get as many loans as
possible, Bedrock Mortgage does not realize the names of both spouses have to be on the loan. The lender is now only left with the possibility it may acquire the property, and it cannot currently foreclose while the couple is married, and both are alive.

During the “mortgage frenzy” over the past 7 years, mortgage brokers could not keep up with the paperwork, and became very sloppy, or worse. Because of this fact, many times these people were in such a rush, and lacked the knowledge about this issue, to even ask for both signatures.

So, if you are married and being threatened with foreclosure and you happen to live in a state that recognizes tenancy by the entirety, check your mortgage deed to see if that is the type of title you have to your property. If the answer is yes, then carefully review all of your mortgage loan documents to see if both of your signatures are on all of the paper work, especially the mortgage
note. If you find that your signatures are not on the note, you may have a very real chance to tell your lender “Oh No You Don’t!

Attorney Russell is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and has decided to base his practice in the area of foreclosure defense, and related areas of the law such as bankruptcy, and divorce. You can learn more at www.foreclosuresinmass.com. He can be reached by phone at (508) 324-4545.

Prior to becoming a licensed attorney, he was a professional Jai Alai player in West Palm Beach, and Quincy Florida, as well as Newport, RI.