Presented by Ricardo & Wasylik, PL

Clear Image Financial Group, Inc. shut down by state regulators for loan modification violations

March 18, 2010

The Tampa Tribune reports that state regulators have shut down Clear Image Financial Group, a Tampa-area loan modification firm. “We have a lot of people out of work and struggling to keep their homes that are looking for help. Some are paying for services they never get,” said the agency’s Commissioner Tom Cardwell. “It is […]

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Back from the debt: owing money on property you thought you paid off

March 15, 2010

When you sell a piece of property you generally presume that you are no longer responsible for what might happen to the property after it’s transferred to the new owners, but that’s not what happened to a recent caller to the firm looking for help. This individual called to ask how she could be responsible […]

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Notice of default (What’s in Your Mortgage?)

March 11, 2010

Your mortgage is a thick, dense, practically unreadable document that dictates many of the terms of the relationship between the borrower and the lender on a typical home loan. The document itself is written by the bank’s lawyers, and most of them tend to use specific language that has been tried-and-true in other deals. In […]

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How to beat foreclosure the wrong way: bankruptcy abuse

March 6, 2010

How to beat foreclosure Today’s St. Petersburg Times features a front-page story with the bold-face heading “How to Beat Foreclosure” and tells the stories of people who have stayed in their homes for years by gaming the system. Only one problem: filing bankruptcy time and time again is an abuse of the system, and can […]

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The bank can change your locks before foreclosure. (What’s In Your Mortgage?)

February 25, 2010
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Locked out Imagine this: you’re on a two-week vacation. You come back, and find a notice on your door: Entry by unauthorized persons prohibited. Alarmed, you try your key in the lock – it doesn’t fit. You peek through the windows and see that everything you left behind is gone – your furniture, your clothes, […]

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What tricks and traps did the bank slip into your mortgage?

February 22, 2010

Car rental companies hate me. Whenever I rent a car, before I sign that two-sided, extra-long, faint-colored fine-print contract of theirs, I sit and read it, so I know what I’ve agreed to. Now, I’ve been a lawyer for fifteen years. I can say I understand those contracts almost all the time. But the average […]

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Lenders sign bogus paperwork to support foreclosures

February 15, 2010
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Bogus property records What if you lost your house because the bank submitted bogus paperwork to the court? It happens more often than you think. Sometimes, it’s just a mistake. Sometimes, it’s a cover-up of past mistakes. Sometimes, it’s out-and-out fraud by the foreclosing lender. Here’s a shocking example from the Tampa Bay area: evidence […]

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Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure: Florida lawyers spot bait-and-switch scam

November 3, 2009
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Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure: Giving up the keys Just want to hand in the keys and walk away from your upside-down loan? Many of our clients – often facing impossible monthly payments or gut-wrenching shortfalls on their loan-to-value ratios – just want to turn in the keys and walk away from their loans. “What […]

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Another foreclosure crisis: Not enough lawyers defending homeowners

October 9, 2009

We’re all familiar with the all-too-common cries that the number of foreclosures in this country is reaching “crisis” proportions. But the New York Times sees another kind of crisis: those in foreclosure trouble don’t have access to legal help. an overwhelming number of homeowners who face foreclosure do not have legal help in protecting their […]

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Illegal eviction in Florida foreclosures: borrower beware!

June 18, 2009
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Going through foreclosure? Not sure when you have to leave? Illegal eviction explained You’re at risk for an illegal eviction. Tampa resident and illegal eviction victim Bruce Wernet explains. I came home to find two trucks being loaded with my personal belongings. A “lock-out” company, hired by the bank, informed me that the house was […]

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Florida lawmakers stick it to foreclosure victims again: homeowners’ filing fees go up to $1,900

May 29, 2009
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No man’s life, liberty, nor property is safe while the legislature is in session. –Judge Gideon Tucker Foreclosure filing fees jacked up to $1,900 In an apparent effort to stem the tide of foreclosure cases, and stauch the bleeding budget at the same time, the Florida Legislature this year jacked up court fees in foreclosure […]

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Fake Sale Dates and Identity Theft

May 21, 2009
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Identity Theft Warning The phone rings. On the other end, someone claims to be calling from your bank, telling you that a sale date has been scheduled on your home for next week, or the week after. But, they say, you can stop this if you submit an application for a loan modification. All you […]

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Obama foreclosure plan or loan modification scam?

April 20, 2009
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Looking for government help to save homes One of the most popular search terms people use to find one of our sites is “Obama foreclosure plan.” Homeowners in economic distress are hungry for information about government programs. And of course, where there are people hungry for information about what the government is doing to help […]

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Senator Martinez responds to foreclosure concerns, weakly.

April 17, 2009
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My friend Deidre Newton wrote to U.S. Senator Martinez in support of the “Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act” (S. 61). This legislation would allow a bankruptcy judge to modify the terms of a debtor’s primary residence and reduce the principal owed on a mortgage to avoid home foreclosure. Senator Martinez wrote back, […]

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New scorched-earth tactics from second-note lenders: skip foreclosure, skip deficiency judgment, go straight for the jugular

April 16, 2009

Florida asset protection lawyer Jonthan Alper reports that more second-note holders are skipping the foreclosure process and going straight to court on the promissory note itself. A colleague of Alper’s says, “In other words they are seeking what is tantamount to a deficiency decree and will not have to go through any procedure to domesticate […]

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Two more loan modification firms taking up-front fees draw the wrath of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum: National Foreclosure Counseling Services Corp. and Keep Your Property, Inc.

April 10, 2009

Two more loan modification shops are under fire from Florida’s Attorney General Bill McCollum: The lawsuits were filed against south Florida’s Keep Your Property Inc. and Jacksonville-based National Foreclosure Counseling Services Corp. The attorney general’s office alleges that both companies charged up-front fees to customers facing foreclosure. This is against the law in Florida. McCollum […]

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Dishonest process servers deliver consumer injustice

April 7, 2009

What if someone sued you and you didn’t even know about it? That’s happening to consumers all over the country, because some people appointed to deliver important court papers are lying about doing their jobs. The Home Equity Theft Reporter details a new report from the New York area about this practice. The study suggests […]

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“Almost always scams” – law enforcement cracks down on foreclosure rescue operations

April 7, 2009

Foreclosure rescue scammers now have a new front to worry about: a coordinated operation by state and federal officials to shut down those who prey on foreclosure victims. “The message is very simple: If you prey on vulnerable homeowners with fraudulent mortgage schemes, we’ll find you and we will punish you,” [U.S. Attorney General Eric] […]

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April Charney comes to Tampa again, blasts “sloppiness, deception and outright fraud.”

April 6, 2009

The St. Pete Times reports on April Charney coming to town again: At the start of class, April Charney makes one thing clear. “This is very dense, complicated work,” she warns. “If you don’t get it, raise your hand and ask questions because the chances are others don’t get it either.” [She’s speaking to] lawyers […]

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