If you or anyone you know needs help defending against foreclosure, fighting improper debt collection, obtaining a fresh start in bankruptcy, or buying, selling, or refinancing real estate, please contact us at 855-55-ROSEN or info@evanmrosen.com. Let the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

If you or anyone you know needs help defending against foreclosure, fighting improper debt collection, obtaining a fresh start in bankruptcy, or buying, selling, or refinancing real estate, please contact us at 855-55-ROSEN or info@evanmrosen.com. Let the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

In summary, we are seeing increases in sales activity and prices across the board in South Florida. Inventory (supply) is also dropping.

Knowledge is power and here is the latest:

November 2020 Broward County Single Family Homes Report

November 2020 Broward County Townhouses and Condos Report

November 2020 Miami-Dade County Single Family Homes Report

November 2020 Miami-Dade County Townhouses and Condos Report

November 2020 Palm Beach County Single Family Homes Report

November 2020 Palm Beach County Townhouses and Condos Report

In addition to foreclosure defense, debt defense, consumer protection, and bankruptcy, our office continues to help people buy, sell, and refinance real estate. From contract to closing, we can help with all aspects of real estate transactions.

If you or someone you know needs help defending against foreclosure, fighting improper debt collection, obtaining a fresh start in bankruptcy, or buying, selling, or refinancing real estate, please contact us. Let the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen, P.A. serve you!

It is a yearly tradition that I share some thoughts via a poem.  Just after our drinks arrived, I read the following to everyone:

Welcome to the 2013 holiday party! Work hard, we have this past year. Now, it’s our time to let loose And take a break from our little sphere.

Some new faces we have, Around our party table. Florida’s dream team we have assembled All smart, dedicated, hardworking and able.

Preparing discovery and signing up clients, With a passion for our cause that never wanes. Full of information and a great demeanor, Fighting for justice flows through his veins.

Yes, completing our dynamic duo, The “Wizards of Main Street.” Michael is an incredible asset to our firm; On top of it all, he’s damn good at drafting a tweet.

Next came along, An excellent writer to man the front. Balancing the first line of contact with her other duties At times, must feel like an acrobatic stunt.

First getting my attention By writing about the food desert, Francisca’s mind, energy, devotion and smile; Is where we really hit pay dirt!

Next we found, another dynamic duo. First, a brilliant young lawyer, ready to make her mark. She’ll lull the other side in with her kind ways, And then hit her argument out of the park!

She’s very smart and passionate, About our line of work. It’s evident in her eyes and in everything she does, Tamar is going to crush any bank jerk!

Shortly after finding One great young lawyer, Another I met at a place that serves up A great ham-burger.

It seems like so long ago, That we met that night. Smart and organized, I had no doubt; But now I know, Nakeita is ready to fight!

That killer instinct, To attack when your opponent is weak. Combined with a sharp mind and great writing, Havoc on the banks, you are going to wreak!

There is, of course, Our other “Wizard of Main Street.” Once a warrior against cancer; Now, it’s the banks she wants to beat.

Dedicated, full of knowledge and passion, A special soul in our midst. Thanks to Lisa’s great input, Many more cases have gotten dismissed!

As for all of you, how truly grateful I am To be able to spend each day; The amount of respect and admiration I have, Words can never say.

And while we struggle together, To seek justice in this great cause of our time. I need not remind you; We are fighting a new kind of organized crime.

Their greed and arrogance Knows no bounds. They prey on us like piranhas; And sniff out our money like bloodhounds

Both the carnage and their money Are piling up in historic proportion. Their priorities are skewed; And their truth, full of distortion.

But let not only anger Fill our heart and motivate our ways. For we have a higher calling, Serve our clients, help them to better days

And as we continue to do this Let us celebrate our victories. One day we will all look back, Telling grandkids of our stories

Also let us not forget, That serving others is a noble endeavor. Rewards for our efforts should be ours Along with contentment in our hearts, forever.

A balanced lifestyle, health, and financial security The good life isn’t just for crooks and thieves. Plenty of just rewards await, Those of us doing good deeds.

A better life for all, Is what we hope will one day be. But in the meantime, We must be the change we wish to see.

Before I stop talking So we can kick back and chillax. There is but on more poem I wish to read On me, this has made a huge impact.

From Marriane Williamson, a book called “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles.”   “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” 

So with this in mind And a great new program for us all to grow, Let down your hair Off some steam, let’s blow!

Please join with me In raising your glasses; To us, our clients, and the greater good of the masses!

Let’s drink up and be merry. I’ll stop before there is a coup. Just two more words to end with, To all here, I say, THANK YOU!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to All! From Evan and all of us at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen, P.A.

Our client had a Fannie Mae loan, serviced by one of the biggest banks. The file contained the usual hoof prints of suspicious documents.  It was handled by a foreclosure mill, which was one of many under investigation by the Attorney General’s office.  Unfortunately, this is not unusual…

I woke up the morning of trial raring to go.  I was prepared, calm and pumped with a bit of adrenaline.  Litigators and athletes will understand the letdown I felt when the trial did not go forward.  Their witness did not show and the court ordered a continuance until April 4^th.

In the meantime, our client had a short sale pending on her home.  Like many foreclosure cases lately, banks seem to prefer to foreclose on the home rather than approve a short sale or sustainable modification.  As per our client’s wishes, our office staff tried to overcome the bank’s resistance to final approval of the short sale in hopes of avoiding the looming reset trial date.  We were getting nowhere fast with that.  Being stonewalled on the short sale seemed part of the bank’s plan.  On the eve of trial, the bank’s foreclosure mill contacted us with the typical bargain that we see almost every single other foreclosure defense attorney at trial take. If our client would go quietly and accept a foreclosure judgment which would include her owing a deficiency or huge overage between the amount of the judgment and the value of the property at the time of the foreclosure sale, then the bank would “generously” agree not set the foreclosure sale for ninety days.  What kind of a bargain is that?  If we lose at trial, we get almost the exact same thing.  We consulted with our client.  With no incentive, I eagerly recommended that we try this case and give our client her day in court!

The end of March came.  My calendar was blocked out for a few days prior to the trial in order to finalize preparations for the case, honing in on any detail that might be critical.  We also held a mock trial with my staff as judge, jury, and witness.  My staff is awesome, chocked full of dedicated foreclosure fighters like myself.  Some of them have been regular court watchers at foreclosure trials, including ones where I was on the defense for my clients.  They knew exactly how to recreate what I was sure to once again face.  Adding role playing to my prior trial experience, training and dedication, is a critical piece of trial prep.  My staff was ruthless.  They showed no mercy and we worked hard at refining my approach.

In court, I was in top form as I walked in the lion’s den of a Florida foreclosure courtroom.  Bank lawyers and their robo-testifiers dominated the courtroom.  They possessed every square inch of it.  Tables and chairs piled high with their foreclosure files.  They’re young, confident, and full of smiles and small talk, comfortable and relaxed.  For them, sixty foreclosure trials dispossessing others of their homes in one afternoon is just another day at the office.  For me, I’m driven to serve my clients and to seek justice for the social, ethical, and financial injustices of banks destroying our economy and decimating the middle class only to then be bailed out and pardoned, so they can now take properties by the thousands per week.

My calm yet serious demeanor makes me an oddity in the company of the bank lawyers.  Politely, I smiled and ask for some space.  I refuse to be pushed into a corner when my client is, under the eyes of the law, supposed to be on equal footing with the bank.  Most of the other attorneys are polite and know me by now.  A few moved some files over and cleared a small space.  However, I always get the impression that, by insisting on just a little square footage I am elbowing in where I am not welcome.

As the trials get started, the court reporter, off to the side, gently taps away at her transcribing equipment. The Judge controls the room from up high on the bench.  I watch as countless cases, one by one, are quickly dispensed in favor of the bank. NOT A SINGLE CASE is defended by a homeowner or defense counsel.  My clients’ case is called.  My knowledge of the case, the rules of evidence, my voir dire and cross examination skills are sharp. I am focused.  The judge, a very bright and fair one, listens, considers my objections and arguments and mulls over my cited case law.  As the trial continues on, substantially longer then the usual 5 minutes, behind me I can feel the room full of bank lawyers and witnesses’ eyes frustrated and annoyed, beaming at me. Their irritation is palpable.  Many times I can almost see the exaggerated eye-rolling going on behind my back.  I remain calm, unruffled, and professional.  Above all, my clients have their right to their day in court and it’s my obligation and honor to see that they get it!

The trial lasted over an hour, practically unheard of in foreclosure rocket trial world.  After the Plaintiff “rests”, I moved for involuntary dismissal; the Plaintiff has not proved its case.  The judge wants to hear argument on my motion, but not then, not that day.  He wants to hear it during a special set hearing and orders us back in a month.

That hearing took place last week.  I went back, after having timely filed our detailed Memorandum in Support of our Motion for Involuntary Dismissal full of cites to the trial transcript and applicable case law to back up our arguments.  We clearly laid out our client’s position and the law.  A few hours before the hearing, the bank’s lawyers untimely filed their own Memo.  Tellingly, there was not a single reference to the trial transcript.  Not one!  It was, however, filled with a lot of hot air for me to prepare to deflate.  The first hour and half of the hearing was absorbed with both sides arguing their positions.  However, eventually the Judge announced he would mull it over some more, privately, before ruling.  I certainly applauded his desire to thoroughly consider our arguments and make the right call.  After a few moments in chambers, he came back.  We both looked up expectantly.  The Judge said he needed some more time and would issue a written opinion in a few days.

Well, after a few days, we are pleased to announce our Motion for Involuntary Dismissal was GRANTED!  Because of thorough preparation with our great team and precision execution, we were able to demonstrate at trial and via our Motion and Memorandum, that the Plaintiff did not meet its burden to prove its case.

Judge ordered, CASE DISMISSED!

~

If you are in South Florida and are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, student loans, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754) 400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Of course, initially, my mind repeated an internal loop of things I could have said or done differently. Mentioning the Boultbee case which stands for the proposition that a denial along with raising the specific statute, similar to the specific paragraph in the mortgage, in an affirmative defense, without more, is enough to adequately deny the general allegation that conditions precedent have been met to shift the burden back to the Plaintiff to prove that element of their case, is one example.  We did cite that case in our brief but this point is in a footnote.  I sure hope the Judges see that.  There were others but that was the one that bothered me most. This may or may not have made a difference and second guessing your performance as a lawyer is part of the job.  However, overall, I knew the law and was proud of the way things went.  I received a number of calls and emails from trial and appellate lawyers whom I respect and admire and the feedback was positive.  Especially since appellate law sets precedent, this was reassuring. As much as my focus is on serving my clients, I know that many others can be affected by this ruling.

Taking a further step back, I can’t help but wonder whether or not this case would have even needed to be appealed if it were not a foreclosure case.  A few years ago, just before the foreclosure crisis, I was in the middle of a 5-day jury trial.  In the case, like in almost all others, the Judge was called upon to rule as to whether or not a document could be admitted into evidence for the jury to consider in its deliberations.  It was a small, one of many, physical therapy bill.  Rather than seek someone from the physical therapist’s office to admit the bill in a case that involved major surgeries, we sought to admit it through the testimony of a doctor.  The doctor knew the bill was fair and accurate, and even knew that the services were ordered, reasonable, and necessary.  However, as required by Florida Statutes 90.803(6), he could not testify as to when the bill was made, how it was made, how it was kept, and whether or not it was made by a person with knowledge. We had admitted similar evidence in other cases usually by agreement but this opposing lawyer would not stipulate.  Because the doctor couldn’t truthfully testify to the issues or “prongs” required by 90.803(6), the judge properly excluded the bill from coming into evidence.  We had our client later testify based on her personal knowledge as to the amount of that bill so no harm was done.

However, while preparing for the Murillo appeal, that fairly routine trial experience, one of many as a litigator for over 15 years, kept coming to mind.  In this pending appeal, while the witness for the Plaintiff did actually work for the bank, her knowledge of relevant portions of the bank’s vast operations were just as foreign to her as the physical therapist’s business records were to the doctor.  This bank witness worked only in cases in litigation.  She never testified that she had any training in record preparation or maintenance, or whether or not the record was prepared by a person with knowledge. She admitted to never playing any role in how records were made or kept by the bank.  Yet for some reason, up until now, that was good enough in this case.

The evidence code is a body of law which guides what our courts, judges, and juries can and cannot consider in its deliberations.  It applies equally to all cases.  Criminal and civil, murder and personal injury, and yes, foreclosures. It matters not.  Lady justice is blindfolded so that all who come before her and the causes they seek to remedy are treated equally.

A foundational bedrock to the ideal of equal application of the law, the evidence code was designed to protect us from incorrect or inaccurate information.  Whether it be information which has been manipulated solely for trial, deliberately or by accident, or just information which circumstances show a “lack of trustworthiness.”  The code is the equivalent of a computer’s anti-virus software, acting as a barrier so that information of questionable reliability does not unduly influence the rule of law in any particular case.  Sure, there are times when cases are won or lost on evidentiary technicalities, when justice might require a different outcome.  However, eventually the rule of law, when applied correctly, almost always gets it right.

Besides, we are all bound by the law.  This is one of the chief principles of a civilized society.  A Judge regarded as among the most brilliant in the history of South Florida jurisprudence, who served as Chief Justice of his district for 21 years and yet still serves on the bench, once summed it up in a specially concurring legal opinion, “[a]s someone – probably either St. Thomas More or George Costanza – must have said, the law is the law. Notwithstanding the distasteful consequences of applying it in this case, it must be served.”

Also, not far from my thoughts are the injustice of this entire crisis that we are still very much working through.  After Wall Street’s greed filled treasure bath and endless admissions to crimes resulting in the near decimation of our middle class, rather than hold them accountable, we coddled them back to life with trillions of dollars in near zero percent federal reserve loans.  And we did this so they can now repossess houses by the thousands, per week?  These houses are then sold in bulk at steep discounts to hedge funds and other insiders and “investors.”  I struggle to see the fairness or logic in this. Yet, even principal reductions, which may yield more to the banks then the status quo, do not work for so many who cannot afford their homes even if the loan balance was slashed to fair market value.  All I ask for is to just apply the rule of law.

Which leads me to my last point, paradigm shift. Not only are we suddenly facing a new reality of dispossessing so many of their homes with no end in sight, of letting the financial industry escape accountability while moon walking away with golden parachutes and yacht-loads of loot, but there also seems to have been a shift in how we tolerate lies and false statements.  In the Murillo case, opposing counsel in his oral argument and brief made statement after statement which the record and transcript clearly show in black and white to be false.  Their recitations of my objections, my answer to the Complaint, and the witness’ testimony, in multiple respects, were just not accurate.  An extremely accomplished judge with nearly 400 jury trials under her, Tae Kwon Do black belt, should be able to rely on appellee’s brief when reading back passages in Court without me pointing out that what she just read and what was stated more than once in that brief was not true.  The witness never testified that she had daily involvement in a supervisory capacity, that it was customary to prepare and maintain the Notice of Acceleration, that there was a procedure for creating these notices nor that she was familiar with that practice and procedure. Yet all of these false statements were in appellee’s brief, in some instances, multiple times and others with cites to the record that do not support the the appellee’s statements!  In addition, the appellee in their brief misstates the holding of what the 2004 version of Jackson v. State case held!

I am regularly served with documents certified by lawyers as being given to me on a certain day yet I receive it on a different day, irrefutably email time stamped.  I’ve recently seen responses somehow dated before the documents which prompted the response and conveniently also not filed with the court when they were dated.  I’ve stood with gaping jaw, watching countless lawyers appear in court, never having opened the file, totally unprepared, making it up as they go.  Apparently, some think the recipe for turning falsehoods into truths through repetition works in more than just politics.  In a court of law and in communicating with judges and other lawyers, misquoting the record numerous times in an attempt to “win” the case, filing documents with false certifications, back dating, and appearing in court completely unprepared used to be sanctionable conduct.  In my universe, this is the greatest paradigm shift.  I find myself having to fight back from becoming tolerant of these intolerable offenses.  If I got as frustrated as I used to get every time I saw or heard a statement from a lawyer who either knows or seemingly should know that statement was false, I probably would have had to check into Bellevue by now.  So I’ve had to, for my own sanity, learn to emotionally let it go while taking as much action as I can. I can’t solve the world’s problems but I can keep fighting for truth and the rule of law.

I know that it won’t come easy.  Great achievement only comes with great sacrifice, which I’ll continue to do while serving others in the meaningful way that law has provided.  I also know I’m not alone.  There are still plenty of others, in judge’s benches and jury boxes, and in and out of courtrooms doing the same, serving others and standing up for the rule of law.  We all want the same thing, a system that works for all, as best as possible, that we can count on regardless of the money, property, or liberty at stake, and one in which false statements and lack of professional diligence are not tolerated.

As soon as the results are in from Murillo v BAC, I’ll be sure to post!

~

If you are in South Florida and are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, student loans, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754) 400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

What will change if this bill passes?  The law will affect every single pending foreclosure case in the state because it is retroactive.  The banks only need to submit certain documents and then it is up to the homeowner to prove there are issues of fact.  However, the judge can ignore the owner’s issues and enter a ruling anyway!  The traditional rule of law, where a person who sues another must prove their case by “the greater weight of the evidence” will be dead for foreclosure cases.  Banks can take your home away, quickly and easily…  They can continue to fabricate documents as they have been caught doing countless times, file them in court, and then the homeowner has only 20 days to raise doubt, which again, the judge can ignore!  The homeowner is not allowed to take time to ask for bank records or payment history to help prove bank misconduct or a wrongful foreclosure.  Lastly, if a house is wrongfully foreclosed, in certain circumstances a homeowner cannot sue to get their house back!  Even the Godfather of Florida’s civil procedure (court rules), Henry Trawick, one of the state’s most respected lawyers, has come out in opposition to this bill!

Over the next month, the bills will move through committees in the Florida House and the Florida Senate where our elected representatives will vote on the bills.  If the “YES” votes outnumber the “NO” votes in each committee, then the bills will go to a floor vote in both chambers of the Florida legislature (the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate).  If those “YES” votes outnumber the “NO” votes in both chambers and the Governor signs off, the bill becomes a law.

On February 7, 2013 the bill passed through the Florida House Civil Justice Subcommittee with ten yes votes and only three no votes.  Unless citizens strongly oppose this bill as it progresses through the Florida legislature, it will pass into law.

We need your help!   This week, please take the time to call and email the members of the House Justice Appropriations subcommittee.  When you contact the legislators please provide your name, county, and zip code so they see that citizens across the state stand in opposition to this bill.

Actions to take this week.

1. If you haven’t already down so, please sign the petition here.
2. Click here to vote no on the Orlando Sentinel’s poll asking if lawmakers should speed up the foreclosure process.
3. Email and call the representatives listed below.  Tell them to oppose House Bill 87.  Type “OPPOSE HOUSE BILL 87” in the subject line of your emails.  Be sure to include your name, county, and zip code because the lawmakers’ staff track citizen responses to proposed legislation.  You can use this script written by Henry Trawick, or craft your own:

“The enactment of §702.015 is useless, unnecessary and will not expedite the foreclosure process. It gives inadequate remedies to persons who may be seriously injured. It does not give any consideration to existing law on several points. The real problem faced in the foreclosure crisis has been the unwillingness of trial courts to insist on plaintiffs properly preparing the pleadings under existing law, enforcing existing law on the standing of plaintiffs; the refusal of appellate courts to properly enforce existing law on standing in foreclosures; and the unwillingness of banks to promptly push foreclosures to judgment to avoid paying real property taxes, condominium assessments and maintenance for the foreclosed property.” ~ Henry Trawick, Esq.

Here are the email addresses for a quick copy and paste into an email.

charles.mcburney@myfloridahouse.gov,
kathleen.passisomo@myfloridahouse.gov,
darryl.rouson@myfloridahouse.gov,
manny.diaz@myfloridahouse.gov,
dave.kerner@myfloridahouse.gov,
mike.larosa@myfloridahouse.gov,
debbie.mayfield@myfloridahouse.gov,
larry.metz@myfloridahouse.gov,
jared.moskowitz@myfloridahouse.gov,
ray.pilon@myfloridahouse.gov,
elaine.schwartz@myfloridahouse.gov,
lrving.slosberg@myfloridahouse.gov,
charles.vanzant@myfloridahouse.gov

~

If you are in South Florida and are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754) 400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

What will change if this bill passes?  The law will affect every single pending foreclosure case in the state because it is retroactive.  The banks only need to submit certain documents and then it is up to the homeowner to prove there are issues of fact.  However, the judge can ignore the owner’s issues and enter a ruling anyway!  The traditional rule of law, where a person who sues another must prove their case by “the greater weight of the evidence” will be dead for foreclosure cases.  Banks can take your home away, quickly and easily…  They can continue to fabricate documents as they have been caught doing countless times, file them in court, and then the homeowner has only 20 days to raise doubt, which again, the judge can ignore!  The homeowner is not allowed to take time to ask for bank records or payment history to help prove bank misconduct or a wrongful foreclosure.  Lastly, if a house is wrongfully foreclosed, in certain circumstances a homeowner cannot sue to get their house back!

Over the next month, the bills will move through committees in the Florida House and the Florida Senate where our elected representatives will vote on the bills.  If the “YES” votes outnumber the “NO” votes in each committee, then the bills will go to a floor vote in both chambers of the Florida legislature (the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate).  If those “YES” votes outnumber the “NO” votes in both chambers and the Governor signs off, the bill becomes a law.

We need your help!  We’ll be making new blog posts and sending out regular email updates and Action Alerts to our clients and will also be posting them on this blog.  Please take action by following the instructions to call and email your elected representatives to urge them to OPPOSE this bill!  Encourage your friends and family to also take action.  The only hope of defeating this bill and preventing it from becoming Florida law is to raise mass citizen opposition.

For an idea of what we are up against, on Thursday, February 7, 2013, House Bill 87 was up for its first committee vote.  The results (here) were ten YES votes to only three NO votes.  Ten to three.  See where this is going?

Before a subcommittee votes, they hold a hearing where citizens and lobbyists can speak for or against the proposed legislation.  You can watch a video link of the February 7, 2013 committee hearing here, start at 16:15 to watch Representative Kathleen Passidomo discuss her “foreclosure reform” bill followed by speakers deliver comments in response and then finally the committee members vote overwhelmingly to pass the bill to move it on to the next committee vote.  Keep in mind, every year, this bill has included some requirements that are citizen friendly.  As the bill moves through different committees, those parts are weakened or completely removed after powerful and connected bank lobbyists demand changes.  Don’t be fooled!

TODAY’S ACTION ALERT:  Look up your Florida representative here.  Call them NOW and leave a short message to OPPOSE House Bill 87.  If you get a voice mail, leave a message with your name, county, zip code and instructions to OPPOSE HOUSE BILL 87.  Also, please log in to sign this petition.

We know the bill is headed to the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee next.  Stay tuned for the action alert to call and email the members of that committee next.

If you are in South Florida and are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754) 400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

After finalizing the settlement, the DOJ conducted a statistical analysis of millions of Countrywide loans.  The DOJ compiled a list of eligible African-American and Hispanic borrowers who obtained a Countrywide loan which contained higher costs and less favorable rates than loans extended to similarly-qualified non-Hispanic white borrowers during the time frame from 2004 through 2008.  Either a borrower is on this list or not.  There is no dispute process.  Settlement notification letters were mailed in November 2012.  The quickly approaching deadline to return a settlement claim is Thursday, February 28, 2013. 

Despite having numerous African-American and Hispanic clients that should be eligible to participate in this settlement, only one client from our firm received a settlement notification and that client is a non-Hispanic, white person.  This leads us to believe there are massive flaws in the DOJ’s identification and notification process.
If you obtained a Countrywide loan between 2004 through 2008, please call Rust Consulting (1-800-843-5148) which is the consulting firm administering the settlement.  A customer representative will ask a list of identifying questions in order to check your eligibility against their database.   Before settlement funds are disbursed, recipients may be asked to sign a waiver.  It is important to have an attorney review the waiver before you sign it in order to assure that you are fully informed and protected.

It appears Countrywide’s racist practices were not limited to this one mortgage lender’s isolated practices.  There are similar Department of Justice settlements with discriminatory (racist) other lenders; Suntrust (suntrust.settlement@usdoj.gov ),  Wells Fargo (here) and GFI Mortgage Bankers, Inc (800-896-7743 x 9992).

If you are in South Florida and are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754) 400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

While providing the best possible legal service to our clients is and always will be our top priority, we can’t help but also be motivated to see justice serviced for an out of control financial services industry which has made the government and so many others believe they are both too big to fail and too big to jail.  This is despite the fact that all the major players continue to commit a growing list of heinous crimes, like we saw recently from HSBC’s money laundering (and don’t forget Wells Fargo and JP Morgan), racist practices by Countrywide/BoA and Wells Fargo and GFI, Ocwen fraud, and top five banks’ foreclosure fraud, and UBS interest rate rigging, and massive schemes involving forgery and land ownership document forgery and fraud.  It is this combined passion that keeps us working long hours, nights, and weekends to serve you in foreclosure defense, debt defense, bankruptcy, real estate and soon, student loan defense.

We are dedicated to all of our clients, to keeping them informed, and most of all, to providing them with the best possible legal representation! While there are still so many challenges ahead and causes worthy of our fight to see justice served, we would like to take this time to reflect and express our most sincere gratitude, especially to our clients who put their trust and confidence in us and also to extend our most heartfelt wishes for a peaceful and healthy holiday season and very happy New Year.

From Evan M. Rosen and all of us at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen, P.A.

What’s most important though is that these statistics are not just numbers.  At our firm, we know foreclosures are happening to far too many good people, real people with real lives, each month.  Countless families are living in a state of deep unease due to the financial crisis, caused by big banks and their greed.  Those banks got bailed out while families all across the country are left to fend for the themselves, often scapegoated as being the cause of their own problems.  Your neighbors, co-workers, friends, and acquaintances may be struggling with a foreclosure and afraid to talk about it.  We are here for all South Floridians who would like to consult with someone who will be on their side during these difficult times as well as in the future when times are much better.

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If you are in South Florida and are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754) 400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Within a few months of the media exposure, a working group comprised of all 50 state’s attorneys general and regulators from federal banking and housing agencies came together, albeit some state’s AGs dragged their feet and only joined the group after it was too politically toxic to remain on the sidelines.  The former Alabama AG, Troy King, was so in the thrall of the banks that he stalled until he could no longer do so.  He was the 50th AG to join the group.   In 2011, Luther Strange succeeded King.  As Alabama’s new AG, he was equally reluctant to investigate or rein in the fraudulent practices of the fraudulently foreclosing banks.  Many of these prosecutors believe that we should be satisfied with and celebrate the Justice Department gloating over harsh prosecution and punishment of the small fry, regular people caught up in the foreclosure fraud crisis.

The Attorney General group was headed by Iowa’s Attorney General, Tom Miller, who, at first, used strong language and, in December 2010, stated publicly that criminal investigations and indictments of foreclosure fraud would be forthcoming.  He was up for re-election.  Miller received a flood of campaign contributions from the financial industry, and soon after his reelection took on a much weaker, more conciliatory tone.  Four Republican attorneys general from Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia were outwardly hostile to the groups’ efforts to prosecute bank crimes and provide relief for millions of the citizens whom they represent in their respective states.  Despite the promise of quick action, it took a year for news of possible settlement filtered into the media.  Several Democratic AGs from Nevada, California, Delaware,  Massachusetts, and New York, were opposed to the first settlement proposals, faulting the weak provisions and insufficient penalties for the massive scale of the wrongdoing.  Each of them filed their own civil lawsuits against banks for a variety of mortgage servicing and foreclosure abuses.  Miller, the group’s lead AG, even went so far as to kick NY AG Schneiderman off the group’s executive panel due to Schneiderman’s strong objections to weak and useless settlement proposals.

In January 2012, there were press leaks and reports about the imminent release of a settlement.  A lot of attention was focused on the “Justice AGs” from NV, CA, DE, MA, and NY.  The Obama administration was desperate to get the deal completed and signed before the 2012 state of the union address.  The day before Obama’s speech, a draft of the settlement was released and widely discussed in the media and on financial blogs.  Without a signed settlement, the Obama administration resorted to Plan B and formed a Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) working group and appointed Schneiderman as a co-chair.

On January 24, 2012, in his State of the Union address, President Obama announced the creation of his new RMBS federal prosecutorial working group.  On February 9, 2012, the holdout AGs got with “the program”.  To much fanfare, the White House announced the twenty-five billion dollar foreclosure fraud settlement with the nation’s top five banks (Chase, BoA, Citi, Wells, and Ally/GMAC).  Many outside the financial industry immediately denounced the settlement as far too little and far too late and suspected that the lawsuits filed by the individual holdout AGs would soon be dropped or settled quietly.  These criticisms were proven true.  To get a sense of how squeamish the state AGs are when asked about investigating and prosecuting banks which manufactured evidence, watch the GA AG, Sam Olens, shuck-and-jive in an investigative news interview.

April 2012, stories about the lack of resources, including no office, no phone, no staff, and no executive director, devoted to the silent RMBS working group popped up over the past eight months.  Later, Schneiderman himself confirmed these reports.  Then last week, Eric Schneiderman announced the first lawsuit to be filed under the RMBS working group umbrella of agencies.

The disappointing suit against JP Morgan Chase/Bear Stearns will be the topic of another blog post.

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If you are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754) 400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION. Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency. In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Headlines proclaim home sales are up, prices are up, bidding wars, realtors going door to door begging people to sell, inventory down, home-builder industry exuding “confidence”.

On the ground, we know what’s going on.  And it is not hordes of families lining up to buy homes.  Please.  That is so 2005!   In fact, in 2011, mortgage loan lending was at it’s lowest since 1995.  The banks blame this on poor credit worthiness, which they neglect to connect to the harm done to the American people in the wake of the financial crisis.  The median American family is facing a terrible loss of wealth, a 40% plunge from 2007 to 2010.

So if the homes are not being purchased with mortgage loans, then the uptick in home sales is from cash transactions.  Per this Wall Street Journal article, “Housing demand has improved this year, largely because investors and other buyers who have been paying in cash have scooped up quantities of foreclosed and other distressed properties.”  Hedge funds, similar to the securitization machine that bundled housing boom-time mortgages, are snapping up single family homes in bulk.  Stonecrest is one such hedge fund.  They brag to potential clients about Stonecrest’s return on investment in a fund that bulk buys homes in foreclosure.  Stonecrest calls it “turning scrap metal into gold.”  Another investment scheme for these bulk home buyers is to turn the rental income into an investment scam for easily duped investors, likely the same ones who lost so much in the mortgage securitization scheme.

These are the real stories behind the recent housing “recovery”.  The same tried-and-true mortgage servicer abuse will migrate to the rental property managers.  Expect bogus fees, unexplained payment increases, holding of payments to force delinquency, illegal evictions, slumlord rental management companies rewarded for “cost containment” (ie: refusal to expend money to do needed repairs), locks changed without notice or warning, and even cost shifting basic maintenance and appliance repair to tenants.  Expect courts, law makers, and regulatory agencies to favor the bulk rental property managers and their rental default vendors.  Expect tenant families’ rights to be ignored and violated as the financial wizards exploitate of millions of tenants to be housed in the financiers’ “scrap metal” homes.

David poses a list of thought-provoking questions and closes out his article, “It’s worth looking beyond the numbers and the happy talk and at what the housing market will look like for human beings over the next few years.”.   Read it here.
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If you are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754)400-5150 or fill out our online form for aFREE CONSULTATION. Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency. In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Got foreclosure fraud?

Got bank break-ins?

Got gut wrenching run-around?

Got a modification yanked out from under you?

Got misapplied payments?

Got bogus, unexplained fees on your mortgage statement?

The new consumer regulatory agency, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is up against tremendous vitriol from Wall Street and bank-puppet politicians.  Unfortunately, the attacks were successful in preventing Elizabeth Warren from heading the agency.  The financial services industry celebrated that win with further attempts  to weaken the agency’s power structure, funding mechanism, independence from Congress, and it’s rule making regulatory capacity.  Every step of the way is a fight for this agency which was proposed, by Warren, and enacted, in Dodd-Frank, as a “cop-on-the-beat” to protect the American people from the predatory acts of the banking industry.

All attempts to prevent banks from abusing Americans are seen as an act of war by Big Finance.  It’s important this agency has the information and the tools and the back-up to dispute the well paid Wall Street lobbying machine that has drawn the battle lines and is in full combat gear.

The CFPB is asking for comments on their proposed rules.   All ideas are worthy of consideration.  To get an idea of how a simple suggestion can be the basis for a great comment, read this article on bank force placed homeowners’ insurance and how it is a leading cause of foreclosure.  A whistle-blower proposes changes to the envelopes in which notices to homeowners are mailed to avoid the intentional mimicking of junk mail.

Please take a few minutes to inform the CFBP of your comments and suggestions that will help stop more families from being preyed upon as have millions across our nation.

The first set of CFPB’s proposed rules would provide consumers with clear and timely information about their mortgages so they can avoid costly surprises. They would bring greater transparency to the market. The proposed rules would do this with:

• Clear Monthly Mortgage Statements: Servicers would be required to provide regular statements which would include: a breakdown of payments by principal, interest, fees, and escrow; the amount of and due date of the next payment; recent transaction activity; and warnings about fees.
• Warning Before Interest Rate Adjusts: Servicers would have to provide earlier disclosures before the interest rate adjusts for most adjustable-rate mortgages. This disclosure would include information about alternatives and counseling resources if the new payment is unaffordable. This requirement would provide greater clarity to borrowers about the impact of interest rate changes. Existing disclosures for interest rate adjustments that cause a change in mortgage payments would be amended to include improved information and arrive earlier so that borrowers can anticipate consequences of payment changes.
• Options for Avoiding Costly “Force-Placed” Insurance: Servicers have the responsibility to ensure that borrowers maintain property insurance. If the borrower does not maintain this insurance, however, the servicer has the right to purchase insurance to protect the lender’s interest in the property. This is called “force-placed” insurance and is typically more expensive than insurance the borrower could privately purchase. The CFPB is proposing a rule that would provide more transparency in this process, including requiring servicers to give advance notice and pricing information before charging consumers for this insurance. The servicer would also be required to terminate the insurance within 15 days if it receives evidence that the borrower has the necessary insurance and the insurer would refund the force-placed insurance premiums.
• Early Information and Options for Avoiding Foreclosure: Servicers would be required to make good faith efforts to contact delinquent borrowers and inform them of their options to avoid foreclosure.

The second set of proposed rules would impose common-sense requirements for handling consumer accounts, correcting errors, and evaluating borrowers for options to avoid foreclosure. These “no-runaround” rules would include:

• Payments Promptly Credited: Servicers generally would have to credit a consumer’s account as of the date a payment is received.
• Maintain Accurate and Accessible Documents and Information: Servicers would be required to establish reasonable policies and procedures to provide accurate and current information to borrowers and minimize errors. They would have to submit accurate legal documents that comply with applicable law, help borrowers on options to avoid foreclosure, and provide oversight of their contractors and foreclosure attorneys.
• Errors Corrected Quickly: If a consumer notifies the servicer that she thinks there has been an error, the servicer would be required to acknowledge receiving the notification, conduct a reasonable investigation, and, in a timely manner, inform the consumer about the resolution.
• Direct and Ongoing Access to Servicer Personnel To Assist Delinquent Borrowers: Servicers would be required to provide delinquent borrowers with direct, easy, ongoing access to employees who are dedicated and empowered to help delinquent borrowers.
• Evaluate Borrowers For Options To Avoid Foreclosure: Servicers that offer options to borrowers to avoid foreclosure, such as loan modifications or other payment plans, would be required to promptly review applications for those options. Servicers would be prohibited from proceeding with a foreclosure sale until the review of the borrower’s application is complete. Servicers would also be required to let borrowers know when applications are incomplete and to allow borrowers to appeal certain servicer decisions.

CFPB is working with the Cornell University e-Rulemaking Initiative (CeRI) to make it easier for the public to comment on the proposed rules through a pilot project called Regulation Room (www.regulationroom.org). Regulation Room provides an online environment for people and groups to learn about, discuss, and react to selected rules proposed by federal agencies. Individual contributions to Regulation Room will not become formal public comments on the CFPB’s docket, but CFPB expects contributions will be incorporated into a public report prepared by CeRI researchers and submitted to the CFPB’s docket for use in preparation of a final rule.

Read more on the proposed rules CFPB page on the proposed rules here.

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Think about this.  A mortgage broker closed a deal with a woman in her mid-to-late eighties.  He/She probably earned a hefty (probably tens of thousands of dollars) commission by duping a financially strapped elderly widow into an adjustable rate mortgage loan $750,000 presumably with a twenty to thirty year term.  This is the pinnacle of predatory lending.   Here in South Florida, many seniors were likewise targeted, falling victim to the same practices.  Many have already lost their homes or are currently facing foreclosure.

Investors like pension funds or municipalities were enticed by slick commission based Wall Street hucksters to invest millions in the fraudulently rated mortgage-backed security bonds that were backed by thousands of such predatory mortgages.  This is where much of America’s retirement savings and public funds went.  The bonds sloshed through four to eight financial institutions on the way to the pension fund investors.  Each financial institution earned fees and commissions, taking their cut then and several continue to take their cut now, servicing mortgage loans and processing fraudulent foreclosures in the most fee-laden method that keeps the last bit of bond money flowing to the financial institutions until the well has completely dried up.

Back to Amy Johnson who says she’ll be okay though, “I will be happy on the street. I already went to practice to be homeless, but I did this for only three days because it got so cool at night. I couldn’t stand more.”

Read 93 Year Old Woman Faces Foreclosure at the Los Angeles CBS affiliate news story here.

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If you are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754) 400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Americans across the nation are waking up to the fact that police, prosecutors, law enforcers, and regulators refuse to protect the American people from the biggest consumer fraud ever committed.  This fraud covers a wide range of damage from draining billions from pension funds to millions of fraudulent foreclosures.   The highly lucrative nature of these crimes coupled with the lack of deterrents act as an accelerant, flaming the fraud.   Neil Barfosky, the former TARP inspector general fraud watchdog, recently released his book Bailout, a shocking account of the inclusion of a Treasury sanctioned bailout component that allows banks to extract and otherwise deplete wealth from millions of American citizens; homeowners, tenants, retirees, pension and 401k investors, etc.

The policy of criminal affirmance has led to a skyrocketing number of headlines, articles, and reports about unfunded pensions, unprosecuted real estate crimes, fraudulent foreclosures, and lawsuits by those groups who were scammed into purchasing fraudulent mortgage backed investments.   Two of the many variants of foreclosure fraud have been in the national media just this week, Wells Fargo is only one of the bad actors, but currently is the bank du jour on this week’s crime spree menu.

The first story is a common one, a bank breaking and entering and robbing a American citizen’s home.   When these acts are committed by any individual or corporation other than a financial institution (or one of their vendors), they are called “crimes” and “felonies.”  Banks prefer to call these acts a “mistake,” “accidental trash out,” “error,” or “mix-up.”  Apparently, law enforcement defers to the banks’ terminology.  Here again, a family’s home was breached by forceable entry and an entire lifetime of accumulated personal property, heirlooms, photographs, and irreplaceable family mementos were stolen by a bank’s vendor.  In this case the bank had no connection to the family or their home. The bank, Wells Fargo this time, was so arrogantly confident of the lack of any consequences whatsoever, totally ignored the family’s calls and inquiries.  Finally, the family reached out to their local T.V. station, which aired a story that prodded Wells Fargo into issuing a statement and placing a call to the family.  How many families do not get their similar stories aired on television and never get any contact or offers of restitution whatsoever?  Rare prior to the national policy of using the bodies of American citizens to “foam the runway” as prevention against the banks’ financial crash, bank break-ins are increasingly common and aggressive.  In another story out this week, a woman “tried to sell her home, only to find out the bank mistakenly foreclosed it.”  The bank, Wells Fargo, “doesn’t know how to fix it’s mistake.”

There is no end in sight for these injustices until citizens demand accountability from our elected officials and law enforcers.

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If you are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754) 400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

1. Maintain a spinning revolving door between big finance and legislators, law enforcers, and regulators to ensure friends are in powerful positions.
2. Fund an army of lobbyists ready to provide rapid-response, detailed, Wall Street-friendly analysis of proposed legislation and regulation (here,here, here,here, etc).
3. Horde of academics-for-hire to craft financial industry propaganda masquerading as authentic economic theories, studies, and papers (here,here  andhere, etc).
4. Contribute millions to political campaigns on state and federal levels.
5. Form Political Action Committees (PACs) in order to fund TV adds to attack candidates who promise to protect citizens and hold Wall Street accountable
6. Ghost write legislation and find find friendly politicians (see #4) to introduce the bills as their own.

If you want help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at (754)400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

September 27, 2012 at 10:00am

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York

“Bankruptcy Court”

Courtroom 501

One Bowling Green

New York, NY 10004

See the Notice of Hearing here.

On the same day, the court will also hold a hearing concerning the Price Waterhouse review, investigation, and findings of GMAC foreclosure fraud as mandated by the Nationwide Settlement.

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If you are looking for help with debt, foreclosure,real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at(754)400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

This massive financial fraud lead to many of the nation’s current ills; the bailout,  39% decline in net worth, increase in poverty. and of course the foreclosure fraud crisis.   Governor Romney and President Obama have not addressed the true cause and effect of the financial crisis nor have the Democratic and Republican parties offered any meaningful campaign platforms.  The one candidate to prioritize this issue to a level commiserate with the harm done to the American people is a practically unknown Green Party candidate, Jill Stein.  Ms. Stein was recently arrested protesting Fannie Mae foreclosures.  She chose as her running mate Cheri Honkala who, last year, ran an unsuccessful campaign for Philadelphia Sheriff during which she promised to halt evictions based on fraudulent foreclosures.

Grassroots citizens groups are gathering momentum in hopes of forcing the major party candidates to address this issues.  Signs of this can be seen New Bottom Line campaign called Home Is Where the Vote Is to mobilize underwater homeowners as a political force and, in another development, protesters traveled this week to the Democratic National Convention to voice their deep concerns.  One of the DNC housing crisis protesters summed up his views, which are echoed by millions of his fellow Americans, “I’m actually quite disgusted with both parties. I think they’re captive of the big banks and the financial interests of this country.”

Read more at Democratic Convention Draws Troubled Homeowners at NPR.org here.

If you are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at(754)400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

Palm Beach County

Broward County

Miami-Dade

Now, look at the mortgage for references to MERS or Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems.  Also, look for an eighteen digit MERS MIN number often on the mid right side of the first page of the mortgage.  Some mortgages were not originally infected with MERS but later were assigned a MERS ID and put into the MERS system.  Those homeowners may see an affidavit that has a title like Mortgagee’s Affidavit of Designating Mortgage Identification Number.  These affidavits are also recorded on properties where the MERS MIN was changed at some point.

To look up additional information, look up the MERS MIN here.  The mortgage’s servicer information is searchable to anyone who inputs the MERS MIN, but to see the investor’s name in the cases the investor has agreed to disclose their identity, the mortgage holder’s social security number is required.  The requirement for providing the social security number is new as of the middle of 2011 after years of foreclosure fraud whistle-blowers exposing the inaccuracies of the MERS database and publishing their findings on Internet blogs.

Print out the information from the MERS MIN lookup and save it for your records with the date of the lookup. The information is often in conflict with foreclosure court documents or even the name of the bank that is trying to foreclose on a family’s home.

There are also look up tools to check if your mortgage is a Fannie (here and FAQ here) or a Freddie (here) mortgage.  These look-up tools require the last four of your social security number and the address of the mortgaged home.

Stay tuned for upcoming post What exactly is MERS?  Does anyone, including MERS, know? 

If you are looking for help with debt, foreclosure, real estate or want more information about bankruptcy law, call us at(754)400-5150 or fill out our online form for a FREE CONSULTATION.  Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!

We are a debt relief agency.  In addition to other legal services, we help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.