Loan Modification Can Stop Foreclosure
The Fed’s have stepped in and are trying to do what they can. The reality is that it may be a little to late. Will it be enough for those who are close to losing
Loan Modifications offered from lenders in these instances are nothing more than forbearance agreements that are unaffordable and usually designed for failure.A loan modification offered by your lender is nothing more than a forebearance agreement design to be unaffordable and usually fails. “These people need serious help reducing their mortgage payments and getting the arrearages forgiven, not added to the payment”, said Steven C. Feldman, a Real Estate Attorney in California. “Many of them are victims of Predatory Lending and can seek principal reductions and significantly lower their payments”, Mr. Howard went on to say “ I know for a fact that 80% of the mortgages offered by Mortgage Brokers and Direct Lenders between 2005 and 2007 are predatory or non compliant at best”, we just want to help save these homes as fast as we can, says Howard.
The DRE has been agressively coming down on Loan Mod companies such as Loan Processing Center, Inc. and others like Home Owners Assistance who have set up affiliate networks that may be violating laws by collecting funds and using the funds before getting any results for the homeowner.
A former Loan officer from the Lending Tree Network who asked for his identity to be anonymous said that he has worked for two of these Loan Modification comapnies in the past Loan Modification companies are stating that they have attorneys on staff or attorney based. The problem is the Attorney’s are just a selling tool and they have no value. In matter of fact, they do not even talk to you, give you advice or speak with the lender. It’s just plain old BS and going to get worse unless Federal Regulators step in fast and demand that you must be a licensed Attorney with experience negotiating terms and reviewing legal documents.
Loan Modification can stop foreclosure and really help those who can no longer afford their mortgage payment due to a recent hardship or the inability to refinance or sell their home. Modifying your mortgage can really help those who can no longer afford their home due to a recent hardship, inability to refinace, or sell their home. Ultimately stopping foreclosure. They just need to get to the right person to help them. If you get in trouble or if you need to sue someone you simply hire an Attorney. If you have an ARM about to adjust or even worse facing foreclosure , hire an attorney that will fight for you and will be able to go directly to the legal department of your lender and bypass the red tape associated with the loss mitigation department.
Find out how the attorneys at The Feldman Law Center can help you with your Loan Modification.http://www.feldmanlawcenter.com
The Feldman Law Center’s Fight to Help Victims of the Mortgage Crisis
THE MORTGAGE CRISIS and the rise in foreclosures have shattered the American dream for millions of families who are now struggling to prevent the repossession of their home. Millions of working-class American homeowners are being forced to pay off a loan that is considerably higher than the value of their house, creating a new class of mortgage slaves. As a consequence of rising delinquencies, foreclosure proceedings have sharply increased, particularly hitting borrowers with adjustable interest rates. According to CNN news reports, “the national rate of foreclosure jumped by 79 percent between December 2006 and December 2007. In many cases, foreclosure proceedings do not immediately result in the loss of the borrower’s property. The borrower, under personal circumstances, may be able to make up the delinquent amount to stop foreclosure proceedings. However, given the number of borrowers in distress, the severe decline in the housing market, and the downwards spiral of the current economy, the numbers of foreclosures that result in the loss of a home are now soaring at an all time high.
The government’s response to the housing market crisis has been of little help to the majority of American homeowners. On July 27, 2008, the U.S Senate passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act aimed at addressing the foreclosure crisis, which began in late 2006. This bill reflected the typical shortcomings of acts passed by the government: it was inconsequential in providing immediate relief for homeowners under foreclosure proceedings, and was insignificant in solving the foreclosure crisis. According to U.S. Business week, “foreclosure filings in the U.S.—default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions—were up 18% in January 2009 over a year earlier, the 37th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase.” The continued rise in bank repossessions did not come as a surprise for those who understood the pitfalls of senate sponsored act. On February 18, 2009, President Barack Obama unveiled his $75 billion mortgage bailout plan that would keep as many as 9 million homeowners in their home. Unfortunately, Obama’s 75 billion bank bailout plan will not save all homeowners, and is addressed only towards a percentage of delinquent borrowers that meet certain qualifications. For many underwater borrowers who do not see a promising employment prospect in the future or an increase in income, the benefits of the bailout plan may be little to none.
The Feldman Law Center, a loan modification company located in Orange County, California has taken proactive measures in helping victims across the nation save their homes. Comprised of a highly qualified staff of real-estate attorneys, paralegals, former real estate brokers and former bank underwriters, the Feldman Law Center is able to provide a level of expertise that other loan modification companies cannot offer. The law center was established under the core mission to stop foreclosures, provide clients with proper legal advice and share their knowledge and expertise in the areas of real estate transactions, mortgage negotiations, loan modifications and debt settlement. Faced with challenges during this rough economic recession, the nation’s mortgage victims count on the Feldman Law Center to listen hard, understand their hardship, and provide exceptional legal advice. The Feldman Law Center’s premier position in the loan modification industry is recognized both by peers and by the Better Business Bureau. The high success rate of the Feldman Law Center reflects the high level of expertise within the firm, which in turn helps their clients achieve the most dynamic resolutions available. The Feldman Law Center has proven demonstrated experience that allows them to provide their clients with the best legal advice and services. For more information please call us at (800) 588-0425 or visit www.feldmanlawcenter.com
Foreclosure ethics alert from the California State Bar
When a San Diego attorney was asked recently if he wanted to associate with a loan modification company offering stop foreclosure and loan modification services, he saw red flags. During a loan mod seminar he was approached by several others, he expressed concern about potential ethical constraints, such as splitting fees with non-lawyers and soliciting clients, but “they tried to explain some easy loopholes. With only being out of Law School a couple of years and trying to pay off student loans as well as other debt the temptation was there but the risk seemed too great. After consulting with both the Department of Real Estate and the State Bar’s Ethics Hotline, the decision was made to decline the multiple offers.
“It seems to be the flavor of the month” says Steven C. Feldman with the Feldman Law Center. Attorney based and attorney backed loan modification attorneys are popping up and closing down at a record pace in California. Many ex mortgage brokers want to avoid the DRE’s advance fee agreement while still possessing the salability of having an attorney on staff. In most circumstances…it’s all smoke and mirrors. Several attorneys have their name attached to multiple loan modification companies and while an attorney can be counsel for several companies this is not what’s really happening. The intention is to add credibility to the loan modification company and to collect upfront fees from homeowners facing foreclosure. Since Steven C. Feldman opened the Feldman Law Center over a year ago there have been many been many imitators providing stop foreclosure and loan modification services. Many attorneys have contacted the State Bar for ethics advice that its professional responsibility committee issued an alert last month offering guidance to lawyers thinking about signing up. “The most important thing is for lawyers to understand this area is fraught with danger from an ethics point of view,” said Jon Rewinski, a Los Angeles litigator who drafted the ethics alert.
California law specifically addresses foreclosure consultants and restricts their activities; among other things, they are prohibited from collecting upfront fees for their work. However, because attorneys are permitted to accept advance fees, they are in demand by some loan modification businesses. (Licensed brokers also may accept advance fees under certain circumstances.) Although the Brokers may collect up front monies with an approved DRE advance fee agreement… what happens when the property goes into foreclosure and the client is in REAL jeopardy of losing their home to a trustee sale?. These are the instances where home owners need an attorney that works for them, not a front for a loan modification company. The relationship between Mortgage Brokers and Attorneys can be a lucrative one, with some Brokers paying the attorney as much as $500.00 per file just to use their name. In one instance there was a police report filed against an attorney for destroying a broker’s office and attacking the staff for using his name while making false statements.” Many of these loan mod companies have a higher turnover in attorneys than they did with loan officers from the subprime lending days” says a Broker that asked to remain anonymous.
According to the alert, posted on the California State Bar’s home page (calbar.ca.gov), “There is evidence that foreclosure consultants may be attempting to avoid the statutory prohibition on collecting a fee before any services have been rendered by having a lawyer work with them in foreclosure consultations.”
The alert goes on to list a series of ethics rules prohibiting lawyers from:
- paying a referral or marketing fee to a foreclosure consultant or other person for referring distressed homeowners to the lawyer;
- directly or indirectly splitting fees earned from a distressed homeowner client with the foreclosure consultant or any other non-lawyer;
- aiding a foreclosure consultant or anyone else in the unauthorized practice of law or forming a partnership or joint venture with a foreclosure consultant or other non-lawyer if any of its activities would involve providing legal services;
- contacting in person or by telephone a distressed homeowner referred by a foreclosure consultant or someone else unless the lawyer has a family or prior professional relationship with the homeowner;
- filing a lawsuit without good cause or motions in a lawsuit that are simply intended to delay or impede a foreclosure sale; and
- Failing to perform legal services with competence.
The alert also describes a series of scenarios that may land lawyers in legal hot water. For example, a non-lawyer may offer a large number of referrals and a promise of easy money; may request that the lawyer pay a referral or marketing fee; or may ask a lawyer to enter into a joint venture with a distressed homeowner and the consultant. Much of this conduct violates the Rules of Professional Conduct, the alert warns. Many websites, T.V. and radio commercials by loan modification companies are steering clients to an attorney. This is illegal, but has become a common practice. There is a new website set up to help homeowners get information on loan modification programs and find legitimate sources for loan modifications called www.loanmodificationhelpcenter.org . A home owner facing foreclosure may choose to work directly with their lender but in most cases this fails. Hiring an attorney to stop foreclosure or provide loan modification services will cost $3,000 to $5,000 but the results may be well worth it. Most home owners are declined when attempting to modify their loan without assistance.
The bar’s Ethics Hotline, a free confidential research service for attorneys, has been receiving between one and two dozen calls a day for the last six months dealing with the residential mortgage crisis and loan modification — about 15 to 25 percent of its daily call volume.
Scott Drexel, the bar’s chief prosecutor, says that for the last three months, the bar has received 50 complaints each day — about 950 complaints a month — about lawyers involved in some way with the foreclosure crisis. While the complaints run the gamut, Drexel said the most common concerns lawyers who lend their name to a loan modification operation but non-lawyers do most of the work. The non-lawyers get fees upfront through the lawyer and either do not complete the modification or do it incompetently. As a result, he said, the client loses his or her money.
Calling the number of complaints “shockingly high,” Drexel said his office is “quite concerned. We’re especially concerned with attorneys allowing their names to be used by non-attorneys in some of these loan modification schemes or scams.” There have been several loan modification scams set up by non attorneys that unknowingly involve a new or retired attorney not knowing any better or worse yet involved with at the highest level. Many of these loan modification companies go to the extreme of using words like legal, law, attorney in their company name and advertising. “We see it all the time” says Feldman, who has suffered from having unscrupulous attorneys and loan mod companies impersonating unhappy clients on the internet claiming they were scammed by the Feldman law Center. Feldman goes on to say “we have had hundreds of clients come to us after they have been scammed by a loan modification or stop foreclosure company. When you hire an attorney you get legal advice and legal representation which this is not the case with these other companies. Home owners stuck in a financial nightmare need good, solid legal advice. They need to know all of their options in avoiding foreclosure and/or what to expect during the foreclosure process.
The Department of Real Estate reports complaints about lawyers involved in loan modification programs who act as fronts or work in-house. “We’re not certain if they are practicing law or just lending their names,” said chief counsel Wayne Bell.
The department has no jurisdiction over lawyers but can issue cease and desist orders against unlicensed people who operate as real estate licensees who violate real the law.
A licensee can collect advance fees before a notice of default is recorded if he or she has received a “no object” letter from the DRE. Such a letter is issued after a licensee submits an advance fee agreement, accounting format and any advertising or promotional materials for review. But the letter does not mean the department endorses a particular service. In addition, most loan modification scams start with a mail offer or a telemarketer making fraudulent claims or posing as their lender and or stating they were assigned by their lender to provide a loan modification and request all the home owners’ personal and financial information.
The Department of Real Estate also has posted a consumer alert on its Web site (dre.ca.gov) warning homeowners to beware of individuals or companies that offer to help work out a loan modification with lenders or provide other services that protect against foreclosure. The department is part of task forces operating in northern and southern California with county, state and federal prosecutors looking at loan modification efforts that cross the line into foreclosure scams. This is a good reason for struggling home owners to hire an attorney that has his name on the door. There are several in California that are reputable and have been providing loan modification services for over a year now. Steven C. Feldman, Timothy Mc Farlin and Greg Pavia were the first on the scene and now attorneys are surfacing on the internet, newspaper and radio at a record pace offering loan modifications.
Rewinski said the bar’s alert is not meant to suggest that distressed homeowners are not entitled to legal counsel; on the contrary, they may well need legal help and lawyers should be able to assist them. “Distressed homeowners should seek legal advice as one of their options,” he said. “There are pro bono resources and, of course, lawyers who will help on a paid basis.”
Bell agreed that many lawyers are legitimately helping clients with foreclosure and other credit issues. “If they are helping a client, engaged in providing professional services, that’s within their purview,” he said. “If they’re accepting fees and sharing those moneys with non-lawyers, you have all the problems this ethics alert deals with.” The main questions, he added, are “Is the lawyer really actually performing legal services, is the lawyer bringing his or her professional skills and abilities to assist the client, and are they actually having face-to-face meetings with clients?”
Bell said when consumers who are in desperate financial straits see the word lawyer, “they somehow believe they’re going to get a higher level of care.” For the lawyer, he added, “the question becomes, if I lend my name to loan modification company, am I adding any value?”
Home owners facing the threat of foreclosure should have the ability to meet or speak directly to the attorney handling their case. If not, then the attorney/law office is no more than a foreclosure consultant and one should consider searching further for a law firm that will offer a face to face meeting with the attorney. For more information please call us at (800) 588-0425 or visit http://www.feldmanlawcenter.com/
How Can I Qualify for a Loan Modification?
As many Americans living in California are facing the possibility of falling behind on their mortgage, or even foreclosure, they are looking into how to qualify for a loan modification. California loan modifications can seem like a complex process, and many people either lack the knowledge or instruction to see if they qualify. Loan modifications can save a family a great deal of stress, and a qualified loan modification attorney can keep a family in their house where they belong.
Learning to qualify for a loan modification is important, because it may be the only way to stay in your house while you’re facing financial hardship. There are three conditions that usually must be present in order for a loan modification to be possible: there must be a hardship which results in the inability of the homeowner to make the current mortgage payment or the increased payment which will result from an adjusted interest rate. When someone is assessing whether or not a hardship does exist, they will look for a situation to have changed which caused the income to go down or the expenses to go up. These changes in either the income or expenses (these days usually both) will often cause the homeowner not to have enough income to make the current mortgage payments, or future mortgage payments.
The second condition which usually must exist in order to qualify for a loan modification is that there must not be enough equity remaining to sell the home and to pay off the mortgage without the lender agreeing to take less than is owed. Many lenders want to avoid a short sale, and if you can negotiate with the lender, they would rather do a loan modification than a short sale.
The second condition that must usually be present is that there is not enough equity remaining to sell the home and payoff the mortgage without the lender agreeing to take less than is owed.
Thirdly, and most importantly, the homeowner must be able to provide documentation showing that they can afford to make the proposed modified payment. Because this is NOT a refinance, but rather a negotiation between the homeowner (or their representative) and the lender, there are no published guidelines. All income can be considered as long as it can be documented. Common sense prevails in evaluating proposed loan modifications… remember, the lender does NOT want to take back the home.
For homeowners who can no longer make their current mortgage payment but who CAN make a lower payment, a loan modification can save their home. For lenders with non-performing loans, loan modifications can be the fastest and least cost solution to working out that loan. And for the rest of us, each loan that is modified is one more house that is not added back into the inventory overhand, and therefore it puts us one house closer to the end of this crisis.
Loan Modification, Foreclosure Assistance, & Foreclosure Help by The Feldman Law Center
Loan modification is the focus on our website, however; we do provide our clients with proper legal advice and share expertise in the areas of real estate transactions, mortgage negotiations, loan modifications and debt settlement. The Feldman Law Center, a Loan Modification Attorney, was founded by Steven C. Feldman who has been licensed by the State Bar of California for over 25 years. We are consumer and homeowner advocates that will protect you from home foreclosure with our detailed loan modification program. The Law Offices were established to focus on real estate matters that include debt negotiation, predatory lending violations, settlements and loan modification. We are here to help stop foreclosure, and fight mortgage fraud..
