Understanding Your Options

The foreclosure defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen are dedicated to treating our clients like we would want to be treated and to treating our clients’ cases as if they were our own.

The very first step in putting this philosophy into action is to listen. The first question you will typically hear from one of our Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood foreclosure defense lawyers or team members is: “How can I help you?” That will eventually be followed up with: “What are your goals?”

Once we have a firm grasp on this information, we will begin to list options and review the pros and cons of each. Any lawyer can list reasons why your case or situation may be difficult, but the best lawyers find legal and ethical ways to help serve their clients. For us, once we know about your legal problem and what you’d like the result to be, we next want to be reasonably sure we can help. We will only represent clients and take on cases if we are reasonably certain we can help. And it’s not just enough that we help. We also want our service to result in a benefit to our clients that exceeds the amount of fees they pay.

Assuming we can meet these thresholds and enter into an attorney/client relationship, we will conduct a thorough review of your case and discuss options, including the pros and cons of each. The goal is to counsel you. To give you information to help you make an informed decision. Unless a client is insisting on doing something illegal or unethical, we never tell our clients what to do. Instead, we give the best possible legal counsel we can provide so our clients can make the best possible decisions as to what is best for them. We do not presume to know what is best for others.

If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure, the Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood foreclosure defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen can help. You are welcome to read more about your options below or you can contact us now for a consultation by calling 754-400-5150 or by filling out our online form.

Common Options If You Are Behind on Your Payments or Facing Foreclosure

This page contains an outline of some of the most common options for property owners who are behind on their payments or facing foreclosure. Whichever path or paths you choose to follow, the Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale foreclosure defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen will be there, by your side, at every step of the way to be a strong advocate for you and give you the guidance and legal counsel you deserve and need.

• Defend: For a number of reasons, you may have no choice but to fight back and defend against foreclosure. Our team of lawyers and support staff have an ever-changing arsenal of defenses we use to help our clients. If you don’t mount a defense, a sheriff’s deputy could show up at your door in a matter of weeks. They will post a notice giving you twenty-four hours to vacate. If you don’t, the sheriff will return to forcibly remove you and your personal property from the house. If a lawsuit has been filed, having competent and diligent advocates fighting for you should most likely be part of any strategy.
• Reinstate/Loan Modification: If you have adequate funds to get current (reinstate) or work out a loan modification—and you want to keep your home—this is an option that should be explored. This can be pursued immediately or you can wait. It certainly does not need to be explored as soon as suit is filed. There can be a number of good reasons not to rush into a modification but, depending on your situation, you may want to explore this immediately. For example, if you are currently unemployed but expect to take a new job soon and anticipate positive changes in your financial situation, it may be best to wait to apply for a modification until you have a track record of paychecks and employment. You may also want to way to see if our team can create some good leverage in the litigation to try to increase the odds of striking a better deal. But on the other hand, there may be reasons to reinstate or try for a modification as quickly as possible. Either way, if suit is filed and you do not hire competent counsel to defend, you will likely lose the case quickly. So again, if you want to redeem or do a loan modification, defending against the suit should be part of the approach. The lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen can help you with all of this.
• Redeem: If you can afford it, one option is to pay off the balance of the loan. As part of this, we could help you try to negotiate better terms, including a reduced payoff amount.
• Strategic default: Borrowers who have not fallen behind on their payments and are able to continue paying on their debt might make the decision to stop paying for a variety of reasons. They usually make this choice because they owe much more than the property is worth. So, they view it as a business decision to simply stop making payments and let the lender foreclose on the property. The Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood foreclosure defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen can explain all of the legal consequences of a strategic default. We can also help litigate and defend against foreclosure. Strategic default is not something that should be taken lightly. Please see more about this here: Strategic Default.
• Short sale: Under certain circumstances, a lender will allow a property to be sold for less than what is owed on the loan. A knowledgeable lawyer and negotiator, like those of us at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen, can help you in this process. Some of things we have helped clients obtain in short sales include: 1) obtaining a deficiency waiver, 2) making sure you do not have to come out of pocket with any cash, 3) asking for positive credit reporting information, and 4) getting the lender to execute a full satisfaction and release of the mortgage. We can also recommend a number of qualified real estate agents to help you list, market, and find a suitable buyer. And as a real estate attorney and title agent, Evan can help close the sale. Evan is also a fully licensed real estate broker and has significant experience in real estate litigation and transactions.
• Traditional Sale: If the house is not underwater, we can help you close the sale. For more information on this, please see the real estate closings section of our website: Real Estate Closings
• Deed-in-lieu, “Cash for Keys,” or Consent Judgment: In a deed-in-lieu, a property owner signs over the deed to a property in exchange for the lender executing a satisfaction and release of the mortgage. Part of this transaction should also include a release from any debt. This can be a great option for underwater properties as it avoids the costs, aggravation, time, and uncertainty that go with a foreclosure action. But a deed-in-lieu is rare. In a “cash for keys” deal, a property owner agrees to consent to judgment, in exchange for a cash incentive to walk away from the property. This too is something that is generally only for underwater properties. Whether the home is underwater or there is equity, there can be many reasons to explore a consent judgment. You can lock in the payoff amount without having to be too concerned with increased fees and costs. And as part of that process, you should be able to negotiate an extended sale date. And, under Florida law, you still own the property and are free to sell it and payoff the judgment, anytime before the sale takes place. There is more to this that we can discuss during a consultation. We have a list of numerous issues we cover when we negotiate these types of arrangements and we’d be glad to go over that with you. There can also be tax consequences which must be explored.
• Combination of options: It is very common for people to call us just before or after suit has been filed. So, staring out with foreclosure defense is almost always required. From there, we can explore options depending on your goals and situation.

There is one other option: do nothing. If you do this, foreclosure is guaranteed. And if there is equity, and no one outbids the bank, the bank will take all your equity, leaving you with nothing. So doing nothing is a choice, but it is not one anyone should take.
For less than the amount it costs to rent an apartment in any decent area of South Florida, you can hire a competent team of legal professional who will do everything they can to serve you—to treat you as they would want to be treated and to treat your case as if it was their own.

Contact Our Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale Foreclosure Defense Attorneys Today

The information provided on this page is an overview of the most common options for property owners facing foreclosure. To find out more about what options you may have and how our Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood foreclosure defense attorneys can help, contact us today for a consultation at 754-400-5150 or through our online form.

Let the lawyers and staff of the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen serve you!