Foreclosure Defense… It’s About Justice!

I have been asked, many times, over the past several years of handling foreclosure defense cases, by friends, family, and other attorneys, what is foreclosure defense? There is routinely a follow up of, “aren’t you just trying to buy people time, isn’t that all you can do?” Sometimes helping a client obtain extra time is their goal and as a lawyer, the client’s goals and best interest is of paramount importance. However, for me, foreclosure defense is so much more. It’s about justice!

Our nation is a nation of laws, to be applied equally to all. The words “and justice for all” are not just a part of our Pledge of Allegiance. They are heartfelt principals that people have fought and died to help achieve and preserve.

During the run up to the financial crisis, some banks turned into sophisticated con-artists. They pushed home loans to people they knew, or should have known, couldn’t afford them. Then they bundled those loans together into Wall Street securities and paid off rating agencies to rate them as AAA, good as gold, when behind the scenes they were calling them “sacks of cr_ _” and placing bets against them so they could collect even more money when they knew these securities would fail. These banks sold their toxic investments to everyone and anyone, local governments, foreign governments, individuals, and pension funds of our citizens, retirees, veterans, and more. In the end, as most of the Wall Street insiders knew they would, these “securities” failed. The big banks made billions selling them and billions more when they collapsed, collecting on their bets. To add insult to injury, when the companies that backed these devious wagers couldn’t pay off the Wall Street gamblers, the US taxpayers and Main Street stepped in to bail them out. Then, if you weren’t upset about that, what happened next should tip the scales. In the year after the bailout and the crisis, Wall Street executives took in more money in bonuses and salaries then they did in any year during the heyday.

To date, not one major Wall Street figure has been prosecuted or held accountable. Most of the CEO’s behind the wheel during the crisis are still in power, placing the same risky bets to this day. This is outrageous! What happened to our nation of laws? What happened to holding people accountable for misleading and hurting others? What happened to “justice for all”?

So for me, foreclosure defense is partly my way, one case at a time, of holding Wall Street and the banks that committed these crimes accountable. This is the civil rights movement of our time. You and I are being asked to sit on the back of the bus while others with big power and influence get a free ride in the front row. I use foreclosure defense and every state and federal law and rule of procedure I can to expose fraud, false documents, “robo-signing”, servicing errors, misapplication of payments, evidentiary violations, discovery violations, illegal collection practices and more to ultimately create leverage. In some cases, that’s enough to make the phone ring with a fair offer on the other side. In others, I also need to prepare a Broker’s Price Opinion and educate the bank as to the true fair market value of a property so they understand that even if they are able to foreclose, they will be far better off working something out with you.

Regardless, of the client’s goals, be it obtaining more time, working out a loan modification, principal reduction, short sale, cash for keys, deed-in-lieu, waiver of deficiency or more, I know of one best way to increase the chances of getting there, attack! Sun-Tzu, the great military strategist, knew that the best defense is a strong offense and in law, a strong offense can see that justice prevails.

If you or anyone you know is facing foreclosure, struggling with debt, or contemplating a real estate transaction, please call or e-mail us today for a consultation. Let the lawyers and staff at the Law Offices of Evan M. Rosen, P.A. serve you!