The year-end spending bill agreed to by House and Senate leaders last night includes a provision that restores tax forgiveness for principal reduction or short sales on mortgages. The provision is retroactive to the beginning of 2015 and runs through 2016. Assuming it is signed by President Obama our clients…
The Washington Post reported yesterday that the latest congressional budget deal includes a provision to let companies collecting federal student loans (or other debts guaranteed by the government) call cellphones using auto-dialers. The purpose of the bill is to increase communications in an attempt to keep more student loan borrowers current in their debt.…
The Southern District of Florida just ruled on a Motion to Dismiss on October 13, 2015 in a TCPA case that more is necessary to properly allege a TCPA case. The Court stated: the Plaintiff cannot plead, in blanket terms, that she is entitled to statutory damages for each and…
New signs of trouble for student loan borrowers BY SETH FROTMAN Earlier this year, we asked you to share your stories about student debt stress. More than 30,000 of you responded, telling us that student loan servicers (the companies that send you a bill each month) can make it harder to manage your…
Do you want to buy a house now but your finances aren’t quite there yet? Underwriting requirements are some of the strictest we’ve ever seen even for those with good credit. Don’t give up! We have put together information on a variety of private lenders who will finance a home…
In our Florida student loan law practice, we see everyday the nightmarish situations our former students have gotten themselves into. One this week has me researching the differences between national versus regional accreditation. I’ve been a lawyer for 20 plus years and I hadn’t even known what this meant. My…
Sometimes our Florida foreclosure defense clients wait too long to challenge a foreclosure. This is the primary reason why we attorneys always post advice and blog incessantly about not letting a mortgage company get a default judgment or challenging a default if one occurs. However, a client can also wait…
Green Tree to Pay $48 Million in Borrower Restitution and $15 Million Fine for Servicing Failures. See this announcement from the CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission. Locally in Tampa Bay, Florida this is resulting in Greentree seeking continuances for all trials – including one this morning on behalf of…
In Florida, the right to revoke calls to a consumer’s cell phone is alive and well. Debt collectors who continue to call these cell phones after being told not to are exposing their companies to damages of up to $1,500 per call. That adds up quick. So don’t just ignore…
The absolute deadline for filing BP oil spill claims is June 8. Now that we see BP paying on these claims again, we don’t want anyone to miss this deadline. Remember the trickle down effect applies to most businesses in the affected counties. We help those located around Tampa Bay.…