Don’t be fleeced by debt collectors. You have protections. In Florida, we have the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act available to our clients. I was reminded this week that not everyone knows their rights when the mother of a debtor called me. She…
The late night fiscal cliff tenative workout included a proposed extension of the Mortgage Debt Relief Forgiveness Act for one more year to include 2013! Floridians seeking to short sale their home but weren’t able to get it done prior to the end of 2012 can breathe a sigh of…
You are going to hear a lot more about businesses filing BP oil spill claims in the next few months. On December 22, 2012, Bloomberg reported that the BP Gulf Oil Spill Settlement for 7.8 billion dollars was approved. This settlement was reached only two days before a trial was…
Most Floridians don’t believe me when I tell them that their business is likely eligible under the new rules under the BP Oil Spill Settlement. They think their business simply wasn’t affected by the oil spill. However, you don’t have to prove that oil sludge washed up on your doorstep…
We are still seeing significant principal reductions for some of our very lucky clients, mostly from Bank of America and Ocwen. An article by Drew Harwell in the Tampa Bay Times and the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times indicates that since March, more than 1,000 Florida homeowners have…
Earlier this year, total student loan debt surpassed credit card debt for the first time ever. Student loan debt and the resulting high tuition are without a doubt in a huge bubble after having raised 800 percent in the past few years. After graduation, students are presented with the bill…
Under Florida law, a creditor has up to twenty years to try and collect a judgment. That’s an intimidating number, two whole decades. Something not to take lightly. To become a lien on real estate, a certified copy of a final judgment must be recorded in the public records in…
There are several exciting things happening in mortgage modifications lately. The modification puzzle pieces seem to be falling into place, albeit four years after the foreclosure crisis began. We hope to take full advantage of this and get as many of our clients through a mediation this fall as possible.…
It will take less time than you think to qualify to buy a home after bankruptcy. I generally advise my Florida clients that they will likely qualify within 2-5 years. Where do these numbers come from exactly? FHA and HUD regulations are readily available online. If you have filed a…
In Florida, typically someone who is sued is served with the lawsuit and given 20 or sometimes 30 days to file a response. If the lawsuit was filed in small claims court, you are given a date to appear at a pretrial conference instead of filing a written response. The…