Our neighbors are considering buying a condominium in Tampa that was foreclosed by Wells Fargo (owned by Freddie Mac) and noticed two strange things in the paperwork this weekend. First, Freddie Mac is only offering insurable title not marketable title and they wanted to use their own title agent. Fortunately,…
Retail sales are up 7.9% from December 2009 to December 2010. Although retail sales increased only .6% in December from November and were lower than expected, retail sales are now above the pre-recession peak in November 2007. Initially this appears good right? Bankruptcy rates in Florida and elsewhere should start…
I don’t know about you, but I always have my cell phone with me. While fortunately I do not have debt collectors calling me on my cell phone, a lot of my clients here in the Tampa Bay area are troubled by this every day. Many report receiving several calls…
Two banks couldn’t prove they owned the mortgages in Massachusetts and they lost a pivotal case on January 7, 2011. This was a Supreme Court decision following an appeal by the banks when they lost at trial earlier this year. The banks probably regret their appeal of a limited land…
In an effort to curb abuses by mortgage servicers, the First District Court of Appeal in Florida ruled on December 8, 2010 in Palacio to set aside a default judgment against Tampa, Florida homeowners who were “under the reasonable belief that the foreclosure action had been abated.” According to the…
In a recent study by Stetson University College of Law in Pinellas County, Florida soon to be published by the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy, entitled The Elderly in Bankruptcy and Health Reform, the most cited reason for financial difficulties of the elderly as reported by Florida attorneys…