Scott Lanin

Behind the Scenes – Changing The Bankruptcy Laws To Protect Homeowners

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Here’s an email I received from NACBA about the on-going attempts to change bankruptcy law to allow for modification of home mortgages. Presently you can only reinstate them. Believe it or not, you can modify a vacation or investment home in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but not a home mortgage. The present laws help rich people and hurt the poor homeowners that the laws are designed to protect. The sytem is currently upside down. We’ll see if Congress actually changes this. Read more

Scott Lanin

Will The Government Freeze Mortgage Rates And Change The Bankruptcy Law To Help Homeowners?

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There is a lot of talk now about the Federal government stepping in to help stop the growing foreclosure crisis. Two measures being discussed are to freeze interest rates (to help those who have adjustable rate mortgages) and to change the Bankruptcy Code to allow for the modification of residential mortgages in Chapter 13 plans (presently a Chapter 13 debtor can only reinstate the mortgage, but not change it’s terms). It remains to be seen what will actually happen. The banking lobby is very strong and can be expected to oppose these measures. For those homeowners in trouble now, it would be best to consult with an attorney immediately. There is little point in waiting for the government to save you. No one knows if or when that might happen, or whether the law changes will be limited.

Scott Lanin

How To Vacate A Default Foreclosure Judgment And Stop A Sale

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So many of my clients have already defaulted in their foreclosure action by not answering the summons that I thought I should write about it. Many do not realize what a default is. Just because you write a letter to the bank or their attorneys does not mean you are protected. You have to serve a written answer denying the allegations and asserting defenses or counterclaims and then file it with the court with an affidavit of service. If you missed your 20 or 30 days to do that, and you did not get an extension, then you are in default. To be clear, what I am talking about is where a borrower/defendant defaults in the foreclosure lawsuit, after they had already defaulted under the loan by not making payments – really two different types of default, one after the other. So, what can you do? Read more

Scott Lanin

Does Your Mortgage Company Have Standing to Foreclose? (Or, Where Is The Assignment Of The Loan?)

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The NY Times just reported on an Ohio court decision with wide-ranging implications for foreclosure actions nationally. Lenders who don’t submit an assignment of the loan — to show that they actually have ownership of the loan and, therefore, have standing to sue — face the possible dismissal of their foreclosure action. I actually had just raised this defense in a foreclosure action in the Bronx Supreme Court in response to a summary judgment motion filed by Washington Mutual against one of my clients. I will be curious to see if the Bronx Supreme Court accepts my argument. Here is the article . . . Read more

Scott Lanin

Appraisal Company In Trouble Over Mortgage Fraud

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NY’s Attorney General has sued First American saying its subsidiary gave inflated appraisals that helped cause the current mortgage crisis . . . Read more

Scott Lanin

Ethical Requirements For Mortgage Brokers

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The NY Times has just written an article addressing ethics and mortgage brokers . . . Read more