NY Times Reports on Florida Foreclosure Process
A major feature story in the New York Times on Sept. 4 provides a telling insight into the mess that is the Florida foreclosure process, and is a true testament to the necessity of having a Florida foreclosure defense attorney involved from the beginning of any homeowner’s foreclosure proceeding.
The gist of the article is this: Since all foreclosure proceedings must go through the Florida courts, the housing crisis that hit the state so hard has resulted in an enormous backlog of cases. To streamline the process, the Florida courts created foreclosure divisions throughout the state, bringing on retired judges to wade through the backlog.
While well intentioned, this has resulted in many cases getting short shrift in terms of lenders providing proof that they truly own the loan for which they are trying to foreclose – which, under Florida law, they must do. Horror stories ensue of homeowners and their foreclosure attorneys who had documentation to prove that the lender trying to foreclose did not own the note, only to have the judge still allow the foreclosure to go through.
Florida’s Attorney General is currently investigating three lender law firms that he believes are “foreclosure mills”, which have falsified documentation in order to speed the foreclosure process. When combined with a judicial apparatus that exists only to speed the foreclosure process, the potential for homeowner abuse is enormous – and there is much anecdotal evidence to indicate that this is what is happening.
If you are a Florida homeowner facing foreclosure, do not allow your rights to be trampled. Contact our Jacksonville Florida foreclosure defense law firm for help.
Greg Gilbert
Keith Maynard
