Foreclosure rates in the State of Florida continue to increase. The lenders are not always correct in the numerous avenues of legal compliance that they must abide by for each and every single real estate closing. Florida is a judicial foreclosure state, which means that a civil action must be commenced in order to foreclose upon a delinquent loan. The lender will file a law suit against the delinquent borrower and seek to involuntarily force the sale of the borrower’s home or real estate at a public auction to the highest bidder present on that day. The proceeds of the sale will be delivered to the lender to pay all remaining amounts owed on the delinquent mortgage. If there are no bids at the foreclosure sale, the lender will be permitted to take title to the property or home, at which time, the lender will attempt to sell the home or real estate on the open market to recover its mortgage debt. Below, is a brief outline of the time frames in which you can expect the foreclosure law suit to proceed.

Common time line
• Day 1- Complaint-Filed and served on borrower
• Day 20-30- Borrower’s Answer to the Complaint is due- Borrower will be defaulted for not responding in writing to the Complaint NOTE: It is absolutely imperative that you act before the Court enters a default. Do not ignore the Complaint.
• Days 90-120- Judgment Hearing-Judge will grant the lender a foreclosure judgment and set a sale date usually 30 days out.
• Days 120-150- Foreclosure Sale and Eviction-The home or property will be sold to the highest bidder at a public auction.

I am behind on my mortgage payments, what do I do?
Don't ignore the problem. It will only make your situation worse. One of the first items you should consider is do you want to keep your house and can you truly afford your house. Prioritize your spending. Review your finances and see where you can cut spending in order to make your mortgage payment. Contact us immediately for a free document review.

I am in foreclosure, what options do I have?
There are many options for you to pursue during the pre-foreclosure and foreclosure process. Below is a list of such possible options.
• Do Nothing. We believe this is the worst thing you can do.
• Reinstatement Plan
• Repayment Plan
• Loan Modification/Loan Restructuring
• Loan Refinance
• Loan Forbearance
• Assumption
• Partial Claim
• Pre-Foreclosure Sales
• Short Sales
• Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure
• Bankruptcy
• Walk Away and let us handle it.

Should I open and respond to all mail from my lender or lender’s attorney?
Usually the first notices you receive will offer good information about foreclosure prevention options that can help you weather financial problems. Later mail may include important notice of pending legal action and important dates. Your failure to open the mail will not be an excuse in foreclosure court, and ignoring these notices will only make the situation worse. Before responding, contact us immediately for a free consultation. Your lender will have an attorney working for them. Put our Stop Florida Foreclosure Program to work for you.

I have just been served with a summons and foreclosure complaint. What do I do?
YOU MUST RESPOND IN WRITING AND/OR SERVE AND FILE AN ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES WITHIN 20 DAYS OF BEING SERVED WITH THE COMPLAINT. Any delay may make the situation you are in worse, and if a borrower or homeowner fails to do anything at all, the situation may become the worst case scenario possible. Contact us immediately for a free consultation and Put our Stop Florida Foreclosure Program to work for you. Florida's mortgage foreclosure process will absolutely have serious, long lasting ramifications that you may have to deal with in the future, so it absolutely in your best interest to participate now while it is occurring. Your decision to participate now may preserve, protect and safeguard valuable legal rights affecting your future income, credit worthiness and income tax consequences. Contact us immediately for a free consultation. Put our Stop Florida Foreclosure Program to work for you.

If I do nothing, what will happen?
A default and default judgment will be entered, and the clerk of the court will auction your property, usually within 25 to 30 days from entry of a final judgment. Put our Stop Florida Foreclosure Program to work for you so this does not happen to you.

Will the foreclosure process affect my credit score?
It is hard to say exactly how many points your credit score will drop due to a foreclosure. There are numerous factors that affect your credit score. It does appear though, that loss mitigation options that do not result in the completion of the foreclosure are better for your credit score depending on which credit bureau you are looking at.  However, Fair Issac Corp. (FICO) has been quoted as saying that loss mitigation options have the exact same negative effect on a person's credit score.  This is so because Fair Issac Corp. has done very little analysis distinguishing loss mitigation options vs. foreclosures, and as a result of ignorance they treat loss mitigation options and foreclosure all the same.  However, Transunion, Equifax and Experian have a little more detailed credit scoring system, so they may account for loss mitigation options.  However, a benefit of short sales and other loss mitigation options is that borrowers will generally face a shorter waiting period before they can obtain another mortgage.  Many lenders primarily make loans that they can sell to big mortgage players Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Fannie Mae generally will not buy loans made to borrowers involved in a short sale in the past two years. That's shorter than the four-year wait time if you have a deed in lieu of foreclosure on your record, and the five-year wait time if you have a foreclosure on record.  Typically, any late mortgage payments are viewed as a negative mark. Generally, negative marks will remain on a credit report for 7 years. Foreclosures also remain on credit scores for 7 years. The impact on credit scores diminishes over time though. Loss mitigation efforts and foreclosure are definitely better than a bankruptcy, as the filing of a bankruptcy is viewed by the credit reporting industry as an attack against all trade lines across the board, whereas a mortgage foreclosure is only an attack against a single trade line, your mortgage lender. Put our Stop Florida Foreclosure Program to work for you.

Are their income tax consequences as a result of a foreclosure?
It usually depends on whether or not your home or property has equity and what type of loan it is. If there is no equity, it is likely that the property or home will be sold for less than the mortgage amount owed. The Internal Revenue Service will consider debt forgiveness by the lender as income, and the borrower may also have income in the form of capital gains from the sell or transfer as well. However, there are several ways to offset this gain or income such as off setting income and capital gains with losses, being insolvent at the time of the transfer and bankruptcy. CONSULT WITH AN ACCOUNTANT. These rules are complicated and you are advised to make a thorough examination of your personal financial situation with an experienced tax professional.

After the property is auctioned by the court clerk, do I have to get out?
Yes. The sheriff’s office will physically evict you and remove you and your personal effects from the property, usually in as little as 10-15 days.

What can an experienced and knowledgeable company like 2W'S do?
We place ourselves in-between your lender and their attorney’s. Phone calls stop, no more harassing letters, etc.. We or our attorney negotiate with your lender. Removal of any derogatory credit reported by lender is our goal. Getting the lender to go away is our goal. If you are in foreclosure one of our attorney's will File an answer containing affirmative defenses, if any. Put our Stop Florida Foreclosure Program to work for you.

In the answer, is a denial of the lender’s complaint all I need to do?
Usually not. You must state all affirmative defenses, otherwise they may be waived or may be may not be sufficient to stop the foreclosure process.

What are affirmative defenses?
They are special defenses which must be specifically alleged, such as truth-in-lending violations, usury, fraud and other specific types of improper conduct by the lender, which may defeat or partially defeat the lender’s claim. Utilizing our Forensic Loan Auditing Department we find affirmative defenses.

Why are affirmative defenses different than just an answer with denials?
The lender has a sufficiently more difficult burden to obtain a “fast” or summary judgment of foreclosure when affirmative defenses are filed. In some cases Utilizing our Forensic Loan Auditing Department we can find enough errors and or violations in which will be used against the lender and part of resolving you problem is asking them to remove any derogatory information from your credit file

Can an attorney just delay the case without justification?
No. An attorney cannot cause delay solely for that purpose. But, we have seen plenty of attorney's not following their rules and regulation. You have legal rights, delay may result as a by-product of a proper defense, often caused by the plaintiff not properly and promptly responding to your rightful demands.

If I get a lawyer, does he automatically get more time to file an answer?
No, the 20 days continues to run. If a default is taken against you, it will pose, at a minimum, difficulties in getting the default set aside and allowing your attorney to use the defensive arsenal otherwise available on your behalf.

If we hire you, will get more than 20 days to answer?
Yes, Provided we review your file to make sure that your qualifies for our stop florida foreclosure program.

If my property is sold by the court clerk, what price will it bring?
Usually much lower than fair market value. Most of the time it is sold for the total amount of the mortgage, or less.

Will I get any of the sales proceeds?
Only if there is a surplus (if the property is sold for more that what is owed in total to the plaintiff and all other mortgages and liens on the property).

If the property is sold for less than the total owed, can the lender collect the difference?
Yes, but only if the Lender also obtains a deficiency judgment.

Can I sell the property and get my money out?
Yes, you can sell or refinance so long as the lender is paid prior to the foreclosure sale date.

I have lots of other questions, can I call the judge or the court for advice?
No. Judges, judicial assistants (judge’s assistant), court clerks and sheriff’s department employees cannot practice law or give you legal advice. They can only point out the existence of certain procedures, but cannot tell you how to follow them or how effective they will be.

Do I have the right to reinstate? (bring the mortgage current)
Not always, unless your mortgage or mortgage note specifically gives you this right. However, many mortgage lenders often voluntarily consent to reinstatement.

We are sick and tired of lenders, their attorney’s and the courts violating our fellow citizens of our rights, freedom’s and lack of due process under the law.

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United States Foreclosure Law 

Legal disclaimer - We are not attorney’s and we do not give any legal advice and the company is not rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. Legal information is not the same as legal advice.