For many people, their home is their largest and most important asset. Most people, families and especially children become emotionally attached to homes. It can be a very scary thought to think that because of circumstances out of your control a bank, who you thought was on your side, is now trying to take away one of the most important things in your life.

At PLG, we take a very practical approach to Foreclosure Defense.  The main goals of all clients are either to:

(1) Keep or SAVE their home or

(2) to stay in their home as long as possible and surrender it without having to pay anything or as little as possible.

Essentially, Foreclosure defense is the process of defending against foreclosure (a bank or other lender enforcing it’s rights against a borrower for non-payment of the loan).  If the borrower does nothing, the lender eventually takes the home back and the borrower (homeowner) can be evicted from their house and the lender can pursue the borrower for the deficiency (the difference between the amount of money the borrower originally borrowed to purchase the house and the amount the bank sells the home for subsequent to the foreclosure sale).  Foreclosure defense is designed to raise all legal defenses possible against the lender.  The borrower benefits by enjoying more time in the home, but in most cases will ultimately not “win” the case or a “free house”.  The borrower has several options depending on what it’s ultimate goals are:

When the borrower wants to keep the home:

1) We perform foreclosure defense and try to obtain a loan modification ideally lowering the principal amount to the value of the home

2) When all else fails, the borrower (provided they qualify) can save the home by entering into a Chapter 13 (or chapter 11 if the homeowner does not qualify for a chapter 13) bankruptcy to pay back the arrearage on the home as well as the monthly mortgage payments.  This will save the home!

When the borrower is willing to surrender the home:

1) We perform foreclosure defense which allows the borrower to stay in the home longer.

2) We try to short sell the home and obtain a “waiver” of deficiency.

a. If the bank is unwilling to offer a “waiver” and the home is the primary residence,  the homeowner will not have to pay taxes on the forgiveness of the debt (1099 income)  through 2012 (after 2012, they likely will have to pay taxes) up to $2million forgiven debt.

b.  If the bank does not agree to a waiver of deficiency, they will either have to pay back the waiver or they can file for bankruptcy.

SAVING YOUR HOME CAN INVOLVE SEVERAL STRATEGIES:

• Asset protection,
• Foreclosure defense,
• Stopping the foreclosure and preventing a deficiency forever using a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
• Short sale,
• Payment plan using a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
• Estate planning techniques and more.

If you fear losing your home to foreclosure in Florida, whether you are in Tampa, Pinellas, Pasco, St. Petersburg, New Port Richey, Clearwater, Lakeland, Sarasota or anywhere else in Florida, please Contact Us NOW for a FREE CONSULTATION

LOW MONTHLY PAYMENTS COULD SAVE YOUR HOME.

The Attorneys representing Pikramenos Law Group have formally represented banks such as Countrywide, Citi, Wachovia, Bank of America etc. in their efforts to take homes away from homeowners. Now Attorney Justin Pikramenos wants to help you, using the knowledge he gained while working for the banks for YOUR ADVANTAGE to HELP SAVE YOUR HOME.

At the Pikramenos Law Group, we strive to preserve your home, family and credit – those things most dear to you. We have also succeeded in other options such as avoiding foreclosure completely, achieving waiver of deficiency judgments after foreclosure and putting forth successful and forceful legal weapons that strive to save your home.

There are several ways to prevent foreclosure and to stop foreclosure that the Pikramenos Law Group would like to share with you.

If you are in Tampa, Clearwater, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, New Port Richey, Sarasota, Lakeland or anywhere else in Florida, the Foreclosure process usually follows the following pattern, meaning:
Here’s what to expect if you DON’T contact a Tampa Foreclosure Attorney like Pikramenos Law Group:

• You will be served with a Complaint and a Lis Pendens after you have become delinquent paying your mortgage. These are usually served between 90 and 120 days of being late on your mortgage payments. A lis pendens means “suit pending” and is a document filed with the court to notify of pending litagation. The document is filed with the county courthouse by the mortgage lender and indicates that the lender will sue for the money owed. The lis pendens acts as an encumbrance to your property because it states a claim to property. To sell a home all encumbrances must be cleared before transferring unless the buyer wants to inherit them (which isn’t likely).
• After you are served you have a very short period of time within which to respond. From this date the ENTIRE foreclosure process in Florida will usually take a minimum of 150 days.
• If you do not answer the Complaint, a judge will most likely grant a Default Judgment against you allowing the foreclosure process to proceed. Contacting a Florida Foreclosure Attorney will assure that you slow the process and can assert the most appropriate legal defenses to this Complaint and Lis Pendens.
• At the foreclosure sale, your bank is typically the high bidder and will be issued title to the property within 10 days. Any tenants residing on the premises can then be evicted in approximately 10 days.
• Once the foreclosure sale is complete, the right of redemption (the homeowner’s right to buy back the property for the full amount) is shut off and your only defenses that may be raised are improper auction sale procedures causing the property to sell for far lower than the property’s value. If redemption does not occur, there will be an auction or a “sheriff’s sale”. At the county courthouse, the highest bidder will take the home. The mortgage lender’s rights will have been terminated and will then transfer title over to the highest bidder within 10 days.

If the highest bid amount does not clear the loan amount, there will be a deficiency. The lender can still collect on this deficiency against you as an unsecured debt, just like a credit card lender. The Pikramenos Law Group can help achieve waiver of deficiencies so that you will not be held responsible for this.

Foreclosure Defense Options
Any homeowner facing either bankruptcy or foreclosure in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Pasco or Bradenton is well advised to Contact a Tampa Foreclosure Attorney. A foreclosure can be detrimental to your credit for many years. There are ways to stop a foreclosure including filing for bankruptcy, redemption, short sales, and transferring a deed in lieu. Filing a Chapter 13 may even work to keep your home. Working to modify your loan through a Loan Modification process may also make it possible to keep your home.