Media

Condo owners fighting hefty HOA assessments for hurricane damage still under repair

September 26, 2023 | Spectrum News 13

Dockside at Ventura’s HOA Board of Directors is assessing condo owners a damage assessment fee to cover the overall cost of repairing damaged units. One condo owner, Juan Marmol, says the total assessment he’ll have to pay over 12 years is $128,338.12.

State Senator Commits to Helping Owners of Sunset Palm Villas Condominium (in Spanish)

August 30, 2023 | Univision Noticias 23

After seeing the report published by Noticias 23, State Senator Ileana García was moved by the situation experienced by the owners of the Sunset Palm Villas condominium, many of them older adults, who could be left on the street due to alleged delays in the payment of fees. of maintenance. García indicated that she will provide state judicial follow-up to the situation.

Residents of the Sunset Palm Villas condominium denounce unfair evictions: authorities respond (in Spanish)

August 19, 2023 | Univision Noticias 23

Katherine Fernández Rundle, Miami-Dade State Attorney, assures Univision that her chief of investigations is already aware of the complaints from the owners and inhabitants of the Sunset Palm Villas condominium.

Meanwhile, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava stated that this association has not yet complied with the mandatory registration system imposed by law to avoid cases of corruption.

Homeowner assistance program put in place for homeowners who are financially struggling

June 27, 2022 | WSVN

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – A program has been put in place to help homeowners who are hurting financially, but many might not know of it.

On Monday, Congresswoman Deborah Wasserman Schultz wanted homeowners in the state to know there are $676 million they can tap into for help if they have been struggling due to the pandemic.

“If this homeowner assistance program can prevent even one home loss, it will have been worth it,” said Schultz.

If you qualify, you can receive up to $50,000 to pay for things like a mortgage, property taxes, and utilities.

For more information on the Florida Homeowner Assistance Fund, click here or call 833-987-8997.

$676 million now available to struggling Florida homeowners

May 9, 2022 | WPTV

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Elected leaders and advocates gathered Monday in West Palm Beach to announce millions in new federal housing funds that are now available to struggling Florida homeowners.

U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., state Sen. Lori Berman, D-Delray Beach, and state Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, along with housing advocacy organization Floridians for Honest Lending, made the announcement during an event held outside of the Palm Beach County governmental center.

The program aims to prevent the loss of 20,000 homes to foreclosure.

Berman said more information can be found on the DEO website or by calling her office at 561-292-6014.

Homeowner Bill of Rights Introduced

February 5, 2022 | Florida Politics

Sen. Ileana Garcia and Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin held a news conference in the Capitol on Monday to unveil legislation designed to protect Floridians from predatory foreclosure practices.

The proposal (SB 1706/HB 1051) includes several provisions spelling out homeowners rights and responsibilities when dealing with mortgage lenders and servicers, such as a requirement that borrowers receive monthly billing statements, new guidelines for loan modification applications, clarity on mortgage transfers, and a foreclosure freeze period — a practice, also known as “dual tracking,” where banks continue foreclosure proceedings while a homeowner seeks a loan modification.

Banco intenta despojar a anciano de su casa por 20 dólares

August 20, 2021 | Telemundo 51

El dolor de cabeza comenzó para el anciano cuando obtuvo una hipoteca reversible para su casa en el 2008. El banco intentó un juicio hipotecario por un seguro que estaba pagado inundándolo con demandas confusas que el anciano no entendía.

Por un error contable de solo $20, anciano de 91 años en Florida está a punto de perder su casa

August 20, 2021 | Univision 23

Tras ganar el caso por una discrepancia en el pago del seguro de su casa, José Torrado, de 91 años de edad, enfrenta una millonaria demanda por gastos legales. De hecho, este adulto mayor casi pierde su casa en ese momento y ahora un error contable de $20 podría hacer que no logre recuperar el dinero que pagó por su defensa.

‘We need to move on’: Judge rejects delaying Miami eviction of ex-Cuban prisoner

August 13, 2021 | Miami Herald

MIAMI — A judge denied a motion Thursday to delay the ouster of former Cuban political prisoner Ana Rodriguez from her Miami home after her lawyer sought an emergency hearing to argue the recently extended eviction moratorium should apply to her case.

New mortgage forbearance relief plan announced by President Biden

July 23, 2021 | Bankrate

A moratorium on foreclosures ends July 31, and mortgage forbearance programs phase out Sept. 30, but the economy has yet to fully recover from last year’s coronavirus recession. With that reality in mind, President Joe Biden today announced a new round of relief for mortgage borrowers who are struggling to get back on track.

The program lets borrowers negotiate reductions to their monthly payments of up to 25 percent. The newly unveiled mortgage modifications apply to loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Borrowers with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already can negotiate 20 percent cuts to their payments, Biden said.

CFPB beefs up protections for struggling homeowners, but will not ban foreclosures

June 29, 2021 | CNBC

About 2 million homeowners are still in some type of mortgage forbearance amid the health and financial fallout brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. While the U.S. government extended the foreclosure moratorium through July 31, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau isn’t planning to put any further bans on foreclosures in place.

Homeowners behind on mortgages to be offered help, U.S. agency says

June 28, 2021 | Fox Business

Millions of homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments would get added protections from foreclosure through the end of 2021 under a set of rules completed Monday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Under the rules, mortgage lenders generally can’t foreclose on a home without first contacting homeowners to see if they qualify for a lower interest rate or some other loan change that makes it easier to repay.

Miami judge warns big banks to stop playing cruel foreclosure games with people’s homes

June 18, 2021 | Florida Bulldog

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Beatrice Butchko is warning national banking giants and their counsel they’ll pay a hefty price if they commit fraud or violate due process or ethics rules to drive mortgage debtors out of their homes.

On June 2 Butchko took the extraordinary step of accusing Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon of criminal contempt for allegedly offering perjured testimony in a foreclosure. She scheduled both for arraignment at a Zoom hearing on June 25.

Attorneys David Winker and Bruce Jacobs Call Attention to Looming Foreclosure Crisis

May 21, 2021 | Community Newspapers

Local Miami victims of predatory lending practices and their attorneys came together to hold a press conference across the street from a Bank of America on Ponce de Leon Ave in Coral Gables on May 19, 2021.   At the event, local homeowners and victims of mortgage fraud shared their stories regarding the illegal foreclosures they have been subjected to, in order to draw additional attention to the looming foreclosure crisis and ongoing fraudulent and unscrupulous practices by major banks that are costing people their homes.

Should you pay off your mortgage in retirement? Experts weigh in on whether to cut that debt

May 2, 2021 | CNBC

It’s one of those debates that rarely seems to have a clear-cut winner: Should retirees pay off their mortgage or continue making those monthly payments?

The answer — probably somewhat annoyingly — is that it depends.

‘Zombie’ Mortgages Come Back to Haunt Property Owners after Great Recession

April 30, 2021 | Kiplinger

A letter from a law firm arrives out of the blue, warning that you could lose your house over a mortgage you thought was long dead. It’s happening all of the country, and here’s what to do if it happens to you.

U.S. Foreclosure Activity Continues To Increase Despite Government Moratorium

April 15, 2021 | PRNewswire

Foreclosure Activity Increases 9 Percent in First Quarter of 2021; Foreclosure Starts Increase 3 Percent From Last Quarter; Average Foreclosure Timeline Increases 38 Percent From Last Year

Fearing Flood Of Foreclosures, Federal Regulator Proposes New Homeowner Relief

April 5, 2021 | Southfloridareporter.com

Nearly 1.7 million borrowers are expected to exit forbearance programs in September and the following months — and many of those homeowners have fallen behind on their mortgage payments by a year or longer. In normal times, lenders can begin foreclosure actions against borrowers who haven’t paid for 120 days.

Florida Circuit Courts Ordered to Move Pending Foreclosure Cases

March 9, 2021 | DSNews.com

Starting May 28, 2021, all Judges are directed to conclude litigation as soon as it is reasonably and justly possible to do so, to take charge of all cases at an early stage, to control the progress of the case until it is resolved, and to apply a firm continuance policy allowing continuances only for good cause shown. There was no exception for foreclosure cases in the order.

Judge rules in favor of eviction in case involving former Cuban political prisoner

February 26, 2021 | Miami Herald

Attorney argues the foreclosure by Bank of New York Mellon on Rodriguez’s home was not legal because it was obtained through “forgery, perjury, destruction of evidence, backdating of records and other racketeering activity,” he said.

Bank of America, QBE to settle insurance lawsuit for $228 million

April 7, 2014 | Reuters

Bank of America and QBE Insurance Corp have agreed to pay $228 million to settle claims that they engaged in a kickback scheme inflating the cost of insurance that homeowners were forced to buy, according to a court filing.