Foreclosures Legal Questions

First and foremost, thank you for your service. Second, stop playing that issue issue up as a means of currying favor or special privilge with the courts or in the legal system, as it simply casts you as desperate or as unreasonable beause you aren't gettin special treatment that you're not entitled too. That stated, if you are pro-se you are already pna greased slide to losing in a foreclosure case as the courts are less and less tolernant of pro-se defense efforts and favoring the banks....see the recent Bartram case. You may want to see if veterans or some charitabe organization can help you finanically or fund raising to hire an appellate lawyer to sort this out or at least do damage control at this point. if you were a JAG officer, then as a lawyer you already know the complexity of the issues are not suited for po-se handling. ... Read More

I'm sorry for your loss and for the problem. As a technical legal matter, the house is yours unless you filed a Quit Claim Deed to your late husband. If the divorce allocated the mortgage debt to him, the claim for payments-whether made by you or the mortgage-lender- should go to his probate estate. (This is assuming that the assignment of debts to him carried the typical phrase that he will defend and hold you harmless as to the debts allocated to him.) Contact the stepson and let him know about all the relevant facts. Ask him to be sure there is a probate case filed, and the mortgage-lender's claim included in it. Regrettably, you really should hire two lawyers, one to press for your interests in your ex-husband's probate, and one to defend You if the lender is now suing you. Good Luck... Read More

Like any legal case, the exact fee an attorney will quote may depend on the complexity of the issues, the level of skill that will be required to help you, and other factors.  Having said that, a typical fee will be between $5,000 - $10,000.  If you want to not only defend the home, but also pursue a lawsuit against the mortgage company, additional fees may apply.  The most common fact pattern that will allow an attorney to stop foreclosure is where the lender does not grant a loan modification after you successfully complete the terms of a temporary loan modification agreement.  For example, if the mortgage company places you in a temporary loan modification under HAMP, yet refuses to grant a permanent modification after you make the required monthly payments, you will likely prevail in stopping the foreclosure if you retain an attorney who properly asserts these facts to the court.... Read More

It is not so easy that there is just one thing that you can do to end this nightmare. The bank has to foreclose and get the title into its name before the county records will reflect that you are no longer the owner. Basically, you cannot rush that along, but you could contact the bank and offer a deed in lieu of foreclosure.... Read More

Yes, if the buyer was a bona fide buyer who paid fair value and who had no notice of the lender before his/her purchase. But there may be some applicable exceptions. This is a VERY complicated area under Ca. foreclosure law, so make sure you consult with a lawyer who is very familiar with Ca foreclosure law, esp. CCP 726.... Read More

An 8 year old cannot own property or sign a mortgage.  That was bank fraud.  The son's credit is not effected by the debt since any reporting of this debt against the son is a fraud.  It is such a mess, that before the son pays anything ( I assume he is now majority aged), a title search needs to be done to make sure that the property is owned correctly.  If the father is still alive, he should sell the property to the son for the amount of the mortgage balance, and the son should take a regular mortgage to finance the deal.... Read More

You are confusing concepts.  The statute of limitations applies to initiating the suit.  If the sale is under the old suit and a sale was ordered, then it is legal.  If there is a new suit, and no payments were since 2010, then you have an issue.  However, this issue is the subject of great debate, and new law is being made all the time.... Read More

Not much practically unless you are contending there was equity in the property or that the sale wasnt commerically reasonable. You can try to challenge the result, but unless you would be able demonstrate that you would have paid off the first mortgageto retain possession, which you could have equally done by a re-fi, you likely made a poor choice of investing in repairing a property subject to a defaulted mortgage. The bigger issue is, if you were holding the second, what did you do to ensure payment on the first if anything as the second was subordinate to the first which was still owed.... Read More

More detail is needed, especially concerning the relative dates of the lien, the commencement of the foreclosure action, and the dates the mortgages were entered into or recorded. If the underlying debt has not been paid, and the statute of limitations has not passed, then the debt still exists and you could try to collect it. Your mechanic's lien (at least in Wisconsin) only lasts two years, so it may have expired by the time the foreclosure was commenced. If your lien has not expired, and it was placed on the property before the foreclosure, then you may very well still have a lien on the property despite its having been sold. Consult a skilled real estate lawyer in your locality.... Read More