Mortgage Deliquencies Remain High in New Jersey

September 26, 2013 By

Even though there is an improving nationwide real estate market, mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures continue to be a problem in New Jersey. The national mortgage delinquency rate – defined as borrowers who are at least 60 days past due on their payments – shrank by 26% in the Second Quarter of 2013, when compared to the same period one year ago, according to TransUnion, the credit information service. The delinquency rate in August, 2013 was approximately 4.1%, still double what it was in the pre-recession period, but it is still on a downward trend.

Locally, however, things are not so good. While Florida and Nevada have the highest delinquency rates (9.9% and 8%, respectively), New Jersey is right behind them, at 7.2%.

In New Jersey, there were 4455 mortgage foreclosure lawsuits filed in July, and 4222 foreclosure lawsuits filed in August, 2013, a dramatic rise from 2012 and early 2013. In New Jersey, the nation’s biggest lenders have recently filed motion papers that are paving the way and allowing a greater number of foreclosure lawsuits to be filed. In New Jersey, it is expected that the number of foreclosure lawsuits will continue to increase through the end of 2013.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: , , , , ,

New Jersey Judge Vacates Bank’s Default Judgment

June 26, 2013 By

We represent the homeowners in an action in Somerset County, New Jersey. The bank claims that its process server successfully served our clients with a foreclosure lawsuit in December, 2012, yet our client claims he was never served. The bank’s process server indicated that he served a dark-skinned male with brown hair, yet my client has had a shaved head for over 10 years.

Based on the bank’s claim that they successfully served the foreclosure lawsuit on my clients, the bank then entered a default judgment because there was no Answer and Affirmative Defenses filed within the 35 days required under New Jersey law. When a default is entered, it can and often will preclude any litigation or challenge to the loan itself, including ownership, standing and predatory lending defenses that a homeowner often has.

I filed a Motion to Vacate the Default Judgment based on the bank’s failure to serve the complaint on the proper individuals. The court granted my motion, the Default Judgment has been removed from the court docket, and I filed an Answer and Affirmative Defenses with the Court. The case is now being litigated, but if the Default Judgment had remained in place, the bank would have been entitled to a Final Judgment, and then a Sheriff’s Sale, without ever giving the homeowners a chance to litigate and discover the true nature and ownership of the loan. Even though we persuaded the Court to vacate the default, this case illustrates the need for a homeowner to be vigilante and to get any and all paperwork over to his or her attorney in a timely manner.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or, call our Philadelphia office location at 215-751-0100 or our New Jersey office at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: , , , ,

Philadelphia Judge Denies Bank’s Motion for Summary Judgment

April 18, 2013 By

My clients own a home in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood in Philadelphia. Their lender is Suntrust Mortgage Company, an Atlanta based lender with offices in the Southern and Eastern U.S. and in the Cayman Islands.

Suntrust sued my clients in a foreclosure lawsuit in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. In January, Suntrust filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing to the court that a trial was not necessary because the loan documents themselves prove that the homeowners are in default. The banks frequently file these motions in which they argue that the bank should have the absolute right to foreclose. A closer inspection of the loan documents, however, established that the bank may not have properly applied the mortgage payments to the principal and interest when the payments were made. This created a question of fact because my clients’ mortgage payments conflicted with the bank’s payment ledgers.

The trial court agreed, on February 27, 2013 the judge denied the bank’s motion for summary judgment. The clients continue to reside in the home and I am awaiting notification of a trial date.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: , , ,

Delaware County Judge Denies Bank’s Objections

April 5, 2013 By

I represent homeowners in Delaware County who are faced with a foreclosure lawsuit. I filed an answer to the bank’s lawsuit, and I raised various defenses to the action. The kinds of defenses in this case are that the bank is not the true owner of the Note and that my clients were victims of bait and switch tactics. For instance, on the day of settlement, the interest rate went from what was promised, at 6%, up to 8.5%. In addition, the originating lender increased the mortgage balance by lumping many of my client’s other debts (credit card bills and medical bills) into the mortgage loan, even though my clients weren’t given advanced warning of that.

The loan is allegedly owned by banking giant, Deutsche Bank, because it is the trustee of the mortgage trust that claims to own the loan. When my clients were sued, I answered in court filings that the bank engaged bait and switch and predatory practices. The banks’ lawyers filed objections to my court papers claiming that the defenses were not relevant to the actions since, in their view, all of the paperwork was in order and my clients knowingly signed onto the mortgage loan. The Delaware County trial Judge denied the bank’s objections ordered that the bank must now respond to my allegations. This was a bitterly contested motion and I am glad that we prevailed on this aspect of the case. A trial date has not yet been set.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: , , ,

Philadelphia Judge Denies Bank’s Motion for Summary Judgment

April 1, 2013 By

My clients own a home in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood in Philadelphia. Their lender is Suntrust Mortgage Company, an Atlanta based lender with offices in the Southern and Eastern U.S. and in the Cayman Islands.

Suntrust sued my clients in a foreclosure lawsuit in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. In January, Suntrust filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing to the court that a trial was not necessary because the loan documents themselves prove that the homeowners are in default. The banks frequently file these motions in which they argue that the bank should have the absolute right to foreclose. A closer inspection of the loan documents, however, established that the bank may not have properly applied the mortgage payments to the principal and interest when the payments were made. This created a question of fact because my clients’ mortgage payments conflicted with the bank’s payment ledgers.

The trial court agreed, on February 27, 2013 the judge denied the bank’s motion for summary judgment. The clients continue to reside in the home and I am awaiting notification of a trial date.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Federal Court Foreclosure Practice

March 27, 2013 By

I have a case pending in Federal District Court in Philadelphia against Bank of America (the servicing bank) and HSBC (HSBC controls the trust that holds my client’s mortgage). The basis of the lawsuit is that the banks lied to my client when they told him that he should let his loan go into default if he wanted a loan modification. As crazy as this may sound, this is a technique used by the banks over that last couple of years. Of course, this sets up a homeowner for a foreclosure lawsuit. This all happened before he retained me, and as luck would have it, my client did exactly what the bank told him to do—he went into default and the bank filed a foreclosure action against him in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

I filed a lawsuit for fraud and promissory estoppel (i.e., my client relied on the bank’s statement that he should go into default). The bank filed a motion to dismiss our lawsuit, claiming that it was not reasonable for my client to rely on such a promise.

At oral argument on February 14, 2013, it was clear that this was the first time that the Federal Court judge became aware that the bank engaged in tactics like this. Since most foreclosure-based lawsuits are filed in the state courts, this is not surprising. For a good part of the hearing, which lasted about an hour, I felt as if I was educating the Court about 1) the bank practices which led to the housing crisis and 2) the ridiculousness of the loan modification process. Instead of issuing an opinion, the judge ordered Bank of America to look into settling the entire matter, which would include withdrawing the foreclosure complaint and providing a loan modification.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

US Department of Justice Continues to Pursue Wells Fargo Bank

February 28, 2013 By

Wells Fargo Bank may be the largest mortgage loan originator in the country, but the Department of Justice says that Wells Fargo continues to violate the terms of a settlement reached in July, 2012. On October 9, 2012, prosecutors in New York filed a new mortgage-based civil action against Wells Fargo, seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for alleged mortgage fraud violations under the False Claims Act. The action asserts that Wells Fargo engaged in a long-standing and reckless trifecta of deficient training, deficient underwriting and deficient disclosure, all while relying on the convenient back stop of government insurance. Essentially, it is claimed that Wells Fargo originated bad loans, and then relied on government insurance through the Federal Housing Administration to pay the claims when those mortgages fell into default.

Wells Fargo, however, claims that the recent action is barred because the alleged conduct was already part of the July, 2012, settlement, and Wells Fargo claims that the slate was wiped clean. In court filings on November 1, Wells Fargo asked a trial judge to declare that the government’s second lawsuit is a breach of the July, 2012, settlement terms.

Contact Shaffer & Gaier

To set up a free initial consultation, contact our office online or call our foreclosure hotline at 855-289-1660. Or call our office location in Philadelphia at 215-751-0100, or in New Jersey at 856-429-0970.

Filed Under: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Defense, Mortgage Modification Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

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