Many of my clients ask me about the damage that will be done to their credit score if a foreclosure judgment is entered against them.  A foreclosure judgment will cause your credit score to drop around 200 to 300 points.  A good credit score of 700 could drop to as low as 400, which is considered pretty terrible.  The minimum FICO score is 340.  In addition, a foreclosure judgment may lead to tax consequences from the capital gain on the short sale of propety or a deficiency judgment for the remainder of money owed to the bank.

While a foreclosure can remain active on your credit report for three to seven years and make it difficult in certain buying situations, it won’t ruin your credit score for life.  If you keep all of your other credit obligations in good standing, your FICO score can begin to rebound in as little as two years.  The important thing to remember is that a foreclosure is a single negative item.  If you keep it isolated, it will be much less damaging to your credit score than if you had a foreclosure in addition to defaulting on other credit obligations, such as filing bankruptcy.

For more information on how to protect yourself from the consequences of a potential foreclosure, please contact the foreclosure defense team at Wild Felice & Pardo, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com.

If you are facing foreclosure, and the property being foreclosed is your primary residence, you may want to attempt a mediation prior to giving up on the possibility of saving your home.  Homesteaded properties where the bank has filed a foreclosure summons are eligible for mediation as long as the mortgage falls under the federal truth in lending act regulations.

After you receive a foreclosure summons, you should contact a foreclosure defense attorney.  Included with the summons will be an explanation of the court required mediation program.  Mediation fees of up to $750 are paid by the bank.

Between 60 and 120 days after the summons is received, a mediation program manager will contact your attorney. You will fill out a financial disclosure form and meet with a foreclosure counselor.  A mediation session between you and lender is scheduled.  If mediation is successful the case is settled.  If there is no resolution, the case proceeds in litigation.

The mediation will be held in the mediator’s office or a room provided by a mediation service.  The lender or the lender’s designee will likely attend via speaker phone.  Using your financial information, the lender should be able to tell you during the one- to three-hour meeting whether you are eligible for an alternative to foreclosure such as a short sale, deed in lieu or loan modification.

Your attorney should be well-versed in the mediation procedure and the risk and rewards that go with a loan modification.  For more information, contact the certified mediators and experienced Florida foreclosure defense team at Wild Felice & Pardo, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com.

For those of you that thought the worst of the foreclosure storm was over, I have some bad news for you.  Over 7,000 foreclosure actions were filed by banks in the month of November against properties in the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.  This South Florida region is witnessing an average of 233 filings per day.  These numbers represent a fifteen 15 percent increase over the 6,085 filings in November 2008 and a 76 percent increase over the 3,986 actions submitted in November 2007. 

While the media has shifted its focus from the mortgage foreclosure crisis to the healthcare reform debate, the real estate problem in South Florida has not gotten any better.  In fact, it has gotten worse.  South Florida is currently on pace for over 100,000 foreclosure filings in 2009.  By comparison, in 2008 the banks filed 75,000 foreclosure actions and in 2007 there were only 33,000 foreclosure filings by lending institutions.

Common sense would suggest a slowdown in filings due to the sudden willingness of lenders to permit short sales or loan modifications, but the loss mitigation efforts are not being completed in time to prevent the foreclosure auction from occurring and more and more homeowners are finding themselves evicted with their belongings resting by the curb.  It is your responsibility to slow down the foreclosure process long enough for any of these techniques to be used to save your home and your credit.  It is your responsibility to hire a foreclosure defense attorney to protect you.  

On a county-by-county basis, last month Broward County had the highest number of foreclosure filings with 3,305, up nine percent from 3,031 filings during the same time period a year ago.  Palm Beach County had the second highest number of foreclosure filings with 1,890 in November, up 24 percent from 1,526 filings in the same month in 2008.  Miami-Dade County was third with 1,808 foreclosure filings in November, up 18 percent from 1,528 filings in November 2008.

If you have missed a mortgage payment, or are worried that you might be forced to miss one in the near future, please contact our South Florida foreclosure defense attorneys for a free consultation at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com.

As with any other transaction of importance, it is always recommended that you seek the advice and care of an attorney when creating and implementing your estate plan but either out of laziness or financial inability, many Floridians are still failing to plan for the protection of their assets.  If you should fail to retain an estate planning attorney to work with you on your asset protection plan, at least follow the eight steps below and assure that your family isn’t left with nothing but a large pile of debt.  As the old adage goes, if you fail to plan, you are in actuality planning to fail.

Step 1 – Sign a financial power of attorney.

Step 2 – Designate a health care surrogate.

Step 3 – Calculate your net worth.

Step 4 – Review your beneficiaries.

Step 5 – Write a will, or update the one you have.

Step 6 – Plan for state estate taxes.

Step 7 – Title your assets correctly.

Step 8 – Donate, donate, donate.

While these eight steps will provide you with basic protection, for a true and complete asset protection plan, please contact your estate planning attorney and work together to create a plan for your future and the financial future of your family for generations to come.

Until January 1, 2010, our law firm will provide a complimentary will to any person who schedules a free consultation to discuss their asset protection plan.  Contact Wild Felice & Pardo, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com.