Three Year Old Foreclosure Case Settled with Short Sale

When the recession of 2008-2010 hit, a young Florida mom’s employer closed and in a short span of time she faced financial hardships of both unemployment and divorce.  In her divorce she kept the family home in Palm Bay, Florida.  Unfortunately, the value of the property fell more than 60% when the local real estate market collapsed.  She now owed nearly $150,000 on a property worth less than $50,000 and her limited income from unemployment was insufficient to pay her mortgage.  When Space Coast Credit Union filed a foreclosure action against her in 2009, the homeowner traveled to a legal aid office in Daytona Beach where a legal aid lawyer helped her draft a do it yourself ( Pro Se ) Answer. 

The homeowner originally obtained the loan on her home from Space Coast Credit Union ( SCCU) who in turn sold the loan to the Federal National Mortgage Association, also known as Fannie Mae or FNMA.  In 2009, SCCU filed a foreclosure action against the homeowner which she defended herself through 2009 and part of 2010.  In 2010, the homeowner found a job as a legal assistant and attempted unsuccessfully to modify her mortgage.  In 2010 after mediation was unsuccessful and Space Coast’s lawyers filed a motion for summary judgment the homeowner hired Melbourne Florida foreclosure defense attorney, Richard Shuster, to defend the foreclosure action.

Shuster & Saben defended the foreclosure action for two additional years during which time the homeowner made no mortgage payments.  During the three years that the client made no mortgage payments she was able to use the savings to provide for her family, and later after finding employment, to replenish her savings that were wiped out by unemployment and divorce. 

Shuster went on the offensive in the foreclosure action and deposed Space Coast’s corporate representative.  The firm hoped to win the case under a theory that the proper plaintiff was Fannie Mae the loan owner and not the loan Space Cost the loan servicer.  The firm used testimony from the deposition to defeat Space Coast’s motion for summary judgment. Unfortunately, the Court denied the motion for summary judgment the firm filed on behalf of the homeowner.  Since the Court denied both sides’ motions for summary judgment the case would ultimately have to be resolved by trial.


 Space Coast’s counsel advised that they were amenable to settlement by loan modification, short sale, or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.  For this client an interest only loan modification would be a band-aid that would do nothing to solve a very serious negative equity problem.  Further, her home was in need of significant repair.  For this client, short sale was a better solution than loan modification. Our client retained Kerry Ramage a local real estate superstar with Re/Max Elite of Melbourne, Florida.  Ms. Ramage successfully marketed the property.  Initially, the firm was worried that the lender would not approve what seemed to be a very low offer would net the lender less than $32,000.00.  After the lender’s motion for summary judgment was defeated and the bank failed to take the property after three years of litigation settlement was the bank’s only option.  The settlement was approved with the homeowner receiving a wavier of deficiency on her FNMA owned mortgage.  A successful foreclosure defense gave the realtor enough time to find a buyer and the client enough time to get back on her feet, replenish savings and find a better place to live.  Our client had a “triple win” by (1) saving over $30.000.00 she would have spent on mortgage payments or rent had she not defended her case, (2) avoiding liability for approximately $100,000 of negative equity, and (3) avoiding bankruptcy and the expense of a bankruptcy lawyer which would have been necessary if the bank foreclosed on her home and came after her for the difference between the value of the property and the amount of the loan.

To Review the complete short sale approval letter from Space Coast Credit Union please click the link below.

 Short Sale Approval Letter

About Shuster & Saben:  Shuster & Saben provides savvy consumers with sophisticated foreclosure defense.  At Shuster & Saben foreclosure defense is not stalling or foot dragging but a focused effort to find and exploit weaknesses in the bank’s case with a goal of winning the case or settling the case under favorable terms.  Our job is to solve problems, protect client’s assets, and give solid practical legal and financial advice.

Shuster & Saben Obtains Wavier of Deficiency for Orlando Real Estate Investors

Shuster & Saben has successfully saved resolved an Orange County foreclosure case filed against our Orlando clients. In the case our clients owed more than $100,000 more than their investment condominium was worth. Both of our clients signed the note, were professionally employed, and faced the real possibility of the lender obtaining a deficiency judgment and seeking to garnish the husband or wife’s wages. If our firm had not successfully resolved the case our clients faced the real possibility of having to file bankruptcy.

The first time the case was set for summary judgment at the Orange County courthouse firm attorney Richard Shsuter, traveled from our Melbourne office and successfully thwarted the lender’s attempt to obtain summary judgment. On the day before the deposition of the bank’s representative a settlement was reached wherein the lender agreed to waive all claims for deficiency judgment. A copy of the stipulation to waive the deficiency can be viewed by viewed by clicking the link below. A deficiency judgment is a judgment for the difference between the amount owned on the mortgage note and the amount the lender obtains for the property.

To view a copy of the stipulation for wavier of deficiency please click the link below:

Stipulation for Waiver of Deficiency

Shuster & Saben offers a comprehensive approach to foreclosure defense that integrates asset protection guidance with aggressive foreclosure defense by experienced litigation attorneys. Where appropriate we refer our clients to other professionals such as C.P.A.s to mitigate tax consequences of shorts sales and deed in lieu of foreclosure transactions. For high net worth individuals we also work with financial planners and to place client funds into assets that are protected from the claims of potential creditors. From the firm’s four offices in Miami, Doral, Plantation and Melbourne we defend homeowners in foreclosure in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier, Lee, Martin, St, Lucie, Indian River, Brevard and Orange Counties. For more information about our firm please visit us at www.attorneyforeclosuredefense.com

Shuster & Saben Obtains Deed In Lieu Offer for Fort Myers Client

What a difference one month and hiring a lawyer can make.

Before retaining counsel our client pleaded with his loan servicer, Bank of America, to modify the mortgage on his Fort Myers condominium. Our client requested a loan modification because he has lost his job when new construction in Lee County, Florida came to a halt. BAC Home Loan Servicing, LP told our client that because he had no current income he did not meet the income requirements for a HAMP modification and declined his request for modification of his loan. Prior to our firm being retained the lender did not offer deed in lieu to the homeowner and ultimately filed a foreclosure action against him.

After diligently searching the websites of over a dozen foreclosure law firms the client selected Shuster & Saben to defend his foreclosure case. Our client explained that reading the why we are different section of our firm's website lead him to call our office. Less than three business days after being retained our firm filed an answer on the client's behalf and served an additional twenty-one pages of discovery requests and correspondence.

Our client’s goal was to avoid a deficiency judgment and to move to another part of the country where his employment prospects were better. To achieve our client’s objective, we advised the bank's lawyer in a letter sent with the answer that if they would waive deficiency judgment our client would agree to a without recourse deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Less than thirty days later we received an offer for deed in lieu of foreclosure that offered our client:
(a) No recourse… The lender would agree to waive the entire loan balance in exchange for possession of and title to the condominium.
(b) Moving expenses of up to 2% of the outstanding loan balance. This will provide our client with approximately $5,000.00 for moving expenses.
(c) BAC Home Loans will allocate up to $8,500.00 to pay liens on the property for condominium maintenance and property taxes.

The offer to our client was received less than a month after our answer was filed. To view a copy of the offer (with our client’s name removed for privacy reasons) click here.

Shuster & Saben has offices in Melbourne, Plantation, Doral, and Miami, Florida. The firm is also available for consultation only in Bonita Springs, Florida, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Stuart, Florida. Shuster & Saben handles foreclosure cases in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier, Lee, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Brevard, and Orange Counties.