If you’re a homeowner in Florida, it’s important to know that you have rights when it comes to foreclosure. Lenders are typically required to notify you if they are going to foreclose, provide information about your loss mitigation opportunities, and give you opportunities to keep your home.
Unfortunately, sometimes lenders act in bad faith, and people end up losing their homes unfairly. If you are facing foreclosure in Florida, Loan Lawyers can help. We’ve saved more than 2,500 homes for our clients and are ready to fight for you. Contact us today for a free consultation with an experienced wrongful foreclosure lawyer in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
What Is Bad Faith Foreclosure?
When you take out a mortgage loan to purchase a home, the bank still technically owns the home until you pay off your mortgage. If you don’t make your mortgage payments for a certain period of time, the bank can take possession of the home in a process known as foreclosure action.
Unfortunately, some banks try to use this to their advantage. Lenders can profit by fraudulently reclaiming homes on behalf of the banks that originate the mortgages.
When a lender knowingly files a wrongful foreclosure lawsuit in Florida, it’s known as a bad faith foreclosure.
Some signs that you may be facing a bad faith claim are:
- “Lost” mortgage documentation – If you attempted to apply for a mortgage modification but your lender repeatedly “lost” your paperwork as the deadline drew closer, it could be a sign that your lender didn’t want to help you avoid foreclosure at all.
- Questionable loan modification denials – If your lender easily approved a temporary or trial mortgage modification and then denied a permanent modification request just as quickly, it may be because they weren’t going to approve a permanent modification in the first place. Many homeowners have complained that their mortgage company misled them about their chances of qualifying for permanent loan restructuring, allowing the lender to continue collecting mortgage payments — even though foreclosure was unavoidable.
- Strange increases in the loan balance – Some homeowners facing foreclosure have sued mortgage companies for artificially increasing their mortgage balances by misrouting payments so the company could charge extra fees.
Common Wrongful Foreclosure Tactics
Filing a foreclosure lawsuit does not necessarily mean that a lender is acting in bad faith.
However, a judge may order a stop to the foreclosure or for the lender to change their behavior if there is evidence of any of the following common signs of wrongful foreclosure tactics:
- Failure to provide homeowners with timely notices, deadlines, or instructions
- Breaches of the collection terms set in mortgage agreement contracts
- Misrepresentation of loan balances or additional fees for penalties
- Attempts to collect unnecessary taxes or fees from homeowners
- Repeated or unusual errors in processing payments or modification requests
- Failure to properly communicate accurate information to homeowners
- Improper calculations of loan balances or adjustments to interest rates or taxes
- Improper or unclear loan restructuring agreements
- Evidence of intentional fraudulent activity, bad faith actions, or unfair practices
How To Prove a Wrongful Foreclosure Happened Due To Bad Faith in Florida
Every homeowner’s situation is unique. There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for fighting a wrongful foreclosure case in Florida.
At a minimum, you must demonstrate that your lender failed to act in good faith by showing that:
- The lender had a legal obligation to act in good faith – This element is often the easiest to prove, as all mortgage lenders in Florida must make good-faith efforts to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. You can show your lender’s obligation to act in good faith simply by presenting your mortgage agreement as evidence.
- The lender violated their legal obligation by acting in bad faith – Your lender may have made no effort to help you avoid foreclosure or even actively worked to cause it. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to show your lender acted in bad faith by presenting communication records, payment records, loan statements, or loan modification denials.
If you can show that the lender acted in bad faith, you can sue for compensation. You may be entitled to recover your losses in property value, negative impacts on your credit rating, moving costs, and emotional distress. If you are still in your home, you could also ask the Florida court to dismiss the lender’s lawsuit. An experienced foreclosure defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale can determine the best course of action for your specific case.
How Can a Florida Wrongful Foreclosure Lawyer Help Me?
Navigating foreclosure proceedings on your own is incredibly difficult. A knowledgeable bad-faith foreclosure attorney can help you by:
- Explaining all of your options – Foreclosure defense lawyers have in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of federal and Florida foreclosure laws. An attorney will know which regulations apply to your case and which alternatives you may be able to pursue to avoid foreclosure.
- Convincing the bank to modify your loan – Getting the bank to agree to a loan modification can be a challenge. Your lawyer can help you draft a loan restructuring agreement that fits your budget and meets your lender’s approval.
- Identifying loss mitigation opportunities – Many mortgage agreements have loss mitigation opportunities, which provide the homeowner with alternatives to foreclosure. However, they can be hard to find in all the fine print. Your attorney can analyze your loan documents to determine whether any of these loss mitigation strategies are available to you.
- Protecting your rights in bankruptcy court – If your lender has already filed a foreclosure lawsuit, your lawyer can examine the documents for any mistakes, discrepancies, or bad faith acts and then bring them to the court’s attention. Depending on the circumstances, a seasoned attorney can have a foreclosure lawsuit delayed or even dismissed.
Talk to an Experienced Foreclosure Defense Attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Today
At Loan Lawyers, our dedicated foreclosure defense, debt defense lawyer, and bankruptcy attorneys in Fort Lauderdale have defended many Floridians like you from bad-faith foreclosures. Contact us today for a free case review and learn more about how we can help you fight to keep your home.
