With so many programs in place to help homeowners avoid foreclosures and keep their homes, it can be difficult to figure out who is legitimate and who is harboring less than honest intentions. If you are trying to get a modification on your home loan or looking for a way to avoid or manage a looming foreclosure, make sure you take some time to evaluate a company before jumping into a business deal. Dealing with a potential foreclosure can be emotional and challenging, so find a company that is available to meet your needs and work with your lender on your behalf. If you aren’t sure whether to trust a company, call the Attorney General and find out if there are any complaints on file.
One of the first questions you should ask is whether the foreclosure modification company expects any money up front. If the company wants you to pay them before any work is done, you might want to reconsider doing business. You should also be skeptical of any company that promises you they can save your home. That decision will ultimately be the bank’s call. If the foreclosure modification company promises they can get you a lower interest rate or a lower monthly payment, you should also be suspicious. A good foreclosure modification company will evaluate your current situation and offer you options for how to modify your mortgage and save your home. They should not charge any fees up front and they cannot make promises that they will not be able to follow through on. If you have additional questions about this process, Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at floridarealestatelawyer.org.
This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
A 3-Day Notice is most often served in Florida when a tenant does not pay rent, and the landlord intends to pursue eviction proceedings. Any violation of the lease terms can result in a 3-Day Notice, which demands that the tenant either rectify the problem or leave the property. Three business days are given to you for this purpose. Weekends and court holidays will not count towards the three days.
If you receive a 3-Day Notice, you should immediately contact your landlord or the property management company that oversees your rental home. You must be prepared to reach an agreement if you want to stay in the house. This means catching up on the rent you owe, getting rid of a pet that is prohibited or whatever course of action is required.
If you do not reach an agreement with your landlord, or pay the rent that is owed and the three days pass, you will have to prepare yourself for an eviction. The landlord will file at the courthouse, and you will receive a court date. If the landlord prevails and your eviction is granted by a judge, you will have only a few days to move out of the property. If you want to stay in the property, it is essential to resolve any disputes you can with the landlord as soon as you receive a 3-Day Notice. If you have additional questions about this process, Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at floridarealestatelawyer.org.
This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
If your landlord is selling the home you happen to be renting, there is a reasonable notice that must be given before he or she enters your home. Your lease will tell you how much notice is required. Most lease agreements require landlords to give their tenants at least 24 hours notice. As a tenant, you cannot deny access to your landlord if he wants to show your property to potential buyers. However, you can require that written notice is provided to be before the landlord enters the property. Your lease might indicate that more notice is required, but most rental agreements have a clause with the 24-hour requirement.
While it can often be awkward to have your landlord in your home, especially with potential buyers, it is a good idea to make the property available. Before you grant or refuse access, check your lease. The lease you signed probably allows your landlord to come into the property when necessary. Even though you live in the house, it still belongs to someone else, and you have to make reasonable accommodations. If you are willing to work with your landlord and allow him to come into your home when he needs to, he will likely be more willing to work around your schedule and visit the property at a time that is convenient for you. If you are worried your landlord has violated your lease, talk to a lawyer knowledgeable in landlord/tenant law. Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can answer your questions. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at floridarealestatelawyer.org.
This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
When you lose your home in foreclosure, the bank takes over the property, but you might be wondering who becomes responsible for property taxes. Many homeowners who go through a foreclosure worry that they are required to continue paying taxes. Those overdue real estate taxes are a problem, but most attorneys agree that the homeowner is not responsible for them. Those taxes are associated with the property itself, not the people who are living in the property. Therefore, if you are no longer tied to the property because of a foreclosure, the unpaid or overdue property taxes are not your problem. Consult an attorney with expertise in foreclosures or real estate law just to double check. However, you should not worry about paying taxes on property you no longer own.
Taxes on any personal property will be your responsibility. However, the tax liability on your property will transfer to the new property owner. So, if someone buys your house at a foreclosure auction, that new buyer will have to assume the tax burden. If your lender is going to hold onto your property for a while, the lender will have to take over the tax payments. As soon as you realize you are going to allow your home to go into foreclosure, you should stop paying your property taxes. If you are planning to strategically default, do not pay any new property taxes. Be careful if you are trying to negotiate a short sale or a deed in lieu of foreclosure. In those cases, your lender might require that your property taxes are paid up and current in order to agree to any kind of deal. Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help you navigate this process. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at floridarealestatelawyer.org.
This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
When you want to add names to your house deed while keeping yourself on it as well, the best thing to do is complete a quitclaim deed. With a quitclaim deed, you can transfer the ownership rights from yourself to yourself as well as other people. For example, if you are getting married and you own a home, you might want to add your husband or wife’s name to your home. Instead of refinancing it or going through a complicated sale, all you have to do is file a quitclaim deed in which you transfer ownership from yourself to you and your new spouse. It’s not very complicated, and it will give you as well as any other person you want to add rights to your property.
A real estate attorney can help you with a quitclaim deed for just a little time and money. While there might be other options available in order to get an extra person’s name on your deed, a quitclaim deed will provide you with what you need, while keeping your own rights intact. Talk to Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, about your desire to add someone to your deed with a quitclaim deed. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at floridarealestatelawyer.org.
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The process of removing a person’s name from the deed depends on the circumstances. If one party who is named on the deed dies, that name will automatically be removed from the deed, and there is very little that needs to be done. A real estate attorney should review the deed as well as any wills, trusts or estate plans that are in place in order to make sure additional provisions are not required. If you want to remove a living person’s name from your deed, you will need to go through a little extra legal maneuvering. You will need to do a deed transfer or file a quitclaim deed, which is especially useful if you are removing a name from a deed in order to give the property as a gift to someone else, or if you are getting a divorce.
In the case of divorce and gifting, the party who has legal rights of ownership to the property will file a deed transfer or a quitclaim deed, granting full ownership to another party. This will effectively remove the prior owner from the deed and deny him or her any additional rights to the property. Talk to your real estate attorney if the deed is being contested. Cases of divorce can be messy, and if one party does not agree to voluntarily remove himself from the deed, you will need the help of an attorney to make it happen. Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help you navigate this process. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at floridarealestatelawyer.org.
This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
When a lender brings a foreclosure action against a property owner in Florida, that lawsuit covers anyone and everyone who might also have a claim to the property. If you are living in a home that is being foreclosed on, the bank may include you as a defendant not because you will owe them any money or may be pursued for any damages, but because the bank will want a clean and clear title on the property, and you as a tenant may be a complication for them. The first thing you want to do is make sure you continue paying your rent. You should pay the property owner until the foreclosure is finalized. Once the foreclosure is complete, if you are still living in the property you might be instructed to make rental payments to the court.
Being served or included in a foreclosure lawsuit when you do not even own the property can be frightening and confusing. Do not panic. If you are not sure what you should do, contact a real estate attorney or a lawyer who is experienced in foreclosures. You will not be evicted from the property if you continue making rental payments. There is a law in place to protect tenants during a foreclosure. If you are under a lease agreement, you can finish out your lease. If you are renting outside of a lease agreement, you will have 90 days to find a new place to live. There is no need to panic about the lawsuit. Once you are no longer a tenant on the property, you will be dropped from it and it will remain a legal matter between the property owner and the lender. Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help you navigate this process. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at www.floridarealestatelawyer.org/
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When homeowners realize they cannot keep up with their mortgage payments, and loan modification is not an option, there are still ways to avoid foreclosure. Thanks to the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA), homeowners can work with their banks on other ways out of the property. One popular way to avoid foreclosure is through a short sale. Short sales are conducted when the owner of a property sells it for less than what they owe on the mortgage. Your lender must approve this sale, and thanks to HAFA, many more lenders are willing to work with their borrowers to initiate and close on short sales.
A borrower will have to agree to the terms put forth by the lender when they take advantage of a short sale or other remedy through HAFA. However, it is often worth it. Not only will you protect yourself from foreclosure, you will also not have to worry about the lender pursuing you for whatever balance remains on your loan. Your credit will be damaged from a short sale, but not as much as it would have been if the foreclosure went forward.
Talk to your lender about your options. If you can, modify your loan so that you can catch up with and afford your mortgage. If that is out of the question, try to get a short sale approved through HAFA. You will end up saving money in the long term, and you will not have to worry about the emotionally frustrating foreclosure process. These options can seem complicated at times, Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at www.floridarealestatelawyer.org/
This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.
The Home Affordable Modification Program, affectionately called HAMP, is a federal program passed in 2009 to help homeowners stay in their homes. This program was enacted in order to stem the alarming rate of foreclosures in the nation. With house values falling below what most people owe on their mortgages, getting refinanced and keeping up with mortgage payments seemed impossible for a lot of homeowners. HAMP encourages borrowers to work with their lenders towards finding a way to stay in their homes and get current on their mortgages.
Depending on your financial situation, the value of your home and the lender you are working with, HAMP can help you reduce the principal owed on your mortgage, or get your interest rate lowered to a point that makes your monthly mortgage payments more affordable. There are several requirements that you will have to meet in order to qualify for HAMP. You must be seeking a modification on your principal residence, and you must have signed your mortgage prior to January 1, 2009. If you meet those requirements, talk to your bank about the amount you owe and how it compares to the value of your home. You may be able to get a modification that makes payments more reasonable.
Many of the largest lenders in the nation are working with their borrowers through HAMP. If you are worried about foreclosure or you have struggled to make your mortgage payments, call your lender and find out if HAMP is an option for you. Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help you navigate this process. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at www.floridarealestatelawyer.org/
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When you are renting a property and your landlord becomes delinquent with HOA fees in Florida, you might be worried that the HOA will foreclose on the property you are living in. This is a real and frightening possibility. However, it does not mean that you are entitled to stop paying your rent. As long as you signed a lease agreement, you must abide by the lease and make your monthly rental payments to the property owner. Even if the HOA initiates foreclosure against the property owner, you are still bound by the contract you signed and you must pay rent.
The property owner, even when delinquent in HOA fees, is still the legal owner of the property you are renting. Therefore, you must continue to make rental payments, otherwise you can be evicted from the home. You will be legally protected. If you have a lease, you will be allowed to finish out the duration of your lease in the property. Your rental payments will be made to the HOA once the foreclosure is finalized, but not before then. If you are living in a unit or a home with only a month to month lease, you are legally able to stay in the home for 90 days after a foreclosure.
Tenants’ rights during a foreclosure are protected under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. You will not be thrown out of the property when foreclosure occurs, as long as you continue to make rent payments. Remember to make your rental payments to the property owner, even if he or she is delinquent in HOA fees. That person is still the property owner until a foreclosure is finalized. Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida real estate attorney, can help you navigate this seemingly complicated process and make sure that you are represented properly. Contact our offices at 813-549-0096.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on our services, please visit our website at www.floridarealestatelawyer.org/
This post was written by Stephen Hachey. Follow Stephen on Google, Facebook, Twitter & Linkedin.