Title Pro Concerned About Gov. Scott’s Foreclosure Law
By Shawn Fortenberry, Owner, Prestige Title of Brevard // June 14, 2013
'HAS DISASTER WRITTEN ALL OVER IT'
Governor Rick Scott passed the new foreclosure bill this week and it has industry insiders extremely concerned.
Being someone who has helped over 2,500 homeowners successfully short sell their property, I find this bill to be somewhat insulting to every person who has been forced to live through the last six years in this industry and in the housing market itself.
Since 2007 when short sales first started to trend, the banks have been reluctant and slow to push these through the pipeline. They have at times down right stalled the process with no reasonable explanation. As time has gone by, the only motivation the banks have had to speed up the process are the numerous lawsuits forcing them to do so.
Now you have the new foreclosure bill allowing the banks to expedite the foreclosure process? Why should the banks be allowed to push the foreclosure process forward faster when they cant even get organized to handle the distressed properties they have now?
This will ultimately shorten the time frames needed by the real struggling homeowners out there to process their short sales. This also will eliminate the banks need to push short sales in general and the banks will again drag their feet in order to make foreclosing the primary focus.
THIS HAS DISASTER WRITTEN ALL OVER IT
The banks are the reason the foreclosure debacle started in the first place. They were foreclosing on properties that were not even theirs. CLICK THIS LINK to refresh your memory.
I can go on and on. How can Governor Scott leave the ability to expedite foreclosures in the hands of the banks again? This is crazy. Have we forgotten so soon that the banks don’t care about the people they are supposed to be serving, and are not equipped to monitor their own practices?
Here is a small portion of the bill that after refreshing your memory above, should hopefully open your eyes.
702.036 Finality of mortgage foreclosure judgment –
(1)(a) In any action or proceeding in which a party seeks to set aside, invalidate, or challenge the validity of a final judgment of foreclosure of a mortgage or to establish or reestablish a lien or encumbrance on the property in abrogation of the final judgment of foreclosure of a mortgage, the court shall treat such request solely as a claim for monetary damages and may not grant relief that adversely affects the quality or character of the title to the property.
Basically according to this, there would be no reversal once the property forecloses. So if the banks make a mistake AGAIN and foreclose on your home for WHATEVER reason, regardless of whether you have been current with your mortgage but a typo was made, the court WILL NOT reverse the decision.
Sure they supposedly will have checks and balances requiring the banks to prove they own the mortgage before they can foreclose. However, who is watching when they foreclose for these other issues?
Who is watching to make sure the banks are accurately proving they own the homes for that matter? Attorneys were supposed to be doing that before and you see what happened there. Those attorneys are now in jail and those peoples homes are lost forever!! Is it really worth giving this kind of power back to the banks again when they clearly cant manage the properties they have now?
‘WE’RE IN FOR A BUMPY RIDE’
What is to stop the banks from escalating the foreclosure process without for sure knowing they have the right info about the homeowners payment history?
Sure the bill says the banks will have to prove ownership. Which, by the way, should never have had to be fixed in the first place if the companies that service these loans were doing their jobs correctly. I see it every day where the banks confuse two separate properties. Who is going to oversee this process? Are we solely leaving it in the hands of the court system?
Last I checked, they were pretty busy themselves with everything else. Who will be holding them accountable? I will tell you after reading this bill, I’m scared me to death. I wish all of you homeowners out there the best of luck. We are in for a bumpy ride.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shawn Fortenberry is the owner of Prestige Title of Brevard. A 10-year veteran of the title industry, his wife Tiffany, and sister-in-law Tonya, opened the company in June 2007. Prestige Title took on the short sale process in late 2007 when they saw the need for a middle man to help agents and homeowners sift through the banks bureaucracy and mounds of paperwork. Fortenberry has successfully helped over 2,500 homeowners short sell their home since 2007.
