In Foreclosure? Our Plantation Foreclosure Lawyers Can Help.

Light & Gonzalez, PLLC, handles foreclosure defense cases in Plantation and throughout South Florida. We are available for consultation on Pine Island between 595 and Broward and will handle any matter in Broward County, Miami-Dade County or Palm Beach County. We are happy to take the time to thoughtfully advise you on your foreclosure or any other consumer debt-related matter you may have.

There are many defenses that may be available to you, and, as your attorneys, we will fight and defend against the bank foreclosing on your home. Defending your action will send a message to the bank that South Florida will not tolerate abusive business practices that prey on our community.

What Is Foreclosure?

Foreclosure is a legal procedure in which a lender recovers the outstanding balance of a loan from a homeowner who can no longer make payments. It involves the lender taking ownership of and selling the mortgaged property. The process begins when the borrower defaults on their mortgage, leading the lender to file a lawsuit. Florida follows a judicial foreclosure process, meaning the case goes through the court system, offering the borrower an opportunity to contest. It’s crucial for homeowners facing foreclosure to understand their rights and explore possible alternatives, such as loan modification or short sale, to potentially avoid losing their home.

Will Filing Chapter 7 Save My House Permanently?

Ultimately, filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy will not stop the bank from foreclosing on you. Bankruptcy will temporarily stop a foreclosure sale, but the note holder can obtain relief from the stay. Even after your bankruptcy has been discharged, the bank will still be able to foreclose on your home. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy may prevent the bank from collecting what’s referred to as a deficiency, which is any remaining portion of the debt that is not satisfied through the foreclosure sale. Our Plantation bankruptcy lawyers are experienced in filing Chapter 7 and can advise you on whether you qualify.

Our Team Explores All Your Options

Our Plantation foreclosure lawyers will always recommend that you explore every option you have available to you so that you can make the most informed decision. We are happy to thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of litigation, loss mitigation and all other options that are available to you for your foreclosure action. It is our job to help you through one of the most difficult times of your life, and we will do everything we can to make the process as smooth and transparent as possible.

Common Foreclosure Defenses In Florida

There are many defenses your foreclosure lawyer may be able to use to defend against a foreclosure action that has been filed against you. The facts of your case will determine which defenses are available, but some of the defenses our lawyers often raise in residential foreclosure defense cases include:

• Standing: This defense is powerful in nearly every residential mortgage foreclosure. Standing boils down to whether the party that is bringing the action against you is not actually the correct party to bring the foreclosure action. If the party that brings the lawsuit is not legally entitled to enforce the promissory note when the foreclosure action is filed, the case will be dismissed. Many foreclosure cases have been dismissed because the party that brought suit did not have standing to enforce the note at the time the foreclosure action was filed.
• Conditions precedent: Some mortgages require that the bank go through certain steps before they can file a foreclosure action against you. This could mean that the bank was required to send you a letter before foreclosing, or it could even mean that they were required to have a sit-down, in-person meeting with you prior to foreclosing on your South Florida home. If the bank fails to take these preliminary steps, they cannot always foreclose.
• Res judicata: If the bank has foreclosed on you before, they may be barred from bringing a new action against you for the same mortgage payments. Res Judicata, which means “a matter already judged,” is a legal term for preventing a party from bringing successive lawsuits on the same matters. If you have had an action dismissed before, res judicata may bar the bank from bringing another action against you or limit the damages they can claim against you.
• Novation: This defense may be available to you if you have entered into a loan modification agreement with the noteholder, and the bank is attempting to foreclose on the unmodified promissory note. As a general principle, a party cannot sue to enforce a contract if the parties have agreed to another contract to replace the original. When there’s been a loan modification, this can be a powerful defense that results in dismissal.
• Accord and satisfaction: Similar to novation, if the parties have agreed that you have satisfied your original contractual obligation, either by satisfying the original obligation or by replacing the original contract with a modified one, accord and satisfaction can be a complete defense to a foreclosure action. This defense is available if you’ve refinanced your original promissory note, or if you’ve made all the payments you were required to make under the terms of the note.
• Statute of limitations: Each type of lawsuit has a statute of limitations, which requires that a party bring a lawsuit within a certain amount of time or the claim will be unenforceable. While Florida courts treat mortgage foreclosure cases differently than some other types of lawsuits, the statute of limitations may still prevent the bank from collecting certain mortgage installment payments if the bank does not file the foreclosure action within the period allowed for in the statute of limitations. Case law from 2016 significantly changed the law in Florida on how the statute of limitations applies to mortgage foreclosure cases, but we keep up-to-date and are prepared to use all the tools available to defend your foreclosure lawsuit.

Our team of foreclosure defense attorneys and bankruptcy attorneys have experience raising all these defenses on behalf of our clients.

In-Depth Information About Foreclosure Defense

Fight The Bank With Us At Your Side

Our firm focuses on helping people through their hard financial times. We are a full litigation firm that plans to take every residential mortgage foreclosure case to trial to try to beat the bank. There are valid legal defenses in nearly every foreclosure action, and we will fight to keep you in your home for as long as possible. As South Florida foreclosure defense lawyers, we will thoroughly explain the entire litigation process from beginning to end.

Want To Sell Your Home? Let’s Talk About It.

Another option that may be available to families going through a mortgage foreclosure is to sell the home. We are qualified to advise you on this option. If the value of your home is less than what you owe to the bank, sometimes it is possible to negotiate a short sale. This is where the bank allows you to sell the home and they will forgive the balance of what you owe on the loan. The bank may also offer “cash for keys,” which is where it offers some monetary amount to homeowners in exchange for their agreement to enter into a consent foreclosure judgment. These options have serious consequences; while it may sound like a great choice initially, it may not be the best choice for you. It is important to speak with a qualified foreclosure defense lawyer so that you can make an informed decision about what to do.

Contact Our Plantation Foreclosure Lawyers To Protect Your Home

Contact us today to speak with qualified South Florida foreclosure defense attorneys. We will discuss all of the options you have available to defend against your mortgage foreclosure action, and we will work with you to try to achieve your goals, whether you would like to try to modify your loan or you want to fight the bank in litigation. For a free consultation, please call 754-778-9911 or send us an email today.