Foreclosure Defense Lawyer
Illinois homeowners have been subjected to foreclosure at a rate twice that of the national average according to a recent Realtytrac study. In fact, as of November 4, 2012, 1 in 98 Chicagoland homes are in foreclosure. At Tomei Law, our office is dedicated to advocating the latest, up-to-date foreclosure litigation strategies, which are especially critical in this rapidly developing and evolving area of law.
Tomei Law utilizes an aggressive foreclosure litigation approach that challenges the banks’ and mortgage servicers’ alleged ownership of your mortgage, and their alleged rights to foreclose on your property. This is a litigation strategy that has been successfully used in many states around the nation, both in bankruptcy court and in state courts. New law is being made in this evolving legal practice area on a regular basis.
Our primary litigation approach is designed to target widespread and well documented deficiencies in the mortgage securitization process. A majority of mortgages created from 2001-2007 were securitized, meaning giant mortgage originators like Countrywide, New Century Mortgage, Argent Mortgage and others bundled up thousands of mortgages into a particular mortgage pool, then used that pool as collateral for a financial instrument, called a Residential Mortgage Backed Security (RMBS).
These “securities” were then sold to institutional investors, including other large banks, pension funds, insurance companies and Wall Street entities, which bought these securities through special purpose legal entities called “securitized trusts.” Many of these “securitized trusts” now claim ownership interests in these individual mortgages, and claim to have the right to foreclose on a homeowner.
About 62 million homes in the U.S. have a mortgage or deed of trust that purports to name a company called “Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.,” commonly known as “MERS,” as a beneficiary of the mortgage. If you have a so-called MERS mortgage, you may have additional legal issues that can be litigated to invalidate the acts performed by MERS. MERS has suffered several major defeats in recent months around the nation, there appears to be a growing trend in favor of homeowners and against MERS.
Tomei Law will also scrutinize every single step in the complex foreclosure process to determine whether your bank or mortgage servicer has complied with Illinois’ strict foreclosure statutes. At every stage of the litigation, we will advise you of the progress of your case and keep you informed of every significant development.
This office can even help homeowners who are current with their mortgage payments, as well as homeowners who have already lost their homes to foreclosure or have been evicted after a foreclosure. After a foreclosure, you may still have the right to recover your home, or to recover monetary damages.
Do you recommend that we try to obtain a loan modification?
If you’re substantially underwater on your mortgage, a loan modification is like throwing money away, and only the bank wins—again. A loan modification really is a band-aid solution on a gaping wound. The problem isn’t just that your payment is too high. The real underlying problem is homeowners have an asset that’s worth far less than the loan, thus creating long-term damage to a homeowner’s financial interests. And a loan modification doesn’t change that. It only makes it certain that you lose, and the bank wins.
This is why even among homeowners who have obtained a successful loan modification, approximately half of them re-default on their loan modification agreements. These underwater homeowners eventually realize that a loan modification is not in their best interests, and drop out of their loan modification agreements.
In these challenging economic times, we know many homeowners are looking for options to foreclosure. The government’s loan modification program has been a massive failure, and has actually been the primary cause of many foreclosures. And, we can’t expect the banks to bail us out, either. After all, they are too big to fail, you are not.
Working with the banks and mortgage lenders can be complex and daunting, to say the least. So what’s the solution?
If you meet these 4 requirements, Tomei Law can provide aggressive and dedicated legal representation to help you fight to keep your home, assert your rights and to protect your interests.
- You are UPSIDE DOWN on your first mortgage,
- The property is located in ILLINOIS,
- The loan was originated between 2001 through 2007
- Your mortgage was SECURITIZED.
Note: If you do not meet each of these requirements, we still may be able to help you.
Forensic Loan Audit Required Documents
A Forensic Mortgage Loan Audit is performed by an attorney and a team of legal experts. The audit is basically an extensive and thorough examination of your loan documents that you signed when you first got your mortgage loan. These legal experts examine your loan documents for violations of State and Federal laws. Once your audit is complete, we present to you a written report, outlining all the violations, if any.
The factual and legal leverage you will get from a Forensic Mortgage Loan Audit will give you the best chance to get your loan modified. This is the key to obtaining a favorable outcome during the foreclosure and or loan modification process.
To a large extent, these violations are the leverage used to argue your case against your lender. Generally, the more violations, and the higher their severity, the better chance you have of obtaining a loan modification or reaching a favorable outcome in the face of foreclosure.
The following forms and documents although not required, are highly relevant and necessary for all forensic Loan Audit requests:
- Signed Borrower’s Authorization to Release information
- HUD-1 Settlement Statement
- Lender’s Closing Instructions(if available)
- Promissory Note with all endorsements, modifications, attachments, riders, addendums, etc.
- Mortgage/Deed of trust/ Security Instrument with all the endorsements, modifications, attachments, riders, addendums, etc.
- Uniform Residential Loan Application (FNMA 1003)
- Prepayment Rider (if applicable)
- Initial Truth in Lending Disclosure
- Final Truth in Lending Disclosure
- Section 32 Disclosures (if applicable)
- Good Faith Estimate
- Broker Fee Agreement (if applicable)
- Rescission Notice/Right to Cancel (if applicable)
- Mortgage Insurance Certificate (if applicable)
- Escrow/Impound Disclosure Statement
- Escrow Waiver
- Copy of Driver’s License
The Following Documents may expand the scope of the Forensic Audit:
- All State Disclosures
- Property Tax Bill (for the cycle in which the loan was transacted)
- Sales Contract with all Addendums (if applicable)
- Hazard Insurance Documents
- FEMA Standard Flood Hazard Determination
The Bankruptcy Option
Also, if your home mortgage is being foreclosed on, choosing to file for bankruptcy can offer crucial protections against the foreclosing creditor, and any other junior creditors as well. Bankruptcy provides for “the automatic stay” which temporarily stops the foreclosure proceedings in its tracks along with any other bill collector attempting to collect on a debt. If you are facing foreclosure and want to keep your home, Chapter 13 debt reorganization is superior to the alternative Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Please see our Bankruptcy page for more information.
Contact
If you retain Tomei Law to defend your foreclosure and subsequently hire this firm to negotiate a loan modification, perform a short sale, or represent you in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, we are pleased to offer a multi-service discount. Please feel free to call our office at (847) 596-7494 or contact us on-line to set up a free consultation*.
