New Mortgage Scam – Don’t Hold The Foreclosure Sale
By Carmen Dellutri on Sep 24, 2009 in Foreclosure News, Foreclosure Process, Mortgage Issues, Mortgage Reform
In the last few months, I’ve witnessed a very disturbing trend in Florida. When a mortgage company starts a foreclosure, one would think that they have the intention of taking back the home, putting it on the market and selling the real estate. In other words, protecting their investment by dealing with the distressed real estate, and eventually getting it off their books in some fashion.
However, nothing can be further from the truth. Now, the mortgage companies are starting the foreclosure process and going through all the motions only to cancel the sale date. Why would they cancel the sale date?Great Question: Here is the answer. The mortgage company does not want to take ownership of the house. Why Not? Well, my friend, I’m glad that you asked. With ownership comes responsibility. The mortgage company does not want to be owner of record because then they will be the responsible for the property taxes. In Florida, or at least Southwest Florida, where I am located, we pay our property taxes in arrears, which means at the end of the year. Right now, many cities in Southwest Florida are in a cash crunch and really need the revenue.
Additionally, there is gas to cut, pools to maintain, air conditioning that needs to be run or else watch out for the mold. So, there are many reasons why the mortgage companies are not finishing the foreclosure.
Please note that these are the same homes that they will not negotiate a mortgage modification for and they will not work with the homeowners by allowing them to skip payments.
This is a money issue, plain and simple. In my opinion, I think they are either looking for another bailout from the Federal Government, or, the mortgage companies have figured out that if enough homes stay in the homeowners names, they will save enough money to turn this negative into a plus.
It could be an accounting issue? I’m not too sure of that, but, if your residential portfolio really took into account the value of the real estate in Southwest Florida, it would be scary compared to what is actually on the books.
Like I said, this is a relatively new trend in Florida Foreclosures that is once again taking advantage of the honest, but unfortunate homeowner. I could go on and on about this, but I’m sure this is an issue that we will revisit shortly.
This post was written by Carmen Dellutri, Esq.
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