US Representative Grayson Asks Supreme Court to Stop Foreclosures

According to the Orlando Sentinel Florida's congressional representative has asked the state's supreme court to stop all mortgage foreclosures handled by a few notorious law firms in florida that have supposedly fudged some of the documentation. If you're falling behind on your payments in the sunshine state, this may end up buying you a little bit more time.

U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson has asked the Florida Supreme Court to halt mortgage foreclosure cases handled by three law firms under investigation by the state's attorney general.

In a letter sent Monday, Grayson urges Chief Justice Charles Canady to suspend cases filed by three firms he calls "foreclosure mills:" the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson; Shapiro & Freeman; and the Law Offices of David J. Stern.

Together, those firms handle about 80 percent of the foreclosures in Florida, according to Grayson. Attorney General Bill McCollum is investigating whether the firms presented courts with fabricated documents to obtain judgments against homeowners.

In one Jacksonville case, a judge blocked a foreclosure brought by Washington Mutual Bank and JPMorgan Chase Bank, and their law firm, Shapiro & Fishman, and accused them of fraud when it turned out the mortgage was owned by Fannie Mae.

"I respectfully request that you abate all foreclosures involving these firms until the attorney general … has finished his investigations of those firms for document fraud," Grayson wrote.

How do I legally avoid or delay foreclosure?

Jeff Lerman, "The Real Estate Investor's Lawyer" , on Fox News, discussing "7 Ways To Legally Delay or Avoid Foreclosure".

And one of the most important ways to have the mortgage company or servicing company legally produce the original mortgage note. The homeowner is also well advised to show up for all court dates--Ask your lawyers, ask the judge what your options are---maybe even show up in court a few days early and watch what other people do for their cases... You'll be able to learn what works and what doesn't. Avoid what doesn't work and try to repeat was does work---Remember you're fighting to stay in your house and stop foreclosure---Or at least delay it.

Florida Court asks Banks to Show the Note and finds them committing fraud

This month a Florida court cracked down on a legal firm that supposedly forged foreclosure documents.

A legal firm would assign a fake assignee as the mortgage owner. Sometimes signing a fake name (such as Linda Green) and signed thousands of documents for Bank of America, Wells Fargo, US Bank and others. The court found problems with the notary stamp on many of the documents and sometimes the bank that was bringing the foreclosure to the court never owned the note. And neither did the mortgage servicer.

So if you're in that situation you should know your rights and ask your attorney or the court to have the bank "Show the Note"... If they can't prove they own the I.O.U. on your house, you'll be able to buy yourself significant time.

According to the Washington Post

Some of the problems in foreclosure paperwork are being created because mortgage loans were repackaged and resold to investors so often that the physical documents become lost. It's the job of a document processor to present and vouch for the authenticity and accuracy of these papers, but attorneys for homeowners have unearthed examples where critical records are forged.

In theory, a judge should review the files one more time. But after the crisis produced massive numbers of delinquent homeowners, judges in many cases became overwhelmed.

Some simply took at face value the documents handed over to them by the lenders - who in many cases were not checking the files, either, according to interviews with judges, attorneys and consumer groups.

In some Florida courts, for instance, many judges automatically approve a foreclosure unless a borrower can point to a specific problem. Homeowners are given five minutes for a presentation. Often, they do not bother to show up.