When you are in a foreclosure case you may hear different words and phrases like “dropping a party”, “voluntarily dismissing the case” and “releasing the lis pendens”. You may find yourself questioning what these phrases mean and if they mean the same thing. The answer is that they all mean something different. Here is the breakdown:

  • Dropping a party: If you hear or read this line the first thing you need to find out is who is being dropped. Often times, the plaintiff includes placeholder defendants or collateral defendants involved who are later dropped. This defendant is most likely being dropped because they are no longer required to bring suit successfully.
  • Voluntarily dismissing the case: This simply means that the plaintiff is voluntarily terminating the lawsuit. The plaintiff can request a dismissal as long as the defendant has not filed an answer or filed a motion for summary judgement. If the defendant has filed an answer or a motion, the dismissal is only proper under two circumstances: if all defendants stipulate to dismissal, or if the judge who is overseeing the case rules for dismissal.
  • Releasing the lis pendens: A lis pendens is when someone has a claim and they have filed a notice in the public records. A release of the lis pendens means that a cancellation has been filed which negates the lis pendens notice.

Knowing these terms and phrases will help you better understand what is going in in your case. In a foreclosure case, dropping a party, voluntarily dismissing the case, and releasing the lis pendens are not the same.

Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida foreclosure attorney, can help your wade through this process and determine a positive solution. Contact him at 813-549-0096.

The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

If you have signed a Quitclaim Deed as a result of divorce, or any other reason, that means that the owner of the property, the “grantor”, removes any legal interest and gives it to the recipient, the “grantee”. By doing this, the grantor terminates their right to claim the property, so naturally the rights transfer to the grantee. If you are the grantor and have signed over the right to claim the property and receive a foreclosure compliant the first thing you should do is consider hiring an attorney. You may say you can’t afford one, but think about the cost of what you can loose.

Although you have given up your rights on the property, the Quitclaim does not remove your liability for the mortgage. If your ex-spouse, or grantee, is not paying the mortgage then the lender will go after anyone else listed on the mortgage. So, even though you have removed your rights and main financial responsibility to the property, the lender will go after any person that may have an interest in the property in order to ensure that their own interests are extinguished through the foreclosure process.

Since you were married, or involved, when the loan was taken out, you were, at the least, included on the mortgage, and quite possibly the loan. The best way to handle this situation is to consult an attorney and determine your exposure. You need to take care of this as soon as possible or the situation may get more complicated and it could possibly take longer to rid yourself of the issue.

Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida foreclosure attorney, can help your wade through this process and determine a positive solution. Contact him at 813-549-0096.

The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

Even the faintest hint of a foreclosure is enough to give any homeowner nightmares. For the homeowner that has missed mortgage payments, the idea of foreclosure is even more frightening. After receiving notice after notice concerning default payments and defending threats of an impending foreclosure for as long as possible, it is easy to understand why a homeowner would think they have a golden ticket out of harm’s way in the form of a mortgage forgiveness letter. However, as the saying goes, not everything that glitters is gold.

In some cases, homeowners have received letters from their lender stating that the mortgage has been forgiven and/or that the foreclosure case has been dropped. Now, it is entirely possible that the lender may not have had a solid foreclosure case against the homeowner, and decided not to invest in the fees and court cases associated with pursuing a foreclosure to the maximum extent. If this is the case, it is certainly realistic that the lender would inform the homeowner that the foreclosure is not moving forward.

However, it is highly important that any communication sent by a lender to a homeowner is independently evaluated for accuracy. Many homeowners are weary to trust banks, and may automatically want to verify that what the lender says is true. For those homeowners eager to accept the lender’s statements as true, it is crucial to be skeptical when it comes to the status of your home.

The only way to know with 100% certainty if the lender has discharged your debt is if you receive a satisfaction of mortgage from your lender and it gets recorded in the public records. It is important for homeowners to understand that lenders are swamped with potential foreclosures and could easily make a mistake in informing the wrong homeowner with good news. If the lender does not easily comply with your demands for proof of its claims, you will want to consult with an attorney to ensure that the lender’s letter is valid and to obtain the proper documentation to prove the lender has forgiven the mortgage. Once the satisfaction of mortgage is recorded, then, and only then, the homeowner can finally rest easy.

Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida foreclosure attorney, can help your wade through this process and determine a positive solution. Contact him at 813-549-0096.

The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

A court decision issued last year has serious implications for Florida homeowners. In U.S. Bank v. Bartram, decided last April, the Fifth District Court of Appeals held that each default that occurs after a failed foreclosure attempt creates a new cause of action for the lender for statute of limitations purposes. This is true even where acceleration has been triggered and the first case is dismissed for lack of merit.

For homeowners, this means that if a lender’s foreclosure action is dismissed, and five years pass, the lender can still bring another foreclosure action as long as the borrower defaulted sometime after the first action was brought. According to the Bartram decision, the statute of limitations will no longer prevent a new action from being initiated against the homeowner. This is the first time that a Florida appellate court clearly stated that each default triggers a new cause of action for foreclosure.

In Bartram, the Bank’s initial foreclosure action was involuntarily dismissed, and Bartram argued that because more than five years had passed since he had defaulted, the statute of limitations barred the Bank from now enforcing its rights under the note and mortgage. However, the appellate court concluded that, despite the amount of time that had passed since the Bank’s foreclosure action, the Bank was not prohibited from then enforcing its rights under the note and mortgage, so long as Bartram defaulted sometime after the first action was initiated.

For homeowners, Bartram unfortunately favors lenders and will not allow homeowners to breath easy, even after seemingly fighting off a foreclosure. It appears that this decision will result in lender’s continuing to pursue homeowners for debt owed, even after the homeowner successfully eludes an unfavorable foreclosure judgment. Further, this decision will likely speed up many outstanding foreclosure cases in Florida, where the statute of limitations is at issue.

If you have defaulted on a payment to a lender and are concerned about foreclosure, it is more important than ever to have a qualified attorney on your side. Even when you think you are free from foreclosure, lenders can continue to pursue your home if you default again. Do not try to attempt to save your home single handedly; an experienced attorney will be able to create a unique plan for your case and can guide you in handling your lender’s demands.

Stephen K. Hachey, a Florida foreclosure attorney, can help your wade through this process and determine a positive solution. Contact him at 813-549-0096.

The opinions in this post are solely those of the author. The author takes full responsibility for the content. Like all blog posts, this is offered for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice.