Foreclosure Case Heads To Supreme Court

A South Florida homeowner will have his foreclosure case reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court. Claiming that fraudulent documents were submitted to the court by a law firm handling the foreclosure for The Bank of New York Mellon.



In a case whose outcome could reshape state law the 4th District Court of Appeals has asked the states high court to decide it as a matter of "great public importance". The Supreme Court agreed on Friday April 15th 2011 issuing an order to hear the case.


Roman Pino vs. The Bank of New York Mellon could result in widescale changes to foreclosure cases where there is evidence of fraud in the way that documents have been handled by lenders, servicers and the law firms that represent them. The Appeal Court wrote that in it's request to the high court that "many, many mortgage foreclosures appear tainted with suspect documents".


If the court decides in favor of the homeowner, a resident of Palm Beach County the ruling could affect thousands of foreclosures where there appears to be or there are allegations of fraud and document falsification. This case is being closely watched because The Bank of New York Mellon was represented by a law firm in South Florida that was forced to close last month while under pressure from allegations of fraud, robo signing and false documentation. This firm is one of eight "foreclosure mills" in the state that are under investigation by the State Attorney Generals office for using fraudulent documents. They had handled one in every five foreclosure cases in the state until Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as some lenders, recently decided to
distance themselves from them and stopped giving them business.


The attorney for the homeowner alleged, in this case that his client was the victim of document fraud and that the bank voluntarily dropped the foreclosure case only to refile with another set of documents. He is seeking sanctions againt the lender on behalf of the homeowner claiming that by dismissing the original case they had cut off his fraud claims as well. The Supreme Court should decide if a trial judge should have allowed the homeowners attorney to move forward with fraud allegations before dismissing the case.
 
George E. Sinacori
GES Real Estate LLC

Condos for Less Than the Cost of a New Car

With so many condos in South Florida available for less than the cost of an average priced new car it's no wonder I've been running my tail off this summer. Buyers with cash are taking full advantage of the overwhelming wealth of inventory now glutting the market. In many cases buyers are looking for deals on several at a time hoping to grab up a couple and make some extra cash monthly. Holding them a few years or more until the market stabilizes is not difficult since the rental market for inexpensive homes and condos is strong.

Cash is king in these instances. In many cases lower real estate values and stricter financing regulations make it difficult to obtain any financing on these condos. That together with the fact that foreclosure sales are often awarded to cash buyers with no financing contingencies. Some savvy buyers are building up a small inventory of real estate that may in fact become their financial salvation in the future. Others are just looking for ways to live inexpensively while maintaining ownership interest in property.

International buyers seem much more eager than domestics to snap some of these properties up. Seeing the advantages of having a place of their own when visiting the area and not being as affected by the economies in their countries they are taking full advantage of opportunities and benefitting from the seemingly unending depression of the American real estate market, particularly the one here in South Florida. Opportunities continue to pour into the marketplace. The tremendous backlog of foreclosures still being accumulated should allow this market trend to continue for some time to come.

If you or anyone that you know is considering buying or selling a property in Southeast Florida please contact me directly at 561-306-6736 or by email ges.rellc@ymail.com or rebuygeorge@yahoo.com