Begos Horgan & Brown LLP
From The Firm — Press Release
FORECLOSURE LANDSCAPE IN 2012
A Recent Court Ruling Expected to Have a Dramatic Impact Throughout the Year
WESTPORT, CT, Jan. 17, 2012 – What trends will shape the mortgage foreclosure landscape in 2012? The most influential will be a recent CT Supreme Court ruling that could have a significant impact on who can sue to foreclose. This was one of several trends identified by mortgage foreclosure defense attorney Christopher Brown as he looked towards the year ahead.
"December's Supreme Court decision is something that should give lenders pause because it rocked business as usual when it comes to who has the right to initiate a foreclosure action," says Brown, the foreclosure defense attorney who represented the borrower in this case. He is a named partner in the Westport law firm of Begos Horgan & Brown LLP. "Before this decision, lenders claimed that being a holder (the legal term for possessing the note) meant that they had the right to foreclose. The court's decision confirms that only the owner of the debt has a right to foreclose. Holder status is not enough. I would expect lenders to be slow to change their procedures to account for this decision, which could very likely mean more dismissed foreclosures in 2012."
He also cited other trends that he expects to be important in the foreclosure arena in 2012:
Lenders will continue to have problems proving they are holders — Even though mere holder status is still beneficial for lenders, establishing that they are holders of the note will continue to be difficult for lenders. "I recently had a case dismissed for a client because the party that started the foreclosure suit failed to prove that it was the holder – had possession of the note – on the date the action started," says Brown.
Borrowers will be more proactive in their defense — "By recognizing that only the owner of the debt can foreclose, the Supreme Court decision gives borrowers a ten-pound sledge hammer to fight a foreclosure. Before it, borrowers had only a three-pound hammer because they were effectively limited to challenging holder status," he says. "But no hammer is any good unless it's swung. Borrowers should not expect the decision to mean that the courts are going to 'swing for them' in the upcoming year. They will need to take part in the foreclosure and make sure they and their lawyers push institutions to prove ownership of the note. It will continue to be up to the borrowers and their legal counsel to make sure that happens in the coming 12 months."
Continued low interest rates to have limited effect — The Federal Reserve's promise to keep their rates low in 2011 and 2012 won't necessarily have a dramatic impact on the number of people falling behind on their mortgages. "These rates do have an impact on adjustable mortgages, but it won't be significant," says Brown. "A lot of the problems that would have been associated with adjustable rate loans have been ameliorated by keeping interest rates low. That's good news, because the rates aren't going to explode next year. But, a lot of those adjustable mortgages were fixed rates for five years or less and many of them were interest only for the fixed period. The bulk of these loans are past the five year period, and it's time for those borrowers to pay back principal. Even though the interest portion of the payment might decrease because of the low interest rates, the overall payment may increase because it now includes a principal payment.
Longer mediations with little impact on loan modifications — A number of state and federal programs were aimed at getting banks to work with borrowers on loan modifications. Many arrived with a lot of fanfare, but Brown has seen little impact on the way banks deal with modifications. He's expects that trend to continue in 2012. "These programs really haven't changed anything for those having problems with their mortgage payments. Even when mediation became mandatory in this state in 2009, the impact was minimal," he says. "Lenders don't seem capable of processing modification requests promptly. They frequently claim that packages are incomplete and request documents or information that the borrowers have already provided. When the same information is re-submitted, they often claim that other documentation has become outdated and needs to be resubmitted. This cycle can be repeated multiple times. There was a lot talk that the banks were striving to make modifications, but there's been extreme criticism that these plans have done nothing and that few loans are getting modified." Brown does see a little bit of a silver lining on this cloud. He says, "The foreclosure process generally does not move forward while mediation is ongoing and the mediation generally continues until the bank says 'no'. Borrowers who may not ultimately qualify for a modification benefit from being able to stay in their houses."
Government Report Cards could impact the modification process — In 2011, the Federal government began monitoring the modifications and issuing Report Cards on lenders. These Report Cards suggest areas in which the lenders need to improve. "I'm going to be an optimist here and suggest that the lenders are going to take these suggestions to heart in 2012 and actually try to meet the standards they advocate," says Brown. "I don't expect the government to go away on that front. I think they'll put pressure on lenders to get their acts together. We recently had a case where the bank agreed to modify, told us what the new payment would look like and promised to send a written modification agreement. We had to send the written agreement back twice to be corrected because the numbers didn't match what they told us. I don't think it was intentional. It was the kind of bungling that's become part of the process. It's not uncommon for these modifications to take over a year. I'm hoping the Report Cards will show lenders just how often these kinds of things occur and encourage them to change their processes."
Courts to order lenders to send representatives with real authority to mediation sessions — The law requires borrowers to be physically present for mediation but permits lenders to send only their lawyers. These lawyers are supposed to have the authority to agree to a resolution. In addition, there's supposed to be a lender representative available by telephone. "In practice, that almost never happens," Brown says. "The lenders' lawyers often don't have authority and rarely does the telephone representative. Without someone at the table with real decision-making ability it's tough to get things done. It also makes it easier for the lenders get away without making a decision or to ask for the same information repeatedly. When lenders don't have to take the time to be there in person it's easy for them not to take mediation seriously." Brown expects this to change. "Lately borrowers have been asking the courts to direct someone with real bargaining power to attend mediation and the courts have been granting those requests. I expect that trend to increase. I am cautiously optimistic about banks changing. The more they are ordered to come to mediation sessions in person, the more likely they’ll be to rethink how they are doing things."
Commercial borrowers to benefit from changes on the residential level — Brown believes the Connecticut Supreme Court's decision will also help commercial borrowers. "Commercial loans were bought and sold on the secondary market just like residential loans. Plus, the loan documents for commercial loans can often be exotic when compared with residential loans. I would expect to see ownership of the debt issues applied to commercial loans, forcing commercial lenders to rethink their procedures and assumptions here, too. I know that I am doing just that in a number of commercial foreclosures I am defending."
In general, Brown expects the foreclosure environment in 2012 to look very much like 2011 with a few glimmers of hope for borrowers. “The economy’s still not on the upswing. Joblessness ; joblessness is still a significant issue. Nevertheless I’m hoping that the influence of the courts and an understanding of the need to change will bring banks to the understanding that they have to make adjustments to the ways they deal with mortgage holders,” he concludes.
About Attorney Christopher Brown
Christopher Brown has represented defendants in a number ground-breaking foreclosure cases. His practice concentrates on foreclosure defense and debtor-creditor law. He has been litigating financial cases for 19 years, representing borrowers in residential and business foreclosures and parties on either side of a debtor-creditor or other financial dispute. His foreclosure defense work came to the attention of the legal and consumer press starting in 2008 when he handled several ground-breaking foreclosure cases in which he took on and beat the mortgage industry in foreclosure matters.
He is a named partner at Begos Horgan & Brown LLP. The firm engages in sophisticated business, financial and insurance related litigation, trials and appeals in all courts, state and federal, in Connecticut and New York as well as securities arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA").
Their practice areas include general commercial and corporate disputes, securities litigation, debtor/creditor disputes, insurance coverage disputes, real estate litigation, employment-related litigation, real estate purchase and sales and trust and estates.
In 2008, the firm was cited by the Connecticut Law Tribune as one of the state's "Dozen Who Made a Difference." They have also been recognized as one of the nation's "Go To" law firms by Corporate Counsel and as one of the state's best General Law firms by the Commercial Record. They have offices in Westport, CT and Bronxville, NY. For more information see www.begoshorgan.com.
Media Contact: Andrea Obston, aobston@aomc.com
(B) 1-860-243-1447, (C) 1-860-803-1155, (H) 1-860-653-2712
For more information and resources on this client please visit the Andrea Obston
Marketing Communications Online Newsroom at www.aomcnewsroom.com
|
