Thursday, september 25, 2008
Partnership with Florida Attorneys Saving Homes (FLASH)
In an effort to prevent homeowners from losing their homes to foreclosure, Yesner & Boss, P.L. has partnered with the Florida Bar, Florida Legal Services, and the Real Property Probate & Trust section of the Florida Bar, to participate in the Florida Attorneys Saving Homes program (FLASH). The program places clients facing foreclosure with private pro bono attorneys, who provide free legal representation along with valuable education and prevention information.
Client Representation
FLASH attorneys are available to provide representation to the nearly 77,000 homeowners in Florida who are in danger of entering foreclosure. If a homeowner is behind 30 days or more on their mortgage payments, and has not yet been served with a foreclosure complaint, the homeowner may contact the FLASH hotline at 1-866-607-2187 to complete an initial intake interview. A self directed intake form may also be completed online by going to the Florida Bar website at FLASH Intake Form. Once the form is completed, a FLASH staff member will refer the client to a private pro bono attorney, who will then contact the client within ten days.
Education and Prevention
Government outreach programs have enabled attorneys to assist homeowners in mitigating losses from the ever increasing amount of foreclosures. HOPE NOW provides borrowers of adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) the option of loan modification within 120 days of interest rate reset. ARM loan borrowers can visit the HOPE NOW website or call toll free (1-888-995-HOPE) to determine if their lender or servicer participates in the program. Similarly, Project Lifeline offers borrowers who are 90 days delinquent the option of "pausing" a foreclosure action for 30 days so the bank can evaluate loan modification options. Some of the industry's largest lenders participate in this program, including Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of America Corp., Washington Mutual Inc., Countrywide Financial Corp., and JPMorgan Chase.
Aside from these programs, Florida Legal Services, a statewide legal pro bono services group, specializes in representing victims of predatory lending. Since these illegal tactics are often intertwined with a mortgagor's pending foreclosure action, FLASH pro bono attorneys receive training to look for common signs of predatory lending, including: excessive fees, abusive preparation practices, request for a balloon payment, broker kickbacks, loan flipping, sale of unnecessary products, steering toward pre-selected brokers, targeting of individual clients, and failure to determine ability to make payments. As such, FLASH attorneys will ensure that any suspected illegal practices are referred to agencies that specialize in bringing actions against predatory lenders.
Yesner & Boss, P.L. is happy to provide these services in furtherance of the firm's mission: to enhance the quality of life for our clients by implementing carefully planned and considered legal strategies that have been integrated with practical asset protection tools on their behalf.
By: Brett Henson & Shawn M. Yesner