Sheryl Ann Edwards’s Answers

Your certificate of title acts the same as a deed - you can execute and deliver a deed from you to your LLC.

I would strongly suggest that you consult with a real estate attorney who is experienced in mortgage modifications and mortgage foreclosure. If your lender/servicer is one of the big ones - Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank just to name a few - they are currently working under a settlement agreement with the Florida Attorney General. It sounds like the conduct you are describing is a direct violation of that agreement.

From your question, it seems that your foreclosure action is still pending. As such, even though it has been more than 5 years since you last made a payment, the lender's action is still viable. If the current foreclosure action is eventually dismissed, if the lender re-files the action, you can defend the new foreclosure based upon the fact that the action was filed beyond the 5 year statute of limitations for actions on a contract, which includes actions to collect on a promissory note....

Have you found a buyer for your property yet? If so, when does your transaction close? If your short sale does not close within 20 days, I would highly recommend that you hire an attorney to enter an appearance and defend the foreclosure on your behalf to allow your short sale to be completed.

Yes, the owner/mortgagee can ask the co-owner in jail to execute a quit claim deed to relinquish his interest in the property.

Until the property is sold at foreclosure sale the lender can still work out a settlement with you. If you start contacting them now, you may be able to have the lender cancel the hearing on the motion for summary judgment. Good luck!

I would certainly like to see better language in your short sale approval letter like " Bank agrees to accept no less than $5,000 as a settlement in full satisfaction of the debt and agrees to waive the right to pursue any deficiency balance". You should ask them to include similar language to "waive the right to pursue any deficiency balance."

Typically, when a process server seeks to serve a defendant with a summons and complaint for foreclosure, they will need to effect individual service by handing the pleadings directly to the person they are trying to serve, or will need to effect substitute service by serving someone at the defendant's "usual place of abode" who is 15 years of age or older. Service of a complaint and summons for foreclosure is not effected simply by leaving the pleadings at the door. However, if a process...

The loan modification program is intended to lower a borrower's monthly payments and allow the borrower to stay in the house. The monthly payments are based upon 31% of your gross monthly income. If you were made an offer for a loan modification, the lender or servicer determined that you had a hardship and that you had sufficient income under the 31% test to make the reduced payments. If you are looking to escape your underwater mortgage, a loan modification will not help you. You can file...

Many people fail to realize that they continue to own a home after filing a petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and receiving a discharge. If the Trustee abandons the property - which they will likely do if the property is underwater, you continue to be the owner of the property which continues to have a mortgage lien. However, you no longer are personally obligated on the promissory note as a result of the discharge. If your home is in a Subdivision with a Homeowner's Association, you will...