A: Margery's answer: It is likely that this is far too late, if the association's foreclosure was completed, the sale was held and the certificate of title issued. There are some slim possibilities that, if there was a void judgment issued due to serious defects in the procedure, the subsequent sale might have been invalid. However, only an attorney who really understands this area of law will be able to figure it out, and it will entail looking in great depth at all of the details of what occurred. You need to consult a knowledgable attorney, right away, to see if there are still any possible steps that can be taken.

A: Margery's answer: The Clerk of the Circuit Court is responsible for issuance of certificates of title, that is who you should contact.

A: Margery's answer: It is difficult to say anything specific about the issues you raised without more information, particularly the association documents, which will delineate who is responsible for repairing what in a condo. Likewise the defenses and affirmative defenses you raised may or may not have been sufifcient, since if the association was not legally obligated to repair the leak, that would not be an issue that would preclude summary judgment. While I understand the economic considerations, it is unfortuante that you tried to defend on your own. While it is difficult to tell if the judge made any errors, that certainly can and does happen. However, on appeal, the appellate court is limited to considering the record from the lower court, so if th ere were things you should have said or presented but did not, the appellate court will never be able to know about them. Likewise, what occurred at the hearing can only be looked at by an appellate court if there is a transcript of the hearing, and if there was no court reporter there, whatever occurred at the hearing is not reviewable by the appellate court, so complicating your position further. Again, we here do not know what happened and what material there may be to work with on appeal. You should consult an experienced foreclosure defense attorney to obtain specific advice regarding any remaining defense potential of your case. Depending on all the details, it may be possible to successfully raise the issues you are asking about, and it may very well be possible to put on a viable defense to foreclosure perhaps relating to issues you are not even aware of. However, while people are allowed to represent themselves in court, it is a huge mistake to try. In order to do this effectively, you should obtain the services of knowledgable foreclosure litigation counsel. This is not something that even most attorneys know how to do. We have quite a few clients who are themselves attorneys, yet have come to us for help because they understand this, and realize that in order to have a chance against the "big guys" they need really qualified people to help them. Doing this properly is very difficult and detailed work. It is a very specialized area of law which most attorneys do not fully understand, and there are few if any consumers who would be able to put together any sort of viable defense. I am puzzled at why any non-attorney would think he or she could successfully handle a litigated matter without an attorney highly qualified in the area of law in question. This is comparable to doing delicate surgery yourself or a loved one if you are not a surgeon. The law is very complex, litigation rules and procedures are very complex, the strategic considerations are very complex, and the area of foreclosure litigation is something even most attorneys know nothing about as explained above. Every case is different, what might be possible in this situation would depend on the exact details and legal issues in your case. Only a really qualified foreclosure defense will know how to even figure out what those are. An attorney who reallyunderstands how this works needs to hear all the details. If you care how this turns out, I urge you to find an experienced attorney who is knowledgable about foreclosure defense to represent you. I see pro se people in court all the time. It is sad and frustrating to me - they are lost, cannot possibly know enough to be effective, and of course, they get walked all over, even when their issues are "winnable".

A: Margery's answer: P.S. I do agree that it would be worth looking into Chapter 13, but she needs to hurry. If she is otherwise a good Chapter 13 candidate, a Chapter 13 filing would stop the foreclosure and allow her to pay the total due to the association in equal monthly payments over 60 months.