Forclosure started

[PolishMan]

Thank you, for your replies it helps alot. Stress level can get high at times.
I will stay in touch with mortgage company and make sure of what they want me to do.

Once again , thank you so much for your help.

[JustFileSuit]

If the lender has not filed suit that I find it difficult to accept that the lender can tack on "attorney's collection fees" of $1300 to your payment. At this point the attorney is not owed anything, at least not by you. Simply because a lender consults with an attorney does not make you automatically liable for their bill.

[PolishMan]

I assume they can tell me what they want to ??? How would I know if a suit has been filed ?

[JustFileSuit]

The "phone bank callers" can and will tell you whatever they want to. You have to assume that it is ALL being done to induce you to pay money, including fees and costs that they are not entitled to. You are not obliged for one penny that a COurt has not Judged you liable for (and even then, the Judgment is going nowhere within the context of your future USBC filing).

For a creditor to file suit, they have to effect "service." In theory, service is either "in person" when the marshal or process-server puts the papers in your hand, or "at abode", when they tape the papers to your front door, or put them through the mail slot, or hand them to someone who appears over the age of 18 who appears in charge of the property.

That is the theory. If you live in a State where "service of process" is done by private process-servers, like in NY, then other problems may erupt: these private servers have been known to dump the papers into the sewer and file a "return of service" with the Court saying they put it in your hand. Now it becomes "he says, she says." From this comes the term "sewer-service."

You can keep an eye on this by going to the web-site of your State Court system and trolling the site for any suits that have your name in it. Of you can drop down to the court house and just ask the clerk (maybe they are helpful and maybe not, but if you ask nicely they will probably show you how to use the computer terminal in the court house so you can look it up yourself).

When there has been improper service, you can file an Appearance for the limited purpose of challenging the writ entry into Court and file a Motion to Dismiss on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction over the person, and file an Affidavit that you were not served. That forces a Hearing and the process server has to get up in front of the Judge and explain what he did. If you are in a State where they use State Sheriffs or marshals then you will likely lose (not always but mostly) but then again in those States they don't have these service problems as much.

Either way, you will know about it. So keep your ear close to the ground. Hope this helps.

[PolishMan]

I received a letter from the lawyer today that states underlined and in bold type : Please be advised if you respond within thirty days from the date of this letter , there will be no foreclosure fees and costs added to your loan .

The date of the letter is 11DEC. 09

So how come when I call and speak with people at attorneys office they tell me I owe approx. $1250 in fees and then today receive letter stating the above ???

I faxed a copy of their letter back to them , asking the same question.

I will call them in the morning. Will they try to say different then the letter they sent me in writing ?

Always something. any advice appreciated

[JustFileSuit]

[QUOTE=PolishMan;360616]

So how come when I call and speak with people at attorneys office they tell me I owe approx. $1250 in fees and then today receive letter stating the above ???

/QUOTE]

They tell you that because they are liars. If you are dumb enough to swallow it then that "law office" is $1250 richer for doing nothing more than picking up the phone and making a demand.

Would you hand me, or any stranger on the street, $1250 just because they said you owed it to them? Of course not. Why should this "lawyer" be any different?

Please try to understand that this is not a respectable "lawyer" you are dealing with. This is a bottom-feeder. An attorney with integrity does not behave this way. the outfit is slime. they heap disgrace on attorneys everywhere.

What you "owe" is what a Court determines you owe, after a Hearing and trial. Until that time, what you "owe" is what your contract sets forth as the debt on the loan. the idea that you "owe" attorney's fees outside of suit is a peculiar fantasy that flows from what is termed "adhesion clauses" in the contract. Adhesion clauses are looked on with disfavor by the Court system, and utterly despised by juries.

When you talk with these "lawyers," use the Nancy Reagan approach to their fees demands: "Just Say No." Tell them they can have the principal only, and if they don't like it, then you will respond by filing for bankruptcy. That should shake their socks. (And when they try to tell you things about the BK filing and the consequences, you refuse to get drawn into that discussion; simply reply: "That will be up to the Judge." And by the way, that is correct; everything inside the BK COurt is up to the Judge!).

[DaisysMom]

Whoa!!

If you look in your original mortgage papers, it probably says that if you default, any cost to remedy the situation will be your responsibility. That's legal fees to attorney, costs to foreclose...etc.

As soon as they sent your account to their attorney...the fees started piling up.

Look at your original mortgage agreement and see what it says. And please...if you can...get a consult with an attorney who can give you advice. And remember...if this does get to court......you will be responsible for those court fees also. I know because that is what happened to me. The foreclosure was finally dismissed, but I had to absorb all of the fees into the principal balance.

Keep a level head...don't make threats (BK or anything else). Just work with them to get current and keep your home.

DM

[JustFileSuit]

If you look in your original mortgage papers, it probably says that if you default, any cost to remedy the situation will be your responsibility. That's legal fees to attorney, costs to foreclose...etc.

Certainly true, but that begs the question a bit. The underlying question is: what is a Default? A Default does not exist in a vacuum: it has to be "declared" and the "declaration" has to set forth in specifics what it is the lender is alleging and what you must do to correct. ONLY after you fail to respond, or challenge, or cure, the claim of default within the time frame set forth is there a presumptive Default. (And even then, A Default is not a default until a Court says it is (which ultimately they probably will).

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The costs meter does not properly start to tick over until the time to cure the default has run. Anything before that is not billable.

As soon as they sent your account to their attorney...the fees started piling up.

Not exactly. See above. they may "try" to bill you, but they do not have the "right" to do so at that point in time.

The foreclosure was finally dismissed, but I had to absorb all of the fees into the principal balance.

If the foreclosure was finally dismissed then it becomes unfathomable why you should be obliged to pay anything in fees. was it dismissed because they failed to prosecute or they lost at trial? Or was it "dismissed" because you paid, and was actually "withdrawn.? Or was it a stipulated settlement?

Keep a level head...don't make threats (BK or anything else). Just work with them to get current and keep your home.

If they sue, and you forthwith file for bankruptcy protection, they do NOT get to tack on legal fees to their Proof of Claim. the lender had no fees exposure that could be maintained by the Note, although they routinely try to argue otherwise. Just do not let the lender take a Judgment int he State Court or you will be faced with the Rooker-Feldman Doctrine in the Federal Court and that will incorporate their legal fees. Never let anyone take a Judgment against you if you can avoid it! File first.

[PolishMan]

I called the attorneys office today and spoke with Ryan the same guy I did the day before that told me I owed $ 1250. 00 in fees.

Two days before a lady had told me about the fees.
Today I asked Ryan about the letter I received from his office stating no fees until 30 days have past.

He said that pertained to paying off the loan completely . I said like if I had 300,000 dollars to give them , he said yes.

I told him that didnt sound right ! Had anyone who couldnt make their payments ever paid a loan off ???

I once again asked him to check on this for me because their letter clearly stated no fees if paid within 30 days. He put me on hold for about 10 minutes, came back to the phone and said " oh , yours has a special clause that no fees are owed if paid within 30 days.

So he gave me a new quote without fees at all. What if I had never read the letter from lawyer carefully ??

Thank you guys for all the help, amazing how people will try to overcharge you when you are already down.

[JustFileSuit]

[QUOTE=PolishMan;360918]

So he gave me a new quote without fees at all. What if I had never read the letter from lawyer carefully ??

If you hadn't read it, and hadn't come onto this forum to get some stiffening of the proverbial backbone, then you would be $1250 poorer right about now. And therein lies the power of the Internet. It "equalizes," at least a bit, the balance of power.

Thank you guys for all the help, amazing how people will try to overcharge you when you are already down.[

/QUOTE]

Of course they will overcharge you. And abuse you. And therein lies the Lesson for everyone reading this thread.

The only person who is going to stick up for you is YOU. And your friends on this forum. Keep in touch and let us know how you are making out. You now have 10,000 new friends looking out for you. Best to you.

[PolishMan]

Thank you, Merry Christmas and may God bless you all, Sincerely John