When I started this blog almost a year ago, I wrote that one of the major myths of foreclosure defense is that a borrower can get a free home if they fight their foreclosure. What was true then remains true today: foreclosure defense is not about getting a free home.
Obtaining a free home in a foreclosure defense case is a completely unrealistic goal. While lenders and servicers have made a mess out of the foreclosure process--and continue to do so--these mistakes can, and certaintly will, be corrected at some point in time. Faulty notices can be corrected, loan modifications can be re-reviewed properly, and missing promissory notes can still be enforced. A lender is doing a foreclosure because a great deal of money is at stake: anywhere from $100,000-$500,000 (and sometimes even more). If a lender has made a mistake in the foreclosure process, it will be corrected: there is too much money involved to do otherwise. In short, without dealing with the unpaid debt that caused the foreclosure, the ax will eventually fall for the homeowner.
A much more realistic goal for foreclosure defense is affordability: obtaining a mortgage loan that a homeowner can pay. A well-crafted foreclosure defense can convince a lender that a reasonable loan modification is a better option than spending years in litigation. But, make no mistake: even the best lawsuit is never going to convince a lender to give up their mortgage on a home.
As a foreclosure defense attorney, I practice what I preach: I do not accept clients with unrealistic goals in foreclosure defense, nor do I advocate legal arguments that would amount to a court giving my client their home for free. Attorneys and pro se litigants who do make these arguments cause much more harm than good; not only do they hurt their own cases, they make this area of law harder for everyone else.
Blog Post Link: http://maforeclosurelawblog.sherwinlawfirm.com/2014/09/practice-pointers-foreclosure-defense.html