Mississippi Lawyer Blog

If your home was foreclosed between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010, you can request a review of the foreclosure process to see if it was handled properly. Fourteen mortgage companies are required to participate in this process. If there were errors, misrepresentations or other irregularities with the process, you may be entitled to financial compensation or other remedies. This process only applies to the home that was your primary residence. Letters will be mailed out from the mortgage companies, but they will probably be sent to the house that you no longer live in. If you would like to have your foreclosure reviewed, you can call 1-888-952-9105 for the form you will need to fill out or visit the web site at www.independentforeclosurereview.com.

The fourteen mortgage servicers involved in this process are America's Servicing Co., Aurora Loan Services, Bank of America, Beneficial, Chase, Citibank, CitiFinancial, CitiMortgage, Countrywide, EMC, EverBank/EverHome Mortgage Company, GMAC Mortgage, HFC, HSBC, IndyMac Mortgage Services, MetLife Bank, National City Mortgage, PNC Mortgage, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust Mortgage, U.S. Bank, Wachovia Mortgage, Washington Mutual (WaMu), and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

I'll bet you don't know anyone who has ever collected on title insurance. It seems expensive, no one wants to pay for it and many people today would say it is not needed. But the turmoil in today's real estate market makes having title insurance even more important. Mortgage fraud, fake mortgage documents and the recent robo-signing scandal make title insurance an absolute necessity these days.

Due to sloppy record keeping, sloppy foreclosure procedures and plain old mortgage fraud you will need title insurance to protect you from heavy losses and maybe losing your home. Due to recent court rulings, if you bought a foreclosed property there is a good chance that the property could revert back to the previous owner with no compensation to you.

Title insurance protects you, the rightful owner, if there are liens or prior claims on the property you own. Mississippi Chancery Clerks and County officials across the nation are discovering forged loan documents in their files. Given today's reliance on easily altered computer data, title insurance is crucial if you want to protect your Mississippi property ownership.

The US is officially experiencing the worst house housing depression ever and the second phase is just beginning. It is expected to peak beginning July of this year, continuing through the first half of next year.

Let these statistics sink in for a minute:
• 3 million homes were repossessed between January 2007 and August 2010
• Over 1 million families will be evicted from their homes in 2011
• 72% of the major cities in the US had more foreclosures in 2010 than 2009
• 8 million Americans are at least 1 month behind on their mortgages
• 5 million are at least 2 months behind on their mortgages

The Mississippi counties with highest volume of new foreclosures are (starting with highest) Harrison County, Hinds County, De Soto County, Rankin County, Jackson County, Forrest County, Lee County, Pearl River County, Marshall County, and Madison County.

The volume of people that have been injured by mortgage fraud, predatory lending practices, and mortgage modification schemes is almost unimaginable. At the same time laws are changing and require new strategies for litigation.

Mortgage companies seem determined to take homes by refusing payments, denying modifications or worse promising homeowners a modification while at the same time processing foreclosures, increasing payments, adding fees, and continually threatening foreclosure.

I'm seeing success in my practice by fighting mortgage companies and disputing their mortgage proofs of claim, their documentation practices, application of funds and fees, and many other items. See my prior blog discussion regarding the sloppy record keeping practices of mortgage servicers.

The 14 largest US mortgage servicers have recently agreed to review all foreclosed loans from 2009-2010 and pay back losses in cases that were mishandled - but we don't know how the reviews will work, (if they work at all) and what types of "losses" will lead to payments for homeowners.

I can't express enough the seriousness of the housing situation in Mississippi and the importance of addressing issues with your mortgage company before foreclosure. Call Coxwell & Associates immediately if you are having any problems whatsoever with your mortgage company.

PREMISE LIABILITY CASES.

I wrote earlier about the pleasure one can enjoy having a backyard pool and the responsibility that comes with a pool. This is especially true when it comes to kids. Kids are naturally attracted to a pool. In addition to pools business owners in Mississippi have a duty to keep their property or premises free from dangers that could harm users or consumers who come onto the property. This area of the law frequently involves slip and fall, trip and fall, other types of negligent maintenance of property, and failure to provide safe premises. In high crime areas businesses may have a duty imposed by law to provide reasonable safety to customers who enter the property at the owner's invitation. While business owners do not have to guarantee a visitor's absolute safety they are under a duty to take reasonable measures based on all the known facts.

Any property owner, landlord, manager, business establishment or homeowner could be liable for harms and losses suffered by a visitor if the owner has knowledge of a dangerous condition that is not obvious to the visitor. One example could be a defective chair in an eating establishment that breaks and serious injures a customer. Another example might be a rotten board on a deck of an establishment that breaks and causes serious injury to a customer. Of particular concern to homeowners are dangerous dogs. Often homeowners keep dogs that are known to be dangerous or that have dangerous characteristics. If the dog bites and seriously injures a visitor, the homeowner's insurance may be required to pay for the harms and losses.

Each property owner should take reasonable steps to insure that visitors are not exposed to dangerous conditions. One type of precaution might be the placement of a warning sign. Regular inspections and examinations should take place for any establishment that invites customers onto its property. Immediate repairs of any dangerous conditions on premises and/or warning signs should be erected. Remember, if you invite people onto your property you have a duty to provide reasonably safe property. Dangerous conditions that are latent or not easily observable account for many of the injuries on property. Inspect your property regularly and place warning sign if you find a dangerous condition.

WHAT ARE PREMISE LIABILITY CASES:

Business owners in Mississippi have a duty to keep their property or premises free from dangers and hazards that could harm users or consumers who come onto the property. This area of the law often involves slip and fall, trip and fall, other types of negligent maintenance of the property, and failure to provide safe premises. In high crime areas business often have a duty imposed by law to provide reasonable safety to customers who enter the property at the owner's invitation. While business owners do not have to guarantee a visitor's absolute safety, they are under a duty to take reasonable based on all the known facts.

WHO CAN BE RESPONSIBLE:

Any property owner, landlord, manager, business establishment or homeowner could be liable for harms and losses suffered by a visitor if the owner has knowledge of a dangerous condition that is not obvious to the visitor. One example could be a defective chair in an eating establishment that breaks and serious injures a customer. Another example might be a rotten board on a deck of an establishment that breaks and causes serious injury to a customer. Of particular concern to homeowners are dangerous dogs. Often homeowners keep dogs that are known to be dangerous or that have dangerous characteristics. If the dog bites and seriously injures a visitor, the homeowner's insurance may be required to pay for the harms and losses.

SAFETY SHOULD BE THE GOAL:

Each property owner should take reasonable steps to insure that visitors are not exposed to dangerous conditions. One type of precaution might be the placement of a warning sign. Regular inspections and examinations should take place for any establishment that invites customers onto its property. Immediate repairs of any dangerous conditions on premises and/or warning signs should be erected. If you have suffered a serious injury while on the property of a business or the property of another, allow our skilled and experienced attorneys to evaluate your case. We do not charge for our evaluations, even if that requires us to visit the premises, talk to witnesses, and make other investigations. If we accept your case we will work diligently to assure that you are adequately and reasonably compensation for the harms and losses you have suffered.