The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued Fannie Mae v. Rego today, an important foreclosure law decision that permits a Chapter 93A defense to foreclosure. Chapter 93A, the common name for Massachusetts’s Consumer Protection Law, is a broad consumer statute that more »
I write often about loan modifications, but I’ve had many clients ask me what is a loan modification, and how does it compare to a loan refinance. It is an important topic, as loan modifications are essential for foreclosure defense. more »
The recent foreclosure crisis brought to light a term that is now synonymous with foreclosure defense: “robo-signing.” A “robo-signor” is someone who signs documents on another’s behalf in massive quantities. The charge of robo-signing came to light largely due to more »
The Supreme Judicial Court has granted direct appellate review for one of my upcoming foreclosure defense appeals. Direct appellate review allows the Supreme Judicial Court (Massachusetts’s highest court) to hear an appeal pending before the Appeals Court (the appellate court that more »
Last weekend, I went to see The Big Short, which portrays the origins of the foreclosure crisis. As a foreclosure defense attorney, I was interested in seeing how the movie explained the events of the financial meltdown and its effect on residential more »
An important foreclosure defense is paragraph 22 of the standard mortgage. The “standard mortgage” is the mortgage agreement used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the largest holders of residential mortgages in the United States, making it a widely more »
As I have written before, many homeowners are surprised to learn that the local bank they borrowed money from to buy their home often no longer owns their loan. The reason for this is the secondary loan market: lenders routinely more »
The Massachusetts Appeals Court issued an important appellate decision this week on the “hold the note” requirement for Massachusetts foreclosures. First, a brief background. A promissory note is a written contract to pay a certain sum of money at a specific more »
In what has become a yearly tradition, Congress voted to extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act to 2017. This bill is incredibly important for foreclosure defense. As I have written before, homeowners who have received loan modifications and done more »
