The Massachusetts Appeals Court held today in Wells Fargo v. Cook that the HUD pre-foreclosure requirements are a valid foreclosure defense for FHA loans. As I have written before, FHA loans–aimed at helping low-income Americans buy homes–contain specific pre-foreclosure requirements within the more »
An option for landlords and tenants who need to sue for low amounts of money ($7,000 and under) is small claims court. Small claims cases may be brought in District Court, Boston Municipal Court (if your case occurred in Boston) or Housing more »
The Federal Government announced last Friday that the Home Affordable Modification Program (“HAMP”) has been extended to the end of 2016. HAMP was set to expire at the end of this year; this extension provides homeowners with additional time to more »
Selecting tenants is one of the most challenging jobs for a landlord. Renting to anyone comes with risk, and choosing the wrong tenants can be costly, both in time and money. Landlords should use extreme care in the tenant screening process. A more »
Question: I received a letter from my loan servicer telling me my loan has been “accelerated.” What does this mean? Answer: After a borrower has defaulted on their mortgage loan, the lender has the option––under most mortgages––to demand that the more »
Homeowners facing foreclosure, like defendants in other types of lawsuits, sometimes find themselves in one of the toughest spots available: facing a default judgment. A default judgment occurs when the defendant does not respond to the lawsuit. This allows the more »
I’m pleased to announce that I settled a foreclosure defense lawsuit last month, resulting in my client obtaining an affordable loan modification and a rescission of the foreclosure. My client had been foreclosed and was only days away from being physically removed from more »
The Massachusetts Appeals Court issued an important decision today on the right of parties to collect attorney fees in landlord/tenant cases. In Aviksis v. Murray, the Court held that “guarantors” of a landlord/tenant lease could not rely on laws that allow more »
What’s a lease? A lease, simply enough, is a contract for the rental of property. As such, a lease is enforceable at law. If a tenant signs a lease (which is usually for a one-year term), the tenant is liable for more »
I’m pleased to write that I recently won a decision from Plymouth Superior Court allowing me to raise foreclosure defense claims against a servicer and lender who claimed to have performed a lawful foreclosure against my client. These claims resulted from the servicer’s more »
