If you're facing foreclosure, you may think your situation is hopeless. It's not. You may think you can't possibly afford a lawyer. You can. Why are we so confident we can help?

Experience.

At Krystal Financial & Real Estate Services, Inc, our legal team has defended the foreclosure of hundreds of homes throughout Florida. Our founder, Richard Wright, has spoken to hundreds of homeowners about the foreclosure process. Time and time again, these homeowners change their outlook once we educate them about some basic rights they enjoy as homeowners and the many warnings and traps to avoid. Today, there are even more traps than ever before. Click here to see just a few...

For example:

1. Even if a homeowner is behind on a mortgage, he/she can't be evicted from his/her home unless and until the bank *wins* a foreclosure lawsuit. In other words, just because you can't pay your mortgage doesn't mean you have to leave your home. Just because the bank mails you a letter or files suit against you doesn't mean you need to leave your home. You don't need to leave your home unless and until the bank wins a foreclosure lawsuit against you.

2. Even if a homeowner is behind on a mortgage, he/she is entitled to have an attorney represent him/her until the conclusion of the foreclosure lawsuit.

Still wondering whether we can help? Consider this:

It may look like our strategy is to defend homeowners solely by delaying the foreclosure lawsuit. That is not so. The Rules Regulating The Florida Bar prohibit our legal team from delaying a case just for purposes of delay, i.e. just so you can continue to live in your home for free. We strictly adhere to all ethical obligations in these regards. That said, delay is often a byproduct of your hiring our firm and forcing the bank to prove its case. And make no mistake - you are absolutely entitled to make the bank prove its case. Each case is different, but if we force the bank to prove its case against you, we may uncover some valid defenses, including:

- Standing. The bank that is suing you may not be the bank with whom you signed your original note/mortgage. If the bank that has filed the foreclosure lawsuit against you cannot prove that your mortgage was validly and timely sold/transferred/assigned to it, and/or that it rightfully owns and holds the original note and mortgage, then its lawsuit may be dismissed! In other words, even if you are behind on your mortgage, the bank still has to prove that it (as opposed to a different bank) has the right to proceed with the foreclosure lawsuit.

- Failure to fulfill conditions precedent. Some mortgages require banks to give written notice of a default and a 30-day opportunity to cure before filing a foreclosure lawsuit. If your bank did not do this, and filed a lawsuit anyway, you may be able to get the lawsuit against you dismissed! In other words, even if you are behind on your mortgage, the bank may have to prove that it gave you an opportunity to bring your mortgage current before it filed suit.

- The amount owed. Banks routinely miscalculate the amounts owed on a note and mortgage (by assessing improper charges, calculating interest improperly, or failing to credit you with all payments received).

Even if it turns out that you have no defenses, (which is HIGHLY unlikely) you may benefit from weeks, months, or years of getting to live in your home without paying your mortgage. As a result, you may be able to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars month after month after month - each month that your foreclosure lawsuit remains pending. At worst, this will help ensure you're not penniless in the event you are foreclosed. But that's a worst-case scenario. Ideally, we can help you avoid a foreclosure altogether!

You may think that sounds too good to be true. You may think foreclosure is inevitable. Before you give up, consider this. If your bank cannot win its foreclosure lawsuit against you quickly (because you are defending yourself and fighting for your rights), it may be willing to negotiate with you in ways that it otherwise wouldn't (e.g. by agreeing to a loan modification, reduction in principal, or a short sale as payment in full). To illustrate, suppose that your foreclosure suit has been pending for a year and you've been able to save up a year's worth of mortgage payments. If that happens, and you approach your bank and offer to pay those monies if it will modify your mortgage (to an amount you can actually afford), do you think your bank will turn you down? Before you answer, remember - banks are inundated with real estate. Typically, they don't want more land - they want cash. They didn't work something out with you before because you had no cash (which is why you were sued for foreclosure in the first place). If you have some cash to turn over (merely because you've saved some money while the suit against you was pending), don't you think you'd be in a better position to negotiate? We sure do.

At this point, we know what you're thinking. "All this sounds great. But how can I pay a lawyer when I cannot afford to pay my mortgage?" We understand this concern. We understand that homeowners facing foreclosure don't have a lot of money to pay a lawyer. That's why we've developed a method of handling these cases that virtually everyone can afford. Unlike other firms, we won't charge you a four-figure retainer and several hundred dollars per month for every month you stay in your home. After all, if you could afford to pay that much money to a lawyer, you wouldn't be facing a foreclosure!

We're so confident that you'll like our approach to foreclosure defense, and our program, that we'll give you a free, initial consultation to explain how it works.

There are quite a few different opinions on what caused the real estate crisis we are facing today. Some experts blame the lenders for recklessly approving “no-income-no-asset” loans that borrowers could never afford. Others blame the borrowers for taking on far more debt than their means could realistically support. Whichever side is to blame, one thing is becoming increasingly evident – so-called loan modifications through a mortgage or real estate broker are not the answer. In fact, more than half (55%) of loans modified in the first nine months of 2008 were 30 days or more late within six months, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The problem? Even as lenders have become more willing to modify borrowers’ loans in the past year, many aren’t offering deals that borrowers can afford over the long term.

Along with our legal team, we at Krystal Financial & Real Estate Services, Inc. work with our clients to take a much more proactive approach to resolve their individual mortgage crises by putting the lender on the defensive. First, we perform a detailed audit of their loan transaction. These audits often reveal serious violations of Federal and State laws by the very same lenders and servicing companies that initiate foreclosure proceedings, and harass homeowners who fall behind on their mortgage payments.

Banks, lenders and servicing companies will only negotiate fairly and justly with homeowners if you can demonstrate that they have violated the law and may be exposed to a judgment for significant damages. Only qualified attorneys with knowledge about the types of claims that a consumer has against his/her lender can create this very real threat in the eyes of banks, lenders and servicing companies.

The Federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) requires lenders to provide truthful and complete disclosures to homeowners at closing regarding finance charges and rate of interest on the home loan. The penalties for non-compliance with these requirements can be stiff if presented in a timely fashion, and may include rescission of the loan transaction. Rescission means that the entire mortgage transaction is unwound, i.e., all fees, down payment, and closing costs for the home are refunded to the homeowner. Additionally, all principal and interest payments made are also refunded to the homeowner, putting the homeowner in the position he or she would have been if the loan never closed. How’s that for negotiating leverage against your lender?

If your home purchase does not qualify for a rescission claim under TILA, you may still have a valid consumer fraud claim under Florida law, which can be supported through your lender’s truth in lending violations. Moreover, if your home loan includes prepayment penalties for longer than 3 years, balloon payments that mature in less than 10 years, late fees that exceed five percent (5%) of the monthly payment, and/or an extension of credit regardless of borrower’s ability to pay, you may also have valid claims against your lender under the Florida Fair Lending Act (FFLA).

Both TILA and the FFLA provide homeowners with affirmative claims for relief against their lenders, and against all assignees who purchase the mortgage loans. Properly asserting these claims through a qualified attorney, and following up with appropriate legal action, places the homeowner in a much stronger position to negotiate terms that are acceptable to the homeowner – not the lender – and provides the homeowner a much better chance that he or she will not fall back into default.

Even if you do not have a claim under TILA or the FFLA, your lender can be placed on the defensive if you can establish that they do not have the original note and attachments. This deficiency could prevent your lender from ever maintaining a foreclosure action against you, and from taking your home. A knowledgeable attorney can obtain all loan information in the lender’s possession through a process called a Qualified Written Request (QWR). During this QWR process the lender cannot report the account as overdue to any credit reporting agency.

As a result of the difficult conditions present in the South Florida real estate market, foreclosures are at an all-time high. Ignoring a foreclosure action can be devastating to a homeowner, who may end up losing his home completely. We aggressively defend foreclosure actions on behalf of our clients. Along with our legal team, we don’t just defend a foreclosure to prolong the inevitable, we prepare a strategic defense and counterclaims against the lender, usually placing the lender on the defensive, in order to help you achieve a long term solution that allows you to keep your home. We have the skills and the courtroom experience to succeed when real estate disputes end up in court, and also to help you reach practical resolutions before they ever do.

Along with our legal team, we at Krystal Financial & Real Estate Services, Inc. represent dozens of homeowners in these types of consumer fraud and insufficient securitization cases against lenders, banks and servicing companies. If your home purchase loan or refinance took place between 2001 and 2007, if you are behind on your mortgage payments, if your home value is less than what you owe your lender, if you have been declared in default by your lender, or if you just received a foreclosure summons, contact Krystal Financial & Real Estate Services, Inc. today at (954) 966-2051, and we may be able to help achieve a long term affordable solution to your personal mortgage crisis.

• Have very little time left until they will be forced to leave their home
• Do not intend to stay in the home
• Lack the necessary time or documentation to be approved for loan modification