Help with finding an attorney for foreclosure questions.
January 2, 2013 6:49 AM Subscribe
Help with finding an attorney for foreclosure questions.
Long story shorter:
Seven years ago mother set up trust to pass on everything to me and my sibling (in Florida). She passed away, I am executor of trust.
When the trust was created the assets were far larger than the debts. Due to several factors, including the housing market collapse, the debts now are much higher than the assets. This includes a mortgage on a house that is underwater.
I'm not even close to being able to pay the debts. We tried to set up a short sale with the bank on the underwater house. The refused and are now foreclosing. I recently received a summons. With my limited knowledge, I believe it's basically asking the court to allow them any money discrepancy from what they sell it for and what we owe.
I brought this to the attention of my trust attorney, and he was't much help and didn't seem interested. He simply said to let it play out. However, I'm not comfortable with that. I understand that there maybe nothing to do except to let it play out, but I would really like to talk to an attorney to simply find out all options, and to get a better grip on what will happen, and if there's anything we should do.
My question is, what type attorney should I consult with? And how do I find a decent one? I have very little experience with finding attorneys, and no one I know has any suggestions.
Thanks for any and all advice. I'm a little lost at this point.
Long story shorter:
Seven years ago mother set up trust to pass on everything to me and my sibling (in Florida). She passed away, I am executor of trust.
When the trust was created the assets were far larger than the debts. Due to several factors, including the housing market collapse, the debts now are much higher than the assets. This includes a mortgage on a house that is underwater.
I'm not even close to being able to pay the debts. We tried to set up a short sale with the bank on the underwater house. The refused and are now foreclosing. I recently received a summons. With my limited knowledge, I believe it's basically asking the court to allow them any money discrepancy from what they sell it for and what we owe.
I brought this to the attention of my trust attorney, and he was't much help and didn't seem interested. He simply said to let it play out. However, I'm not comfortable with that. I understand that there maybe nothing to do except to let it play out, but I would really like to talk to an attorney to simply find out all options, and to get a better grip on what will happen, and if there's anything we should do.
My question is, what type attorney should I consult with? And how do I find a decent one? I have very little experience with finding attorneys, and no one I know has any suggestions.
Thanks for any and all advice. I'm a little lost at this point.
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Florida is a "recourse state" for mortgage deficiencies, so the lender definitely has the ability (in general) to collect the residual amount of the mortgage upon foreclosure. However, for what it's worth, anecdotally, banks rarely pursue deficiencies unless there is evidence of fraud or deliberate/strategic foreclosure. This may be why your attorney is saying to let the issue play out.
posted by saeculorum at 8:47 AM on January 2, 2013