As Florida drowns in some of the nation’s highest foreclosure rates, some homeowners in foreclosure like Alex Gregg and the Pembertons are finding a way to stick it back to the bank. They are hiring a foreclosure defense attorneys like Mark Stopa, who, for a $1500 fee, advises them to stop paying their mortgage and stay put. All while Stopa fights the case in court.
Most of the time it takes a year, sometimes two years to clear it up — and it’s all legal.
“If you hire a lawyer such as myself to defend a case, then the process can take longer because a lawyer can force a bank to prove its case,” says Mr. Stopa, who runs his own legal practice and the website stayinmyhome.com.
The game of “force me out if you can” tends to get tied up in court delays and paperwork while homeowners are allowed to live rent free.
Lenders say it’s simply a stall tactic. Whatever you call it, Alex says it buys him time to take the money that would have gone to his mortgage payment, and instead, put himself through college. The Pembertons use it to pay for advertising their business, which they say is the only thing they will have left, once they lose their home. Alex Pemberton says his mortgage payment that now goes towards advertising has rescued his business. He is hoping to eventually put his profits into the back payments he owes the lender. A move that could save his home if the gamble pays off.
Full story: Families in foreclosure live rent free, worry free
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