Typically, a realtor/property manager conducts a detailed investigation concerning the prospective buyer/tenant to ensure that this person is capable of performing his obligations under the subject transaction.  However, how many realtors/ property managers perform the same due diligence with their clients?  In this market, it is vital that you as a realtor/property manager perform proper due diligence when asked by an owner to sell and/or manage a residential property.  At minimum, prior to accepting the listing/management agreement you should perform the following due diligence of your potential client:

1.         Research the public records to ensure that your client is the title owner of record to the property.

2.         If you have a corporate client, make sure the person you are dealing with is the authorized representative of the company.

3.         Research the clerk of the county court records to verify your client does not have a pending foreclosure suit, Notice of Lis Pendens, or bankruptcy.

4.         Research the county tax records to determine if your client is current on his taxes.  If not, that is the first red flag.

5.         Call the homeowners association and find out if your client is current on his assessments.  This is also a sign that your client is experiencing financial difficulty.

6.         Request from your client proof of payment of the last 4-5 mortgage payments to determine whether he is delinquent or not.

7.         Request from your client a current certificate of insurance on the property.  You do not want to manage an uninsured property.

Florida real estate law and regulations are very comprehensive and contain very specific requirements that are constantly evolving.  It is imperative that a realtor or property manager consult with a competent real estate attorney concerning rental property issues.

– Henry M. Cooper, Esq., is a shareholder and handles the residential real estate practice of Bogin, Munns, & Munns, P.A., a full service law firm with offices in Orlando, Clermont, Kissimmee, Deltona, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Melbourne, Gainesville, and Leesburg, Florida.  He welcomes questions and comments regarding the above and can be reached at hcooper@boginmunns.com.

NO LEGAL ADVICE: This blog entry is not intended as legal advice nor should you consider it as such. It is intended only as general information.  You should not act upon this information without retaining professional legal counsel. Please keep in mind that merely subscribing to or reading this blog or otherwise contacting Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. in the manner that you have will not establish an attorney-client relationship with our firm. Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. cannot represent you until the firm knows there would not be a conflict of interest, and the firm determines that it is otherwise able to accept the engagement.

Have you heard in the news that you can get paid for letting your home go through foreclosure?  There is a new government program that does provide financial incentives to the borrower.  The U.S. Treasury Department issued Supplemental Directive 09-09 which is being called HAFA.  HAFA is a part of a previous program called HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program).

HAMP provided guidelines for Loan Modifications while HAFA provides guidelines for Short Sales and Deeds-in-Lieu of Foreclosure.

• A “Loan Modification” is where the borrower keeps the house and the mortgage but the terms of the mortgage are changed to make the payment more affordable.
• A “Short Sale” is where the home is sold for less than is owed on the mortgage.  This is done with the mortgage lender’s approval.
• A “Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure” is where the borrower gives the home to the mortgage lender in exchange for canceling the mortgage loan.

The lender must first evaluate the borrower for a Loan Modification under HAMP.  The new HAFA directives will require lenders to then consider whether a borrower is eligible for a Short Sale or a Deed-in-Lieu.  The new HAFA directives will take effect on April 5, 2010, and expire on December 31, 2012.

All of the following criteria must be met to be eligible for HAMP and HAFA:

1. The home is the borrower’s homestead property;
2. The mortgage is a First Mortgage originated before Jan. 2, 2009;
3. The mortgage is delinquent or reasonably will be in the future;
4. The current mortgage balance is less than $729,750.01; and
5. The mortgage payment exceeds 31% of the borrower’s gross income.

If a borrower qualifies for a Short Sale under the new HAFA directives, the lender will be required to forgive any deficiency on the mortgage loan.  This will be a big help to borrowers because many borrowers who sold their home in a Short Sale are now being pursued by collections agencies to collect the deficiencies owed to the banks.  The HAFA Short Sale directives prohibit the lenders from reducing Realtor commissions below 6% and provide the following financial incentives:

1. • $1,500 for borrower relocation assistance
   • $1,000 for services to cover administrative and processing costs
   • $1,000 match for investors for allowing a total of up to $3,000 in short sale proceeds to be distributed to 2^nd mortgage holders

The new directives require the borrower to make an effort to sell the home through a Short Sale before they can sign a Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure.  If the lender accepts a Deed-in-Lieu (DIL) under the new HAFA directives, the lender may not require a cash contribution or promissory note from the borrower and must forfeit the ability to pursue a deficiency judgment against the borrower.

The borrower may request their lender evaluate whether they are eligible for a Short Sale or DIL.  If the borrower is not eligible, then the lender must notify them in writing and explain why.

Bogin, Munns & Munns, P.A. is a full-service law firm with experienced commercial lawyers who represent many banks and mortgage lenders.  If you are a loan servicer who is interested in legal representation and assistance with the HAMP and HAFA directives, you can call our office at (407) 578-1334 to schedule a consultation.

– Zana Dupee, Esq., is an experienced attorney with Bogin, Munns, & Munns, P.A., a full service law firm with offices in Orlando, Clermont, Kissimmee, Deltona, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Melbourne, Gainesville, and Leesburg, Florida.  Mrs. Dupee works out of the Gainesville office of the firm and welcomes questions and comments regarding the above and can be reached at zdupee@boginmunns.com

NO LEGAL ADVICE: This blog entry is not intended as legal advice nor should you consider it as such. It is intended only as general information.  You should not act upon this information without retaining professional legal counsel. Please keep in mind that merely subscribing to or reading this blog or otherwise contacting Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. in the manner that you have will not establish an attorney-client relationship with our firm. Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. cannot represent you until the firm knows there would not be a conflict of interest, and the firm determines that it is otherwise able to accept the engagement. The engagement would also be confirmed by a written agreement.

1. Use caution when proceeding through intersections, look to the left, then right, then left again.
2. When stopping at a traffic light and the light changes to green, use the “5 second rule” and wait 5 seconds before proceeding.
3. Leave a safe distance between your car and others.  A general rule is for every 10 miles per hour of speed, leave at least one car length space between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead.
4. Maintain a constant speed.  Don’t continually slow down or speed up.
5. Don’t encourage or participate in aggressive driving.
6. Properly maintain your vehicle, including checking the tire pressure and tire condition.
7. Adjust the seats and mirrors.
8. Be aware of road conditions and reduce your speed below the speed limit if the road conditions warrant doing so.
9. Keep your lights on at dusk and dawn and during the rain.
10. DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!
11. Look, as far ahead as possible while driving, this will give you the maximum amount of time to react.  Keep your eyes moving; do not fix your eyes on only one spot.
12. Pull over when using your cell phone, picking up items from the floor, checking maps, changing music, eating or engaging in personal grooming.
13. Make certain your children are properly restrained in the back seat so they will not be a distraction.
14. Avoid being late which will increase the chance of careless driving.

– Alida Darias, Esq., is an experienced personal injury attorney with Bogin, Munns, & Munns, P.A., a full service law firm with offices in Orlando, Clermont, Kissimmee, Deltona, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Melbourne, Gainesville, and Leesburg, Florida.  Ms. Darias works out of the Clermont office of the firm and welcomes questions and comments regarding the above and can be reached at adarius@boginmunns.com

NO LEGAL ADVICE: This blog entry is not intended as legal advice nor should you consider it as such. It is intended only as general information.  You should not act upon this information without retaining professional legal counsel. Please keep in mind that merely subscribing to or reading this blog or otherwise contacting Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. in the manner that you have will not establish an attorney-client relationship with our firm. Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. cannot represent you until the firm knows there would not be a conflict of interest, and the firm determines that it is otherwise able to accept the engagement. The engagement would also be confirmed by a written agreement.

My first boss always told clients that there are three things you need for any claim.  First, you need liability.  Somebody had to do something wrong.  In a car accident this usually means someone hit you from behind, ran a stop sign or red light, or otherwise engaged in some improper driving.  If someone has fallen in a store or other facility, this element is sometimes often hard to explain.  The general public, and even some lawyers (who are misinformed), believe that just because you fell on their property and got hurt that they are responsible.  This is not true.  The store operator must have done something wrong that caused or contributed to the injury.  Often times this may be that they failed to correct a dangerous condition that they could have discovered with reasonable effort.  For example, where a freezer is leaking water and a small puddle accumulates causing someone to slip, that is going to create a tough question for the jury.  However, the larger the puddle, the longer that the condition was there to have been discovered by the store operator.  If it can be shown that the store operator would have discovered it with reasonable inspections, and did not, then they have done something wrong, and hence have at least some liability in the matter.

The second element that is required is that you have to have damages.  Generally in my personal injury practice this means you have to be injured as a result of the liability mentioned above.  If you were in an automobile accident with no damage to you or the car, you have no claim regardless of how wrong it was for the other driver to have run into you.

The third element is some source of money to pay for the damages.  If you were rear ended by someone going 100 miles per hour, and have a broken leg and a broken arm, but the person that hit you has no insurance, no money, and you have no uninsured motorist coverage, you have no way to recover on your claim.  Certainly you would be entitled to take that person to court (which could cost thousands of dollars).  You would get a piece of paper called a judgment that would say that person owes you lots of money, but you could not get that person to pay you money they do not have.

– Mark Cornelius, Esq., is an experienced personal injury attorney and shareholder with Bogin, Munns, & Munns, P.A., a full service law firm with offices in Orlando, Clermont, Kissimmee, Deltona, Daytona Beach, Ocala, Melbourne, Gainesville, and Leesburg, Florida.  Mr. Cornelius works out of the Orlando office of the firm and welcomes questions and comments regarding the above and can be reached at mark@boginmunns.com

NO LEGAL ADVICE: This blog entry is not intended as legal advice nor should you consider it as such. It is intended only as general information.  You should not act upon this information without retaining professional legal counsel. Please keep in mind that merely subscribing to or reading this blog or otherwise contacting Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. in the manner that you have will not establish an attorney-client relationship with our firm. Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. cannot represent you until the firm knows there would not be a conflict of interest, and the firm determines that it is otherwise able to accept the engagement. The engagement would also be confirmed by a written agreement.